O efeito do β-hidroxi β-metilbutirato na sarcopenia e fragilidade em pessoas idosas: uma revisão de literatura

Trabalho Complementar apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de licenciada em Ciências da NutriçãoObjetivo: Descrever a evidência atual sobre o efeito do β-hidroxi β-metilbutirato (HMB) em pessoas idosas com sarcopenia e fragilidade. Metodologia: Foram pesquisados artigos que descrevessem o efeito da suplementação com HMB em pessoas idosas com sarcopenia ou fragilidade. Utilizaram-se as bases de dados PubMed e Science Direct, com os termos de pesquisa: (HMB OR leucine OR beta hydroxy beta methyl butyrate) AND (sarcopenia OR frailty) AND (older adults OR elderly). Resultados: A suplementação com HMB revelou diversos efeitos positivos, nomeadamente, a preservação e aumento da massa muscular e, em alguns casos, associou-se à diminuição de massa gorda. Preveniu a perda de peso corporal, melhorou o desempenho físico e a recuperação funcional. Num grupo de pessoas idosas sarcopénicas suplementadas com HMB (n=7), 3 indivíduos recuperaram de sarcopenia. Em indivíduos em condição de pré-fragilidade houve aumento do peso corporal e do Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC). Também ensaios clínicos realizados em pessoas idosas saudáveis confirmaram a hipótese de melhoria no desempenho físico e aumento de massa muscular devido à suplementação. Após 10 dias de repouso absoluto, a perda de massa magra e força foi inferior nos indivíduos suplementados com HMB, em comparação com grupos de controlo. Conclusão: A suplementação com HMB poderá ser benéfica em pessoas idosas, em particular, nos casos de sarcopenia e fragilidade, demonstrando resultados positivos em relação à preservação e aumento de massa muscular, melhoria do estado funcional e da qualidade de vida dos indivíduos. Contudo, mais estudos serão necessários no futuro para que esta evidência se torne consistente.Aims: Describe the current evidence on the effect of β-hydroxy β- methylbutyrate (HMB) with sarcopenia and frailty in older adults. Methodology: Searched for articles that described the effect of HMB supplementation in elderly people with sarcopenia or frailty. Pubmed and Science Direct databases were used with the search terms: (HMB OR leucine OR beta hydroxy beta methyl butyrate) AND (sarcopenia OR frailty) AND (older adults OR elderly). Results: The supplementation with HMB has some positive effects, mainly, the preservation and increase of muscle mass and, in some cases, fat mass decrease. There was one HMB-supplemented group (n=7) in which 3 recovered from sarcopenia. Prevented body weight loss, better functional recovery, better physical performance. In pre-frailty, there was an increase in weight and Body Mass Index (BMI). Clinical trials in healthy older adults confirm the hypothesis of better physical performance and greater muscle mass. Even after 10 days of bed rest, the loss of lean mass, strength and increase in fat mass were lower in groups supplemented with HMB. Conclusions: The supplementation with HMB may be beneficial in elderly people, particularly in cases of sarcopenia and frailty. Demonstrated positive results in relation to the preservation and increase of muscle mass, improvement of functional status and quality of life. However, more studies will be needed in the future for this evidence to become clear.N/

Phosphorylated silk fibroin matrix for methotrexate release

Silk-based matrix was produced for delivery of a model anticancer drug, methotrexate (MTX). The calculation of net charge of silk fibroin and MTX was performed to better understand the electrostatic interactions during matrix formation upon casting. Silk fibroin films were cast at pH 7.2 and pH 3.5. Protein kinase A was used to prepare phosphorylated silk fibroin. The phosphorylation content of matrix was controlled by mixing at specific ratios the phosphorylated and unphosphorylated solutions. In vitro release profiling data suggest that the observed interactions are mainly structural and not electrostatical. The release of MTX is facilitated by use of proteolytic enzymes and higher pHs. The elevated -sheet content and crystallinity of the acidified-cast fibroin solution seem not to favor drug retention. All the acquired data underline the prevalence of structural interactions over electrostatical interactions between methotrexate and silk fibroin.The authors would like to acknowledge the support, granted by European NOVO Project, Contract No. FP7-HEALTH 2011-two-stage 278402. This work was partially supported by FEDER through POFC-COMPETE and by national funds from FCT through the projects PEst-C/BIA/UI4050/2011 (CBMA). V.V. also wants to thank Dr. Claudia Botelho for her helpful discussion and comments made during the critical reading of the manuscript

As necessidades da família com o doente sem perspetiva de cura

Dissertação de Mestrado em Cuidados Paliativos apresentada na Escola Superior de Saúde do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloCuidar do doente sem perspetiva de cura no domicílio, exige às famílias um processo de adaptação, e por conseguinte, um conjunto de necessidades que exigem respostas adequadas. Assim, cuidar da família e do doente sem perspetiva de cura torna-se um desafio para os enfermeiros, na medida em que, uma família apoiada e confortada terá maior capacidade e disponibilidade para cuidar do seu ente querido no domicílio. Tendo por base esta reflexão, surgiu a questão de investigação: “Quais as necessidades da família no cuidar do DSPC no domicílio?” com o objetivo geral de compreender as necessidades da família no cuidar do DSPC no domicílio, e com a intencionalidade de contribuir para um projeto de intervenção centrado nas necessidades da família do doente sem perspetiva de cura. Opta-se por um estudo de natureza qualitativa, um estudo de caso. Recorre-se à entrevista semiestruturada para a recolha de dados, realizada a 10 famílias inscritas num centro de saúde de Viana do Castelo. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos a análise de conteúdo. Resultados: As famílias do estudo revelaram grande sobrecarga de trabalho, desgaste emocional e debilidade física para cuidar do doente sem perspetiva de cura. As suas necessidades focam-se a nível do apoio/acompanhamento, informação, expressar sentimentos e monetário. Os cuidados prestados pela família consistem nos cuidados de conforto, nos cuidados inerentes às atividades de vida diária e na gestão aparelhos terapêuticos. Os sentimentos experimentados vão desde sentimentos de impotência, angústia, medo e sofrimento. Relativamente às estratégias utilizadas, para ultrapassar dificuldades, oscilam entre a aceitação e a realização de atividades de lazer. Mencionaram também, dificuldades em lidar com os acessórios técnicos, com a ostomia, com os cuidados de higiene na cama, com a gestão da medicação e com a realização de mobilizações. Conclusão: Torna-se um imperativo ético assegurar o acesso atempado aos cuidados paliativos e reconhece-los como um direito inalienável dos mesmos. Há momentos de intenso sofrimento para a família, pelo que os enfermeiros dos cuidados de saúde primários terão que estabelecer projetos de intervenção centrados na filosofia dos cuidados paliativos.Caring of patients without cure perspective (PWCP) at their homes, demands to the families an adaptation process and, therefore, a group of needs that must be given an adequate response. To the nurse, caring for this families and patients is a challenge, since a supported and comforted family will have more ability and availability to taking care of their patients at home. Having this thought as a baseline, the following question as arisen: «What are the family’s needs when caring for PWCPs at home? », with the general goal of understanding those needs and the intention of contributing to a PWCP family’s needs project. The option was for a case study with quality in mind. Semi-structured interviews were made in ten families of a Viana do Castelo’s Health Care Centre to collect data, which were submitted thereafter to analysis. Results: the families in the study were overwhelmed with work, emotional stress and physical debility to manage the care giving to the PWCP. Their needs were focused in support, information, emotions expression and financial needs. Family care giving consisted in comfort, daily activities tasks and therapeutic systems management. The emotions expressed ranged from powerless, distress, fear and torment. The strategies used to cope with the difficulties ranged from compliance to leisure activities. The families also expressed concerns in dealing with technical apparatus, like ostomy, hygiene tasks while in bed, medication management and mobilization of the PWCP. Conclusion: it´s an ethic imperative to assure the timely palliative care access and recognise it as an indispensable right. There is intense suffering moments to the families, so the primary health care nurses will have to establish intervention projects focused in palliative care philosoph

Enzymatic phosphorylation of silk fibroins : a platform for the production of biocompatible, cell-static, materials

Silks are natural protein polymers produced by insects. Silk heavy chain of B.mori is primarily composed of hydrophobic, –(–Ala–Gly–)n– -sheet crystalline domains. Based on silk biocompatibility, biodegradability and strength, different materials were developed. Silk offers a stabilizing environment for incorporated proteins and molecules. Silk properties can be controlled via structure manipulation, by coupling molecules of biological significance; its Tyr and Ser residues can be modified. Once incorporated into a protein, the phosphate group establishes hydrogen bonds that affect intra- and inter-molecular interactions16. Phosphorylation is stable under physiological conditions, thus directing the formation and reorganization of protein networks. Curiously, using phosphorylation for protein functionalization is largely unexplored. Significant research is devoted to bio-inspired materials with various cell-differentiating and cell-supporting features. However, little attention is paid to develop cell-static bio-materials. Such materials do not promote cell growth. That can be achieved by lowering the probability of cell attachment to the material, via creation of negatively charged material surface. The goal of this study was to produce bio-compatible materials with the cell-static properties by phosphorylation. Silk solutions were made to cast films of variable pH and phosphorylated content. Obtained materials were tested and a dependency between amount of phosphorylation and bio-chemical properties confirmed

Como otimizar o produto televisivo dos clubes de Futebol Profissional em Portugal : projeto de consultoria da Liga Portugal

O mundo dos patrocínios desportivos é uma indústria em forte crescimento. Todas as épocas desportivas, as marcas investem milhões de euros em entidades desportivas. O futebol surge como um desporto que cativa milhões de fãs por todo o mundo, que criam laços muitos fortes com as equipas e jogadores que apoiam, o que gera milhares de notícias anualmente e atraindo muitos investidores. A Liga Portugal, através do recente programa de consultoria, deseja otimizar o produto televisivo para conseguir um dos objetivos fundamentais no desporto, na ótica de uma entidade organizadora: atração de novas marcas e adeptos. A exigência e presença junto das sociedades desportivas da Liga Portugal Bwin e Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG está cada vez maior. O propósito deste projeto é através de uma intervenção diária contribuir para o crescimento dos clubes profissionais em Portugal e, acima de tudo, formá-los para que estes possam estar preparados para um futuro mais profissional. As aplicações dos conceitos analisados na revisão de literatura serão feitas através da realização de um estudo de caso.The world of sports sponsors is an ever-growing industry. Every season brands invest millions of euros in sports entities. Football enters the scene as a sport that captivates millions of fans around the globe. Fans who form strong emotional attachments to teams and players they support, which in turn attracts strong news coverage and lots of investors. Liga Portugal, through their recent consulting program, wishes to optimize television content in order to achieve one of the fundamental goals in sports, when analysed through the eyes of the organizer: attracting new brands and fans. Liga Portugal Bwin and Liga Portugal 2 SABSEG have been examples of the increasing expectation and support given to clubs. This support is achieved by providing daily aid so that these professional clubs in Portugal can grow and develop into stable institutions that are ready for the future. The concepts illustrated in the literary revision will be showcased through the elaboration of the case study

Evolução conceptual e histórica da arquitetura

Mestrado Integrado em ArquitecturaExame público realizado em 16 de Março de 2015A presente dissertação teve como intuito a procura e a busca de informação que complementasse todo um conjunto de ideias que possam explicar a história da arquitectura, por meio do ser humano como um ser que habita o mundo e o explora ao nível dos materiais através de uma dialética resultante da preocupação estética como existencial de um modo de pensar e de refletir, pelo facto de o homem viver em conjunto para com os demais da sua espécie. Pela existência de uma distribuição ao nível do excesso e da falta de recursos, derivou um resultado sempre diferenciado ao longo das épocas numa hierarquia que se traduz numa sociedade em que o homem tem determinados bens e constrói segundo uma atitude pela opulência, ou se por outro lado, é menos abastado e condicionado pelo uso de técnicas de elaboração de uma construção mais elementar no decurso da sua vida e decorrente das suas necessidades. A evolução histórica que pretendi realçar permitiu-me compreender e escrever sobre o que achei importante descrever como sendo as mais importantes noções que possam explicar o porquê de existir um estilo que sucede outro e uma estética corrente deste princípio, de mudança, pela melhoria de alcançar novos resultados práticos, funcionais e do esplendor pela arquitectura.This dissertation was to order the search and information retrieval to complement a whole range of ideas that might explain the history of architecture through the human being as a being that inhabits the world and explores the level of the resulting material through a dialectical of aesthetic concern as an existential mode of thinking and reflecting the fact that the man living together towards others of its kind. By the existence of a distribution of excess and lack of resources level, derived a result always differentiated over the seasons in a hierarchy that reflects a society in which man has certain goods and building second action by the opulence, or other hand, is less affluent and conditioning using techniques of formulating a more elementary construction during his life and because of their needs. The historical development meant to highlight that allowed me to understand and write about what I thought it important to describe as the most important concepts that may explain why there is a style that succeeds another and an aesthetic result of this principle of change , for improvement reach new practical , functional and architectural splendor by the results

Protection against paraquat-induced oxidative stress by Curcuma longa extract-loaded polymeric nanoparticles in zebrafish embryos

The link between oxidative stress and environmental factors plays an important role in chronic degenerative diseases; therefore, exogenous antioxidants could be an effective alternative to combat disease progression and/or most significant symptoms. Curcuma longa L. (CL), commonly known as turmeric, is mostly composed of curcumin, a multivalent molecule described as having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. Poor chemical stability and low oral bioavailability and, consequently, poor absorption, rapid metabolism, and limited tissue distribution are major restrictions to its applicability. The advent of nanotechnology, by combining nanosacale with multi-functionality and bioavailability improvement, offers an opportunity to overcome these limitations. Therefore, in this work, poly-Ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) nanoparticles were developed to incorporate the methanolic extract of CL, and their bioactivity was assessed in comparison to free or encapsulated curcumin. Their toxicity was evaluated using zebrafish embryos by applying the Fish Embryo Acute Toxicity test, following recommended OECD guidelines. The protective effect against paraquat-induced oxidative damage of CL extract, free or encapsulated in PCL nanoparticles, was evaluated. This herbicide is known to cause oxidative damage and greatly affect neuromotor functions. The overall results indicate that CL-loaded PCL nanoparticles have an interesting protective capacity against paraquat-induced damage, particularly in neuromuscular development that goes well beyond that of CL extract itself and other known antioxidants.Marisa P. Sarria was supported by Marie Skłodowska—Curie Actions from European Union’s 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration under Grant Agreement 600375. This work was supported by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/ 2019 funded by national funds through the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P. Marisa P. Sárria was supported by Marie Curie COFUND funding from the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme for research, technological development, and demonstration under grant agreement 600375. Begoña Espiña is supported by the co-funding from Northern Regional Operational Program through the Project NORTE-45-2015-02 Nanotechnology based functional solutions. B.E. acknowledges the financial support of the project SbDtoolBox—Nanotechnology-based tools and tests for Safer-by-Design nanomaterials, with the reference nº NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000047, funded by Norte2020—North-Regional Operational Programme under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Novel liposomes for Alzheimers disease treatment

This work was supported by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2019, funded by national funds through the FCT IP, and project FUN2CYT: Harnessing the potential for biomedical applications of pleiotropic cytokines LIF and oncostatin M (PTDC/BTM-MAT/30568/2017, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030568) supported by POCI through FEDER and FCT IP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biocompatibility and bioimaging potential of fruit-based carbon dots

Photo-luminescent carbon dots (CD) have become promising nanomaterials and their synthesis from natural products has attracted attention by the possibility of making the most of affordable, sustainable and, readily-available carbon sources. Here, we report on the synthesis, characterization and bioimaging potential of CDs produced from diverse extensively produced fruits: kiwi, avocado and pear. The in vitro cytotoxicity and anticancer potential of those CDs were assessed by comparing human epithelial cells from normal adult kidney and colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. In vivo toxicity was evaluated using zebrafish embryos given their peculiar embryogenesis, with transparent embryos developing ex-utero, allowing a real-time analysis. In vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that the synthesized CD presented toxicity only at concentrations of ≥1.5 mg mL−1. Kiwi CD exhibited the highest toxicity to both cells lines and zebrafish embryos, presenting lower LD50 values. Interestingly, despite inducing lower cytotoxicity in normal cells than the other CDs, black pepper CDs resulted in higher toxicity in vivo. The bio-distribution of CD in zebrafish embryos upon uptake was investigated using fluorescence microscopy. We observed a higher accumulation of CD in the eye and yolk sac, avocado CD being the ones more retained, indicating their potential usefulness in bio-imaging applications. This study shows the action of fruit-based CDs from kiwi, avocado and pear. However the compounds present in these fruit-based CDs and their mechanism of action as a bioimaging agent need to be further explored.N. Vasimalai and Marisa P Sárria acknowledge the financial support from the Marie Curie COFUND Programme (NanoTRAINforGrowth). I. Pinheiro acknowledges the financial support from NanoDesk project (SOE1/P1/E0215) co-financed by the Interreg SUDOE Programme through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio