Gla-rich protein (GRP) as an early and novel marker of vascular calcification and kidney dysfunction in diabetic patients with CKD: a pilot cross-sectional study

Vascular calcification (VC) is one of the strongest predictors of cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. New diagnostic/prognostic tools are required for early detection of VC allowing interventional strategies. Gla-rich protein (GRP) is a cardiovascular calcification inhibitor, whose clinical utility is here highlighted. The present study explores, for the first time, correlations between levels of GRP in serum with CKD developmental stage, mineral metabolism markers, VC and pulse pressure (PP), in a cohort of 80 diabetic patients with mild to moderate CKD (stages 2-4). Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a positive association of GRP serum levels with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and α-Klotho, while a negative correlation with phosphate (P), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), vascular calcification score (VCS), PP, calcium (x) phosphate (CaxP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Serum GRP levels were found to progressively decrease from stage 2 to stage 4 CKD. Multivariate analysis identified low levels of eGFR and GRP, and high levels of FGF-23 associated with both the VCS and PP. These results indicate an association between GRP, renal dysfunction and CKD-mineral and bone disorder. The relationship between low levels of GRP and vascular calcifications suggests a future, potential utility for GRP as an early marker of vascular damage in CKD.Portuguese Society of Nephrology (SPN) ; Portuguese national funds from FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology through the transitional provision DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0006 UIDB/04326/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Qualidade de Vida e Participação em Iniciativas de Base Comunitária: Um estudo num município da zona centro de Portugal

Face ao reconhecimento da importância da participação social como fator promotor de envelhecimento bem-sucedido, procura-se, através de um estudo de natureza quantitativo, analisar os efeitos de variáveis sociodemográficas e da participação social em atividades/programas de base comunitária, promovidas por um município da zona centro de Portugal, ao nível da qualidade de vida de pessoas com mais de 56 anos, residentes no concelho.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Plasmatic Klotho and FGF23 levels as biomarkers of CKD-associated cardiac disease in type 2 diabetic patients

Research over the past decade has focused on the role of Klotho as a cardio protective agent that prevents the effects of aging on the heart and reduces the burden of cardiovascular disease CVD. The role of the interaction between fibroblast growth factor 23-(FGF-23)/Klotho in Klotho-mediated actions is still under debate. The main objective was to ascertain the potential use of plasmatic Klotho and FGF23 as markers for CKD-associated cardiac disease and mortality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Accuracy of faecal calprotectin and neutrophil Gelatinase B-associated Lipocalin in evaluating subclinical inflammation in UlceRaTIVE colitis-the ACERTIVE study

Background and Aims: Mucosal healing and histological remission are different targets for patients with ulcerative colitis, but both rely on an invasive endoscopic procedure. This study aimed to assess faecal calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin as biomarkers for disease activity in asymptomatic ulcerative colitis patients. Methods: This was a multicentric cross-sectional study including 371 patients, who were classified according to their endoscopic and histological scores. These results were evaluated alongside the faecal levels of both biomarkers. Results: Macroscopic lesions [i.e. endoscopic Mayo score >= 1] were present in 28% of the patients, and 9% had active disease according to fht Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity. Moreover, 21% presented with histological inflammation according to the Geboes index, whereas 15% and 5% presented with focal and diffuse basal plasmacytosis, respectively. The faecal levels of calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin were statistically higher for patients with endoscopic lesions and histological activity. A receiver operating characteristic-based analysis revealed that both biomarkers were able to indicate mucosal healing and histological remission with an acceptable probability, and cut-off levels of 150-250 mu g/g for faecal calprotectin and 12 mu g/g for neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin were proposed. Conclusions: Faecal calprotectin and neutrophil gelatinase B-associated lipocalin levels are a valuable addition for assessment of disease activity in asymptomatic ulcerative colitis patients. Biological levels of the analysed biomarkers below the proposed thresholds can rule out the presence of macroscopic and microscopic lesions with a probability of 75-93%. However, caution should be applied whenever interpreting positive results, as these biomarkers present consistently low positive predictive values.Portuguese IBD Group [GEDII - Grupo de Estudo da Doenca Inflamatcria Intestinal]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Identification of clusters of asthma control: A preliminary analysis of the inspirers studies

This work was funded by ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI- -01-0145-FEDER-029130 (“mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases - generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies”) co-funded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).© 2020, Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica. All rights reserved. Aims: To identify distinct asthma control clusters based on Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) and to compare patients’ characteristics among these clusters. Methods: Adults and adolescents (≥13 years) with persistent asthma were recruited at 29 Portuguese hospital outpatient clinics, in the context of two observational studies of the INSPIRERS project. Demographic and clinical characteristics, adherence to inhaled medication, beliefs about inhaled medication, anxiety and depression, quality of life, and asthma control (CARAT, >24 good control) were collected. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed using CARAT total score (CARAT-T). Results: 410 patients (68% adults), with a median (percentile 25–percentile 75) age of 28 (16-46) years, were analysed. Three clusters were identified [mean CARAT-T (min-max)]: cluster 1 [27(24-30)], cluster 2 [19(14-23)] and cluster 3 [10(2-13)]. Patients in cluster 1 (34%) were characterised by better asthma control, better quality of life, higher inhaler adherence and use of a single inhaler. Patients in clusters 2 (50%) and 3 (16%) had uncontrolled asthma, lower inhaler adherence, more symptoms of anxiety and depression and more than half had at least one exacerbation in the previous year. Further-more, patients in cluster 3 were predominantly female, had more unscheduled medical visits and more anxiety symp-toms, perceived a higher necessity of their prescribed inhalers but also higher levels of concern about taking these inhalers. There were no differences in age, body mass index, lung function, smoking status, hospital admissions or specialist physician follow-up time among the three clusters. Conclusion: An unsupervised method based on CARAT--T, identified 3 clusters of patients with distinct, clinically meaningful characteristics. The cluster with better asthma control had a cut-off similar to the established in the validation study of CARAT and an additional cut-off seems to distinguish more severe disease. Further research is necessary to validate the asthma control clusters identified.publishersversionpublishe

práticas artísticas no ensino básico e secundário

Educação Artística: integrar a inovação. A educação artística apresenta-se como um território a re-cartografar, numa atualização tão rápida quanto aquela que ocorre no campo artístico. As propostas publicadas neste número 11 da Revista Matéria-Prima trazem essa diversidade de abordagens, com novidades conceptuais que estabelecem as devidas relações entre educação e cidadania, participação, sustentabilidade, cultura visual, e também com alguma atenção sobre os debates pós-coloniais e as questões de género. Os 16 artigos reunidos neste 11º número da Revista Matéria-Prima trazem a realidade operativa quer na formação de professores e quer na formulação dos discursos pedagógicos, suas justificações e suas propostas alternativas.As propostas apresentadas devolvem o debate ao terreno, e alargam-no. Provocam as periferias, convocam abordagens diferenciadas sobre o tema da arte e da educação. Em todas elas a proposta de crescimento através da arte, que hoje implica cada vez mais cidadania, crítica, criatividade, interligação, comprometimento, participação.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications