O efeito do tipo de banco na postura adotada por médicos dentistas: uma revisão sistemática da literatura

Os Médicos Dentistas (MD) são um grupo com elevado risco de desenvolver lesões musculosqueléticas relacionadas com o trabalho (LMERT), devido à exigência da sua profissão. As tarefas dentárias são minuciosas, requerem uma elevada atenção, precisão e aptidão manual, associadas à combinação de movimentos repetitivos com a execução de força e os movimentos extremos de flexão, extensão ou rotação das articulações dos membros. A evolução da tecnologia e a criação de bancos ergonómicos veio revolucionar a qualidade de trabalho do MD, com o intuito de melhorar a postura adotada. Assim, o principal objetivo deste estudo foi compreender de que forma o tipo de banco utilizado pode influenciar a postura adotada por Médicos Dentistas, através de uma revisão sistemática da literatura. Esta revisão sistemática baseou-se em itens preferenciais das diretrizes do Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) e a pesquisa nas bases de dados, nomeadamente, PubMed, MEDLINE Complete, Web Of Science, Academic Search Complete e CINAHL Complete. Para a avaliação da qualidade dos estudos incluídos foi utilizada a Modified Downs and Black checklist. Foram incluídos na revisão da literatura 25 artigos científicos que utilizaram métodos de avaliação de risco de LMERT, sendo que quatro deles avaliavam o efeito de diferentes tipos de banco (banco convencional versus banco ergonómico) na postura e na atividade elétrica muscular. Os bancos ergonómicos contribuem para uma melhor postura de trabalho do MD, visto que permitem a manutenção da lordose lombar, associada a uma menor pressão dos discos intervertebrais, em comparação com os bancos convencionais. O Xsens MVN poderá ser o método que permite uma medição do movimento humano com maior precisão e orientação em tempo real. Assim, torna-se necessário a realização de estudos futuros que avaliem o efeito entre diferentes tipos de banco e que comparem diferentes métodos de avaliação do risco de LMERT, de modo, a contribuir para a investigação da Ergonomia em Medicina Dentária

A correlação revisitada

Tese de mestrado. Estatística Aplicada e Modelação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto, Instituto Superior de Agronomia. Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. 201

Projeto desenvolvido numa escola de um Território Educativo de Intervenção Prioritária

O presente relatório é o resultado do desenvolvimento de um projeto de Educação e Intervenção Social, com a metodologia de investigação-ação participativa e que teve como objetivo melhorar o relacionamento e as competências sociais dos alunos de uma turma com Percurso Curricular Alternativo. Este projeto em educação e intervenção social foi intitulado DesEtedietos do 9.ºE. Tratando-se de um projeto que tem por base a metodologia de investigação acima referida, o investigador e os participantes criaram uma relação necessária, para que mediante as necessidades encontradas, se tentasse proporcionar aos participantes desta investigação ferramentas que permitissem promover a melhoria dos relacionamentos interpessoais, bem como adquirir formas para ultrapassarem os seus problemas. Após uma cuidada análise do contexto, foram priorizados os problemas e necessidades e desenhadas três ações, duas com os alunos e uma com os pais. Este projeto teve como finalidade Desenvolver competências pessoais e sociais nos alunos da turma com Percurso Curricular Alternativo, com vista a uma integração positiva no seu trajeto académico e na sociedade. O projeto (DesEtedietos do 9.ºE revelou-se como positivo e significativo para os alunos e para os pais que nele participaram, permitindo uma constante reflexão e causando uma mudança nas suas atitudes e comportamentosThis report is the result of the development of a project of Education and Social Intervention with the participatory action research, methodology which aimed to improve relationships and social skills of students in a class with an Alternative Curriculum. This project in education and social intervention was en titled "(Un) understandings of 9.ºE". Since this is a project based on the abovementioned methodology, the researcher and the participants created a relationship in which, considering the needs that were found, tried to give participants tools that allowed to promote the improvement of interpersonal relationships, as well as acquire ways to overcome their problems. After careful analysis of the context, problems and needs were prioritized and were three actions, designed two with students and one with parents. This project aimed to "develop students personal and social skills, in the class with an Alternative Curriculum, to promote a positive integration in their academic path and in the society." The project "(Mis) Understandings of 9.ºE" turned out to be positive and significant for students and parents who participated in it, since it allowed a constant reflection, and a change in their attitudes and behavior

Perceived stress in obsessive-compulsive disorder is related with obsessive but not cmpulsive symptoms

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is achronic psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts and/or repetitive compulsory behaviors. This psychiatric disorder is known to be stress responsive, as symptoms increase during periods of stress but also because stressful events may precede the onset of OCD. However, only a few and inconsistent reports have been published about the stress perception and the stress-response in these patients. Herein, we have characterized the correlations of OCD symptoms with basal serum cortisol levels and scores in a stress perceived questionnaire (PSS-10). The present data reveals that cortisol levels and the stress scores in the PSS-10 were significantly higher in OCD patients that in controls. Moreover, stress levels self-reported by patients using the PSS-10 correlated positively with OCD severity in the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y–BOCS). Interestingly, PSS-10 scores correlated with the obsessive component, but not with the compulsive component, of Y–BOCS. These results confirm that stress is relevant in the context of OCD, particularly for the obsessive symptomatology.Pedro Morgado is supported by a fellowship “SFRH/SINTD/60129/2009” funded by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology. Supported by FEDER funds through Operational program for competitive factors – COMPETE and by national funds through FCT –Foundation for Science and Technology to project “PTDC/SAU-NSC/111814/2009.

Functional characterization of a yarrowia lipolytica gene family coding for carboxylic acids permeases homologues

Carboxylic acids are widely used in pharmaceutical and food industries and new industrial uses are continually emerging. The first step of carboxylic acids metabolism is their entrance to the cell and understanding in detail this process has significant biotechnological relevance. The first carboxylic acids permease found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was a lactate/H+ symporter coded by JEN1 gene. In Kluyveromyces lactis, as well as in Candida albicans, two genes were described that encode two JEN1-like transporters specific for mono-e and dicarboxylate uptake, KlJEN1/KlJEN2, and CaJEN1/CaJEN2 respectively1,2,3. The sequencing of other hemiascomycetes genomes by the Genolevures project has demonstrated the existence of a family of Jen1p homologs in other different yeasts. Some of these yeasts have more than two homologues, but its function is still unclear. This is the case of Yarrowia lipolytica, a yeast species able to use a broad range of substrates and that presents 6 homologues to Jen1p. A mediated transport system for mono-, di- and tricarboxylates was found in this yeast, suggesting that the respective gene family can putatively code for carboxylate permeases. In order to assess their functional characterization, these genes have been heterologously expressed in the strain S. cerevisiae jen1∆ady2∆ that presents no activity for a carboxylate permease4. All the transformant strains showed a slightly improved growth in mono- and di- but not tricarboxylic acids containing media. Alongside, RT-PCR assays showed that YLJEN expression is induced by carboxylic acids and YlJen-GFP chimeric proteins were all located in the plasma membrane. Taken together, these results suggest that these Jen1 homologues can mediate the transport of carboxylic acids in Y. lipolytica.This work was supported by the project CESPU 02-GBMC-CICS-11

Growth assessment methods for Helicobacter pylori in liquid medium

Helicobacter pylori is known to be associated with chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric cancer. The lack of physiological data has hampered the uncover of mechanisms associated with H. pylori infection and consequently, many aspects related with the appearance of diseases remain unclear. It is well known that H. pylori can change cell morphology from spiral to coccoid form when exposed to adverse conditions. Some authors have reported the existence of a viable but nonculturable state of this bacterium. The development of robust methods to grow this bacterium and reliable methods for the assessment of growth are needed for a better characterization of its physiology. As such, the purpose of this work was to study H. pylori growth in a chemically defined medium, compare different methods to assess the growth and observe the changes of morphology. Cultures were grown at 37ºC under controlled conditions in Ham´s F-12 medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum. Samples were collected until 72 hours. For growth assessment, the following methods were used and compared: optical density, cultivable cell counts, total cell counts using DAPI staining, evaluation of viability with the Live/Dead viability kit and a PNA FISH probe which evaluates the content of stable rRNA. Cell counts and analysis of cell morphology were assessed using an epifluorescence microscope. Under the conditions of atmospheric oxygen 6.5%, pH 7, and shaking speed 110 rpm, H. pylori was in exponential growth from 0 to 4 hours. In comparison to total counts, PNA FISH displayed, in general, lower counts, particularly after cells have reached the stationary phase. Changes in morphology and viability were observed. After 60 hours of culture cells were mainly coccoid and nonviable

Data on the effects of Hyptis spp. and Lycium spp. plant extracts in C. elegans models of genetically determined neurodegenerative diseases

Supplementary material associated with this article can be found in the online version at: doi:10.1016/j.dib.2020.106598.Here, we present the data on the biological effects of Hyptis spp. and Lycium spp. plant extracts in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) models of neurodegenerative diseases, which is related to the work presented in the article "Neurotherapeutic effect of Hyptis spp. leaf extracts in Caenorhabditis elegans models of tauopathy and polyglutamine disease: role of the glutathione redox cycle" [1]. This dataset was generated to define non-toxic concentrations of these plant extracts and to assess their impact on the motor phenotype and oxidative stress resistance of transgenic C. elegans models of two genetically defined neurodegenerative diseases: Machado-Joseph disease and Frontotemporal dementia with Parkinsonism associated to the chromosome 17. The impact of the plant extracts on toxicity was assessed using the food-clearance assay, absorbance being measured daily for seven days at 595 nm to quantify Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain OP50 bacteria consumption. Worm length and motor behaviour, including spontaneous and stimulated movement, were analysed using videos acquired with an Olympus SZX7 stereomicroscope with an integrated camera (Olympus SC30) and processed using the Image J® software and the Wrmtrck plugin. The resistance to oxidative stress induced by 240 µM juglone was assessed by determining the percentage of live animals after 1 hour of exposure.The authors thank all members of the Maciel and Dias laboratories for helpful tips and discussion; we also thank the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center (CGC), which is funded by NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440), for providing some of the C. elegans strains; Dr. Brian Kraemer who kindly gave us the C. elegans model of FTDP-17; We thank Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Goiano (IF Goiano) for the cultivation and harvesting of Hyptis spp. plant biomass.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antioxidant and neuroprotective effects of Hyptis suaveolens,Hyptis pectinata and Hyptis marrubioides in Caenorhabditiselegans

The increasing trend for the use of natural products as sources of pharmacologically active molecules has changed attitudes in the population. Given the existing demand, a credible scientific analysis and validation of the effect of these natural products is necessary. The genus Hyptis Jacq. (Lamiaceae) has about 300 species with wide distribution, among which Hyptis suaveolens, Hyptis pectinata and Hyptis marrubioides (HS, HP, HM, respectively) are used in folk medicine and are commercialized in street markets for treatment of several diseases. This study aims to evaluate the neuroprotective activity, as well as to elucidate some of the cellular mechanisms involved in the pharmacological action of HS/HP/HM plant extracts using Caenorhabditis elegans, as an animal model. For this purpose, we used a C. elegans model of Machado-Joseph disease (MJD), expressing a human mutant ATXN-3 and a C. elegans model of frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17 (FTDP-17), expressing a mutant form of tau protein, and tested ethanolic leaf extracts from HS, HP, and HM. Our data showed that chronic treatment with 1 mg/ mL of HS/HP/HM extracts had a beneficial impact in these diseases since it significantly ameliorated the locomotor defects exhibited by C. elegans. Moreover, with C. elegans model of MJD, the chronic treatment with the Hyptis extracts also increased the animals survival. We observed, in both models, a significant protection against jugloneinduced oxidative damage (by more than 50%), after chronic treatment with these extracts. Using C. elegans reporter strains we also observed a higher induction of gst-4, in HS/HP/HM extract-treated animals upon exposure to oxidative damage. Our findings support an antioxidant and neuroprotective activity of HS, HP e HM, suggesting the activating specific antioxidant enzymes like gst-4.This work was supported by national funds from FCT—Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the projects PTDC/AGR-ALI/105169/2008, PEst-OE/AGR/UI4033/2014, and INTERACT—ISAC project, no. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through NORTE 2020 (North Regional Operational Program 2014/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Growth assessment of Helicobacter pylori in liquidmedium – effect of aggregation

Helicobacter pylori is a pathogenic organism associated with gastric diseases. It is described that H. pylori can change morphology when exposed to adverse conditions and H. pylori cells can aggregate in clusters when in liquid culture. Such phenomenon makes it difficult to assess growth using the conventional methods. The development of robust methods to assess growth in a more reliable way is needed. In the present work a method that allows efficient cell disaggregation was developed.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/47596/2008

Genomic and transcriptomic analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolates with focus in succinic acid production

Succinic acid is a platform chemical that plays an important role as precursor for the synthesis of many valuable bio-based chemicals. Its microbial production from renewable resources has seen great developments, specially exploring the use of yeasts to overcome the limitations of using bacteria. The objective of the present work was to screen for succinate-producing isolates, using a yeast collection with different origins and characteristics. Four strains were chosen, two as promising succinic acid producers, in comparison with two low producers. Genome of these isolates was analysed, and differences were found mainly in genes SDH1, SDH3, MDH1 and the transcription factor HAP4, regarding the number of single nucleotide polymorphisms and the gene copy-number profile. Real-time PCR was used to study gene expression of 10 selected genes involved in the metabolic pathway of succinic acid production. Results show that for the non-producing strain, higher expression of genes SDH1, SDH2, ADH1, ADH3, IDH1 and HAP4 was detected, together with lower expression of ADR1 transcription factor, in comparison with the best producer strain. This is the first study showing the capacity of natural yeast isolates to produce high amounts of succinic acid, together with the understanding of the key factors associated, giving clues for strain improvement.This work was supported by the TRANSBIO project from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013, grant agreement No. 289603), by the EcoAgriFood project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000009) via the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte 2020) under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, and by FCT I.P. through the strategic funding UID/BIA/04050/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio