Environmental risk assessment in a contaminated estuary: an integrated weight of evidence approach as a decision support tool

Environmental risk assessment of complex ecosystems such as estuaries is a challenge, where innovative and integrated approaches are needed. The present work aimed at developing an innovative integrative methodology to evaluate in an impacted estuary (the Sado, in Portugal, was taken as case study), the adverse effects onto both ecosystem and human health. For the purpose, new standardized lines of evidence based on multiple quantitative data were integrated into a weight of evidence according to a best expert judgment approach. The best professional judgment for a weight of evidence approach in the present study was based on the following lines of evidence: i) human contamination pathways; ii) human health effects: chronic disease; iii) human health effects: reproductive health; iv) human health effects: health care; v) human exposure through consumption of local agriculture produce; vi) exposure to contaminated of water wells and agriculture soils; vii) contamination of the estuarine sedimentary environment (metal and organic contaminants); viii) effects on benthic organisms with commercial value; and ix) genotoxic potential of sediments. Each line of evidence was then ordinally ranked by levels of ecological or human health risk, according to a tabular decision matrix and expert judgment. Fifteen experts scored two fishing areas of the Sado estuary and a control estuarine area, in a scale of increasing environmental risk and management actions to be taken. The integrated assessment allowed concluding that the estuary should not be regarded as impacted by a specific toxicant, such as metals and organic compounds hitherto measured, but by the cumulative risk of a complex mixture of contaminants. The proven adverse effects on species with commercial value may be used to witness the environmental quality of the estuarine ecosystem. This method argues in favor of expert judgment and qualitative assessment as a decision support tool to the integrative management of estuaries. Namely it allows communicating environmental risk and proposing mitigation measures to local authorities and population under a holistic perspective as an alternative to narrow single line of evidence approaches, which is mandatory to understand cause and effect relationships in complex areas like estuaries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sexual Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace in Portugal. Policy brief

The research project Sexual Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace was conducted by CIEG (Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Studies), in 2015 as part of a partnership project led by CITE (Commission for Equality in Work and Employment), involving a number of different partners, with funding from EEA Grants. The starting point for this research, the findings of which are summarised in this brochure, was a comparison with the data gathered in a pioneering survey conducted in 1989 (Amâncio and Lima, 1994) on sexual harassment of women in Portugal. Considering the huge changes in society over the past 25 years, the scope of the research in 2015 was expanded to include bullying, and to include men as survey subjects, and not only women, as had previously been the case. Although the term sexual harassment is relatively recent, the abuse to which it refers, experienced by women in the workplace, is a much older phenomenon. But it was in the 1970s that the term entered the public consciousness as the feminist movement fought for change, locating sexual harassment in the wider context of inequalities of gender and power. Formerly regarded a moral or private issue, sexual harassment was now viewed as a social problem which needed to be addressed. At a later stage, the great diversity of employment situations and the complexity of gender inequalities prompted researchers to take a deeper, interdisciplinary approach to the subject, looking at both the female and male universes, their interactions, power relations and the organisational context. Introduction Bullying in the workplace is a social phenomenon to which little attention has yet been paid in Portugal, but which takes a serious toll on the physical and mental health of the individuals targeted. Internationally, research started to shed light on this problem in the 1980s, but it was in the 1990s that the debate and research in this area really developed. Both phenomena constitute an affront to human dignity, with consequences for society as a whole. In Europe, these are problems which affect tens of millions of workers of both sexes, although women are the main targets (Eurofound, 2015) Civic movements and international organisations, such as the ILO and the Council of Europe, have worked to gain greater visibility for these problems, voicing their condemnation, pushing them up the legal and political agenda, mobilising States and alerting employers, unions and public institutions to the advantages of preventing and combating these phenomena. In order to obtain a picture of sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace in Portugal, the researchers decided to combine and triangulate extensive and intensive methodologies. A representative sample of the Portuguese working population (mainland Portugal, excluding the primary sector) was surveyed by means of a questionnaire. At the same time, semi-structured interviews were conducted with men and women who had suffered bullying and/or sexual harassment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BioRePortAP, an electronic clinical record coupled with a database : an example of its use in a single

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the treatment of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists in the Rheumatology Department of Hospital de Santa Maria using the BioRePortAP. Methods: The Portuguese Society of Rheumatology (SPR) developed an electronic medical chart coupled with a database for the follow up of PsA patients, the BioRePortAP, which was launched in May 2009. This evaluation was based on all the PsA patients that were on active treatment with TNF antagonists in September 2009 and were registered in the BioRePortAP. All the previous data on these patients were introduced in BioRePortAP using the prospective paper based follow up protocol that this Department was using since 1999. Only patients with more than 9 months of treatment were analyzed. Results: Forty-two patients with PsA, actively treated with anti-TNF agents in September 2009, for at least 9 months, were analyzed in BioRePortAP. Twenty-three patients were male (55%) and nineteen were female (45%). The average age of these patients was 49.8±10.9 years old, the average disease duration was of 10.7±5.6 years and the mean duration of biological therapy was of 37.8±27.8 months. For the 81% of patients with peripheral joint disease there was a mean reduction of more than 80% in the swollen and tender joint counts, and almost 50% in the health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) value. In the 19% of the patients with axial involvement the reduction of BASDAI and BASFI was not statistically significative. On top of that, PASI score suffered a reduction of 64%. Fourteen patients (33.3%) had to switch their TNF antagonist treatment. 58.8% of the switches were due to adverse effects and 41.2% due to therapy failure. Regarding the 56 adverse reactions registered, only one was a severe reaction. The remaining adverse reactions were not severe and 67% of them were due to infections. Discussion: The results of this first report of the use of the BioRePortAP in clinical practice confirm the efficacy and safety of TNF antagonist treatment in PsA. The results shown here elucidate the potential applications of BioRePortAP as a tool for efficacy and safety assessment of PsA patients treated with biotechnological drugs

Canine and feline oral pathology

The aim of this work was to present a brief review of the main conditions affecting the oral cavity of dogs and cats. In recent years there has been increased attention with regard to veterinary dentistry, being several and frequent the pathologies located in the oral cavity of our pets. These diseases mainly affect the teeth and the mucous membranes of the oral cavity, and may, in chronic cases, also affect vital organs. This condition could have different causes, including hereditary, congenital, infectious, tumoural and even traumatic, requiring specific therapeutic approaches (Bellows, 2010; Holmstrom et al., 2007).FCT&DETS (PEest-OE/CED/UI4016/2011

Feline oral pathology

The main pathologies of the oral cavity are of utmost importance, not only by the number of exposed individuals, but also by the consequences which stems. With the development of this work, we intend to conduct a brief approach to the same, since, specifically affecting domestic felines. Feline Lymphoplasmatic Gingivostomatitis (GELF), the Feline Odontoclastic Reabsorption Lesions (LROF) Complex and gingivitis-stomatitis-pharyngitis, have been studied, some of which are considered an enigma in veterinary dentistry, this is because there are still many uncertainties about the true causes, which sometimes cause irreversible damage.FCT&DETS (PEest-OE/CED/UI4016/2011

Recent developments in microfluidic technologies for central nervous system targeted studies

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) bear a lot of weight in public health. By studying the properties of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and its fundamental interactions with the central nervous system (CNS), it is possible to improve the understanding of the pathological mechanisms behind these disorders and create new and better strategies to improve bioavailability and therapeutic efficiency, such as nanocarriers. Microfluidics is an intersectional field with many applications. Microfluidic systems can be an invaluable tool to accurately simulate the BBB microenvironment, as well as develop, in a reproducible manner, drug delivery systems with well-defined physicochemical characteristics. This review provides an overview of the most recent advances on microfluidic devices for CNS-targeted studies. Firstly, the importance of the BBB will be addressed, and different experimental BBB models will be briefly discussed. Subsequently, microfluidic-integrated BBB models (BBB/brain-on-a-chip) are introduced and the state of the art reviewed, with special emphasis on their use to study NDs. Additionally, the microfluidic preparation of nanocarriers and other compounds for CNS delivery has been covered. The last section focuses on current challenges and future perspectives of microfluidic experimentation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estuarine ecological risk based on hepatic histopathological indices from laboratory and in situ tested fish

Juvenile Senegalese soles were exposed through 28-day laboratory and field (in situ) bioassays to sediments from three sites of the Sado estuary (W Portugal): a reference and two contaminated by metallic and organic contaminants. Fish were surveyed for ten hepatic histopathological alterations divided by four distinct reaction patterns and integrated through the estimation of individual histopathological condition indices. Fish exposed to contaminated sediments sustained more damage, with especial respect to regressive changes like necrosis. However, differences were observed between laboratory- and fieldexposed animals, with the latest, for instance, exhibiting more pronounced fatty degeneration and hepatocellular eosinophilic alteration. Also, some lesions in fish exposed to the reference sediment indicate that in both assays unaccounted variables produced experimental background noise, such as hyaline degeneration in laboratory-exposed fish. Still, the field assays yielded results that were found to better reflect the overall levels of contaminants and physico-chemical characteristics of the tested sediments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis of in vivo absorption of didanosine tablets in male adult dogs by HPLC

AbstractDidanosine is an effective antiviral drug in untreated and antiretroviral therapy-experienced patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). An automated system using on-line solid extraction and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection was developed and validated for pharmacokinetic analysis of didanosine in dog plasma. Modifications were introduced on a previous methodology for simultaneous analysis of antiretroviral drugs in human plasma. Extraction was carried out on C18 cartridges, with high extraction yield as stationary phase, whereas mobile phase consisted of a mixture of 0.02 M potassium phosphate buffer, acetonitrile (KH2PO4: acetonitrile: 96:4, v/v) and 0.5% (w/v) of heptane sulphonic acid. The pH was adjusted to 6.5 with triethylamine. All samples and standard solutions were chromatographed at 28°C. For an isocratic run, the flux was 1.0mL/min, detection was at 250nm and injected volume was 20μL. The method was selective and linear for concentrations between 50 and 5000ng/mL. Drug stability data ranged from 96% to 98%, and limit of quantification was 25ng/mL. Extraction yield was up to 95%. Drug stability in dog plasma was kept frozen at −20°C for one month after three freeze–thaw cycles, and for 24h after processing in the auto sampler. Assay was successfully applied to measure didanosine concentrations in plasma dogs

Deep and shallow water effects on developing preschoolers’ aquatic skills

The aim of the study was to assess deep and shallow water teaching methods in swimming lessons for preschool children and identify variations in the basic aquatic skills acquired. The study sample included 32 swimming instructors (16 from deep water programs and 16 from shallow water programs) and 98 preschool children (50 from deep water swimming pool and 48 from shallow water swimming pool). The children were also studied regarding their previous experience in swimming (6, 12 and 18 months or practice). Chi-Square test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the teaching methodology. A discriminant analysis was conducted with Λ wilk's method to predict under what conditions students are better or worse (aquatic competence). Results suggest that regardless of the non-significant variations found in teaching methods, the water depth can affect aquatic skill acquisition - shallow water lessons seem to impose greater water competence particularly after 6 months of practice. The discriminant function revealed a significant association between groups and all predictors for 6 months of swimming practice (p <0.001). Body position in gliding and leg displacements were the main predictors. For 12 and 18 months of practice, the discriminant function do not revealed any significant association between groups. As a conclusion, it seems that the teaching methodology of aquatic readiness based on deep and shallow water programs for preschoolers is not significantly different. However, shallow water lessons could be preferable for the development of basic aquatic skills