Altice Portugal (Portugal)

BACKGROUND: Motivation is a critical factor in supporting sustained exercise, which in turn is associated with important health outcomes. Accordingly, research on exercise motivation from the perspective of self-determination theory (SDT) has grown considerably in recent years. Previous reviews have been mostly narrative and theoretical. Aiming at a more comprehensive review of empirical data, this article examines the empirical literature on the relations between key SDT-based constructs and exercise and physical activity behavioral outcomes. METHODS: This systematic review includes 66 empirical studies published up to June 2011, including experimental, cross-sectional, and prospective studies that have measured exercise causality orientations, autonomy/need support and need satisfaction, exercise motives (or goal contents), and exercise self-regulations and motivation. We also studied SDT-based interventions aimed at increasing exercise behavior. In all studies, actual or self-reported exercise/physical activity, including attendance, was analyzed as the dependent variable. Findings are summarized based on quantitative analysis of the evidence. RESULTS: The results show consistent support for a positive relation between more autonomous forms of motivation and exercise, with a trend towards identified regulation predicting initial/short-term adoption more strongly than intrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation being more predictive of long-term exercise adherence. The literature is also consistent in that competence satisfaction and more intrinsic motives positively predict exercise participation across a range of samples and settings. Mixed evidence was found concerning the role of other types of motives (e.g., health/fitness and body-related), and also the specific nature and consequences of introjected regulation. The majority of studies have employed descriptive (i.e., non-experimental) designs but similar results are found across cross-sectional, prospective, and experimental designs. CONCLUSION: Overall, the literature provides good evidence for the value of SDT in understanding exercise behavior, demonstrating the importance of autonomous (identified and intrinsic) regulations in fostering physical activity. Nevertheless, there remain some inconsistencies and mixed evidence with regard to the relations between specific SDT constructs and exercise. Particular limitations concerning the different associations explored in the literature are discussed in the context of refining the application of SDT to exercise and physical activity promotion, and integrating these with avenues for future research.

This paper proposes an unsupervised algorithm for learning a finite mixture model from multivariate data. The adjective "unsupervised" is justified by two properties of the algorithm: 1) it is capable of selecting the number of components and 2) unlike the standard expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, it does not require careful initialization. The proposed method also avoids another drawback of EM for mixture fitting: the possibility of convergence toward a singular estimate at the boundary of the parameter space. The novelty of our approach is that we do not use a model selection criterion to choose one among a set of preestimated candidate models; instead, we seamlessly integrate estimation and model selection in a single algorithm. Our technique can be applied to any type of parametric mixture model for which it is possible to write an EM algorithm; in this paper, we illustrate it with experiments involving Gaussian mixtures. These experiments testify for the good performance of our approach.

This paper introduces an expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for image restoration (deconvolution) based on a penalized likelihood formulated in the wavelet domain. Regularization is achieved by promoting a reconstruction with low-complexity, expressed in the wavelet coefficients, taking advantage of the well known sparsity of wavelet representations. Previous works have investigated wavelet-based restoration but, except for certain special cases, the resulting criteria are solved approximately or require demanding optimization methods. The EM algorithm herein proposed combines the efficient image representation offered by the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) with the diagonalization of the convolution operator obtained in the Fourier domain. Thus, it is a general-purpose approach to wavelet-based image restoration with computational complexity comparable to that of standard wavelet denoising schemes or of frequency domain deconvolution methods. The algorithm alternates between an E-step based on the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and a DWT-based M-step, resulting in an efficient iterative process requiring O(N log N) operations per iteration. The convergence behavior of the algorithm is investigated, and it is shown that under mild conditions the algorithm converges to a globally optimal restoration. Moreover, our new approach performs competitively with, in some cases better than, the best existing methods in benchmark tests.

Long-term behavioral self-regulation is the hallmark of successful weight control. We tested mediators of weight loss and weight loss maintenance in middle-aged women who participated in a randomized controlled 12-month weight management intervention. Overweight and obese women (N = 225, BMI = 31.3 +/- 4.1 kg/m(2)) were randomly assigned to a control or a 1-year group intervention designed to promote autonomous self-regulation of body weight. Key exercise, eating behavior, and body image variables were assessed before and after the program, and tested as mediators of weight loss (12 months, 86% retention) and weight loss maintenance (24 months, 81% retention). Multiple mediation was employed and an intention-to-treat analysis conducted. Treatment effects were observed for all putative mediators (Effect size: 0.32-0.79, P < 0.01 vs. controls). Weight change was -7.3 +/- 5.9% (12-month) and -5.5 +/- 5.0% (24-month) in the intervention group and -1.7 +/- 5.0% and -2.2 +/- 7.5% in controls. Change in most psychosocial variables was associated with 12-month weight change, but only flexible cognitive restraint (P < 0.01), disinhibition (P < 0.05), exercise self-efficacy (P < 0.001), exercise intrinsic motivation (P < 0.01), and body dissatisfaction (P < 0.05) predicted 24-month weight change. Lower emotional eating, increased flexible cognitive restraint, and fewer exercise barriers mediated 12-month weight loss (R(2) = 0.31, P < 0.001; effect ratio: 0.37), but only flexible restraint and exercise self-efficacy mediated 24-month weight loss (R(2) = 0.17, P < 0.001; effect ratio: 0.89). This is the first study to evaluate self-regulation mediators of weight loss and 2-year weight loss maintenance, in a large sample of overweight women. Results show that lowering emotional eating and adopting a flexible dietary restraint pattern are critical for sustained weight loss. For long-term success, interventions must also be effective in promoting exercise intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy.

BACKGROUND: Manual therapy (MT) and exercise have been extensively used to treat people with musculoskeletal conditions such as temporomandibular disorders (TMD). The evidence regarding their effectiveness provided by early systematic reviews is outdated. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to summarize evidence from and evaluate the methodological quality of randomized controlled trials that examined the effectiveness of MT and therapeutic exercise interventions compared with other active interventions or standard care for treatment of TMD. DATA SOURCES: Electronic data searches of 6 databases were performed, in addition to a manual search. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized controlled trials involving adults with TMD that compared any type of MT intervention (eg, mobilization, manipulation) or exercise therapy with a placebo intervention, controlled comparison intervention, or standard care were included. The main outcomes of this systematic review were pain, range of motion, and oral function. Forty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted in duplicate on specific study characteristics. DATA SYNTHESIS: The overall evidence for this systematic review was considered low. The trials included in this review had unclear or high risk of bias. Thus, the evidence was generally downgraded based on assessments of risk of bias. Most of the effect sizes were low to moderate, with no clear indication of superiority of exercises versus other conservative treatments for TMD. However, MT alone or in combination with exercises at the jaw or cervical level showed promising effects. LIMITATIONS: Quality of the evidence and heterogeneity of the studies were limitations of the study. CONCLUSIONS: No high-quality evidence was found, indicating that there is great uncertainty about the effectiveness of exercise and MT for treatment of TMD.

Blockchain has been regarded as a promising technology for IoT, since it provides significant solutions for decentralized networks that can address trust and security concerns, high maintenance cost problems, and so on. The decentralization provided by blockchain can be largely attributed to the use of a consensus mechanism, which enables peer-to-peer trading in a distributed manner without the involvement of any third party. This article starts by introducing the basic concept of blockchain and illustrating why a consensus mechanism plays an indispensable role in a blockchain enabled IoT system. Then we discuss the main ideas of two famous consensus mechanisms, PoW and PoS, and list their limitations in IoT. Next, two mainstream DAG based consensus mechanisms, the Tangle and Hashgraph, are reviewed to show why DAG consensus is more suitable for IoT system than PoW and PoS. Potential issues and challenges of DAG based consensus mechanisms to be addressed in the future are discussed in the last section.

The current work aims to study both the peer group and family influence on adolescent behaviour. In order to achieve the aforementioned objective, an explanatory model based on the Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) was proposed. The sample used was the group of adolescents that participated in the Portuguese survey of the European study Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC). The Portuguese survey included students from grades 6, 8 and 10 within the public education system, with an average age of 14 years old (SD=1.89). The total sample of the HBSC study carried out in 2006 was 4,877; however with the use of the SEM, 1,238 participants were lost out of the total sample. The results show that peers have a direct influence in adolescents' risk behaviours. The relationship with parents did not demonstrate the expected mediation effect, with the exception of the following elements: relation between type of friends and risk behaviour; and communication with parent and lesser involvement in violence behaviours and increased well-being. The negative influence of the peer group is more connected to the involvement in risk behaviours, whilst the positive influence is more connected with protective behaviours.

Remotely sensed hyperspectral imaging allows for the detailed analysis of the surface of the Earth using advanced imaging instruments which can produce high-dimensional images with hundreds of spectral bands. Supervised hyperspectral image classification is a difficult task due to the unbalance between the high dimensionality of the data and the limited availability of labeled training samples in real analysis scenarios. While the collection of labeled samples is generally difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, unlabeled samples can be generated in a much easier way. This observation has fostered the idea of adopting semisupervised learning techniques in hyperspectral image classification. The main assumption of such techniques is that the new (unlabeled) training samples can be obtained from a (limited) set of available labeled samples without significant effort/cost. In this paper, we develop a new approach for semisupervised learning which adapts available active learning methods (in which a trained expert actively selects unlabeled samples) to a self-learning framework in which the machine learning algorithm itself selects the most useful and informative unlabeled samples for classification purposes. In this way, the labels of the selected pixels are estimated by the classifier itself, with the advantage that no extra cost is required for labeling the selected pixels using this machine–machine framework when compared with traditional machine–human active learning. The proposed approach is illustrated with two different classifiers: multinomial logistic regression and a probabilistic pixelwise support vector machine. Our experimental results with real hyperspectral images collected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Airborne Visible–Infrared Imaging Spectrometer and the Reflective Optics Spectrographic Imaging System indicate that the use of self-learning represents an effective and promising strategy in the context of hyperspectral image classification.

Image deconvolution is formulated in the wavelet domain under the Bayesian framework. The well-known sparsity of the wavelet coefficients of real-world images is modeled by heavy-tailed priors belonging to the Gaussian scale mixture (GSM) class; i.e., priors given by a linear (finite of infinite) combination of Gaussian densities. This class includes, among others, the generalized Gaussian, the Jeffreys, and the Gaussian mixture priors. Necessary and sufficient conditions are stated under which the prior induced by a thresholding/shrinking denoising rule is a GSM. This result is then used to show that the prior induced by the "nonnegative garrote" thresholding/shrinking rule, herein termed the garrote prior, is a GSM. To compute the maximum a posteriori estimate, we propose a new generalized expectation maximization (GEM) algorithm, where the missing variables are the scale factors of the GSM densities. The maximization step of the underlying expectation maximization algorithm is replaced with a linear stationary second-order iterative method. The result is a GEM algorithm of O(N log N) computational complexity. In a series of benchmark tests, the proposed approach outperforms or performs similarly to state-of-the art methods, demanding comparable (in some cases, much less) computational complexity.

BACKGROUND: The use of short implants (7-8.5 mm) has historically been associated with lower survival rates than for longer implants. However, recent clinical studies indicate that short implants may support most prosthetic restorations quite adequately, but still clinical documentation is sparse. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report on the placement of short Brånemark implants, testing the hypothesis that short implants in atrophied jaws might give similar long-term implant survival rates as longer implants used in larger bone volumes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective clinical study included 237 consecutively treated patients with 408 short Brånemark implants supporting 151 fixed prostheses. One hundred thirty-one of the implants were 7-mm long, and 277 were 8.5-mm long. Final abutments were delivered at the time of surgery, and final prostheses were delivered 4 to 6 months later. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty six of the 7-mm implants (96%) have passed the 1-year follow-up; 110 (84%), the 2-year follow-up; and 88 (67%), the 5-year follow-up. Five implants failed in four patients before the 6-month follow-up, giving a cumulative survival rate of 96.2% at 5 years. The average bone resorption was 1 mm (SD=0.6 mm) after the first year and 1.8 mm (SD=0.8 mm) after the fifth year of function. Two hundred sixty nine of the 8.5-mm implants (97%) have passed the 1-year follow-up; 220 (79%), the 2-year follow-up; and 142 (51%), the 5-year follow-up. Eight implants failed in seven patients before the 6-month follow-up, giving a cumulative survival rate of 97.1% at 5 years. The average bone resorption was 1.3 mm (SD=0.8 mm) after the first year and 2.2 mm (SD=0.9 mm) after the fifth year of function. CONCLUSIONS: The cumulative survival rates of 96.2 and 97.1% at 5 years for implants of 7.0- and 8.5-mm length, respectively, indicate that one-stage short Brånemark implants used in both jaws is a viable concept.

BACKGROUND: The current investigation focuses on new implant designs for increased predictability in clinically demanding situations. Microtextured implant surfaces create favorable conditions for enhanced osseointegration of dental implants compared to implants with a smooth surface, and the macroscopic implant design may influence implant stability. PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to retrospectively evaluate the clinical performance of a novel implant design in the rehabilitation of completely edentulous jaws and in combination with an immediate function protocol. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-six consecutive patients received 189 study implants (NobelSpeedy concept implant, Nobel Biocare AB, Göteborg, Sweden) supporting 53 full-arch all-acrylic prostheses (44 maxilla, 9 mandible). The majority (66%) of the reconstructions were supported by four implants, of which the two posterior implants were tilted. All patients were followed for a minimum of 1 year. Radiographic assessment of the marginal bone level was performed. RESULTS: Two implants were lost in two patients, rendering a 1-year cumulative clinical survival rate of 98.9%. The marginal bone level was, on average, situated 1.2 +/- 0.7 mm below the implant-abutment interface after 1 year of loading. Good soft tissue health and overall esthetic outcome was reported. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present pilot study indicate that fully edentulous jaws with various types of bone can be treated with high success and good esthetics using immediately loaded implants with the presented design, and that favorable marginal bone levels can be maintained.

BACKGROUND: Immediate/early implant function means great benefits for patients and therapists because treatment time and cost can be substantially reduced. This concept has become an accepted alternative for complete arch fixed restorations in the mandible, and clinical documentation is emerging for other indications. PURPOSE: The purpose of this prospective clinical multicenter study was to evaluate the outcome of implants placed in incisor, canine, and premolar regions in maxillas or mandibles. Implants were loaded with provisional crowns and bridges on the same day or within a few days and were followed up for 1 year during function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four centers treated 76 patients each in need of an implant-retained prosthesis in the anterior and premolar regions in the maxilla or mandible. A total of 116 titanium implants with machined surfaces (Brånemark System , Nobel Biocare AB, Gothenburg, Sweden) were placed: 74 in maxillas and 42 in mandibles. Eighty-seven prostheses were made, of which 63 were single crowns and 24 were bridges (supported by 53 splinted implants). Twenty-two implants in 14 patients were placed in fresh extraction sites. The goal with the preparation and insertion technique was to achieve good primary implant stability and a minimum implant insertion torque of 30 Ncm before the implant was completely seated. The occlusion was adjusted to eliminate direct contact with the provisional prostheses. After 6 months, the patients received their permanent prostheses. Sixty-seven patients were followed for 1 year. RESULTS: Five implants were lost in five patients, three in the maxilla and two in the mandible. Four of the lost implants were single-tooth replacements and one was splinted. The cumulative survival rate (CSR) was 95.7% for all implants after 1 year and 93.7% and 98.1% for single-tooth and splinted implants, respectively. There were no implant losses in the extraction sites. CONCLUSIONS: The CSR of 96% at 1 year indicates that immediate function of Brånemark System implants placed in incisor to premolar regions in both jaws is a viable concept. More failures occurred with single-tooth replacements (6.3%) than with splinted implants (1.9%).

Remotely sensed hyperspectral image classification is a very challenging task. This is due to many different aspects, such as the presence of mixed pixels in the data or the limited information available a priori. This has fostered the need to develop techniques able to exploit the rich spatial and spectral information present in the scenes while, at the same time, dealing with mixed pixels and limited training samples. In this paper, we present a new spectral–spatial classifier for hyperspectral data that specifically addresses the issue of mixed pixel characterization. In our presented approach, the spectral information is characterized both locally and globally, which represents an innovation with regard to previous approaches for probabilistic classification of hyperspectral data. Specifically, we use a subspace-based multinomial logistic regression method for learning the posterior probabilities and a pixel-based probabilistic support vector machine classifier as an indicator to locally determine the number of mixed components that participate in each pixel. The information provided by local and global probabilities is then fused and interpreted in order to characterize mixed pixels. Finally, spatial information is characterized by including a Markov random field (MRF) regularizer. Our experimental results, conducted using both synthetic and real hyperspectral images, indicate that the proposed classifier leads to state-of-the-art performance when compared with other approaches, particularly in scenarios in which very limited training samples are available.

Network Virtualization is claimed to be a key component of the Future Internet, providing the dynamic support of different networks with different paradigms and mechanisms in the same physical infrastructure. A major challenge in the dynamic provision of virtual networks is the efficient embedding of virtual resources into physical ones. Since this problem is known to be NP-hard, previous research focused on designing heuristic-based algorithms; most of them either do not consider a simultaneous embedding of virtual nodes and virtual links, or apply link-path formulation, leading to non-optimal solutions. This paper proposes an integer linear programming (ILP) formulation to solve the online virtual network embedding problem as a result of an objective function striving for the minimization of resource consumption and load balancing. To this end 3 different objective functions are proposed and evaluated. This approach applies multi-commodity flow constraint to accomplish a node-link formulation that optimizes the allocation of physical network resources. This proposal is evaluated against state of the art heuristics. The performance of the heuristics related to Virtual Network (VN) request acceptance ratio is, at least, 30% below the one of the Virtual Network Embedding Node-Link Formulation (VNE-NLF) method. From the three cost functions evaluated, the Weighted Shortest Distance Path (WSDP) is the one which embeds more VNs and also requires, on average, less physical resources per embedding.

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is among the most disabling of mental illnesses and frequently causes impaired functioning. We explore issues of definition and terminology, and the relationship between social functioning, cognition, and psychopathology considering relevant research findings. METHODS: The present article describes measures of social functioning and outlines their psychometric properties. It considers their usefulness in research and clinical settings. Treatment aims and objectives are explored in the context of cognitive and social functioning. Finally, we identify areas for developing research and refining the measurement of social functioning. RESULTS: The definition and measurement of social functioning in schizophrenia remains a complex and disputed area. The relationships between symptoms, cognitive functioning and social functioning are complex but we are beginning to understand them better. Scales for measuring functioning in clinical practice must be brief and sensitive to change and the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale may offer several advantages in these regards. Brief cognitive assessments focusing upon the domains most commonly affected in schizophrenia, such as verbal memory and executive functions, should be coadministered with measures of functioning. CONCLUSIONS: The use of validated scales for schizophrenia that are sensitive to change over the course of the illness and its treatment, should allow for a better understanding of patients' functional disabilities, enabling better and more comprehensive monitoring and evaluation of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment strategies.

On the occasion of the 9 Annual Meeting of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) in Lisbon (2009), a satellite meeting was organized in Sintra entitled Self-Determination Theory and Motivational Interviewing in Behavioral Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Health. The organizers of this small meeting (about 100 people attended) were interested in stimulating a focused discussion around the similarities, differences, and complementary of selfdetermination theory (SDT; [1]) and Motivational Interviewing (MI; [2]). This gathering was spurred by both a recent growth in applied health behavior research based in SDT [3], and by a continuing interest in exploring the mechanisms by which MI produces results in practice [4]. The links between SDT, a well-established theory of human motivation and behavior, and MI, a popular clinical method for evoking behavior change are multiple and have been explored before [5,6], leading many to think that a formal “marriage” i.e., accepting SDT as “the theory of MI” and MI as the “intervention method of SDT” would be just a matter of time. Both models are explicitly person-centered and process-oriented, both emphasize that optimal behavior change must involve deep personal commitment and engagement, and both stress that a positive emotional “climate”, defined by genuine empathy and unconditional regard towards patients or clients is a necessary condition for the success of behavior change interventions, especially their long-term effects. Moreover, both SDT and MI appear to have at its center the concept of motivation, endorsing the development of “internal” motives and the need for patients to take responsibility for change, to the detriment of externally imposed goals, pressures, or a preponderance of reasons for change which are nor personally meaningful [7,8]. The interest in both MI and SDT has grown steadily over the past decades, with scholars and practitioners working in fields such as eating behavior (e.g., [9]), physical activity (e.g., [10]), and diabetes (e.g. [11]), becoming increasingly interested in exploring motivational dynamics. It is recognized that the motivation underlying patients’ behavior change attempts provides them the necessary energy to actually undertake change and plays a key role in successful long-term outcomes. In fact, the issue of behavioral persistence is a critical one in the era of behavioral, preventive, and “lifestyle” medicine, with individuals increasingly called upon to manage or “self-regulate” their own health [12]. Short-lived change, such as what results from so many weight loss programs, is not what health practitioners and their patients are usually looking for. According to SDT, although patients and clients might put some initial effort in change, lasting results are more likely to fail if it is not undergirded by the ‘right’ motives [13]. This implies that it is critical to move beyond merely considering a patient’s level or intensity of motivation but also consider the quality of their motivation. In fact, motivation is conceived by SDT as a differentiated concept and a distinction is made between different types of motivation (autonomous relative to controlled), with some motivational subtypes being more desirable because they yield more positive outcomes than other types. Specifically, SDT researchers maintain that patients can best self-endorse change such that they willingly or volitionally pursue it rather than feeling seduced or pressured to make those changes. Nevertheless, and despite recent progress (e.g., [14]), * Correspondence: pteixeira@fmh.utl.pt Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Human Performance, Faculty of Human Kinetics, Technical University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal Full list of author information is available at the end of the article Teixeira et al. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2012, 9:17 http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/9/1/17

Emerging intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are based on several technologies. A new concept of integrating visible light communications (VLC) in ITS is introduced in this paper. VLC in ITS is a cost effective method of implementation. This paper presents a VLC broadcast system considering LED-based traffic lights. It discusses the integration of traffic light road side unit (RSUs) within the existing ITS architecture. A prototype demonstrator of the designed VLC systems is also presented. A robust modulation technique based on direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) sequence inverse keying (SIK) has been implemented to minimize the effect of noise sources. Experimental results show data communication range of over 40m with 200mm custom designed traffic light, even during bright sun light.

This study determined the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity in the Portuguese adults and examined the relationship between above mentioned prevalences and educational level. Body mass, stature, and waist circumference were measured in a representative sample of the Portuguese population aged 18-103 years (n = 9,447; 18-64 years: n = 6,908; ≥ 65 years: n = 2,539). Overweight and obesity corresponded to a body mass index ranging between 25-29.9 kg/m(2) and ≥ 30 kg/m(2), respectively. Abdominal obesity was assessed as >102 cm for males and >88 cm for females. After adjusting for educational level, the combined prevalences of overweight and obesity were 66.6% in males and 57.9% in females (18-64 years). Respective values in older adults (≥ 65 years) were 70.4% for males and 74.7% for females. About 19.3% of adult males and 37.9% of adult females presented abdominal obesity. Correspondent values in older adults were 32.1%, for males, and 69.7%, for females. In adults, low educational level was related to an increased risk for overweight (OR = 2.54; 95% CI: 2.08-3.09), obesity (OR = 2.76; 95% CI: 2.20-3.45), and abdominal obesity (OR = 5.48; 95% CI: 4.60-6.52). This reinforces the importance of adjusting public health strategies for educational level.

BACKGROUND: The T antigen is a tumor-associated structure whose sialylated form (the sialyl-T antigen) involves the altered expression of sialyltransferases and has been related with worse prognosis. Since little or no information is available on this subject, we investigated the regulation of the sialyltransferases, able to sialylate the T antigen, in bladder cancer progression. METHODS: Matched samples of urothelium and tumor tissue, and four bladder cancer cell lines were screened for: ST3Gal.I, ST3Gal.II and ST3Gal.IV mRNA level by real-time PCR. Sialyl-T antigen was detected by dot blot and flow cytometry using peanut lectin. Sialyltransferase activity was measured against the T antigen in the cell lines. RESULTS: In nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancers, ST3Gal.I mRNA levels were significantly higher than corresponding urothelium (p < 0.001) and this increase was twice more pronounced in cancers with tendency for recurrence. In muscle-invasive cancers and matching urothelium, ST3Gal.I mRNA levels were as elevated as nonmuscle-invasive cancers. Both non-malignant bladder tumors and corresponding urothelium showed ST3Gal.I mRNA levels lower than all the other specimen groups. A good correlation was observed in bladder cancer cell lines between the ST3Gal.I mRNA level, the ST activity (r = 0.99; p = 0.001) and sialyl-T antigen expression, demonstrating that sialylation of T antigen is attributable to ST3Gal.I. The expression of sialyl-T antigens was found in patients' bladder tumors and urothelium, although without a marked relationship with mRNA level. The two ST3Gal.I transcript variants were also equally expressed, independently of cell phenotype or malignancy. CONCLUSION: ST3Gal.I plays the major role in the sialylation of the T antigen in bladder cancer. The overexpression of ST3Gal.I seems to be part of the initial oncogenic transformation of bladder and can be considered when predicting cancer progression and recurrence.

This article describes a global QoS architecture for multimedia traffic in mobile heterogeneous environments. This architecture supports both multiple access networks and multiple service provider scenarios. The architecture is able to provide QoS per user and per service, implementing the notion of a user profile associated network management in the case of heterogeneous and mobile network access is presented based on cooperative association between QoS brokers and authentication, authorization, accounting, and charging systems. The overall exchange of messages is exemplified for the case of a field test with specific optimizations for voice traffic.