Measuring chromosome-end fusions in fission yeast

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Molecular Biology

Physical and chemical assessment of lime–metakaolin mortars: Influence of binder:aggregate ratio

Cement & Concrete Composites 45 (2014) 264–271

Evaluation of uv spectrophotometry for estimation of nitrite and nitrate in nitrified urine

Water is a limited resource for which demand is growing. Contaminated water from inadequate wastewater treatment provides one of the greatest health challenges as it restricts development and increases poverty in emerging and developing countries. Therefore, the connection between wastewater and human health is linked to access to sanitation and to human waste disposal. Adequate sanitation is expected to create a barrier between disposed human excreta and sources of drinking water. Different approaches to wastewater management are required for different geographical regions and different stages of economic governance depending on the capacity to manage wastewater. Effective wastewater management can contribute to overcome the challenges of water scarcity. Separate collection of human urine at its source is one promising approach that strongly reduces the economic and load demands on wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Treatment of source-separated urine appears as a sanitation system that is affordable, produces a valuable fertiliser, reduces pollution of water resources and promotes health. However, the technical realisation of urine separation still faces challenges. Biological hydrolysis of urea causes a strong increase of ammonia and pH. Under these conditions ammonia volatilises which can cause odour problems and significant nitrogen losses. The above problems can be avoided by urine stabilisation. Biological nitrification is a suitable process for stabilisation of urine. Urine is a highly concentrated nutrient solution which can lead to strong inhibition effects during bacterial nitrification. This can further lead to process instabilities. The major cause of instability is accumulation of the inhibitory intermediate compound nitrite, which could lead to process breakdown. Enhanced on-line nitrite monitoring can be applied in biological source-separated urine nitrification reactors as a sustainable and efficient way to improve the reactor performance, avoiding reactor failures and eventual loss of biological activity. Spectrophotometry appears as a promising candidate for the development and application of on-line nitrite monitoring. Spectroscopic methods together with chemometrics are presented in this work as a powerful tool for estimation of nitrite concentrations. Principal component regression (PCR) is applied for the estimation of nitrite concentrations using an immersible UV sensor and off-line spectra acquisition. The effect of particles and the effect of saturation, respectively, on the UV absorbance spectra are investigated. The analysis allows to conclude that (i) saturation has a substantial effect on nitrite estimation; (ii) particles appear to have less impact on nitrite estimation. In addition, improper mixing together with instabilities in the urine nitrification process appears to significantly reduce the performance of the estimation model.

Case histories of infectious disease management in developing countries: Phnom Penh and Kabul

Healthcare in developing countries is affected by severe poverty, political instability and diseases that may be of lesser importance in industrialized countries. The aim of this paper was to present two cases and histories of physicians working in hospitals in developing countries and to discuss the opportunities for clinical investigation and collaboration. Cases of patients in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with histoplasmosis, cryptococcal meningitis, crusted scabies, cerebral lesions and human immunodeficiency virus and of patients in Kabul, Afghanistan, with liver cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome and facial ulcer are discussed. Greater developmental support is required from industrialized nations, and mutually beneficial cooperation is possible since similar clinical problems exist on both sides (e.g. opportunistic cardiovascular infections). Examples for possible support of hospital medicine include physician interchange visits with defined objectives (e.g. infection control or echocardiography training) and collaboration with clinical investigations and projects developed locally (e.g. epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases or nosocomial bloodborne infections).

Contribuição para o estudo da anexina V na apoptose celular em concentrados de eritrócitos

A hemoterapia moderna baseia-se na utilização correcta dos diversos componentes sanguíneos, associados a um maior controle de qualidade do sangue, o que a torna mais segura e, actualmente, muitos doentes sao beneficiados pois, a transfusão de componentes sanguineos, em situaçoes várias, está na linha da frente na manutenção da vida e em casos extremos, o último recurso que salva vidas. A qualidade e a segurança nas transfusões de sangue são grandes preocupações da área médica, autoridades de saúde e doente1. O sangue obtido pelos Centros de Sangue provem de dadores voluntários, dotados de uma enorme sensibilidade social, que periodicamente assumem uma postura benevola e altruista e consequentemente mantêm os bancos de sangue providos de um produto imprescindivel no tratamento de diversas patologias. O produto final disponível – concentrado de eritrócitos (CE´s), plasma e concentrado plaquetário – tem de assumir um carácter seguro e viável de modo a que os riscos para o doente sejam diminutos2. O controlo de qualidade aplicado a todo o sangue doado realiza provas de conformidade nas unidades com especificações previamente definidas, sendo a hémolise um dos parâmetros importantes na avaliação da qualidade dos concentrados de eritrócitos, pois, pode ocasionar implicações clinicas para o receptor. Para além disso a avaliação da concentração de hemoglobina (Hg) no sangue doado mostra-se um controlo imprescindivel que salvaguarda a qualidade e segurança do componente a transfundir3;4.Até se obter um CE há todo um processo moroso e de responsabilidade vital. Todo o sangue obtido passa por várias etapas fundamentais até à obtenção do componente pretendido (analise, produção e armazenamento). Os CE’s obtidos quando armazenados, num ambiente de refrigeração, têm uma vida útil de 42 dias. Após este período, o sangue deve ser inutilizado por se verificar alterações bioquímicas, biomecânicas, e imunológicas nos CE’s e por consequência a sua instabilidade vital no que ao tratamento de patologias, para as quais este componente está indicado, diz respeito5. Foi realizado um estudo experimental com o objetivo de avaliar a contribuição da Anexina V na apoptose celular nos concentrados de eritrócitos, constatando a degradação dos mesmos ao longo de todo o período de armazenamento e validar o paradigma que a ciência preconiza: “Os CE’s após os 42 dias armazenados, em condições específicas (2 a 6º centígrados), são inviaveis para transfundir”6;7. A avaliação dos níveis de apoptose por citometria de fluxo é geralmente realizada por métodos que utilizam Anexina V como marcador vital, que se associa aos resíduos de fosfatidilserina, externalizados no início do processo apoptótico. A Anexina V é uma proteína humana endógena dependente do ião Ca+2, amplamente distribuída intracelularmente em altas concentrações na placenta e em concentrações mais baixas nos eritrócitos, plaquetas e monócitos. Apresenta como principal característica a capacidade de se ligar à fosfatidilserina, um fosfolipído presente na camada interna da bicamada lipídica, que durante a apoptose celular é translocada para a camada externa da membrana celular. A determinação da Anexina V é normalmente utilizada para verificar se as células são viáveis, apoptóticas ou necróticas por meio de diferenças na integridade da membrana plasmática. Assim, ao conjugar a Anexina V ao FITC (Isotiocianato de fluoresceína) é possível identificar e quantificar as células apoptóticas por citometria de fluxo7. Numa amostra de 15 CE’s, a qual foi induzida a hemólise, verificou-se, por citometria de fluxo, que a viabilidade deste componente se desvanesce ao longo do tempo, confirmando assim que o tratamento, manuseamento e armazenamento do sangue compromete a vitalidade terapeutica deste insubstituivel produto vital.

Scurvy in a patient with AIDS: case report

We report the case of a 35-year-old homeless alcoholic and illicit drug user, with AIDS, who was admitted to the emergency unit complaining of asthenia and a weight loss of 30kg over the preceding three months. Clinical and laboratory data confirmed a diagnosis of marasmus, bacterial pneumonia, chorioretinitis caused by Toxoplasma gondii and oral Candida infection. The patient also presented loss of tongue papillae, gingival hypertrophy, perifollicular hyperkeratosis and hemorrhage, coiled, corkscrew-like hair, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, increased C-reactive protein levels and low serum vitamin C levels. The patient developed severe gastric hemorrhage, with hemodynamic instability and terminal disseminated intravascular coagulopathy.

Long-run performance of sovereign rating changes

This paper examines the impact of Sovereign rating changes on the aggregate stock and bond market returns both in emerging and developed countries. Rating downgrades in emerging markets are associated with significant negative wealth effects both in the stock and bond markets. Moreover, the effects of rating downgrades persist up to six-months after the event. In contrast, upgrades in emerging markets convey no information. Rating changes in developed markets have no significant impact on either stock and bond market returns. Rating agencies act pro-cyclically, downgrading countries in bad times and, consequently, contributing to the instability in emerging markets.

O emprego de uma força de segurança de natureza militar nas missões de paz

The conflicts currently taking place around the world demand that the international intervention fits the intensity and extent of the threat. This is particularly important in post-conflict scenarios, leading to a greater participation of the Security Forces in those scenarios, in order to foster lasting peace, enforce the order and improve law enforcement services in those regions. The transition from armed conflict to peacekeeping may entail high risk situations and greater instability periods, so-called “intermediate situations”. Accordingly, in the face of persisting high volatility, a robust response is still required post-conflict. Therefore, it is appropriate to deploy Security Forces with military nature and status, the gendarmeries, which have training and response capabilities similar to Armed Forces in peacekeeping operations. Their double facet as police and military forces enables them to perform police duties in high risk and unsafe environments. In light of these features, the Portuguese gendarmerie, Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR), is able to carry out tasks in these scenarios, which it has been doing through individual operatives or larger units. This dissertation focuses on the use of Security Forces of military nature in peacekeeping missions, in particular the Portuguese GNR, relying mostly on the inductive approach and using literature research, document analysis, interviews and statistics. After a brief description of international peacekeeping missions, we describe the contribution of Security Forces of a military nature in such operations. Then we introduce and analyse the GNR, focusing on its deployment in different kinds of peacekeeping operations, from its first participation in 1995 until today. We also report some reactions to the performance of GNR. Finally, we discuss whether there is indeed a unique role for this type of forces in international peacekeeping missions.

O terrorismo e o impacto nos Direitos Humanos

Terrorism is at the center of speeches in contemporary societies. Terrorism has caused a great instability in Western society, but if before the Islamic fundamentalist terrorism was just a threat to the West, the Arab world of today suffers this same reality. Human rights conquered in the past, are being constantly violated and forgotten by the countries that make them flag of their ideals as the US, that this fight against terrorism already violated in every way those rights. Human rights are the fundamental pillars to be able to live in society and serve to protect the humanity of the atrocities that have been committed in the past with the great wars. Human rights are the fundamental pillars to be able to live in society and serve to protect the humanity of the atrocities that have been committed in the past with the great wars. Atrocities as torture, which is prohibited by several international documents and yet these inhumane practices continue to be used as a means of combating terrorism. Democracies are fragmented and the great challenge facing this century is finding means to contain the growth of these Islamic radicals, without jeopardizing the universally known human values.

Indicadores de prognóstico em utentes com disfunção do ombro submetidos a uma intervenção terapêutica direcionada para a estabilidade dinâmica da escápulo-torácica

