Práticas de sustentabilidade. Leituras críticas.

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Arquitetura

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in an adolescent with NLRP12-related autoinflammatory disorder—A case report

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Impact of Pancreatic Autoantibodies in Pancreas Graft Survival After Pancreas-Kidney Transplantation

In simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPKT), persistence or recurrence of pancreatic autoantibodies (PAs) has been associated with pancreas graft (PG) autoimmune-driven injury. Our aim was to analyze the impact of PAs on PG survival.Methods. Between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2017, we studied 139 patients with post-SPKT antieglutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) autoantibody. Alloimmune (ALI) events were defined as PG rejection and/or de novo donor-specific antibodies (DSA).Hence, 3 groups were defined: patients without ALI events or anti-GAD (n ¼ 42), those with ALI events (n ¼ 14), or those only with autoimmune events (positive for anti-GAD and no ALI events; n ¼ 83). Results. Male sex was predominant (n ¼ 72, 52%). Median age was 35 years (interquartile range: 31-39) and median follow-up was 6-7 years (interquartile range: 4.1-9.2). Regarding anti-GAD positivity post-SPKT (n ¼ 90, 65%), no differences were observed concerning age, sex, anti-HLA antibodies, HLA mismatch number and de novo DSA. ALI events were present in 10% (n ¼ 14). PG survival 15 years post-SPKT was better in patients without immune events (96%) followed by those with ALI (69%) and autoimmune events (63%) (P ¼ .025). Anti-GAD was associated to higher annualized mean Hb1AC (P ¼ .006) and lower mean C-peptide (P ¼ .013). According to pre- and post-SPKT anti-GAD status, conversion from negative to positive was associated to worse (63%) 10-year PG survival (P ¼ .044), compared to persistence of negative (100%) or positive anti-GAD (88%). Anti-islet cell and anti-insulin autoantibodies had no impact. Conclusion. Anti-GAD presence post-SPKT was associated to higher pâncreas disfunction and lower PG survival. De novo anti-GAD seems to offer a particular risk of PG failure.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Associação entre supervisão parental e vitimização e perpetração de bullying em adolescentes brasileiros, Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar 2015

Objective: To analyze the association between parental supervision characteristics and different bullying roles among Brazilian school adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional study that used data from the National School Health Survey (PeNSE) 2015. Frequent meals with parents/guardians, knowledge about free time, and checking homework were the parental practices assessed. Logistic regression was used for association between 4 these practices and bullying (perpetration and victimization), presented as oddsratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results: Among 102,072 school adolescents, frequent meals with parents or guardians [ORvitim=0.86 (95%CI 0.84;0.89); ORperp=0.85 (95%CI 0.82;0.88)], checking homework [ORvitim=0.95 (95%CI 0.92;0.97); ORperp=0.76 (95%CI:0.74;0.78)], and parents or guardian’s knowledge of students’ free time [ORperp=0.70 (95%CI 0.68;0.73] were inversely associated with bullying. Conclusion: Greater parental supervision reduced the chance of victimization and perpetration bullying among adolescents.Objetivo: Analizar la asociación entre las características de la supervisión parental y los diferentes roles del bullying entre adolescentes brasileños. Métodos: Estudio transversal con datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud Escolar de Adolescentes (PeNSE) 2015. Las comidas frecuentes con los padres/tutores, el conocimiento sobre el tiempo libre y la verificación de la tarea fueron las prácticas parentales evaluadas. Se utilizo regresión logística para la asociación entre prácticas y bullying (perpetración y victimización), presentada como razón de probabilidades (RP) e intervalos de confianza del 95% (IC95%). Resultados: Entre102.072 estudiantes, comidas frecuentes [RPvitim=0,86 (IC95%0,84;0,89); RPperp=0,85 (IC95% 0,82;0,88)] y verificación de la tarea [RPvitim=0,95 (IC95% 0,92;0,97); ORperp=0,76 (IC95% 0,74;0,78)] y conocimiento de los padres/tutores sobre el tiempo libre [RPperp=0,70 (IC95% 0,68;0,73)] se asociaron inversamente con el acoso. Conclusión: Una mayor supervisión de los padres redujo el acoso en los estudiantes.Objetivo: Analisar associação entre características de supervisão parental e diferentes papéis de bullying entre adolescentes escolares brasileiros. Métodos: Estudo transversal, com dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar 2015. Realização frequente de refeições com os pais ou responsáveis, conhecimento sobre o tempo livre e verificação dos deveres de casa foram as práticas parentais avaliadas. Utilizou-se regressão logística para associação entre essas práticas e bullying (perpetração e vitimização), apresentada como razão de odds (RO) e intervalos de confianças de 95% (IC95%). Resultados: Entre 102.072 escolares, a realização frequente de refeições com os pais ou responsáveis [ROvitim=0,86 (IC95% 0,84;0,89); ROperp=0,85 (IC95% 0,82;0,88)], a verificação dos deveres de casa [ROvitim=0,95 (IC95% 0,92;0,97); ROperp=0,76 (IC95% 0,74;0,78)] e o conhecimento dos pais ou responsáveis sobre o tempo livre dos escolares [ROperp=0,70 (IC95% 0,68;0,73)] foram inversamente associadas ao bullying. Conclusão: Maior supervisão parental reduziu a chance de vitimização e perpetração do bullying entre adolescentes escolares

The zebrafish as an emerging model to study DNA damage in aging, cancer and other diseases

Cancer is a disease of the elderly, and old age is its largest risk factor. With age, DNA damage accumulates continuously, increasing the chance of malignant transformation. The zebrafish has emerged as an important vertebrate model to study these processes. Key mechanisms such as DNA damage responses and cellular senescence can be studied in zebrafish throughout its life course. In addition, the zebrafish is becoming an important resource to study telomere biology in aging, regeneration and cancer. Here we review some of the tools and resources that zebrafish researchers have developed and discuss their potential use in the study of DNA damage, cancer and aging related diseases

Influence of the different “patient global assessment” formulations on disease activity score by different indices in rheumatoid arthritis

© 2018, International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR). Patient global assessment (PGA) is included in almost all rheumatoid arthritis (RA) composite disease activity indices and definitions of remission. However, different PGA formulations exist and are used interchangeably in research and clinical practice. We investigated how five different PGA formulations used in four disease indices affect the remission rates. This was an ancillary analysis of data from a cross-sectional study in patients with RA. The data comprised the following: 28-joint counts, C-reactive protein, and five PGA formulations. Remission rate variation was assessed using five PGA formulations in each index (ACR/EULAR Boolean, CDAI, SDAI, and DAS28-CRP). PGA agreement was assessed by the following: Pearson’s correlation; Bland-Altman plots; paired samples t test; and establishing the proportion of patients who scored (i) all formulations within an interval of 20mm and (ii) each formulation ≤ 10mm. This analysis included 191 patients. PGA formulations presented good correlations (≥ 0.65), but Bland-Altman plots showed clinically significant differences, which were statistically confirmed by comparison of means. Just over a half (51.8%) of patients scored all PGA formulations within a 20-mm interval. The proportion of those scoring ≤ 10mm varied from 11.5 to 16.2%. When different formulations of PGA were used in each index, remission differences of up to 4.7, 4.7, 6.3, and 5.2% were observed. When formulations were used in their respective indices, as validated, the remission rates were similar (13.1, 13.6, 14.1, and 18.3%). Using PGA formulations interchangeably may have implications in the assessment of disease activity and in the attainment of remission, and this can impact upon management decisions

Biomedical potential of fucoidan, a seaweed sulfated polysaccharide: from a anticancer agent to a building block of cell encapsulating systems for regenerative medicine

Marine macroalgae or seaweeds synthesize a wide variety of polymers and smaller compounds with several bioactivities, among which the sulfated polysaccharides acquire greater relevance not only due to the reported antioxidant, antiviral and anticancer[1] activities, but also to the resemblance of extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycans found in the human body[2]. In this study, the potential of fucoidan (Fu) isolated from brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus for therapeutical use has been evaluated, focusing in its performance as antitumoral agent (bioactive role) or as building block of cell encapsulating systems (structural role). Materials and Methods: The anticancer activity of Fu extracts was assessed by evaluating the cytotoxic behavior over two human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) in in-vitro culture, using human fibroblasts and endothelial cells (HPMEC-ST1 and MRC-5, respectively) as reference. Regarding the structural role, Fu was modified by methacrylation reaction (MFu) using methacrylic acid and further crosslinked using visible radiation and triethanolamine and eosin-y as photoinitiators. The photocrosslinking was performed on MFu solution droplets placed in a silica-based superhydrophobic surface[3], allowing the formation of particles[4] (since natural Fu is highly soluble in water and ion gelation is not effective). Biological performance of the developed particles was assessed by in vitro culture of fibroblasts and pancreatic cells (L929 and 1.1B4, respectively) in contact with MFu particles, up to 7 days. The ability of the developed materials to support adhesion and proliferation of cells was evaluated for both types of cells. Results and Discussion: The tested anticancer activity is not ubiquitous on Fu extracts, being dependent on its chemical features, with molecular weight (Mw) representing a particular role. Specifically, Mw values around 60 kDa exhibited cytotoxic effects to human breast cancer cell lines, while not affecting normal fibroblasts or endothelial cells (which represent the cells of the healthy tissue that would be closer to the tumor in a real situation). A concentration range of 0.2 to 0.3 mg mL-1 from the selected Fu extract could be considered as the therapeutic window for further studies. Regarding fucoidanâ s role on innovative biomaterials, the developed MFu particles could support the proliferation of fibroblasts (L929), but also of human pancreatic beta cells (1.1B4), which tend to form pseudo-islets after 7 days in culture (Fig. 1). This pancreatic cells could be also successfully encapsulated, opening a new route for a diabetes mellitus type 1 therapeutic approach. Fig. 1: Confocal microscopy images of 1.1B4 cells cultured in the presence of fucoidan-based particles and organized in pseudo-islets (red â actin; blue â nuclei). Conclusion: The present work establishes fucoidan as a high performance building block for the development of advanced therapies for cancer (targeted therapy) or tissue and organ regeneration. It shed light on the relation between chemical structure and biological activity towards anti-cancer effect and proposes novel beta cell laden particles as injectable insulin producing systems to tackle diabetes.Funding from projects 0687_NOVOMAR_1_P (co-funded by INTERREG 2007-2013 / POCTEP), CarbPol_u_Algae (EXPL/MAR-BIO/0165/2013, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT), POLARIS (FP7-REGPOT-CT2012-316331) and ComplexiTE (ERC-2012-ADG 20120216-321266), funded by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Development is acknowledged. ASF, SSS, NMO and DSC are also thankful to FCT for their individual fellowships

HIV-1-Transmitted Drug Resistance and Transmission Clusters in Newly Diagnosed Patients in Portugal Between 2014 and 2019

Objective: To describe and analyze transmitted drug resistance (TDR) between 2014 and 2019 in newly infected patients with HIV-1 in Portugal and to characterize its transmission networks. Methods: Clinical, socioepidemiological, and risk behavior data were collected from 820 newly diagnosed patients in Portugal between September 2014 and December 2019. The sequences obtained from drug resistance testing were used for subtyping, TDR determination, and transmission cluster (TC) analyses. Results: In Portugal, the overall prevalence of TDR between 2014 and 2019 was 11.0%. TDR presented a decreasing trend from 16.7% in 2014 to 9.2% in 2016 (p for-trend = 0.114). Multivariate analysis indicated that TDR was significantly associated with transmission route (MSM presented a lower probability of presenting TDR when compared to heterosexual contact) and with subtype (subtype C presented significantly more TDR when compared to subtype B). TC analysis corroborated that the heterosexual risk group presented a higher proportion of TDR in TCs when compared to MSMs. Among subtype A1, TDR reached 16.6% in heterosexuals, followed by 14.2% in patients infected with subtype B and 9.4% in patients infected with subtype G. Conclusion: Our molecular epidemiology approach indicates that the HIV-1 epidemic in Portugal is changing among risk group populations, with heterosexuals showing increasing levels of HIV-1 transmission and TDR. Prevention measures for this subpopulation should be reinforced.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio