Cardiac Mass: Left Atrial Myxoma

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ruptured Mitral Valve Aneurysm: A Rare Complication of Mitral Valve Endocarditis

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Atopic Eczema/Dermatitis Syndrome in Portugal – Sensitization Pattern

A dermatite atópica é uma doença inflamatória crónica da pele, tendo por base diversos mecanismos etiopatogénicos. Considerando a sua heterogeneidade, foi, recentemente, introduzida outra designação para esta patologia - Síndroma Eczema / Dermatite Atópica (SEDA). A associação com alergia alimentar ou respiratória parece ser variável entre as diferentes populações. Objectivo: Analisar um grupo de doentes referenciados à Consulta de Imunoalergologia com o diagnóstico de SEDA, com o intuito de avaliar a associação desta síndrome com a alergia alimentar e doença respiratória nesta população. Métodos: Do número total de primeiras consultas do nosso Serviço durante os anos 2000-01 (n = 3436) foram seleccionados todos os doentes com história de SEDA. A população foi analisada quanto a idade, sexo, existência de alergia alimentar, doença respiratória e resultados de testes cutâneos (TC) por picada. Resultados: Foram encontrados 193 doentes com uma idade média de 7,5 anos de idade (1 -54 anos) e relação F/M = 1 / 1,5. Eram 68 (35,8%) os doentes com SEDA isolada. SEDA associada a doença respiratória foi identificada em 113 (58,5%) e a alergia alimentar em 19 (9,8%) - na maioria dos casos manifestando-se por urticária / angioedema. Os TC revelaram-se positivos para aeroalergénios em 74% e para alergénios alimentares em 18% da amostra. Os TC foram positivos em 58,9% dos doentes com SEDA isolada, 84,2% dos doentes com alergia alimentar e 92% com doença respiratória. Conclusão: Em contraste com outras séries, foi encontrada uma baixa prevalência de alergia alimentar, na maioria dos casos manifestada por reacções imediatas. Mais de metade dos doentes estudados apresentava doença respiratória alérgica associada a uma elevada prevalência de sensibilização a aeroalergénios. Estes resultados reflectem a heterogeneidade das populações com SEDA e a importância dos aeroalergénios na nossa população

Recycling of marine aquaculture wastewater using a microalgae-bacterial granular sludge system

Aquaculture has become the fastest growing animal food-producing sector. In a near future, an intensification of the aquaculture practices is expected to cope with the ever-increasing fish demand. However, for land-based aquaculture farms, this growth implies the capture of higher water volumes from nearby water bodies and, consequently, the discharge of higher volumes of wastewater, containing organic carbon, nutrients, and often recalcitrant pollutants (e.g. pharmaceuticals). The expansion of the land-based aquaculture sector is currently offset due to the lack of space and water supplies, but also due to environmental concerns. Therefore, there is a need for innovative wastewater treatment systems able to reduce energy input, to improve resource use and to reduce the environmental impact. In the present study, microalgae-bacterial granules were developed from a phototrophic microbial consortium autochthonous to the water streams of a marine aquaculture facility. The granular biomass was able to efficiently treat marine aquaculture streams, even when sporadically the antibiotic florfenicol was present, with pollutant reaching levels that allowed water recirculation in fish farms. The ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations in the treated effluents were below the toxicity limits for marine fish and, the dissolved oxygen levels were within the ideal range for water recirculation. The granules microbial community was dynamic and, its structure was susceptible and adaptable to the changing operational reactor conditions such as the presence of the antibiotic florfenicol. The microbial diversity and functional redundancy within the microbial community seemed to be crucial for the adaptability of the system to the stressors presence. Th symbiosis established between microalgae and bacteria within granules allowed for the effective and environmentally sustainable treatment of marine aquaculture wastewater.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioremediation of coastal aquaculture effluents spiked with florfenicol using microalgae-based granular sludge – a promising solution for recirculating aquaculture systems

Aquaculture is a crucial industry in the agri-food sector, but it is linked to serious environmental problems. There is a need for efficient treatment systems that allow water recirculation to mitigate pollution and water scarcity. This work aimed to evaluate the self-granulation process of a microalgae-based consortium and its capacity to bioremediate coastal aquaculture streams that sporadically contain the antibiotic florfenicol (FF). A photo-sequencing batch reactor was inoculated with an autochthonous phototrophic microbial consortium and was fed with wastewater mimicking coastal aquaculture streams. A rapid granulation process occurred within ca. 21 days, accompanied by a substantially increase of extracellular polymeric substances in the biomass. The developed microalgae-based granules exhibited high and stable organic carbon removal (83-100%). Sporadically wastewater contained FF which was partially removed (ca. 5.5-11.4%) from the effluent. In periods of FF load, the ammonium removal slightly decreased (from 100 to ca. 70%), recovering 2 days after FF feeding ceased. A high-chemical quality effluent was obtained, complying with ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations for water recirculation within a coastal aquaculture farm, even during FF feeding periods. Members belonging to the Chloroidium genus were predominant in the reactor inoculum (ca. 99%) but were replaced from day-22 onwards by an unidentified microalga from the phylum Chlorophyta (>61%). A bacterial community proliferated in the granules after reactor inoculation, whose composition varied in response to feeding conditions. Bacteria from the Muricauda and Filomicrobium genera, Rhizobiaceae, Balneolaceae, and Parvularculaceae families, thrived upon FF feeding. This study demonstrates the robustness of microalgae-based granular systems for aquaculture effluent bioremediation, even during periods of FF loading, highlighting their potential as a feasible and compact solution in recirculation aquaculture systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microalgae-bacterial granular sludge systems - on the road for more sustainable processes in the aquaculture sector

With population growth and stagnation of capture fisheries, the aquaculture sector has been challenged to achieve remarkable production targets to meet the ever-increasing fish demand. However, land-based aquaculture industries need to capture high water volumes from nearby water bodies to ensure an adequate production and, consequently, high wastewater volumes, containing organic carbon, nutrients, and often contaminants of emerging concern, are produced. If not properly handled, aquaculture effluents pose a threat to receiving aquatic ecosystems. The rapid expansion of these industries, facing the increased demand for food worldwide, is only possible if more sustainable practices are adopted. To face the current water shortages and protect water resources, the development of environmentally friendly treatment systems that allow water recirculation is of utmost importance. This work aimed to develop a microalgae-bacteria granular sludge system able to efficiently treat marine aquaculture effluents so they can meet the requirements for recirculation. A photo-sequencing batch reactor was inoculated with a phototrophic microbial consortium obtained from water streams in a marine aquaculture facility and was fed with wastewater mimicking marine aquaculture streams. The aggregation of the microbial biomass occurred rapidly and, on day-21, ca. 49% of the total reactor biomass was in the form of granules. The system exhibited high and stable organic carbon removal (>80%), even when florfenicol, an antibiotic widely used in aquaculture, was present in the wastewater. Concerning the nitrogen content, a high-chemical quality effluent was obtained, complying with ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations for water recirculation within a marine aquaculture farm, even in periods where florfenicol was present in the wastewater. In addition, the dissolved oxygen levels in the treated effluents where within the ideal range for fish growth thus reducing the need for oxygenation and, consequently, the farms operational costs. Additionally, the coexistence of microalgae and bacteria within the granules allowed to treat wastewater at low air flow rates potentially reducing the energy needed for system’s aeration. Microalgae-bacterial granular sludge systems can contribute for the aquaculture sector sustainability as they enable to reduce energy and water usage whilst ensuring environmental protection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Surface charge mediated cell-surface interaction on piezoelectric materials

Cell–material interactions play an essential role in the development of scaffold-based tissue engineering strategies. Cell therapies are still limited in treating injuries when severe damage causes irreversible loss of muscle cells. Electroactive biomaterials and, in particular, piezoelectric materials offer new opportunities for skeletal muscle tissue engineering since these materials have demonstrated suitable electroactive microenvironments for tissue development. In this study, the influence of the surface charge of piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) on cell adhesion was investigated. The cytoskeletal organization of C2C12 myoblast cells grown on different PVDF samples was studied by immunofluorescence staining, and the interactions between single live cells and PVDF were analyzed using an atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique termed single-cell force spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that C2C12 myoblast cells seeded on samples with net surface charge present a more elongated morphology, this effect being dependent on the surface charge but independent of the poling direction (negative or positive surface charge). It was further shown that the cell deadhesion forces of individual C2C12 cells were higher on PVDF samples with an overall negative surface charge (8.92 ± 0.45 nN) compared to those on nonpoled substrates (zero overall surface charge) (4.06 ± 0.20 nN). These findings explicitly demonstrate that the polarization/surface charge is an important parameter to determine cell fate as it affects C2C12 cell adhesion, which in turn will influence cell behavior, namely, cell proliferation and differentiationPortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2019, UID/BIA/04050/2013, UID/BIO/04469, project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028237 and under BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004). The authors also thank the FCT for the SFRH/BD/111478/2015 (S.R.) and SFRH/BPD/90870/2012 (C.R.) grants. Funds provided by FCT in the framework of EuroNanoMed 2016 call, Project LungChek ENMed/0049/2016 are also gratefully acknowledged. The authors acknowledge funding by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) through the project MAT2016-76039-C4-3-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) and from the Basque Government Industry and Education Department under the ELKARTEK, HAZITEK and PIBA (PIBA-2018-06

Cortisol mediates cleaner wrasse switch from cooperation to cheating and tactical deception

Recent empirical research, mostly done on humans, recognizes that individuals' physiological state affects levels of cooperation. An individual's internal state may affect the payoffs of behavioural alternatives, which in turn could influence the decision to either cooperate or to defect. However, little is known about the physiology underlying condition dependent cooperation. Here, we demonstrate that shifts in cortisol levels affect levels of cooperation in wild cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus. These cleaners cooperate by removing ectoparasites from visiting 'client' reef fishes but prefer to eat client mucus, which constitutes cheating. We exogenously administrated one of three different compounds to adults, that is, (a) cortisol, (b) glucocorticoid receptor antagonist mifepristone RU486 or (c) sham (saline), and observed their cleaning behaviour during the following 45. min. The effects of cortisol match an earlier observational study that first described the existence of "cheating" cleaners: such cleaners provide small clients with more tactile stimulation with their pectoral and pelvic fins, a behaviour that attracts larger clients that are then bitten to obtain mucus. Blocking glucocorticoid receptors led to more tactile stimulation to large clients. As energy demands and associated cortisol concentration level shifts affect cleaner wrasse behavioural patterns, cortisol potentially offers a general mechanism for condition dependent cooperation in vertebrates

Effect of batch and fed-batch growth modes on biofilm formation by Listeria monocytogenes at different temperatures

The influence of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) biofilm formation feeding conditions (batch and fed-batch) at different temperatures on biofilm biomass and activity was determined. Biofilm biomass and cellular metabolic activity were assessed by Crystal Violet (CV) staining and 2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide inner salt (XTT) colorimetric method, respectively. Live/Dead staining was also performed in order to get microscopic visualization of the different biofilms. Results revealed that at refrigeration temperature (4°C) a higher amount of biofilm was produced when batch conditions were applied, while at higher temperatures the fed-batch feeding condition was the most effective on biofilm formation. Moreover, independently of the temperature used, biofilms formed under fed-batch conditions were metabolically more active than those formed in batch mode. In conclusion, this work shows that different growth modes significantly influence L. monocytogenes biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces as well as the metabolic activity of cells within biofilms.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PPCDT/AGR/59358/2004, SFRH/ BD/28887/2006, SFRH/BPD/26803/200