RESUMO: Introdução/ Objetivo: Segundo a revisão sistemática de Chester e colaboradores (2013b)apenas dois fatores de prognóstico demonstraram uma associação consistente com o resultado que foram a duração dos sintomas e a funcionalidade na avaliação inicial. O objetivo do estudo é identificar indicadores de bom e mau prognóstico em utentes com disfunção do complexo articular do ombro (DCAO), tendo por base, aspetos da avaliação inicial do utente e critérios de alta de abolição da dor, aumento da funcionalidade e da estabilidade dinâmica considerando uma intervenção terapêutica direcionada para o aumento da estabilidade dinâmica da escápulo-torácica. Metodologia: Efetuou-se um estudo de coorte clínico retrospetivo. Para tal, aplicou-se um protocolo de intervenção terapêutica e analisou-se os resultados. A amostra foi constituída por 82 indivíduos com DCAO [53 com síndrome do conflito subacromial (SCSA) e 29 com instabilidade da glenoumeral (IGU)], residentes nos distritos de Lisboa, Setúbal e Santarém com o intuito de iniciar tratamento de fisioterapia. A análise dos dados foi efetuada tendo em consideração dois procedimentos: análise univariada (através do método de Kaplan-Meier para cada CVP) e análise multifatorial (pela análise de regressão de Cox e regressão logística nos grupos de utentes com SCSA, IGU e DCAO). Resultados: O tempo mediano de continuação no tratamento em fisioterapia foi de 7 semanas para os utentes com SCSA e 6 semanas para utentes com IGU. Segundo o teste de Logrank, na análise univariada, existem sete e oito covariáveis preditoras (CVP) com associação estatisticamente significativa (p<0,05) para o subgrupo SCSA e IGU, respectivamente. De acordo com estes resultados, a primeira parte da DASH e a SPADI são as únicas CVP com associação comuns às duas disfunções. Pela análise multifatorial e, em congruência com o teste de Wald, nenhuma das CVP contribui estatisticamente para o modelo preditivo de continuidade do tratamento de fisioterapia em qualquer um dos três modelos estudados: subgrupo SCSA, subgrupo IGU e utentes com DCAO. Conclusão: Por uma análise univariada verificou-se que existem CVP associadas à alta dos tratamentos em fisioterapia e estas não são as mesmas em ambas as DCAO. Contudo, a magnitude do efeito de cada CVP nos modelos multifatoriais definidos para os grupos de utentes com SCSA, IGU e DCAO não demonstraram valor estatisticamente significativo pelo que não foi possível determinar modelos de prognóstico em utentes com DCAO.-------------ABSTRACT: Background/ Purpose: According with the systematic review from Chester and collaborators (2013b) just two prognostic factors demonstrated a consistent association with the outcome: the duration of symptoms and functionality in the initial assessment. The purpose of the study is to identify indicators of good and poor prognosis in patients with shoulder’s dysfunctions, based on aspects of the initial assessment and discharge criteria of absence of pain, increased functionality and dynamic stability considering a therapeutic intervention used to increase the dynamic stability of scapulo-thoracic. Methodology: It was conducted a retrospective study of clinical cohort. For this purpose it was applied a protocol with therapeutic intervention and the results were analyzed. The sample consisted of 82 individuals with shoulder’s dysfunction (53 with subacromial impingement (SIMP) and 29 with shoulder instability (SINS) residing in the districts of Lisbon, Setúbal and Santarém in order to start physiotherapy. Data analysis was performed taking into account two procedures: univariate analysis [using the Kaplan-Meier method for each co-variant predictor variable (CVP)] and multifactorial analysis [analysis by Cox regression and logistic regression on groups of patients with SIMP, SINS and shoulder’s dysfunction (SD)]. Results: The median time of follow-up treatment at physical therapy was 7 weeks for patients with SIMP and 6 weeks for patients with SINS. According to the Logrank test in the univariate analysis, there are seven and eight CVP with a statistically significant association (p<0.05) for the patients with SIMP and SINS, respectively. According to these results, the first part of the DASH and SPADI are the only CVP common to both disorders association. By multifatorial analyses, and in agreement with the Wald test, none of the CVP contributes statistically to the predictive model of continuity of physiotherapy treatment in any of the three studied models: patients with SIMP, patients with SINS and patients with SD. Conclusion: In an univariate analysis, it was verified that there are CVP associated with discharge from treatments of physical therapy and these are not the same in both SD. However, the magnitude of effect of each CVP in multifactorial models for defined patients groups with SIMP, SINS and SD showed no statistically significant. Therefore, it was not possible to determine prognostic models for patients with SD.

The impact of job insecurity on adaptive performance via burnout

Difficult and unpredictable times, due to economic instability, lead employees to feel high job insecurity. Organizations’ only way to subsistence is to search innovative ways of solving problems and find creative solutions. This study focuses on the impact that job insecurity has on adaptive performance, a recent measure integrating the response of creativity, reactivity in the face of emergencies, interpersonal adaptability, training effort, and handling work stress, and, mediated by burnout. From the responses of two questionnaires (????????1=252; ????????2=145), we conclude that job insecurity leads to exhaustion, but not to disengagement. In turn, it is the latter that demonstrates to have negative relations with some measures of adaptive performance. Thus, it is crucial to understand how organizations can minimize the inherent process.

Incidence of canine leptospirosis in the metropolitan area of Curitiba, State of Parana, Southern Brazil

Introduction The incidence of canine leptospirosis in Brazil needs to be assessed Methods The same dogs in southern Brazil were sampled over two years to determine the prevalence, incidence and association of canine leptospirosis with various risk factors. Results In 2009, the prevalence was 33 (14.4%) of 228 dogs, with a predominance of serovar Canicola (33.4%). In 2010, 90 dogs were re-evaluated (the remaining dogs were lost to deaths, address changes and donations), and the prevalence was found to be 35 (38.9%) of 90, with the predominant serovar being Icterohaemorrhagiae (51.4%). Moreover, the incidence was 26 of 90 (28.9%), and the disease was statistically associated with age (2009) and street access (2010). Conclusions Our findings revealed instability in the dog population and age to be relevant risk factors for canine leptospirosis.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive gastric cancer: a distinct molecular subtype of the disease?

Abstract: Approximately 90% of the world population is infected by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Usually, it infects B lymphocytes, predisposing them to malignant transformation. Infection of epithelial cells occurs rarely, and it is estimated that about to 10% of gastric cancer patients harbor EBV in their malignant cells. Given that gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with a global annual incidence of over 950,000 cases, EBV-positive gastric cancer is the largest group of EBV-associated malignancies. Based on gene expression profile studies, gastric cancer was recently categorized into four subtypes; EBV-positive, microsatellite unstable, genomically stable and chromosomal instability. Together with previous studies, this report provided a more detailed molecular characterization of gastric cancer, demonstrating that EBV-positive gastric cancer is a distinct molecular subtype of the disease, with unique genetic and epigenetic abnormalities, reflected in a specific phenotype. The recognition of characteristic molecular alterations in gastric cancer allows the identification of molecular pathways involved in cell proliferation and survival, with the potential to identify therapeutic targets. These findings highlight the enormous heterogeneity of gastric cancer, and the complex interplay between genetic and epigenetic alterations in the disease, and provide a roadmap to implementation of genome-guided personalized therapy in gastric cancer. The present review discusses the initial studies describing EBV-positive gastric cancer as a distinct clinical entity, presents recently described genetic and epigenetic alterations, and considers potential therapeutic insights derived from the recognition of this new molecular subtype of gastric adenocarcinoma.

Radiation damage in flexible TFTs and organic detectors

In this thesis was investigated the radiation hardness of the building blocks of a future flexible X-ray sensor system. The characterized building blocks for the pixel addressing and signal amplification electronics are high mobility semiconducting oxide transistors (HMSO-TFTs) and organic transistors (OTFTs), whereas the photonic detection system is based on organic semiconducting single crystals (OSSCs). TFT parameters such as mobility, threshold voltage and subthreshold slope were measured as function of cumulative X-ray dose. Instead for OSSCs conductivity and X-ray sensitivity were analysed after various radiation steps. The results show that ionizing radiation does not lead to degradation in HMSO-TFTs. Instead OTFTs show instability in mobility which is reduced up to 73% for doses of 1 kGy. OSSC demonstrate stable detector properties for the tested total dose range. As conclusion, HMSO-TFTs and OSSCs can be readily employed in the X-ray detector system allowing operation for total doses exceeding 1 kGy of ionizing radiation.

Prediction of hyperglycemia in preterm newborn infants

Many conditions are associated with hyperglycemia in preterm neonates because they are very susceptible to changes in carbohydrate homeostasis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of hyperglycemia in preterm infants undergoing glucose infusion during the first week of life, and to enumerate the main variables predictive of hyperglycemia. This prospective study (during 1994) included 40 preterm neonates (gestational age <37 weeks); 511 determinations of glycemic status were made in these infants (average 12.8/infant), classified by gestational age, birth weight, glucose infusion rate and clinical status at the time of determination (based on clinical and laboratory parameters). The clinical status was classified as stable or unstable, as an indication of the stability or instability of the mechanisms governing glucose homeostasis at the time of determination of blood glucose; 59 episodes of hyperglycemia (11.5%) were identified. A case-control study was used (case = hyperglycemia; control = normoglycemia) to derive a model for predicting glycemia. The risk factors considered were gestational age (<=31 vs. >31 weeks), birth weight (<=1500 vs. >1500 g), glucose infusion rate (<=6 vs. >6 mg/kg/min) and clinical status (stable vs. unstable). Multivariate analysis by logistic regression gave the following mathematical model for predicting the probability of hyperglycemia: 1/exp{-3.1437 + 0.5819(GA) + 0.9234(GIR) + 1.0978(Clinical status)} The main predictive variables in our study, in increasing order of importance, were gestational age, glucose infusion rate and, the clinical status (stable or unstable) of the preterm newborn infant. The probability of hyperglycemia ranged from 4.1% to 36.9%.