Understanding oral mucositis: a pilot study

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interrupted time series analysis

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Salmonella sp. in pigs’ skin, external and internal carcass surface at slaughterhouse

Salmonella spp. is one of the major foodborne pathogen in Europe, being pork meat the second main vehicle of human infection. In this study it was analysed the occurrence of Salmonella spp. on pigs’ skin and in the respective carcasses surfaces (internal and external). For that, matched samples were collected in 120 animals. In each animal, sponge swabs were performed on the skin and in the corresponding carcass surfaces (approximate area 1000 cm2). A total of 360 samples were microbiologically analyzed according to ISO 6579. Salmonella isolates (45) were serotype by Kauffmann-White scheme at the National Reference Laboratory for Salmonella in Portugal. The main serotype identified was the monophasic variant of S. Typhimurium: S. 4,[5],12:i:- (46.7%), followed by S. Rissen (42.2%) and S. Derby (11.1%). The highest value of Salmonella occurrence was observed in pigs’ skin (29.2%; 35/120) underlining its importance as a potential source of Salmonella contamination to slaughterhouse. Nevertheless, since from these 34 pigs, only 2 presented this bacteria in the respective carcass external surface, the achieved results minimizes its importance for the direct contamination of the respective carcass. Salmonella sp. occurred more in the internal carcass surface (13.3 %; 16/120) than in the external (4.1%; 5/120) and, only in two cases, Salmonella sp. was simultaneously found in both carcass surfaces, equating different contamination sources. Curiously, S. 4,[5],12:i:-, a preoccupant serotype, was only identified in the pigs’ skin (12/34; 35.3%) and in the internal carcass surface (9/16; 56.3%). In these pigs, 4 presented simultaneously this serotype in both matched samples. This study suggest that more attention should be dedicated the skin as an important source of Salmonella contamination and to the internal carcass surface, which analysis is not under mandatory control defined in the Commission Regulation 2073⁄2005

Brainwave nets: Are sparse dynamic models susceptible to brain manipulation experimentation?

© Copyright © 2020 Nascimento, Pinto-Orellana, Leite, Edwards, Louzada and Santos. Sparse time series models have shown promise in estimating contemporaneous and ongoing brain connectivity. This paper was motivated by a neuroscience experiment using EEG signals as the outcome of our established interventional protocol, a new method in neurorehabilitation toward developing a treatment for visual verticality disorder in post-stroke patients. To analyze the [complex outcome measure (EEG)] that reflects neural-network functioning and processing in more specific ways regarding traditional analyses, we make a comparison among sparse time series models (classic VAR, GLASSO, TSCGM, and TSCGM-modified with non-linear and iterative optimizations) combined with a graphical approach, such as a Dynamic Chain Graph Model (DCGM). These dynamic graphical models were useful in assessing the role of estimating the brain network structure and describing its causal relationship. In addition, the class of DCGM was able to visualize and compare experimental conditions and brain frequency domains [using finite impulse response (FIR) filter]. Moreover, using multilayer networks, the results corroborate with the susceptibility of sparse dynamic models, bypassing the false positives problem in estimation algorithms. We conclude that applying sparse dynamic models to EEG data may be useful for describing intervention-relocated changes in brain connectivity

sensitivity analysis

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Case-case study on comparative vaccine effectiveness against Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 infections

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TiO2 bioactive implant surfaces doped with specific amount of Sr modulate mineralization

One of the main problems that remain in the implant industry is poor osseointegration due to bioinertness of implants. In order to promote bioactivity, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and strontium (Sr) were incorporated into a TiO2 porous layer produced by micro-arc oxidation. Ca and P as bioactive elements are already well reported in the literature, however, the knowledge of the effect of Sr is still limited. In the present work, the effect of various amounts of Sr was evaluated and the morphology, chemical composition and crystal structure of the oxide layer were investigated. Furthermore, in vitro studies were carried out using human osteoblast-like cells. The oxide layer formed showed a triplex structure, where higher incorporation of Sr increased Ca/P ratio, amount of rutile and promoted the formation of SrTiO3 compound. Biological tests revealed that lower concentrations of Sr did not compromise initial cell adhesion neither viability and interestingly improved mineralization. However, higher concentration of Sr (and consequent higher amount of rutile) showed to induce collagen secretion but with compromised mineralization, possibly due to a delayed mineralization process or induced precipitation of deficient hydroxyapatite. Ca-P-TiO2 porous layer with less concentration of Sr seems to be an ideal candidate for bone implants.This work was supported by FCT with the reference projects UID/EEA/04436/2019, M-ERA-NET/0001/2015 and FCT/CAPES Procs.. 4.4.1.00. Also the support of FAPESP is acknowledged (Proc. 2017/24300-4). A.I. Costa is very grateful for the PhD grant through NORTE-08-5369-FSE-000051 project. The authors would like to thank the LABNANO/CBPF and Centro Nacional de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem (Cenabio) in Rio de Janeiro for technical support during electron microscopy work

Position Paper Português Sobre o Uso de Biossimilares na Psoríase

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Impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on a cohort of eating disorders patients

BackgroundLockdown implemented to prevent the COVID-19 spread resulted in marked changes in the lifestyle. The objective of the current study was to assess the impact of lockdown measures on a cohort of eating disorder (ED) patients being followed as part of an ongoing naturalistic treatment study.MethodsNinety-nine patients aged 18 or older, currently or previously, in treatment at a Portuguese specialized hospital unit were contacted by phone and invited to participate in the current survey. Fifty-nine agreed to be interviewed by phone, and 43 agreed to respond to a set of self-report measures of ED symptoms, emotion regulation difficulties, clinical impairment, negative urgency, and COVID-19 impact, during the week after the end of the lockdown period.ResultsData showed that of the 26 patients currently in treatment: 8 remained unchanged (31%), 7 deteriorated (27%), and 11 reliably improved (42%). Of the 17 participants not currently in treatment: 3 deteriorated (18%), 9 remained unchanged (53%), and 5 (29%) improved after the lockdown period. The Coronavirus Impact Scale showed that most patients considered their routines moderately or extremely impacted, experienced stress related to coronavirus, and showed difficulty in maintaining physical exercise and feeding routines. Results suggest that higher impact of COVID-19 lockdown was significantly correlated with eating disorder symptoms and associated psychopathology, impulsivity, difficulties in emotion regulation and clinical impairment measured at post-lockdown. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown measures on clinical impairment was mediated by difficulties in emotion regulation.ConclusionsFindings suggest that some ED patients may experience worsening of their condition, especially if associated with difficulties in emotion regulation, and these difficulties might be exacerbated in the context of a stressful crisis and lockdown measures, highlighting the need for intervention strategies to mitigate its negative impact.This work was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), School of Psychology, University of Minho, and partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (UID/PSI/01662/2019), through the national funds (PIDDAC); and a grant by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and cofinanced by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028145) to P. Machado PI)