Browsing by Author "Matos, Ana Cristina"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
- An Experimental Study of the Ant Colony System for the Period Vehicle Routing ProblemPublication . Matos, Ana Cristina; Oliveira, Rui CarvalhoIn this paper, a new Ant System approach to the Period Vehicle Routing Problem (PVRP) is presented. In PVRP, visit days have to be assigned to customers in order to find efficient routes over the period. We suggest a new technique for defining the initial solution and a novel strategy to update the pheromone trails that is especially suited for solving large scale problems. An illustrative example for a waste collection system involving 202 localities in the municipality of Viseu, Portugal, demonstrates the effectiveness of the model.
- Molecular evidence of sporadic Coxiella burnetii excretion in sheep milk, central PortugalPublication . Pires, Humberto; Santos-Silva, Sérgio; Cruz, Andreia V.S.; Cardoso, Luís; Lopes, Ana Patrícia; Pereira, Maria; Nóbrega, Carmen; Mega, Cristina; Santos, Carla; Cruz, Rita; Esteves, Fernando; Vala, Helena; Matos, Ana Cristina; Barradas, Patrícia F.; Coelho, Ana Cláudia; Mesquita, João R.Coxiella burnetii is the etiologic agent of Q fever, a worldwide zoonosis. Cattle, sheep and goats are considered the main reservoirs of the disease. Transmission to humans occurs mainly through the inhalation of infectious aerosols from milk, faeces, urine, and birth products from infected ruminants. In this study, a 2-year longitudinal approach was performed to ascertain the excretion of C. burnetii in bulk tank milk samples of sheep from a mountain plateau in central Portugal, with sampling conducted during the years 2015 and 2016. From a total of 156 bulk tank milk samples tested by qPCR, only one showed to be positive for C. burnetii (1.28% [95%CI: 0.03–6.94]), from 2015, the first year of collection. Bidirectional sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of IS1111 transposase partial region confirmed the presence of C. burnetii DNA. The presence of C. burnetii in raw milk samples highlights the necessity for additional research to determine if raw milk is a potential source for human infection. Animal health surveillance and prevention measures against this zoonotic disease should be considered.
- Mortalidade nos Idosos numa Unidade de Cuidados Intensivos: A idade não explica tudo!Publication . Henriques, Carla; Matos, Ana Cristina; Porto, LéneaEste trabalho centra-se no estudo comparativo da população idosa e não idosa na Unidade de Cuidados Intensivos (UCI) do Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, tendo como objetivo identificar fatores de influência na sobrevivência dos pacientes da UCI, diferenciando idosos de não idosos, e procurando esclarecer o que influência o desfecho final (morte ou sobrevida). Analisou-se a associação deste desfecho com a proveniência do paciente e verificou-se que o risco de morte era maior nos pacientes com tipo de admissão Médico (tratamento médico). Quanto à terapêutica na UCI, muitas delas revelaram-se significativamente associadas com o desfecho final, destacando-se a terapêutica substitutiva de função renal e a terapêutica aminérgica como as mais agravantes quanto ao risco de morte, quer entre idosos quer entre não idosos. Verificou-se também que a idade exata do paciente não é significativamente determinante da morte/sobrevida nos idosos, embora seja nos não idosos, o mesmo acontecendo com o score de comorbilidades segundo o índice de Charlson.
- Statistical Modelling in Health: Some Case StudiesPublication . Henriques, Carla; Matos, Ana Cristina; Santos, Luis Ferreira; Faria, BernardoThis presentation focus on two examples of applications of Statistics in the field of Medicine. Research questions are posed by health professionals. The answers are not always straightforward, and the difficulties show up with different forms. In the first case study, the objective was to find a panel of biomarkers that would be useful to predict the course of a kidney disease – Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). The study could confirm the predictive role of some of the established risk factors for disease progression and also suggests a combination of two histological biomarkers (C4d and CD3) to predict IgAN progression. In the second example we move to the area of cardiology, looking for a model that could be a valuable adjuvant in the diagnosis of Brugada Syndrome. A set of five electrocardiographic markers were identified and their linear combination was explored in order to find one that could be a reliable tool in Brugada Syndrome diagnosis. This talk is based in joint work with Ana Cristina Matos, of the Polytechnic Instituto of Viseu, Luís Ferreira dos Santos of the Tondela-Viseu Hospital Center, and Bernardo Faria of the Nephrology and Infectious Disease R&D Group, INEB, I3S, University of Porto, Porto.
- Study of the Electrocardiographic Fluctuations on Brugada Syndrome ScreeningPublication . Matos, Ana Cristina; Henriques, Carla; Santos, Luís Ferreira dos