Development of weCope, a mobile app for illness self-management in schizophrenia

Objective: To describe the development of weCope, a Portuguese mobile app for people with schizophrenia. Methods: The development of weCope followed 4 stages: I-102 people with psychotic disorders completed an online questionnaire; II-a multidisciplinary focus group was conducted among five mental health professionals; III-we developed the app; IV-9 participants used weCope during 8 weeks to assess its efficiency. Results: weCope targets coping with voices, problem solving, goals setting and stress management, and results indicated that: weCope improved symptoms, sense of recovery and personal and social functioning; 59% of the participants were willing to download an application for illness self-management; professionals revealed some concerns about mHealth but enhanced the high importance to develop these apps; usability testing revealed that 89% considered weCope useful for illness self-management. However, the more years with mental illness, the less importance is given to a mobile application for this purpose. Discussion: weCope was developed through a comprehensive development process and may contribute to a subjective perception of the patient’s better well-being and health condition

Sustained remission from depressive-like behavior depends on hippocampal neurogenesis

Impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis has been associated with the expression of depressive-like symptoms and some studies have suggested neurogenesis as a critical factor in the normalization of behavior by antidepressant (AD) drugs. This study provides robust evidence that ongoing neurogenesis is essential for the maintenance of behavioral homeostasis and that its pharmacological arrest precipitates symptoms commonly found in depressed patients. Further, the incorporation of newly born neurons and astrocytes into the preexisting hippocampal neurocircuitry is shown to be necessary for the spontaneous recovery from the adverse effects of stress and for long-term benefits of AD treatments.We thank M Carneiro and L Martins for technical assistance. AM-P, LP, MM and SM received fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was supported by FCT (PTDC/SAU-NEU/105180/2008) and the ICVS

Using educational networks to promote internationalization experiences in physiotherapy education

Introduction and Objectives: The Academic Network of Health Sciences of Lusofonia (RACS - racslusofonia.org) was created in 2016, with the mission of promoting training and scientific cooperation in health sciences, between higher education institutions and research centers in different countries and Portuguese speaking communities. Within the Physiotherapy Education Group of RACS we develop a project with a set of activities, developed along the academic path of the physiotherapy students, which allow them to be exposed progressively to the international context. Methods: During the 2021/22 academic year, 10 institutions involving 103 Physiotherapy students from 6 different countries (Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Angola, and São Tomé e Principe) participate in this project. Students are asked, over a period of 2 months, to carry out at least 2 online meetings within an international group to discuss topics related to the reality of education and the practice of Physiotherapists. As a result, students submit an individual reflection on the most relevant points that were identified in this sharing process. In each of the participating institutions, there was a teacher responsible for preparing, supporting, and evaluating the students' reflections. Results: To assess the impact and satisfaction of the students with activity, an online questionnaire (10 questions) was used, with several dimensions (preparation, performance, and global opinion) where a response rate of 83% was obtained (n=86). Regarding the answers, 93% considered that the objectives of the activity were clear and attainable and that the support materials were adequate (83%). Regarding meetings with international peers, 70% said that communication was easy during the meetings and that the proposed objectives were achieved (91%). Concerning the impact of the activity, 94% considered that the activity contributes to a better understanding of the international context of teaching and practice of physiotherapists, stressing that it should continue to be carried out within the scope of the physiotherapy course (89%). Conclusion(s): The overall reflexion from the students and teachers involved was very positive, reinforcing the importance of this activity and identifying areas of improvement related to student recruitment and support throughout this process. Based on the results, it seems important for us to carry out this project as it facilitates students’ early exposure to international contexts, which may facilitate the development of skills that allow them to play a more active and global professional role.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Using educational networks to promote internationalization experiences in physiotherapy education

Introduction and Objectives: The Academic Network of Health Sciences of Lusofonia (RACS - racslusofonia.org) was created in 2016, with the mission of promoting training and scientific cooperation in health sciences, between higher education institutions and research centers in different countries and Portuguese speaking communities. Within the Physiotherapy Education Group of RACS we develop a project with a set of activities, developed along the academic path of the physiotherapy students, which allow them to be exposed progressively to the international context. Methods: During the 2021/22 academic year, 10 institutions involving 103 Physiotherapy students from 6 different countries (Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Angola, and São Tomé e Principe) participate in this project. Students are asked, over a period of 2 months, to carry out at least 2 online meetings within an international group to discuss topics related to the reality of education and the practice of Physiotherapists. As a result, students submit an individual reflection on the most relevant points that were identified in this sharing process. In each of the participating institutions, there was a teacher responsible for preparing, supporting, and evaluating the students' reflections. Results: To assess the impact and satisfaction of the students with activity, an online questionnaire (10 questions) was used, with several dimensions (preparation, performance, and global opinion) where a response rate of 83% was obtained (n=86). Regarding the answers, 93% considered that the objectives of the activity were clear and attainable and that the support materials were adequate (83%). Regarding meetings with international peers, 70% said that communication was easy during the meetings and that the proposed objectives were achieved (91%). Concerning the impact of the activity, 94% considered that the activity contributes to a better understanding of the international context of teaching and practice of physiotherapists, stressing that it should continue to be carried out within the scope of the physiotherapy course (89%). Conclusion(s): The overall reflexion from the students and teachers involved was very positive, reinforcing the importance of this activity and identifying areas of improvement related to student recruitment and support throughout this process. Based on the results, it seems important for us to carry out this project as it facilitates students’ early exposure to international contexts, which may facilitate the development of skills that allow them to play a more active and global professional role.N/

Development of electrochemical genosensors for the CYPC*2 gene polymorphism detection

Pharmacogenetic studies search for heritable genetic polymorphisms that influence responses to drug therapy. Pharmacogenetics has many possible applications in cardiovascular pharmacotherapy including screening for polymorphisms to choose agents with the greatest potential for efficacy and least risk of toxicity. Pharmacogenetics also informs dose adaptations for specific drugs in patients with aberrant metabolism. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are considered one of the leading causes of death worldwide. To prevent cardiovascular complications and further loss of life oral anticoagulants (e.g., warfarin) are frequently prescribed to patients. Nevertheless, warfarin therapeutic agent presents narrow therapeutic windows with well-documented health risks. Some of these dose-responses are a result of specific single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genetic variations present in a patient´s DNA. Among them, determined SNP in the cytochrome P4502C9 (CYP2C9), namely the CYP2C9*2, gene has been identified as dose-response altering SNP. Therefore, the need for a rapid, selective, low-cost and in real time detection device is crucial before prescribing any anticoagulant. In this work an analytical approach based on electrochemical genosensor technique is under development to create a low-cost genotyping platform able to genotype SNPs related with the therapeutic response of warfarin. Analyzing public databases, two specific 71 bp DNA probes, one with adenine (TA) and other with guanine (TG) SNP genetic variation were selected and designed. The design of this electrochemical genosensor consists of ssDNA immobilization onto gold surfaces that act as the SNPs complementary probes. The hybridization reaction is performed in a sandwich format of the complementary ssDNA, using an enzymatic scheme to amplify the electrochemical signal. The electrochemical signal was performed by using chronoamperometric technique.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

VKORC1 gene polymorphism as cardiovascular biomarker: Detection by electrochemical genosensors

Warfarin is an anticoagulant generally used to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Since of the low therapeutic index of warfarin and frequent complications of prevention or treatment, significant differences in individual doses of warfarin are needed to achieve prophylactic and therapeutic ranges. Recent studies have been reporting that genetic variants of vitamin K epoxide reductase complex (VKORC1) influence the response to warfarin and doses [9]. So, the genetic and pharmacogenetic information of the major cardiovascular diseases plays an important role in the identification of the cardiovascular risk factors and in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. This work addresses the development of a disposable electrochemical genosensor able of detecting single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the VKORC1 gene. Analysing public databases, two specific 52 bp DNA probes, one with adenine (TA) and another with guanine (TG) SNP genetic variation were selected and selected and designed. The genosensor methodology implied the immobilization of a mixed self-assembled monolayer (SAM) linear VKORC1 DNA-capture probe and mercaptohexanol (MCH) onto screen-printed gold electrodes (SPGE). To improve the genosensor´s selectivity and avoid strong secondary structures, that could hinder the hybridization efficiency, a sandwich format of the VKORC1 allele was designed using a complementary fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled signaling DNA probe and enzymatic amplification of the electrochemical signal. Preliminary studies indicate that differences in the electrochemical answers were obtained depending of the hybridization reaction format. In fact, higher electrochemical intensities were measured when the hybridization reaction was performed with a complementary DNA (without SNPs). These results suggested that the sensor is able to discriminate between the complementary DNA and single base mismatch targets having a great potential for the DNA polymorphism analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Genetic diversity in native and commercial breeds of pigs in Portugal assessed by microsatellites

Population structure and genetic diversity in the Portuguese native breeds of pigs Alentejano (AL), Bísaro (BI), and Malhado de Alcobaça (MA) and the exotic breeds Duroc (DU), Landrace (LR), Large White (LW), and Pietrain were analyzed by typing 22 microsatellite markers in 249 individuals. In general, the markers used were greatly polymorphic, with mean total and effective number of alleles per locus of 10.68 and 4.33, respectively, and an expected heterozygosity of 0.667 across loci. The effective number of alleles per locus and expected heterozygosity were greatest in BI, LR, and AL, and least in DU. Private alleles were found in 9 of the 22 markers analyzed, mostly in AL, but also in the other breeds, with the exception of LW. The proportion of loci not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in each breed analyzed ranged between 0.23 (AL) and 0.41 (BI, LW, and Pietrain), mostly because of a less than expected number of heterozygotes in those loci. With the exception of MA, all breeds showed a significant deficit in heterozygosity (F(IS); P < 0.05), which was more pronounced in BI (F(IS) = 0.175) and AL (F(IS) = 0.139), suggesting that inbreeding is a major concern, especially in these breeds that have gone through a genetic bottleneck in the recent past. The analysis of relationships among breeds, assessed by different methods, indicates that DU and AL are the more distanced breeds relative to the others, with the closest relationship being observed between LR and MA. The degree of differentiation between subpopulations (F(ST)) indicates that 0.184 of the total genetic variability can be attributed to differences among breeds. The analysis of individual distances based on allele sharing indicates that animals of the same breed generally cluster together, but subdivision is observed in the BI and LR breeds. Furthermore, the analysis of population structure indicates there is very little admixture among breeds, with each one being identified with a single ancestral population. The results of this study confirm that native breeds of pigs represent a very interesting reservoir of allelic diversity, even though the current levels of inbreeding raise concerns. Therefore, appropriate conservation efforts should be undertaken, such as adopting strategies aimed at minimizing inbreeding, to avoid further losses of genetic diversity

Compensatory epistasis explored by molecular dynamics simulations

A non-negligible proportion of human pathogenic variants are known to be present as wild type in at least some non-human mammalian species. The standard explanation for this finding is that molecular mechanisms of compensatory epistasis can alleviate the mutations’ otherwise pathogenic effects. Examples of compensated variants have been described in the literature but the interacting residue(s) postulated to play a compensatory role have rarely been ascertained. In this study, the examination of five human X-chromosomally encoded proteins (FIX, GLA, HPRT1, NDP and OTC) allowed us to identify several candidate compensated variants. Strong evidence for a compensated/compensatory pair of amino acids in the coagulation FIXa protein (involving residues 270 and 271) was found in a variety of mammalian species. Both amino acid residues are located within the 60-loop, spatially close to the 39-loop that performs a key role in coagulation serine proteases. To understand the nature of the underlying interactions, molecular dynamics simulations were performed. The predicted conformational change in the 39-loop consequent to the Glu270Lys substitution (associated with hemophilia B) appears to impair the protein’s interaction with its substrate but, importantly, such steric hindrance is largely mitigated in those proteins that carry the compensatory residue (Pro271) at the neighboring amino acid position