Child maltreatment as a predictor of adult physical functioning in a prospective British birth cohort

OBJECTIVE: Child maltreatment (abuse and neglect) has established associations with mental health; however, little is known about its relationship with physical functioning. Physical functioning (ie, the ability to perform the physical tasks of daily living) in adulthood is an important outcome to consider, as it is strongly associated with an individual's ability to work, and future disability and dependency. We aimed to establish whether maltreatment was associated with physical functioning, independent of other early-life factors. SETTING: 1958 British birth cohort. PARTICIPANTS: 8150 males and females with data on abuse and who participated at age 50 years. OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was poor physical functioning at 50 years ( 3 types of maltreatment, compared with those with none. Associations of similar magnitude were observed for mental and self-reported health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Child neglect, psychological and sexual abuse were associated with poor physical functioning at 50 years, with accumulating risk for those with multiple types of maltreatment. Associations were independent of numerous early-life factors and were comparable in magnitude to those observed for mental health and self-rated health. Prevention or alleviation of the ill effects of maltreatment could be an effective policy intervention to promote healthy ageing

Synchronization time in a hyperbolic dynamical system with long-range interactions

We show that the threshold of complete synchronization in a lattice of coupled non-smooth chaotic maps is determined by linear stability along the directions transversal to the synchronization subspace. We examine carefully the sychronization time and show that a inadequate observation of the system evolution leads to wrong results. We present both careful numerical experiments and a rigorous mathematical explanation confirming this fact, allowing for a generalization involving hyperbolic coupled map lattices.Comment: 22 pages (preprint format), 4 figures - accepted for publication in Physica A (June 28, 2010

Analysis and improvement of internal logistic flows at an industrial company

Undertaken at Preh Portugal, Ltd., the main objective of this study project resided in defining the system of supply to a new assembly line, the Ford B479. Supply to the assembly lines is a crucial activity in internal logistics since the entire production system relies on the supply of materials required for the line. It is, therefore, extremely important to study solutions which will facilitate these activities, thus enhancing productivity and guaranteeing the on-time availability of products, in suitable quantities and at the best cost. The initial phase consisted of studying the type of supply system used by the company for the remaining lines, as well as gaining a detailed understanding of the entire assembly line production process. One was then able to create a database to include all of this information. Once all the required information had been gathered, one proceeded to define the supermarket for the Ford B479 line, and calculated the number of positions required. With the purpose of building a more effective and efficient supermarket, one analyzed the possibility of building the supermarket next to line instead of resorting to the existing solution where the shelves for all lines are in the same location. When the site for the supermarket was defined, one proceeded with its construction and determined the supply system of both the supermarket as well as the line sides. Due to the proposed changes, one was able to reduce the distance covered by raw materials by 55% as well as to decrease handling.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

In silico and expression analyses of fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins reveal functional conservation during embryo and seed development

Fasciclin-like arabinogalactan proteins (FLAs) are a subclass of arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs), which contain fasciclin-like domains in addition to typical AGP domains. FLAs are present across all embryophytes, and despite their low overall sequence similarity, conserved regions that define the fasciclin functional domain (FAS) have been identified, suggesting that the cell adhesion property is also conserved. FLAs in Arabidopsis have been organized into four subgroups according to the number and distribution of functional domains. Recent studies associated FLAs with cell wall-related processes where domain organization seemed to be related to functional roles. In Arabidopsis, FLAs containing a single FAS domain were found to be important for the integrity and elasticity of the plant cell wall matrix, and FLAs with two FAS domains and two AGP domains were found to be involved in maintaining proper cell expansion under salt stress conditions. The main purpose of the present work was to elucidate the expression pattern of selected FLA genes during embryo and seed development using RT-qPCR. AtFLA8 and AtFLA10, two Arabidopsis genes that stood out in previous microarray studies of embryo development, were further examined using promoter-driven gene reporter analyses. We also studied the expression of cork oak FLA genes and found that their expression partially parallels the expression patterns of the putative AtFLA orthologs. We propose that the functional organization of FLAs is conserved and may be related to fundamental aspects of embryogenesis and seed development across angiosperms. Phylogenetic studies were performed, and we show that the same basic four-subgroup organization described for Arabidopsis FLA gene classification is valid for most Arabidopsis FLA orthologs of several plant species, namely poplar, corn and cork oak

Interactive technologies in stroke recovery : uncovering challenges and opportunities through physiotherapist’s perspective

Abstract in proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of CiiEM: Health, Well-Being and Ageing in the 21st Century, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from 3–5 June 2019.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Macroscopic and histopathological study of the placenta: an essential resource in litigation processes

The pathological study of the placenta is of upmost importance in cases of unexplained fetal/perinatal loss and often these carry litigation implications. Integrating pathological findings and the underlying pathophysiological processes, leading to placental lesions, is fundamental for the evaluation of poor fetal and perinatal outcomes and to distinguish from cases of true negligence

Lesão de Dieulafoy: Papel do Mapeamento por Ecoendoscopia

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chaotic, informational and synchronous behaviour of multiplex networks

Acknowledgements MSB acknowledges the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council grant Ref. EP/I032606/1. This work was also partially supported by CNPq, CAPES, and Fundac¸ao Arauc ˜ aria.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

COW´S MILK PROTEIN ALLERGY WITH GASTROINTESTINAL MANIFESTATIONS

A alergia as proteínas do leite de vaca (APLV) constituiu a alergia alimentar mais frequente em crianças com idade inferior a tres anos, podendo as suas manifestações gastrointestinais ocorrer em qualquer idade. Na suspeita clínica de APLV baseada na anamnese e exame físico, deve instituir-se dieta de eliminação durante um período variável consoante o quadro clínico, seguida de uma prova de provocação oral (PPO) que ira confirmar ou excluir o diagnostico. Exames complementares como testes cutâneos e IgEs séricas especificas poderão ser necessários. O tratamento baseia-se na dieta de eliminação e pressupõe aconselhamento nutricional e vigilância do crescimento. Habitualmente repete-se a PPO após tres a 12 meses de dieta de eliminação, verificando-se aquisição de tolerância em mais de 80% das crianças aos três anos de idade. O objetivo deste artigo e fazer uma breve revisão e atualizacao sobre as manifestações gastrointestinais da APLV em idade pediátrica, apresentando uma proposta de abordagem fundamentada em recomendações internacionais recentes.Cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) is the leading cause of food allergy in children under three years of age, although its gastrointestinal manifestations may occur in all age groups. In the suspicion of CMPA based on the anamnesis and physical examination, an elimination diet should be initiated for a variable length of time according to the clinical picture, followed by an oral food challenge (OFC) confirming or excluding the diagnosis. Complementary exams such as skin prick tests and specific IgE may be necessary. Treatment is based on an elimination diet and demands nutritional counselling and growth monitoring. Usually an OFC is repeated after three to 12 months of elimination diet. Tolerance is achieved at three years of age in more than 80% of the children. The aim of this work is to make a brief review and update on CMPA in pediatric age, proposing a management approach based on recent international recommendations

Impact of Well-being Interventions for Siblings of Children and Young People with a Chronic Physical or Mental Health Condition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Siblings of children and young people with a chronic illness are at increased risk of poor psychological functioning. A number of studies have attempted to implement and evaluate interventions targeting the psychological well-being of this at-risk group. This systematic review summarises the evidence regarding psychological functioning of siblings following an intervention targeting their well-being. The meta-analysis considered behaviour and knowledge, two of the most frequently studied outcomes. The following databases were used: PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Seventeen studies were eligible to be included in the systematic review and eight in the meta-analysis. Results from the systematic review reflected the inconsistency of intervention evaluations in this area with a high level of heterogeneity and a total of 23 outcomes considered across the 17 included studies. The meta-analysis estimated effect sizes using a standardised mean difference (SMD) approach. Pre-post analysis suggested significant improvement in behavioural outcomes and knowledge of their sibling’s health conditions with a SMD of − 0.44 [95% CI (− 0.6, − 0.29); p = 0.000] and 0.69 [(95% CI = 0.42, 0.96); p = 0.000], respectively. The SMD was not significant for behavioural outcomes when considering treatment–control studies. In conclusion, the findings suggest interventions for well-being have a positive effect on the psychological functioning of siblings of children and young people with a chronic illness, but their specificity needs to be established. There is a need for further, more methodologically robust research in this area