Expressão facial: o reconhecimento das emoções básicas em dependentes de heroína - estudo empírico com portugueses

Este artigo dá conta de uma investigação sobre o efeito da heroína na identificação e reconhecimento das emoções básicas (alegria, tristeza, cólera, surpresa, aversão, medo e desprezo). A amostra envolveu 60 participantes portugueses (25 mulheres, M= 29,5, DP= 4.4; 35 homens, M= 26.5, DP= 3.6) diagnosticados com Perturbações Induzidas por Opiáceos (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Confirmou-se que os dependentes de heroína apresentam dificuldades na identificação e caracterização das emoções básicas universais com excepção da tristeza e da cólera, com valorada incidência até às 72 horas, a qual foi decrescendo com o decorrer do tempo da abstinência. Os resultados confirmam, ainda, que as mulheres são mais espontâneas na identificação e caracterização das emoções básicas do que os homens. Os homens não são tão espontâneos e consistentes naquela identificação, manifestando erros recidivos de percepção emocional. São também mais espontaneamente identificadas pelas mulheres as emoções básicas exibidas. This paper presents a research on the effect of the cocaine in the identification and recognition of the basic emotions (joy, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust, fear and contempt).The sample involved 60 Portuguese participants (25 women, M = 36,5, SD = 4,4; 35 men, M = 30,5, SD = 3.6) diagnoses with Induced Disturbances by Opiates (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The results confirm that the heroin dependents present difficulties in the identification and characterization of the universal basic emotions with exception of the sadness and anger. The results confirm, still, that the women are more spontaneous in the identification and characterization of the basic emotions of that the men. The men are not so spontaneous and consistent in that identification, revealing frequents errors of emotional perception

O LUSO-BRASILEIRISMO OU A DIVERSIDADE NA UNIDADE DA LÍNGUA PORTUGUESA - algumas políticas e estratégias de aproximação -

Com este breve trabalho, em jeito de ensaio, pretendemos dar uma visão desse luso-brasileirismo, caracterizando e compreendendo o desenvolvimen­to da Literatura Brasileira e Portuguesa à luz das polêmicas que suscitaram os diversos movimentos que eclodiram após a independência do Brasil

Expressão facial: o reconhecimento das emoções básicas em dependentes de heroína. Estudo empírico com portugueses

Este artigo dá conta de uma investigação sobre o efeito da heroína na identificação e reconhecimento das emoções básicas (alegria, tristeza, cólera, surpresa, aversão, medo e desprezo). A amostra envolveu 60 participantes portugueses (25 mulheres, M= 29,5, DP= 4.4; 35 homens, M= 26.5, DP= 3.6) diagnosticados com Perturbações Induzidas por Opiáceos (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Confirmou-se que os dependentes de heroína apresentam dificuldades na identificação e caracterização das emoções básicas universais com excepção da tristeza e da cólera, com valorada incidência até às 72 horas, a qual foi decrescendo com o decorrer do tempo da abstinência. Os resultados confirmam, ainda, que as mulheres são mais espontâneas na identificação e caracterização das emoções básicas do que os homens. Os homens não são tão espontâneos e consistentes naquela identificação, manifestando erros recidivos de percepção emocional. São também mais espontaneamente identificadas pelas mulheres as emoções básicas exibidas. This paper presents a research on the effect of the cocaine in the identification and recognition of the basic emotions (joy, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust, fear and contempt).The sample involved 60 Portuguese participants (25 women, M = 36,5, SD = 4,4; 35 men, M = 30,5, SD = 3.6) diagnoses with Induced Disturbances by Opiates (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The results confirm that the heroin dependents present difficulties in the identification and characterization of the universal basic emotions with exception of the sadness and anger. The results confirm, still, that the women are more spontaneous in the identification and characterization of the basic emotions of that the men. The men are not so spontaneous and consistent in that identification, revealing frequents errors of emotional perception

Estudo da influência da pré-furação no dano em laminados carbono/epóxido

Na furação de placas em materiais compósitos é corrente o uso de técnicas tradicionais de furação adaptadas. O defeito mais grave é a delaminação, que nem sempre é visível à superfície e pode causar o colapso prematuro das estruturas. Para a avaliação dos danos provocados nas peças utilizam-se meios de controlo não-destrutivo. Neste artigo são analisados os resultados obtidos através do recurso à pré-furação em placas carbono/epóxido e de duas técnicas de controlo. Os resultados obtidos permitem estabelecer a influência da pré-furação na delaminação Neste trabalho, utilizam-se técnicas de Visão Computacional no processamento e análise das imagens obtidas nos ensaios experimentais

Predictors of survival and technical success of bronchoscopic interventions in malignant airway obstruction

Background: Malignant airway obstruction (MAO) leads to quality of life impairment and increased mortality. Interventional bronchoscopy allows airway patency restoring, leading to a better survival. We investigated predictors of survival and successful bronchoscopic intervention among MAO patients. Methods: This observational prospective study enrolled 100 patients who were newly diagnosed with MAO. Survival was estimated with Kaplan-Meier method and curves compared by log-rank test. Multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard models. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used for odds ratio calculation. Results: A proportion of 73% of the patients were male with a median age was 62.5 years (range, 21–88 years). Lung cancer was the most common primary malignancy (74%). The majority had single (61%), endoluminal (62%) lesions and were classified as grade III in Myer Cotton scale (57%). The most used techniques comprised mechanical debulking (n=81) and laser therapy (n=68). Twenty-two airway stents were placed. While eleven patients were considered untreatable, technical success was achieved in 78%. Haemorrhage was the most common acute complication (16%). No deaths occurred as a result of the procedure. Median global survival was 8 months. Adjusting for age and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG), extrinsic compression or mixed airway obstructions [hazard ratio (HR) =2.075; P=0.012], successful bronchoscopic intervention (HR =0.468; P=0.025) and initiation of cancer treatment (HR =0.373; P=0.006) were independent predictors of survival. The absence of distal airway patency on thoracic CT was independently associated with failure of the intervention [odds ratio (OR) =0.013; P<0.001]. Conclusions: Interventional bronchoscopy has proven to be an efficient and safe strategy to manage MAO patients. The patients who benefit the most in terms of survival are those with purely endoluminal lesions, in whom technical success was achieved and those whose cancer-specific treatment was initiated. Distal airway patency on thoracic CT predicts the technical success of bronchoscopic intervention

Different isolation approaches lead to diverse glycosylated extracellular vesicle populations

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous group of small secreted particles involved in inter-cellular communication and mediating a broad spectrum of biological functions. EVs cargo iscomposed of a large repertoire of molecules, including glycoconjugates. Herein, we report the firststudy on the impact of the isolation strategy on the EV populations’glycosylation profile. The use ofdifferent state-of-the-art protocols, namely differential ultracentrifugation (UC), total exosome isola-tion (TEI), OptiPrepTMdensity gradient (ODG) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) resulted in EVpopulations displaying different sets of glycoconjugates. The EV populations obtained by UC, ODGand SEC methods displayed similar protein and glycan profiles, whereas TEI methodology isolated themost distinct EV population. In addition, ODG and SEC isolation protocols provided an enhanced EVglycoproteins detection. Remarkably, proteins displaying the tumour-associated glycan sialyl-Tn(STn) were identified as packaged cargo into EVs independently of the isolation methodology. STncarrying EV samples isolated by UC, ODG and SEC presented a considerable set of cancer-relatedproteins that were not detected in EVs isolated by TEI. Our work demonstrates the impact of usingdifferent isolation methodologies in the populations of EVs that are obtained, with consequences inthe glycosylation profile of the isolated population. Furthermore, our results highlight the importanceof selecting adequate EV isolation protocols and cell culture conditions to determine the structuraland functional complexity of the EV glycoconjugates.This work was funded by FEDER funds through theOperational Programme for Competitiveness Factors-COMPETE (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016585; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028489) and NationalFunds through the Foundation for Science and Technology(FCT), under the projects: PTDC/BBB-EBI/0567/2014 (toCAR), PTDC/MED-ONC/28489/2017 (to AM) and UID/BIM/04293/2013; and the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Programme(NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 PartnershipAgreement, through the European Regional DevelopmentFund (ERDF). DF acknowledges the FCT PhD Programmesand Programa Operacional Potencial Humano (POPH), speci-fically the Biotech Health Programme (Doctoral Programme onCellular and Molecular Biotechnology Applied to HealthSciences), with the reference PD/0016/2012 funded by FCTand the grant SFRH/BD/110636/2015 from FCT, POPH andFSE (Fundo Social Europeu); MB acknowledges the EuropeanUnion’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmeunder the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No.748880; and JP acknowledges FCT (SFRH/BD/137319/2018).The authors acknowledge Rede Nacional de Espectrometria deMassa, ROTEIRO/0028/2013, ref. LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022125, supported by COMPETE and North PortugalRegional Operational Programme (Norte2020), under thePORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through theEuropean Regional Development Fund (ERDF). SV acknowl-edges the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF107)

A comparison of Helicobacter pylori and non-Helicobacter pylori Helicobacter spp. Binding to Canine Gastric Mucosa with Defined Gastric Glycophenotype

Background: The gastric mucosa of dogs is often colonized by non-Helicobacter pylori helicobacters (NHPH), while H. pylori is the predominant gastric Helicobacter species in humans. The colonization of the human gastric mucosa by H. pylori is highly dependent on the recognition of host glycan receptors. Our goal was to define the canine gastric mucosa glycophenotype and to evaluate the capacity of different gastric Helicobacter species to adhere to the canine gastric mucosa. Materials and Methods: The glycosylation profile in body and antral compartments of the canine gastric mucosa, with focus on the expression of histo-blood group antigens was evaluated. The in vitro binding capacity of FITC-labeled H. pylori and NHPH to the canine gastric mucosa was assessed in cases representative of the canine glycosylation pattern. Results: The canine gastric mucosa lacks expression of type 1 Lewis antigens and presents a broad expression of type 2 structures and A antigen, both in the surface and glandular epithelium. Regarding the canine antral mucosa, H. heilmannii s.s. presented the highest adhesion score whereas in the body region the SabA-positive H. pylori strain was the strain that adhered more. Conclusions: The canine gastric mucosa showed a glycosylation profile different from the human gastric mucosa suggesting that alternative glycan receptors may be involved in Helicobacter spp. binding. Helicobacter pylori and NHPH strains differ in their ability to adhere to canine gastric mucosa. Among the NHPH, H. heilmannii s.s. presented the highest adhesion capacity in agreement with its reported colonization of the canine stomach.We kindly thank Prof. Thomas Boren from the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umea University, Sweden for providing the 17875/Leb and 17875babA1A2H. pylori strains. The authors thank Dr. Fernando Rodrigues, Dr. Ana Laura Saraiva, and Cristina Bacelar who kindly provided technical support. I. Amorim (SFRH/BD/76237/2011) and A. Magalhães (SFRH/BPD/75871/2011) acknowledge FCT for financial support. This study was partially funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CTM-BPC/121149/2010; PTDC/CVT/117610/2010; PTDC/BBB-EBI/0786/2012). The Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP) is an Associate Laboratory of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education and is partially supported by FCT

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of tumor-stroma ratio in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma:a systematic review

Analysis of the tumor microenvironment has been proposed as a strategy for the treatment and prognosis of different neoplastic processes. A grading system based on the tumor-stroma ratio (TSR), which evaluates the proportion of stroma in relation to neoplastic parenchyma at the invasion front, has shown a strong prognostic value in different neoplastic processes. The aim of the present systematic review was to understand the role of the TSR in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), evaluating its correlation with clinical and prognostic parameters. An electronic search was performed in PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus, Embase, and the Cochrane Collaboration Library. Publications assessing the relationship between TSR and prognosis in cases of HNSCC were eligible. The quality of the studies was assessed independently by four evaluators using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. After application of the previously es+lished inclusion/exclusion criteria, nine articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. With regards to quality on the Newcastle-Ottawa scale, an overall value of 4.55 was obtained. This systematic review demonstrated a strong association between TSR and prognosis in esophageal and oral squamous cell carcinomas. Histopathological analysis of the TSR can optimize the analysis of the prognosis of cases diagnosed with HNSSC. In addition, the TSR is a reliable and simple parameter that can be evaluated in hematoxylin/eosin-stained slides during routine laboratory examinations, showing high inter- and intraobserver agreement

Degradation of multiple peptides by microcystin-degrader Paucibacter toxinivorans (2C20).

Since conventional drinking water treatments applied in different countries are inefficient at eliminating potentially toxic cyanobacterial peptides, a number of bacteria have been studied as an alternative to biological filters for the removal of microcystins (MCs). Here, we evaluated the degradation of not only MCs variants (-LR/DM-LR/-RR/-LF/-YR), but also non-MCs peptides (anabaenopeptins A/B, aerucyclamides A/D) by Paucibactertoxinivorans over 7 days. We also evaluated the degradation rate of MC-LR in a peptide mix, with all peptides tested, and in the presence of M. aeruginosa crude extract. Furthermore, biodegradation was assessed for non-cyanobacterial peptides with different chemical structures, such as cyclosporin A, (Glu1)-fibrinopeptide-B, leucine-enkephalin, and oxytocin. When cyanopeptides were individually added, P. toxinivorans degraded them (99%) over 7 days, except for MC-LR and -RR, which decreased by about 85 and 90%, respectively. The degradation rate of MC-LR decreased in the peptide mix compared to an individual compound, however, in the presence of the Microcystis extract, it was degraded considerably faster (3 days). It was noted that biodegradation rates decreased in the mix for all MCs while non-MCs peptides were immediately degraded. UPLC–QTOF–MS/MS allowed us to identify two linear biodegradation products for MC-LR and MC-YR, and one for MC-LF. Furthermore, P. toxinivorans demonstrated complete degradation of non-cyanobacterial peptides, with the exception of oxytocin, where around 50% remained after 7 days. Thus, although P. toxinivorans was previously identified as a MC-degrader, it also degrades a wide range of peptides under a range of conditions, which could be optimized as a potential biological tool for water treatment

Predicting lifespan-extending chemical compounds for C. elegans with machine learning and biologically interpretable features

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the development of pharmacological interventions targeting ageing, as well as in the use of machine learning for analysing ageing-related data. In this work, we use machine learning methods to analyse data from DrugAge, a database of chemical compounds (including drugs) modulating lifespan in model organisms. To this end, we created four types of datasets for predicting whether or not a compound extends the lifespan of C. elegans (the most frequent model organism in DrugAge), using four different types of predictive biological features, based on: compound-protein interactions, interactions between compounds and proteins encoded by ageing-related genes, and two types of terms annotated for proteins targeted by the compounds, namely Gene Ontology (GO) terms and physiology terms from the WormBase’s Phenotype Ontology. To analyse these datasets, we used a combination of feature selection methods in a data pre-processing phase and the well-established random forest algorithm for learning predictive models from the selected features. In addition, we interpreted the most important features in the two best models in light of the biology of ageing. One noteworthy feature was the GO term “Glutathione metabolic process”, which plays an important role in cellular redox homeostasis and detoxification. We also predicted the most promising novel compounds for extending lifespan from a list of previously unlabelled compounds. These include nitroprusside, which is used as an antihypertensive medication. Overall, our work opens avenues for future work in employing machine learning to predict novel life-extending compounds