Detection and Molecular Characterization of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. Circulating in Wild Small Mammals from Portugal

Simple Summary Wild small mammals can be a veterinary and public health concern, because they can act as reservoir hosts for numerous pathogens and potentially transmit them to humans, domestic animals and other wildlife species. This study represents the first investigation of the diarrhea-causing parasites Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in wild rodents and shrews from Portugal. Cryptosporidium spp. was rarely and Giardia was frequently detected in the feces of the analyzed species, with the southwestern water voles (Arvicola sapidus) and Lusitanian pine voles (Microtus lusitanicus) showing the highest infection rates of Giardia spp. Genetic characterization based on common genomic marker sequences revealed the rodent-adapted Giardia microti and potentially zoonotic Cryptosporidium muris as the only circulating species. These findings suggest the limited role of wild rodents and shrews as natural sources of human infections in Portugal regarding the investigated parasites. Moreover, the host ranges of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. were extended and the obtained genetic sequences of Giardia microti are useful for future comparative studies. From the One-Heath perspective, this study helps to understand the epidemiology of Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. in wildlife. Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. are important diarrhea-causing protozoan parasites worldwide that exhibit broad host ranges. Wild small mammals can harbor host-adapted and potentially zoonotic species of both parasites. The aim of this study was to investigate Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia spp. in wild rodents and shrews in Portugal, focusing on the protist's occurrence and genetic diversity. Molecular screening by PCR at the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene locus of 290 fecal samples from wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), southwestern water voles (Arvicola sapidus), Cabrera's voles (Microtus cabrerae), Lusitanian pine voles (Microtus lusitanicus), Algerian mice (Mus spretus) and greater white-toothed shrews (Crocidura russula) in Northeast Portugal revealed the low occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. (1%) and high occurrence of Giardia spp. (32.8%). The analysis revealed that species was the only significant factor associated with the increasing probability of Giardia spp. infection, with the highest prevalence reported in southwestern water voles and Lusitanian pine voles. Cryptosporidium and Giardia species determination at the SSU rRNA gene locus revealed C. muris and G. microti as the only circulating species, respectively. Subtyping of the glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and beta-giardin (bg) genes provided evidence of the high genetic diversity within the G. microti clade. This study suggests that rodent-adapted G. microti occurs to a large extent in cricetid hosts and supports the limited role of wild rodents and shrews as natural sources of human infections in Northeast Portugal regarding the investigated parasites. Moreover, this is the first record of G. microti in southwestern water voles, Lusitanian pine voles, Algerian mice, wood mice and Cabrera's voles and C. muris in Cabrera's voles. Finally, this study improves the database of sequences relevant for the sequence typing of G. microti strains and provides new insights about the epidemiology of Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. in wild rodents and shrews, two parasite genera of high importance for public and animal health

Water aerobics II: maternal body composition and perinatal outcomes after a program for low risk pregnant women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of water aerobics during pregnancy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A randomized controlled trial carried out in 71 low-risk sedentary pregnant women, randomly allocated to water aerobics or no physical exercise. Maternal body composition and perinatal outcomes were evaluated. For statistical analysis Chi-square, Fisher's or Student's t-tests were applied. Risk ratios and their 95% CI were estimated for main outcomes. Body composition was evaluated across time using MANOVA or Friedman multiple analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were no significant differences between the groups regarding maternal weight gain, BMI or percentage of body fat during pregnancy. Incidence of preterm births (RR = 0.84; 95%CI:0.28–2.53), vaginal births (RR = 1.24; 95%CI:0.73–2.09), low birthweight (RR = 1.30; 95%CI:0.61–2.79) and adequate weight for gestational age (RR = 1.50; 95%CI:0.65–3.48) were also not significantly different between groups. There were no significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate between before and immediately after the water aerobics session.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Water aerobics for sedentary pregnant women proved to be safe and was not associated with any alteration in maternal body composition, type of delivery, preterm birth rate, neonatal well-being or weight.</p

Identification of novel esterase-active enzymes from hot environments by use of the host bacterium Thermus thermophilus

Functional metagenomic screening strategies, which are independent of known sequence information, can lead to the identification of truly novel genes and enzymes. Since E. coli has been used exhaustively for this purpose as a host, it is important to establish alternative expression hosts and to use them for functional metagenomic screening for new enzymes. In this study we show that Thermus thermophilus HB27 is an excellent screening host and can be used as an alternative provider of truly novel biocatalysts. In a previous study we constructed the mutant strain BL03 that was no longer able to grow on defined minimal medium supplemented with tributyrin as the sole carbon source and could be used as a host to screen for metagenomic DNA fragments that could complement growth on tributyrin. Several thousand single fosmid clones from thermophilic metagenomic libraries from heated compost and hot spring water samples were subjected to a comparative screening for esterase activity in both T. thermophilus strain BL03 and E. coli EPI300. We scored a greater number of active clones in the thermophilic bacterium than in the mesophilic E. coli. From all clones functionally screened in E. coli, only two thermostable α/β-fold hydrolase enzymes with high amino acid sequence similarity to already characterized enzymes were identifiable. In contrast, five further fosmids were found that conferred lipolytic activities in T. thermophilus. Four open reading frames (ORFs) were found which did not share significant similarity to known esterase enzymes. Two of the genes were expressed in both hosts and the novel thermophilic esterases, which based on their primary structures could not be assigned to known esterase or lipase families, were purified and preliminarily characterized. Our work underscores the benefit of using additional screening hosts other than E. coli for the identification of novel biocatalysts with industrial relevance

Atenção ao idoso na estratégia de Saúde da Família: atuação do enfermeiro

Este estudo objetivou descrever a consulta de enfermagem ao idoso realizada na ESF; identificar possíveis dificuldades na atenção à saúde do idoso, bem como os cursos de qualificação profissional realizados e as necessidades de aprendizagem. Os dados foram coletados por meio da entrevista semiestruturada e submetidos à análise descritiva e temática. Foram entrevistadas 12 enfermeiras, a maioria estando na faixa etária de anos de formada (41%) em instituição particular (75%). Emergiram duas categorias temáticas: consulta de enfermagem ao idoso na ESF e qualificação profissional para a atenção à saúde do idoso. Foi considerado como desafio na realização da consulta de enfermagem a obtenção de dados fidedignos, a resolutividade e o apoio familiar. Os cursos para qualificar a atenção ao idoso ocorreram durante o período de graduação, destacando a falta de oportunidade, a pouca oferta e a necessidade de se aprofundar sobre o processo de envelhecimento.Este estudio tuvo como objetivo describir la consulta de enfermería realizada por el anciano en la ESF; identificar posibles dificultades en la atención a la salud del anciano, así como los cursos de calificación profesional realizados y las necesidades de aprendizaje. Los datos fueron recogidos a través de la entrevista semiestructurada y sometidos al análisis descriptivo temático. Fueron entrevistadas doce enfermeras, estando la mayoría situadas en la faja etaria de 23 a 28 años (66%), con 1-2 años de graduadas (41%) en instituciones particulares (75%). Emergieron dos categorías temáticas: consulta de enfermería del anciano en la ESF y calificación profesional para la atención de la salud del anciano. Fue considerado como desafío en la realización de la consulta de enfermería la obtención de datos fidedignos, la resolutividad y el apoyo familiar. Los cursos para calificar la atención al anciano, tuvieron lugar durante el período de graduación, destacándose la falta de oportunidad, la poca oferta y la necesidad de profundizar sobre el proceso de envejecimiento.This study aimed to describe the nursing consultation for the elderly provided at the Family Health Strategy (ESF, acronym in Portuguese); identify possible difficulties in delivering health care to the elderly, as well as the professional qualification courses performed and the learning needs. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and submitted to descriptive and thematic analysis. Interviews were performed with 12 nurses, most with ages between years since graduation (41%) in private institutions (75%). Two thematic categories emerged from the analysis: nursing consultation for the elderly performed at ESF and professional qualification in health care for the elderly. Obtaining reliable data in the nursing consultation, resolution and family support were considered as challenges. The courses to qualify professionals for elderly care occurred during their graduation course, highlighting the lack of opportunity, the short supply and the need for deeper studies about the aging process

The BINGO project: VII. Cosmological forecasts from 21 cm intensity mapping

Context. The 21 cm line of neutral hydrogen (HI) opens a new avenue in our exploration of the structure and evolution of the Universe. It provides complementary data to the current large-scale structure (LSS) observations with different systematics, and thus it will be used to improve our understanding of the Icold dark matter (ICDM) model. This will ultimately constrain our cosmological models, attack unresolved tensions, and test our cosmological paradigm. Among several radio cosmological surveys designed to measure this line, BINGO is a single-dish telescope mainly designed to detect baryon acoustic oscillations (BAOs) at low redshifts (0.127 < z < 0.449). Aims. Our goal is to assess the fiducial BINGO setup and its capabilities of constraining the cosmological parameters, and to analyze the effect of different instrument configurations. Methods. We used the 21 cm angular power spectra to extract cosmological information about the HI signal and the Fisher matrix formalism to study BINGO's projected constraining power. Results. We used the Phase 1 fiducial configuration of the BINGO telescope to perform our cosmological forecasts. In addition, we investigated the impact of several instrumental setups, taking into account some instrumental systematics, and different cosmological models. Combining BINGO with Planck temperature and polarization data, the projected constraint improves from a 13% and 25% precision measurement at the 68% confidence level with Planck only to 1% and 3% for the Hubble constant and the dark energy (DE) equation of state (EoS), respectively, within the wCDM model. Assuming a Chevallier- Polarski- Linder (CPL) parameterization, the EoS parameters have standard deviations given by w0 = 0.30 and wa = 1.2, which are improvements on the order of 30% with respect to Planck alone. We also compared BINGO's fiducial forecast with future SKA measurements and found that, although it will not provide competitive constraints on the DE EoS, significant information about HI distribution can be acquired. We can access information about the HI density and bias, obtaining 8.5% and 6% precision, respectively, assuming they vary with redshift at three independent bins. BINGO can also help constrain alternative models, such as interacting dark energy and modified gravity models, improving the cosmological constraints significantly. Conclusions. The fiducial BINGO configuration will be able to extract significant cosmological information from the HI distribution and provide constraints competitive with current and future cosmological surveys. It will also help in understanding the HI physics and systematic effects

Pressure-induced physical changes of noble gases implanted in highly stressed amorphous carbon films

Noble gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe) were trapped in an amorphous carbon matrix in the 1-11-GPa pressure range. Extended and near-edge x-ray-absorption spectroscopies indicate clustering of noble gases induced by the host matrix internal pressure. Simultaneously, the matrix pressure promotes a shift of the noble-gas core-level binding energy of similar to1 eV. The Auger parameter reveals that both the initial state and the host relaxation terms contribute to the binding-energy shift. Ab initio calculations performed on an Ar-7 cluster and on Ar atoms clustered in aromatic molecules support the experimental findings.68

Human papillomavirus prevalence among women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia III and invasive cervical cancer from Goiânia, Brazil

This study estimated the prevalence and distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) types among women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade III and invasive cervical cancer from Goiás (Brazil Central Region). Seventy-four cases were analyzed and consisted of 18 CIN III, 48 squamous cell carcinomas, 4 adenocarcinomas, 1 adenosquamous carcinoma and 3 undifferentiated carcinomas. HPV-DNA sequences were examined in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues using primers from L1 region GP5+/GP6+. Polymerase chain reaction products were typed with dot blot hybridization using probes for HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 54, 6/11, 42/43/44, 51/52, 56/58. The prevalence of HPV was estimated to be 76% (56/74). HPV 16 was the most frequently found type, followed by HPV 33, 18 and 31. The prevalence of untyped HPV was 6%; 79% percent of the squamous cell carcinoma cases and 61% percent of the CIN III were positive for HPV and the prevalence rate of HPV types was the same for the total number of cases. According to other studies, HPV type 16 is the most prevalent virus in all Brazilian regions, but there is variation regarding to other types. Type 18 is the second most prevalent HPV in North, Southeast and South Brazil regions and types 31 and 33 are the second most prevalent HPV in Northeast and Central Brazil, respectively

Effects of external nutrient sources and extreme weather events on the nutrient budget of a Southern European coastal lagoon

The seasonal and annual nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and carbon (C) budgets of the mesotidal Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal, were estimated to reveal the main inputs and outputs, the seasonal patterns, and how they may influence the ecological functioning of the system. The effects of extreme weather events such as long-lasting strong winds causing upwelling and strong rainfall were assessed. External nutrient inputs were quantified; ocean exchange was assessed in 24-h sampling campaigns, and final calculations were made using a hydrodynamic model of the lagoon. Rain and stream inputs were the main freshwater sources to the lagoon. However, wastewater treatment plant and groundwater discharges dominated nutrient input, together accounting for 98, 96, and 88 % of total C, N, and P input, respectively. Organic matter and nutrients were continuously exported to the ocean. This pattern was reversed following extreme events, such as strong winds in early summer that caused upwelling and after a period of heavy rainfall in late autumn. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that ammonium and organic N and C exchange were positively associated with temperature as opposed to pH and nitrate. These variables reflected mostly the benthic lagoon metabolism, whereas particulate P exchange was correlated to Chl a, indicating that this was more related to phytoplankton dynamics. The increase of stochastic events, as expected in climate change scenarios, may have strong effects on the ecological functioning of coastal lagoons, altering the C and nutrient budgets.Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) [POCI/MAR/58427/2004, PPCDT/MAR/58427/2004]; Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT