Vigilância das resistências aos antimicrobianos em frangos, suínos e carne das respetivas espécies em Portugal

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina VeterináriaNo âmbito do programa europeu de vigilância e comunicação de dados sobre resistência aos antimicrobianos em bactérias zoonóticas e comensais, a Direção Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária aplicou o Plano de Vigilância das Resistências aos Antimicrobianos, entre 2014 a 2020, em Portugal. Os resultados deste plano têm revelado índices elevados de resistência aos antimicrobianos em animais de produção e os seus produtos destinados ao consumo. No entanto, os dados de vigilância divulgados não parecem demonstrar o verdadeiro panorama das resistências quando analisados isoladamente, sendo mais bem aplicado quando unificado com os dados de consumo de antimicrobianos e ocorrência de resistência a nível animal e humano. Este estudo tem como base analisar parte dos resultados deste plano, sobretudo nos isolados indicadores de E. coli, Salmonella spp. e Campylobacter spp. nos frangos, suínos e na carne das respetivas espécies. Do mesmo modo, rever a ocorrência de resistência à colistina, às fluoroquinolonas e às cefalosporinas de 3ª, 4ª e 5ª geração, por serem os antibióticos incluídos na vigilância animal e categorizados como criticamente importantes com prioridade máxima para a saúde humana e de uso restrito nos animais. Segue com o intuito de comparar a situação de Portugal comparativamente a outros países participantes desta vigilância; discutir as medidas estratégicas de combate à resistência aos antimicrobianos; perceber a relação entre o consumo animal de antibióticos e a ocorrência de resistência; e, por fim, fornecer informações relevantes de modo a aperfeiçoar a vigilância nos animais, promover a segurança alimentar e assegurar uma melhor proteção da saúde pública.ABSTRACT - SURVEILLANCE OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN POULTRY/BROILERS, PIGS AND THEIR RESPECTIVE MEAT IN PORTUGAL - Within the scope of the European Surveillance Program and data reporting on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and commensal bacteria, the General Direction of Food and Veterinary Medicine implemented the Surveillance Plan for Antimicrobial Resistance, between 2014 and 2020, in Portugal. Its results have revealed important levels of antibiotic resistance in farm animals and their products for human consumption. However, the surveillance data released do not seem to demonstrate the real panorama of resistances when analyzed alone, being better understood when unified with data on antimicrobial consumption and occurrence of resistance at animal and human level. This study is based on analyzing part of the results of the plan, especially on the isolated indicators of E. coli, Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. in chickens, pigs and meat of the respective species. Likewise, review the occurrence of resistance to colistin, fluoroquinolones and 3rd, 4th and 5th generation cephalosporin, as they are antibiotics included into animal surveillance program, also categorized as critically important with top priority to human health and are restricted on animal use. This study follows with the aim of comparing the Portugal situation with other participating countries in this surveillance program; to discuss strategic measures to fight antimicrobial resistance; to understand the relationship between animal consumption of antimicrobials and its influence to the occurrence of resistance; and finally, to provide relevant information in order to improve animal surveillance, promote food safety and ensure public health protection.N/

Long-term Memory of Sensory Experiences from the First Pregnancy, its Peri-partum and Post-partum in Women with Autism Spectrum Disorders without Intellectual Disabilities: A Retrospective Study

Purpose: To explore the recalled experience of pregnancy and motherhood in women diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) without intellectual disabilities, focusing on sensory perceptions and mood. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated, through an ad-hoc structured interview, the sensory sensitivity during the pre-partum, the peri-partum, and the post-partum of thirty-three mothers with ASD and thirty-two neurotypical mothers. Participants also underwent a psychometric assessment about autistic traits, general sensory sensitivity, and post-partum depressive symptomatology. Results: Mothers with ASD recalled a higher sensitivity than the comparison group across the three time-points; however, during the peri-partum their recalled hypersensitivity decreases, and in the post-partum it returned as high as before childbirth. The difference in the length of recall between groups did not statistically influence our results. Higher levels of autistic traits correlated with higher depressive post-partum symptomatology. Conclusions: Mothers with ASD seem to recall their experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and post-partum period differently from neurotypical mothers, particularly in terms of hypersensitivity. The correlation with depressive symptoms and the potential role of oxytocin and of long-term memory (encoding and recollection) are discussed. Further exploring these aspects might give fundamental hints to provide tailored support to mothers with ASD during pregnancy and motherhood

Porphyrins Through the Looking Glass: Spectroscopic and Mechanistic Insights in Supramolecular Chirogenesis of New Self-Assembled Porphyrin Derivatives

The solvent driven aggregation of porphyrin derivatives, covalently linked to a L- or D-prolinate enantiomer, results in the stereospecific formation of species featuring remarkable supramolecular chirality, as a consequence of reading and amplification of the stereochemical information stored in the proline-appended group. Spectroscopic, kinetic, and topographic SEM studies gave important information on the aggregation processes, and on the structures of the final chiral architectures. The results obtained may be the seeds for the construction of stereoselective sensors aiming at the detection, for example, of novel emergent pollutants from agrochemical, food, and pharmaceutical industry

Comparative Analysis of Five Multiplex RT-PCR Assays in the Screening of SARS-CoV-2 Variants

The rapid and presumptive detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants may be performed using multiplex RT-PCR assays. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of five qualitative RT-PCR tests as compared with next-generation sequencing (NGS). We retrospectively examined a multi-variant panel (n = 72) of SARS-CoV-2-positive nasopharyngeal swabs categorized as variants of concern (Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta), variants under monitoring (Iota and Kappa) and wild-type strains circulating in Liguria (Italy) from January to August 2021. First, NGS libraries of study samples were prepared and mapped to the reference genome. Then, specimens were screened for the detection of L452R, W152C, K417T, K417N, E484Q, E484K and N501Y mutations using the SARS-CoV-2 Variants II Assay Allplex, UltraGene Assay SARS-CoV-2 452R & 484K & 484Q Mutations V1, COVID-19 Ultra Variant Catcher, SARS-CoV-2 Extended ELITe MGB and Simplexa SARS-CoV-2 Variants Direct. The overall accuracy of these assays ranged from 96.9% to 100%. Specificity and sensitivity were 100% and 96-100%, respectively. We highly recommend the use of these assays as second-level tests in the routine workflow of SARS-CoV-2 laboratory diagnostics, as they are accurate, user friendly, low cost, may identify specific mutations in about 2-3 h and, therefore, optimize the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants

The bnt162b2 vaccine induces humoral and cellular immune memory to sars-cov-2 Wuhan strain and the Omicron variant in children 5 to 11 years of age

SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines prevent severe COVID-19 by generating immune memory, comprising specific antibodies and memory B and T cells. Although children are at low risk of severe COVID-19, the spreading of highly transmissible variants has led to increasing in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations also in the youngest, but vaccine coverage remains low. Immunogenicity to mRNA vaccines has not been extensively studied in children 5 to 11 years old. In particular, cellular immunity to the wild-type strain (Wuhan) and the cross-reactive response to the Omicron variant of concern has not been investigated. We assessed the humoral and cellular immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine in 27 healthy children. We demonstrated that vaccination induced a potent humoral and cellular immune response in all vaccinees. By using spike-specific memory B cells as a measurable imprint of a previous infection, we found that 50% of the children had signs of a past, undiagnosed infection before vaccination. Children with pre-existent immune memory generated significantly increased levels of specific antibodies, and memory T and B cells, directed against not only the wild type virus but also the omicron variant

L\u2019imitazione dei comportamenti non verbali nella regolazione delle condotte intergruppi

In maniera spontanea e automatica imitiamo in continuazione i comportamenti delle persone attorno a noi. Nel presente lavoro viene esaminato come il pi\uf9 ampio contesto intergruppi possa modulare l\u2019espressione di comportamenti imitativi. I partecipanti venivano categorizzati in gruppi minimi e successivamente vedevano un membro del proprio gruppo comportarsi in maniera equa o discriminatoria nei confronti del gruppo esterno. In aggiunta, alcuni partecipanti erano informati che il gruppo esterno si era in precedenza comportato in maniera discriminatoria. I risultati indicano che, rispetto alla condizione di controllo, quando si \ue8 minacciati dal gruppo esterno aumenta l\u2019imitazione dei comportamenti non verbali del membro dell\u2019ingroup che discrimina l\u2019outgroup. Questo risultato viene discusso in relazione al possibile ruolo dei comportamenti imitativi nella regolazione delle condotte intergruppi

La mia Russia. Storie da un paese perduto

Italian translation of the book of the Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenk

Marine-Derived Compounds Targeting Topoisomerase II in Cancer Cells: A Review.

Cancer affects more than 19 million people and is the second leading cause of death in the world. One of the principal strategies used in cancer therapy is the inhibition of topoisomerase II, involved in the survival of cells. Side effects and adverse reactions limit the use of topoisomerase II inhibitors; hence, research is focused on discovering novel compounds that can inhibit topoisomerase II and have a safer toxicological profile. Marine organisms are a source of secondary metabolites with different pharmacological properties including anticancer activity. The objective of this review is to present and discuss the pharmacological potential of marine-derived compounds whose antitumor activity is mediated by topoisomerase II inhibition. Several compounds derived from sponges, fungi, bacteria, ascidians, and other marine sources have been demonstrated to inhibit topoisomerase II. However, some studies only report docking interactions, whereas others do not fully explain the mechanisms of topoisomerase II inhibition. Further in vitro and in vivo studies are needed, as well as a careful toxicological profile evaluation with a focus on cancer cell selectivity