Astenopia Digital: Estudo do Grupo Português de Ergoftalmologia

INTRODUCTION: Given the increasing use of electronic devices, and the increasing number of complaints with its use, we intend to evaluate the prevalence of manifestations of dry eye and ocular fatigue in a population of individuals, who use the computer daily to perform all their professional tasks, as well as to correlate these complaints with the number of hours of digital use as well as their possible improvement with behavioural measures and use of tear drops. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 77 individuals (154 eyes) were evaluated on two separate days with a 1-month interval. They completed two questionnaires: OSDI and PEG Eye Fatigue. An objective ocular surface assessment was performed: Schirmer test without anesthetic, DR-1a Dry Eye Monitor™, hyperemia evaluation, lacrimal break up, presence of keratitis and lesions in the conjunctiva, as well as near accommodation point and near convergence point. After the first evaluation, the subjects were divided into two groups: group A ( 2 hours of computer working). Some environmental measures to reduce complaints and recommendation of use of artificial tears were explained to the latter. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in the majority of the parameters evaluated in the group B, in relation to the morning period (group A) - tear film (p = 0.032), hyperemia (p < 0.001), BUT (p < 0.001), keratitis (p < 0.001), conjunctival lesion (p = 0.002) and accommodation point (p < 0.001). In the evaluation - one month later - there were no statistically significant differences in any of the parameters analysed in the group A, and in group B there was a decrease in most parameters at the end of that period - Schirmer test (p = 0.005), lacrimal film (p = 0.022), keratitis (p < 0.001), conjunctival lesion (p = 0.005) and fatigue score (p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: It was thus possible to show the appearance of ocular fatigue and ocular surface changes with prolonged use of computers (> 2 hours) as well as a significant improvement in symptomatology (subjective assessment) as well as of ocular surface changes (objective evaluation) with the implementation of postural measures, regular breaks and use of lubricants. This is the first study, to the best of our knowledge, of digital asthenopia in which, in addition to the subjective evaluation, the presence of ocular surface modifications (objective assessment) were evaluated and the respective improvement with the aforementioned ergophthalmological measures were evaluated. CONCLUSION: This survey highlights the increased overall level of awareness that we need to have to face the rapid and wide-scale changes driven by the emergence of digital technology and, more particularly, its impact on user's vision and posture. We concluded that the longer we use the electronic devices (more than two hours) the more severe the complaints and rates of ocular surface changes are. Environmental and ocular strategies can attenuate or even eliminate the discomfort caused by this syndrome, and increase professional performance and quality of life.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Transition of plasmodium sporozoites into liver stage-like forms is regulated by the RNA binding protein pumilio

Many eukaryotic developmental and cell fate decisions that are effected post-transcriptionally involve RNA binding proteins as regulators of translation of key mRNAs. In malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.), the development of round, non-motile and replicating exo-erythrocytic liver stage forms from slender, motile and cell-cycle arrested sporozoites is believed to depend on environmental changes experienced during the transmission of the parasite from the mosquito vector to the vertebrate host. Here we identify a Plasmodium member of the RNA binding protein family PUF as a key regulator of this transformation. In the absence of Pumilio-2 (Puf2) sporozoites initiate EEF development inside mosquito salivary glands independently of the normal transmission-associated environmental cues. Puf2- sporozoites exhibit genome-wide transcriptional changes that result in loss of gliding motility, cell traversal ability and reduction in infectivity, and, moreover, trigger metamorphosis typical of early Plasmodium intra-hepatic development. These data demonstrate that Puf2 is a key player in regulating sporozoite developmental control, and imply that transformation of salivary gland-resident sporozoites into liver stage-like parasites is regulated by a post-transcriptional mechanism

Molecular identification of Coccidioides spp. in soil samples from Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since 1991 several outbreaks of acute coccidioidomycosis (CM) were diagnosed in the semi-arid Northeast of Brazil, mainly related to disturbance of armadillo burrows caused by hunters while digging them for the capture of these animals. This activity causes dust contaminated with arthroconidia of <it>Coccidioides posadasii</it>, which, once inhaled, cause the mycosis. We report on the identification of <it>C. posadasii </it>in soil samples related to outbreaks of CM.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty four soil samples had their DNA extracted and subsequently submitted to a semi-nested PCR technique using specific primers. While only 6 (25%) soil samples were positive for <it>C. posadasii </it>by mice inoculation, all (100%) were positive by the molecular tool.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This methodology represents a simple, sensitive and specific molecular technique to determine the environmental distribution of <it>Coccidioides </it>spp. in endemic areas, but cannot distinguish the species. Moreover, it may be useful to identify culture isolates. Key-words: 1. Coccidioidomycosis. 2. <it>Coccidioides </it>spp. 3. <it>C. posadasii</it>. 4. Semi-arid. 5. Semi-nested PCR</p

Lentes de contacto em idade pediátrica

Revisão sobre os tipos de lentes de contacto para utilização na idade pediátrica. Regras de adaptação, indicações e contraindicações ao uso de lentes de contacto na criança. Descrição das melhores opções na afaquia

Correcção de ectrópio cicatricial

Introdução: O ectrópio cicatricial resulta da diminuição vertical e/ou cicatrização da pele e tecidos subjacentes da lamela anterior da pálpebra, levando ao afastamento da margem palpebral da sua posição anatómica. As principais complicações são a queratite de exposição, a epífora e a componente estética. Materiais e Métodos: Criança de 14 anos, com história de ferida penetrante da pálpebra inferior olho direito, resultado em ectrópio cicatricial (Fig1), que além da questão estética condicionava queratite inferior. A técnica cirúrgica utilizada na correcção do ectrópio cicatricial localizado, Z plastia múltipla, será descrita pelos autores (Fig.2). Resultados Obteve-se um bom resultado funcional e estético (Fig.3). Conclusões A Z-plastia pode ser uma opção no tratamento de ectrópio cicatricial localizado, permitindo aliviar a retracção dos tecidos e conduzindo a bons resultados estéticos e funcionais

Profiling of lung microbiota discloses differences in adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma

The lung is a complex ecosystem of host cells and microbes often disrupted in pathological conditions. Although bacteria have been hypothesized as agents of carcinogenesis, little is known about microbiota profile of the most prevalent cancer subtypes: adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). To characterize lung cancer (LC) microbiota a first a screening was performed through a pooled sequencing approach of 16S ribosomal RNA gene (V3-V6) using a total of 103 bronchoalveaolar lavage fluid samples. Then, identified taxa were used to inspect 1009 cases from The Cancer Genome Atlas and to annotate tumor unmapped RNAseq reads. Microbial diversity was analyzed per cancer subtype, history of cigarette smoking and airflow obstruction, among other clinical data. We show that LC microbiota is enriched in Proteobacteria and more diverse in SCC than ADC, particularly in males and heavier smokers. High frequencies of Proteobacteria were found to discriminate a major cluster, further subdivided into well-defined communities’ associated with either ADC or SCC. Here, a SCC subcluster differing from other cases by a worse survival was correlated with several Enterobacteriaceae. Overall, this study provides first evidence for a correlation between lung microbiota and cancer subtype and for its influence on patient life expectancy.We would like to thank all patients for donating their samples and for collaborating in this study. IPATIMUP integrates the i3S Research Unit, which is partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), financed by the European Social Funds (COMPETE-FEDER) and National Funds through the FCT (projects PEstC/SAU/LA0003/2013 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274, fellowships SFRH/BPD/77646/2011 and SFRH/BPD/120777/2016 to S.G. and P.I.M., respectively, grant PTDC/BEXGMG/0242/2012 to S.S. and by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O Novo Norte and Norte 2020), through FEDER funds under the Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN; projects NORTE-07-0162-FEDER-00018 and NORTE-070162-FEDER-000067, and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029)

Is the proteome of bronchoalveolar lavage extracellular vesicles a marker of advanced lung cancer?

Acellular bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) proteomics can partially separate lung cancer from non-lung cancer patients based on principal component analysis and multivariate analysis. Furthermore, the variance in the proteomics data sets is correlated mainly with lung cancer status and, to a lesser extent, smoking status and gender. Despite these advances BAL small and large extracellular vehicles (EVs) proteomes reveal aberrant protein expression in paracrine signaling mechanisms in cancer initiation and progression. We consequently present a case-control study of 24 bronchoalveolar lavage extracellular vesicle samples which were analyzed by state-of-the-art liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We obtained evidence that BAL EVs proteome complexity correlated with lung cancer stage 4 and mortality within two years´ follow-up (p value = 0.006). The potential therapeutic target DNMT3B complex is significantly up-regulated in tumor tissue and BAL EVs. The computational analysis of the immune and fibroblast cell markers in EVs suggests that patients who deceased within the follow-up period display higher marker expression indicative of innate immune and fibroblast cells (four out of five cases). This study provides insights into the proteome content of BAL EVs and their correlation to clinical outcomes.R.M. is supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (CEEC position, 2019–2025 investigator). This article is a result of the projects (iNOVA4Health—UID/Multi/04462/2013), supported by Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work is also funded by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 Programme and National Funds through FCT—Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the projects number PTDC/BTM-TEC/30087/2017 and PTDC/BTM-TEC/30088/2017. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowship (grant number IA/M/15/1/502023) awarded to A.P. B.C.-S., M.C.S.C. and C.B. are supported by the Champalimaud Foundation and the EMBO Installation Grant 3921

Scans for signatures of selection in Russian cattle breed genomes reveal new candidate genes for environmental adaptation and acclimation

Domestication and selective breeding has resulted in over 1000 extant cattle breeds. Many of these breeds do not excel in important traits but are adapted to local environments. These adaptations are a valuable source of genetic material for efforts to improve commercial breeds. As a step toward this goal we identified candidate regions to be under selection in genomes of nine Russian native cattle breeds adapted to survive in harsh climates. After comparing our data to other breeds of European and Asian origins we found known and novel candidate genes that could potentially be related to domestication, economically important traits and environmental adaptations in cattle. The Russian cattle breed genomes contained regions under putative selection with genes that may be related to adaptations to harsh environments (e.g., AQP5, RAD50, and RETREG1). We found genomic signatures of selective sweeps near key genes related to economically important traits, such as the milk production (e.g., DGAT1, ABCG2), growth (e.g., XKR4), and reproduction (e.g., CSF2). Our data point to candidate genes which should be included in future studies attempting to identify genes to improve the extant breeds and facilitate generation of commercial breeds that fit better into the environments of Russia and other countries with similar climates