Computed Tomography in the Evaluation of Lung Transplant Chronic Rejection

Lung transplantation is an increasingly common therapeutic option in end-stage pulmonary diseases. One of the main causes of medium and long-term graft failure is chronic rejection, clinically represented by bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. The early diagnosis of chronic rejection allows optimization of immunosuppressive therapy in order to delay its progression.In this paper, we review and illustrate the characteristics of chronic lung rejection in high-resolution computed tomography to promote its early diagnosis in follow-up examinations.At an early stage, during the first year after transplantation, subtle features such as reduction of peripheral bronchovascular markers, thickening of the septal lines, and decreased lung volumes may suggest the diagnosis even before clinical changes appear. Mid-term features are represented by bronchiectasis and bronchial wall thickening, and present low sensitivity, but high specificity in the diagnosis of chronic rejection. Its appearance occurs simultaneously with the clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. Lung attenuation abnormalities appear in late stages of the disease. Air trapping is related with small airway obstruction and mosaic attenuation pattern with ventilation-perfusion mismatch. Fibrotic changes of the lung parenchyma characterize advanced stages of chronic graft rejection, leading to important functional repercussion.High-resolution computed tomography has helped to overcome the limitations of clinical criteria in the diagnosis of obliterans bronchiolitis syndrome and promoted an earlier diagnosis of chronic rejection after lung transplantation

Implicações dos serviços de comunicação Internet nas redes de relações : a relevância dos lugares

Doutoramento em Ciências e Tecnologia da ComunicaçãoO trabalho de investigação aqui apresentado centra-se na utilização de alguns serviços de comunicação assentes em Internet para a manutenção e alargamento das redes de relações dos sujeitos, com outros sujeitos e com instituições de natureza comercial. Neste estudo considera-se fundamental averiguar qual a relevância do enraizamento dos sujeitos e instituições no espaço físico, enquanto factor gerador de interacções. O estudo parte de um inquérito por questionário, disponibilizado on-line, à comunidade portuguesa de utilizadores da Internet, dividido em três partes: uso dos serviços de comunicação Internet no contacto com indivíduos com os quais existe uma relação forte estabelecida no espaço físico; uso dos serviços de comunicação Internet para o estabelecimento de novas relações e uso da Web para aquisição de bens/serviços. Os resultados revelam que uma maior literacia digital favorece um mais amplo uso das potencialidades dos serviços de comunicação Internet, que a inserção dos sujeitos em determinados meios se afigura, em motivos que envolvam troca de informação de maior valor, estratégica, para o seu potencial de estabelecimento de mais interacções e que organizações comerciais que operam apenas on-line podem obter visibilidade, e potencialmente ganhos, caso sobre elas se gere um sistema de reputação positivo, veiculado através das redes de comunicação, mais ou menos informais, existentes no espaço físico.This research study deals with the use of communication services based in the Internet for supporting and widening communication networks: both personal and commercial. It is important to investigate how membership of networks, embedded in geographical places, affects people and institution’s capacity to interact in wider networks. A survey, directed to the Portuguese community of Internet users, was designed using a computer self-administered questionnaire, in an open web site. The questionnaire was divided into three parts: use of Internet to communicate with relatives, friends and colleagues tied by strong relationships; use of Internet to develop new relationships and use of Internet to electronic commerce. The results suggest that a higher digital literacy promotes a wider use of the potentialities of the Internet communication services. For a particular set of Internet interactions, for instance development of new friendships or contacts motivated by the need for an exchange of personal feelings, the absence of structured networks can be an advantage. When there are high transaction costs involved in the interaction, social networks, established and consolidated in geographical space, are an important factor to structure the network of Internet contacts by decreasing risks

Displasias Ectodérmicas

Ectodermal dysplasias are a heterogeneous group of rare inherited disorders. Molecular findings and clarification of cell sig naling processes and ectodermal-mesenchyme interaction enabled the development of a clinical-functional model, which in turn helps to explain clinical signs, with variability in severity, associated non-ectodermal abnormalities and overlap seen in many patients. We herein review the current state of knowledge regarding this distinct entity and illustrate with an elucidative case report. The need for early multidisciplinary intervention is highlighted, and further studies will focus on genetically-target therapeutic approaches.As displasias ectodérmicas representam um grupo heterogéneo de doenças hereditárias raras. Os achados moleculares e o esclarecimento dos processos de sinalização celular e da interação ectoderme-mesênquima permitiram compreender os sinais clínicos. Estes caracterizam-se por gravidade variável, observando-se associação a anomalias não ectodérmicas e sobreposição clínica em muitos pacientes. No presente trabalho resumimos o estado atual do conhecimento sobre as displasias ectodérmicas e apresentamos ainda um relato de caso ilustrativo. Salientamos a necessidade de intervenção multidisciplinar precoce, sendo necessários estudos futuros com enfoque em abordagens terapêuticas geneticamente direcionadas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Automatic annotation of heart rate sequences

Heart Rate (HR) measurement is one of the most effective ways to determine whether a person is stressed or not. The analysis of a series of HR measurements can help determine whether the HR decreased, increased dramatically, or remained consistent during that time period. With this in mind, an automatic annotator that can automatically label HR sequences, determining these three possible states, is an ideal solution because it eliminates the need for a human to do it manually. This paper presents a web-based application that, given a .csv file containing Heart Rate successive measurements and their respective time stamps, can label sequences of any size that the user specifies. This opens up the possibility of training Machine Learning models with this data and classifying whether the user is in a stressful situation or not, in real time. Although further refinements will be made, our annotator proved to be robust and consistent in its annotation performance.This work is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project GreenHealth - Digital strategies in biological assets to improve well-being and promote green health, Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042. This work has been supported by FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UIDB/05757/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Burden of disease estimation based on Escherichia coli quantification in ready-to-eat meals served in Portuguese institutional canteens

Research Areas: Food Science & TechnologyShiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) are associated with the onset of gastroenteritis with different severities, and STEC has been associated with other sequelae, such as hemolytic uremic syndrome and end stage renal disease. The main goal of this study was to estimate the annual foodborne burden of disease associated with STEC, ETEC and EPEC infection based on E. coli quantification results obtained in the routine analysis of ready-to-eat meals served in institutional canteens from 2018 to 2019. A stochastic Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) model was used to estimate the expected number of cases per health outcome and Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Assuming a daily consumption of a whole meal portion (450 g), the estimated burden was of 4.2 x 10-3 DALYs/person/year for STEC infection, 2.82 x 10-4 DALYs/person/year for ETEC infection and 7.91 x 10-6 DALYs/person/year for EPEC infection. Additionally, using the Sobol method, the sensitivity analysis revealed that the factors with higher influence on the final output (DALYs) were the pathotype's prevalence for the STEC model, the number of people exposed to the hazard for the ETEC model and E. coli concentrations for the EPEC modelinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Public Health on Instagram: an analysis of health promotion strategies of Portugal and Brazil

Despite the increasing use of social media in Health Promotion (HP) and Public Health, studies indicate that health entities have difficulties guaranteeing citizens’ participation in these platforms. This exploratory study analyzed the topics covered and the interactions with followers on the Instagram profiles of both the National Health Service (NHS) from Portugal and of the Ministry of Health (MH) from Brazil, in 2019. The sample showed that nationals HP agendas compete with political topics: of the 208 posts from the NHS, 19.2% were about the government, and of the 424 posts from the MH, 32.20% were institutional. Fifty-three health topics were mapped in the NHS profile and 63 in the MH profile. In Portugal, there wasn’t interaction with followers and in Brazil, the interaction was reduced. It is necessary to refine communication strategies to increase the reach of these profiles and encourage participation.publishe

Nonclassic Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (NCCAH) Due to 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency: Clinical Management and Genetic Counseling of Two Portuguese Families

Introduction: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-Hydroxylase deficiency occurs in 90-95% of cases, being a common autosomal recessive condition that can present with a wide range of hyperandrogenemic signs in childhood or adulthood. Severity of this disease is correlated with the enzymatic blockade of 21-Hydroxylase which depends of the mutation in gene CYP21A2. Two clinical forms are possible: classic, subdivided in salt-wasting and simple virilizing form (severe) and nonclassic or late onset (less severe). Aims: We studied two portuguese families with NCCAH due to 21-Hidroxilase deficiency in order to improve clinical management and genetic counseling of their members. Methods: Clinical presentation and hormonal assays (including test of tetracosactide) were performed in index cases (IC) . Genomic DNA of each family member was sequenced for the 9 most frequent mutations in CYP21A2. Total deletion of CYP21A , conversion in non functioning CYP21A1P or CYP21A1P_ CYP21A2 quimeras were also analyzed by enzymatic restriction. Results: Family 1- IC: Female, 31 years old with NCCAH diagnosed at age 6 , after investigation of precocious pubarche and with test of tetracosactide positive (17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone levels > 10-15 ng/ml) . Molecular study of CYP21A2 showed a mutation g.1683G> T , homozygous , in CYP21A2 and a non functioning allele of CYP21A2 , heterozygous (non severe 21-Hidroxilase deficiency). Mother was carrying a non functioning allele of CYP21A2 , heterozygous (severe); Father, Brother and Partner were heterozygous for mutation g.1683G> T (non severe). Family 2- IC: Female, 45 years old presenting hirsutism and oligoamenorrhea at age 35 and with test of tetracosactide positive confirming NCCAH Genetic study identified mutation g.1683G> T (less severe) in a copy and g.655A/C>G in another copy (splicing mutation severe). Familial genetic study identified two sisters (age 36 and age 40), asymptomatic but with pathologic genotype confirming NCCAH.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

0-dimensional persistent homology analysis implementation in resource-scarce embedded systems

Persistent Homology (PH) analysis is a powerful tool for understanding many relevant topological features from a given dataset. PH allows finding clusters, noise, and relevant connections in the dataset. Therefore, it can provide a better view of the problem and a way of perceiving if a given dataset is equal to another, if a given sample is relevant, and how the samples occupy the feature space. However, PH involves reducing the problem to its simplicial complex space, which is computationally expensive and implementing PH in such Resource-Scarce Embedded Systems (RSES) is an essential add-on for them. However, due to its complexity, implementing PH in such tiny devices is considerably complicated due to the lack of memory and processing power. The following paper shows the implementation of 0-Dimensional Persistent Homology Analysis in a set of well-known RSES, using a technique that reduces the memory footprint and processing power needs of the 0-Dimensional PH algorithm. The results are positive and show that RSES can be equipped with this real-time data analysis tool.This work has been supported by FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Metabolic stability and metabolite profiling of emerging synthetic cathinones

We thank Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, for financial support through projects UIDB/QUI/00100/2020 and UIDP/00100/2020 (to CQE), LA/P/0056/2020 (to IMS), UIDB/04046/2020 and UIDP/04046/2020 (to BioISIBiosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute), UIDB/04292/2020 and UIDP/04292/2020 (to MARE-Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre). FCT is also acknowledged for the PhD grant 2022.04738. PTDC to RPL. Joint funding from FCT and the COMPETE Program through grant RNEMLISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022125 funding are also gratefully acknowledged.Synthetic cathinones constitute the second largest groups of new psychoactive substances (NPS), which are especially popular among adolescents and young adults. Due to their potential toxicity, the recreational use of these NPS constitute a serious worldwide public health problem. However, their fast appearance in the market renders the continuous updating of NPS information highly challenging for forensic authorities. The unavailability of pharmacokinetic data for emerging NPS is critical for forensic and clinical verifications. With the ultimate goal of having a proactive approach towards the NPS issue, high resolution mass spectrometry was used in the current work to assess preliminary pharmacokinetic data for 8 selected cathinones: 4 reported substances (4-CIC, 3-CMC, 4-CMC and 4-MEAP) and 4 previously unreported ones (3-CIC, 4-MDMB, 4-MNEB and 4-MDMP) for which the emergence on the NSP market is expected to be eminent, were also included in this study. Based on the calculation of pharmacokinetic parameters, half-life and intrinsic clearance, 4-CMC and 4-MDMB are low and high clearance compounds, respectively, and all the remaining cathinones included in this study are intermediate clearance compounds. This fact anticipates the key role of metabolites as suitable biomarkers to extend detection windows beyond those provided by the parent cathinones. Reduction of the keto group and hydroxylation on the alkyl chains were the common metabolic pathways identified for all cathinones. However, the relative importance of these metabolic transformations is dependent on the cathinone substituents. The glucuronic acid conjugation to metabolites stemming for keto group reduction constituted the sole Phase II transformation identified. To our knowledge, this study constitutes the first metabolite profiling of the already reported synthetic cathinones 4-CIC, 3-CMC and 4-CMC. Noteworthy is the fact that 3-CMC accounts for almost a quarter of the quantity of powders seized during 2020. The analytical methods developed, and the metabolites characterized, are now available to be included in routine screening methods to attest the consumption of the 8 cathinones studied.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hiperplasia congénita da supra-renal não clássica (hcsr-nc) por deficiência de 21-hidroxilase: avaliação clínica e aconselhamento genético de duas famílias portuguesas

Introdução: A hiperplasia congénita da supra renal surge por deficiência de 21-hidroxilase em 90-95% dos casos. É uma das doenças hereditárias de transmissão autossómica recessiva mais frequente. A gravidade da doença resulta do grau de deficiência enzimática da 21-hidroxilase, que depende da mutação que ocorre no gene CYP21A2. Pode ter duas apresentações clínicas: a forma clássica (perdedora de sal ou simplesmente virilizante) mais grave e a forma não clássica (ou expressão tardia) com bloqueio enzimático menos grave. Objetivos: Estudo de duas famílias portuguesas com HCSR-NC para melhor avaliação clínica e aconselhamento genético dessas famílias.N/