Hygienic quality of dehydrated aromatic herbs marketed in Southern Portugal

Dehydrated aromatic herbs are highly valued ingredients, widely used at home level and by food processing industry, frequently added to a great number of recipes in the Mediterranean countries. Despite being considered low-moisture products and classified as GRAS, during pre and post-harvesting stages of production they are susceptible of microbial contamination. In Europe an increasing number of food recalls and disease outbreaks associated with dehydrated herbs have been reported in recent years. In this study the microbial quality of 99 samples of aromatic herbs (bay leaves, basil, coriander, oregano, parsley, Provence herbs, rosemary and thyme) collected from retails shops in the region of Algarve (Southern Portugal) was assessed. All the samples were tested by conventional methods and were assayed for the total count of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci and filamentous fungi. Almost 50 % of the herbs did not exceed the aerobic mesophilic level of 104 CFU/g. The fungi count regarded as unacceptable (106 CFU/g) was not found in any of the tested herbs, while 84 % of the samples ranged from ≤102 to 104 CFU/g. No sample was positive for the presence of Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and staphylococci. The results are in compliance with the European Commission criteria although they point out to the permanent need of surveillance on the good standards of handling/cooking practices as well as the importance of avoiding contamination at production, retailing and distribution. The microbiological hazards associated with the pathogenic and toxigenic microbiota of dried herbs remain as a relevant public health issue, due to the fact that they are added to foods not submitted to any following lethal procedure. Control measures should be adopted in order to ensure that all phases of their supply chain respect the food safety standards.FCT: UID/BIA/04325/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Feocromocitoma: estudo retrospetivo multicêntrico

Objetivo: O feocromocitoma é um tumor raro com origem no tecido cromafim. Para avaliar a epidemiologia característica e abordagem destes tumores, foi efetuado um estudo multicêntrico retrospetivo em doentes com feocromocitoma. Material e métodos: Estudo retrospetivo, desenvolvido em 12 centros, incluiu 176 doentes tratados entre 1986-2011. Efetuado um questionário que incluiu dados epidemiológicos, clínicos, doseamentos laboratoriais, exames de localizac¸ ão, estudo genético, preparac¸ ão pré-operatória e cirurgia. De acordo com a data de diagnóstico, os doentes foram divididos em 2 períodos de tempo, 1986-2000 e 2001-2011, e alguns dados foram comparados. Resultados: Cento e cinco mulheres e 70 homens, idade média 51,9 ± 15,2 anos. Em 172 doentes, a apresentac¸ ão clínica foi: 31% incidentalomas, 10% paroxismos típicos, 18% hipertensão persistente e 5% detetados durante rastreio genético. Onze por cento tinham outros sintomas clínicos de feocromocitoma e 25% uma mistura de 2 ou mais quadros clínicos. Os exames laboratoriais mais frequentes foram as catecolaminas urinárias e seus metabolitos urinários. Em 154 doentes, foi localizado por TAC em 84%, RMN em 41% e a cintigrafia com MIBG em 55%. A dimensão média do tumor foi 55,3 ± 33,7 mm, 56% na suprarrenal direita e 7% bilateral. O tratamento pré-operatório em 126 casos foi: fenoxibenzamina em 65% dos doentes e associada a um betabloqueador em 29,3%. Em 170 doentes, 91 efetuaram laparotomia (54%) e 74 laparoscopia (44%). Cinco doentes não efetuaram cirurgia. Em 9 doentes foi diagnosticado feocromocitoma maligno, 3 na altura do diagnóstico inicial e 6 durante o seguimento (após 6-192 meses). Em 19 doentes foi efetuado o diagnóstico de uma síndrome genética. Conclusões: Trinta e um por cento dos tumores foram detetados como incidentalomas. A suprarrenal direita foi mais atingida. Observou-se um aumento do n ◦ de diagnósticos de feocromocitoma e um melhor estudo e estadiamento nos doentes diagnosticados entre 2001 e 2011 comparativamente com os diagnosticados entre 1986 e 2000. Dado que a malignidade se pode manifestar tardiamente, o seguimento destes doentes deve ser para toda a vida.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Direito e administração pública: estudos em homenagem a Maria Sylvia Zanella Di Pietro

Divulgação dos SUMÁRIOS das obras recentemente incorporadas ao acervo da Biblioteca Ministro Oscar Saraiva do STJ. Em respeito à lei de Direitos Autorais, não disponibilizamos a obra na íntegra.Localização na estante: 35(81) D598a

A large outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease in an industrial town in Portugal

Background: We describe the investigation and control of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Portugal in October, November and December 2014. Methods: Confirmed cases were individuals with pneumonia, laboratory evidence of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 and exposure, by residence, occupational or leisure tothe affected municipalities. 49 possible sources were reduced to four potential sources, all industries with wet cooling system, following risk assessment. We geo-referenced cases’ residences and the location of cooling towers defining four study areas 10 km buffer centeredon each cooling tower system. We compared the number of cases with expected numbers,calculated from the outbreak’s attack rates applied to 2011 census population. Using Stones’Test, we tested observed to expected ratios for decline in risk, with distance up to 10 km fourdirections. Isolates of Legionella pneumophila were compared using molecular methods

Synergistic antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles with an emergent class of azoimidazoles

he combination of two or more agents capable of acting in synergy has been reported as a valuable tool to fight against pathogens. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) present a strong antimicrobial action, although their cytotoxicity for healthy cells at active concentrations is a major concern. Azoimidazole moieties exhibit interesting bioactivities, including antimicrobial activity. In this work, a class of recently described azoimidazoles with strong antifungal activity was conjugated with citrate or polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized AgNPs. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance was used to confirm the purity of the compounds before further tests and atomic absorption spectroscopy to verify the concentration of silver in the prepared dispersions. Other analytical techniques elucidate the morphology and stability of AgNPs and corresponding conjugates, namely ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, scanning transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis. The synergistic antimicrobial activity of the conjugates was assessed through a checkerboard assay against yeasts (Candida albicans and Candida krusei) and bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli). The conjugates showed improved antimicrobial activity against all microorganisms, in particular towards bacteria, with concentrations below their individual minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). Furthermore, some combinations were found to be non-cytotoxic towards human HaCaT cells.This work was funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Oper ational Competitiveness Program and through the National Foundation for Science and Technol ogy of Portugal (FCT) under the projects UID/CTM/00264/2020 of Centre for Textile Science and Technology (2C2T), UIDB/00686/2020 of the Chemistry Centre of University of Minho (CQUM), UIBD/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 of the CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Ma rine and Environmental Research and FCT Project MEDCOR PTDC/CTM-TEX/1213/2020. Ana Isabel Ribeiro acknowledges FCT for the funding of her Ph.D. scholarship SFRH/BD/137668/2018