Genetic variation at the IFITM3 and Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 infection severity in the Portuguese population

Interferon-inducible transmembrane protein (IFITM3) inhibits the entry of viruses to the host cell, mediating resistance to influenza infection. It has been demonstrated that a genetic variation in the IFITM3 gene (rs12252) alters a splice-site, originating a protein with reduced activity. In this context, our aim was to determine if the C allele of the IFITM3 rs12252 polymorphism is associated with influenza infection or hospitalizations related to Influenza A(H1)pdm09 in the Portuguese population. To achieve our goal, a case-control study design was developed using the nasal swabs collected during the 2009 pandemic, on the context of the National Influenza Surveillance Program. Non-hospitalized influenza cases were defined as patients with influenza like illness (ILI) who tested positive for influenza A(H1)pdm09 and did not require hospitalization. Hospitalized-influenza cases were defined as ILI patients who tested positive for A(H1)pdm09 infection and who were hospitalized. For these cases groups two types of controls were selected: non-hospitalized ILI cases negative for A(H1)pdm09 and hospitalized ILI patients negative for A(H1)pdm09 infection. We have therefore selected 212 non-hospitalized influenza cases, 96 hospitalized influenza cases, 403 non-hospitalized negative controls and 198 hospitalized negative controls. We found that hospitalized negative controls had the highest frequency of allele C carriers (22.5%) and the lowest frequency was found among the non-hospitalized negative controls (11.11%). No association was found between testing positive for A(H1)pdm09 infection (susceptibility to infection) and the C allele of rs12252. We have also found that the risk of being hospitalized (independently of infection status) for the allele C carriers is the highest, after adjustment for age and gender, (OR: 1.59 (95% CI: 1.05-2.43). Our results suggest that the allele C of the IFITM3 rs122252 polymorphism was associated with respiratory disease hospitalizations but not specifically associated with the infection by Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09

The effects of retinol oral supplementation in 6-hydroxydopamine dopaminergic denervation model in Wistar rats

Vitamin A (retinol) is involved in signaling pathways regulating gene expression and was postulated to be a major antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound of the diet. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons, involving oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory activation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of retinol oral supplementation against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 12 μg per rat) nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation in Wistar rats. Animals supplemented with retinol (retinyl palmitate, 3000 IU/kg/day) during 28 days exhibited increased retinol content in liver, although circulating retinol levels (serum) were unaltered. Retinol supplementation did not protect against the loss of dopaminergic neurons (assessed through tyrosine hydroxylase immunofluorescence and Western blot). Retinol supplementation prevented the effect of 6-OHDA on Iba-1 levels but had no effect on 6-OHDA-induced GFAP increase. Moreover, GFAP levels were increased by retinol supplementation alone. Rats pre-treated with retinol did not present oxidative damage or thiol redox modifications in liver, and the circulating levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 were unaltered by retinol supplementation, demonstrating that the protocol used here did not cause systemic toxicity to animals. Our results indicate that oral retinol supplementation is not able to protect against 6-OHDA-induced dopaminergic denervation, and it may actually stimulate astrocyte reactivity without altering parameters of systemic toxicity

Effects Of Methylmercury And Retinol Palmitate Co-Administration In Rats During Pregnancy And Breastfeeding: Metabolic And Redox Parameters In Dams And Their Offspring

Ubiquitous low-dose methylmercury (MeHg) exposure through an increased fish consumption represents a global public health problem, especially among pregnant women. A plethora of micronutrients presented in fish affects MeHg uptake/distribution, but limited data is available. Vitamin A (VitA), another fish micronutrient is used in nutritional supplementation, especially during pregnancy. However, there is no information about the health effects arising from their combined exposure. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the effects of both MeHg and retinyl palmitate administered on pregnant and lactating rats in metabolic and redox parameters from dams and their offspring. Thirty Wistar female rats were orally supplemented with MeHg (0,5 mg/kg/day) and retinyl palmitate (7500 µg RAE/kg/day) via gavage, either individually or in combination from the gestational day 0 to weaning. For dams (150 days old) and their offspring (31 days old), glycogen accumulation (hepatic and cardiac) and retinoid contents (plasma and liver) were analyzed. Hg deposition in liver tissue was quantified. Redox parameters (liver, kidney, and heart) were evaluated for both animals. Cytogenetic damage was analyzed with micronucleus test. Our results showed no general toxic or metabolic alterations in dams and their offspring by MeHg-VitA co-administration during pregnancy and lactation. However, increased lipoperoxidation in maternal liver and a disrupted pro-oxidant response in the heart of male pups was encountered, with apparently no particular effects in the antioxidant response in female offspring. GST activity in dam kidney was altered leading to possible redox disruption of this tissue with no alterations in offspring. Finally, the genomic damage was exacerbated in both male and female pups. In conclusion, low-dose MeHg exposure and retinyl palmitate supplementation during gestation and lactation produced a potentiated pro-oxidant effect, which was tissue-specific. Although this is a pre-clinical approach, we recommend precaution for pregnant women regarding food consumption, and we encourage more epidemiological studies to assess possible modulations effects of MeHg-VitA co-administration at safe or inadvertently used doses in humans, which may be related to specific pathologies in mothers and their children

Vinte anos dos Estudos Eleitorais Portugueses, 2002-2022: A Base de Dados integrada

Para uma descrição completa do estudo, http://www.apis.ics.ulisboa.pt/catalogo/APIS0097.“Vinte anos dos Estudos Eleitorais Portugueses, 2002-2022” é uma base de dados integrada que junta os inquéritos pós-eleitorais conduzidos nos anos 2002, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2019 e 2022. Estes inquéritos junto da população adulta portuguesa têm o objetivo de medir o comportamento eleitoral (participação e opção de voto) em eleições legislativas, assim como uma série de potenciais correlatos, incluindo exposição aos media, discussão política e uma série de atitudes e valores políticos.info:eu-repo/semantics/updatedVersio

[Covid-19 in the Northeast of Brazil: from lockdown to the relaxation of social distancing measures].

Even in the period when the Covid-19 pandemic was on the rise in the Northeast of Brazil, the relaxation of social distancing measures was introduced. The scope of the study is to assess, in the light of the epidemiological-sanitary situation in the region, the suitability of relaxation of social distancing measures. Based on the WHO guidelines for relaxation of social distancing, operational indicators were created and analyzed for each guideline in the context of the Northeast. To analyze the behavior of the epidemic, according to selected indicators, Joinpoint trend analysis techniques, heat maps, rate ratios and time trends between capitals and the state interior were compared. The weekly growth peak of the epidemic occurred in May-July 2020 (epidemiological weeks 19 to 31). In most capitals, there was no simultaneous downward trend in the number of cases and deaths in the 14 days prior to flexibilization. In all states the number of tests performed was insufficient. In epidemiological week 24, the state percentages of ICU/Covid-19 bed occupancy were close to or above 70%. The epidemiological situation of the nine Northeastern state capitals analyzed here did not meet criteria and parameters recommended by the World Health Organization for the relaxation of social distancing measures

Whole-genome sequencing of 1,171 elderly admixed individuals from Brazil

As whole-genome sequencing (WGS) becomes the gold standard tool for studying population genomics and medical applications, data on diverse non-European and admixed individuals are still scarce. Here, we present a high-coverage WGS dataset of 1,171 highly admixed elderly Brazilians from a census-based cohort, providing over 76 million variants, of which ~2 million are absent from large public databases. WGS enables identification of ~2,000 previously undescribed mobile element insertions without previous description, nearly 5 Mb of genomic segments absent from the human genome reference, and over 140 alleles from HLA genes absent from public resources. We reclassify and curate pathogenicity assertions for nearly four hundred variants in genes associated with dominantly-inherited Mendelian disorders and calculate the incidence for selected recessive disorders, demonstrating the clinical usefulness of the present study. Finally, we observe that whole-genome and HLA imputation could be significantly improved compared to available datasets since rare variation represents the largest proportion of input from WGS. These results demonstrate that even smaller sample sizes of underrepresented populations bring relevant data for genomic studies, especially when exploring analyses allowed only by WGS

Anais do II Encontro de Escritores de Língua Portuguesa

Literatura e Lusofonia, colectânea dos textos apresentados ao II Encontro de Escritores de Língua Portuguesa, realizado na cidade de Natal, de 23 a 25 de novembro de 2011, é finalmente publicado, em 2013, ultrapassados que foram obstáculos de vária ordem que surgiram ao longo da sua preparação. Registamos com satisfação que a atual Prefeitura de Natal decidiu dar continuidade aos Encontros de Escritores de Língua Portuguesa, com a sua IV edição a decorrer em novembro de 2013, no âmbito do Festival Literário de Natal. As instituições promotoras deste livro gostariam de ressalvar que o conteúdo dos textos incluídos em Literatura e Lusofonia é da responsabilidade exclusiva dos seus autores. A presente edição segue a grafia do Acordo Ortográfico.Câmara Municipal de Natal e Câmara Municipal de Lisboainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio