Gamma Irradiation Processing on 3D PCL Devices—A Preliminary Biocompatibility Assessment

Funding Information: Mariana Vieira Branquinho (SFRH/BD/146172/2019), Ana Catarina Sousa (SFRH/BD/146689/2019), and Bruna Lopes (2021.05265.BD) acknowledge the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)’s financial support. Rui Damásio Alvites acknowledges the Animal Science Studies Centre (CECA), Agroenvironment, Technologies and Sciences Institute (ICETA), Porto University (UP), and FCT for the funding and availability of all technical, structural, and human resources necessary for the development of this work. The work was supported through the project UIDB/00211/2020 funded by FCT/MCTES, national funds. This research was funded by Projects PEst-OE/AGR/UI0211/2011 from FCT, and COMPETE 2020, from ANI–Projetos ID&T Empresas em Copromoção, by the project “Print-on-Organs–Engineering bioinks and processes for direct printing on organs” with the reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033877, by the project “Bone2Move-Development of “in vivo” experimental tech-niquesand modelling methodologies for the evaluation of 4D scaffolds for bone defect in sheepmodel: an integrative research approach” with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031146. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.Additive manufacturing or 3D printing applying polycaprolactone (PCL)-based medical devices represents an important branch of tissue engineering, where the sterilization method is a key process for further safe application in vitro and in vivo. In this study, the authors intend to access the most suitable gamma radiation conditions to sterilize PCL-based scaffolds in a preliminary biocompatibility assessment, envisioning future studies for airway obstruction conditions. Three radiation levels were considered, 25 kGy, 35 kGy and 45 kGy, and evaluated as regards their cyto- and biocompatibility. All three groups presented biocompatible properties, indicating an adequate sterility condition. As for the cytocompatibility analysis, devices sterilized with 35 kGy and 45 kGy showed better results, with the 45 kGy showing overall improved outcomes. This study allowed the selection of the most suitable sterilization condition for PCL-based scaffolds, aiming at immediate future assays, by applying 3D-customized printing techniques to specific airway obstruction lesions of the trachea.publishersversionpublishe

Genetic and Functional Role of TNF-alpha in the Development Trypanosoma cruzi Infection

TNF-alpha plays an important role in trypanocidal mechanisms and is related to tissue injury. This cytokine has been detected in the heart of human chagasic patients where it is associated with tissue damage. This study investigated whether TNF-alpha levels and the presence of genetic polymorphisms are associated with the presence of T. cruzi infection and/or with the development of the cardiac form in chronic chagasic patients. Genomic DNA of 300 subjects from an endemic area was extracted and analyzed by PCR using specific primers. TNF-alpha was assayed in culture supernatants by ELISA. An association was observed between the absence of the TNF-238A allele and negative serology. Furthermore, seropositive individuals carrying the TNF-238A allele produced significantly higher TNF-alpha levels without stimulation (p = 0.04) and after stimulation with LPS (p = 0.007) and T. cruzi antigens (p = 0.004). The present results suggest that the polymorphism at position -238 influences susceptibility to infection and that this allele is associated with higher TNF-alpha production in seropositive individuals

Erratum to: The study of cardiovascular risk in adolescents – ERICA: rationale, design and sample characteristics of a national survey examining cardiovascular risk factor profile in Brazilian adolescents

1585

Both “illness and temptation of the enemy”: melancholy, the medieval patient and the writings of King Duarte of Portugal (r. 1433–38)

Recent historians have rehabilitated King Duarte of Portugal, previously maligned and neglected, as an astute ruler and philosopher. There is still a tendency, however, to view Duarte as a depressive or a hypochondriac, due to his own description of his melancholy in his advice book, the Loyal Counselor. This paper reassesses Duarte's writings, drawing on key approaches in the history of medicine, such as narrative medicine and the history of the patient. It is important to take Duarte's views on his condition seriously, placing them in the medical and theological contexts of his time and avoiding modern retrospective diagnosis. Duarte's writings can be used to explore the impact of plague, doubt and death on the life of a well-educated and conscientious late-medieval ruler

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

History and philosophy of science and science teaching proceedings

The volume now presented, with texts in English and Portuguese, has a double purpose: to frame the use of History and Philosophy of Science in science teaching; and to provide Portuguese teachers with materials from which to enrich their science classes. To this end, contributions have been gathered from authors who have researched the use of History and Philosophy of Science in the promotion of better education in an international context. Since its first meeting in 1989, the International History Philosophy and Science Teaching Group (IHPST) has organized biannual conferences. In recent years, it has also promoted regional conferences. In these conferences, teachers, students and scholars of education, history, philosophy and sociology of science contribute to broaden the field of research and strengthen the contribution of the Group in practical and theoretical issues. It is in this tradition that this volume appears. Most of our authors have been actively involved in the IHPST Group. As has been recognized, science education benefits if teachers and students get to know better the past of science and how science works. This concerns what the authors of the past have said and done - which usually differs from what our textbooks tell us; it concerns the methods of science; the limitations of scientific theories; the impacts of science and technology and the recognition of emerging ethical issues. From all this, the editors hope that the present volume can benefit the teaching and learning of science in Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio