Men's psychological well-being during COVID-19: the moderator role of posttraumatic growth

Background and objective: Men are significantly affected by COVID-19 stressors that impact psychological well-being. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between distress, risk perception, emotional representations, preventive COVID-19 infection behaviors, COVID-19 traumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, and psychological well-being, taking also into consideration sociodemographic variables as well as the moderator role of posttraumatic growth in the relationship between traumatic stress and psychological well-being. Material and methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected during the lockdown, in Portugal, from January to March 2021. The sample included 220 men who answered the questionnaires online. Results: Anxiety and depression symptoms (distress), traumatic stress, and emotional representations were negatively associated with psychological well-being. Older men, professionally active men, and men not in teleworking reported greater psychological well-being. The findings also showed that less emotional representations, less traumatic stress, and lower levels of distress contributed to greater psychological well-being. Finally, posttraumatic growth played a moderating role in the relationship between traumatic stress and psychological well-being. Conclusion: Interventions and further studies must consider the buffering role of posttraumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and focus on helping men handle the associated traumatic stress in order to promote psychological well-being.This research received no external funding

Optimization of enzymes production by Aspergillus niger in solid state fermentation of agro-industrial byproducts

The agri-food industry generates significant amounts of by-products that are often discarded or used in low-value applications. Solid by-products of lignocellulolytic structure have been proved to be suitable substrates in solid-state fermentation (SSF) to produce carbohydrases, that have many industrial applications [1]. In this work, the by-products brewer's spent grain (BSG), rice husk (RH), and vine shoot trimmings (VST) were used to carry out SSF experiments using Aspergillus niger CECT 2088 and to produce enzymes of relevance in textile industry, such as cellulases, xylanases and amylases. Factors influencing SSF performance were examined such as the substrate granulometry and the supplementation of nitrogen and phosphorous sources. In SSF experiments performed at 25ºC and 75% (w/w) moisture for 7 days, a positive effect of medium supplementation with 2% (w/w) (NH4)2SO4 and 1% (w/w) K2HPO4 was observed, leading to 2 to 10-fold increase of enzymes production using RH and BSG. Under these conditions SSF was performed with different particle sizes (1, 4 and 10 mm) and the highest enzyme activities were obtained with the highest size of BSG and RH, and with 4 mm VST. With selected granulometry of the three byproducts, a Simplex-Centroid mixtures design was performed. Optimal enzyme activities were obtained with 100% BSG for xylanase (651 U/g), -glucosidase (363 U/g), cellulase (189 U/g) and 72% (w/w) of BSG and 28% of RH for amylase (263 U/g). Besides those optimal values, the use of 50% (w/w) BSG/RH mixture resulted in high production of xylanase (553 U/g) and -glucosidase (221 U/g), and with 50% (w/w) BSG/VST a cellulase activity similar with 100% BSG was obtained. These results indicates that SSF-based bioprocessing of BSG alone or in mixtures of VST and RH, is an effective and sustainable approach to produce enzymes of textile industry interest, contributing to boost circular economy in this sector.This study was supported by the integrated project be@t – Textile Bioeconomy (TC-C12-i01, Sustainable Bioeconomy No. 02/C12-i01/2022), promoted by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), Next Generation EU, for the period 2021 – 2026; by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit; by LABBELS Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems (LA/P/0029/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

CULTURAS DA PEQUENA INFÂNCIA E CULTURAS PRODUZIDAS PARA A PEQUENA INFÂNCIA: A PRODUÇÃO ACADÊMICA DA ANPEd

Com base nos Estudos da Infância, o artigo analisa as produções do Grupo de Trabalho “Educação da criança de 0 a 6 anos” publicadas de 2000 a 2017 nos Anais das Reuniões Nacionais da Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Educação (ANPEd) sobre as culturas da pequena infância e as culturas produzidas para a pequena infância. Foram analisados aspectos de contextualização dos trabalhos, concepções de bebês e crianças bem pequenas e elementos das suas culturas, sobretudo na creche, contribuindo para qualificar a formação de professoras/es de educação infantil

Protein-engineered polymers functionalized with antimicrobial peptides for the development of active surfaces

Antibacterial resistance is a major worldwide threat due to the increasing number of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria with medical devices being a major source of these infections. This suggests the need for new antimicrobial biomaterial designs able to withstand the increasing pressure of antimicrobial resistance. Recombinant protein polymers (rPPs) are an emerging class of nature-inspired biopolymers with unique chemical, physical and biological properties. These polymers can be functionalized with antimicrobial molecules utilizing recombinant DNA technology and then produced in microbial cell factories. In this work, we report the functionalization of rPBPs based on elastin and silk-elastin with different antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These polymers were produced in Escherichia coli, successfully purified by employing non-chromatographic processes, and used for the production of free-standing films. The antimicrobial activity of the materials was evaluated against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and results showed that the polymers demonstrated antimicrobial activity, pointing out the potential of these biopolymers for the development of new advanced antimicrobial materials.This work was supported by the “Contrato-Programa” UIDB/04050/2020, project FunBioPlas (ERA-IB-2-6/0004/2014) and project FUN2CYT (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030568) funded by Portugal national funds through the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT I.P.). A.M.P. acknowledges the Doctoral Programme in Applied and Environmental Microbiology (DP_AEM) and FCT I.P. for the PD/BD/113811/2015 grant. R.M. acknowledges FCT I.P. for funding in the scope of the Scientific Employment Stimulus instrument (CEECIND/00526/2018)

Função do rim após ligadura da veia renal esquerda no cão

The ligature of the left renal vein is an alternative whenever this vessel is injured. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the capacity of the affluents of the left renal vein, proximal to the ligature, to maintain tissue vitality and function of the left kidney. Fifteen mongrel male dogs were divided in 3 groups of 5 dogs: Group I (control) - a laparotomy was performed, and the abdominal structures were only identified; Group II - the left renal vein was tied, close to vena cava; Group III - the same procedure as for Group II and a right nephrectomy. Blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels were measured before the procedure, and every 3 days during 4 weeks in the postoperative period. Renal arteriography and an excretory urogram were performed on the animals that survived 60 days. Thereafter, or immediately after precocious death, the kidneys were removed for histological examination. All the animals of Group III died before two months (mean = 10.5 +-3.2 days), while the animals of Group II survived during that period. There was a complete exclusion of the left kidney in all dogs that underwent renal vein ligature. In the animals of Group II, the renal cortico-medullary limits could not be identified. At microscopy, the aspect was suggestive of nephrosclerosis. In the animals of Group III, the left kidney was enlarged, and a great amount of intravascular and intrapelvic blood clots were observed. At microscopy, extensive areas of necrosis, inflammatory infiltration, and hemorrhage were identified. In conclusion, the tributaries of the renal vein were not sufficient to maintain the tissue vitality and function of the left kidney after ligature of its main vein.A ligadura da veia renal esquerda é uma alternativa operatória em presença de lesão deste vaso. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a capacidade dos afluentes dessa veia, proximais à ligadura, de manter a vitalidade tecidual e a função renal. Foram estudados 15 cães mestiços, machos, divididos em três grupos de cinco cães. No Grupo I (Controle), foi realizada apenas laparotomia e identificação das estruturas. Os animais do Grupo II foram submetidos a laparotomia mediana seguida de ligadura da veia renal esquerda, próximo à veia cava. Nos animais do Grupo III, foi realizada a ligadura da veia renal esquerda, próximo à veia cava e nefrectomia direita. Determinaram-se as concentrações plasmáticas de uréia e creatinina, em todos os animais, no período pré-operatório e durante as quatro semanas pós-operatórias, a cada três dias. Nos animais que sobreviveram até o final do período de acompanhamento, realizaram-se arteriografia renal e urografia excretora. Após este período ou depois de óbito precoce, os rins foram retirados para estudo histológico. Todos os animais do Grupo III morreram antes de dois meses de seguimento (M=10,5 ± 3,2 dias), enquanto os animais do Grupo II sobreviveram durante este período. Houve exclusão completa do rim esquerdo em todos os animais submetidos à ligadura venosa. O exame anatomopatológico mostrou, no Grupo II, desaparecimento do limite corticomedular e, microscopicamente, quadro sugestivo de nefrosclerose. No Grupo III, constatou-se aumento do rim esquerdo e grande quantidade de coágulos intravasculares, intrapélvicos e subcapsulares. Microscopicamente, observaram-se extensas áreas de necrose de coagulação, infiltrado inflamatório e hemorragia. Concluindo, as tributárias da veia renal esquerda foram insuficientes para manter a vitalidade tecidual e a função renal, após a ligadura de sua veia principal

