The first notification of Salmonella Budapest in Portuguese meat products: a case report

Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause an illness in humans called salmonellosis. In the European Union, over 100,000 human cases were reported last year. The EFSA has estimated that the overall economic cost of human salmonellosis could be as high as EUR 3 billion a year

Sustainability and cultural heritage buildings

[Excerpt from Introduction] Conservation of cultural heritage buildings is a demand from society, which recognizes this heritage as a part of their identity, but it is also an economical issue. In Europe, tourism accounts for 10% of the GDP and 12% of the employment, if linked sectors are considered [x.1]. The EU is the world's number one tourist destination, with 40 % of arrivals in the world and with 7 European countries among the top ten [x.2]. According to the WTO estimates, international tourist arrivals in Europe will increase significantly. The built European heritage, namely monuments or historical centres, is a main attractor for tourism, with 45% of the UNESCO World Heritage sites within the EU. Therefore, the need for their conservation is unquestionable. [...

Inhalable antitubercular therapy mediated by locust bean gum microparticles

Tuberculosis remains a major global health problem and alternative therapeutic approaches are needed. Considering the high prevalence of lung tuberculosis (80% of cases), the pulmonary delivery of antitubercular drugs in a carrier system capable of reaching the alveoli, being recognised and phagocytosed by alveolar macrophages (mycobacterium hosts), would be a significant improvement to current oral drug regimens. Locust bean gum (LBG) is a polysaccharide composed of galactose and mannose residues, which may favour specific recognition by macrophages and potentiate phagocytosis. LBG microparticles produced by spray-drying are reported herein for the first time, incorporating either isoniazid or rifabutin, first-line antitubercular drugs (association efficiencies >82%). Microparticles have adequate theoretical properties for deep lung delivery (aerodynamic diameters between 1.15 and 1.67 μm). The cytotoxic evaluation in lung epithelial cells (A549 cells) and macrophages (THP-1 cells) revealed a toxic effect from rifabutin-loaded microparticles at the highest concentrations, but we may consider that these were very high comparing with in vivo conditions. LBG microparticles further evidenced strong ability to be captured by macrophages (percentage of phagocytosis >94%). Overall, the obtained data indicated the potential of the proposed system for tuberculosis therapy

Invasive plants: Turning enemies into value

UID/QUI/50006/2020In this review, a brief description of the invasive phenomena associated with plants and its consequences to the ecosystem is presented. Five worldwide invasive plants that are a threat to Portugal were selected as an example, and a brief description of each is presented. A full description of their secondary metabolites and biological activity is given, and a resume of the biological activity of extracts is also included. The chemical and pharmaceutical potential of invasive species sensu lato is thus acknowledged. With this paper, we hope to demonstrate that invasive species have potential positive attributes even though at the same time they might need to be controlled or eradicated. Positive attributes include chemical and pharmaceutical properties and developing these could help mitigate the costs of management and eradication.publishersversionpublishe

Violência contra idosos: vulnerabilidade(s) e contributos para a prevenção e intervenção

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Psicologia Forense e CriminalO presente estudo teve como objetivos caraterizar os atos de abuso a idosos, analisar se a vulnerabilidade do abuso varia em função do género e da deterioração mental e, com base nos resultados encontrados na amostra utilizada, desenvolver um conjunto de linhas orientadoras que possam constituir os alicerces de um plano de prevenção nesta área. Foram aplicados três instrumentos: Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (versão portuguesa: Rísio, 2012); Questions to Elicit Elder Abuse (versão portuguesa: Ferreira-Alves & Sousa, 2005); e Mini Mental State Examination (versão portuguesa: Guerreiro, Silva, Botelho, Leitão, Caldas e Garcia, 1994). A amostra deste estudo incluiu um total de 144 idosos com idades compreendidas entre os 52 e os 96 anos, provenientes de centros de dia e lares situados na margem sul do Tejo. De uma maneira geral, os resultados mostram que o abuso psicológico é a forma de abuso mais reportada pelos inquiridos (registando-se uma pontuação média mais elevada nas mulheres). A vulnerabilidade ao abuso não varia em função do género em nenhuma das dimensões da VASS e não há diferenças significativas para a associação entre as diferentes dimensões da escala VASS e da MMSE, apesar de os indivíduos com maior vulnerabilidade para o abuso apresentarem menor pontuação nas questões que avaliam a capacidade cognitiva. Através da construção de um modelo teórico que indicasse os preditores do abuso, medido através da escala QEEA, verificou-se que a vulnerabilidade e coerção na escala VASS, o maior défice cognitivo geral, viver sozinho e não fazer/receber visitas são os principais preditores de abuso aos idosos

From cannabinoids and neurosteroids to statins and the ketogenic diet: new therapeutic avenues in Rett syndrome?

Copyright © 2019 Mouro, Miranda-Lourenço, Sebastião and Diógenes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder caused mainly by mutations in the MECP2 gene, being one of the leading causes of mental disability in females. Mutations in the MECP2 gene are responsible for 95% of the diagnosed RTT cases and the mechanisms through which these mutations relate with symptomatology are still elusive. Children with RTT present a period of apparent normal development followed by a rapid regression in speech and behavior and a progressive deterioration of motor abilities. Epilepsy is one of the most common symptoms in RTT, occurring in 60 to 80% of RTT cases, being associated with worsening of other symptoms. At this point, no cure for RTT is available and there is a pressing need for the discovery of new drug candidates to treat its severe symptoms. However, despite being a rare disease, in the last decade research in RTT has grown exponentially. New and exciting evidence has been gathered and the etiopathogenesis of this complex, severe and untreatable disease is slowly being unfolded. Advances in gene editing techniques have prompted cure-oriented research in RTT. Nonetheless, at this point, finding a cure is a distant reality, highlighting the importance of further investigating the basic pathological mechanisms of this disease. In this review, we focus our attention in some of the newest evidence on RTT clinical and preclinical research, evaluating their impact in RTT symptomatology control, and pinpointing possible directions for future research.FM was in receipt of a fellowship (IMM/CT/8-2018). The authors would like to thank the following organizations for their funding: AdoRett – LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-031929; the Association Française du Syndrome de Rett Program “Educação pela Ciência” | Bolsas CHLN/FMUL; GAPIC. Project No. 20190017; Twinning action (SynaNet) from the EU H2020 Programme; and the UID/BIM/50005/2019, project financed by the FCT/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES), through the Fundos do Orçamento de Estado.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Applicability of extracts from Centaurea calcitrapa in ripening of bovine cheese

Aqueous extracts obtained from cell suspension cultures of Centaurea calcitrapa were used as proteolytic additive in the manufacture of a commercial bovine cheese, coagulated with animal rennet and typically ripened for 28 d. The cheese was assessed in comparison to standard cheese for two levels of addition of said extract, viz. 0.61 and 1.22mg of total protein mL~1. The qualitative and quantitative evolutions of the nitrogen fractions were monitored in the experimental cheeses throughout the whole ripening period. In general, the chemical compositions of the cheeses were di!erent depending on the amount of extract used, but no signi"cant di!erences could be detected in the ripening index. With regard to electrophoretic pro"les, the two types of cheese could be distinguished until up to ca. 7 d of ripening, but di!erences did essentially vanish by 28 d

High dietary protein, n − 3/n − 6 ratio and β-carotene enhances Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) larval development

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Grant/Award Number: LA/P/0069/2020, UIDB/04292/2020 and UIDP/04292/2020; Operational Programme MAR2020, Grant/Award Number: 16-02-01-FMP-0004; Scientific Employment Stimulus Programmes, Grant/Award Number: CEECINST/00051/2018; European Regional Development Fund, Grant/Award Number: Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018.The nutritional characteristics of microalgae affect the growth, survival and fatty acid composition of sea urchin larvae. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of nutritive characteristics of single microalgal diets in Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) larval development, growth, and condition. Larvae of P. lividus were fed with three monospecific microalgal diets, Rhodomonas sp. (Rho), Dunaliella tertiolecta (Duna) and the diatom Chaetoceros calcitrans (Chae), and their development and growth were analysed until competence. Additionally, the fatty acid (FA) profile of larvae was analysed at competence and compared with the FA profile of the correspondent diet. The three groups of larvae attained competence simultaneously with differences in growth performance. The larvae fed with Chae attained the largest stomach and the shortest post-oral arm. The larvae were able to accumulate long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), such as docosahexaenoic (DHA, C22:6n − 3), eicosapentaenoic (EPA, C20:5n − 3) and arachidonic (ARA, C20:4n − 6) acids, either by assimilation and retention of dietary FA or by the synthesis from α-linolenic acid (ALA, C18:3n − 3) and linoleic acid (LA, C18:2n − 6). Furthermore, the low DHA/EPA ratio and high EPA/ARA and n − 3/n − 6 ratios of Rho and Chae and the high levels of the β-carotene present in Chae improved larval growth and development. In conclusion, the results indicated that of the three microalgal diets tested, C. calcitrans provided important nutritional characteristics, especially in terms of FA composition and carotenoids, improving P. lividus larval growth and condition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio