Transmontanas medicinal plants: main species, their uses and reliability in combating health problems

Atualmente, grande parte da população recorre às terapias alternativas, verificando-se uma multiplicidade de motivos para a sua escolha. Estas são, muitas vezes, o único tratamento disponível face aos recursos médicos existentes e ao nível económico da sociedade. As plantas medicinais são tradicionalmente recolhidas pelos habitantes ou curandeiros de uma região. Em Trás-os-Montes, a propriedade vegetativa é variada e abundante em doações e pode acarretar malefícios – aspetos abordados no presente artigo.Nowadays, many people turn to alternative therapies and there is a multiplicity of reasons for their choice. These are often the only available treatment as far as medical resources are concerned and according to the economic level of society. Medicinal plants are traditionally collected by the inhabitants or healers of the country. In Trás-os-Montes, the vegetative property is varied and abundant in donations and can cause harm – aspects discussed in this article

Thumb adductor muscle thickness used in the nutritional assessment of chronic kidney disease patients under conservative treatment

Introduction: Evaluate the association between the thumb adductor muscle thickness and the patient's nutritional status, and propose cutoff points for muscle mass depletion in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) under conservative treatment. Epidemiological and cross-sectional study, including patients with CKD stages 3 to 5, older than 60 years. Socioeconomic, clinical, physical activity and anthropometric data was obtained. TAMT was described and compared according to CKD stage, socioeconomic data, physical activity, nutritional status and correlated with age, glomerular filtration rate and anthropometric variables. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were produced, considering the lean tissue index classification as reference. The cut-off point was defined by the Youden index. Results: We evaluated 137 individuals. The TAMT was lower in malnourished and/or depleted muscle mass individuals; among males it was higher among those who practiced physical activities (p <0.05). This measure was moderately correlated with BMI, calf and brachial circumferences, lean body tissue, lean tissue index and body cell mass (r <0.7); negatively with age (r = -0.34). The ROC curve analysis determined cut points of 15.33 mm for females and 20.33 mm for males, with 72.22% and 62.50% accuracy, respectively. Conclusion: TAMT is used to estimate muscle mass and we suggest the cutoff point is useful to rule out the likelihood of muscle mass depletion. It is recommended that it be used in a complementary way in nutritional assessment.Introdução: Avaliar a associação da espessura do músculo adutor do polegar (EMAP) com o estado nutricional e propor pontos de corte para depleção de massa muscular em idosos portadores da doença renal crônica (DRC) em tratamento conservador. Metodologia: Estudo epidemiológico, delineamento transversal, incluindo portadores de DRC estágios 3 a 5, acima de 60 anos. Obteve-se dados socioeconômicos, clínicos, prática de atividade física e antropométricos. A EMAP foi descrita e comparada de acordo com o estágio da DRC, dados socioeconômicos, atividade física e estado nutricional e correlacionada com idade, taxa de filtração glomerular e variáveis antropométricas. Foram produzidas curvas Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), considerando como padrão de referência a classificação do índice de tecido magro. O ponto de corte foi definido pelo índice Youden. Resultados: Avaliou-se 137 indivíduos. A EMAP foi inferior nos desnutridos e/ou com depleção de massa muscular; no sexo masculino foi superior nos praticantes de atividade física (p<0,05). A medida se correlacionou moderadamente com IMC, circunferência da panturrilha e braquial, tecido de massa magra, índice de tecido magro e massa celular corporal (r<0,7), e negativamente com a idade (r=-0,34). A análise da curva ROC determinou pontos de corte de 15,33 mm para o sexo feminino e 20,33 mm para o masculino, com acurácia de 72,22% e 62,50%, respectivamente. Conclusão: A EMAP serve para estimar a massa muscular, e o ponto de corte sugerido é útil para afastar a probabilidade de depleção de massa muscular. Recomenda-se que seja utilizada de forma complementar na avaliação nutricional

New benzilidenimine and amido derivatives: evaluation of antioxidant activity

The use of compounds with antioxidant activity is expected to be useful for the treatment of diseases were active oxygen species and free radicals play an important role [1,2]. Phenolic antioxidants react with free radicals by a process that usually involves the transfer of a hydrogen atom, resulting in a stable phenolic radical [1,2]. Aromatic amines and imines also contain active hydrogen atoms (NH) and by analogy it is expected that these atoms can be transferred to free radicals behaving the aromatic amines and imines as antioxidants.Numerous methods can be applied to evaluate the potential use of a new compound as an antioxidant and both chemical and electrochemical methods have been developed with this purpose [3,4]. The use of electrochemical methods, in particular voltammetric techniques, provides information regarding its reducing power. In this work benzilidenoimine and amido derivatives, presented in figure 1 and 2 respectively, were synthesized and their potential use as antioxidants was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry. The structure–activity relationships of the synthesised compounds were investigated in order to understand how the different functionalities affect their antioxidant activity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mental disorders and suicide risk in emerging adulthood: the 1993 Pelotas birth cohort

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of some mental disorders and suicide risk, and the association between them in youths. METHODS: Data from the 1993 Pelotas Birth Cohort (Brazil) was used. The prevalence of mental disorders at 22 years [major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorders type 1 and 2 (BD1; BD2), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and antisocial personality disorder (APD)] and of suicide risk were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (n = 3,781). Comorbidity between disorders was also assessed. Association of each mental disorder and the number of disorders with suicide risk was assessed using Poisson regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of any mental disorder was 19.1% (95%CI 17.8–20.3), and GAD was the most prevalent (10.4%; 95%CI 9.5–11.4). The prevalence of current suicide risk was 8.8% (95%CI 5.9–9.7). All disorders (except APD) and the suicide risk were higher among women. Mental disorders were associated with a higher suicide risk, with the highest risks being observed for MDD (RR = 5.6; 95%CI 4.1–7.8) and PTSD (RR = 5.0; 95%CI 3.9–6.3). The higher the number of co-occurring mental disorders, the higher the risk of suicide. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings showed that about 20% of the youths had at least one mental disorder. However, this prevalence is underestimated since other relevant mental disorders were not assessed. Mental disorders were associated with higher suicide risk, especially the comorbidity between the

Serious games to improve health professional´s skills when caring for cardiac patients

This study focuses on a coronary care unit, aiming to identify ways in which these formal caregivers try to solve their problems and educational needs However, to intervene with non formal education and training actions, using innovative ways of designing, starting and delivering training, in which the participants involved organize themselves and take an active role in terms of the selection of objectives and contents This dynamic includes serious games as an element capable of producing attention, memory, and motivation for participants, providing them with effective and affective experiences A scoping review on the topic highlights the potential of serious games in the development of affection, attention, memory, and motivation to learn, nonetheless other factors should be considered, such as collaborative learning environments

Low diet quality in older adults:a population-based study in southern Brazil

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar os fatores associados à baixa qualidade da dieta de idosos da cidade de Pelotas, RS. As informações de consumo alimentar foram coletadas através de um questionário de frequência alimentar resumido e a qualidade da dieta foi avaliada através do Índice de Qualidade da Dieta de Idosos (IQD-I), desenvolvido pelos autores. Foram atribuídos pontos a cada alimento avaliado, conforme sua frequência de consumo. As maiores frequências de consumo receberam maior pontuação quando alimentos saudáveis e menor quando não saudáveis. A pontuação total foi dividida em tercis, classificados em: baixa, intermediária e boa qualidade. A associação entre a qualidade da dieta e as variáveis independentes foi investigada através de regressão logística multinomial. Os fatores associados à dieta de baixa qualidade foram: sexo masculino, idade inferior a 80 anos, baixa escolaridade, dificuldade financeira para compra de alimentos, baixo peso, problemas na boca ou nos dentes e realizar menos de quatro refeições por dia. Importantes barreiras para o consumo de uma dieta de boa qualidade foram identificadas neste estudo, ficando evidente a importância de se considerar esses aspectos na promoção da alimentação saudável em idosos

Tetraspanins displayed in retrovirus-derived virus-like particles and their impact in vaccine development

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are a particular subset of subunit vaccines which are currently explored as safer alternatives to live attenuated or inactivated vaccines. Retroviruses have been widely explored as vectors for gene therapy and as scaffolds for vaccine candidates. One of retrovirus-like particles (retroVLPs) most attractive characteristic is their ability to incorporate heterologous envelope proteins, known as pseudotyping, as a mean to manipulate tropism or to present foreign antigens. As pseudotyping is a non-selective process, host cellular proteins are also included in retroVLPs membrane [1]. Many studies have addressed the identity of these host-proteins for particle characterization nevertheless, the contribution of host-proteins in retrovirus immunogenicity remains unclear. Moreover, patients infected with HIV and HCV are known to develop autoantibodies targeting self-proteins. As the origin of these autoantibodies is still unclear, the adventitious nature of host–derived proteins present in retroVLPs cannot be discarded. Tetraspanins, in particular CD81, are amongst the most abundant host-proteins present in retrovirus membrane. Here we analyzed (i) the immunogenicity of tetraspanins in retroVLPs produced in xenogeneic cells (ii) the influence of CD81 in the diversity of host-proteins incorporated in retroVLPs and (iii) the impact of CD81-depletion in developing a retroVLPs-based HCV vaccine candidate. Our results suggest tetraspanins are major immunogens present in retroVLPs. We show that CD81 is highly incorporated in retroVLPs produced in HEK293 cells inducing strong antibody and T-cell immune response in mice. Our results also show an increased diversity of tetraspanins in retroVLPs after CD81 depletion from producer cells with preservation of the overall immunogenic profile of retrovirus particles [2]. We further explore the impact of CD81 depletion on the development of a retroVLPs-based HCV vaccine candidate and we observe that HCV E2 incorporation on retroVLPs is directly affected by CD81 expression, thus diminished in CD81-negative retroVLPs. These results highlight the dynamic and non-innocuous nature of host-derived proteins present in retroVLPs membrane. We consider this dynamic nature and its impact in product quality as an additional feature to be considered when developing retrovirus-based biopharmaceuticals. References: [1] Segura, M.M., et al., (2008) J Virol. 82(3): p. 1107-17 [2] H. R. Soares, et al. (2016) Vaccine. (in press) Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the financial support received from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (PTDC/EBB-BIO/118621/2010 and EXPL/BBB-BIO/1129/2013). H.R. Soares, and P. Gomes-Alves acknowledge FCT for the individual grants SFRH/BD/81598/2011and ‏SFRH/BPD/86513/2012 respectively

Biodiesel production from waste frying oils over lime catalysts

Biodiesel production from semi-refined oils (SRO) and waste frying oils (WFO) was studied using commercial CaO as heterogeneous catalyst. The methanolysis tests were carried out in mild reaction conditions (62 A degrees C, atmospheric pressure). With such conditions, SRO (soybean and rapeseed) allowed to produce a biodiesel containing 97-98 % of methyl esters (FAME), whereas WFO only provided 86-87 % of FAME. The lower FAME yield for WFO oil is ascribable to the partial neutralization of the catalyst by free fatty acids. Also, soaps formation from the WFO oil reduced the weight yield of the oil phase (containing FAME) obtained and increased the MONG content of the glycerin phase. The catalysts stability tests showed high stability even when WFO oil was processed. Catalytic tests performed with blends of WFO/semi-refined oils showed blending as a good strategy to process low value raw oils with minor decay of the catalyst performance. Both WFO and semi-refined oils showed S-shape kinetics curves thus discarding significant differences of the reaction mechanisms

The Challenges to Make Decent Work a Reality for Domestic Workers in Brazil

The present paper deals with the problematic of labor and social security rights of domestic workers in Brazil and around the world highlighting the importance of more inclusive and fair public policies and private actions for this category of workers The research analyzed official documents and statistics as well as bibliographic research from authors who discuss the subjec