Uma caracterização dos agregados familiares portugueses: estudo comparativo com Espanha

No contexto actual assume grande importância conhecer e analisar estatisticamente determinadas características sobre os agregados familiares. Considerando os dados existentes no Instituto Nacional de Estatística em Portugal, obtidos através do inquérito às despesas das famílias (IDEF 2005/2006) e os dados existentes no Instituto Nacional de Estatística em Espanha, nesta dissertação caracterizam-se os agregados familiares de ambos os países relativamente à despesa anual, rendimento anual, número de pessoas por alojamento, regime de ocupação e alguns indicadores de conforto. Analisa-se também a concentração dos rendimentos e das despesas das famílias em ambos os países, sendo de realçar uma grande proximidade dos valores obtidos. Através de modelos de regressão logística modelou-se a despesa dos agregados familiares portugueses e espanhóis em função do rendimento anual, do número de pessoas por alojamento, do regime de ocupação e de um índice de conforto. Para um perfil fixo relativamente a estas variáveis, podemos concluir que os agregados espanhóis têm 10% menos de possibilidades de terem uma despesa acima da mediana que os agregados portugueses; ### Abstract: Nowadays is very important to know and analyse statistically some households´ characteristics. According to the data sets available in Statistics Portugal, obtained from Inquérito às Despesas das Famílias (IDEF 2005/2006) and in Statistics Spain, in this dissertation, households in both countries are characterized about annual expenditure and income, number of persons by household, occupation scheme and some well being indicators. Concentration of households´ income and expenditure are also analyzed and the proximately obtained in both countries should be emphasized. Logistic regression models were used to model the expenditure of households living in Portugal and in Spain, using annual income, number of persons in the household, occupation scheme and a well being index as covariates. Having a fixed profile related to these variables, can be conclude that the Spanish households have 10% less possibilities of having a expenditure above the median when compared to the Portuguese households

Patulin penicillia from a bottled water factory

Background The objective of this work is to assess the significance of penicillia isolated from a bottled water factory particularly in relation to mycotoxin production. The annual revenue from sales of bottled water is very large: bottled water has an image of being healthy. There has been an increase in reports of fungal contamination of bottled water and one of mycotoxin production. Patulin is known to be produced by Penicillium expansum and has been reported from P. brevicompactum. The isoepoxydon dehydrogenase (IDH) gene of the patulin metabolic pathway has been used to determine the potential for patulin production in fungi. Methods Fungi were obtained in pure culture from throughout a bottled water factory including from the bottled water and obtained in pure culture to assess where contamination may occur. P. expansum and P. brevicompactum strains were analysed for patulin by TLC and the IDH gene by the PCR. Other mycotoxins were also analysed. Results Penicillia were isolated from sites within the factory including P. expansum. In addition, P. brevicompactum was frequent. Patulin was detected from P. expansum and ambiguously from P. brevicompactum. However, the IDH gene was detected from both in some cases. Other important mycotoxins were detected from the strains. Secondary metabolites in medium used to produce biomass for DNA analysis were observed. Conclusions Fungi are capable of being present in bottled water from the manufacturing process. Important mycotoxin producers are present including patulin ones. The effect of mycotoxins on DNA analysis requires consideration. Further work is needed to determine whether the mycotoxins can be present in bottled water

Interplay between the salience and the default mode network in a social-cognitive task toward a close other

Social cognition relies on two main subsystems to construct the understanding of others, which are sustained by different social brain networks. One of these social networks is the default mode network (DMN) associated with the socio-cognitive subsystem (i.e., mentalizing), and the other is the salience network (SN) associated with the socio-affective route (i.e., empathy). The DMN and the SN are well-known resting state networks that seem to constitute a baseline for the performance of social tasks. We aimed to investigate both networks' functional connectivity (FC) pattern in the transition from resting state to social task performance. A sample of 38 participants involved in a monogamous romantic relationship completed a questionnaire of dyadic empathy and underwent an fMRI protocol that included a resting state acquisition followed by a task in which subjects watched emotional videos of their romantic partner and elaborated on their partner's (Other condition) or on their own experience (Self condition). Independent component and ROI-to-ROI correlation analysis were used to assess alterations in task-independent (Rest condition) and task-dependent (Self and Other conditions) FC. We found that the spatial FC maps of the DMN and SN evidenced the traditional regions associated with these networks in the three conditions. Anterior and posterior DMN regions exhibited increased FC during the social task performance compared to resting state. The Other condition revealed a more limited SN's connectivity in comparison to the Self and Rest conditions. The results revealed an interplay between the main nodes of the DMN and the core regions of the SN, particularly evident in the Self and Other conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fungi in bottled water: a case study of a production plant

A one year fungal survey of a water bottling plant was conducted in order to evaluate the incidence and fluctuations of the biota. The dominant fungal genera in order of highest numbers were Penicillium, Cladosporium and Trichoderma followed by Aspergillus, Paecilomyces, and others. As expected, highest number of isolates collected were during the summer months, particularly May and June. Indeed during these two months there were more fungi present in the water after it had passed through the filtration system (0.4μm filter), indicating that during those times of the year when fungal contamination is high, filters should be changed on a more regular basis. In order to assess whether contamination was single or multi-loci, molecular methods based on PCR were used. Overall fungal contamination arose from multiple sources. Some fungal strains were very “alike” and were detected during different sampling times, indicating that some strains were endemic to the plant. There was little evidence to suggest that fungi detected in the source water passed through to other parts of the plant. However, there was evidence that fungal strains isolated from the water filter were detected elsewhere in the factory, confirming the need to change filters more regularly during periods of high fungal contamination. In order to improve quality control a HACCP programme was implemented and Best Practice Guidelines introduced.Control of Mycological Contaminations in Bottled Water (COMBOW) - CRAFT/QLK1-2002-70843 contract

Micro/mesoporous LTL derived materials for catalytic transfer hydrogenation and acid reactions of bio-based levulinic acid and furanics

The biomass-derived platform chemicals furfural and 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) may be converted to α-angelica lactone (AnL) and levulinic acid (LA). Presently, LA (synthesized from carbohydrates) has several multinational market players. Attractive biobased oxygenated fuel additives, solvents, etc., may be produced from AnL and LA via acid and reduction chemistry, namely alkyl levulinates and γ-valerolactone (GVL). In this work, hierarchical hafnium-containing multifunctional Linde type L (LTL) related zeotypes were prepared via top-down strategies, for the chemical valorization of LA, AnL and HMF via integrated catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) and acid reactions in alcohol medium. This is the first report of CTH applications (in general) of LTL related materials. The influence of the post-synthesis treatments/conditions (desilication, dealumination, solid-state impregnation of Hf or Zr) on the material properties and catalytic performances was studied. AnL and LA were converted to 2-butyl levulinate (2BL) and GVL in high total yields of up to ca. 100%, at 200°C, and GVL/2BL molar ratios up to 10. HMF conversion gave mainly the furanic ethers 5-(sec-butoxymethyl)furfural and 2,5-bis(sec-butoxymethyl)furan (up to 63% total yield, in 2-butanol at 200°C/24 h). Mechanistic, reaction kinetics and material characterization studies indicated that the catalytic results depend on a complex interplay of different factors (material properties, type of substrate). The recovered-reused solids performed steadily.publishe

The innovative moments coding system and the assimilation of problematic experiences scale: a case study comparing two methods to track change in psychotherapy

The Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale (APES) and the Innovative Moments Coding System were applied to transcripts of a successful case of linguistic therapy of evaluation independently by different research groups. Assimilation theory and research suggest that higher APES scores reflect therapeutic gains, with a level of approximately 4.0 separating good from poor outcome cases. The innovative moments (IMs) model suggests that IMs classified as reconceptualization and performing change occur mainly in good outcome cases, whereas action, reflection and protest occur in both good and poor outcome cases. Passages coded as reconceptualization and performing change were rare in this case, but 100% of them were rated at or above APES 4. By contrast, 63% passages coded as action, reflection or protest were rated below APES 4 (Chi-square = 28.62, p < .001). Implications for research are discussed

Second-derivative spectrophotometry for the analysis of simvastatin in polymeric nanocapsules

Conventional spectrophotometry methods are very susceptible to the presence of interferences in complex mixtures such as nanoparticules, requiring prior treatment or extraction of the analyte, and not always providing an adequate response. Derivative spectrophotometry method is capable to eliminate its interference; it is an alternative method for drugs determination in complex matrices. This work investigated the utility of derivate spectrophotometry in assay of simvastatin in polymeric nanocapsules (SIVNC). Shimadzu® UV-1650 double-beam spectrophotometer with 1.0 cm quartz cells was used in this study. The second-order deriva­tive spectrum was obtained employing Δλ=20,000 nm and scaling factor=9.0. The determinations were made at 239 nm (2D239) by zero-crossing method. 2D239 method was validated employing the parameters: specificity, linearity, robustness, precision and accuracy. Results: The specificity test showed there was no interference of constituents commonly found in SIVNC formulation in 2D239. The standard curve showed a correlation coefficient of 0.994. The robustness was evaluated by small changes in the conditions of sample analysis and however, no significant changes were observed regarding drug quantitation. The precision was demonstrated by relative standard deviation (RSD) of intra-day (RSD=1.61-3.76) and inter-day studies (RSD=2.32). The recovery test resulted in an average of 100.66%, which confirmed the accuracy of the method. The procedure was simple and rapid; therefore this technique offers an alternative for determination of SIVNC without interferences

The effects of different concentrations of the α2-Adrenoceptor Agonist Medetomidine on basal excitatory synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity in hippocampal slices of adult mice

α2-Adrenoceptor agonists are used frequently in human and veterinary anesthesia as sedative/analgesic drugs. However, they can impair cognition. Little is known about the concentration-dependent effects of α2-adrenoceptor agonists on synaptic plasticity, the neurophysiological basis of learning and memory. Therefore, we investigated the effects of different concentrations of medetomidine, an α2-adrenoceptor agonist, on basal excitatory synaptic transmission and on 2 forms of synaptic plasticity: paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) and long-term potentiation (LTP).Funding: This work was supported by FCT (Lisbon, Portugal) and cofunded by COMPETE: 01-0124-FEDER-009497 (Lisbon, Portugal), through the project grants PTDC/CVT/099022/2008 and PTDC/SAU-NSC/122254/2010 and through a personal PhD grant (SFRH /BD/48883/2008) to Patrícia do Céu Oliveira Ribeiro and by QREN (09-68-ESR-FP-010).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Galactodendritic Phthalocyanine Targets Carbohydrate- Binding Proteins Enhancing Photodynamic Therapy

Photosensitizers (PSs) are of crucial importance in the effectiveness of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer. Due to their high reactive oxygen species production and strong absorption in the wavelength range between 650 and 850 nm, where tissue light penetration is rather high, phthalocyanines (Pcs) have been studied as PSs of excellence. In this work, we report the evaluation of a phthalocyanine surrounded by a carbohydrate shell of sixteen galactose units distributed in a dendritic manner (PcGal16) as a new and efficient third generation PSs for PDT against two bladder cancer cell lines, HT-1376 and UMUC- 3. Here, we define the role of galacto-dendritic units in promoting the uptake of a Pc through interaction with GLUT1 and galectin-1. The photoactivation of PcGal16 induces cell death by generating oxidative stress. Although PDT with PcGal16 induces an increase on the activity of antioxidant enzymes immediately after PDT, bladder cancer cells are unable to recover from the PDT-induced damage effects for at least 72 h after treatment. PcGal16 co-localization with galectin-1 and GLUT1 and/or generation of oxidative stress after PcGal16 photoactivation induces changes in the levels of these proteins. Knockdown of galectin-1 and GLUT1, via small interfering RNA (siRNA), in bladder cancer cells decreases intracellular uptake and phototoxicity of PcGal16. The results reported herein show PcGal16 as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of bladder cancer, which is the fifth most common type of cancer with the highest rate of recurrence of any cancer