Tenossinovite inflamatória num cavalo de desporto : relatório de caso

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina Veterinária, área científica de ClínicaA bainha do tendão flexor digital é uma estrutura sinovial na face palmar/plantar do membro, que contém os tendões flexores digitais, a manica flexoria e três ligamentos anulares no seu interior. Lesões do tendão flexor digital profundo nos membros anteriores de cavalos de Salto de Obstáculos e da manica flexoria nos membros posteriores de póneis e cavalos Cob Irlandês são as causas mais comuns de tenossinovites inflamatórias desta bainha. O paciente deste caso é um cavalo de Ensino, raça Puro Sangue Lusitano, que apresentava claudicação de aparecimento súbito, edema da bainha, dor à palpação proximalmente ao boleto e na quartela, e dor à flexão do boleto no membro anterior direito. Nas ecografias, foi possível visualizar efusão, lesão extensa do tendão flexor digital profundo, espessamento do ligamento anular palmar e rotura da manica flexoria. Após falência do tratamento conservador, o animal foi submetido a cirurgia endoscópica num hospital de referência e, posteriormente, internado num centro de reabilitação física equina durante 15 semanas. O cavalo fez uma recuperação total, não tendo tido recidivas até um ano e seis meses após a alta. Esta tenossinovite é pouco frequente em cavalos de Ensino e, neste caso, poderá estar relacionada com alguns comportamentos exibidos pelo paciente. O processo de diagnóstico pode ser complementado com outras técnicas, mas a ecografia é o primeiro passo a tomar perante suspeitas de tenossinovite. Se não ocorrer resolução com tratamento médico, a cirurgia é obrigatória, seguida por um programa de fisioterapia. Nas tenossinovites agudas e simples o prognóstico é geralmente bom, enquanto que nas mais complexas ou com envolvimento do tendão flexor digital profundo, o prognóstico é mais reservadoABSTRACT - NONSEPTIC TENOSYNOVITIS IN A SPORT HORSE: CASE REPORT - The digital flexor tendon sheath is a synovial structure located in the palmar/plantar aspect of the distal limb that contains within the digital flexor tendons, manica flexoria and three annular ligaments. The most usual causes of nonseptic tenosynovitis are injury to the deep digital flexor tendon, in the forelimbs of Showjumping horses, and injury to the manica flexoria, in the hindlimbs of ponies and cobs. This case’s patient is a Lusitano Dressage horse, presenting sudden onset lameness, sheath swelling, pain on palpation just proximal to the fetlock and on the pastern, and pain on fetlock’s flexion in the right forelimb. During ultrasonographic examination, it was possible to see effusion, extensive damage to the deep digital flexor tendon, palmar annular ligament thickening and manica flexoria tear. After medical treatment failure, the animal underwent surgery in a referral hospital and, afterwards, admitted to a physical rehabilitation centre, where he stayed for 15 weeks. This horse made a full recovery, with no relapses up until one year and six months after discharge. This tenosynovitis isn’t very common in Dressage horses and, in this particular case, it could be related to some of the horse’s displayed behaviours. The diagnostic process can include additional techniques, but ultrasound examination is the first step to take in the event of a suspected tenosynovitis. If the symptoms do not resolve after medical treatment, surgery is mandatory, followed by physical rehabilitation. In acute uncomplicated tenosynovitis prognosis is usually good, whereas in more complex ones, or with lesions of the deep digital flexor tendon, prognosis is more guardedN/

Population structure in Quercus suber L. revealed by nuclear microsatellite markers

Quercus suber L. is a sclerophyllous tree species native to the western Mediterranean, a region that is considered highly vulnerable to increased temperatures and severe dry conditions due to environmental changes. Understanding the population structure and demographics of Q. suber is essential in order to anticipate whether populations at greater risk and the species as a whole have the genetic background and reproductive dynamics to enable rapid adaptation. The genetic diversity of Q. suber has been subject to different studies using both chloroplast and nuclear data, but population structure patterns remain unclear. Here, we perform genetic analyses on Q. suber using 13 nuclear microsatellite markers, and analysed 17 distinct locations across the entire range of the species. Structure analyses revealed that Q. suber may contain three major genetic clusters that likely result from isolation in refugia combined with posterior admixture and putative introgression from other Quercus species. Our results show a more complex structure scenario than previously inferred for Q. suber using nuclear markers and suggest that different southern populations contain high levels of genetic variation that may contribute to the resilience of Q. suber in a context of environmental change and adaptive pressureinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Abstracts, Résumés, Resúmenes

Tradução para as línguas Inglesa, Francesa e Castelhana dos resumos dos artigos publicados nesta ediçã

Determinant Factors of Purchase Intention of Functional Foods

Dissertação de Mestrado em Gestão apresentada à Faculdade de EconomiaO aumento pela preocupação do bem-estar físico e psicológico deu origem a que os consumidores da atualidade se preocupassem mais com o seu estilo de vida, nomeadamente com o que comem e com o nível de atividade física que praticam. Neste sentido, as empresas estão cada vez mais dispostas a produzir bens que vão de encontro às necessidades dos consumidores e, assim, os alimentos funcionais surgiram para ajudar quem se preocupa com a sua alimentação e, consequentemente, com a sua saúde. Atualmente, é cada vez mais importante a inclusão de alimentos funcionais na nossa dieta e, por isso, o presente trabalho de pesquisa visa esclarecer o que poderão ser os principais fatores determinantes para a intenção de compra de alimentos funcionais. Foram selecionados diversos artigos científicos para melhor aprofundar os conceitos relacionados com este tema, nomeadamente o que é a literacia nutricional, o brand equity, a influência digital, a perceção de risco e o passa-a-palavra. Para detetar os possíveis variáveis foi realizada em primeiro lugar, uma vasta pesquisa qualitativa sobre a definição deste tipo de alimentos e os possíveis determinantes que potencializam a compra deste tipo de produtos. De seguida, e após a seleção das variáveis a estudar, foi realizado um questionário disponibilizado online para obter a opinião dos inquiridos acerca dos diversos fatores selecionados. Foram obtidas 355 respostas, das quais 306 referem-se a indivíduos que compraram alimentos funcionais nos últimos 60 dias e as restantes 49 são de indivíduos que não o tinham feito. De seguida, foi realizada a análise dos dados com o auxílio de técnicas específicas de análise estatística. As conclusões permitem informar o leitor acerca do comportamento do consumidor em relação à compra de alimentos funcionais. A pesquisa indica ainda que existe uma relação positiva entre a consciência de alimentos funcionais, a influência digital, a literacia nutrional, a perceção de risco, o brand equity, o passa-a-palavra e a intenção de compra. É expectável que o presente trabalho de investigação contribua para um melhor conhecimento do comportamento do consumidor, nomeadamente a intenção de compra de alimentos funcionais.The concern for physical and psychological well-being is increasing and it has led today's consumers to care more about their lifestyle, particularly what they eat and the level of physical activity they practice. In this sense, companies are increasingly willing to produce goods that satisfies the needs of consumers and, thus, functional foods have emerged to help those who care about their diet and, consequently, their health. Currently, the importance of functional foods in our diet is increasing and, therefore, this dissertation aims to clarify what may be the main determining factors for the intention to purchase functional foods. Several scientific articles were selected to better understand the concepts related to this theme, namely nutritional literacy, brand equity, digital influence, risk perception and word of mouth. In order to detect the possible determinants of the purchase intention of functional foods, a large research was carried out on the definition of this type of foods and the possible determinants that will make people to purchase this type of products. Then, and after selecting the variables to study, a questionnaire was made online to obtain the opinion of respondents about the various factors selected. There were 355 responses obtained, of which 306 individuals purchased functional foods in the last 60 days and the remaining 49 had not. Then, data analysis was performed through specific statistical analysis techniques. The conclusions allow the reader to be informed about consumer behavior regarding the purchase of functional foods. The research also indicates that there is a positive relationship between functional food awareness, digital influence, nutritional literacy, risk perception, brand equity, word of mouth and purchase intention. This research is expected to contribute to a better understanding of consumer behavior, including the intention to buy functional foods

On dipositronium and molecular hydrogen: similarities and differences

The stability and other properties of the dipositronium molecule are discussed. It is pointed out that the dipositronium binding energy may be explained on the basis of a simplified model which satisfies the important requirement of providing a consistent description of the “atoms” and “molecule” of positronium. The importance of correlations in positronium and dipositronium is analyzed. In comparing positronium and dipositronium with atomic and molecular hydrogen, a remarkable parallelism is identified but also significant differences

Serum IL‐22 binding protein as a marker for atopic dermatitis activity and response to dupilumab treatment

© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.We investigated here the interleukin-22 (IL-22)/IL-22 Binding Protein (IL-22BP) axis in Atopic Dermatitis (AD) and its modulation upon treatment with Dupilumab, and our findings support its relevance in the clinical management of severe AD.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Application of renormalized coupled-cluster methods to potential function of water

Abstract The goal of this paper is to examine the performance of the conventional and renormalized single-reference coupled-cluster (CC) methods in calculations of the potential energy surface of the water molecule. A comparison with the results of the internally contracted multi-reference configuration interaction calculations including the quasi-degenerate Davidson correction (MRCI(Q)) and the spectroscopically accurate potential energy surface of water resulting from the use of the energy switching (ES) approach indicates that the relatively inexpensive completely renormalized (CR) CC methods with singles (S), doubles (D), and a non-iterative treatment of triples (T) or triples and quadruples (TQ), such as CR-CCSD(T), CR-CCSD(TQ), and the recently developed rigorously size extensive extension of CR-CCSD(T), termed CR-CC(2,3), provide substantial improvements in the results of conventional CCSD(T) and CCSD(TQ) calculations at larger internuclear separations. It is shown that the CR-CC(2,3) results corrected for the effect of quadruply excited clusters through the CR-CC(2,3)+Q approach can compete with the highly accurate MRCI(Q) data. The excellent agreement between the CR-CC(2,3)+Q and MRCI(Q) results suggests ways of improving the global potential energy surface of water resulting from the use of the ES approach in the regions of intermediate bond stretches and intermediate energies connecting the region of the global minimum with the asymptotic regions

Distribution and Potential Availability of As, Metals and P in Sediments from a Riverine Reservoir in a Rural Mountainous Catchment (NE Portugal)

A geochemical investigation was carried out on the bottom sediments of a riverine reservoir, located in a mountainous rural region (NE Portugal), with the aim of evaluating the contents of As, metals and P and their potential availability. The elements contents were detected in the following ranges (µg g-1): As (18-64); Cr (32-128); Cu (39-93); Ni (18-80); Pb (49-160); Zn (207-334); P (1705-2681). The reducible fraction is the most significant in the retention of the elements. Based on their potential relative mobility, the detected metals could be classed as follows: Zn > As, Pb > Cu > Cr, Ni. The results on geochemical partitioning were revealed to be important when the Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) were considered. Arsenic, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn showed total contents exceeding the values of Probable Effect Level (PEL), but only As occurred in the most potentially available form; Cr and Ni can be considered relatively unavailable, since these are mainly associated with the residual phase. Locally, oxygen depletion could release P into the water column due to the higher concentrations in Fe-P and CDB-P fractions. The potential availability of As, metals and P in sediments indicates that the quality of sediments accumulated in small reservoirs should be considered in management policies

Optimization and Clinical Evaluation of a Multi-Target Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasopharyngeal Samples

SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19, which has spread worldwide, affecting more than 200 countries, infecting over 140 million people in one year. The gold standard to identify infected people is RT-qPCR, which is highly sensitive, but needs specialized equipment and trained personnel. The demand for these reagents has caused shortages in certain countries. Isothermal nucleic acid techniques, such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) have emerged as an alternative or as a complement to RT-qPCR. In this study, we developed and evaluated a multi-target RT-LAMP for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. The method was evaluated against an RT-qPCR in 152 clinical nasopharyngeal swab samples. The results obtained indicated that both assays presented a “good concordance” (Cohen’s k of 0.69), the RT-LAMP was highly specific (99%) but had lower sensitivity compared to the gold standard (63.3%). The calculated low sensitivity was associated with samples with very low viral load (RT-qPCR Cq values higher than 35) which may be associated with non-infectious individuals. If an internal Cq threshold below 35 was set, the sensitivity and Cohen’s k increased to 90.9% and 0.92, respectively. The interpretation of the Cohen’s k for this was “very good concordance”. The RT-LAMP is an attractive approach for frequent individual testing in decentralized setups

Abstracts, Résumés, Resúmenes

Tradução para as línguas Inglesa, Francesa e Castelhana dos resumos dos artigos publicados nesta ediçã