Lesões Ósseas Fibrosas Benignas na Criança

Procedeu-se à revisão dos Tumores Ósseos e Lesões Pseudotumorais Benignos diagnosticados na Consulta de Ortopedia do Hospital de Dona Estefânia no período de Janeiro de 1988 e Janeiro de 1995. Seleccionaram-se 130 crianças com esse diagnóstico. Cinquenta e quatro desses (42%) doentes apresentavam Tumores Fibrosos Benignos. Fez-se seguidamente uma revisão clínica, radiológica, histológica e de abordagem terapêutica dos Tumores Fibrosos Benignos encontrados na população estudada

Hydro-Thermal Vent Mapping with Multiple AUV's AZORES-2001

LONG TERM GOAL: The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon (IST) have a long standing memorandum of agreement dating back to 1994 for the exchange of scientific ideas, visits of faculty and students, and to perform collaborative work. In the past we have collaborated on joint papers, the shared supervision of doctoral work, and a shared effort on the evaluation of AUV control system methodology. This is a NICOP project aimed at developing the technology of multiple cooperating AUV's in a shallow water vent-mapping mission. The missions to be conducted in the AZORES Islands will develop multi-vehicle cooperative strategies and control using radio and acoustic communications. Results of both sonar and video images will be obtained in which the Portuguese vehicle – INFANTE, and a surface catamaran (DELFIM) will perform broad area survey to identify vent clusters, while the NPS vehicle – ARIES, will be used to reacquire vent cluster locations, and perform local area searches with close in video data gathering.Award # N0001400AF0000

Torsion and Inflammation of Meckel's Diverticulum: Rare Cause of Acute Abdominal Pain

Meckel's diverticulum is a remnant of the embryologic vitelline duct. It was named after its anatomical and embryological description, in the early 19th century, by Johann Meckel. It is known as a true diverticulum of the small bowel and is typically estimated to be present in 2% of the general population, with only a very small percentage being symptomatic. In this report, we present a 14-year-old boy with complaints of abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. During physical examination we observed peritoneal irritation and raised inflammatory markers. Surgical exploration revealed torsion and inflammation of a large Meckel's diverticulum with a gangrenous area. In order to ensure the removal of etopic tissue, if present, segmental bowel resection with primary anastomosis was performed. Histopathological analysis did not find ectopic tissue. The operative and postoperative courses were uneventful. Meckel's diverticulum is an important differential diagnosis in acute abdominal pain in children.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Determination of the Hydroxy and Carboxylic Acid Groups in Natural Complex Mixtures of Hydroxy Fatty Acids by (1)H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The use of trichloroacetyl isocyanate (TAI) to mark both hydroxyl and carboxyl groups borne by the hydrolysis or methanolysis of suberin fragments (a complex mixture of hydroxy fatty acids), allowed the quantitative assessment of the ratio between carboxyl and hydroxy groups, as well as the ratio between primary and secondary hydroxy groups, to be carried out reliably by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. All the samples thus analyzed displayed an excess of CO(2)H (or CO(2)CH(3)) functions with respect to the OH counterparts, albeit to a variable extent, depending on the procedure adopted to isolate the suberin fragments. The precise knowledge of the molar ratio of these two reactive moieties is fundamental for the correct utilization of suberin monomers in polymerization reactions leading to aliphatic polyesters.FCT - SFRH/ BD/38890/200

Development and Initial Validation of the Beliefs About Sexual Functioning Scale: A Gender Invariant Measure

The work was financially supported by the BIAL Foundation Fellowship (167/12) and by the Portuguese Science Foundation (CPUP UID/PSI/00050/2013; FEDER/COMPETE2020 POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007294).Background: Past research on cognitive models of sexual functioning has focused on sexual beliefs as an important vulnerability factor for sexual dysfunction. However, the existing measurements of sexual beliefs are lengthy and entangle beliefs about sexual functioning with moral beliefs and ideas about sexuality. Furthermore, they have female and male versions, which does not allow for sex comparisons or dyadic research with heterosexual couples. Aim: To describe the development and validation of the Beliefs About Sexual Functioning Scale (BASEF), which assesses beliefs about sexual functioning in men and women. Methods: This study included two cross-sectional online studies with adults in heterosexual dyadic committed and exclusive relationships. In study 1 (sample A, n ¼ 274, mean age ¼ 32.27 years; sample B, n ¼ 114, mean age ¼ 30.6 years), the factorial validity of the BASEF was analyzed through an exploratory factor analysis with an initial poll of 51 items, followed by a test of its structure in a confirmatory factor analysis. In study 2 (n ¼ 426, mean age ¼ 31.5 years), the factorial equivalence of the BASEF was tested across sexes and its association with total scores of sexual functioning was analyzed. Outcome: The main outcome was a new instrument for measurement of beliefs about sexual functioning. Results: In study 1, 15 items indicating 5 factors were retained. The structure was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis, establishing its factorial validity with the five factors aggregated in a second-order latent variable. In study 2, the equivalence of the BASEF was demonstrated across sexes and its association with theoretically related measurements, the International Index of Erectile Function and the Female Sexual Function Index, was supported. Clinical Implications: This new measurement could be useful to evaluate clients and design interventions that take into account similarity and discrepancy in sexual beliefs in couples, such as those interventions framed in cognitive and systemic clinical models. Strengths and Limitations: This study presents a new measurement of beliefs about sexual functioning suited to address an equivalent set of beliefs for men and women. In future studies, the scale will be useful to compare the unique role of these same beliefs in the sexual outcomes of men and women. One major limitation is the lack of examination of the BASEF criterion validity with a clinical sample. Conclusions: Results are indicative of a brief, valid, and reliable sex-invariant measurement of beliefs about sexual functioning that enables testing of cognitive models of sexual functioning in men and women in clinical and research settings.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Diagonal Movement Pattern of Arm Elevation and Depression in Overhead Throwing Athletes: An Exploratory Kinematic Analysis for Clinical Application

Assessing scapular position and motion during functional arm movement patterns may add relevant information to the evaluation of the clinical status and athletic performance of overhead sports athletes’ shoulders. This study aimed to examine the three-dimensional scapular kinematics of elite volleyball players with (n = 11) and without scapular dyskinesis (n = 11) in comparison to non-athletes (n = 27). Four distinct arm elevation/depression tasks were assessed: shoulder abduction/adduction, flexion/extension, scaption, and a diagonal movement pattern mimicking throwing (proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation diagonal 2 for flexion/extension or PNF–D2– flx/ext). Kinematic data was recorded from the spiking/dominant shoulder using an electromagnetic system (FASTRAK, Polhemus Inc., Colchester, VT, USA); MotionMonitor v9 software, Innovative Sports Training, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The study compared scapular rotations at 15◦ intervals of humero-thoracic (HT) angles, ranging from minimum to 120◦. Significantly different 3D scapular kinematics were observed between traditional arm motion tasks and PNF–D2 arm motion task (HT angle × task interaction effect, p < 0.001, 0.275 ≤ η2p ≤ 0.772). However, when considering the combined influence of phase, HT angle, task, and group factors, no differences were found between groups (phase × HT angle × task × group, p ≥ 0.161, 0.032 ≤ η2p ≤ 0.058). The inclusion of a functional arm movement pattern when evaluating scapular position and movement in overhead athletes does not appear to be mandatory. However, these findings are preliminary and highlight the need for more research in this area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Non-interactive effects drive multiple stressor impacts on the taxonomic and functional diversity of atlantic stream macroinvertebrates

Freshwaters are considered among the most endangered ecosystems globally due to multiple stressors, which coincide in time and space. These local stressors typically result from land-use intensification or hydroclimatic alterations, among others. Despite recent advances on multiple stressor effects, current knowledge is still limited to manipulative approaches minimizing biological and abiotic variability. Thus, the assessment of multiple stressor effects in real-world ecosystems is required. Using an extensive survey of 50 stream reaches across North Portugal, we evaluated taxonomic and functional macroinvertebrate responses to multiple stressors, including marked gradients of nutrient enrichment, flow reduction, riparian vegetation structure, thermal stress and dissolved oxygen depletion. We analyzed multiple stressor effects on two taxonomic (taxon richness, Shannon-diversity) and two trait-based diversity indices (functional richness, functional dispersion), as well as changes in trait composition. We found that multiple stressors had additive effects on all diversity metrics, with nutrient enrichment identified as the most important stressor in three out of four metrics, followed by dissolved oxygen depletion and thermal stress. Taxon richness, Shannon-diversity and functional richness responded similarly, whereas functional dispersion was driven by changes in flow velocity and thermal stress. Functional trait composition changed along a major stress gradient determined by nutrient enrichment and oxygen depletion, which was positively correlated with organisms possessing fast-living strategies, aerial respiration, adult phases, and gathering-collector feeding habits. Overall, our results reinforce the need to consider complementary facets of biodiversity to better identify assembly processes in response to multiple stressors. Our data suggest that stressor interactions may be less frequent in real-word streams than predicted by manipulative experiments, which can facilitate mitigation strategies. By combining an extensive field survey with an integrative consideration of multiple biodiversity facets, our study provides new insights that can help to better assess and manage rivers in a global change context.This work was supported by the project STREAMECO: Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning under climate change: from the gene to the stream (PTDC/CTA-AMB/31245/2017), funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI). This work was also supported by the River2Ocean project (NORTE-01-0145- FEDER-000068), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE2020); by CCDR-N (Norte Portugal Regional Coordination and Development Commission) and European Funds (FEDER/POCI/COMPETE2020) through the project AgriFoodXXI (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000041); and by the “ContratoPrograma” UIDB/04050/2020 funded by national funds through the FCT I.P., the Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA). This work had the support of national funds through Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the project LA/P/0069/ 2020 granted to the Associate Laboratory ARNET. CG-C was funded by ”la Caixa” Foundation (ID 100010434), by means of a Junior Leader Fellowship contract (LCF/BQ/PR22/11920005)

Diversity of bacterial biosynthetic genes in maritime antarctica

Bacterial natural products (NPs) are still a major source of new drug leads. Polyketides (PKs) and non-ribosomal peptides (NRP) are two pharmaceutically important families of NPs and recent studies have revealed Antarctica to harbor endemic polyketide synthase (PKS) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) genes, likely to be involved in the production of novel metabolites. Despite this, the diversity of secondary metabolites genes in Antarctica is still poorly explored. In this study, a computational bioprospection approach was employed to study the diversity and identity of PKS and NRPS genes to one of the most biodiverse areas in maritime Antarctica—Maxwell Bay. Amplicon sequencing of soil samples targeting ketosynthase (KS) and adenylation (AD) domains of PKS and NRPS genes, respectively, revealed abundant and unexplored chemical diversity in this peninsula. About 20% of AD domain sequences were only distantly related to characterized biosynthetic genes. Several PKS and NRPS genes were found to be closely associated to recently described metabolites including those from uncultured and candidate phyla. The combination of new approaches in computational biology and new culture-dependent and -independent strategies is thus critical for the recovery of the potential novel chemistry encoded in Antarctica microorganisms.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) funded this study through the grant PTDC/CTA- AMB/30997/2017 to CM, the IF research contract IF/01358/2014 to PNL, a PhD scholarship to AR (SFRH/BD/140567/2018) and within the scope of UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020. The authors acknowledge the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR) and the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) for providing logistics and traveling financial support during CONTANTARC-3 campaign in Maxwell Bay/King George Island