Development of nanostructured lipid carriers based on oleogel using rhamnolipids as surfactant

Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Maria A. Azevedo (SFRH/BD/123364/2016) is the recipient of a fellowship from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) and Artur J. Martins is recipient of a fellowship supported by a doctoral advanced training (call NORTE-69-2015-15) funded by the European Social Fund under the scope of Norte2020 -Programa Operacional Regional do Norteinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Desenvolvimento de nanosistemas lipídicos usando biosurfactantes para a encapsulação de vitaminas

Tese de doutoramento em Ciência e Tecnologia Alimentar e NutriçãoPara a indústria alimentar é importante reduzir as limitações relacionadas com a incorporação de vitaminas e melhorar sua eficiência. A nanoencapsulação surge como uma solução promissora, sendo os nanosistemas lipídicos uma boa alternativa devido às suas características únicas. Além disso, a substituição dos surfactantes de origem petroquímica por biosurfactantes apresenta-se como uma forma de melhorar e trazer novas propriedades aos nanosistemas lipídicos. Desta forma, o objetivo principal desta tese de doutoramento foi desenvolver três nanosistemas lipídicos (nanoemulsões (NEs), nanopartículas lipídicas sólidas (SLNs) e “veículos” lipídicos nanoestruturados (NLCs)) utilizando um biossurfactante (ramnolípidos), pressupondo o seu uso na indústria alimentar. Além disso, a caracterização, o comportamento em condições gastrointestinais e a avaliação da toxicidade in vitro foram também avaliados. Foram produzidos ramnolípidos com a estirpe Pseudomonas aeruginosa usando dois subprodutos agroindustriais como substratos. As suas características foram avaliadas sendo semelhantes aos ramnolípidos comerciais usados. Inicialmente, foram desenvolvidos NLCs utilizando ramnolípidos como surfactante e diferentes formulações de NLCs foram desenvolvidas com sucesso. A caracterização mostrou que a estabilidade e cristalinidade dos NLCs foram controladas pela composição da sua fase lipídica. A vitamina D3 (VD3) foi encapsulada nos NLCs e as suas propriedades não mudaram quando comparadas com os NLCs sem VD3. Além disso, a avaliação da citotoxicidade de NLCs+VD3 revelou que concentrações iguais ou inferiores a 0,25 mg /mL não provocaram efeitos na atividade metabólica das células Caco-2 e mostraram uma boa biocompatibilidade in vitro. A digestão lipídica também foi avaliada e verificou-se uma influência do tamanho e da composição dos NLCs. NEs e SLNs, com e sem VD3, também foram desenvolvidos, caracterizados e comparados com os NLCs. Em geral, o estado físico e a composição influenciaram as suas características físico-químicas, propriedades térmicas, estabilidade, bioacessibilidade, toxicidade e comportamento gastrointestinal. Comparando os três nanosistemas lipídicos, os NLCs exibiram uma melhor estabilidade ao longo do tempo, não exibiram citotoxicidade e apresentaram uma melhor estabilidade e bioacessibilidade de VD3 durante a digestão in vitro, revelando uma digestão dos lípidos quase completa. Concluindo, é possível usar ramnolípidos para produzir nanosistemas lipídicos obtendo boas propriedades, sendo uma solução promissora para a indústria alimentar.For the food industry, it is important to reduce the limitations regarding vitamins incorporation and to improve their biological efficiency. Their nanoencapsulation arises as a promising solution being the lipidbased nanosystems a good alternative due to their unique features. Besides that, the replacement of surfactants from petrochemical sources by biosurfactants is presented as a way to improve and bring new properties to lipid-based nanosystems. With this in mind, the main objective of this PhD thesis was to develop three lipid-based nanosystems (nanoemulsions (NEs), solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs)) using a biosurfactant (rhamnolipids), foreseeing their use in the food industry. Furthermore, the full characterization, their behavior in gastrointestinal conditions and the evaluation of their toxicity in vitro were also evaluated. The production of rhamnolipids with Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain with two agro-industrial by-products as substrates was done. Their characteristics were also evaluated being similar to commercial rhamnolipids used. Initially, rhamnolipids were used as surfactant and different formulations of NLCs were successfully developed. The characterization showed that NLCs’ stability and crystallinity were controlled by the lipid phase composition. The vitamin D3 (VD3) was encapsulated into NLCs and NLCs’ properties did not change when compared with unloaded NLCs. Moreover, the cytotoxicity assessment of NLCs+VD3 revealed that concentrations equal or less than 0.25 mg/mL do not have an effect on the metabolic activity of Caco-2 cells and demonstrate a good biocompatibility in vitro. The lipid digestion was also evaluated and it was influenced by the NLCs sizes and their composition. The NEs and SLNs, loaded and unloaded with VD3, were also developed, characterized and compared with NLCs. In general, the physical state and composition influenced their physicochemical characteristics, thermal properties, stability, bioaccessibility, cytotoxicity and gastrointestinal behavior. Comparing the three lipid-based nanosystems, the NLCs exhibited better stability over time, did not exhibit cytotoxicity and presented better stability and VD3 bioaccessibility during the in vitro digestion, revealing that the digestible lipids were almost fully digested. In conclusion, it is possible to use rhamnolipids to produce lipid-based nanosystems with good properties, showing a good and promising solution for the food industry.A elaboração deste trabalho foi suportada por uma bolsa de doutoramento financiada pela Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) com a referência SFRH/BD/123364/2016 no âmbito do financiamento estratégico da unidade UID/BIO/04469/2013, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 006684) e BioTecNorte (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) financiada pelo Fundo de Desenvolvimento Regional Europeu no âmbito do Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte

Neotropical freshwater fisheries : A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data. The number of species for the most numerous orders are as follows: Characiformes (1289), Siluriformes (1384), Cichliformes (354), Cyprinodontiformes (245), and Gymnotiformes (135). The most recorded species was the characid Astyanax fasciatus (4696 records). We registered 116,802 distribution records for native species, compared to 1802 distribution records for nonnative species. The main aim of the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set was to make these occurrence and abundance data accessible for international researchers to develop ecological and macroecological studies, from local to regional scales, with focal fish species, families, or orders. We anticipate that the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set will be valuable for studies on a wide range of ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, fishery pressure, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the impacts of species invasion and climate change. There are no copyright restrictions on the data, and please cite this data paper when using the data in publications

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

Reduction of cardiac imaging tests during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Italy. Findings from the IAEA Non-invasive Cardiology Protocol Survey on COVID-19 (INCAPS COVID)

Background: In early 2020, COVID-19 massively hit Italy, earlier and harder than any other European country. This caused a series of strict containment measures, aimed at blocking the spread of the pandemic. Healthcare delivery was also affected when resources were diverted towards care of COVID-19 patients, including intensive care wards. Aim of the study: The aim is assessing the impact of COVID-19 on cardiac imaging in Italy, compare to the Rest of Europe (RoE) and the World (RoW). Methods: A global survey was conducted in May–June 2020 worldwide, through a questionnaire distributed online. The survey covered three periods: March and April 2020, and March 2019. Data from 52 Italian centres, a subset of the 909 participating centres from 108 countries, were analyzed. Results: In Italy, volumes decreased by 67% in March 2020, compared to March 2019, as opposed to a significantly lower decrease (p &lt; 0.001) in RoE and RoW (41% and 40%, respectively). A further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 summed up to 76% for the North, 77% for the Centre and 86% for the South. When compared to the RoE and RoW, this further decrease from March 2020 to April 2020 in Italy was significantly less (p = 0.005), most likely reflecting the earlier effects of the containment measures in Italy, taken earlier than anywhere else in the West. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic massively hit Italy and caused a disruption of healthcare services, including cardiac imaging studies. This raises concern about the medium- and long-term consequences for the high number of patients who were denied timely diagnoses and the subsequent lifesaving therapies and procedures