Agressividade e adolescência : implicações na deteção de faces emocionais positivas e negativas

Mestrado em Psicologia ForenseA adolescência é uma fase do ciclo de vida marcada por grandes alterações psicológicas, comportamentais, físicas e cognitivas, suscetível ao desenvolvimento de comportamentos agressivos. A agressividade pode surgir como resposta a uma forma de interpretação hostil de estímulos sociais. Quando um indivíduo entra numa situação social, a informação é processada em cinco etapas anteriores a ser efetivada uma ação, e em cada uma delas, a informação é codificada ou recuperada com interferência de um conjunto de pressupostos cognitivos armazenados na memória e que podem estar enviesados. Existem evidências do processamento automático de faces de raiva. Estas podem ser interpretadas como uma pista de hostilidade por parte dos outros, podendo estar associada ao viés de atribuição hostil em jovens mais agressivos. Neste sentido, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar se o processamento de informação se encontra enviesado na deteção de pistas sociais, neste caso faces, em adolescentes agressivos. Pretende-se averiguar se um maior nível de agressividade potencia o reconhecimento de expressões faciais de cariz emocional negativo (raiva e nojo), levando a menores tempos de reação bem como a uma maior proporção de respostas corretas para faces emocionais negativas. A amostra de 40 adolescentes (20 rapazes e 20 raparigas) preencheu o Questionário Revisto de Experiência Entre Pares (QREEP) para categorização do nível de agressividade e posterior divisão em dois grupos, um com baixo e um com elevado nível de agressividade. Todos os participantes realizaram também uma tarefa de pesquisa visual na qual se apresentavam expressões faciais emocionais alvo (alegria, raiva e nojo) entre expressões neutras ou apenas expressões faciais neutras. A tarefa dos participantes implicava detetar de forma rápida e precisa a presença (ou ausência) das expressões discrepantes. Os resultados demonstram que em ambos os grupos os tempos de resposta se revelaram mais longos para a deteção de faces de raiva, seguindo-se as faces de nojo e por fim as de alegria. Para além disso, os resultados revelaram uma menor proporção de respostas corretas para as faces de raiva em ambos os grupos, comparativamente com as faces de nojo e alegria. Os resultados indicaram também que o nível de agressividade não interferiu na deteção de estímulos potencialmente ameaçadores, uma vez que não foram reveladas diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre grupos nos tempos e na precisão das respostas. Estes resultados podem ser justificados pelo facto de, como demonstrado por estudos anteriores, as faces de raiva dificultarem o desprendimento do olhar de estímulos ameaçadores e, assim, potenciarem a perceção de ameaça.Adolescence is a human life cycle stage marked by relevant psychological, behavioural, physical and cognitive changes. During adolescence the development of aggressive behaviour is rather frequent. Aggressiveness may result from an interpretation of hostiliy of social stimuli. When an individual faces a social situation, the information is processed in five steps that occur previous to the action and, in each of them, the information is encoded or recalled with the interference of a set of cognitive assumptions stored in memory that in some cases can be biased. There is evidence of an automatic processing of angry faces. These faces can be interpreted as a cue of hostility from peers, leading to overstated hostile attributions assumed by adolescentes who are more aggressive. The goal of this study was to investigate if the information processing is affected in the interpretation of social cues, in this case faces with emotional expressions. The aim is to determine whether a higher level of aggressiveness enhances the detection of facial expressions of negative emotional nature (anger and disgust) (shorter response times and higher proportion of erros oin a visual search task) due to a higher attribution of hostile intentions. A sample of 40 adolescents (20 male and 20 female) were divided into two groups, based on their score in the Revised Peer Experience Questionnaire (RPEQ) (low and high aggressivity level). All the participants also performed a visual search task which included a set of emotional facial expressions (happy, anger and disgust) presented among neutral facial expressions. The participants task was to detect the presence or absence of target face (anger, disgust, or happy) as quickly and accurately as possible. The results showed that, in both groups, the response time was longer for detecting angry faces, followed by disgusted and happy faces. In addition, the results showed a lower proportion of correct responses to angry faces in both groups, compared to disgust and happy faces. The results also revealed that the level of aggression did not interfere with the detection of potential threatening stimuli, since there were statistically significant differences between groups in terms of response times and accuracy. These results can be explained by the fact that, as demonstrated in previous studies, the angry faces delayed the disengagement of attention which, in turn, might increase the perceived degree of hostility displayed in the angry faces in adolescents

Sintra Grows Healthy: development and implementation of a food literacy curriculum for primary schools

Project Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation no. 231980 (Gulbenkian Academies of Knowledge).Objective: Describe the process of development and implementation of Health at the Table - a food literacy curriculum for primary school-aged children. Design: Through a community-based research process, Health at the table development and implementation took place in four stages: exploratory study, production, implementation, and monitoring. Setting: Primary schools of Sintra's municipality, Portugal. Participants: Children (6 to 10 years), teachers, school staff, and children's legal guardians of three primary schools during the pilot project and eight primary schools in the second year. Results: During the needs assessment phase, 99.1% (n=341) of the children's legal guardians, 100% (n=34) of the teachers, and 100% (n=19) of the school staff considered that the school plays an important or very important role in children's food literacy (stage 1). During the pilot project, a manual with 60 session plans was developed (stage 2). In the second year, Health at the Table was implemented by 72 trained teachers during one school year (stage 3). Most of the teachers agreed that the curriculum was appropriate (69.2%) and that children developed health, wellness/well-being, and environmental skills (83.1%). Most of the children said they had learned about healthy eating (86.3%) and claimed to eat healthier since the Health at the Table implementation (58.9%) (stage 4). Conclusions: Health at the Table is a food literacy curriculum that can be reproduced in similar contexts in a sustainable way. The need to combine educational strategies with a healthy school food environment is reinforced to increase the effectiveness in tackling childhood obesity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Sintra Grows Healthy: development and implementation of a food literacy curriculum for primary schools

© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Objective: Describe the process of development and implementation of Health at the Table - a food literacy curriculum for primary school aged children. Design: Through a community-based research process, Health at the Table development and implementation took place in four stages: exploratory study, production, implementation and monitoring. Setting: Primary schools of Sintra's municipality, Portugal. Participants: Children (6-10 years), teachers, school staff and children's legal guardians of three primary schools during the pilot project and eight primary schools in the second year. Results: During the needs assessment phase, 99·1 % (n 341) of the children's legal guardians, 100 % (n 34) of the teachers and 100 % (n 19) of the school staff considered that the school plays an important or very important role in children's food literacy (stage 1). During the pilot project, a manual with sixty session plans was developed (stage 2). In the second year, Health at the Table was implemented by seventy-two trained teachers during one school year (stage 3). Most of the teachers agreed that the curriculum was appropriate (69·2 %) and that children developed health, wellness/well-being and environmental skills (83·1 %). Most of the children said they had learned about healthy eating (86·3 %) and claimed to eat healthier since the Health at the Table implementation (58·9 %) (stage 4). Conclusions: Health at the Table is a food literacy curriculum that can be reproduced in similar contexts in a sustainable way. The need to combine educational strategies with a healthy school food environment is reinforced to increase effectiveness in tackling childhood obesity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Viability Analysis of Biomphalaria glabrata Hemocytes During Schistosoma mansoni Infection And Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Exposure

Pesticides are chemical agents that have a range of harmful effects on human health and the environment. They can causedrastic changes in natural communities, such as macroinvertebrates, plankton and fish. Snails, including Biomphalariaglabrata, are often present in aquatic communities and have multiple roles in limnic ecosystems. B. glabrata is an intermediatehost of several species of helminths of medical and veterinary importance, such as Schistosoma mansoni, the etiological agentof schistosomiasis. The original Roundup® herbicide can affect snails and directly affects S. mansoni hemocytes, cells thatact in the snails’ immune defense. Here we analyzed the effect of herbicide exposure on B. glabrata hemocytes divided intofour groups: control group, infected-only group, treated-only group and infected+treated group. For this, flow cytometry andNeubauer-chamber counting were used to determine the morphology, viability and lectin expression profiles of hemocytes.We observed that the group infected by S. mansoni and treated with herbicide had a higher concentration of dead hemocytesin relation to the other groups. The treated group showed similar results to the control group, suggesting that the herbicide(Roundup™) alone does not interfere with the snails’ immune system. Regarding cellular-morphological-characterizationanalysis, hyalinocytes were the cells most commonly found in all groups studied. These findings suggest that S. mansoniinfection and exposure to pesticides directly the immune system of the snails, stimulating the production of hemocytes,especially hyalinocytes, which have a high phagocytic power to quell the infection, but with toxic effects on the snail

Nucleocapsid (N) Gene Mutations of SARS-CoV-2 Can Affect Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic and Impact False-Negative Results

The current COVID-19 pandemic demands massive testing by Real-time RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction), which is considered the gold standard diagnostic test for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, the virus continues to evolve with mutations that lead to phenotypic alterations as higher transmissibility, pathogenicity or vaccine evasion. Another big issue are mutations in the annealing sites of primers and probes of RT-PCR diagnostic kits leading to false-negative results. Therefore, here we identify mutations in the N (Nucleocapsid) gene that affects the use of the GeneFinder COVID-19 Plus RealAmp Kit. We sequenced SARS-CoV-2 genomes from 17 positive samples with no N gene detection but with RDRP (RNA-dependent RNA polymerase) and E (Envelope) genes detection, and observed a set of three different mutations affecting the N detection: a deletion of 18 nucleotides (Del28877-28894), a substitution of GGG to AAC (28881-28883) and a frameshift mutation caused by deletion (Del28877-28878). The last one cause a deletion of six AAs (amino acids) located in the central intrinsic disorder region at protein level. We also found this mutation in 99 of the 14,346 sequenced samples by the Sao Paulo state Network for Pandemic Alert of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, demonstrating the circulation of the mutation in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Continuous monitoring and characterization of mutations affecting the annealing sites of primers and probes by genomic surveillance programs are necessary to maintain the effectiveness of the diagnosis of COVID-19

Retrospective Insights of the COVID-19 Epidemic in the Major Latin American City, S&atilde;o Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

S&atilde;o Paulo is the financial center of Brazil, with a population of over 12 million, that receives travelers from all over the world for business and tourism. It was the first city in Brazil to report a case of COVID-19 that rapidly spread across the city despite the implementation of the restriction measures. Despite many reports, much is still unknown regarding the genomic diversity and transmission dynamics of this virus in the city of S&atilde;o Paulo. Thus, in this study, we provide a retrospective overview of the COVID-19 epidemic in S&atilde;o Paulo City, Southeastern, Brazil, by generating a total of 9995 near-complete genome sequences from all the city&rsquo;s different macro-regions (North, West, Central, East, South, and Southeast). Our analysis revealed that multiple independent introduction events of different variants (mainly Gamma, Delta, and Omicron) occurred throughout time. Additionally, our estimates of viral movement within the different macro-regions further suggested that the East and the Southeast regions were the largest contributors to the Gamma and Delta viral exchanges to other regions. Meanwhile, the North region had a higher contribution to the dispersion of the Omicron variant. Together, our results reinforce the importance of increasing SARS-CoV-2 genomic monitoring within the city and the country to track the real-time evolution of the virus and to detect earlier any eventual emergency of new variants of concern that could undermine the fight against COVID-19 in Brazil and worldwide

Retrospective Insights of the COVID-19 Epidemic in the Major Latin American City, São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

São Paulo is the financial center of Brazil, with a population of over 12 million, that receives travelers from all over the world for business and tourism. It was the first city in Brazil to report a case of COVID-19 that rapidly spread across the city despite the implementation of the restriction measures. Despite many reports, much is still unknown regarding the genomic diversity and transmission dynamics of this virus in the city of São Paulo. Thus, in this study, we provide a retrospective overview of the COVID-19 epidemic in São Paulo City, Southeastern, Brazil, by generating a total of 9995 near-complete genome sequences from all the city’s different macro-regions (North, West, Central, East, South, and Southeast). Our analysis revealed that multiple independent introduction events of different variants (mainly Gamma, Delta, and Omicron) occurred throughout time. Additionally, our estimates of viral movement within the different macro-regions further suggested that the East and the Southeast regions were the largest contributors to the Gamma and Delta viral exchanges to other regions. Meanwhile, the North region had a higher contribution to the dispersion of the Omicron variant. Together, our results reinforce the importance of increasing SARS-CoV-2 genomic monitoring within the city and the country to track the real-time evolution of the virus and to detect earlier any eventual emergency of new variants of concern that could undermine the fight against COVID-19 in Brazil and worldwide

Correction: Lesbon et al. Nucleocapsid (N) Gene Mutations of SARS-CoV-2 Can Affect Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic and Impact False-Negative Results. <i>Viruses</i> 2021, <i>13</i>, 2474

The authors hereby request the inclusion of two authors (Olivia Teixeira and Maria Cristina Nonato) in the recently published article in Viruses entitled “Nucleocapsid (N) gene mutations of SARS-CoV-2 can affect real-time RT-PCR diagnostic and impact false-negative results” [...

Genomic epidemiology reveals how restriction measures shaped the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Brazil

Abstract Brazil has experienced some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths globally and made Latin America a pandemic epicenter from May 2021. Although SARS-CoV-2 established sustained transmission in Brazil early in the pandemic, important gaps remain in our understanding of local virus transmission dynamics. Here, we describe the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 using near-full genomes sampled from 27 Brazilian states and an adjacent country - Paraguay. We show that the early stage of the pandemic in Brazil was characterised by the co-circulation of multiple viral lineages, linked to multiple importations predominantly from Europe, and subsequently characterized by large local transmission clusters. As the epidemic progressed, the absence of effective restriction measures led to the local emergence and international spread of Variants of Concern (VOC) and under monitoring (VUM), including the Gamma (P.1) and Zeta (P.2) variants. In addition, we provide a preliminary genomic overview of the epidemic in Paraguay, showing evidence of importation from Brazil. These data reinforce the need for the implementation of widespread genomic surveillance in South America as a toolkit for pandemic monitoring and providing a means to follow the real-time spread of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants with possible implications for public health and immunization strategies