The pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in Madeira Island

The environmental conditions in Madeira Island are favorable for the presence and dissemination of the pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Five hundred Pinus pinaster wood samples were collected in several forest areas and PWN was detected in 22.8 % of the samples. Bursaphelenchus xylophilus isolates from Madeira Island displayed the species-specific diagnostic characters. A morphological variation in the female tail terminus was detected. In most females, the tail presented a broadly rounded terminus and, occasionally, a digitate terminus with a terminal nipple-like extension resembling a mucro. PCR ITS-RFLP analysis revealed that Madeira Island isolates exhibited patterns specific to the species B. xylophilus and similar to virulent isolates. Amplified ITS regions were further sequenced and no genetic diversity was found for this genomic region among 17 Portuguese isolates (Madeira Island and Continental Portugal). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Portuguese isolates grouped with isolates from China, Korea and one isolate from Japa

Saúde-doença: a proximidade de cuidados num mundo sem fronteiras e com rápida mobilidade

Este artigo oferece uma reflexão aprofundada sobre a proximidade de cuidados num mundo sem fronteiras e com rápida mobilidade em que os problemas de saúde exigem respostas locais, embora tenham perdido a sua expressão local, no mundo globalizado em que vivemos

Ionic size effects on the Poisson-Boltzmann theory

In this paper, we develop a simple theory to study the effects of ionic size on ionic distributions around a charged spherical particle. We include a correction to the regular Poisson-Boltzmann equation in order to take into account the size of ions in a mean-field regime. The results are compared with Monte Carlo simulations and a density functional theory based on the fundamental measure approach and a second-order bulk expansion which accounts for electrostatic correlations. The agreement is very good even for multivalent ions. Our results show that the theory can be applied with very good accuracy in the description of ions with highly effective ionic radii and low concentration, interacting with a colloid or a nanoparticle in an electrolyte solution

Microbacterium luticocti sp. nov., isolated from sewage sludge compost

Strain SC-087BT, isolated from sewage sludge compost during a study of bacterial diversity in composts, was characterized. The isolate was a Gram-positive, short rod that was motile, catalase- and oxidase-negative and able to grow at 27–45 6C, pH 5.5–9.7 and in up to 10% NaCl. The peptidoglycan was of the B2b type, containing the characteristic amino acids ornithine, homoserine and hydroxyglutamic acid. The muramic acid residues of the peptidoglycan were partially glycolylated. The major cell-wall sugar was mannose; traces of xylose were also detected. The predominant fatty acids, comprising more than 70% of the total, were anteiso-C17 : 0 and anteiso-C15 : 0, the major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-12 (MK-12) and the G+C content of the genomic DNA was 72 mol%. Based on analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the closest phylogenetic neighbours of strain SC-087BT were members of the family Microbacteriaceae, showing sequence similarity values of around 96% with members of the species Microbacterium barkeri (96.0 %), Microbacterium gubbeenense (95.6 %) and Microbacterium indicum (95.7 %). The chemotaxonomic and phenotypic traits analysed supported the inclusion of this strain within the genus Microbacterium and the proposal of a novel species. The name Microbacterium luticocti sp. nov. is proposed and the type strain is SC-087BT (5DSM 19459T5CCUG 54537T)

Comparative study of the microbial diversity of bulk paddy soil of two rice fields subjected to organic and conventional farming

Two adjacent paddies of an experimental rice field, subjected to organic and conventional farming, were characterized aiming the comparative assessment of microbiological variations occurring in the bulk paddy soil over the rice cycle. This study comprehended the simultaneous characterization of general physicochemical soil properties [total carbon and nitrogen, pH (H2O and KCl), C:N ratio and water content], biochemical properties [enzymatic activities and Community Level Physiological Profiles (CLPP)], the estimation of cultivable organisms (enumeration of fast growing heterotrophic bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi) and the assessment of bacterial diversity using a culture-independent method (PCR-DGGE fingerprinting). The linkage of the parameters measured was analysed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). CCA ordination plots of the CLPP showed a similar pattern of microbial functional activity in both agronomic management systems, except in June. Enzymatic activity, water content and fungi counts were the main factors affecting the observed CLPP time variation. Such a variation was not expressed by the Shannon and evenness indices, which did not evidence significant differences in the bacterial and functional diversity between or within farming type over the analysed period. The cluster and CCA analyses of the DGGE profiles allowed the distinction of the bacterial communities of both paddies, with temporal variations being observed in the organically managed field but not in the conventional paddy. Enzymatic activity, pH and molinate content were the factors which most contributed to the observed variations. Altogether these results underline the functional redundancy of the rice paddy soil and evidence the temporal variations on the metabolic activity of soil, irrespective of farming type.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Trust Versus Distrust in Care Relation: Nurse-Client Trust, a Concept in Constrution in CHLN-HPV

A temática “confiança” é alvo de análise e reflexão nos vários sectores da sociedade actual, incluindo o sector da saúde. De facto, o binómio Confiança versus Desconfiança está sempre presente no seio de qualquer relação interpessoal, sendo definido como uma necessidade humana básica. Os cuidados de enfermagem devem ser orientados por modelos que se centrem na humanidade e singularidade da pessoa, transformando o cuidado numa relação gratificante para ambos os intervenientes. Objectivo: Divulgar o percurso desenvolvido no Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte – Hospital Pulido Valente, no âmbito do Projecto Institucional da Rede Internacional PRAQSI denominado “Cuidar do Debate”, explicitando os ganhos obtidos relativamente à relação de confiança enfermeiro-cliente, enquanto elemento intrínseco à relação de cuidar. Metodologia: Investigação/Acção baseada na análise, na partilha e na reconstrução das práticas de Enfermagem ao longo de três Workshops. Resultados: Foram observadas mudanças na prática clínica dos enfermeiros, das quais salientamos: aumento da mobilização do conceito de confiança no seio das equipas clínicas, melhoria da relação de ajuda/ confiança em enfermeiro–cliente–família e maior sensibilidade para a escuta. Conclusões: A construção da relação de confiança é um processo dinâmico no qual os enfermeiros e os clientes são actores aliados. O enfermeiro assume um papel preponderante, devendo desempenhá-lo com as competências inerentes à profissão. O enfermeiro é o instrumento terapêutico da relação de cuidar, pelo que se aconselha a replicação desta metodologia nos contextos clínicos em colaboração com as instituições de ensino superior

Microbacterium invictum sp. nov., isolated from homemade compost

Strain DC-200T was isolated from homemade compost produced from kitchen refuse and characterized using a polyphasic approach. The isolate was a Gram-positive motile short rod, facultatively aerobic, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative, and was able to grow at 10–37 6C, pH 6.0–9.5 and with up to 5% of NaCl. The peptidoglycan was of the type B1 alpha and the muramic acid residues were glycolylated. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 and anteiso- C17 : 0. The predominant respiratory menaquinones were MK-11 and MK-12. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 70 mol%. Based on the analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, the closest phylogenetic neighbours of strain DC-200T were Microbacterium lacus A5E-52T (98.7 %) and Microbacterium aoyamense KV-492T (98.2 %). The phenetic characterization of the isolate supports its inclusion within the genus Microbacterium; however, its distinctive phenotypic features and the results from the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and the DNA–DNA hybridization study suggest that the isolate represents a novel species. The name Microbacterium invictum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DC-200T (5DSM 19600T5LMG 24557T)

An application of Preference-Inspired Co-Evolutionary Algorithm to sectorization

Sectorization problems have significant challenges arising from the many objectives that must be optimised simultaneously. Several methods exist to deal with these many-objective optimisation problems, but each has its limitations. This paper analyses an application of Preference Inspired Co-Evolutionary Algorithms, with goal vectors (PICEA-g) to sectorization problems. The method is tested on instances of different size difficulty levels and various configurations for mutation rate and population number. The main purpose is to find the best configuration for PICEA-g to solve sectorization problems. Performancemetrics are used to evaluate these configurations regarding the solutions’ spread, convergence, and diversity in the solution space. Several test trials showed that big and medium-sized instances perform better with low mutation rates and large population sizes. The opposite is valid for the small size instances.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio