Evaluation of mathematical indices as tools for distinguishing β-thalassemia trait from iron deficiency anemia in Portuguese females with microcytic anemia

Microcytic anemia is a common condition frequently caused by iron deficiency anemia (IDA) or β-thalassemia trait (BTT). Some mathematical indices have been described as fast and inexpensive tools for distinguishing these two conditions. This approach is very useful in mass screening programs especially in countries with limited resources. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of 13 distinct indices: RBC, England&Fraser, Mentzer, Srivastava, Shine&Lal, RDW, Ricerca, Jayabose (RDWI), Green&King (G&K), MDHL, MCHD, Sirdah and Ensani. We investigated 102 adult Portuguese female, presenting anemia (HbA; c.92+6T>C; c.92+110G>A or c.1188C>T) and 51 IDA, being assured that no individual had simultaneously the two conditions. To determine the performance of the indices, sensitivity, specificity, Youden index (YI) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated. Due to the high values of AUC (Area Under the Curve) from ROC analysis, a cutoff of 0.70 for the YI was established in order to determine the best formulas. We find that the 3 best performing indices to differentiate the 2 groups were RBC (YI=0.71; AUC=0.902), RDWI (YI=0.84; AUC=0.973) and G&K (YI=0.82; AUC=0.972). Our results suggest a similarity with other Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Greece, where G&K and RDWI also performed above our set cutoff. The same is observed in Brazil probably due to its Portuguese ancestry. We conclude that aiming to diagnosis the condition underlying a microcytic anemia in a female population, there is value in using this method to recognize the individuals suspected of BTT and forward them for HbA2 measurement or HBB molecular test. In the future, a robust group of male patients should be added to the analysis in order to extrapolate which of these indices would best apply to the whole adult Portuguese population.This work was partially funded by INSA_2012DGH720 and ISAMBinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and essential oils: a new tool for biological applications

Essential oils are complex mixtures of volatile compounds with diverse biological properties. Antimicrobial activity has been attributed to the essential oils as well as their capacity to prevent pathogenic microorganisms from forming biofilms. The search of compounds or methodologies with this capacity is of great importance due to the fact that the adherence of these pathogenic microorganisms to surfaces largely contributes to antibiotic resistance. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have been assayed for diverse biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and low toxicity. Several methods have been developed in order to obtain functionalized magnetite nanoparticles with adequate size, shape, size distribution, surface, and magnetic properties for medical applications. Essential oils have been evaluated as modifiers of the surfacemagnetite nanoparticles for improving their stabilization but particularly to prevent the growth of microorganisms. This review aims to provide an overview on the current knowledge about the use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and essential oils on the prevention of microbial adherence and consequent biofilm formation with the goal of being applied on the surface of medical devices. Some limitations found in the studies are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Femicídio e Formas de Violência Prévia nas Relações Íntimas

A presente dissertação incide sobre as várias formas de violência prévia ao femicídio, definido como o homicídio de mulheres no contexto da intimidade. O primeiro artigo consiste numa revisão sistemática da literatura sobre as várias formas de violência anteriores ao femicídio. Verificou-se que a prevalência de violência oscila consideravelmente entre estudos (31% - 81%) e que, no geral, os estudos que recolheram informação com base na consulta processual apresentam menores taxas de prevalência de violência, comparativamente com os que conduziram entrevistas com proxies ou com os polícias que investigaram os casos. A avaliação de risco deve analisar detalhadamente e valorizar a presença de episódios de estrangulamento não letal, ameaças de morte ou com armas, stalking ou os comportamentos controladores do agressor, cujas taxas de prevalência são elevadas em determinados estudos. O segundo artigo apresenta os resultados de um estudo exploratório sobre as várias formas de violência prévia ao femicídio em relações íntimas abusivas. Foram selecionados e analisados os processos-crime de femicídio com histórico de violência prévia (71.4% do total de processos consultados, n = 25), cometidos entre 2010 e 2015, na zona da Grande Lisboa. Os resultados indicam que 84% das vítimas já tinham sofrido violência psicológica, 60% violência física, 48% stalking, 20% comportamentos controladores e 4% violência sexual. Os primeiros meses subsequentes à separação constituem um período de risco elevado e medidas como a prevenção do abuso de substâncias e a restrição do acesso do agressor a armas de fogo podem contribuir positivamente para a redução dos casos de femicídio. Cerca de metade das vítimas (48%) já tinham apresentado queixa por violência doméstica às autoridades e identificou-se um aumento da gravidade ou frequência da violência em 34.3% dos casos. Concluiu-se que existem oportunidades de intervenção nestas situações, que a deteção do histórico de violência não é suficiente e que é imprescindível adotar políticas preventivas e interventivas que efetivamente protejam as vítimas.This dissertation focuses on the various forms of intimate partner violence prior to femicide, defined as the homicide of women in the context of intimate relationships. The first article is a systematic review of the literature on the various forms of intimate partner violence prior to femicide. Results indicate that the prevalence of violence varies considerably between studies (31% - 81%) and, overall, studies that collected data based on case file reviewing present lower prevalence rates, compared to those that interviewed proxies or police officers who investigated the cases. Risk assessment practices should analyze in detail and consider the presence of non-fatal strangulation, threats to kill or with weapons, stalking or perpetrators’ controlling behaviors, whose prevalence rates are high in certain studies. The second article presents the results of an exploratory study on the various forms of violence prior to femicide in abusive relationships. Femicide cases with a history of intimate partner violence, committed between 2010 and 2015, in Greater Lisbon, were selected and analyzed (71.4% of the total case files consulted, n = 25). Results indicate that 84% of the victims have suffered from psychological violence, 60% physical violence, 48% stalking, 20% controlling behaviors and 4% sexual violence. The first months after separation constitute a period of high risk and measures such as substance abuse prevention and restricting the perpetrator’s access to firearms can positively contribute to the reduction of cases of femicide. About half of the victims (48%) had already lodged a complaint for domestic violence to the authorities and an increase in severity or frequency of the violence was identified in 34.3% of the cases. We conclude that there are opportunities for intervention in these situations, detecting a history of violence is not enough and it is imperative to adopt preventive and intervention policies that effectively protect victims

Femicídio e Formas de Violência Prévia nas Relações Íntimas

A presente dissertação incide sobre as várias formas de violência prévia ao femicídio, definido como o homicídio de mulheres no contexto da intimidade. O primeiro artigo consiste numa revisão sistemática da literatura sobre as várias formas de violência anteriores ao femicídio. Verificou-se que a prevalência de violência oscila consideravelmente entre estudos (31% - 81%) e que, no geral, os estudos que recolheram informação com base na consulta processual apresentam menores taxas de prevalência de violência, comparativamente com os que conduziram entrevistas com proxies ou com os polícias que investigaram os casos. A avaliação de risco deve analisar detalhadamente e valorizar a presença de episódios de estrangulamento não letal, ameaças de morte ou com armas, stalking ou os comportamentos controladores do agressor, cujas taxas de prevalência são elevadas em determinados estudos. O segundo artigo apresenta os resultados de um estudo exploratório sobre as várias formas de violência prévia ao femicídio em relações íntimas abusivas. Foram selecionados e analisados os processos-crime de femicídio com histórico de violência prévia (71.4% do total de processos consultados, n = 25), cometidos entre 2010 e 2015, na zona da Grande Lisboa. Os resultados indicam que 84% das vítimas já tinham sofrido violência psicológica, 60% violência física, 48% stalking, 20% comportamentos controladores e 4% violência sexual. Os primeiros meses subsequentes à separação constituem um período de risco elevado e medidas como a prevenção do abuso de substâncias e a restrição do acesso do agressor a armas de fogo podem contribuir positivamente para a redução dos casos de femicídio. Cerca de metade das vítimas (48%) já tinham apresentado queixa por violência doméstica às autoridades e identificou-se um aumento da gravidade ou frequência da violência em 34.3% dos casos. Concluiu-se que existem oportunidades de intervenção nestas situações, que a deteção do histórico de violência não é suficiente e que é imprescindível adotar políticas preventivas e interventivas que efetivamente protejam as vítimas.This dissertation focuses on the various forms of intimate partner violence prior to femicide, defined as the homicide of women in the context of intimate relationships. The first article is a systematic review of the literature on the various forms of intimate partner violence prior to femicide. Results indicate that the prevalence of violence varies considerably between studies (31% - 81%) and, overall, studies that collected data based on case file reviewing present lower prevalence rates, compared to those that interviewed proxies or police officers who investigated the cases. Risk assessment practices should analyze in detail and consider the presence of non-fatal strangulation, threats to kill or with weapons, stalking or perpetrators’ controlling behaviors, whose prevalence rates are high in certain studies. The second article presents the results of an exploratory study on the various forms of violence prior to femicide in abusive relationships. Femicide cases with a history of intimate partner violence, committed between 2010 and 2015, in Greater Lisbon, were selected and analyzed (71.4% of the total case files consulted, n = 25). Results indicate that 84% of the victims have suffered from psychological violence, 60% physical violence, 48% stalking, 20% controlling behaviors and 4% sexual violence. The first months after separation constitute a period of high risk and measures such as substance abuse prevention and restricting the perpetrator’s access to firearms can positively contribute to the reduction of cases of femicide. About half of the victims (48%) had already lodged a complaint for domestic violence to the authorities and an increase in severity or frequency of the violence was identified in 34.3% of the cases. We conclude that there are opportunities for intervention in these situations, detecting a history of violence is not enough and it is imperative to adopt preventive and intervention policies that effectively protect victims

Novel mutation in addition to functional TMPRSS6 gene polymorphisms originate an IRIDA-like phenotype in an African child

Iron-refractory iron deficiency anemia (IRIDA) is a rare autosomal recessive anemia often unresponsive to oral iron intake and partially responsive to parenteral iron treatment. The disease originates from mutations in TMPRSS6 gene, encoding Matriptase 2, a transmembrane serine protease that plays an essential role in down-regulating hepcidin. Once TMPRSS6 is mutated, the corresponding protein is absent or inactive at the hepatocyte membrane leading to uncontrolled high levels of hepcidin and impaired iron absorption. This study aimed to investigate a 4-year-old boy of sub-Saharan ancestry (Mozambique/Angola), presenting with microcytic hypochromic anemia, low transferrin saturation, normal ferritin, and having a partial response to intravenous iron treatment. He is a -α3.7-thalassemia carrier. TMPRSS6 was screened for variants by Next-Generation Sequencing using Nextera XT libraries in a MiSeq platform (Illumina). Genetic variants found were validated by Sanger sequencing. In silico analyses were performed in HSF, SIFT, Poly-Phen2 and Missense3D softwares. A novel missense mutation (c.871G>A) was found in heterozygosity, in TMPRSS6 exon 8. In silico analysis indicates the conserved amino acid change (G291S) may be damaging to the protein stability. Due to its location in the CUB1 domain, it may also affect the enzyme activation and substrate recognition. Additionally, 3 SNPs previously associated with a greater risk of developing iron deficiency anemia (K253E, V736A and Y739Y) were also identified in TMPRSS6. Although IRIDA is known as an autosomal recessive disease, we conclude that, in this case, the result of a digenic inheritance of the novel damaging mutation (c.871G>A; G291S) and the 3 common modulating SNPs in the same gene and a co-inheritance of the α-thalassemia HBA deletion may lead to an IRIDA-like phenotype. Further functional studies of the mutated protein as well as family studies should be conducted.This work was partially supported by INSA_2013DGH910 and GenomePT (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Positive development based on the teaching of personal and social responsibility: An intervention program with institutionalized youngsters

From the standpoint of the school settings, sport participation constitutes a key strategy concerning the manifestation of positive behaviors that result from the development of personal and social responsibility. Based on the TPSR model, the goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of an intervention geared toward teaching life skills through sport to youngsters who had been committed. The participants were evaluated before and after the intervention. After the initial evaluation, they were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group took part in the community football program, while the control group attended physical education classes not based on the TPSR model. The experimental model consisted of 3 weekly sessions over the course of 6 weeks, which totaled 18 sessions. This investigation supplied empirical evidence concerning the potential of community sport programs in the teaching and development of life skills deemed necessary for an adequate reintegration of such at-risk youngsters. The model was shown to be valid both in stimulating changes of attitudes and in promoting the adherence to socially positive behaviors. The effectiveness of the model, as well as its unique approach, make its application attractive to both the youngsters and the professionals. This program facilitates the training of youngsters to act, in the sense of promoting both their autonomy and the acquisition of a system of ethics and moral values within a culture of responsibility for how decisions affect the individual and the community. Finally, this intervention generated empirical support in favor of the argument that sport constitutes a unique opportunity within the educational process to establish values, beliefs, attitudes, and practical habits pertaining relationships and cooperation that generate social responsibility in individuals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Novabase social insight

Tese de mestrado em Engenharia Informática, apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa, através da Faculdade de Ciências, 2010Esta tese reflecte a minha experiência pessoal e profissional durante o estágio que efectuei na Novabase, como parte integrante do mestrado em Engenharia Informática. Em várias indústrias mostrou-se insuficiente analisar uma entidade (e.g. , cliente, beneficiário) em isolamento do seu contexto, particularmente do seu contexto social dentro ou fora da empresa. Segundo estudos demonstrados, os laços sociais de um cliente são determinantes nas suas decisões de compra ou na sua permanência como cliente. Com o objectivo de endereçar estas necessidades, têm emergido soluções tecnológicas para a exploração e análise de redes sociais. Contudo, as soluções existentes sofrem de lacunas ao nível das capacidades e adaptação às necessidades funcionais e técnicas dos clientes. O projecto em que estive envolvido consiste na criação de um sistema de redes sociais, com a finalidade de representar as entidades de uma instituição corporativa, assim como visualizar as suas relações com as outras entidades (as pessoas as quais se encontra directamente relacionada na instituição corporativa) de modo a perceber com melhor clareza como decorre o fluxo de informação internamente, e os tipos de relações existentes. A representação da rede é feita sob a forma de um grafo, em que os nós representam as entidades, e os arcos representam as relações, e é possível aplicar diversos filtros e funções sobre esse grafo para personalizar a visualização de acordo com as preferências do utilizador. A componente do projecto que me foi atribuída (Interface Gráfica) tem por objectivo apresentar graficamente ao utilizador todas as funções que este pode desempenhar sobre a aplicação, na forma de uma Applet num navegador Web. Foi desenvolvida usando a Linguagem de Programação Java juntamente com a ferramenta de desenvolvimento Eclipse. Actualmente o projecto apresenta-se com as principais funções já desenvolvidas (conexão, edição, pesquisa, aplicação de algoritmos), mas pretende-se adicionar mais funções, assim como algoritmos mais complexos, personalização do aspecto gráfico dos nós e arcos do grafo, funções de pesquisa mais complexas, etc.The present document intends to reflect my personal and professional experience during the training period that I’ve performed in Novabase, as an integrant part of mestrado in Engineering Computer science. In several industries was insufficient to analyze an entity (eg, client, beneficiary) in isolation from its context, particularly its social context within and outside the company. According to demonstrated studies [8], social ties are crucial to a customer in their purchase decisions or in his permanence as a client. In order to address these needs, technological solutions have emerged for the exploitation and analysis of social networks. However, existing solutions suffer from gaps in skills and adapt to technical and functional needs for the customers. The project I was involved is the establishment of a system of social networks, in order to represent the entities of a corporate entity, as well as view their relationships with other entities (people which is directly related to the corporate entity ) to see with clarity how the flow of information internally follows, and the types of relationships. The representation of the network is made in the form of a graph where nodes represent entities and edges represent the relationship, and you can apply different filters and functions on the graph to customize the display according to user preferences. The project’s component that was attributed to me (GUI) has the purpose to graphically show the user all the roles it can play on the application in the form of an applet in a Web browser The project was developed using the Java Programming Language with the Eclipse development tool. Currently the project is presented with the main functions already implemented (connection, editing, research, application of algorithms), but we intend to add more functions, as well as more complex algorithms, customization of the aspect graph of nodes and arcs of the graph, search functions more complex, etc

The influence of technical skills on decision making of novice volleyball players

The aim of this study was to verify the influence of the technical skills level on the decision making of novice volleyball players on service, reception and set actions. The sample was composed of 80 novice athletes of school volleyball teams of both sexes. Based on the results from the Volleyball Skills Test Battery, the sample was divided into three groups: low, intermediate and high technical level, by means of One-Way ANOVA. The intermediate group was excluded from further analyses. Decision making was assessed with the Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI). For data analysis purposes, the independent student-t test was used, adopting significance level of p≤0.05. The results showed that players with low skill level in service and set actions also had lower performance on the decision-making test when compared to players with high technical level. On the other hand, in the reception action, no differences were found among groups. It was therefore concluded that the technical level seems to influence the decision making in service and set actions in novice volleyball players.O estudo objetivou verificar a influência do nível da habilidade técnica na tomada de decisão de jogadores iniciantes de voleibol nas ações de saque, recepção e levantamento. A amostra foi composta por 80 atletas iniciantes de equipes escolares de voleibol de ambos os sexos. Com base nos resultados na Bateria de Testes de Habilidades de Voleibol, a amostra foi dividida em três grupos: baixo, intermediário e alto nível técnico, por meio da ANOVA One Way. O grupo intermediário foi excluído das análises posteriores. A tomada de decisão foi avaliada por meio do Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI). Utilizou-se o teste t student independente para análise dos dados, adotando um nível de significância de p≤0,05. Os resultados encontrados demonstraram que os jogadores com baixo nível de habilidade nas ações de saque e levantamento, também obtiveram um pior desempenho no teste de tomada de decisão quando comparado aos jogadores de alto nível técnico. Por outro lado, na ação de recepção, não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os grupos. Conclui-se que o nível técnico parece influenciar na tomada de decisão na ação de saque e levantamento dos jogadores iniciantes de voleibol

I EINEM - Encontro Internacional de Investigação de Estudantes em Música e Musicologia

Livro de Resumos do I EINEM - Encontro Internacional de Investigação de Estudantes em Música e Musicologia, Universidade de Évora, 28 a 30 de Novembro de 2019

The preyssler-type polyoxotungstate exhibits anti-quorum sensing, antibiofilm, and antiviral activities

The increase in bacterial resistance to antibiotics has led researchers to find new compounds or find combinations between different compounds with potential antibacterial action and with the ability to prevent the development of antibiotic resistance. Polyoxotungstates (POTs) are inorganic clusters that may fulfill that need, either individually or in combination with antibiotics. Herein, we report the ability of the polyoxotungstates (POTs) with Wells-Dawson P2W18, P2W17, P2W15, and Preyssler P5W30 type structures to differently affect Gram-negative and Gram-positive microorganisms, either susceptible or resistant to antibiotics. The compound P5W30 showed the highest activity against the majority of the tested bacterial strains in comparison with the other tested POTs (P2W15, P2W17 and P2W18) that did not show inhibition zones for the Gram-negative bacteria, A. baumanii I73775, E. coli DSM 1077, E. coli I73194, K. pneumoniae I7092374, and P. aeruginosa C46281). Generally, the results evidenced that Gram-positive bacteria are more susceptible to the POTs tested. The compound P5W30 was the one most active against S. aureus ATCC 6538 and MRSA16, reaching <0.83 mg·mL−1 (100 µM) and 4.96 mg·mL−1 (600 µM), respectively. Moreover, it was verified by NMR spectroscopy that the most promising POT, P5W30, remains intact under all the experimental conditions, after 24 h at 37 ◦C. This prompted us to further evaluate the anti-quorum sensing activity of P5W30 using the biosensor Chromobacterium violaceum CV026, as well as its antibiofilm activity both individually and in combination with the antibiotic cefoxitin against the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus 16 (MRSA16). P5W30 showed a synergistic antibacterial effect with the antibiotic cefoxitin and chloramphenicol against MRSA16. Moreover, the antibiofilm activity of P5W30 was more pronounced when used individually, in comparison with the combination with the antibioticcefoxitin. Finally, the antiviral activity of P5W30 was tested using the coliphage Qβ, showing a dosedependent response. The maximum inactivation was observed at 750 µM (6.23 mg·mL−1 ). In sum, P5W30 shows anti-quorum sensing and antibiofilm activities besides being a potent antibacterial agent against S. aureus and to exhibit antiviral activities against enteric viruses.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio