Efeitos do stresse crónico sobre a estrutura dos neurónios piramidais da amígdala basolateral

Introdução: Hoje em dia o ser humano é frequentemente confrontado com situações stressantes, que ao longo do tempo podem contribuir para o aparecimento de estados patológicos. A influência do stresse sobre o comportamento e as estruturas cerebrais tem sido extensivamente estudada, mas ainda não existe consenso sobre a forma como este actua sobre a amígdala, um componente essencial dos circuitos que medeiam a resposta ao stresse. Assim, o presente estudo procurou avaliar o impacto do stresse crónico sobre a morfologia e plasticidade sinápticas dos neurónios piramidais do núcleo basolateral da amígdala. Métodos: Foi utilizado um modelo de stresse crónico imprevisível, a que foi exposto um grupo de ratos durante 28 dias, e avaliados diferentes parâmetros morfológicos da árvore dendrítica (comprimento dendrítico, número de dendrites basais, número de ramificações, intersecções e comprimento da dendrite apical) e da plasticidade sináptica (densidade total e por tipo de espinha). Resultados: O paradigma de stresse utilizado induziu uma diminuição da densidade total e por tipo de espinha ao nível dos segmentos dendríticos distais, o que representa uma diminuição dos contactos sinápticos distais. Ao nível proximal deu-se apenas uma redução da densidade de espinhas do tipo thick. Relativamente aos aspectos morfológicos, verificou-se uma reestruturação das dendrites apicais em resposta ao stresse, não acompanhada por quaisquer outras modificações estruturais. Discussão/Conclusão: Os dados obtidos sugerem que a amígdala é uma estrutura relativamente resistente aos efeitos do modelo de stresse utilizado, registando-se apenas um efeito significativo sobre os mecanismos de plasticidade sináptica e uma ligeira reestruturação dendrítica apical. Estes resultados contrastam com os obtidos com outros paradigmas de stresse, nomeadamente o de stresse crónico de imobilização. No entanto, a tradução comportamental destes efeitos não foi analisada neste estudo, pelo que se abrem novas linhas de investigação no sentido de compreender o real impacto dos efeitos estruturais do stresse sobre as acções dos organismos vivos

Production of bioethanol from sweet potato, agro industrial wastes

One fraction of the existent petroleum is not extractable or the difficulties associated to extraction are very expensive making them unviable. This situation leads to a decrease in petroleum stocks all over the world and a resulting increment on its price, affecting in particular the transportation sector, since there is no relevant alternative to fossil petroleum

Hydrolysis of lignocellulosic material of carob pulp in Batch, SSF and NSSF processes for ethanol production

The progress of technologies for fuel ethanol production is a priority, because this biofuel is one of the most important resources used as renewable energy sources

Cost-effective bioethanol production at low content of nitrogen source from carob syrup

Ethanol, as biofuel, has received great interest in the latest decades due to its potential as an alternative transport fuel. Nowadays, ethanol can be produced through fermentative processes, using sugar rich agricultural raw material and it may have a significant role in reducing environmental impact of fossil fuels

Collaborative design in public services: a wicked problem-reframing case

Ahead of PrintPurpose Wicked problems require collaborative innovation approaches. Understanding the problem from the users' perspective is essential. Based on a complex and ill-defined case, the purpose of the current paper is to identify some critical success factors in defining the “right problem” to be addressed. Design/methodology/approach An empirical research study was carried out in a low-density municipality (case study). Extensive data were collected from official databases, individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group involving citizens, local authorities, civil servants and other relevant stakeholders. Findings As defined by the central government, the problem to be addressed by the research team was to identify which justice services should be made available locally to a small- and low-density community. The problem was initially formulated using top-down reasoning. In-depth contact with citizens and key local players revealed that the lack of justice services was not “the issue” for that community. Mobility constraints and the shortage of economic opportunities had a considerable impact on the lack of demand for justice services. By using a bottom-up perspective, it was possible to reframe the problem to be addressed and suggest a new concept to be tested at later stages. Social implications The approach followed called attention to the importance of listening to citizens and local organisations with a profound knowledge of the territory to effectively identify and circumscribe a local problem in the justice field. Originality/value The paper highlights the limitations of traditional rational problem-solving approaches and contributes to expanding the voice-of-the-customer principle showing how it can lead to a substantially new definition of the problem to be addressed.Patrícia Moura e Sá would like to also acknowledge the contribution of the Research Centre in Political Science (UIDB/CPO/00758/2020), University of Minho, supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science through national funds, to the current research

Discovering the Archaeologists of Portugal 2012-14

The present report was elaborated by Associação Profissional de Arqueólogos (APA, Portugal) in the context of the DISCO 2014 project, coordinated by York Archaeological Trust. The nature of APA – a professional association of archaeologists – is coherent with the goals of DISCO 2014, since it is our objective to survey the profession in Portugal, define its major difficulties and influence the decision makers for possibly necessary changes. The project DISCO 2014 is, therefore, the essence of what APA needed to achieve among Portuguese archaeologists – define how many professionals there are, where they work and in which conditions. Furthermore, it was necessary to define which changes might be pivotal to ensure the good path of the discipline in the country and internationally. Upon knowledge of the nature of enquiries and methodology used by other countries (in December 2013), APA decided to launch two questionnaires – a first one individual, and a second one, designed for organisations. The questionnaires were defined with the approval of YAT and were then launched in a Google Survey platform. Archaeologists were individually invited to fill out the forms digitally, through the Internet. Then, a survey of potential employers in Archaeology was performed so that a considerable and diverse number of organisations could be also invited to answer the questionnaire. In this case, we selected institutions which employed archaeologists. For the individual questionnaires we obtained 572 answers to 827 invitations. For the organisations questionnaire we obtained 103 answers. The specific goal of the present project is to identify the changes that have occurred in Archaeology since the 2008 crisis and how our profession has been affected in different countries. Portuguese results demonstrate that the crisis became particularly severe after 2011, as it is visible in the results of both questionnaires – individual and organisational. This economic pressure was likely due to with the interruption of large public investments as a consequence of the World Monetary Fund and European Central Bank intervention in the country. Analysis of the results obtained from the answers to the questionnaires demonstrates specific problems, such as the reduction of permanent jobs, a higher mobility of archaeologists and a severe reduction in income. Academic investment and achievement, however, continues to be significant, even though funding for research has been reduced in the past two years. Socially, archaeologists in Portugal are almost all born in the country and have significant academic education, with a high percentage of professionals that hold postgraduate degrees, from universities in different locations and various countries. In the private sector archaeologists in Portugal have significantly lower salaries than equivalent university graduates in other academic areas. Labour contracts are volatile and work conditions very variable, depending on the private companies the professionals work for. 6 Recently, however, a Union of the Archaeology Workers (STARQ) has been created and the contractual problems are being discussed at that level. APA (Associação Profissional de Arqueólogos) works for the better quality of archaeological work developed in our country. In that sense, we have prepared a series of recommendations that we are directing to an array of institutions which can influence the decision making sectors in diverse areas of public intervention.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Protective elements of mental health status during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Portuguese population

The outbreak of COVID-19 might produce dramatic psychological effects on individuals’ lives. In this study, we aimed to explore the elements that may reduce the negative effects on mental health of the quarantine period imposed by most governments during this worldwide crisis. We conducted an online survey to evaluate demographic, lifestyle and mental health variables in a sample of 1280 Portuguese individuals (79.8% females) with an average age of 37 years. We observed that factors related to living conditions, maintaining work either online or in the workplace, frequency of exercise and absence of previous psychological or physic disorders are protective features of psychological well-being (anxiety, depression, stress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms). Finally, the individuals previously receiving psychotherapeutic support exhibited better psychological indicators if they did not interrupt the process as a consequence of the outbreak. Our results indicate that the practice of physical exercise, reduced consumption of COVID-19 information and the implementation of remote mental healthcare measures might prevent larger impacts on mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.This work was funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the scope of the project 110_596697345 (Research 4 COVID) and partially funded by the FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE), and by national funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the scope of the project UID/Multi/50026/2019. This manuscript has been developed under the scope of the project NORTE 01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)

Stress, anxiety, and depression trajectories during the “first wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic: what drives resilient, adaptive and maladaptive responses in the Portuguese population?

IntroductionThe COVID-19 outbreak and the community mitigation strategies implemented to reduce new SARS-CoV-2 infections can be regarded as powerful stressors with negative consequences on people's mental health. Although it has been shown that negative emotional symptoms subside during lockdown, it is likely the existence of inter-individual differences in stress, anxiety and depression trajectories throughout lockdown.ObjectivesWe aimed to cluster participants' according to their trajectories of stress, anxiety and depression scores throughout lockdown, and identify the sociodemographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors that may distinguish the subjects included in the different clusters.MethodsFrom March 23, 2020, to May 31, 2020, participants completed weekly online questionnaires on sociodemographic information (age, sex, education level, and employment status), psychological functioning (DASS-21, NEO-FFI-20), and clinical data (psychiatric disorders, psychiatric medication, physical disorders). Data regarding smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and time spent daily looking for COVID-19-related information were also collected. Stress, anxiety and depression trajectories were determined using latent class mixed models.ResultsA total of 2040 participants answered the survey at baseline and 603 participants answered all surveys. Three groups (“Resilient,” “Recovered,” and “Maladaptive”) with distinct mental health trajectories were identified. Younger participants, women, participants with lower education level, not working, studying, diagnosed with a mental disorder, taking psychiatric medication, smokers, those who spent more time consuming COVID-19-related information and those with higher neuroticism tended to cluster in the “Maladaptive” group, placing them at higher risk of persistent negative emotional symptoms during compulsory confinement.ConclusionAccordingly, a tailored approach to emotional suffering for vulnerable subjects during the COVID-19 and future pandemics must be devised

Fatores ambientais na etiologia da perturbação obsessivo-compulsiva

Tese de doutoramento em MedicinaA perturbação obsessivo-compulsiva (POC) é uma doença mental crónica e debilitante, caracterizada pela presença de obsessões e/ou compulsões. A sua patofisiologia é altamente complexa, com influências genéticas, ambientais e individuais contribuindo para uma interação intricada que resulta em doença. Dos muitos fatores patofisiológicos propostos, o stress e a inflamação estão entre os mais extensivamente estudados. Se por um lado o papel da inflamação permanece pouco definido, pensa-se que o stress não só contribui para o desenvolvimento e agravamento de sintomas, como também exerce uma influência negativa na resposta ao tratamento, e embora seja proposto como um fator de risco para POC, os mecanismos por detrás desses efeitos continuam por esclarecer. Até hoje a maioria dos estudos sobre o papel do stress na patofisiologia da POC avaliaram retrospetivamente a frequência de eventos stressantes antes da instalação da doença, e estudos de neuroimagem desenvolvidos para explorar a função cerebral nestes doentes tipicamente têm por base paradigmas de provocação de sintomas, que não reproduzem as características da maioria dos stressores ambientais. Assim, esta Tese teve como objetivo fornecer novos conhecimentos sobre a influência do stress na história natural da doença. O nosso trabalho descreveu a influência de um stressor ambiental na manifestação de sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos entre a população geral adulta e identificou fatores de risco para a persistência de sintomas. Os nossos resultados mostraram ainda que, em doentes com POC, diferentes medidas de stress correlacionam-se com anomalias da conectividade funcional em repouso em redes cerebrais envolvidas na neurobiologia da POC. Adicionalmente, demonstrámos que, relativamente a indivíduos saudáveis, os doentes com POC exibem níveis mais elevados de lipocalina, um marcador inflamatório previamente não explorado na POC. No seu todo, esta Tese demostra a relevância da exposição ao stress em estados saudáveis e de doença, contribuindo para estabelecer mais firmemente o stress como um fator central na patofisiologia da POC, sugerindo ainda que a inflamação poderá ter também um papel na doença.Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and debilitating psychiatric disorder characterized by the presence of obsessions and/or compulsions. Its pathophysiology is highly complex, with genetic, environmental and individual influences contributing to an intricate interplay resulting in disease. Of the many proposed pathophysiological factors, stress and inflammation are among the most extensively studied. While the role of inflammation remains undefined, stress has been suggested to contribute to both onset and aggravation of symptoms, as well as to negatively impact response to treatment, and while it is proposed as a risk-factor for OCD, the mechanisms behind such effects remain elusive. To date, most studies on stress and OCD retrospectively assessed the frequency of stressful experiences before disease onset and neuroimaging studies exploring brain function in these patients typically rely on symptom provocation paradigms, which do not replicate the characteristics of most environmental stressors. Therefore, this Thesis aimed to provide new insights on the influence of stress in the natural history of the disorder. Our work described the influence of an environmental stressor in the manifestation of obsessive-compulsive symptoms among the general adult population and identified risk-factors for symptom persistence. Further, our results revealed that, in OCD patients, different measures of stress correlate with resting-state functional connectivity abnormalities within networks involved in OCD neurobiology. In addition, we demonstrate that, relative to healthy controls, OCD patients exhibit increased levels of lipocalin, an inflammatory marker previously unexplored in OCD. Overall, this Thesis demonstrates the relevance of stress exposure in health and disease states, contributing to more firmly establish stress as a key player in OCD pathophysiology, while suggesting inflammation may also play a role in the disorder.Financial support was provided by grants from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (fellowship SFRH/BD/122959/2016); by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000039, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) - project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020

SCRATCH THAT!—Two case reports of scratch-card gambling disorder

Gambling disorder is a common, clinically relevant condition that impacts significantly one's life. Given that approved pharmacological interventions are lacking, it is crucial to readily identify these cases to provide available interventions in psychiatric care services. Here, we present two uncommon cases of unique scratch-card gambling disorder, a specific type of pathological gambling that could be increasing as availability of these games are growing