Evaluation of determinants of food waste in family households in the greater porto area based on self- reported consumption practices

Despite food waste occurring along the entire food supply chain, a significant proportion occurs in domestic settings. Large quantities of domestic food waste have been attributable to consumer behaviors during buying, cooking, consumption, and disposal. The main objective of this research was to understand the major determinants of household food waste from families in the north of Portugal. A convenience sample was used, which was drawn from households in the Greater Porto Area. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire that included three groups of structured questions related to perceived behavior and attitudes towards food consumption, leftover usage, and food waste. Exploratory data analysis was used to identify underlying dimensions. No relationships were found between socio-demographic data and food waste, buying behavior, or destination/use of leftovers. The majority of the participants reported a high level of planning of their grocery shopping. Fruits and vegetables presented the highest frequency of consumption, followed by sources of carbohydrates and sources of proteins. The storage of cooked food from different food groups presented a single factor, grouping the majority of the individual food leftovers, going from fruits and vegetables to sources of carbohydrates and proteins. The reported levels of wastage of the different food products were grouped into three dimensions: waste of vegetables, waste of protein sources, and waste of sources of carbohydrates. Waste of precooked foods emerged as an independent item, and it was the individual item with the highest frequency. The families studied reported a positive attitude concerning buying, consumption, and wastage, revealing a particular awareness of food waste and its social and environmental impact. (c) 2020 by the authors

Viabilidade do exame ultrassonográfico pelas vias transretal, transabdominal e transvaginal para diagnosticar prenhez em cabras e ovelhas

Neste trabalho objetivou-se verificar a viabilidade do exame ultrassonográfico pelas vias transretal, transabdominal e transvaginal para diagnosticar a gestação de cabras (n = 240) e ovelhas (n = 320) no 30o, 45o, 60o e 75o dia. Foi utilizando um aparelho de ultrassom equipado com um transdutor linear utilizado pelas vias transretal e transabdominal e outro microconvexo endocavitário utilizado por via transvaginal. Nas cabras e ovelhas, o exame ultrassonográfico pela via transretal foi mais rápido (P < 0,05) no 30o e no 45o dia da gestação, mas, pela via transabdominal foi mais rápido no 60o e no 75o dia. Em ambas as espécies, a duração do diagnóstico de gestação foi maior (P < 0,05) no 30o dia do que nos demais, enquanto que a duração do diagnóstico no 75o dia foi menor (P < 0,05) do que no 45o e 60o. Independentemente da via de exame e do dia da gestação, o tempo médio para diagnosticar a gestação foi menor (P < 0,05) nas cabras do que nas ovelhas. Independentemente da espécie e do dia da gestação, o tempo médio  para diagnosticar a gestação pela via transretal foi menor (P < 0,05) do que as demais e o da transvaginal  foi menor (P < 0,05) do que o da via transabdominal. Os resultados permitem concluir que o diagnóstico de gestação é mais rápido pela via transretal, que o tempo de diagnóstico é menor na gestação avançada e na espécie caprina.&nbsp

PROTOCOLO DE DESINFECÇÃO DE MOLDAGENS

Após  realizar  o  procedimento  de  confecção  de  moldagem  de prótese  é  necessário  que  haja  sua  desinfecção  com  uma  técnica  menos agressiva  que  a  esterilização.  Segue  uma  ordem  de  lavagem  com desencrostante, enxágue e desinfecção posterior. A necessidade de tal técnica tem  finalidade  de  prevenir  a  contaminação  cruzada,  causada  pela  saliva  e sangue  encontrados  na  superfície  do  molde,  que  é  considerada  de  grande potencial  de  contaminação.  Tal  procedimento  pode  ser  realizado  com  uma variedade  de  desinfectantes,  cada  um  com  uma  indicação  própria.  O  objetivo dessa mesa demonstrativa é levar ao conhecimento da comunidade acadêmica as  técnicas  de  desinfecção  de  moldagens  em  prótes

Cell walls of the dimorphic fungal pathogens Sporothrix schenckii and Sporothrix brasiliensis exhibit bilaminate structures and sloughing of extensive and intact layers

This work was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ), grants E-26/202.974/2015 and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), grants 229755/2013-5, Brazil. LMLB is a senior research fellow of CNPq and Faperj. NG acknowledged support from the Wellcome Trust (Trust (097377, 101873, 200208) and MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MR/N006364/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Sex bias in biopsy samples collected from free-ranging dolphins

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in European Journal of Wildlife Research 56 (2010): 151-158, doi:10.1007/s10344-009-0299-7.Biological samples of free-ranging dolphins are increasingly used to gain information on population structure and ecology. In small cetaceans, the gender of individuals usually cannot be determined at sea, and population sex ratio has to be inferred indirectly. We used molecular sexing to determine the gender of 340 biopsy samples of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, spotted dolphins, Stenella frontalis, and common dolphins, Delphinus delphis, collected around the Azores and Madeira. Sex ratio was globally skewed in favor of males, and differed between species and archipelagos. Skew was probably influenced by the selectivity of biopsy collectors and seasonal or year-round predominance of males in natural populations. Skew was also influenced by sampling duration and intensity. In the Azores, when several samples were successively collected within the same group, the proportion of female samples decreased as a function of sample order. This trend indicated a tendency for females to increasingly avoid the boat while samples were being collected. It showed that males and females reacted differently to the perturbation caused by the biopsy sampling process (i.e. sample collection and driving style).Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the FEDER program for funding the CETAMARH (POCTI/BSE/38991/01) and the GOLFINICHO (POCI/BIA-BDE/61009/2004) projects, S.Q.'s post-doctoral grants (IMAR/FCT- PDOC-006/2001-MoleGen and SFRH/BPD/19680/2004), M.A.S.'s doctoral (SFRH/BD/8609/2002) and post-doctoral (SFRH/BPD/29841/2006) grants, S.M.'s investigation assistant grant (CETAMARHII/POCTI/BSE/38991/2001) and I.C.'s investigation assistant grants (IMAR/FCT/GOLFINICHO/001/2005 and IMAR/FCT/GOLFINICHO/004/2006). FCT for its pluri-annual funding to Research Unit #531 and the EU funded program Interreg IIIb for funding the MACETUS project (MAC/4.2/M10) as well as R.P. and S.M.’s grants (IMAR/INTERREGIIIb/MACETUS/MAC1/2)

Mumps epidemic in Portugal despite high vaccine coverage : preliminary report

A measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) trivalent vaccine was added to Portugal’s National Immunisation Programme (NIP) in 1987. All vaccines are given at health centres, free of charge, but an epidemic of mumps began in 1995, firstly in northern Portugal and has now spread to other areas. Initially, only one dose of MMR vaccine at the age of 15 months was recommended. In 1990 a second dose at the age of 11 to 13 years was added. Portugal was one of the first countries in Europe to advocate this policy

Sialic Acid Glycobiology Unveils Trypanosoma cruzi Trypomastigote Membrane Physiology.

Trypanosoma cruzi, the flagellate protozoan agent of Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis, is unable to synthesize sialic acids de novo. Mucins and trans-sialidase (TS) are substrate and enzyme, respectively, of the glycobiological system that scavenges sialic acid from the host in a crucial interplay for T. cruzi life cycle. The acquisition of the sialyl residue allows the parasite to avoid lysis by serum factors and to interact with the host cell. A major drawback to studying the sialylation kinetics and turnover of the trypomastigote glycoconjugates is the difficulty to identify and follow the recently acquired sialyl residues. To tackle this issue, we followed an unnatural sugar approach as bioorthogonal chemical reporters, where the use of azidosialyl residues allowed identifying the acquired sugar. Advanced microscopy techniques, together with biochemical methods, were used to study the trypomastigote membrane from its glycobiological perspective. Main sialyl acceptors were identified as mucins by biochemical procedures and protein markers. Together with determining their shedding and turnover rates, we also report that several membrane proteins, including TS and its substrates, both glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, are separately distributed on parasite surface and contained in different and highly stable membrane microdomains. Notably, labeling for α(1,3)Galactosyl residues only partially colocalize with sialylated mucins, indicating that two species of glycosylated mucins do exist, which are segregated at the parasite surface. Moreover, sialylated mucins were included in lipid-raft-domains, whereas TS molecules are not. The location of the surface-anchored TS resulted too far off as to be capable to sialylate mucins, a role played by the shed TS instead. Phosphatidylinositol-phospholipase-C activity is actually not present in trypomastigotes. Therefore, shedding of TS occurs via microvesicles instead of as a fully soluble form