Implications of body mass index in the evolution of gestational diabetes

Objective: To evaluate the implications of body mass index (BMI) in pregnancies complicated with gestational diabetes (GD). Study Design: Retrospective assessment of pregnancies complicated with GD managed at our institution from January 2000 to December 2004. Results: Obstetrical complications beyond GD occurred in: group A (BMI 20-24,9) - 23%; group B (BMI 25-29,9) - 18.8% and group C (BMI>30) - 35.3%, including hypertensive disorders in A-1.65%, B-3.76% and C-9.6%. Mean value of HbA1c at third trimester was A-5.05, B-5.25 e C-5.41%. Insulin treatment was needed in A 26.1%, B-41% and C-50.6%, and was started on average at A-32.8, B-30.5 and C-29.3 gestational weeks. Delivery occurred on average at 38 weeks in the three groups, with caesarean rates of A-26.7%, B-33.1% and C-38.5%. Mean birthweight of the newborns was A-3189g, B-3307g and C- 3469g. There were 5 perinatal deaths (A-1, B-2 and C-2). Maternal and neonatal morbidity were not significantly different in the three groups. Conclusions: Obese pregnant women with GD had a higher mean maternal age, higher rates of obstetrical complications (hypertensive in particular), higher levels of HbA1c in the third trimester, needed insulin treatment more frequently and at earlier gestational ages, and their newborns were heavier

Postglacial sea-level rise in South Portugal as recorded in Guadiana Estuary

The Guadiana River Estuary is located in the terminal part of a deeply incised river valley, which accumulated several tens of meters of sediments during the Holocenic transgression. Five cored boreholes (see Fig.1 for localisation) that reached the pre-Holocenic substratum were drilled recently in order to recognize the architecture of sedimentary facies and to quantify the accumulation of organic carbon trapped in sediments during the valley infilling by marine waters. It was assumed that due to structural constraints imposed by Palaeozoic and Mezozoic substratum, the main estuarine channel did not change its position significantly. Consequently borehole locations were chosen in order to represent different sedimentary environments in the estuary: proximity to the main channel (CM1 and CM3), external sea facing (CM4) and lagoonal (CM2 and CM5) environments

Influence of Brick Walls on the Temperature Distribution in Steel Columns in Fire

This paper reports on a study of steel columns embedded in walls in fire. Several fire resistance tests were carried out at the Laboratory of Testing Materials and Structures of the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. The temperatures registered in several points of the experimental models are compared with those obtained in numerical simulations carried out with the SUPERTEMPCALC finite element program.

A subida do nível do mar durante o Holocénico no Golfo de Cadiz – tendência regional e diferenças locais

In Guadiana River Estuary, the Holocene sequence is underlain by pebbly delta fan formed in two stages, prior to 5E and 3 highstands. The Holocene sedimentary sequence was lain either directly on gravels or on top of fluvial sands deposited between 11000 and 10000 yr. BP. An accelerated phase of infilling of the estuary by clayey sediments, containing marsh foraminifer Trochammina, began at ca. 9800 yr. BP when the sea level was about 39 m below the present.At ca. 7000 BP the central part of the estuary started to accommodate coarser sediments, partially introduced from the shelf. The first phase of the Holocene sea level rise at a rate of 0.85 m/century terminated at ca 6500yr. BP. Since then, the lagoonal bodies in the vicinity of estuary started to enclose behind sand spits and predominantly sandy sedimentation initiated within the estuary. After the second phase of a slower rise at the rate of 0.3 m/century, which lasted until ca. 5000 yr.BP, the sea approached the present level. Data from Guadalete Estuary published in Spain set the beginning of Holocene transgression at shallower level (ca 10m)than in Guadiana Estuary.This discrepancy may be explained by isostatic uplift of Betic Cordillera or slumping of Guadiana terrace on which the Holocene sediments are lain. Since 7500 yr. BP the data from Odiel-Tinto, Guadalete and Guadiana are in a relatively good agreement.INTERREG I

Poloxamer 407 based-nanoparticles for controlled release of methotrexate

Poloxamer 407 (P407)-based nanoparticles were produced by the high pressure homogenization method for the encapsulation and delivery of methotrexate (MTX), aiming intravenous therapeutic applications. The surface of these nanoparticles was functionalized by conjugation of P407 with folic acid (FA) or with MTX, which served as targeting ligand agents. MTX-P407 conjugate was also developed to increase the final drug cargo. Two hydrophobic derivatives of MTX, MTX di-ethylated ester (MTX-OEt) and the ionic complex MTX-dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (MTX-DODAB) were produced and entrapped onto P407-based nanoparticles. All formulations developed revealed a monodisperse character comprising small and narrow nanoparticles (<100 nm). P407 nanoparticles (functionalized with FA) and MTX-P407 nanoparticles, both loaded with MTX-OEt, demonstrated a slow drug release profile. The effect of lipase from Aspergillus oryzae on the hydrolysis of the linkage between the P407 and MTX, and consequent MTX release profile, was also evaluated. We observed a controlled and slow release of MTX (<50% of release after 11 days) in the presence of enzyme. These MTX-P407 nanoparticles loaded with MTX-OEt induced a great effect against Caco-2 cancer cells (40% of cell death after 72 h of incubation), demonstrating higher efficiency than the free MTX at the same concentration.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2019 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors also thanks to FCT for funding their scholarship: Jennifer Noro (SFRH/BD/121673/2016) and Carla Silva (SFRH/IF/00186/2015). This work has also received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement NMP-06-2015-683356 FOLSMART.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Science, society, politics, and the media: joining efforts to manage the risk of termite infestation in the Azores

SRA 2008 Annual Meeting. Sunday, 7 December 2008 to Wednesday, 10 December 2008.Termites are well-established and serious pests of structural wood infestation in different parts of the world. Presently, in the Azores archipelago (Portugal), the drywood termite Cryptotermes brevis (Insecta, Isoptera) has been referred to four of the nine islands, and the damages to the buildings and other artefacts are severe and constitute a serious threat, especially in its main towns. In order to control the situation there has been a considerable scientific and political investment to survey and classify the infestation, and to develop mitigation strategies, over the last five years. Nevertheless, the infestation is far from being controlled and, also, most of the Azorean citizens are still unaware of the dangers and risks associated to this urban pest. If, however, effective educational and management practices are initiated soon, the losses from C. brevis can be greatly reduced. Therefore, the major aims of this research project are: (i) to understand people’s perspectives about the consequences of the termite infestation and their appraisal about the effectiveness of the proposed and existing management strategies; (ii) to understand the functions of the media in the making of public opinion; (iii) to develop simple ways of communicating complex technical information according to people’s perception of who is accountable and trustworthy, in order to avoid misunderstandings between science, politics, managers and society; (iv) to develop and implement devices focused on the communication between the population and the main stakeholders, to promote the involvement of citizens and their commitment as essential partners of the termite control. This paper aims to integrate data from the abovementioned stakeholders in order to identify communication problems, to create adequate strategies to solve conflicts, to facilitate dialogue and partnerships among stakeholders and to promote termite risk literacy. Data was gathered using several techniques, including interviews, descriptive-interpretative analysis of media, scientific discourses and existing operational programs. Data shows that the lack of integration among stakeholders is the most obvious barrier to be overcome by the communication devices to implement

Novel photochromic 2,2´-bithiophene azo dyes

The photochromic behaviour of two series of 2,2’-bithiophene azo dyes in THF solutions was studied. The photochromic properties and colour constancy were strongly dependent on the substitution pattern of the dyes. Under visible irradiation (> 420 nm) while some dyes exhibited a significant change in the colour intensity others exhibited an almost stable absorption. The photokinetic parameters of these systems are described.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Impact of MELD allocation policy on survival outcomes after liver transplantation: a single-center study in northeast Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) allocation policy on survival outcomes after liver transplantation (LT). INTRODUCTION: Considering that an ideal system of grafts allocation should also ensure improved survival after transplantation, changes in allocation policies need to be evaluated in different contexts as an evolutionary process. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was carried out among patients who underwent LT at the University of Pernambuco. Two groups of patients transplanted before and after the MELD allocation policy implementation were identified and compared using early postoperative mortality and post-LT survival as end-points. RESULTS: Overall, early postoperative mortality did not significantly differ between cohorts (16.43% vs. 8.14%; p = 0.112). Although at 6 and 36-months the difference between pre-vs. post-MELD survival was only marginally significant (p = 0.066 and p = 0.063; respectively), better short, medium and long-term post-LT survival were observed in the post-MELD period. Subgroups analysis showed special benefits to patients categorized as nonhepatocellular carcinoma (non-HCC) and moderate risk, as determined by MELD score (15-20). DISCUSSION: This study ensured a more robust estimate of how the MELD policy affected post-LT survival outcomes in Brazil and was the first to show significantly better survival after this new policy was implemented. Additionally, we explored some potential reasons for our divergent survival outcomes. CONCLUSION: Better survival outcomes were observed in this study after implementation of the MELD criterion, particularly amongst patients categorized as non-HCC and moderate risk by MELD scoring. Governmental involvement in organ transplantation was possibly the main reason for improved survival

Inoculated cell density as a determinant factor of the growth dynamics and metastatic efficiency of a breast cancer murine model

Copyright: © 2016 Gregório et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.4T1 metastatic breast cancer model have been widely used to study stage IV human breast cancer. However, the frequent inoculation of a large number of cells, gives rise to fast growing tumors, as well as to a surprisingly low metastatic take rate. The present work aimed at establishing the conditions enabling high metastatic take rate of the triple-negative murine 4T1 syngeneic breast cancer model. An 87% 4T1 tumor incidence was observed when as few as 500 cancer cells were implanted. 4T1 cancer cells colonized primarily the lungs with 100% efficiency, and distant lesions were also commonly identified in the mesentery and pancreas. The drastic reduction of the number of inoculated cells resulted in increased tumor doubling times and decreased specific growth rates, following a Gompertzian tumor expansion. The established conditions for the 4T1 mouse model were further validated in a therapeutic study with peguilated liposomal doxorubicin, in clinical used in the setting of metastatic breast cancer. Inoculated cell density was proven to be a key methodological aspect towards the reproducible development of macrometastases in the 4T1 mouse model and a more reliable pre-clinical assessment of antimetastatic therapies.Ana Cristina Gregório is a student of the international PhD program in Experimental Biology and Biomedicine (PDBEB) from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, University of Coimbra and recipient of the fellowship SFRH/BD/51190/2010 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The work was supported by the grants PTDC/SAU-BMA/121028/2010 (FCT) and UID/NEU/04539/2013 (FEDER/COMPETE 2020/FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio