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Muitas organizações têm dificuldade em recuperar e extrair informações dos seus repositórios de documentos técnicos, em especial operadoras de óleo e gás que há várias décadas acumulam relatórios e documentos geocientíficos. No entanto, a maior parte dos recursos linguísticos para o processamento de linguagem natural é extraída de páginas da internet em inglês. Neste artigo, apresentamos os recursos linguísticos desenvolvidos ao longo do projeto Petrolês, com ênfase no PetroNer, corpus padrão ouro anotado com entidades do domínio, dependências sintáticas, e alinhado a uma ontologia de conceitos geológicos. Relatamos o processo de construção do PetroGold, treebank padrão ouro usado na geração de um modelo customizado para anotação de dependências sintáticas, e detalhamos o processo de anotação de entidades no PetroNer, realizado por meio de regras. Também realizamos um estudo sobre a aplicação das regras no corpus e, por fim, descrevemos características linguísticas do material que compõe o Petrolês, comparando-o com um corpus de textos jornalísticos.

Objective: Previous trials show that selenium could be a very useful tool in the control and treatment of autoimmune thyroid diseases. In this cross-sectional study, through a survey, we aim to evaluate Portuguese endocrinologists' perception and pattern of prescription of selenium supplements in these diseases and verify its agreement with current guidelines. Methods: The endocrinologists registered in the Portuguese Medical Association were sent an email with a web-based questionnaire, regarding their knowledge and use of selenium supplements in thyroid autoimmune pathology. Results: A total of 105 physicians (33% of the total) submitted the survey. The selenium serum concentration in the general population was unknown to 80% of respondents. Over a third of respondents have never prescribed selenium for autoimmune thyroid disease. However, 89% are not afraid of recommending it, and 61% indicate Graves’ orbitopathy as the pathology they would supplement. In Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, 36% of respondents use selenium occasionally or frequently, and this percentage rises to 60% in Graves’ disease. Conclusions: Although recommendations only encompass mild Graves’ orbitopathy, selenium is prescribed across the spectrum of autoimmune thyroid diseases, probably due to recent studies that consistently show improvement of biochemical hallmarks in these patients. Further investigation is required on the impact of selenium supplements on primarily clinical outcomes and to identify disorders and/or patients who will benefit the most. Also, there is still insufficient knowledge of this fiel d in the medical community, and evidence-based practice should continue to be promoted by endocrinology societies.

Este artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa que articula métodos quantitativos e qualitativos sobre representações discursivas que tematizam a questão do gênero. Nosso objetivo é identificar como personagens masculinas e femininas são caracterizadas em textos literários, e, para isso, tomamos como objeto de exploração um corpus de obras da literatura brasileira com cerca de 5 milhões de palavras, anotado semântica e morfossintaticamente. O estudo se dá em duas frentes: observando os predicadores na descrição das personagens e as ações desempenhadas por elas. Como resultado, (i) indicamos como a metodologia utilizada permite diferentes perspectivas sobre os dados, indo além da análise baseada em formas e listas de frequência, e (ii) ratificamos a construção estereotipada dos gêneros masculino e feminino na literatura dos séculos XIX e XX, com o feminino caracterizando-se sobretudo pela aparência, especialmente pela beleza, e pela esfera doméstica.

Background: The bond capacity of universal adhesives should be comparable to a specific primer for zirconia. Thus, this study evaluated the bond strength to zirconia of four universal adhesives and a zirconia primer over long-term storage. Materials and Methods: The surfaces of 75 samples of zirconia were sandblasted with 50 μm aluminum oxide particles and then divided into groups (n = 15): G1 – Single Bond Universal (SBU); G2 – All Bond Universal; G3 – Peak Universal Bond; G4 – Ambar Universal (AU), and G5 – Z-Prime Plus (ZP). A cone of resin composite was constructed on the applied materials. The samples were submitted to a tensile bond strength test after 24 h using a universal testing machine. Then, the remaining materials were removed from the sample surfaces, and the surfaces were polished and sandblasted again as previously described to obtain the same groups. These new samples were stored in distilled water at 37°C for 12 months and then submitted to a tensile bond strength test. The data were analyzed by two-way analysis of variance and Tukey's test (α =0.05). Results: The material factor (P = 0.001) and the storage factor (P = 0.001) were significant, and the interaction was not significant (P = 0.117). According to Tukey's test, bond strength mean values (in MPa) followed by distinct letters were significantly different. After 24 h, G5 = 21.12 A, G1 = 20.55 A, G4 = 19.19 AB, G2 = 14.22 B, and G3 = 8.44 C. After 12 months, G1 = 7.37 A, G5 = 5.61 AB, G4 = 4.97 B, G2 = 3.32 C, and G3 = 1.93 D. After 12 months of storage, all groups' bond strength significantly decreased. Conclusions: SBU and AU had bond strengths comparable to ZP after 24 h. No material resisted water degradation.

Introduction: The occurrence of non-thyroidal second primary malignancy (NTSPM) in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is well documented, but epidemiological data are conflicting. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of NTSPM in a large series of patients with PTC and to assess its potential risk factors. Methods: Single-center cohort study with retrospective data collection conducted on consecutive PTC patients diagnosed from 1988 to 2018 with a minimum follow-up time of 2 years. NTSPM was defined as any primary malignancy with histological confirmation occurring in an anatomical site other than the thyroid. According to the timing of occurrence, NTSPM were subdivided into anachronous, synchronous or metachronous (diagnosed >6 months before, within 6 months and >6 months after PTC diagnosis, respectively). Results: We included 773 individuals (83.3% females), median age at PTC diagnosis was 47.0 (IQR: 37.0–58.0) years and median follow-up time was 9.9 (6.2–16.3) years. Incidence of NTSPM was 15.5% (n = 120) and its standard incidence ratio (SIR) was higher when compared to the general population (SIR: 2.70). Family history of malignancy and younger age at diagnosis were associated respectively with 206 and 4% increased risk of developing metachronous neoplasia (HR: 2.06 (95% CI: 1.10–3.86) and 1.04 (95% CI: 1.02–1.05), respectively). Conclusion: In our series, the occurrence of NTSPM was not uncommon and its incidence was higher compared to the general population. First-degree family history of malignancy was a strong risk factor for multiple primary malignancies.

Abstract Background Thyroid nodules are a challenge in clinical practice and thyroid ultrasonography is essential for assessing the risk of malignancy. The use of ultrasound-based malignancy risk classification systems has been recommended by several scientific societies but radiologist’s adherence to these guidelines may vary. The authors aimed to analyze the quality of the information provided by the thyroid ultrasound report, to assess the malignancy risk of thyroid nodules, in Portugal. Methods Multicenter and retrospective study, conducted in three of the five Portuguese NUTS2 corresponding to about 88.3% of the mainland population. We included 344 consecutive unselected participants aged ≥ 18 years who underwent thyroid ultrasonography in 2019. The description of six features of the dominant thyroid nodule was analyzed: maximum size, shape, margins, composition, echogenicity and echogenic foci. A utility score, including these six features, was used as an indicator of the report’s quality. A score of 4 was considered as a minimum value. Results Maximum diameter was reported for all nodules. Shape, margins, composition, echogenicity and echogenic foci were reported in 8.1%, 25.0%, 76.5%, 53.2% and 20.9%, respectively. Only 21.8% of the nodules had a score ≥ 4. At least one of four suspicious features, including marked hypoechogenicity, microcalcifications, irregular margins and non-oval shape, was identified in 8.7% of the nodules. Cervical lymph nodes’ status was reported in 93% of the exams. The risk category was only reported in 7.8% of the participants. Conclusion The adherence of Portuguese radiologists to a standardized reporting model and to an ultrasound-based malignancy risk stratification system is still low and has implications for the correct characterization of the malignancy risk of nodules and the decision to perform fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

This study investigated the use of distributed optical fiber sensing to measure temperature and strain during thermomechanical processes in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing. An optical fiber (OF) was bonded to a PCB for simultaneous measurement of temperature and strain. Optical frequency-domain reflectometry was used to interrogate the fiber optic sensor. As the optical fiber is sensitive to both temperature and strain, a demodulation technique is required to separate both effects. Several demodulation techniques were compared to find the best one, highlighting their main limitations. The importance of good estimations of the temperature sensitivity coefficient of the OF and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the PCB was highlighted for accurate results. Furthermore, the temperature sensitivity of the bonded OF should not be neglected for accurate estimations of strains. The two-sensor combination model provided the best results, with a 2.3% error of temperature values and expected strain values. Based on this decoupling model, a methodology for measuring strain and temperature variations in PCB thermomechanical processes using a single and simple OF was developed and tested, and then applied to a trial in an industrial environment using a dynamic oven with similar characteristics to those of a reflow oven. This approach allows the measurement of the temperature profile on the PCB during oven travel and its strain state (warpage).

Purpose: The levothyroxine absorption test (LT4AT) is an important tool for distinguishing hypothyroidism due to malabsorption from ‘pseudomalabsorption’ conditions. Our aim was to review our institution’s LT4AT results and assess its role in the management of patients with refractory hypothyroidism. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all patients evaluated for refractory hypothyroidism who underwent LT4AT in our tertiary center between 2014 and 2020. Its results and the impact on thyroid function management during follow-up were assessed. Results: Ten female patients were included with a mean age of 40 years (min-max: 26–62). Mean weight was 72 kg (min–max: 43–88) and baseline LT4 dosage ranged from 2.5 to 5.3 μg/kg/day. The most common causes of hypothyroidism were postsurgical in 50% (n = 5) and autoimmune in 20% (n = 2). During LT4AT, normal LT4 absorption was found in all but one individual (mean FT4 increase of 231%, min–max: 85–668). The only patient with objective LT4 absorption impairment (maximal increase of 48% by hour 5) presented also Helicobacter pylori gastritis and prior history of ‘intestinal surgery’ during childhood. No adverse events were reported during any of the LT4ATs. During follow-up (median 11.5 months (IQR 23)), three patients obtained euthyroidism and six had improved their hypothyroidism state. Conclusions: The LT4AT is an effective and safe way to assess refractory hyp othyroidism and provides valuable information to distinguish LT4 malabsorption from ‘pseudomalabsorption’. Our data suggest that most patients with suspicious LT4 malabsorption perform normally during LT4AT. This test provides relevant information for better management of patients with refractory hypothyroidism.

Resumo: Neste trabalho, apresentamos estudos descritivos e computacionais relacionados ao sujeito oculto. Em um primeiro momento, realizamos uma descrição de cunho quantitativo, tomando por base três corpora dos gêneros jornalístico, literário e enciclopédico. Especificamente, quantificamos o sujeito oculto em cada um dos corpora, e encontramos sujeitos omitidos em 24%, 41% e 46% das orações, respectivamente. Em um segundo momento, por meio de uma estratégia baseada em regras, reconstituímos esses sujeitos e os devolvemos aos corpora, com o objetivo de avaliar o quanto a omissão do sujeito é capaz de impactar o aprendizado automático de dependências sintáticas. Os resultados indicam que a reconstituição formal do sujeito pode melhorar a aprendizagem das dependências sintáticas em até 2% quando consideramos a métrica CLAS, evidenciando o papel relevante da modelagem linguística no aprendizado automático. Palavras-chave: descrição linguística; sujeito oculto; omissão de sujeito; dependências sintáticas; linguística computacional; aprendizado de máquina; linguística de corpus. Abstract: In this paper, we present descriptive and computational studies related to omitted subjects. Firstly, we develop a quantitative descriptive study based on three corpora, which consist of journalistic, literary and encyclopedic genres. Specifically, we quantify the omitted subjects in sentences for each of these corpora; omitted subjects were found in 24%, 41% and 46% of their sentences, respectively. Secondly, applying rule-based strategies, we reconstitute those subjects and place them back to the corpora, with the goal of evaluating how much the omission of subjects can impact the automatic learning of syntactic dependencies. The results indicate that the formal subject reconstitution can enhance the learning of syntactic dependencies in up to 2% according to the CLAS metric, highlighting the relevant role of linguistic modeling in the automatic learning process. Keywords: linguistic description; omitted subject; syntactic dependencies; computational linguistics; machine learning; corpus linguistics.

Este artigo propõe uma sinergia metodológica entre os estudos linguísticos com base em grandes corpora e os estudos do discurso, trazendo como contribuição as possibilidades de trabalho com anotação linguística. A análise tem o elemento gênero como operador analítico, selecionando uma de suas dimensões: caracterizações atribuídas a personagens femininas e masculinas. A pesquisa tomou por base um grande acervo composto por mais de 200 obras da literatura brasileira em domínio público (cerca de 5 milhões de palavras). A partir da busca por estruturas linguísticas indicativas de predicação, distinguimos quatro eixos de análise, ampliando um tipo de trabalho que normalmente se restringe aos estudos de caso. Ao longo do artigo, e graças às ferramentas computacionais, alternamos entre lentes que nos afastam e nos aproximam do texto, tentando tirar o melhor proveito de cada uma delas. Por fim, argumentamos que é possível - e desejável - superar as dicotomias quantitativo x qualitativo e conteúdo x discurso.

Resumo No Brasil oitocentista evidenciou-se a emergência de instituições assistenciais. Por meio delas, os estados provinciais projetaram membros das elites políticas e econômicas nomeando-os grandes benfeitores. Homens de notoriedade local desempenharam papel na construção de determinados espaços asilares por meio de práticas que ratificaram seu prestígio social não apenas entre seus pares e para sua época, mas também para a memória e a história das instituições às quais estavam vinculadas. O artigo problematiza a construção de três instituições assistenciais no Ceará: Asilo de Mendicidade, Colônia Orfanológica Cristina e Asilo de Alienados São Vicente de Paula, cuja tônica discursiva e ações filantrópicas estavam inseridas no cenário da grande seca de 1877-1879.

Profissionais que traduzem textos do inglês para o português frequentemente se deparam com uma exigência das editoras quanto à tradução de diálogos: diversificar os verbos de elocução, com o intuito de evitar a repetição do verbo “dizer”. Em resposta, apresentamos o DISSE, um léxico de verbos de elocução criado a partir de grandes corpora, e organizado quanto ao sentido. Neste artigo, detalhamos o desafio de distribuir 293 verbos em grupos de sentido, tendo em vista facilitar sua consulta. Para tanto, realizamos dois testes, utilizando uma ferramenta desenhada para tirar proveito da anotação linguística como instrumento para o estudo de uma língua. Todos os resultados estão públicos para a consulta.Palavras-chave: verbos de elocução; tradução; classificação semântica.

Liquid biopsy is an emerging technology with a potential role in the screening and early detection of lung cancer. Several liquid biopsy-derived biomarkers have been identified and are currently under ongoing investigation. In this article, we review the available data on the use of circulating biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer, focusing on the circulating tumor cells, circulating cell-free DNA, circulating micro-RNAs, tumor-derived exosomes, and tumor-educated platelets, providing an overview of future potential applicability in the clinical practice. While several biomarkers have shown exciting results, diagnostic performance and clinical applicability is still limited. The combination of different biomarkers, as well as their combination with other diagnostic tools show great promise, although further research is still required to define and validate the role of liquid biopsies in clinical practice.

Neste artigo usamos um conjunto de características sintático-semânticas da língua portuguesa para classificar em períodos literários dois conjuntos de obras. Em que medida tais características são capazes de refletir distinções relevantes no âmbito dos estudos literários é uma das questões que pretendemos investigar. O primeiro grupo de obras corresponde à replicação do trabalho relatado em 2009 por Barufaldi et al., que usaram métodos de compressão de dados sobre uma série de obras brasileiras classificadas em quatro períodos literários: barroco, arcadismo, romantismo e realismo, desde o Padre António Vieira até Raul Pompéia, contabilizando 15 autores diferentes e totalizando 37 obras. O segundo grupo inclui muito mais obras (192), tanto portuguesas como brasileiras, mas apenas integra romances ou novelas publicadas no período de 1840 a 1919. As escolas literárias escolhidas foram o realismo, o romantismo, o simbolismo, o naturalismo, o decadentismo e o modernismo, mas, ao contrário da classificação anterior, permitimos que uma mesma obra pertença a várias escolas. Usamos técnicas de classificação em R para a primeira tarefa, e análise de correspondências para a segunda. Também aplicamos técnicas de modelos de tópicos à segunda coleção para ver se é possível obter tópicos representativos de escolas literárias diferentes.

Since Saussure, linguistic science relies on the assumption that there is a homogeneous language underlying the variation. This paper seeks to refute this assumption, using as methodology statistical explorations in large corpora. Theories are narratives that try to organize the data at our disposal, and it is therefore reasonable that new data (different both in quantity and quality) produce new narratives. From the perspective presented here, we see language being regular and irregular, without center or periphery. Irregularity is inescapable; language is complicated and simple, simultaneously. --- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22409/gragoata.2017n44a1015

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based solutions have revolutionized our world, using extensive datasets and computational resources to create automatic tools for complex tasks that, until now, have been performed by humans. Massive data is a fundamental aspect of the most powerful AI-based algorithms. However, for AI-based healthcare solutions, there are several socioeconomic, technical/infrastructural, and most importantly, legal restrictions, which limit the large collection and access of biomedical data, especially medical imaging. To overcome this important limitation, several alternative solutions have been suggested, including transfer learning approaches, generation of artificial data, adoption of blockchain technology, and creation of an infrastructure composed of anonymous and abstract data. However, none of these strategies is currently able to completely solve this challenge. The need to build large datasets that can be used to develop healthcare solutions deserves special attention from the scientific community, clinicians, all the healthcare players, engineers, ethicists, legislators, and society in general. This paper offers an overview of the data limitation in medical predictive models; its impact on the development of healthcare solutions; benefits and barriers of sharing data; and finally, suggests future directions to overcome data limitations in the medical field and enable AI to enhance healthcare. This perspective is dedicated to the technical requirements of the learning models, and it explains the limitation that comes from poor and small datasets in the medical domain and the technical options that try or can solve the problem related to the lack of massive healthcare data.

In this article, we present the results as well as the procedures of a wide descriptive, corpus-based study on reporting verbs in Portuguese. The motivation for this research comes from a task carried out in Computational Linguistics – quotation extraction. In order to obtain reporting verbs used in Portuguese, our starting point was a list of translations of the verb “said” in literary contexts. Then, by using large monolingual corpora, we searched for lexical-grammatical patterns that characterize this verb class, in an attempt to broaden the list. Through this methodology, we identified 293 reporting verbs and distributed them amongst eight general patterns in which these verbs are typically found. The comparison between our research and other studies in Portuguese, English and French that investigate reporting verbs attests the success of the methodology that was developed.

Abstract As the human ovarian follicle enlarges in the course of a regular cycle or following controlled ovarian stimulation, the changes in its structure reveal the oocyte environment composed of cumulus oophorus cells and the follicular fluid (FF). In contrast to the dynamic nature of cells, the fluid compartment appears as a reservoir rich in biomolecules. In some aspects, it is similar to the plasma, but it also exhibits differences that likely relate to its specific localization around the oocyte. The chemical composition indicates that the follicular fluid is able to detect and buffer excessive amounts of reactive oxygen species, employing a variety of antioxidants, some of them components of the intracellular milieu. An important part is played by albumin through specific cysteine residues. But the fluid contains other molecules whose cysteine residues may be involved in sensing and buffering the local oxidative conditions. How these molecules are recruited and regulated to intervene such process is unknown but it is a critical issue in reproduction. In fact, important proteins in the FF, that regulate follicle growth and oocyte quality, exhibit cysteine residues at specific points, whose untoward oxidation would result in functional loss. Therefore, preservation of controlled oxidative conditions in the FF is a requirement for the fine-tuned oocyte maturation process. In contrast, its disturbance enhances the susceptibility to the establishment of reproductive disorders that would require the intervention of reproductive medicine technology.

The evolution of personalized medicine has changed the therapeutic strategy from classical chemotherapy and radiotherapy to a genetic modification targeted therapy, and although biopsy is the traditional method to genetically characterize lung cancer tumor, it is an invasive and painful procedure for the patient. Nodule image features extracted from computed tomography (CT) scans have been used to create machine learning models that predict gene mutation status in a noninvasive, fast, and easy-to-use manner. However, recent studies have shown that radiomic features extracted from an extended region of interest (ROI) beyond the tumor, might be more relevant to predict the mutation status in lung cancer, and consequently may be used to significantly decrease the mortality rate of patients battling this condition. In this work, we investigated the relation between image phenotypes and the mutation status of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), the most frequently mutated gene in lung cancer with several approved targeted-therapies, using radiomic features extracted from the lung containing the nodule. A variety of linear, nonlinear, and ensemble predictive classification models, along with several feature selection methods, were used to classify the binary outcome of wild-type or mutant EGFR mutation status. The results show that a comprehensive approach using a ROI that included the lung with nodule can capture relevant information and successfully predict the EGFR mutation status with increased performance compared to local nodule analyses. Linear Support Vector Machine, Elastic Net, and Logistic Regression, combined with the Principal Component Analysis feature selection method implemented with 70% of variance in the feature set, were the best-performing classifiers, reaching Area Under the Curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.725 to 0.737. This approach that exploits a holistic analysis indicates that information from more extensive regions of the lung containing the nodule allows a more complete lung cancer characterization and should be considered in future radiogenomic studies.

Neste artigo apresentamos a filosofia geral da Gramateca – um ambiente para fazera gramática da língua portuguesa baseada em corpos – e alguns estudos no seu âmbito, nomeadamente o estudo (1) dos conetores condicionais, (2) das palavras referentes ao corpo humano, e (3) das emoções na língua. A ênfase é na metodologia, e apresentamos detalhadamente o sistema Rêve para rever e partilhar anotações linguísticas. Ao descrever os vários estudos, indicamos também as metamorfoses e melhorias por que essa ferramenta passou, assim como o tipo de perguntas e de resultados que já conseguimos obter em áreas muito diversas.

Apresentamos aqui os resultados iniciais de um amplo estudo sobre o léxico do corpo humano e os seus sentidos, realizado por meio da anotação e revisão de corpora de grandes dimensões. Ao longo do artigo explicitamos as decisões linguísticas subjacentes à anotação, relatamos o resultado de um estudo sobre as classes de anotação e exploramos o vasto material criado: um corpus de entrevistas (1,4 milhão de palavras) e um corpus literário (1,2 milhão de palavras) anotados e integralmente revistos, e demais corpora do projeto, parcialmente revistos. Todo o material está publicamente disponível para a comunidade.

O objetivo principal deste artigo é descrever o processo de elaboração de um léxico de elementos afetivos da língua portuguesa e polaridades associadas, construído principalmente para auxiliar a tarefa de análise de sentimento. Busca-se, além disso, mostrar como a exploração da dimensão afetiva da linguagem encontra espaço na descrição da língua e pode, ainda, contribuir para o ensino de português como segunda língua. Assim, o léxico foi criado com um duplo objetivo: fornecer subsídios linguísticos para uma aplicação do processamento de linguagem natural (PLN) e contribuir com a caracterização do vocabulário afetivo da língua portuguesa, sobretudo em contextos informais.

Not many years ago it was usual to comment on the lack of an open lexical-semantic knowledge base, following the lines of Princeton WordNet, but for Portuguese. Today, the landscape has changed significantly, and researchers that need access to this specific kind of resource have not one, but several alternatives to choose from. The present article describes the wordnet-like resources currently available for Portuguese. It provides some context on their origin, creation approach, size and license for utilization. Apart from being an obvious starting point for those looking for a computational resource with information on the meaning of Portuguese words, this article describes the resources available, compares them and lists some plans for future work, sketching ideas for potential collaboration between the projects described.

Research methods in Education usually rely on qualitative analysis, focusing on samples of individuals or small groups. On the other hand, it is well known that education deals with large scale issues as well: in Brazil, the planning of public policies must take into account the more than 50 million students enrolled in Secondary Education. However, the quantitative approach is viewed with suspicion in Education, leading to very little development of large scale studies. Since these studies can be based on written texts, the dialogue between Education and corpus based approaches becomes highly valuable. In this paper, we briefly present the results of two studies based on corpora specifically designed to foster educational research: (i) a corpus of blogs created and maintained by public schools; (ii) a corpus of teaching materials used in public schools. When discussing the results of these researches, we draw attention to the crucial role played by corpus tools, and to the risks and potentials of the corpus based approach in Education.

Uma avaliação só está concluída quando se faz um balanço e se tiram ilações para o futuro. Neste artigo discutimos o que foi obtido com o Págico, o que podia ter sido melhor, e propomos o que nos parece interessante de realizar numa próxima edição. Tentámos estruturar o balanço segundo as vertentes descritas na motivação do Págico, resumindo e opinando sobre outros artigos nesta edição, e depois fazendo uma apreciação crítica da participação e dos resultados. Descrevemos ainda formas de utilizar, numa fase pós-Págico, o extenso trabalho desenvolvido, quer na avaliação de novos sistemas, quer no ensino e/ou divulgação de temas de cultura lusófona por exemplo no estrangeiro. Em relação à área de usabilidade, deixamos em aberto o desafio de como melhorar significativamente a interface do SIGA de forma a poder ser usada em casos reais.

Este artigo descreve os tópicos usados no Págico, a primeira avaliação conjunta em recolha de informação centrada em tópicos relacionados com a lusofonia, usando o material da Wikipédia em português. Depois de uma explicação sobre como os tópicos foram escolhidos e de questões associadas à sua escolha e à sua categorização posterior, os tópicos são apresentados por categoria. Comentamos também a forma de apresentação de certas informações na Wikipédia e, por fim, fazemos uma categorização geográfica e temporal dos tópicos.

Após argumentar que a avaliação de respostas é algo extremamente complexo, este artigo descreve o processo de avaliação das respostas do Págico, e as questões surgidas no próprio processo, assim como sugere um modelo de gradação entre respostas e a sua possível futura classificação nesses moldes. Além de descrever o processo seguido, o artigo sugere formas mais avançadas de interface de avaliação (a desenvolver no futuro). O problema das justificações e como é preciso melhorar essa questão é também apresentado e discutido. Uma análise dos comentários dos avaliadores, assim como alguns dados quantitativos sobre esses comentários, é depois apresentada.

Every patient with a cancer diagnosis should be informed about the impact the disease and its treatment have in her future fertility. Several strategies have been implemented with the purpose to overcome the issue of follicular depletion associated with the chemotherapic agents. When possible, cryopreservation of embryos, either isolated or associated to other procedures, is the technique that presents more scientific evidence and the best pregnancy rates. Other procedures, more experimental, could be proposed in the setting of clinical studies and allways after informed consent. This is the case of cryopreservation of ovaric tissue, the use of GnRH agonists and the cryopreservation of oocytes. Finally some emerging techniques like in vitro maturation of oocytes, anti-apoptotic drugs that protect the gonadals from the toxicity of chemotherapy or the use of stem cells to improve the ovarian reserve, can in the future have a place in oncofertility preservation. In patients with breast cancer the technique that shows better outcomes continues to be the cryopreservation of embryos after a protocol of follicular stimulation allied to the aromatase inhibitors with lower levels of plasmatic stradiol. Children are a special group in which the options are limited, being the cryopreservation of ovaric tissue the most promising strategy although still constitutes an experimental technique. Further randomized clinical trials are necessary with the aim of assessing the efficacy and security profile at long term of these procedures.

One of the first signs of peripheral neuropathy is the loss of perspiration of the feet. Untill now, the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test has been considered the gold test to detect early peripheral neuropathy. Recently, the Neuropad test has become available: it is a cobalt salt plaster designed to change colour from blue to pink in contact with liquids, namely sweating. The objective of this study was to find if the Neuropad test could be considered as a test for detecting peripheral autonomic neuropathy and to compare its sensitivity and specificity to the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test. Forty diabetic patients were studied, 22 of them presented with peripheral neuropathy. The criteria used for the definition of neuropathy was based on the Neuropathy Disability Score (NDS). Under Semmes-Weinstein monofilament test, we found a sensitivity and specificity of 82% and 94%, respectively, and with the Neuropad test, a specificity of 44%, but a sensitivity of 100%. Ten patients presented a sudomotor dysfunction of the feet in the absence of peripheral neuropathy (based on the NDS criteria), and were considered as false positives. We concluded that the Neuropad test is a simple, sensitive test to screen for diabetic neuropathy. Based on the false positive results, we may consider it as a reliable test detecting neuropathy in a earlier phase.

Introdução: A nefropatia diabética afecta cerca de 10 a 40% dos doentes diabéticos e é hoje a patologia mais frequentemente associada a novos casos de doentes hemodialisados. Com o aumento da prevalência da diabetes mellitus a nível mundial, aliado à maior sobrevida dos doentes diabéticos, é de esperar que a prevalência das complicações associadas a esta epidemia também venha a aumentar. Esta realidade assume uma maior gravidade pela evidência da relação entre a nefropatia diabética e o aumento do risco de morbilidade e mortalidade cardiovasculares nestes doentes, tornando essencial o conhecimento das medidas diagnósticas, preventivas e terapêuticas necessárias para uma correcta abordagem e melhoria dos cuidados prestados. Objectivo: Realizar uma revisão, assente na Medicina Baseada na Evidência, dos conceitos, factores de risco e principais medidas preventivas, diagnósticas e terapêuticas envolvidas na nefropatia diabética. Metodologia: Foi realizada uma pesquisa documental nas bases de dados da MedLine, Pubmed Central, TRIP Database, Bandolier, National Guideline Clearinghouse e Index RMP online, que resultou na selecção de 104 artigos. Foram também consultadas fontes bibliográficas de referência. Conclusão: A nefropatia diabética cursa com albuminúria, hipertensão e o declínio da taxa de filtração glomerular. A prevenção e tratamento passam pelo controlo apertado dos seus principais factores de risco: hiperglicemia e hipertensão. O início da terapêutica com inibidores da enzima de conversão da angiotensina ou antagonistas dos receptores da angiotensina, mesmo antes do aparecimento da microalbuminúria, é fundamental para a não progressão da lesão renal e diminuição da morbimortalidade cardiovascular associada. Outras medidas terapêuticas, como o controlo do perfil lipídico, dieta, exercício físico, perda ponderal e cessação tabágica, para além de modularem o risco cardiovascular, também poderão contribuir para a nefroprotecção.

Background: The process of tissue injury in coronary artery disease (CAD) has been associated with activation of the complement system, partly due to the action of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) and C3, which are expressed in atherosclerotic lesions. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum levels of MBL and C3 in patients with CAD and to compare them with healthy controls. Additionally, we aim to assess the correlation between MBL and C3 levels and cardiometabolic parameters. Methods: MBL and C3 serum concentration were determined by ELISA and immunoturbidimetry, respectively, in up to 119 patients undergoing coronary angiography for CAD evaluation, comprising 48 individuals diagnosed with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and 71 without MI. A total of 93 paired healthy controls were included in the study. Results: Individuals with CAD had MBL serum concentration higher than controls (p =.002), regardless of the presence of MI (p =.006). In addition, high concentration of MBL (>2000 ng/mL) was more frequent in patients with CAD (p =.007; OR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.3–5.1). C3 levels were not significantly associated with any of the patient groups but were positively correlated with cardiometabolic parameters such as body mass index (BMI) and triglycerides levels. Conclusions: Higher concentrations of MBL were found to be associated with CAD, whereas C3 levels were found to be associated with cardiovascular risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]