Buraco Macular Pediátrico: Que Atitude Tomar? Considerações a Propósito de um Caso Clínico

A formação de um buraco macular traumático não é um evento raro na infância. Cada vez mais o tratamento preconizado é a cirurgia precoce. Apresentamos o caso de uma criança de 12 anos que sofreu um traumatismo ocular com bola de futebol. Recorreu ao Hospital CUF Descobertas por baixa da melhor acuidade visual corrigida para 1/10. Na fundoscopia apresentava buraco macular traumático completo, documentado por tomografia de coerência ótica. Foi decidido realizar vigilância semanal. Após um período de agravamento inicial, houve melhoria morfológica na tomografia de coerência ótica com recuperação progressiva da melhor acuidade visual corrigida, até se verificar encerramento total e espontâneo do buraco macular traumático ao final do quarto mês. Nos buracos maculares traumáticos em idade pediátrica, o encerramento espontâneo é possível, sendo para tal obrigatório um seguimento próximo

Semi-aggregate consumption in Portugal: 1958-1975

This paper uses the linear expenditure system model to analyse the demand for eight groups of commodities by Portuguese households during the 1958-1975 period. According to our results, the Portuguese consumption habits are consistent with the consumption habits of a developing economy. The paper also suggests the use of more flexible specifications to capture the NCW substitution opportunities of economic development

First insights of peptidoglycan amidation in Gram-positive bacteria - the high-resolution crystal structure of Staphylococcus aureus glutamine amidotransferase GatD

Abstract Gram-positive bacteria homeostasis and antibiotic resistance mechanisms are dependent on the intricate architecture of the cell wall, where amidated peptidoglycan plays an important role. The amidation reaction is carried out by the bi-enzymatic complex MurT-GatD, for which biochemical and structural information is very scarce. In this work, we report the first crystal structure of the glutamine amidotransferase member of this complex, GatD from Staphylococcus aureus, at 1.85 Å resolution. A glutamine molecule is found close to the active site funnel, hydrogen-bonded to the conserved R128. In vitro functional studies using 1H-NMR spectroscopy showed that S. aureus MurT-GatD complex has glutaminase activity even in the absence of lipid II, the MurT substrate. In addition, we produced R128A, C94A and H189A mutants, which were totally inactive for glutamine deamidation, revealing their essential role in substrate sequestration and catalytic reaction. GatD from S. aureus and other pathogenic bacteria share high identity to enzymes involved in cobalamin biosynthesis, which can be grouped in a new sub-family of glutamine amidotransferases. Given the ubiquitous presence of GatD, these results provide significant insights into the molecular basis of the so far undisclosed amidation mechanism, contributing to the development of alternative therapeutics to fight infections