Parto pré-termo tardio e de termo precoce em Portugal

Copyright © Ordem dos Médicos 2016Introduction: Late preterm birth (defined as birth between 34 and 36 complete weeks' gestation) and early term birth (defined as birth between 37 and 38 complete weeks' gestation) have become a topic of recent discussion as the morbidity associated with delivery at these gestational ages has become increasingly evident. Our objective was to evaluate the characteristics of late preterm and early term birth in Portugal. Material and methods: We developed a survey questionnaire that was sent to the Obstetric Department of all public hospitals in Portugal. The questionnaire consisted on questions on prevalence and mode of delivery of late preterm and early term period and associated neonatal morbidity and mortality. The questions referred solely to single births occurred during 2013. Results: We received completed questionnaires from 14 hospitals, corresponding to nearly one third (33.5%) of total deliveries in Portugal. We report 5.4% of late preterm and 27% of early term deliveries. Approximately two thirds of late preterm and three quarters of early term deliveries were spontaneous. The cesarean section rate was higher in late preterm (39.1%) than in early term (26.4%) births. Neonatal complications were more frequent in late preterm neonates (34.2%) when compared to early term neonates (14.2%). Discussion: The prevalence of late preterm and early term birth in our cohort is comparable, although slightly reduced, to other published series. Conclusion: The obstetric community should raise efforts to limit deliveries below 39 weeks' gestation to the ones with a valid medical indication.Introdução: Nos últimos anos, vários autores evidenciaram a morbilidade associada aos partos ocorridos entre as 34 e 36 semanas (pré-termo tardio) e entre as 37 e 38 semanas de gestação (termo precoce). Neste sentido, pretendemos realizar um estudo epidemiológico dos partos que ocorrem nestas idades gestacionais, em Portugal. Material e Métodos: Realizámos um inquérito, que foi aplicado a todos os hospitais públicos de Portugal, acerca da prevalência e via de parto nos partos pré-termo tardios e de termo precoce, e morbilidade e mortalidade neonatal associada. As questões referiam-se apenas a gestações de feto único e a partos ocorridos em 2013. Resultados: Incluímos 14 hospitais, correspondendo a 33,5% dos partos ocorridos em Portugal, em 2013. Verificámos que 5,4% dos partos ocorreram no período pré-termo tardio e 27% no termo precoce. Aproximadamente dois terços dos partos pré-termo tardio e três quartos dos partos de termo precoce foram espontâneos. A taxa de cesariana foi mais elevada entre as 34 e 36 semanas de gestação (39,1%) do que entre as 37 e 38 semanas (26,4%). As complicações neonatais foram mais frequentes após um parto pré-termo tardio (34,2%), quando comparadas com os de termo precoce (14,2%). Discussão: Na nossa amostra, a prevalência de parto pré-termo tardio e de termo precoce, ainda que ligeiramente inferior, é comparável à publicada em estudos anteriores. Conclusão: É importante que a comunidade obstétrica nacional adote atitudes no sentido de limitar os partos antes das 39 semanas de gestação. Assim, nestas idades gestacionais os partos devem possuir uma indicação médica válida.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Presença de Listeria monocytogenes e contagem de Pseudomonas em superfícies de uma indústria de lacticínios

Comunicação oral da qual só está disponível o resumo.Presença de Listeria monocytogenes e contagem de Pseudomonas em superfícies de uma indústria de lacticínios

High-output heart failure in a newborn.

High-output cardiac failure is rare in newborns. Emergent diagnosis and management of this pathology is crucial. We report the case of a child, currently 12-months old; obstetric background is non-contributory. Clinic observation on D1 was normal except for the presence of a systolic cardiac murmur; cardiological evaluation revealed mild ventricular dysfunction of the right ventricle. On the third day of life, she developed cardiac failure with gallop rhythm, hepatomegaly and a murmur in the anterior fontanel; an echocardiogram confirmed clinic aggravation with biventricular dysfunction and right cavities and superior vena cava dilatation. The cranial MRI confirmed the presence of a pial arteriovenous malformation (AVM) involving the anterior and middle cerebral arteries with an associated fronto-parietal ischaemic lesion. The infant underwent embolisations of AVM with successful flow reduction and cardiac failure improvement. The multidisciplinary follow-up showed no cardiac dysfunction or permanent lesions but confirmed a severe psycho-motor delay and left hemiparesiainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Transformative community mental health: perspectives from Portugal and Europe

In the context of the agreement protocol celebrated between APA (American Psychological Association) and OPP (Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses) was held in San Francisco, for the 156 th edition of APA annual convention an invited symposium. Were invited speakers the first two of authors of this paper, and the symposium held this same title: Transformative community mental health: perspectives from Portugal and Europe. This symposia was chaired by Amanda Clinton, Director of the Office of International Affairs from APA and was registered the presence of some of the representative from European Associations of Psychologists (including the delegation of OPP), and the presence of the Portuguese diplomatic representation in San Francisco, represented by the Consul General of Portugal in San Francisco. This brief note aims at synthetizing the main ideas flowing from this debate, highlighting the importance of having two Portuguese researchers reporting not only the contemporary views on prevention and promotion but also successful case studies from Portugal and from Europe in the area of Transformative Community Mental Health. Some aspects of the trajectory of scientific knowledge in recent decades and their impact on interventions in the area of Psychology, Public Health, Mental Health and Public Policies will be highlighted, and three case studies related to successful psychological interventions and three successful national public policies will be shortly discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Retratos do docente no ensino superior online: pedagogias e tecnologias

O desenvolvimento tecnológico, bem como as exigências da sociedade e do mercado de trabalho impelem para a mudança dos ambientes de aprendizagem. Estas mudanças passam pela redefinição de papéis, formas de interação e promoção do trabalho colaborativo e da aprendizagem em rede. É, pois evidente que, o redimensionamento dos cenários educativos implica alterações e redefinição do papel e das funções do professor, de modo a adaptar-se às caraterísticas deste tipo de ensino (Goulão, 2012; Baran, Correia, Thompson, 2011). Dito de outro modo, as modificações do contexto implicam alterações e redefinições do papel e das funções do professor, exigindo esforços de adaptação às caraterísticas de um tipo de ensino ajustado aos ambientes digitais de aprendizagem.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Starting a conversation about estimands with public partners involved in clinical trials: a co-developed tool

Background: Clinical trials aim to draw conclusions about the effects of treatments, but a trial can address many different potential questions. For example, does the treatment work well for patients who take it as prescribed? Or does it work regardless of whether patients take it exactly as prescribed? Since different questions can lead to different conclusions on treatment benefit, it is important to clearly understand what treatment effect a trial aims to investigate—this is called the ‘estimand’. Using estimands helps to ensure trials are designed and analysed to answer the questions of interest to different stakeholders, including patients and public. However, there is uncertainty about whether patients and public would like to be involved in defining estimands and how to do so. Public partners are patients and/or members of the public who are part of, or advise, the research team. We aimed to (i) co-develop a tool with public partners that helps explain what an estimand is and (ii) explore public partner’s perspectives on the importance of discussing estimands during trial design. Methods: An online consultation meeting was held with 5 public partners of mixed age, gender and ethnicities, from various regions of the UK. Public partner opinions were collected and a practical tool describing estimands, drafted before the meeting by the research team, was developed. Afterwards, the tool was refined, and additional feedback sought via email. Results: Public partners want to be involved in estimand discussions. They found an introductory tool, to be presented and described to them by a researcher, helpful for starting a discussion about estimands in a trial design context. They recommended storytelling, analogies and visual aids within the tool. Four topics related to public partners’ involvement in defining estimands were identified: (i) the importance of addressing questions that are relevant to patients and public in trials, (ii) involving public partners early on, (iii) a need for education and communication for all stakeholders and (iv) public partners and researchers working together. Conclusions: We co-developed a tool for researchers and public partners to use to facilitate the involvement of public partners in estimand discussions

Donnan Dialysis for Recovering Ammonium from Fermentation Solutions Rich in Volatile Fatty Acids

Funding Information: Universitat Politècnica de València and Ministerio de Universidades de España (Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia—financed by European Union—Next GenerationEU) are acknowledged for the post-doctoral research grant attributed to Kayo Santana Barros. Funding Information: This work was financed by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., Lisbon, Portugal in the scope of the projects UIDP/04378/2020, UIDB/04378/2020 and PTDC/BTA-BTA/30902/2017 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences—UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy—i4HB. The work was also supported through the projects UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020, funded by FCT/MCTES through national funds. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.For the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) using nitrogen-rich feedstocks (e.g., protein-rich resources), the typical strategy of restricting cell growth as a means to enhance overall PHA productivity by nitrogen limitation is not applicable. In this case, a possible alternative to remove the nitrogen excess (NH4+/NH3) is by applying membrane separation processes. In the present study, the use of Donnan dialysis to separate ammonium ions from volatile fatty acids present in the media for the production of PHA was evaluated. Synthetic and real feed solutions were used, applying NaCl and HCl receiver solutions separated by commercial cation-exchange membranes. For this specific purpose, Fumasep and Ralex membranes showed better performance than Ionsep. Sorption of ammonium ions occurred in the Ralex membrane, thus intensifying the ammonium extraction. The separation performances with NaCl and HCl as receiver solutions were similar, despite sorption occurring in the Ralex membrane more intensely in the presence of NaCl. Higher volumetric flow rates, NaCl receiver concentrations, and volume ratios of feed:receiver solutions enhanced the degree of ammonium recovery. The application of an external electric potential difference to the two-compartment system did not significantly enhance the rate of ammonium appearance in the receiver solution. The results obtained using a real ammonium-containing solution after fermentation of cheese whey showed that Donnan dialysis can be successfully applied for ammonium recovery from such solutions.publishersversionpublishe

Doors that digital opened in education research

In today's network societies, constantly changing through the evolution of virtual environments and digital technologies, individual and collective dimensions integrate complex, dynamic, and innovative processes. Complexity here refers to an ecosystem of networks with interconnected and interdependent elements. In this context, the mechanistic, rational, and fragmented paradigm tends to run out, emerging an approach based on the connection and convergence of previously fragmented knowledge into a new multidimensional, transdisciplinary and global approach. In such context of complexity, collaboration emerges as a promoter of the development of a critical, reflective, transformative view. Virtual environments and digital technologies expand the possibilities of collaboration, its results, and impacts. But they also add complexity. Educational research is not outside of such dynamics. The purpose of this text is to present a contribution to the discussion of this issue. The new virtual learning invironments come from these digital scenarios, do facilitate the pedagogical and interactive intentionality, as they promote co-learning and co-investigation. The objective of this chapter is to analyze the pedagogical elements that constitute an open and collaborative investigation in such virtual and networked environments. We will carry out this analysis using a qualitative approach, focusing on discussions coming from online training, learning communities and innovative interfaces. With this empirical framework, it is possible to highlight innovative and complex issues that pedagogical strategies for co-investigation require.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Protein crystallization in a microfluidic contactor with nafion®117 membranes

UIDB/50006/2020 UIDP/50006/2020 “Erasmus Mundus Doctorate in Membrane Engineering”–EUDIME (FPA 2011–2014, http://www.eudime.unical.itProtein crystallization still remains mostly an empirical science, as the production of crystals with the required quality for X-ray analysis is dependent on the intensive screening of the best protein crystallization and crystal’s derivatization conditions. Herein, this demanding step was addressed by the development of a high-throughput and low-budget microfluidic platform consisting of an ion exchange membrane (117 Nafion® membrane) sandwiched between a channel layer (stripping phase compartment) and a wells layer (feed phase compartment) forming 75 independent microcontactors. This microfluidic device allows for a simultaneous and independent screening of multiple protein crystallization and crystal derivatization conditions, using Hen EggWhite Lysozyme (HEWL) as the model protein and Hg2+ as the derivatizing agent. This microdevice offers well-regulated crystallization and subsequent crystal derivatization processes based on the controlled transport of water and ions provided by the 117 Nafion® membrane. Diffusion coefficients of water and the derivatizing agent (Hg2+) were evaluated, showing the positive influence of the protein drop volume on the number of crystals and crystal size. This microfluidic system allowed for crystals with good structural stability and high X-ray diffraction quality and, thus, it is regarded as an efficient tool that may contribute to the enhancement of the proteins’ crystals structural resolution.publishersversionpublishe

Transcriptomic leaf profiling reveals differential responses of the two most traded coffee species to elevated [co2]

PTDC/ASP-AGR/31257/2017 UIDB/00239/2020 UIDP/04035/2020 UID/AGR/04129/2020 UIDB/04551/2020 CRA-RED-00053-16As atmospheric [CO2] continues to rise to unprecedented levels, understanding its impact on plants is imperative to improve crop performance and sustainability under future climate conditions. In this context, transcriptional changes promoted by elevated CO2 (eCO2) were studied in genotypes from the two major traded coffee species: the allopolyploid Coffea arabica (Icatu) and its diploid parent, C. canephora (CL153). While Icatu expressed more genes than CL153, a higher number of differentially expressed genes were found in CL153 as a response to eCO2. Although many genes were found to be commonly expressed by the two genotypes under eCO2, unique genes and pathways differed between them, with CL153 showing more enriched GO terms and metabolic pathways than Icatu. Divergent functional categories and significantly enriched pathways were found in these genotypes, which altogether supports contrasting responses to eCO2. A considerable number of genes linked to coffee physiological and biochemical responses were found to be affected by eCO2 with the significant upregulation of photosynthetic, antioxidant, and lipidic genes. This supports the absence of photosynthesis down-regulation and, therefore, the maintenance of increased photosynthetic potential promoted by eCO2 in these coffee genotypes.publishersversionpublishe