Antifungal susceptibility of the endophytic fungus Rhinocladiella similis (URM 7800) isolated from the Caatinga dry forest in Brazil

The present study reports a new occurrence of Rhinocladiella similis isolated as an endophytic fungus in the Caatinga dry tropical forest in Brazil and describes its antifungal susceptibility. The isolate R. similis URM 7800 was obtained from leaves of the medicinal plant Myracrodruon urundeuva. Its morphological characterization was performed on potato dextrose agar medium and molecular analysis using the ITS rDNA sequence. The antifungal susceptibility profile was defined using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocol M38-A2. The colony of isolate URM 7800 showed slow growth, with an olivaceous-gray color and powdery mycelium; in microculture, it showed the typical features of R. similis. In the antifungal susceptibility test, isolate URM 7800 showed high minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for amphotericin B (>16 μg/mL), voriconazole (16 μg/mL), terbinafine (>0.5 μg/mL), and caspofungin (>8 μg/mL), among other antifungal drugs. Pathogenic melanized fungi are frequently isolated in environments where humans may be exposed, and these data show that it is essential to know if these isolates possess antifungal resistance

Desenvolvimento de um Novo Produto Panificável: rosca recheada com coco guariroba

Este artigo tem como principais finalidades apresentar o desenvolvimento de um novo produto, avaliar sua aceitação no mercado, estudar a viabilidade de implantação de um sistema de informação e analisar a viabilidade de comercialização, utilizando um fruto regional em sua formulação. Conclui-se que a rosca recheada com coco guariroba apresentou características sensoriais satisfatórias, sendo um indicativo de lançamento no mercado

AVALIAÇÃO DE SEGURANÇA E ANALGESIA DE PROTOCOLOS ANESTÉSICOS PARA ELETROEJACULAÇÃO EM GATOS DOMÉSTICOS (Felis catus)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the security and analgesia of anesthetics protocols usually used for electroejaculation (EEJ) in domestic cats. Fourteen toms were anesthetized with 4 protocols and submitted to a 3 series of electric stimuli (2-6 mA). The heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, pain sensibility and eyes blink were analyzed prior and after induction, and during and after electroejaculation. The anesthesia protocol thatused isoflurane was the best for analgesic parameters, security and speed of recuperation for electroejaculation in domestic cat

Online holistic program to foster health amongst students: a pilot study in a Portuguese university during COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several preventive mental health interventions took place to increase the psychological well-being of university students due to the high levels of stress, anxiety and negative emotions experienced in that period. This context reinforced the role of universities in supporting students and preventing the mental health risk factors they faced. In this context a multidisciplinary team of professionals (psychologists, nurses, nutritionists, and artists) in the Portuguese Catholic University, gathered efforts and developed an holistic intervention program for university students based on a mind and body integrated approach. This program of 8 online sessions aims to improve students’ resilience to the psychosocial consequences of COVID-19 pandemic and promote their wellbeing. The twenty university students that participated in this pilot study reported that this intervention improved their emotional self-awareness, their ability to apply self-care strategies, as well as they believed it promoted healthier lifestyle changes. These findings suggest that this program consists in an innovative approach with the potential to promote the psychological health and well-being of university students in adverse circumstances.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio