Biofilm formation among clinical and food isolates of Listeria monocytogenes

Objective. A total of 725 Listeria monocytogenes isolates, 607 from various foods and 118 from clinical cases of listeriosis, were investigated concerning their ability to form biofilms, at 4°C during 5 days and at 37°C during 24 h. Methods. Biofilm production was carried out on polystyrene tissue culture plates. Five L. monocytogenes isolates were tested for biofilm formation after being exposed to acidic and osmotic stress conditions. Results. Significant differences ( ) between clinical and food isolates were observed. At 37°C for 24 h, most food isolates were classified as weak or moderate biofilm formers whereas all the clinical isolates were biofilm producers, although the majority were weak. At 4°C during 5 days, 65 and 59% isolates, from food and clinical cases, respectively, were classified as weak. After both sublethal stresses, at 37°C just one of the five isolates tested was shown to be more sensitive to subsequent acidic exposure. However, at 4°C both stresses did not confer either sensitivity or resistance. Conclusions. Significant differences between isolates origin, temperature, and sublethal acidic stress were observed concerning the ability to form biofilms. Strain, origin, and environmental conditions can determine the level of biofilm production by L. monocytogenes isolates.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Segmentação do mercado turístico de acordo com o padrão de despesa: Um instrumento para maximizar os benefícios económicos do turismo num destino português Património Mundial

The study aims to identify the homogenous groups of visitors that prevail in a WHS destination based on expenditure patterns and furthermore at contributing to the development of marketing strategies to enhance the economic development of this cultural destination

Molecular Capture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Genomes Directly from Clinical Samples: A Potential Backup Approach for Epidemiological and Drug Susceptibility Inferences

(This article belongs to the Special Issue CRISPR-Cas in Genomic Manipulation and Antimicrobial Resistance)The application of whole genome sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis directly on clinical samples has been investigated as a means to avoid the time-consuming need for culture isolation that can lead to a potential prolonged suboptimal antibiotic treatment. We aimed to provide a proof-of-concept regarding the application of the molecular capture of M. tuberculosis genomes directly from positive sputum samples as an approach for epidemiological and drug susceptibility predictions. Smear-positive sputum samples (n = 100) were subjected to the SureSelectXT HS Target Enrichment protocol (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA) and whole-genome sequencing analysis. A higher number of reads on target were obtained for higher smear grades samples (i.e., 3+ followed by 2+). Moreover, 37 out of 100 samples showed ≥90% of the reference genome covered with at least 10-fold depth of coverage (27, 9, and 1 samples were 3+, 2+, and 1+, respectively). Regarding drug-resistance/susceptibility prediction, for 42 samples, ≥90% of the >9000 hits that are surveyed by TB-profiler were detected. Our results demonstrated that M. tuberculosis genome capture and sequencing directly from clinical samples constitute a potential valid backup approach for phylogenetic inferences and resistance prediction, essentially in settings when culture is not routinely performed or for samples that fail to grow.The acquisition of WGS-associated equipment used in this study (including the Illumina NextSeq 2000) was funded by the HERA project (Grant/2021/PHF/23776) supported by the European Commission through the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention 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 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parallel Propagation of Toxoplasma gondii In Vivo, In Vitro and in Alternate Model: Towards Less Dependence on the Mice Model

This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology and Management of Foodborne Parasitic Diseases.Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular protozoan. In pregnant women, it can lead to severe birth defects or intrauterine death of the fetus. Most of what is currently know on cell biology of T. gondii comes from studies relying on the RH strain propagated in mice. According to the recommendations concerning the animal welfare, we assayed in vitro/in vivo procedures to replace, or at least reduce, the demanding animal model for strain propagation. We evaluated the genetic and phenotypic stability of the RH strain throughout its parallel continuous propagation in mice, in human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) and in an alternate fashion of these two procedures. We also assessed the virulence impact on the RH strain after different periods of its long-term propagation strictly in cells. The RH strain completely lost its virulence after long-term passage in HFF. Nevertheless, we obtained a successful outcome with the alternate passaging of the parasite in HFF and in mice as this approach enabled T. gondii to maintain the evaluated phenotypic properties, mainly its virulence potential. Also, no genetic changes were observed in genes known to be highly polymorphic or involved in pathoadaptation. In conclusion, the alternate model seems to be a feasible method for T. gondii propagation and maintenance, strongly impacting the number of sacrificed mice.This research received no external funding. This study was funded by Infectious Diseases Department of National Institute of Health (NIH) Dr Ricardo Jorge, Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Probable Person-to-Person Transmission of Legionnaires’ Disease

Correspondence to the Editor.Legionnaires’ disease is an often severe form of pneumonia that is typically acquired by susceptible persons (e.g., elderly persons and smokers) through inhalation of aerosols that contain legionella species.1-4 A cluster of cases of this disease occurred in Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal, in 2014

Sexual violence against LGBT people in Portugal: experiences of Portuguese victims of domestic violence

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) people are more likely to be exposed to domestic violence when compared with others. Using a qualitative methodology, 16 LGBT people were interviewed to analyze their experiences as victims of sexual violence by family members and/or partners or former partners. Through a thematic content analysis, three main themes emerge regarding sexual violence: (i) dynamics of sexual violence; (ii) traumatic memories and dissociation episodes from sexual violence, and (iii) risk factors for the occurrence of sexual violence. The results show that participants have suffered sexual violence in childhood, adulthood, or both, with trans people being the most victimized. Coercion, manipulation, threats, and deprivation were the most common strategies used to restrict victims and prevent them from reporting the crime. Many participants report blocking their traumatic memories, as a coping mechanism related to the sexual violence suffered. Offender substance abuse, early age of victims at the time of their sexual victimization, and depressive symptoms were reported to increase the likelihood of an episode of sexual violence. It is necessary to assure specialized training among the professionals that work with LGBT victims of sexual violence within domestic contexts, considering the severe impacts they may face.The authors declare that this study is part of a greater research project entitled RIS, which was co-funded by the Portuguese Programa Operational para a Inclusão Social e Emprego [Portuguese Operational Program for Social Inclusion and Employment] (POISE)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estudo Nacional sobre a Violência no Namoro em Contexto Universitário: Crenças e Práticas – 2017/2020

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Intensive monitoring studies for assessing medicines : a systematic review

Copyright © 2019 Torre, Cary, Borges, Ferreira, Alarcão, Leufkens, Costa and Martins. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Introduction: Intensive monitoring (IM) is one of the methods of post-marketing active surveillance based upon event monitoring, which has received interest in the current medicines regulatory landscape. For a specific period of time, IM involves primary data collection and is actively focused on gathering longitudinal information, mainly safety, since the first day of drug use. Objectives: To describe IM systems and studies' data published over 11-years period (2006-2016). Specifically, we reviewed study population/event surveillance, methodological approaches, limitations, and its applications in the real-world evidence generation data. Methods: We completed a systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify studies published from 2006 to 2016, that used IM methodology. We extracted data using a standardized form and results were analyzed descriptively. The methodological quality of selected studies was assessed using the modified Downs and Black checklist. Results: From 1,400 screened citations, we identified 86 papers, corresponding to 69 different studies. Seventy percent of reviewed studies corresponded to established IM systems, of which, more than half were prescription event monitoring (PEM) and modified-PEM. Among non-established IM systems, vaccines were the most common studied drugs (n = 14). The median cohort size ranged from 488 (hospitals) to 10,479 (PEM) patients. Patients and caregivers were the event data source in 39.1% of studies. The mean overall quality score was similar between established and non-established IM. Conclusions: Over the study period, IM studies were implemented in 26 countries with different maturity levels of post-marketing surveillance systems. We identified two major limitations: only 20% of studies were conducted at hospital-level, which is a matter of concern, insofar as healthcare systems are facing a lack of access to new medicines at ambulatory care level. Additionally, IM access to data of drug exposure cohorts, either at identification or at follow-up stages, could somehow constitute a barrier, given the complexity of managerial, linkable, and privacy data issues.The publication fee was supported by the Center for Health Evaluation and Research (CEFAR), National Association of Pharmacies, Lisbon, Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio