Development of curcumin lipid formulations for food applications: transport, permeability and safety evaluation on a mucus-secreting intestinal epithelial cell model

Curcumin is the main phenolic pigment extracted from turmeric, the powdered rhizome of Curcuma longa. It has been shown to exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and anticarcinogenic activities however as health promoting agent, curcumin, is limited by its poor solubility in aqueous solution and its low bioavailability and therefore cannot be widely used in food and pharmaceutical processing industry. The challenge addressed in this work was to produce curcumin formulations to enhance its characteristics and evaluate its permeability, transport and cytotoxicity on a stablished in vitro cell co-culture model that mimics the intestinal epithelium. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and microparticles (SLM) have been visualised as a promising platform on development of formulations for food applications. Since traditional production methods possess a series of limitations, the processing by “green technologies” like supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) has been widely investigated. Through Particles from Gas Saturated Solutions (PGSS®) process, beeswax microparticles loaded with curcumin (9:1 (w/w)) were produced and characterized in terms of physicochemical properties: size, morphology, curcumin content and particles dispersion index. Operation process parameters were optimized and defined via response surface methodology and the best response was achieved at 160 bar, 73°C and 10% curcumin load. Under these conditions, encapsulation efficiency was 89.75 ± 2.23 % with a curcumin load of 8.98 % (w/w). Curcumin formulations underwent a digestive process and were tested for their cytotoxicity in Caco-2 monolayer. A triple co-culture has been established and characterized for use as an in vitro intestinal model. To closely mimic the intestinal epithelium the production of mucus by the HT29-MTX-E12 cell line cultured together with the Caco-2 enterocytes and M-cells like phenotype was observed. The model was used to evaluate the transport and permeability of free and encapsulated curcumin and its permeability was stablished as a value of 1.0 x 10-7 cm/s

Physiological effect of caffeine in neurological studies based on Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI)

Introdução – O presente estudo avaliou o efeito da cafeína no valor da razão contraste ruído (CNR) em imagens SWI. Objetivos – Avaliar o efeito da cafeína qualitativamente e quantificado pelo cálculo do valor CNR em imagens de magnitude e MIP para as estruturas: veia cerebral interna, seio sagital superior, tórcula e artéria cerebral média. Metodologia – A população do estudo incluiu 24 voluntários saudáveis que estiveram pelo menos 24h privados da ingestão de cafeína. Adquiriram-se imagens SWI antes e após a ingestão de 100ml de café. Os voluntários foram subdivididos em quatro grupos de seis indivíduos/grupo e avaliados separadamente após decorrido um intervalo de tempo diferente para cada grupo (15, 25, 30 ou 45min pós-cafeína). Utilizou-se um scanner Siemens Avanto 1,5 T com bobine standard de crânio e os parâmetros: T2* GRE 3D de alta resolução no plano axial, TR=49; TE=40; FA=15; FOV=187x230; matriz=221x320. O processamento de imagem foi efetuado no software OsiriX® e a análise estatística no GraphPadPrism®. Resultados e Discussão – As alterações de sinal e diferenças de contraste predominaram nas estruturas venosas e não foram significantes na substância branca, LCR e artéria cerebral média. Os valores CNR pré-cafeína diferiram significativamente do pós-cafeína nas imagens de magnitude e MIP na veia cerebral interna e nas imagens de magnitude do seio sagital superior e da tórcula (p<0,0001). Não se verificaram diferenças significativas entre os grupos avaliados nos diferentes tempos pós-cafeína. Conclusões – Especulamos que a cafeína possa vir a ser usada como agente de contraste nas imagens SWI barato, eficaz e de fácil administração.ABSTRACT: Introduction – The present study investigates the effect of caffeine on contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in SWI images. Purpose – Data analyses included qualitative and quantitative measures, specifically the CNR pre and post-ingestion, in magnitude and MIP images. The structures evaluated were internal cerebral vein, superior sagital sinus, torcula, and middle cerebral artery. Methodology – Twenty-four healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. All the volunteers were caffeine-free for 24h prior to the test. SWI images were acquired before caffeine ingestion and post-ingestion of 100 ml of coffee. The volunteers were divided into four groups of six subjects and evaluated sequentially (15, 25, 30 and 45min after caffeine). High-resolution T2* weighted 3D GRE (SWI) sequence was acquired on the axial plane on a 1.5 T (Siemens Avanto) whole body scanner using the manufacturer’s standard head coil and the following parameters: TR=49; TE=40; FA=15; FOV=187x230; matrix=221x320. Statistics were performed with GraphPad Prism® and image analysis with Osirix®. Results and Discussion – We verified that signal alterations and contrast differences were predominant in venous structures and not significant in white matter, CSF and middle cerebral artery. The CNR values between pre and post-caffeine ingestion in magnitude and MIP images in internal cerebral vein (p<0.0001) and in magnitude images of superior sagittal sinus and tórcula showed significant differences CNR. There were no significant differences between groups evaluated at different times after the ingestion of caffeine. Conclusion – We speculate that caffeine can be used as a cost-effective, safe and easy to administrate contrast agent on SWI images

Pós-Graduações online IPCB/UAb

eLIES2018. VIIº Encontro de Instituições e Unidades de eLearning do Ensino Superior- Sessão Posters/Networking, Castelo Branco: Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco, co-organização do LE@D, Universidade Aberta (UID 4372/FCT), Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco, Universidade do Algarve.Esta comunicação apresenta os cursos de pós-graduação em parceria entre o Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco e a Universidade Aberta: a pós-graduação sobre proteção civil e a pós-graduação sobre sistemas de informação geográfica aplicada aos recursos agroflorestais e ambientais.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hepatobiliary fascioliasis

Hepatobiliary fascioliasis is a parasitic disease caused by Fasciola hepatica, which is a trematode that primarily infects cattle and sheep, but may also affect humans in endemic areas.There are two phases of the disease: the acute one - where the parasites infect the liver parenchyma; and the subacute / chronic phase - when the parasites reach the biliary ducts and gallbladder, providing typical imaging findings.Because this disease may mimic several hepatobiliary disorders, misdiagnosis or late diagnosis is a concern. Therefore, knowledge of the typical and specific imaging findings is important in accomplishing a correct diagnosis.The authors describe a case of a 49-year-old male that presented with nonspecific liver symptoms. Liver ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed several typical findings of the disease, which helped achieve the diagnosis

Medical electronic prescription for home respiratory care services (PEM-CRD) at a Portuguese university tertiary care centre (2014–2018) : a case study

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.Home respiratory care (HRC) is the provision of healthcare services at the place of residence of patients or their families, with the aim of meeting needs mainly resulting from chronic respiratory conditions, permanent disability, or terminal illness. In 2016, an innovative electronic prescription system, PEM-CRD, was fully implemented for HRC services in Portugal. To date, no study has addressed the impact of the execution of this digital innovation. For this purpose, we carried out an analysis of the prevalence and number of prescriptions for people with chronic respiratory diseases receiving HRC in the Lisbon metropolitan area, during 2014–2018, using the information obtained from the PEM-CRD database. The data analysis shows that while the number of patients receiving HRC treatment with a prescription has remained stable over the last four years, the number of prescriptions has significantly dropped since 2016 (2016–2018), with consequent paper and processes efficiency. The implementation of the digital Medical Electronic Prescription for Home Respiratory Care tool (PEM-CRD) and consequent dematerialization of these processes has increased the efficiency of prescribing in HRC. Additionally, the possibility of obtaining data through the PEM-CRD allows the monitoring of the evolving prevalence of therapies, improving the health services optimization and allowing reporting on data other than medicines.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MSCs Conditioned Media and Umbilical Cord Blood Plasma Metabolomics and Composition.

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) from umbilical cord (UC) blood (UCB) and matrix are tested clinically for a variety of pathologies but in vitro expansion using culture media containing fetal bovine serum (FBS) is essential to achieve appropriate cell numbers for clinical use. Human UCB plasma (hUCBP) can be used as a supplement for hMSCs culture, since UCB is rich in soluble growth factors and due to worldwide increased number of cryopreserved UCB units in public and private banks, without the disadvantages listed for FBS. On the other hand, the culture media enriched in growth factors produced by these hMSCs in expansion (Conditioned medium--CM) can be an alternative to hMSCs application. The CM of the hMSCs from the UC might be a better therapeutic option compared to cell transplantation, as it can benefit from the local tissue response to the secreted molecules without the difficulties and complications associated to the engraftment of the allo- or xeno-transplanted cells. These facts drove us to know the detailed composition of the hUCBP and CM, by 1H-NMR and Multiplexing LASER Bead Technology. hUCBP is an adequate alternative for the FBS and the CM and hUCBP are important sources of growth factors, which can be used in MSCs-based therapies. Some of the major proliferative, chemotactic and immunomodulatory soluble factors (TGF-β, G-CSF, GM-CSF, MCP-1, IL-6, IL-8) were detected in high concentrations in CM and even higher in hUCBP. The results from 1H-NMR spectroscopic analysis of CM endorsed a better understanding of hMSCs metabolism during in vitro culture, and the relative composition of several metabolites present in CM and hUCBP was obtained. The data reinforces the potential use of hUCBP and CM in tissue regeneration and focus the possible use of hUCBP as a substitute for the FBS used in hMSCs in vitro culture

Ecografia de Nervos Periféricos – Um Tutorial Guiado por Imagem para Iniciante

Avanços técnicos na ecografia facilitou de forma fiável a avaliação de pequenas estruturas.Atualmente, a avaliação de nervos periféricos depende ainda de dados clínicos suplementados por estudos eletrofisiológicos.A ultrassonografia pode ser aplicada na avaliação de patologia de nervos periféricos, contribuindo para o diagnóstico diferencial de patologias músculo-esqueléticas. O crescimento exponencial de publicações sobre esta temática nos últimos 10 anos foi fortemente fomentado pelo desenvolvimento de intervenção guiada por imagem, frequentemente utilizada em procedimentos analgésicos e anestésicos, tais como bloqueios nervosos. A Medicina da Dor é outro campo para a ecografia de nervos periféricos, onde a intervenção pode ser usada como forma de tratamento ou diagnóstico.A ecografia é uma técnica segura, embora fortemente dependente do utilizador, implicando firmes conhecimentos de anatomia.Elaborou-se uma revisão pictórica, assim como dos parâmetros e peculiaridades técnicas utilizadas para otimizar a imagem obtida. Serão demonstrados os marcos anatómicos mais frequentes e reconhecíveis no pescoço, membro superior, virilha, membro inferior, assim como a forma de colocação da sonda.Será efetuada uma breve revisão dos achados descritos em casos patológicos.Um firme conhecimento da ecografia dos nervos periféricos é um pré-requisito para os interessados na avaliação destes. O papel da intervenção guiada por ecografia tem evoluído no campo da anestesia e no campo da medicina da dor. Os radiologistas estão em excelente posição para relacionar a adequada técnica e o conhecimento anatómico, permitindo expandir o papel dos procedimentos guiados por imagem

Controlo de hemoptises recorrentes através de tratamento combinado (endovascular e percutêaneo): um caso clínico

Os autores descrevem o caso de um homem de 72 anos de idade que recorreu ao Serviço de Urgência por hemoptises secundárias a Aspergiloma pulmonar. A terapêutica sistémica com antifúngicos obteve resposta limitada e o risco cirúrgico era elevado; assim o doente foi referenciado à Radiologia de Intervenção. O tratamento consistiu na embolização da artéria brônquica responsável pela vascularização parietal da cavidade pulmonar e na instilação intra-cavitária percutânea de Anfotericina B em solução gelatinosa. Este tratamento sequencial num só tempo obteve bom resultado a curto prazo sem recorrência da hemorragia nos 6 meses subsequentes ao tratamento. O tratamento de Aspergilomas pulmonares é desafiante. A radiologia de intervenção, através da terapêutica endovascular e percutânea, embora não permita o tratamento definitivo, permite o controlo hemorrágico a curto/médio prazo e pode ser repetida para prolongar os resultados obtidos. Com a descrição deste caso os autores mostram que é possível combinar o tratamento endovascular com o percutâneo, de forma sequêncial e num só tempo