Parenting in the first three years of the child: stress and coping self reported by parents

Introducción y objetivo: la crianza incluye eventos estresantes que requieren apoyo. El propósito de este estudio es describir situaciones de estrés experimentado por los padres en el papel parental y el tipo de estrategias de afrontamiento adoptadas. Método: Estudio descriptivo de una muestra de conveniencia de 106 padres de niños menores de 3 años de edad que completó un cuestionario. Los datos fueron analizados y agrupados en categorías. Resultados: Al menos una situación de estrés fue mencionada por el 70% de los padres. Las situaciones mencionadas por las madres conciernen a los problemas de salud de los niños, la respuesta a sus necesidades básicas, el llanto y el comportamiento del niño. Los padres mencionaron las necesidades del niño y el llanto. No hubo diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las situaciones difíciles relacionadas con los niños entre los padres y los padres de un solo hijo con dos o más hijos (U = 506.000; P0016). La mayoría de los padres respondieron el problema mediante la búsqueda de apoyo social. Hubo también estrategias centradas en las emociones y algunos de ellos no han adoptado estrategias. Conclusiones: Los resultados muestran áreas que necesitan intervención para apoyar a los padres en una crianza positiva.Introduction and Aim: Parenting involves stressful events that require support. The purpose of this study is to describe stress situations experienced by parents in the parental role and the type of coping strategies adopted. Method: A descriptive study of convenience sample of 106 parents of children under 3 years old completed a questionnaire. The data was analyzed and grouped into categories. Results: At least one stressful situation was mentioned by 70% of parents. The situations mentioned by mothers concerned the problems of child health, the answer to the basic needs of the child, the crying and the child’s behaviour. The fathers mentioned the needs of the child and the child’s crying. There were statistically significant differences in the difficult situations related to child between single child’s parents and parents with two or more children (U=506,000; p=0,016). Most parents answered the problem by seeking social support. There were also emotion-focused strategies and some of them have not adopted strategies. Conclusions: The results show areas that need intervention to support parents in a positive parenting.RESUMO. Introdução e objectivo: A parentalidade envolve acontecimentos stressantes que exigem suporte pelo que se objectiva descrever situações de stress sentidas pelos cuidadores na educação da criança e o tipo de coping adoptado. Método: Estudo descritivo constituído por amostra acidental de 106 pais de crianças até 3 anos de idade. A informação recolhida por questionário foi analisada e agrupada em categorias. Resultados: Pelo menos uma situação de stress foi mencionada por 70% dos pais. As situações mais mencionadas pelas mães referiram-se a problemas de saúde da criança à resposta a necessidades básicas da criança, ao choro e ao comportamento da criança; e pelos pais à resposta a necessidades básicas da criança e ao choro da criança. As situações difíceis foram, com diferenças estatisticamente significativas, mais relatadas nos factores relacionados com a criança pelos cuidadores com filhos dois ou mais filhos (U=506,000; p=0,016). A maioria dos cuidadores respondeu ao problema procurando apoio, mas houve estratégias centradas na emoção e ausência de estratégias. Conclusões: Os resultados evidenciam áreas de necessidade de intervenção no apoio aos pais para uma parentalidade positiva.peerReviewe

Novel Perspectives in Management of Angiogenesis and Cancer Therapy

Funding: The project was funded by IPOLFG EPE and by iNOVA4Health (UID/Multi/04462/2019) a program financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)/Ministério da Educação e Ciência, through national funds. We also acknowledge funding from FCT-MCTES through the project DREAM—PTDC/MEC-ONC/29327/2017. FL-C PhD fellowship was funded by FCT (PD/BD/128337/2017).The activation of endothelial cells (ECs) is a crucial step on the road map of tumor angiogenesis and expanding evidence indicates that a pro-oxidant tumor microenvironment, conditioned by cancer metabolic rewiring, is a relevant controller of this process. Herein, we investigated the contribution of oxidative stress-induced ferroptosis to ECs activation. Moreover, we also addressed the anti-angiogenic effect of Propranolol. We observed that a ferroptosis-like mechanism, induced by xCT inhibition with Erastin, at a non-lethal level, promoted features of ECs activation, such as proliferation, migration and vessel-like structures formation, concomitantly with the depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH) and increased levels of oxidative stress and lipid peroxides. Additionally, this ferroptosis-like mechanism promoted vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) junctional gaps and potentiated cancer cell adhesion to ECs and transendothelial migration. Propranolol was able to revert Erastin-dependent activation of ECs and increased levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) underlie the mechanism of action of Propranolol. Furthermore, we tested a dual-effect therapy by promoting ECs stability with Propranolol and boosting oxidative stress to induce cancer cell death with a nanoformulation comprising selenium-containing chrysin (SeChry) encapsulated in a fourth generation polyurea dendrimer (SeChry@PUREG4). Our data showed that novel developments in cancer treatment may rely on multi-targeting strategies focusing on nanoformulations for a safer induction of cancer cell death, taking advantage of tumor vasculature stabilization.publishersversionpublishe

Excitotoxic lesions in the central nucleus of the amygdala attenuate stress-induced anxiety behavior

The extended amygdala, composed by the amygdaloid nuclei and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), plays a critical role in anxiety behavior. In particular, the link between the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the BNST seems to be critical to the formation of anxiety-like behavior. Chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) exposure is recognized as a validated animal model of anxiety and is known to trigger significant morphofunctional changes in the extended amygdala. Quite surprisingly, no study has ever analyzed the role of the CeA in the onset of stress-induced anxiety and fear conditioning behaviors; thus, in the present study we induced a bilateral excitotoxic lesion in the CeA of rats that were subsequently exposed to a chronic stress protocol. Data shows that the lesion in the CeA induces different results in anxiety and fear-behaviors. More specifically, lesioned animals display attenuation of the stress response and of stress-induced anxiety-like behavior measured in the elevated-plus maze (EPM) when compared with stressed animals with sham lesions. This attenuation was paralleled by a decrease of stress-induced corticosterone levels. In contrast, we did not observe any significant effect of the lesion in the acoustic startle paradigm. As expected, lesion of the CeA precluded the appearance of fear behavior in a fear-potentiated startle paradigm in both non-stressed and stressed rats. These results confirm the implication of the CeA in fear conditioning behavior and unravel the relevance of this brain region in the regulation of the HPA axis activity and in the onset of anxiety behavior triggered by stress.Ana P. Ventura-Silva, Ana C. Ferreira, Miguel M. Carvalho and Filipa L. Campos were supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) grants

Monocytes as Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs), Another Brick in the Wall to Disentangle Tumor Angiogenesis

The project was funded by IPOLFG, EPE, by iNOVA4Health (UID/Multi/04462/2019) a program financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/Ministério da Educação e Ciência, through national funds and co-funded by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and by Fundação para a Ciência eTecnologia (PhD student fellowship: PD/BD/128337/2017).Bone marrow contains endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) that, upon pro-angiogenic stimuli, migrate and differentiate into endothelial cells (ECs) and contribute to re-endothelialization and neo-vascularization. There are currently no reliable markers to characterize EPCs, leading to their inaccurate identification. In the past, we showed that, in a panel of tumors, some cells on the vessel wall co-expressed CD14 (monocytic marker) and CD31 (EC marker), indicating a putative differentiation route of monocytes into ECs. Herein, we disclosed monocytes as potential EPCs, using in vitro and in vivo models, and also addressed the cancer context. Monocytes acquired the capacity to express ECs markers and were able to be incorporated into blood vessels, contributing to cancer progression, by being incorporated in tumor neo-vasculature. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) push monocytes to EC differentiation, and this phenotype is reverted by cysteine (a scavenger and precursor of glutathione), which indicates that angiogenesis is controlled by the interplay between the oxidative stress and the scavenging capacity of the tumor microenvironment.publishersversionpublishe

Cuidados de Enfermagem Veterinária a uma cria de doninha (Mustela nivalis) em Centro de Recuperação de Animais Selvagens

A doninha (Mustela nivalis) é um pequeno carnívoro, de espécie autóctone e protegida1, cuja entrada em Centros de Recuperação de Animais Selvagens não é frequente. Desta forma, torna-se pertinente a descrição dos cuidados de enfermagem veterinária aplicados na recuperação de uma cria desta espécie, que deu entrada no CERAS – Centro de Estudos e Recuperação de Animais Selvagens – com cerca de 10 dias de idade e 20 gramas de peso. O acompanhamento do desenvolvimento da cria é um dos papéis a desempenhar pelo Enfermeiro Veterinário, sobretudo ao nível da alimentação (desde as refeições com leite de substituição, o desmame, a introdução gradual de novos alimentos e o treino de caça), higiene e desenvolvimento comportamental (prevenção de imprinting e estímulo sociocognitivo). A monitorização do crescimento da cria foi feita através de ferramentas como controlo do peso e da temperatura corporal, exame visual e exame coprológico. A evolução do peso corporal foi positiva, com um ganho médio diário de 1,21g e um peso final de 95g. O exame coprológico detetou a presença de oocistos de Eimeria spp. (1800 opg), ovos (1150 Opg) e formas larvares (50 Lpg) de Strongyloides spp. Uma das maiores exigências na prestação destes cuidados foi corresponder às elevadas necessidades energéticas características desta espécie2. Ainda assim, a recuperação foi bem-sucedida e culminou com a libertação da doninha, fisicamente saudável e exibindo os comportamentos naturais da espécie, apenas 2 meses após a entrada no CERAS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Temporal and Sex-Linked Protein Expression Dynamics in a Familial Model of Alzheimer\u27s Disease

Mouse models of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) show progression through stages reflective of human pathology. Proteomics identification of temporal and sex-linked factors driving AD-related pathways can be used to dissect initiating and propagating events of AD stages to develop biomarkers or design interventions. In the present study, we conducted label-free proteome measurements of mouse hippocampus tissue with variables of time (3, 6, and 9 months), genetic background (5XFAD versus WT), and sex (equal males and females). These time points are associated with well-defined phenotypes with respect to the following: Aβ42 plaque deposition, memory deficits, and neuronal loss, allowing correlation of proteome-based molecular signatures with the mouse model stages. Our data show 5XFAD mice exhibit increases in known human AD biomarkers as amyloid-beta peptide, APOE, GFAP, and ITM2B are upregulated across all time points/stages. At the same time, 23 proteins are here newly associated with Alzheimer\u27s pathology as they are also dysregulated in 5XFAD mice. At a pathways level, the 5XFAD-specific upregulated proteins are significantly enriched for DNA damage and stress-induced senescence at 3-month only, while at 6-month, the AD-specific proteome signature is altered and significantly enriched for membrane trafficking and vesicle-mediated transport protein annotations. By 9-month, AD-specific dysregulation is also characterized by significant neuroinflammation with innate immune system, platelet activation, and hyperreactive astrocyte-related enrichments. Aside from these temporal changes, analysis of sex-linked differences in proteome signatures uncovered novel sex and ADassociated proteins. Pathway analysis revealed sexlinked differences in the 5XFAD model to be involved in the regulation of well-known human AD-related processes of amyloid fibril formation, wound healing, lysosome biogenesis, and DNA damage. Verification of the discovery results by Western blot and parallel reaction monitoring confirm the fundamental conclusions of the study and poise the 5XFAD model for further use as a molecular tool for understanding AD

Genomic and phenotypic characterization of Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis strains

Research Areas: MicrobiologyThe pathogenesis mechanisms of Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis (Cfv), the etiologic agent of Bovine Genital Campylobacteriosis remain elusive. This study evaluated the virulence potential and biovar characteristics of Cfv isolates (n = 13) by PCR screening of putative virulencefactor (VF) genes, Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) analysis, antimicrobial susceptibility to tetracycline, penicillin, enrofloxacin and streptomycin testing and whole-genome sequencing (WGS; n = 5), also comparing the latter with 26 other whole-genome sequences of Cfv strains. The putative VF genes encoding type IV secretion system of Cfv (virB2-virB11/virD4) were absent in 92% of isolates, including isolates from aborted foetuses, evidencing that these VF genes are not essential for Cfv pathogenicity. The parA gene, used as a Cfv diagnostic molecular target, was detected in only 3 of 13 isolates, invalidating its use for diagnosis purposes. Three novel sequence types were identified by MLST. Although no in vitro antimicrobial resistance was detected, WGS identified antimicrobial resistance-related genes, including those encoding the multidrug efflux pumps CmeABC and YkkCD, indicating that their presence is not enough to provide antimicrobial resistance. The SNP and accessory protein families analysis segregated the Cfv and Cfv biovar intermedius (Cfvi) strains into different clusters. In conclusion, this study evidenced virulence potential and biovar characteristics of Cfv and Cfvi, which are of relevance for the control of Bovine Genital Campylobacteriosis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

In vitro digestion and bioaccessibility studies of vitamin E-loaded nanohydroxyapatite pickering emulsions and derived fortified foods

Vitamin E is a lipophilic vitamin playing an essential role in human health. Due to oxidative instability, it presents fast degradation and bioactivity loss. In this study, vitamin E-loaded Pickering emulsions stabilized by nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HAp) were produced using a static mixer (NETmix), a technique enabling continuous production and droplet size tailoring. Thus, oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions containing vitamin E at a content of 1mg/mL were produced with different droplet sizes (7.53, 11.56 and 17.72m) using an O/W ratio of 20/80 (v/v). Their stability during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion and vitamin E bioaccessibility were investigated. It was observed that n-HAp particles disrupt in the stomach and subsequently aggregate as random calcium phosphates in the small intestine, leading to low vitamin E bioaccessibility due to oil entrapment. The emulsion showing the highest vitamin E bioaccessibility (3.29±0.57%, sample with the larger average droplet size) was used to produce fortified gelatine and milk, resulting in an increased bioaccessibility (10.87±1.04% and 18.07±2.90%, respectively). This fact was associated with the presence of macronutrients and the lower n-HAp content. Overall, n-HAp Pickering emulsions offer advantages for vitamin E encapsulation directed to fortified foods development, a process able to be extended to other lipophilic vitamins.This work was financially supported by Base Funding -UIDB/50020/2020 of the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM -funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), Base Funding -UIDB/00690/2020 of CIMO -funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC), and Base Funding -UIDB/04469/2020 of the CEB funded by national funds through FCT. Andreia Ribeiro acknowledges her PhD fellowship funded by Project NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000028, supported by N2020, under PT2020, through ESF, and Raquel F. Goncalves acknowledges the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for their fellowship (SFRH/BD/140182/2018). Authors thank Fluidinova S.A. for providing samples of nanoXIM-CarePaste and Instituto de Investigacao e Inovacao em Saude (i3S) for the services provided with CLSM analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Neuron-Microglia Contact-Dependent Mechanisms Attenuate Methamphetamine-Induced Microglia Reactivity and Enhance Neuronal Plasticity

Exposure to methamphetamine (Meth) has been classically associated with damage to neuronal terminals. However, it is now becoming clear that addiction may also result from the interplay between glial cells and neurons. Recently, we demonstrated that binge Meth administration promotes microgliosis and microglia pro-inflammation via astrocytic glutamate release in a TNF/IP(3)R2-Ca2+-dependent manner. Here, we investigated the contribution of neuronal cells to this process. As the crosstalk between microglia and neurons may occur by contact-dependent and/or contact-independent mechanisms, we developed co-cultures of primary neurons and microglia in microfluidic devices to investigate how their interaction affects Meth-induced microglia activation. Our results show that neurons exposed to Meth do not activate microglia in a cell-autonomous way but require astrocyte mediation. Importantly, we found that neurons can partially prevent Meth-induced microglia activation via astrocytes, which seems to be achieved by increasing arginase 1 expression and strengthening the CD200/CD200r pathway. We also observed an increase in synaptic individual area, as determined by co-localization of pre- and post-synaptic markers. The present study provides evidence that contact-dependent mechanisms between neurons and microglia can attenuate pro-inflammatory events such as Meth-induced microglia activation

Development of therapeutic and cosmetic formulations based on sardine-based products

Sardine is one of the most common fish of the Portuguese coast and has important nutritional features. Sardine oil is also a source of nutrients with proven benefits for human health, being rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) [1]. Several studies show that there is a direct link between a diet enriched in omega-3 and the prevention of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or asthma, mental disorders and prevention of various types of cancer [2]. The aim of this work was to characterize in a systematic way the potential protective role of sardine oil and derived PUFAs. To evaluate the antioxidant and antiinflammatory effect of sardine oil and PUFAs, human fibroblasts (BJ-5ta), human melanocytes (A375) and human keratinocytes (NCTC2544) were used. Cell viability was affected for concentrations higher than 8mg/ml for sardine oil and higher than 0.1mg/ml for PUFAs. However and regarding PUFAs, melanocytes revealed a higher susceptibility. With the lowest tested concentrations, sardine-based compounds promoted cell proliferation and protected cells from induced oxidative stress, with higher protection conferred by PUFAs. These results open the opportunity to develop new therapeutic and cosmetic applications based on sardine-derived compounds. Their incorporation in topical creams may contribute to a better treatment of inflammation and in the prevention of skin aging