Predisposition for knee osteoarthritis in portuguese adults with obesity

Introdução: A relação entre Osteoartrose do Joelho (OAJ) e Obesidade é explicada pela sobrecarga mecânica na cartilagem e também por alguns fatores sistémicos que participam no processo patogénico. Dado que seis em cada dez indivíduos têm excesso de peso ou obesidade em Portugal, o objetivo deste estudo é estimar a prevalência de OAJ na população portuguesa com obesidade. Métodos: 655 voluntários (idade 46,1±13,8; IMC 29,4±5,9kg/m 2 ) responderam à versão on-line do Knee Osteoarthritis Pre-Screening Questionnaire (KOPS). A estatística descritiva e o coeficiente de correlação de Pearson foram usados para análise e o coeficiente de determinação foi usado para interpretar r, e foi obtido através do coeficiente de correlação r ao quadrado (r2 ). Teste T e Análise de Variância foram utilizados para comparar variáveis contínuas entre grupos. Resultados: Da amostra total, 36,5% eram homens (idade 46,1±13,9; IMC 29,6±4,7kg/m 2 ) e 63,5% eram mulheres (idade 46,1±13,8; IMC 29,3±6,5kg/m 2 ), enquanto 50,25% tinham obesidade (idade 47,8±13; IMC 34,6±3,9kg/m 2 ). No grupo com obesidade, a prevalência de OAJ foi de 56,6% (Score Total KOPS 18,3±9,3), enquanto no não-obeso foi de 23,6% (Score Total KOPS 12±7,1). Conclusão: A prevalência de OAJ na população com obesidade é significativamente maior que a prevalência na população em geral relatada na literatura.Background: The relationship of Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) and Obesity is explained by mechanical overloading on the cartilage and also by some systemic factors that participate in the pathogenic process. Since six in each ten individuals are overweight or obese in Portugal, this study’s goal is to estimate KOA’s prevalence in the Portuguese population with obesity. Methods: 655 volunteers (age 46,1±13,8; BMI 29,4±5,9kg/m2 ) answered to a Knee Osteoarthritis Pre-Screening Questionnaire (KOPS) Online version. Descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation Coefficient were used for analyses and the coefficient of determination was used to interpret r and was obtained by squaring the correlation coefficient r (r2 ). Independent t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to compare continuous variables between groups. Results: From total sample, 36,5% were male (age 46,1±13,9; BMI 29,6±4,7 kg/m2 ) and 63,5% were female (age 46,1±13,8; BMI 29,3±6,5kg/m2 ) while 50,25% had obesity (age 47,8±13; BMI 34,6±3,9kg/m2 ). In the Obese Group, KOA’s prevalence was 56,6% (KOPS Total Score 18,3±9,3) while in the Non-Obese was 23,6% (KOPS Total Score 12±7,1). Conclusion: KOA’s prevalence in the population with obesity is significantly higher than the prevalence in general population reported by literature

Viral genetic clustering and transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox outbreak in Portugal

Pathogen genome sequencing during epidemics enhances our ability to identify and understand suspected clusters and investigate their relationships. Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data of the 2022 mpox outbreak to better understand early viral spread, diversification and transmission dynamics. By sequencing 52% of the confirmed cases in Portugal, we identified the mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fitted them into a global context, finding evidence that several international sublineages probably emerged or spread early in Portugal. We estimated a 62% infection reporting rate and that 1.3% of the population of men who have sex with men in Portugal were infected. We infer the critical role played by sexual networks and superspreader gatherings, such as sauna attendance, in the dissemination of mpox virus. Overall, our findings highlight genomic epidemiology as a tool for the real-time monitoring and control of mpox epidemics, and can guide future vaccine policy in a highly susceptible population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Viral genetic clustering and transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox outbreak in Portugal

Pathogen genome sequencing during epidemics enhances our ability to identify and understand suspected clusters and investigate their relationships. Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data of the 2022 mpox outbreak to better understand early viral spread, diversification and transmission dynamics. By sequencing 52% of the confirmed cases in Portugal, we identified the mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fitted them into a global context, finding evidence that several international sublineages probably emerged or spread early in Portugal. We estimated a 62% infection reporting rate and that 1.3% of the population of men who have sex with men in Portugal were infected. We infer the critical role played by sexual networks and superspreader gatherings, such as sauna attendance, in the dissemination of mpox virus. Overall, our findings highlight genomic epidemiology as a tool for the real-time monitoring and control of mpox epidemics, and can guide future vaccine policy in a highly susceptible population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Relatório vacinação estratégias de comunicação e literacia em saúde eficazes para população jovem

Um conjunto de duas dezenas de profissionais portugueses de várias áreas da saúde refletiu em conjunto sobre as questões que levam os jovens a não se interessarem pela vacinação contra o COVID-19 e a forma mais eficaz de se ultrapassarem estas crenças negativas e barreiras à vacinação. As preocupações destes jovens sobre os efeitos seguros da vacinação, a proteção de familiares e amigos e o regresso às atividades sociais parecem ser fatores motivadores para a ação de vacinação e proteção. Neste sentido, e reunindo o conhecimento sobre as campanhas de marketing em saúde e os conteúdos comunicativos que podem influenciar positivamente esta mobilização para a vacinação, estes profissionais apresentam neste relatório um conjunto de dados científicos, estratégicos e operacionais que podem apontar alguns caminhos. Este grupo de trabalho avaliou o perfil dos jovens (dados demográficos e psicográficos), as crenças, as necessidades, a perceção do risco e as motivações que podem ser atendidas para que se criem, com a brevidade possível, através dos recursos públicos e das autoridades sanitárias, onde se inclui a Direção-Geral da Saúde (DGS), formas de melhor promover os objetivos inequívocos: vacinar a população jovem em Portugal com a brevidade possível.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring educational immersive videogames: an empirical study with a 3D multimodal interaction prototype

Gestural interaction devices emerged and originated various studies on multimodal human-computer interaction to improve user experience (UX). However, there is a knowledge gap regarding the use of these devices to enhance learning. We present an exploratory study which analysed the UX with a multimodal immersive videogame prototype, based on a Portuguese historical/cultural episode. Evaluation tests took place in high school environments and public videogaming events. Two users would be present simultaneously in the same virtual reality (VR) environment: one as the helmsman aboard Vasco da Gama's fifteenth-century Portuguese ship and the other as the mythical Adamastor stone giant at the Cape of Good Hope. The helmsman player wore a VR headset to explore the environment, whereas the giant player used body motion to control the giant, and observed results on a screen, with no headset. This allowed a preliminary characterisation of UX, identifying challenges and potential use of these devices in multi-user virtual learning contexts. We also discuss the combined use of such devices, towards future development of similar systems, and its implications on learning improvement through multimodal human-computer interaction

Viral genetic clustering and transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox outbreak in Portugal.

Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge the engagement and willingness of all participants to share information critical to the investigation. We are grateful to the authors and laboratories that originated and submitted the genetic sequences released in GenBank. The acquisition of equipment associated with whole-genome sequencing used in this study (including the Illumina NextSeq 2000) was funded by the HERA (Human and Environmental Risk Assessment) project (Grant/2021/PHF/23776), supported by the European Commission through the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and partially funded by the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 (Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI)), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT). This study was also supported by the ERINHA-Advance project (funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation program, grant agreement no. 824061) and benefited from co-funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement no. 773830 (One Health European Joint Programme), in particular by the co-funding of the post-doctoral fellowships of J.S.D. and V.M. and the development of INSaFLU. We also thank M. Pinheiro (iBiMED at the Universidade de Aveiro) for his continuous support in updating the INSaFLU platform and the Infraestrutura Nacional de Computação Distribuída (INCD) for providing computational resources for testing it. INCD was funded by the FCT and FEDER under the project 22153-01/SAICT/2016. M.P.D. is funded by the Gates Cambridge Scholarship (no. OPP1144). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. The GAT-Intendente team also thanks A. Vasques, L. Fortuna, J. Moreira, I. Correia and Á. Baginha.Pathogen genome sequencing during epidemics enhances our ability to identify and understand suspected clusters and investigate their relationships. Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data of the 2022 mpox outbreak to better understand early viral spread, diversification and transmission dynamics. By sequencing 52% of the confirmed cases in Portugal, we identified the mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fitted them into a global context, finding evidence that several international sublineages probably emerged or spread early in Portugal. We estimated a 62% infection reporting rate and that 1.3% of the population of men who have sex with men in Portugal were infected. We infer the critical role played by sexual networks and superspreader gatherings, such as sauna attendance, in the dissemination of mpox virus. Overall, our findings highlight genomic epidemiology as a tool for the real-time monitoring and control of mpox epidemics, and can guide future vaccine policy in a highly susceptible population

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved