Avaliação da vulnerabilidade sísmica do núcleo urbano antigo do Seixal

A avaliação do risco sísmico, tal como de outros fenómenos naturais, tem vindo a ganhar protagonismo ao longo das últimas décadas, sendo considerado primordial na definição de estratégias de planeamento e gestão urbana. A avaliação da vulnerabilidade sísmica de edifícios existentes, na perspectiva da mitigação do risco sísmico, deve colocar-se não só em relação aos edifícado monumental ou culturalmente valiosos, mas também em relação a aglomerados de edifícios em núcleos urbanos, particularmente nos núcleos urbanos antigos. A análise do desempenho de edifícios em sismos recentes tem permitido identificar quais os aspectos estruturais que mais influenciam a sua vulnerabilidade e o desenvolvimento de mecanismos de danos. Neste artigo analisam-se os resultados da avaliação da vulnerabilidade sísmica do núcleo urbano antigo do Seixal, obtidos através da aplicação de uma metodologia baseada num índice de vulnerabilidade. Através da avaliação da vulnerabilidade sísmica, esta metodologia permite ainda estimar dano e criar cenários de perda. Estes resultados serão apresentados tirando partido de uma ferramenta integrada num Sistema de Informação Geográfica (SIG)

The chromatin remodeller CHD8 is required for E2F-dependent transcription activation of S-phase genes

The precise regulation of S-phase-specific genes is critical for cell proliferation. How the repressive chromatin configuration mediated by the retinoblastoma protein and repressor E2F factors changes at the G1/S transition to allow transcription activation is unclear. Here we show ChIP-on-chip studies that reveal that the chromatin remodeller CHD8 binds ∼2000 transcriptionally active promoters. The spectrum of CHD8 target genes was enriched in E2F-dependent genes. We found that CHD8 binds E2F-dependent promoters at the G1/S transition but not in quiescent cells. Consistently, CHD8 was required for G1/S-specific expression of these genes and for cell cycle re-entry on serum stimulation of quiescent cells. We also show that CHD8 interacts with E2F1 and, importantly, loading of E2F1 and E2F3, but not E2F4, onto S-specific promoters, requires CHD8. However, CHD8 recruiting is independent of these factors. Recruiting of MLL histone methyltransferase complexes to S-specific promoters was also severely impaired in the absence of CHD8. Furthermore, depletion of CHD8 abolished E2F1 overexpression-dependent S-phase stimulation of serum-starved cells, highlighting the essential role of CHD8 in E2F-dependent transcription activation

Genome-wide study of chromatin remodeling factor CHD8 role in transcription

1 página. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Meeting on Mechanisms of Eukaryotic Trasncription 2011. August 30 - september 3, 2011.CHD8 (Chromodomain-Helicase-DNA binding protein 8) is a member of the chromodomain helicase DNA-binding (CHD) subfamily of enzymes, which also belongs to the SNF2 family of ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers.Peer reviewe

The impact of chorionicity on pregnancy outcome and neurodevelopment at 2 years old among twins born preterm: the EPIPAGE-2 cohort study

OBJECTIVE To compare the short‐ and mid‐term outcomes of preterm twins by chorionicity of pregnancy. DESIGN Prospective nationwide population‐based EPIPAGE‐2 cohort study. SETTING 546 maternity units in France, between March and December 2011. POPULATION A total of 1700 twin neonates born between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation. METHODS The association of chorionicity with outcomes was analysed using multivariate regression models. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES First, survival at 2‐year corrected age with or without neurosensory impairment, and second, perinatal, short‐, and mid‐term outcomes (survival at discharge, survival at discharge without severe morbidity) were described and compared by chorionicity. RESULTS In the EPIPAGE 2 cohort, 1700 preterm births were included (850 twin pregnancies). In all, 1220 (71.8%) were from dichorionic (DC) pregnancies and 480 from monochorionic (MC) pregnancies. MC pregnancies had three times more medical terminations than DC pregnancies (1.67 versus 0.51%, P < 0.001), whereas there were three times more stillbirths in MC than in DC pregnancies (10.09 versus 3.78%, P < 0.001). Both twins were alive at birth in 86.6% of DC pregnancies compared with 80.0% among MC pregnancies (P = 0.008). No significant difference according to chorionicity was found regarding neonatal deaths and morbidities. Likewise, for children born earlier than 32 weeks, the 2‐year follow‐up neurodevelopmental results were not significantly different between DC and MC twins. CONCLUSIONS This study confirms that MC pregnancies have a higher risk of adverse outcomes. However, the outcomes among preterm twins admitted to neonatal intensive care units are similar irrespective of chorionicity

Tracking climate mitigation efforts in 30 major emitters: Economy-wide projections and progress on key sectoral policies

Reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero is a crucial step to minimise the worst effects of climate change. The growing political consensus on the dangers of climate change and the increasing number of climate policies implemented is a sign for cautious optimism. Countries increasingly recognise the need to achieve net zero emissions globally by mid-century but still need to implement near-term policy actions and measures to ensure this long-term ambition trigger the transformation necessary to meet the collective goals of the Paris Agreement. This report documents near-term climate policies and measures adopted in the 30 major economies and assesses resulting future GHG emissions trajectories up to 2030. The countries analysed jointly account for 80% of total GHG emissions in 2019. Emissions trends remain far from the goals of the Paris Agreement in the period post-2020. Global emissions should fall 7.6% each year up until 2030 to get on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement (UNEP, 2019). Our projections show that emissions reductions under current policies remain woefully insufficient. Emissions in the 30 economies as a group are projected to increase on average by approximately 0.4% per year between 2021 and 2030

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided transvascular needle biopsy of thoracic and abdominal lesions: a multicenter experience

Background and study aims Traditionally in the case of a vascular interposition, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has been contraindicated. A transvascular route (TV) is feasible and probably a safe alternative approach in selected patients, but data are scarce. The primary aim of this study was to analyze the diagnostic yield and safety of EUS-TV-FNA in thoracic and abdominal lesions. Secondary aims included evaluation of the clinical impact and technical aspects. Patients and methods A retrospective multicenter study was conducted with inclusion of all consecutive patients that underwent EUS-TV-FNA from July 2007 to January 2020. Feasibility, cytopathology, procedure details, and safety were evaluated. Univariate analysis was performed to identify variables associated with incidents, cytopathological diagnosis, and clinical impact. Results Data were collected from a total of 49 cases and 50 EUS-TV-FNAs. The aorta (n = 19) and portal system (n = 17) were the most frequently punctured. The most frequent lesions were mediastinal lymph nodes (n = 13) and pancreatic tumors (n = 11). The diagnostic yield was 86 %, and there were nondiagnostic samples in seven cases. Overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 88% (95 % CI, 0.74-0.96), 100% (95 % CI, 0.59-1), and 90% (95 % CI, 0.78-0.96), respectively. Only three incidents were detected: two mural hematomas and a self-limited bleeding of gastroduodenal artery. In most patients, there was a significant impact on clinical management (88%). Arterial vessel and ASA-III had a trend with incidents (both, P < 0.08). Rapid on-site evlauation was found to be an independent predictor for obtaining a conclusive sample (OR 6.2; 95%CI, 1.06-36.73, P < 0.04). Conclusions EUS-TV-FNA is feasible, seems to be safe, and can be recommended when no other targets are available, and the information obtained would impact on the clinical plan

Demencia por sobrecrecimiento bacteriano en paciente portador de gastrectomía Billroth II

We report the case of a patient in the Psychiatric Department who complained of progressive impairment of cerebral functions consistent with dementia, diarrhea and fecal incontinence in the last few months. His medical history included a Billroth II gastrectomy for gastric ulcer. Biochemical tests detected cobalamine deficiency, without megaloblastic anemia, and an abnormal Shilling test that was not due to intrinsic factor deficiency. Once other causes of cobalamine deficiency were ruled out, we considered it as a deficiency disease due to blind loop syndrome. Treatment with parenteral vitamin B complex and long term oral antibiotic therapy allowed the complete and permanent resolution of neurologic and digestive symptoms. We consider this case to be interesting because it shows the existence of curable dementias and the usefulness of taking into account bacterial overgrowth, usually underestimated, as an entity that can produce a variety of disorder

Characterization and intracellular localization of putative Chlamydia pneumoniae effector proteins

We here describe four proteins of Chlamydia pneumoniae, which might play a role in host-pathogen interaction. The hypothetical bacterial proteins CPn0708 and CPn0712 were detected in Chlamydia pneumoniae-infected host cells by indirect immunofluorescence tests with polyclonal antisera raised against the respective proteins. While CPn0708 was localized within the inclusion body, CPn0712 was identified in the inclusion membrane and in the surrounding host cell cytosol. CPn0712 colocalizes with actin, indicating its possible interaction with components of the cytoskeleton. Investigations on CPn0809 and CPn1020, two Chlamydia pneumoniae proteins previously described to be secreted into the host cell cytosol, revealed colocalization with calnexin, a marker for the ER. Neither CPn0712, CPn0809 nor CPn1020 were able to inhibit host cell apoptosis. Furthermore, transient expression of CPn0712, CPn0809 and CPn1020 by the host cell itself had no effect on subsequent infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae. However, microarray analysis of CPn0712-expressing host cells revealed six host cell genes which were regulated as in host cells infected with Chlamydia pneumoniae, indicating the principal usefulness of heterologous expression to study the effect of Chlamydia pneumoniae proteins on host cell modulation