Environmental tobacco smoke risk perception and smoking behavior in Portugal

This study analyzes public attitudes towards environmental tobacco smoking (ETS) risks. ETS legislation and smoking behaviors using recent data from Special Eurobarometer 272 that is a unique database on public perception of ETS. Some major conclusions are drawn: (1) both smokers and non-smokers are aware of health consequences from ETS, (2) moderate and heavy smokers tend to be less concerned with seriousness of the health consequences, (3) that the belief that ETS increases the risk of a serious disease decreases the probability of being smoker, (4)ETS beliefs do not affect the quitting decision, (5) those who smoke at home appear to be aware of health consequences of ETS, (6) ETS health risk beliefs is negatively associated with the number of cigarette consumed.

COMPARISON ANALYSIS OF CORRELATIONS FOR INTERFACIAL FRICTION FACTOR APPLIED IN GAS-LIQUID ANNULAR FLOW IN VERTICAL PIPES

Gas-liquid flows in pipes can occur in the form of an annular pattern in which the liquid flows as a thin film at pipe wall and the gas flows as a core in pipe center. This flow pattern is often encountered at boiling and condensation processes, for example, in industries of steam generation, cooling or petroleum. In annular flow, the interfacial friction factor is one of the important closing parameters for the definition of the interfacial shear stress and consequently the pressure gradient. In the literature, several correlations are found to estimate the interfacial friction factor. The main objective of this work is to carry out a comparative analysis of some these correlations against experimental data also obtained from the literature. The features and limitations of each correlation were observed, as well as the accuracy of each in relation to experimental data. The results obtained demonstrate that correlations analyzed, present relatively satisfactory results, despite the different characteristics of the correlations, however, it is necessary to carry out more extensive analyses involving others correlations and sets of experimental data

Smoking attributable health care expenditures in Portugal

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Environmental tobacco smoke risk perception and smoking behavior in Portugal

This study analyzes public attitudes towards environmental tobacco smoking (ETS) risks. ETS legislation and smoking behaviors using recent data from Special Eurobarometer 272 that is a unique database on public perception of ETS. Some major conclusions are drawn: (1) both smokers and non-smokers are aware of health consequences from ETS, (2) moderate and heavy smokers tend to be less concerned with seriousness of the health consequences, (3) that the belief that ETS increases the risk of a serious disease decreases the probability of being smoker, (4)ETS beliefs do not affect the quitting decision, (5) those who smoke at home appear to be aware of health consequences of ETS, (6) ETS health risk beliefs is negatively associated with the number of cigarette consumed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Biodegradation of p-nitrophenol by microalgae

A study was made on the use of a mixed microalgal consortium to degrade p-nitrophenol. The consortium was obtained from a microbial community in a waste container fed with the remains and by-products of medium culture containing substituted aromatic pollutants (nitrophenols, chlorophenols, fluorobenzene). After selective enrichment with p-nitrophenol (p-NP), followed by an antibiotic treatment, an axenic microalgal consortium was recovered, which was able to degrade p-nitrophenol. At a concentration of 50 mg L−1, total degradation occurred within 5 days. Two species, Chlorella vulgaris var. vulgaris f. minuscula and Coenochloris pyrenoidosa, were isolated from the microalgal consortium. The species were able to accomplish p-NP biodegradation when cultured separately, although Coenochloris pyrenoidosa was more efficient, achieving the same degradation rate as the original axenic microalgal consortium. When Coenochloris pyrenoidosa was associated with Chlorella vulgaris in a 3:1 ratio, complete removal of the nitro-aromatic compound occurred within three days. This is apparently the first report on the degradation of a nitro aromatic compound by microalgae

The drinking of a Salvia officinalis infusion improves liver antioxidant status in mice and rats

In this study we evaluate the biosafety and bioactivity (antioxidant potential) of a traditional water infusion (tea) of common sage (Salvia officinalis L.) in vivo in mice and rats by quantification of plasma transaminase activities and liver GST and GR enzyme activities. The replacement of water by sage tea for 14 days in the diet of rodents did not affect the body weight and food consumption and did not induce liver toxicity. On the other hand, a significant increase of liver GST activity was observed in rats (24%) and mice (10%) of sage drinking groups. The antioxidant potential of sage tea drinking was also studied in vitro in a model using rat hepatocytes in primary culture. The replacement of drinking water with sage tea in the rats used as hepatocyte donors resulted in an improvement of the antioxidant status of rat hepatocytes in primary culture, namely a significant increase in GSH content and GST activity after 4 hours of culture. When these hepatocyte cultures were exposed to 0.75 or 1 mM of tert-butyl hydroperoxide for 1 hour, some protection against lipid peroxidation and GSH depletion was conferred by sage tea drinking. However, the cell death induced by t-BHP as shown by LDH leakage was not different from that observed in cultures from control animals. This study indicates that the compounds present in this sage preparation contain interesting bioactivities which improve the liver antioxidant potential.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BD/6942/2001, Programa Operacional “Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação” (POCTI) - POCTI/AGR/43482/2001

Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 5 regulates proliferation and biosynthetic processes in procyclic forms of Trypanosoma brucei

The pathogenic protozoan T. brucei alternates into distinct developmental stages in the mammalian and insect hosts. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways transduce extracellular stimuli into a range of cellular responses, which ultimately lead to the adaptation to the external environment. Here, we combined a loss of function approach with stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture (SILAC)-based mass spectrometry (MS) to investigate the role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 5 (MKK5) in T. brucei. The silencing of MKK5 significantly decreased the proliferation of procyclic forms of T. brucei. To shed light on the molecular alterations associated with this phenotype, we measured the total proteome and phosphoproteome of cells silenced for MKK5. In the total proteome, we observed a general decrease in proteins related to ribosome and translation as well as down-regulation of several components of the fatty acids biosynthesis pathway. In addition, we observed alterations in the protein levels and phosphorylation of key metabolic enzymes, which point toward a suppression of the oxidative metabolism. Taken together, our findings show that the silencing of MKK5 alters cell growth, energy metabolism, protein and fatty acids biosynthesis in procyclic T. brucei