Subacute L5 Paresis Following a Capoeira Presentation

A young female suffered minor low back trauma during a capoeira presentation. She was initially diagnosed with an acute episode of uncomplicated low back and radicular pain. She kept training and competing until developing paresthesia and weakness of the right leg six weeks later. Physical examination revealed sensory and motor deficits compatible with L5 nerve root compression. The MRI revealed an L5-S1 disc extrusion compressing the right L5 nerve root. Nerve root decompression and partial discectomy were performed, and seven months later she was competing without restrictions. We present our approach and discuss possible pathological mechanisms that may explain this unusual presentation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Catatonia em Encefalite Anti-Receptor N-Metil-D-Aspartato (NMDA) Confundida com Esquizofrenia

Anti-N-Mmethyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system with prominent neurologic and psychiatric features. Symptoms appear progressively and sometimes with an exclusively psychiatric initial presentation. The patient's evaluation should be meticulous, and we should use all the diagnostic tests required for the exclusion of entities that can mimic this disease. We report the diagnostic investigation of a case of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis in a patient with a previous diagnosis of schizophrenia with poor response to antipsychotics. The aim of this case report is to highlight the importance of close surveillance for neuropsychiatric symptoms, especially catatonia, and to recognize autoimmune encephalitis in the differential diagnosis of psychotic disorders with neurological symptoms and resistance or intolerance to antipsychotics. A prompt diagnosis will contribute to a faster onset of therapy and an overall improvement in prognosis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Energetic valorization of a heterotrophic microalga residue from biodiesel production through anaerobic digestion

Trabalho apresentado em WASTES: Solutions, Treatments and Opportunities, 5th International Conference, September 4th - 6th, Almada/Caparica, Portugal.The production of biodiesel from the oil fraction of the heterotrophically grown microalga Chlorella protothecoides generated two waste streams: defatted microalga residues and crude glycerol. These wastes were anaerobically digested separately and in admixture to quantify their energy potential. The defatted microalga residues (from the oil extraction process) were shown to be a suitable substrate for anaerobic digestion since they provided a methane yield of 498.4 mL CH4/g volatile solids (VS). On the other hand, because glycerol acted as an inhibitory agent for methanogenesis, anaerobic co-digestion of defatted microalga residues and crude glycerol resulted in the diversification of the produced energy carrier. By using glycerol at a ratio of 1.24 g glycerol/g volatile solids of inoculum in admixture with microalga residues, hydrogen was obtained instead of methane. The resulting yield was 39.9 mL H2/g VS of microalga residues. Based on these results, both effluents can be valorized through simple and sustainable methods in order to recover their energy potential in the form of methane or hydrogen.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Removal efficiency of Cu2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ by waste brewery biomass : pH and cation association effects

In this work two distinct (flocculent and non-flocculent) yeast wastes from Portuguese breweries were used for the selective removal of Cu2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ from aqueous solutions. One of the goals was to establish both the pH profiles for the removal of each metal ion (1.0 mM) and the effect on the biomass biosorption capacity of pH adjustment during the process. The effect of the presence of multiple metal ions, in the 0.1-1.0 mM range, on metal removal efficiency was also studied. The results showed that, in the absence of pH adjustment, the optimum initial pH for the removal of three cations was in the 4.5-5.5 range for both types of biomass. However, a gradual pH increase was observed during the removal process, up to a final equilibrium value of 7.0-8.0. Regarding the biomass efficiency for metal removal in multi-cation systems, it was verified that only Cu2+ was significantly affected by the presence of the other metals in solution and only when the non-flocculent yeast biomass was used as biosorbent. Cd2+ was only slightly affected by the presence of both Cu2+ and Pb2+, and Pb2+ removal was not affected by the presence of any or both of the interferent metals for the two biosorbents used in this work. The highest and lowest metal removal yields were obtained for Pb2+ and Cu2+, respectively.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Praxis XXI 2/2.1/Bio/3 7/94

Modification of ZnO nanoparticles with silanes enables their application as anticancer agents

Abstract in proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of CiiEM: Health, Well-Being and Ageing in the 21st Century, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from 3–5 June 2019.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Palliative splenic irradiation for symptomatic splenomegaly in non-Hodgkin lymphoma

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Splenic marginal zone lymphoma, an uncommon subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), is usually present with symptomatic splenomegaly. Although splenectomy has long been considered the first-line therapy in symptomatic or cytopenic patients, it can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Splenic irradiation is an option for patients who have a poor response to systemic therapy and/or are not surgical candidates. In this paper, we present a case report of a patient who received splenic radiotherapy for symptomatic splenomegaly. METHODS: An 85-year-old Caucasian man with a 4 year history of low-grade NHL presented with progressive pancytopenia, significant weight loss and symptomatic splenomegaly (abdominal discomfort, sense of fullness and limitation of mobility due to spleen size). The patient refused splenectomy and, in December 2017, was referred to palliative splenic radiotherapy. He was initially treated with five fractions of one Grey (Gy) in order to evaluate clinical and haematology response. After that, 1.5 Gy daily, 5 days a week for 3 weeks. 3D conformal radiotherapy, multiple fields and mixed energy (6 and 15 Mv) were used. RESULTS: Radiotherapy allowed significant splenic reduction to almost half the size, resolving abdominal discomfort and improving quality of life. There was no decline of haemoglobin, leukocytes and platelet counts; in fact, there was a marginal increase. CONCLUSION: Palliative splenic irradiation was well tolerated confirming that it is a safe treatment option for palliation of symptomatic splenomegaly. Thereby, splenic irradiation should be strongly considered in the management of symptomatic splenomegaly, for selected patients who are refractory to or unsuitable for other options or when the patient refuses other treatments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Does intake of bread supplemented with wheat germ have a preventive role on cardiovascular disease risk markers in healthy volunteers? A randomised, controlled, crossover trial

Objective Intake of whole grains is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This evidence is also strong for bran alone, but findings about germ are conflicting. Our aim was to elucidate the role of germ in primary prevention of cardiovascular events, and therefore, a staple food was selected for 6g of germ supplementation. This corresponds to sixfold increase in the global mean consumption of germ, while preserving the sensory proprieties of refined bread which is crucial for consumers acceptance. Design Randomised, double-blinded, crossover, controlled clinical trial with 15-week follow-up comprising a 2-week run-in, two intervention periods of 4weeks each and a 5-week washout period. Setting A single centre in the north of Portugal. Participants 55 eligible healthy adults (mean age of 34 years and body mass index between 19 and 38kg/m2) were randomly assigned. Interventions The study consisted of two intervention periods including daily intake of refined wheat bread enriched with 6g of wheat germ and control (non-enriched bread). Outcomes Changes in fasting cholesterol and triglycerides, fasting and postprandial glucose, insulin sensitivity and C reactive protein. Results We observed no significant effect of daily intake of wheat germ on cholesterol and triglycerides levels, on postprandial glucose response and on insulin sensitivity. Incremental area under curve glucose and homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance did not change, suggesting that 6g of wheat germ have no effect on glucose metabolism. No effect was also observed in the subgroup of participants who complied with the protocol (n=47). Conclusions The absence of alterations on lipid and glucose profiles suggests that germ up to 6g/day may have no preventive effect on CVD risk. However, it is important to investigate other food vehicles that can accommodate higher doses of wheat germ in future studies.This work was supported by the Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização–COMPETE2020 and by National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia-FCT (through the operations FCOMP-01-0202-FEDER-038861 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007746).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microchip electrophoretic analysis of Phaseolin patterns and Its comparison with currently used SDS-PAGE techniques

The goal of this work was to compare reproducibility of phaseolin patterns of common bean obtained by two electrophoretic protein separation techniques including the conventional SDS-PAGE and an automated chip electrophoresis system. Five standard cultivars of common bean provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (Beltsville, Maryland) that represented five phaseolin types, T (Tendergreen), C (Contender) and S (Sanilac), B (Boyaca) and P (Pampa), were used in this study. Comparison of the phaseolin patterns revealed that the chip-on-a-lab electrophoresis provided a good reproducibility. The phaseolin polymorphism included four to seven polypeptides typical for the pattern composition of the T, C and S types. The polymorphism of the B and P patterns was also established. Phaseolin polypeptides separated by the microchip electrophoresis exhibited differences with respect to the molecular weights and electrophoretic mobility as compared to the SDS-PAGE technique. This phenomenon could be attributed to the absence of a solid separation phase in the microchip electrophoresis. Moreover, this technique has potential to substantially accelerate screening of large bean germplasm collections since it allows for the accurate analysis of the higher number of individual plants within accessions than the conventional, tedious and time consuming SDS-PAGE method.At the USDA-United States Department of Agriculture for ceding species Phaseolus vulgaris L. standards used in this studyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Machine learning recognition of light orbital-angular-momentum superpositions

We developed a method to characterize arbitrary superpositions of light orbital angular momentum (OAM) with high fidelity by using astigmatic tomography and machine learning processing. In order to define each superposition unequivocally, we combine two intensity measurements. The first one is the direct image of the input beam, which cannot distinguish between opposite OAM components. This ambiguity is removed by a second image obtained after astigmatic transformation of the input beam. Samples of these image pairs are used to train a convolution neural network and achieve high fidelity recognition of arbitrary OAM superpositions with dimension up to five