Lesões orais em doentes transplantados

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Medicina DentáriaOs doentes transplantados são pacientes que cada vez mais nos surgem no consultório dentário e tal deve-se aos grandes avanços que se tem desenvolvido nesta última década quer nas técnicas cirúrgicas, quer nas terapêuticas medicamentosas usadas para evitar uma eventual rejeição do transplante. E é devido ao aumento da sua afluência, mas também por ser um tema pouco referido e no qual ainda é necessário realizar mais estudos, que neste trabalho se pretende retratar quais as lesões orais associadas aos transplantes realizados mais comummente, podendo eles ser do tipo cardíaco, hepático, renal ou de células hematopoiéticas. Tem ainda como objetivo descrever quais as manifestações clínicas das diferentes lesões, quais os sintomas que o paciente apresenta e como as tratar, mas também quais os melhores métodos para ajudar na prevenção destas mesmas. Contudo existe uma carência de protocolos definidos, por isso esta monografia pretende também sugerir alguns, com base em diferentes e variadas propostas feitas por vários autores ao longo desta última década. Este trabalho resume-se à ideia de que é necessário intervir na saúde oral dos pacientes com transplantes, não só para lhes melhorar o dia-a-dia e diminuir as suas comorbilidades, mas também para prevenir e evitar que se iniciem tais transtornos. Transplant patients are patients who increasingly emerge in the dental office and this is due to the great progress that has been developed over the last decade both in surgical techniques and in drug therapies used to prevent a possible rejection of the transplant. It is due to their increased affluence - and with this being a rarely mentioned issue still needing further studies - that this work is intended to portray what oral lesions associated with transplants performed more commonly, them being from the heart, liver, kidney or hematopoietic cells. It is also my goal to describe the clinical manifestations of different lesions and the symptoms of the patient and and how to treat them, but also what are the best methods to help prevent them. However, there is a lack of defined protocols, so this monograph also aims to suggest some, based on different proposals made by several authors over the last decade. This work comes down to the idea that it is necessary to interfere in the oral health of patients with transplants, not only for their everyday lives and decrease their comorbidities, but also to prevent and avoid the start of such disorders

X-linked adrenal hipoplasia congenita: clinical and follow-up findings of two kindreds, one with a novel NR0B1 mutation

X-linked adrenal hypoplasia congenita typically manifests as primary adrenal insufficiency in the newborn age and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in males, being caused by mutations in NR0B1 gene. We present the clinical and follow-up findings of two kindreds with NR0B1 mutations. The proband of kindred A had a diagnosis of primary adrenal insufficiency when he was a newborn. Family history was relevant for a maternal uncle death at the newborn age. Beyond 2 year-old steroid measurements rendered undetectable and delayed bone age was noticed. Molecular analysis of NR0B1 gene revealed a previously unreported mutation (c.1084A>T), leading to a premature stop codon, p.Lys362*, in exon 1. His mother and sister were asymptomatic carriers. At 14 year-old he had 3 mL of testicular volume and biochemical surveys (LH < 0.1 UI/L, total testosterone < 10 ng/dL) concordant with hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism. Kindred B had two males diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency at the newborn age. By 3 year-old both siblings had undetectable androgen levels and delayed bone age. NR0B1 molecular analysis identified a nonsense mutation in both cases, c.243C>G; p.Tyr81*, in exon 1. Their mother and sister were asymptomatic carriers. At 14 year-old (Tanner stage 1) hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis evaluation in both males (LH < 0.1UI/L, total testosterone < 10 ng/dL) confirmed hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. In conclusion, biochemical profiles, bone age and an X-linked inheritance led to suspicion of NR0B1 mutations. Two nonsense mutations were detected in both kindreds, one previously unreported (c.1084A>T; p.Lys362*). Mutation identification allowed the timely institution of testosterone in patients at puberty and an appropriate genetic counselling for relatives

Energy efficiency of higher education buildings: a case study

Purpose – This paper aims to propose an energy efficiency plan (with technical and behavioural improvement measures) for a Portuguese higher education building – the Teaching Building of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (FEUC). Design/methodology/approach – The study was developed in the context of both the “Green Campus – Challenge for Energy Efficiency in Higher Education” and the Energy for Sustainability Initiative of the University of Coimbra, Portugal. An energy audit was conducted based on the analysis of the energy consumption profiles. A monitoring campaign was carried out to measure and disaggregate the electricity consumption. The consumption of natural gas and water were also assessed. The building envelope and the heating and lighting systems were also evaluated. Some patterns of energy-environmental behaviours of the academic community were investigated through a Web-based survey. Findings – The energy efficiency plan contemplates short-term tangible/intangible actions. It also considers the investment and payback period of the tangible measures. The implementation of three improvement measures in the lighting system would lead to a consumption reduction of about 26,123 kWh/ year, avoiding the emission of 3,704 KgCO2/year, for an initial cost of €9,920 (payback period of 3.7 years). Research limitations/implications – Results are restricted to the case study and there are limitations in their generalisation outside of their context. However, they show some broadly implications and trends that have relevance for the higher education sector. This paper highlights the importance of engaging students, faculty and technical staff for working together on the assessment of the energy efficiency of the buildings where they study and work. Social implications – The higher education sector holds important functions in educating the next generation of professionals for a sustainable culture. The categories of activities described in this paper are good examples of what can be done within the academic community for acting towards sustainability. The results also pointed out that making users aware of their energy consumption is a priority towards the energy efficiency in higher education buildings. Originality/value – Reductions on energy consumption are expected if the energy efficiency plan would be implemented. The results of the behavioural study were presented to the FEUC’s board of directors to be integrated in the “Good Practices Manual on Water and Energy Management”

Allergological evaluation of a dog population in a veterinary immuno-allergology consultation: What correlates in a canine model

Introduction: Allergic dermatitis (AD) is the most common canine pruritic condition in veterinary dermatology. Allergic dermatitis to flea bites presents the highest prevalence, followed by atopic dermatitis and food AD. This study aimed to identify possible correlation between data from clinical signs, intradermal tests (IDT) and specific IgE levels, which are used in dog AD assessment. Methods: Fifty five dogs from the Veterinary Hospital of the University of Évora (Portugal) and Rof Codina University Hospital (Lugo, Spain) outpatient consultations were studied by means of clinical inquiry, IDT and specific IgE determination. Thirty five of the patients belonged to predisposed breeds, 30 were females and 25 males. Forty one (74%) were indoor. Results: In 82% of cases first clinical signs appeared before the age of 3 years and 24% even before 1 year old. In 70% of the individuals clinical signs included itching, which was generalized in 66%, with 78% of paw licking and chewing. Clinical profile showed seasonal worsening in 64% of cases. From the 69.1% of dogs already presenting with dermatitis, 50% also presented external otitis and 28.9% self-inflicted alopecia. "Intense itching" was found in 10.5%, "medium itching" in 81.6% and “mild itching” in 5.26% of the patients. Prevalence of positive IDT was 37.3 % to Lep d, 29.41% to Der f, 27.5% to Der p, 25.5% to Dac g and 21.6% to Malassezia sp. From the 37 dogs submitted to food IDT, 40.5% revealed positive to beef, 27% to chicken, 27% to porc and 5.4% to lamb. Specific IgE > 150 EAU was found in 84% of dogs to indoor allergen sources and in 68% to pollens. A negative correlation was found between an outdoor life and the intensity (p = 0.033) and precocity (p = 0.026) of clinical signs. Sensitization to pollens was found positively correlated with the seasonality of clinical signs (p = 0.001) and the positivity for Dac g (p = 0.007). The prevalence of chronic otitis correlated positively with alopecia and reactivity to Lep d (p = 0.008), Plantago lanceolata (p = 0.026) and Platanus acerifolia (p = 0.017). There was no correlation between the results of ITD and specific IgE. Conclusion: We can conclude that correlation between different clinical signs and positive testing for some allergenic sources may occur, as well as between sensitization to pollens and the beginning, the intensity and the seasonality of dog patient clinical signs

Incorporation of defatted microalgal biomass (Tetraselmis sp. CTP4) at the expense of soybean meal as a feed ingredient for juvenile gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata)

The forecasted growth of the aquaculture sector requires the use of novel and sustainable ingredients in aquaculture feeds. A study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of a 10% incorporation of defatted microalgal biomass (DMB) of Tetraselmis sp. CTP4, used at the expense of dehulled solvent-extracted soybean meal (SBM), on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility and physiological response to confinement stress in gilthead seabream juveniles. The trial comprised two dietary treatments: a control diet (CTRL) with relatively high levels of marine-derived proteins and 10% SBM; and a test diet (DMB10) with the incorporation of 10% DMB at the expense of SBM, while maintaining a fair constancy of all other ingredients. Triplicate groups of 30 fish, with a mean initial body weight of 6.0 +/- 0.2 g were fed the experimental diets for 61 days. At the end of the trial, fish tripled their initial body weight, but the overall growth performance criteria (final body weight, daily growth index, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio), whole-body composition and nutrient retention were not significantly affected by the dietary treatments (p > 0.05). The DMB10 diet showed a significantly higher apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of dry matter, energy and phosphorus (p < 0.05). When measured as an isolated feed ingredient, the DMB had an ADC of protein, fat, energy and phosphorus of 87.9, 85.3, 75.5 and 41.4%, respectively. After an acute confinement stress test, fish fed with DMB10 diet displayed a significantly lower plasma cortisol response (120 +/- 23 ng/mL) than those fed with the control diet (160 +/- 33 ng/mL) (p < 0.05). Overall results showed that DMB, issued from biorefinery processes, could potentially spare the use of soybean meal in aquaculture feeds, contributing towards a reduction of the current protein deficit in the European market.Sparos, Lda.Portuguese national budgetFoundation for Science and Technology (FCT)Portuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyEuropean Commission [UIDB/04326/2020]Compete 2020 [24517_VALORMAR]Lisboa 2020 [24517_VALORMAR]CRESC Algarve 2020 [24517_VALORMAR]Portugal 2020 [24517_VALORMAR]European Union through FEDER/ERDFFCTPortuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyEuropean Commission [SFRH/BD/105541/2014]info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Indoor Air Quality and Thermal Comfort Assessment of Two Portuguese Secondary Schools: Main Results

The results of the field study about indoor thermal comfort in two of the involved schools of the 3Es project are presented. The thermal comfort and indoor air quality assessment was conducted by monitoring physical parameters and survey questionnaires. The subjective assessment shows that the students found temperature range beyond the comfort zone acceptable, and revealed the occupants' accommodation to CO2 exposure. The CO2 exceeding values exposed that IAQ is a problem and action should be taken to promote CO2 dilution when HVAC systems are not active

Smart Walker Solutions for Physical Rehabilitation

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Extraction of chlorophylls from natural sources

The growing consumers’ concern for possible long-term adverse effects of artificial molecules commonly used in food industry has led to an increased interest in natural products. At the same time, there is a demand for a more eco-sustainable use of natural matrices, which justifies the search for byproducts that have no other application to be explored in the development of novel food products [1,2]. In this context, the present study was designed to exploit natural pigments, more specifically chlorophylls, from bioresidues (aerial parts of carrot and tomato) for the development of food colorants. These are the most abundant pigments in plants and present, beyond their great coloring capacity, several bioactive properties, which corroborates the importance of their application in foodstuff. In this work, different extraction methodologies and techniques (maceration, ME, and ultrasound-assisted, USE) were applied to the lyophilized aerial parts of carrot and tomato to maximize the chlorophyll extraction yield. For the extraction, green solvents were prioritized, namely water, ethanol (90%), and hexane. The parameters affecting the pigments recovery were varied for each technique, namely the time, power, and solvent for USE, and the time and solvent for ME. The extractions were performed protecting the samples from light and the results were monitored through the implementation of a new chromatographic method, HPLC coupled to a diode array detector (DAD) and mass spectrometry (MS), to determine the concentration of chlorophylls and the best procedure to be performed. Both aerial parts presented chlorophylls and derivatives in significant concentrations and extraction yields up to 88% for the ethanolic extracts. The applied chromatographic method revealed to be appropriate for the analysis of this class of pigments, allowing a good peak resolution and separation, but also characteristic TIC spectrum for the tentative identification of the compounds. Therefore, the results of the present study can be explored for the development of chlorophyl-based colorants from these bioresidues, but also from similar byproducts.To the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020); National funding by FCT, P.I., through the individual scientific employment program-contract for C. Pereira, M.I. Dias, and L. Barros contracts and A.K. Molina PhD grant (2020.06231.BD). To FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E and TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P; to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project Mobilizador Norte-01-0247-FEDER-024479: ValorNatural® and Project GreenHealth - Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A multi-biomarker approach integrating immune, endocrine and oxidative endpoints

Funding Information: This work was supported by FEDER (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização - COMPETE 2020) from PIDDAC through FCT/MCTES project POCI-01–0145-FEDER-028708-PTDC/ASP-PES/28708/2017. All projects are funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES) . The authors are thankful to Sparos, Lda company for providing the fish feed, and to EPPO Aquaculture Research Station team (Olhão) for providing juvenile fish specimens. S.C.C. and I.M. acknowledge FCT for the Ph.D. Grant DFA/BD/4413/2020 , respectively. Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The AuthorsPentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-99) and bisphenol A (BPA) are synthetic organic compounds present in several daily use products. Due to their physicochemical properties, they are ubiquitously present in aquatic ecosystems and considered highly persistent. Recent evidence has confirmed that both emerging compounds are toxic to humans and terrestrial mammals eliciting a wide range of detrimental effects at endocrine and immune levels. However, the ecotoxicological responses that they can trigger in vertebrate marine species have not yet been established. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the ecotoxicological responses of juvenile Sparus aurata upon chronic (28 days) dietary exposure to BDE-99 and BPA (alone and combined) following an integrated multi-biomarker approach that combined fitness indicators (Fulton's K and splenosomatic indexes) with endocrine [cortisol, 17β-estradiol (E2), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) concentrations] and immune (peroxidase and antiprotease activities) endpoints in fish plasma, and oxidative stress [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities, and lipid peroxidation (LPO)] endpoints in the fish spleen. The mixture of BDE-99 and BPA yielded the highest IBR index value in both plasma and spleen biomarkers, therefore, suggesting that the effects of these compounds are more severe when they act together. Endocrine biomarkers were the most responsive in the three contaminated treatments. Fitness indicators were not affected by the individual nor the interactive effects of BDE-99 and BPA. These findings highlight the relevance of accounting for the interactive effects of emerging chemical contaminants and integrating responses associated with distinct biological pathways when investigating their impacts on marine life, as such a multi-biomarker approach provides a broader, more realistic and adequate perspective of challenges faced by fish in a contaminated environment.publishersversionpublishe