Estructura de stock de sable negro (Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839) en el sur del Atlántico nordeste

Black scabbardfish stock structure is still unknown in European waters where, due to the scarcity of biological information, the ICES considers that there is a single stock unit. This study is the final outcome of a scientific project that applies a holistic approach to research on the population structure of the black scabbardfish and aims to define the most appropriate strategy for the conservation of this resource in southern NE Atlantic waters. The factors studied include life history parameters, otolith shape analysis, parasites, landings-and-effort data and contaminants. Sampling was conducted between 2005 and 2007 in three areas of the southern NE Atlantic: mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores. The mainland and the Azores have an established commercial fishery, whereas the Azores has only an exploratory fishery. The majority of results indicated the existence of different stocks of black scabbardfish in the study area. Of the 8 parameters, 6 were in agreement with separate stocks between the mainland and Madeira, 5 were in agreement with separate stocks between the mainland and the Azores, and 4 were in agreement with separate stocks between Madeira and the Azores.La estructura de la población de sable negro en las aguas europeas es todavía desconocida y, debido a la escasez de la información biológica disponible, ICES ha considerado una sola unidad de stock en la totalidad de dichas aguas. El proyecto que originó este estudio es un trabajo integrado para investigar la estructura poblacional de sable negro y pretende definir la estrategia más apropiada para la conservación de este recurso en aguas del sur del Atlántico nordeste. Para cumplir con el objetivo del proyecto se llevaron a cabo varios estudios: determinación de parámetros que definen el ciclo vital, análisis de forma del otolito, parásitos, datos de desembarques y esfuerzo pesquero, y contaminantes. El muestreo fue realizado entre 2005 y 2007 en tres áreas del sur del Atlántico nordeste: Portugal continental, aguas de Madeira y Azores. Las dos primeras áreas tienen una pesquería comercial establecida, mientras que en Azores existe una pesquería exploratoria. La mayoría de los resultados concluyeron la existencia de diferentes unidades poblacionales del sable negro en el área sur del Atlántico nordeste. Seis de los ocho parámetros confirman la separación entre los individuos del continente y Madeira, mientras que 5 parámetros corroboran la separación entre el continente y Azores. Solamente 4 técnicas corroboran la separación entre Madeira y Azores

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among health care workers in a reference hospital in Brazil

Health care workers (HCW) are the frontline workforce for COVID-19 patient care and, consequently, are exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection due to close contact to infected patients. Here, we evaluate the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among HCW from an infectious disease hospital, reference center for COVID-19 care in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo city, Brazil. Among 2,204 HCW, 1,417 (64.29%) were subjected to detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies by chemiluminescent immunoassay. Out of the total, 271 (19.12%) presented anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Prevalence varied according to HCW categories. The highest prevalence was observed in workers from outsourced companies, cooks and kitchen assistants, hospital cleaning workers, and maintenance workers. On the other hand, resident physicians and HCW from the institution itself presented lower prevalence (nurses, nursing assistants, physicians, laboratory technicians). Social and environmental factors are important determinants, associated with exposure in the hospital environment, which can determine the greater or lesser risk of infection by pathogens that spread rapidly by air

Protocolos hormonais para produção in vitro de embriões de zebuínos e taurinos

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of hormonal synchronization protocols, associated or not with follicular development stimulation, on the recovery of oocytes and on in vitro production of Bos indicus and B. taurus embryos, in different seasons. Ultrasound‑guided follicular aspirations (n=237) were performed without pre‑treatment (G1, control group) and after follicular wave synchronization (G2), or after follicular wave synchronization and follicle growth induction (G3). Bos indicus produced more oocytes and embryos than B. taurus (18.7±0.9 vs. 11.9±0.6 oocytes and 4.8±0.3 vs. 2.1±0.2 embryos). On average, oocyte and embryo yields were higher in G3 than in G2, and both were greater than in G1, which lead to a higher conversion of oocytes to embryos in these treatments. The hot or the cold season did not affect the B. indicus outcomes, whereas, in B. taurus, both oocyte recovery and embryo production were higher in the cold season. Follicular wave synchronization improves ovum pick‑up and in vitro production of embryos in both cattle subspecies evaluated.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos de protocolos hormonais de sincronização, associados ou não com o estímulo ao desenvolvimento folicular, na recuperação de oócitos e na produção in vitro de embriões de Bos indicus e B. taurus, em diferentes estações. As aspirações foliculares guiadas por ultrassom (n=237) foram realizadas sem pré‑tratamento (G1, grupo controle) e após sincronização da onda folicular (G2), ou após sincronização da onda folicular e estímulo do desenvolvimento folicular (G3). Bos indicus produziu mais oócitos e embriões que B. taurus (18,7±0,9 vs. 11,9±0,6 oócitos e 4,8±0,3 vs. 2,1±0,2 embriões). Em média, as produções de oócitos e embriões foram maiores em G3 do que em G2, e ambas foram maiores que em G1, o que levou a uma maior conversão de oócitos em embriões nesses tratamentos. A estação quente ou fria não afetou os resultados de B. indicus, enquanto, em B. taurus, tanto a recuperação de oócitos quanto a produção de embriões foram maiores na estação fria. A sincronização da onda folicular melhora a aspiração folicular e a produção in vitro de embriões, em ambas as subespécies de bovinos avaliadas

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Professional Nursing Practice in the Context of Hospitals

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed challenges to health systems and institutions, which had to quickly create conditions to meet the growing health needs of the population. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on professional nursing practice environments and to identify the variables that affected their quality. Quantitative, observational study, conducted in 16 Portuguese hospitals, with 1575 nurses. Data were collected using a questionnaire and participants responded to two different moments in time: the pre-pandemic period and after the fourth critical period of COVID-19. The pandemic had a positive impact on the Structure and Outcome components, and a negative trend in the Process component. The variables associated with the qualification of the components and their dimensions were predominantly: work context, the exercise of functions in areas of assistance to COVID-19 patients, length of professional experience and length of experience in the service. The investment in professional practice environments impacted the improvement of organizational factors, supporting the development of nurses’ work towards the quality of care. However, it is necessary to invest in nurses’ participation, involvement and professional qualifications, which are aspects strongly dependent on the institutions’ management strategiesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Colistin-resistant Escherichia coli belonging to different sequence types: genetic characterization of isolates responsible for colonization, community- and healthcareacquired infections

The plasmid-mediated colistin-resistance gene named mcr-1 has been recently described in different countries and it became a public health challenge. Of note, few studies have addressed the spread of Escherichia coli harboring the mcr-1 gene in both, community and hospital settings. A total of seven colistin-resistant E. coli carrying mcr-1, collected from 2016 to 2018, from community (n=4), healthcare-acquired infections (n=2) and colonization (n=1) were identified in three high complexity hospitals in Sao Paulo, Brazil. These colistin-resistant isolates were screened for mcr genes by PCR and all strains were submitted to Whole Genome Sequencing and the conjugation experiment. The seven strains belonged to seven distinct sequence types (ST744, ST131, ST69, ST48, ST354, ST57, ST10), and they differ regarding the resistance profiles. Transference of mcr-1 by conjugation to E. coli strain C600 was possible in five of the seven isolates. The mcr-1 gene was found in plasmid types IncX4 or IncI2. Three of the isolates have ESBL-encoding genes (blaCTX-M-2, n=2; blaCTX-M-8, n=1). We hereby report genetically distinct E. coli isolates, belonging to seven STs, harboring the mcr-1 gene, associated to community and healthcare-acquired infections, and colonization in patients from three hospitals in Sao Paulo. These findings point out for the potential spread of plasmid-mediated colistin-resistance mechanism in E. coli strains in Brazil

Descoloração de efluente de uma lavanderia de beneficiamento têxtil localizada em Toritama/PE por fungo filamentoso/ Effluent decoloration of a textile benefiting laundry located in Toritama / PE by filament fungus

Durante a atividade do setor industrial têxtil grandes quantidades de efluentes são gerados, configurados por sua forte coloração, condição que tem levantado preocupações devido os impactos causados por esses efluentes como, processo de eutrofização e redução da taxa fotossintética nos corpos hídricos, além de apresentarem potencial tóxicos bioacumulativo. Dessa maneira, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo analisar a potencialidade do fungo Aspergillus sp. URM 5741 no biotratamento de efluente têxtil, especialmente na descoloração do efluente de acordo com a variação da massa do adsorvente. Foram utilizadas 1g e 4g da biomassa do fungo no processo de tratamento do efluente têxtil real sob condições de agitação (120 RPM) durante 48 horas de ensaio, analisados em cinética de 120 min a cada 15 min, e posteriormente a cada 24 horas. Verificou-se que a biomassa foi capaz de descolorir 81% e 92% com 1g e 4g, respectivamente, durante 24 horas de experimento. Após 48 horas houve um aumento na absorbância observada para o tratamento com 4g, indicando que além de descolorir, outros compostos do efluente estão sendo particulados. Em síntese, o Aspergillus utilizado se mostrou como microrganismo com potencial capacidade de aplicação para o tratamento biológico de ambientes contaminados com efluentes do setor têxtil

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio