Experience and Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic in Portugal: Perceptions of Community Pharmacy Professionals

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacy (CP) professionals were among those who experienced the greatest risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2, which forced major adaptations. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to describe the changes implemented in CP professionals during the pandemic, understand the perception of professionals about their experience, and explore changes to remain. Methods: An observational and cross-sectional study was conducted via an online questionnaire (June-September 2020). The target population was CP professionals working in Portugal for >2 years and serving the public during the pandemic. Results: Of a total of 353 participants, 84% were female (mean age of 37.6 years), and 81% were pharmacists (mean professional experience of 12.9 years). In the management and organizational dimensions, the most mentioned changes were adaptation to legislative changes (90%), fluctuations in the treasury (82%), and reduction of working hours (46%). Only 2% resorted to simplified layoff. In the back office, there was a need to adapt stock management (93%) and purchase personal protective equipment (99%). In the front office, there was a change in service policies - wicket or conditional opening (92%), routes of the arrival of user requests (91%), and home delivery (82%). Physical changes occurred in 100% of pharmacies. The most frequently implemented procedures were the use of protection systems and PPE, articulation with hospital pharmacies for dispensing in proximity (75%), and training in this area (55%). Regarding interpersonal climate, improvements in the connection between team members are evident: increase in mutual help (57%), solidarity (54%), and group cohesion (50%); in the relationship with clients, the majority indicated the replacement of the usual user by third parties (71%), and changes in communication channels (increase in use of technological means 68%). Conclusions: Results illustrate the profound impact of the pandemic on CP professionals, both professionally and personally. It also highlights the importance of their roles in proximity and community support. © 2023 S. Karger AG. All rights reserved.This work was funded by 4IE project (0499_4IE_PLUS_4_E) funded by the Interreg V-A España-Portugal (POCTEP) 2017/2022 ( https://4ie.eu/ )

Mitigating ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from stored pig slurry using chemical additives and biochars

: Slurry storage is a significant source of NH3 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The aim of this laboratory study was to assess the effects of different chemical additives and biochars on the emissions of NH3 , N2O, CO2 , and CH4 during the short-term storage of pig slurry. The experiment was performed using Kilner jars filled with raw slurry as control and six treatment additives (5% w/w): acidified slurry, alkalinized slurry, neutralized slurry, agroforestry biochar, cardoon biochar, and elderberry biochar. The gas emissions were measured for 30 days, and the composition of the slurries was determined. During short-term storage, the results of this laboratory study indicated that the NH3 emissions were reduced by 58% by acidification and by 20% by the biochars (Agroforestry, Cardoon, and Elderberry treatments), while neutralization reduced this loss by only 12%. Nitrous oxide emissions were not reduced by the chemical additives (Acidified, Alkalinized, and Neutralized treatments), while this loss was increased by 12% by the biochars. Carbon dioxide, CH4 , and global warming potential emissions were not affected by the chemical additives and biochars. Furthermore, the absence of differences between the biochars may be related to their similar composition. Regarding the influence of the studied additives on NH3 losses, it can be concluded that acidification was the best mitigation measure and the biochars were quite similar due to their composition. Furthermore, neutralization had the advantage of sanitizing the slurry, but only had a mild impact on NH3 preservationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Design and analysis of a database to evaluate children’s reading aloud performance

To evaluate the reading performance of children, human assessment is usually involved, where a teacher or tutor has to take time to individually estimate the performance in terms of fluency (speed, accuracy and expression). Automatic estimation of reading ability can be an important alternative or complement to the usual methods, and can improve other applications such as e-learning. Techniques must be developed to analyse audio recordings of read utterances by children and detect the deviations from the intended correct reading i.e. disfluencies. For that goal, a database of 284 European Portuguese children from 6 to 10 years old (1st–4th grades) reading aloud amounting to 20 h was collected in private and public Portuguese schools. This paper describes the design of the reading tasks as well as the data collection procedure. The presence of different types of disfluencies is analysed as well as reading performance compared to known curricular goals.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

O Evento FCNC 2005 e o Turismo

Este relatório foi elaborado com base num estudo que decorreu entre Julho e Dezembro de 2005. O objectivo geral do projecto que se desenvolveu traduziu-se na tentativa de aprofundar o conhecimento sobre o perfil dos visitantes não residentes no Algarve que participaram nos eventos culturais da Faro, Capital Nacional da Cultura, assim como as suas motivações, actividades e impressões. Além deste objectivo o Centro de Estudos da Escola Superior de Gestão Hotelaria e Turismo (ESGHT) da Universidade do Algarve tinha em mente a prossecução de outros fins que se prendiam com a criação de uma linha de investigação nos domínios do Património, da Cultura e do Turismo dado que possui um conjunto de docentes com formação especializada nesta área. Acresce que esta instituição é membro da ATLAS - Association for Tourism and Leisure Studies agremiação que desenvolve, com regularidade, estudos sobre o Perfil do Turista Cultural, a nível mundial, em parceria com estabelecimentos de ensino superior, nos quais nós temos vindo a participar com a colaboração de algumas câmaras municipais do Algarve. Para concretizar os objectivos propostos, foi realizada, numa primeira fase, recolha de informação relativa a estudos desenvolvidos no âmbito de eventos anteriores, nomeadamente: Cidades e Capitais Europeias da Cultura; Porto, Capital Europeia da Cultura; Coimbra, Capital Nacional da Cultura; entre outros. A investigação primária teve por base principal um inquérito aplicado junto de uma amostra de visitantes/turistas participantes na programação de Faro Capital Nacional da Cultura, tendo-se previsto uma amostragem mínima de 500 inquéritos a visitantes de várias nacionalidades. Estes inquéritos foram administrados por dois estagiários recrutados entre os alunos finalistas da ESGHT. O inquérito que se aplicou teve por base o já produzido pela ATLAS (Association for Tourism and Leisure Education) para estudar eventos associados ao turismo e estava disponível em quatro idiomas: português, inglês, alemão e espanhol. Na amostragem desenvolvida tentou-se aplicar os questionários em diferentes tipos de eventos, para que a amostra fosse representativa (ver capítulo 6) das várias actividades programadas: exposições; eventos de rua (concertos, festivais); eventos em recinto fechado (teatro, dança, concerto); atracções (museus, monumentos). No final da investigação teve lugar uma apresentação pública dos resultados a que se seguiu a elaboração do relatório que se passa a apresentar. Este é constituído por sete capítulos sendo que no primeiro se estabelece a relação entre turismo e cultura, no segundo sumaria-se a evolução do turismo cultural na Europa e traça- se o perfil do turista cultural, no terceiro expõe-se a ligação entre turismo e eventos, (com maior relevo para os eventos culturais), no quarto descreve-se o conceito de cidade e de capital europeia da cultura, no quinto caracteriza-se a Faro capital da Cultura, no sexto explica-se a metodologia seguida, e por fim, no sétimo apresentam-se os resultados obtidos e tecem-se as considerações finais

Utilization of the male toad and ovarian hyperemia tests in the diagnosis of pregnancy in the female asses and mares bred to a jack

O artigo apresenta resumo em inglês.The results with the utilization of the male toad and ovarian hyperemia tests for the diagnosis of pregnancy in she-asses and mares bred to a jack were described. In the studies with she-asses, 96 male toad tests, performed on Bufo marinus L., and 100 ovarian hyperemia tests in the immature rat, with blood drawn from 34 females 38 to 107 day following the date of the last breeding, were carried out simultaneously. With the male toad test only negative results could be obtained. So, of 96 tests, 44 were in agreement (not pregnant) and 52 not in agreement (false-negative reactions). These results proved the inefficiency of the test as a mean for the detection of pregnancy in she-asses. However, the accuracy was better with the ovarian hyperemia test; of 100 reactions, 85 were in agreement (41 positive and 44 negative) and 15 were not in agreement (10 false positive and 5 false negative). In the work with mares bred to a jack, 34 male toad tests and 34 ovarian hyperemia tests, with blood drawn from 16 females 39 to 97 day following the date of the last breeding, were also carried out simultaneously. The results proved the inefficiency of both tests. Of the 34 male toad reactions, 19 were negative and in agreement and 15 were false-negative; no positive result could also be shown. Of the 34 ovarian hyperemia tests, 22 were in agreement (3 positive and 19 negative) and 12 not in agreement (all false negative). These results appear to indicate that gonadotrophin is secreted at a reduced level, not only in pregnant she-asses but also in mares bred to a jack, as has been reported by other authors. The male toad test appeared to be less sensible to gonadotrophin than the ovarian hyperemia test in immature rat

Portuguese study of familial dilated cardiomyopathy: the FATIMA study

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a myocardial disease, characterized by ventricular dilatation and impaired systolic function, that in more than 30% of cases has a familial or genetic origin. Given its age-dependent penetrance, DCM frequently manifests in adults by signs or symptoms of heart failure, arrhythmias or sudden death. The predominant mode of inheritance is autosomal dominant, and in these cases mutations are identified in genes coding for cytoskeletal, sarcomeric or nuclear envelope proteins. To date, most studies aimed at molecular diagnosis of DCM have been in selected families, or in larger groups of patients, but screening for mutations in a limited number of genes. Consequently, the epidemiology of mutations in familial DCM remains unknown. There is thus a need for multicenter studies, involving screening for a wide range of mutations in several families and in cases of idiopathic DCM. The present article describes the methodology of a multicenter study, aimed at clinical and molecular characterization of familial DCM patients in the Portuguese population.A miocardiopatia dilatada (MCD) é uma doença do músculo cardíaco caracterizada pela dilatação ventricular e compromisso da função sistólica, sendo possível identificar, numa percentagem superior a 30% dos casos, uma origem familiar ou genética. Dada a penetrância dependente da idade, manifesta-se muitas vezes em adultos por sinais ou sintomas de insuficiência cardíaca, arritmias ou morte súbita. O padrão autossómico dominante predomina, sendo possível identificar, nestes casos, mutações em genes de proteínas do citoesqueleto celular, sarcómero ou membrana nuclear. Até ao momento, a maioria dos trabalhos visando o diagnóstico molecular nos casos de MCD foi realizada em famílias seleccionadas, ou em grupos mais abrangentes de doentes, mas rastreando mutações num número restrito de genes. Consequentemente a epidemiologia das mutações nos casos familiares de MCD continua por esclarecer. É neste contexto que se coloca a necessidade de efectuar estudos multicêntricos, envolvendo uma pesquisa mutacional diversificada em várias familias e nos casos idiopáticos de MCD. O presente artigo descreve a metodologia de um estudo multicêntrico que tem como objectivo a caracterização clínica e molecular de casos familiares de MCD na população portuguesa

Investigation of PTC124-mediated translational readthrough in a retinal organoid model of AIPL1-associated Leber congenital amaurosis

Leber congenital amaurosis type 4 (LCA4), caused by AIPL1 mutations, is characterized by severe sight impairment in infancy and rapidly progressing degeneration of photoreceptor cells. We generated retinal organoids using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from renal epithelial cells obtained from four children with AIPL1 nonsense mutations. iPSC-derived photoreceptors exhibited the molecular hallmarks of LCA4, including undetectable AIPL1 and rod cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) phosphodiesterase (PDE6) compared with control or CRISPR-corrected organoids. Increased levels of cGMP were detected. The translational readthrough-inducing drug (TRID) PTC124 was investigated as a potential therapeutic agent. LCA4 retinal organoids exhibited low levels of rescue of full-length AIPL1. However, this was insufficient to fully restore PDE6 in photoreceptors and reduce cGMP. LCA4 retinal organoids are a valuable platform for in vitro investigation of novel therapeutic agents

Emergence of Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis of the Beijing Lineage in Portugal and Guinea-Bissau: a Snapshot of Moving Clones by Whole-Genome Sequencing

The Beijing genotype comprises a highly disseminated strain type that is frequently associated with multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) and increased transmissibility but, countries such as Portugal and Guinea-Bissau fall outside the regions phylogeographically associated with this specific genotype. Nevertheless, recent data shows that this genotype might be gradually emerging in these two countries as an underlying cause of primary MDR-TB. Here, we describe the emergence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strains associated with MDR-TB in Portugal and Guinea-Bissau demonstrating the presence of the well described superclusters 100-32 and 94-32 in Portugal and Guinea-Bissau, respectively. Genome-wide analysis and comparison with a global genomic dataset of M. tuberculosis Beijing strains, revealed the presence of two genomic clusters encompassing isolates from Portugal and Guinea-Bissau, GC1 (n = 121) and GC2 (n = 39), both of which bore SNP signatures compatible with the 100-32/B0/W148 and 94-32/Central Asia Outbreak clades, respectively. Moreover, GC2 encompasses a cross-border cluster between Portugal, Guinea-Bissau and Brazil thus supporting migration-associated introduction of MDR-TB and subsequent clonal expansion at the community-level. The comparison with global Beijing datasets demonstrates the global reach of the disease and its complex dissemination across multiple countries while in parallel there are clear microevolutionary trajectories towards extensively drug resistant TB.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phenotypic Features of Circulating Leukocytes from Non-human Primates Naturally Infected with Trypanosoma cruzi Resemble the Major Immunological Findings Observed in Human Chagas Disease

Background: Cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) represent a feasible model for research on Chagas disease since natural T. cruzi infection in these primates leads to clinical outcomes similar to those observed in humans. However, it is still unknown whether these clinical similarities are accompanied by equivalent immunological characteristics in the two species. We have performed a detailed immunophenotypic analysis of circulating leukocytes together with systems biology approaches from 15 cynomolgus macaques naturally infected with T. cruzi (CH) presenting the chronic phase of Chagas disease to identify biomarkers that might be useful for clinical investigations. Methods and findings: Our data established that CH displayed increased expression of CD32+ and CD56+ in monocytes and enhanced frequency of NK Granzyme A+ cells as compared to non-infected controls (NI). Moreover, higher expression of CD54 and HLA-DR by T-cells, especially within the CD8+ subset, was the hallmark of CH. A high level of expression of Granzyme A and Perforin underscored the enhanced cytotoxicity-linked pattern of CD8+ T-lymphocytes from CH. Increased frequency of B-cells with up-regulated expression of Fc-γRII was also observed in CH. Complex and imbricate biomarker networks demonstrated that CH showed a shift towards cross-talk among cells of the adaptive immune system. Systems biology analysis further established monocytes and NK-cell phenotypes and the T-cell activation status, along with the Granzyme A expression by CD8+ T-cells, as the most reliable biomarkers of potential use for clinical applications. Conclusions: Altogether, these findings demonstrated that the similarities in phenotypic features of circulating leukocytes observed in cynomolgus macaques and humans infected with T. cruzi further supports the use of these monkeys in preclinical toxicology and pharmacology studies applied to development and testing of new drugs for Chagas disease