Perspective of the clinical control of the disease

Background: Asthma control is harder to assess in elderly asthmatics due to the presence of co-morbidities that can mimic asthma symptomatology and due to the lack of perception of asthma symptoms on the part of the patients. Moreover, impairment of cognitive functions and decrease of lung function due to aging also contribute to the flawed control assessment in this age group. This study aims to assess asthma control as well as its impact on the quality of life in elderly and non-elderly asthmatics, and to find out predictors of poor asthma control in these two age groups of asthmatics. Methods: Cross-sectional assessment of a sample of 92 elderly and 100 non-elderly patients with the clinical diagnosis of Bronchial Asthma being followed up at Centro Hospitalar Cova da Beira, Covilhã, Portugal. All volunteers signed a written informed consent form. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected first and then standardized and validated questionnaires were used to evaluate depression, cognitive state, asthma control, quality of life and knowledge about the disease. Assessment of inhaler technique by the patients was also carried out. Results were analysed using the Software Package for Social Sciences®, version 23.0. Results: The majority of the asthmatics were well controlled according to ACT and partially controlled according to GINA. When control was studied using CARAT in elderly asthmatics with allergic rhinitis, most of them were not controlled. Non-elderly patients with well controlled and partially controlled asthma had better quality of life than well controlled and partially controlled elderly patients. Regarding predictors of poor control on EA, higher Graffar class and exposure to tobacco smoke were predictors of poor control on CARAT lower airways component and global components, respectively. For the NEA, higher Graffar class and higher number of exacerbations in the last year were predictors of poor control on the CARAT and ACT, respectively. Conclusions: Although most of the patients were at least partially controlled, those with concurrent rhinitis have worse asthma control. When compared to non-elderly asthmatics, elderly patients have similar levels of control, although their quality of life tends to be worse than in younger patients. In terms of factors that predict worse asthma control, low socioeconomic status may be a predictor of poor asthma and allergic rhinitis control in the two age groups and exposure to tobacco smoke may also be a predictor of worse control in elderly asthmatics with rhinitis.Introdução: Avaliar o controlo da Asma nos idosos é difícil, devido à presença de comorbilidades que imitam a sintomatologia da asma, bem como à falta de percepção dos sintomas. Além do mais, os défices cognitivos e a diminuição da função pulmonar devido ao envelhecimento também contribuem para uma avaliação defeituosa do controlo neste grupo etário. Este estudo tem como objectivos avaliar o controlo da asma em idosos e não idosos asmáticos, o seu impacto na qualidade de vida e encontrar preditores de mau controlo, comparando sempre os dois grupos etários em questão. Métodos: Avaliação transversal de uma população alvo de 92 idosos e 100 não-idosos com o diagnóstico clínico de Asma Brônquica seguidos no Centro Hospitalar Cova da Beira, em Portugal. Todos os voluntários assinaram um consentimento informado. Primeiro obtiveram-se os dados clínicos e sociodemográficos e depois usaram-se questionários estandardizados e validados para avaliar depressão, estado cognitivo, controlo da asma, qualidade de vida e auto-conhecimento da doença. Também foi avaliada a técnica inalatória. Os resultados foram analisados usando o Software Package for Social Sciences®, versão 23.0. Resultados: A grande maioria dos asmáticos encontrava-se bem controlada segundo o ACT e parcialmente controlada segundo o GINA. No subgrupo dos asmáticos com rinite, segundo o CARAT a maioria estava não controlada. Os idosos asmáticos bem e parcialmente controlados apresentavam pior qualidade de vida do que não idosos asmáticos bem e parcialmente controlados, respectivamente. Uma alta classe de Graffar e a exposição ao tabaco estavam associados a pior controlo no CARAT, na parte das vias inferiores e na parte global respectivamente. Nos asmáticos não idosos, uma alta classe de Graffar e um aumento do número de exacerbações da asma no último ano estavam associadas a pior controlo no CARAT e no ACT, respectivamente. Conclusões: Independentemente da idade, em doentes asmáticos com a doença, no mínimo, parcialmente controlada, a co-morbilidade com rinite está associada apior controlo da asma. Quando comparados com os asmáticos não idosos, os asmáticos idosos têm semelhantes níveis de controlo, embora a qualidade de vida tenda a ser pior nos idosos. Em termos de preditores de pior controlo da asma, um nível socioeconómico baixo está associado a pior controlo em asmáticos com rinite de ambos os grupos etários, e a exposição ao fumo do tabaco está associada a pior controlo nos idosos asmáticos com rinite

Open-Air Cold Plasma Device Leads to Selective Tumor Cell Cytotoxicity

The need for effective and safe therapies for cancer is growing as aging is modifying its epidemiology. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has gained attention as a potential anti-tumor therapy. CAP is a gas with enough energy to ionize a significant fraction of its constituent particles, forming equal numbers of positive ions and electrons. Timely-resolved output voltage measurement, emission spectroscopy, and quantification of reactive species (RS) in plasma-activated media (PAM) were performed to characterize the physical and chemical properties of plasma. To assess the cytotoxicity of cold atmospheric plasma in human tumors, different cell lines were cultured, plated, and exposed to CAP, followed by MTT and SRB colorimetric assays 24 h later. Human fibroblasts, phenotypically normal cells, were processed similarly. Plasma cytotoxicity was higher in cells of breast cancer, urinary bladder cancer, osteosarcoma, lung cancer, melanoma, and endometrial cancer. Cytotoxicity was time-dependent and possibly related to the increased production of hydrogen peroxide in the exposed medium. Sixty seconds of CAP exposure renders selective effects, preserving the viability of fibroblast cells. These results point to the importance of conducting further studies of the therapy with plasma

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

Interaction Design, user experience & Urban Creativity scientific journal : screens and beyond

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio