Browsing by Author "Martins, A."
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- Glycosyl flavonoids from Salvia sclareoides: contribution to the development of a new functional foodPublication . Abraços, L.; Martins, A.; Neng, N.; Nogueira, J.M.F.; Serralheiro, M.L.; Batista, A.P.; Raymundo, A.; Sousa, I.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Costa, H.S.; Rauter, A.P.Salvia sclareoides is a plant of spontaneous Portuguese vegetation that has relevant properties, as part of its cholinergic action and in the prevention of the formation of amyloid plaques. Previous studies suggested [1,2] that this species of Salvia can be used as a functional food and also in the development of a food supplement in the context of the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Sweet cookies were developed with different concentrations (2 % and 5 %) of S. sclareoides, previously ground for particle size reduction (2.00 mm). The nutritional composition was determined, namely: moisture content, ash, total protein, total fat, dietary fibre and salt [3]. The available carbohydrates and the energy value were obtained by calculation. Extracts were prepared from the dried aerial parts of the plant. Different extraction methodologies were used and the phenolic profile of each extract was determined by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of these extracts were also evaluated. The ethanol extract of S. sclareoides, with 2.00 mm grain size, presented the highest concentration of phenolic compounds (143.74 mg GAE/g dry extract) and antioxidant activity (68.45 %), while the aqueous extract showed the best anticholinesterase activity (30.86 %). The glycosylated flavonoids rutin and (7-O-glucosyl)luteolin are clearly the major constituents present in all extracts, along with epicatechin, ellagic acid and (7-O-glucosyl)naringenin.
- Human, food and animal Campylobacter spp. isolated in Portugal: high genetic diversity and antibiotic resistance ratesPublication . Duarte, A.; Santos, A.; Manageiro, V.; Martins, A.; Fraqueza, M.J.; Caniça, Manuela; Domingues, F.; Oleastro, M.Infections by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are considered the major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans, with food being the main source of infection. In this study, a total of 196 Campylobacter strains (125 isolates from humans, 39 from retail food and 32 from food animal sources) isolated in Portugal between 2009 and 2012 were characterised by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and flaA short variable region (SVR) typing. Susceptibility to six antibiotics as well as the mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance phenotypes was also studied. Based on MLST typing, C. coli strains were genetically more conserved, with a predominant clonal complex (CC828), than C. jejuni strains. In contrast, C. coli isolates were genetically more variable than C. jejuni with regard to flaA-SVR typing. A high rate of resistance was observed for quinolones (100% to nalidixic acid, >90% to ciprofloxacin) and, in general, resistance was more common among C. coli, especially for erythromycin (40.2% vs. 6.7%). In addition, most isolates (86%) were resistant to multiple antimicrobial families. Besides the expected point mutations associated with antibiotic resistance, detected polymorphisms in the cmeABC locus likely play a role in the multiresistant phenotype. This study provides for the first time an overview of the genetic diversity of Campylobacter strains from Portugal. It also shows a worrying antibiotic multiresistance rate and the emergence of Campylobacter strains resistant to antibiotics of human use.
- Human, food and animal Campylobacter spp. isolated in Portugal: high genetic diversity and antibiotic resistance ratesPublication . Duarte, A.; Santos, A.; Manageiro, V.; Martins, A.; Fraqueza, M.J.; Caniça, Manuela; Domingues, F.C.; Oleastro, M.Infections by Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli are considered the major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in humans, with food being the main source of infection. In this study, a total of 196 Campylobacter strains (125 isolates from humans, 39 from retail food and 32 from food animal sources) isolated in Portugal between 2009 and 2012 were characterised by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and flaA short variable region (SVR) typing. Susceptibility to six antibiotics as well as the mechanisms underlying antibiotic resistance phenotypes was also studied. Based on MLST typing, C. coli strains were genetically more conserved, with a predominant clonal complex (CC828), than C. jejuni strains. In contrast, C. coli isolates were genetically more variable than C. jejuni with regard to flaA-SVR typing. A high rate of resistance was observed for quinolones (100% to nalidixic acid, >90% to ciprofloxacin) and, in general, resistance was more common among C. coli, especially for erythromycin (40.2% vs. 6.7%). In addition, most isolates (86%) were resistant to multiple antimicrobial families. Besides the expected point mutations associated with antibiotic resistance, detected polymorphisms in the cmeABC locus likely play a role in the multiresistant phenotype. This study provides for the first time an overview of the genetic diversity of Campylobacter strains from Portugal. It also shows a worrying antibiotic multiresistance rate and the emergence of Campylobacter strains resistant to antibiotics of human use.
- ICT-Supported Interventions Targeting Pre-frailty: Healthcare Recommendations from the Personalised ICT Supported Service for Independent Living and Active Ageing (PERSSILAA) StudyPublication . O’Caoimh, R.; Molloy, D.W.; Fitzgerald, C.; Velsen, L.V.; Cabrita, M.; Nassabi, M.H.; Vette, F.; van Weering, M.D.; Jansen-Kosterink, S.; Kenter, W.; Frazer, S.; Rauter, A.P.; Turkman, A.; Antunes, M.; Turkman, F.; Silva, M.S.; Martins, A.; Costa, H.S.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Ferreira, A.; Scherillo, M.; De Luca, V.; Abete, P.; Colao, A.; García-Rudolph, A.; Sanchez-Carrion, R.; Sánchez, J.S.; Aguilera, E.J.G.; Illario, M.; Hermens, H.; Vollenbroek-Hutten, M.As society ages, healthcare systems are preparing for an increasing prevalence of frail, co-morbid and older community-dwellers at risk of adverse outcomes including falls, malnutrition, hospitalisation, institutionalisation and death. Early intervention is desirable and pre-frailty, before onset of functional decline, may represent a suitable transition stage to target, albeit evidence for reversibility and appropriate interventions are limited. No consensus on the definition, diagnosis or management of pre-frailty exists. This work describes 25 healthcare related findings from the recently completed PERsonalised ICT Supported Service for Independent Living and Active Ageing (PERSSILAA) project, funded under the 2013–2016 European Union Framework Programme 7 (grant #610359). PERSSILAA developed a comprehensive Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-supported platform to screen, assess, intervene and then monitor community-dwellers in two regions (Enschede in the Netherlands and Campania in Italy) in order to address pre-frailty and promote active and healthy ageing, targeting three important pre-frailty subdomains: nutrition, cognition and physical function. Proposed definitions of pre-frailty, ICT-based approaches to screen and monitor for the onset of frailty and targeted management strategies employing technology across these domains are described. The potential of these 25 healthcare recommendations in the development of future European guidelines on the screening and prevention of frailty is explored.
- Interstitial deletion on chromosome 14q in prenatal diagnosisPublication . Simão, L.; Alves, C.; Marques, B.; Pedro, S.; Ferreira, C.; Viegas, M.; Ventura, C.; Furtado, J.; Cruz, J.; Martins, A.; Cohen, A.; Fernandes, R.; Freixo, J.; Correia, J.; Correia, H.A limited number of prenatal diagnosis (PND) cases have reported interstitial deletions of the long arm of chromosome 14 involving the 14q31-32 region. Those cases presented cardiac anomalies, urogenital anomalies, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and mild pyelectasis. We report the PND of a 33-year-old pregnant woman, who underwent chorionic villus sampling at 12 weeks of gestation after a positive combined 1st trimester screen. The karyotype revealed a 14q interstitial deletion. Amniocentesis was performed at 18 weeks of gestation to confirm the deletion and to exclude a confined placental mosaicism and a microarray analysis was performed in order to accurately define the deletion breakpoints. Cytogenetics analysis revealed a karyotype 46,XY,del(14)(q31q32.2)dn. Microarray analysis allowed to redefined the breakpoints accurate localization and the identification of a ~21Mb deletion (arr[hg19] 14q31.1q32.31(79917376_101568230)x1). At 18 weeks of gestation the fetus presented abnormal fetal biometric parameters (occipitofrontal diameter, cephalic perimeter and abdominal circumference) on ultrasound. After counseling the couple opted for pregnancy termination. The postmorten analysis presented decreased biometry, low weight and low fetal size, facial dysmorphism, clinodactyly, club foot, overlapping fingers and short penis. In internal habitus he presented thymus hypoplasia, bladder hypoplasia, and horseshoe kidneys. The genotype-phenotype correlation in PND pure del(14q) cases is not well established. Furthermore, to our knowledge, del(14q) had not been reported so early in the gestation yet. In this case the positive 1st trimester screen was related to the inverted ductus venosus and low PAPP-A value. The urogenital anomalies (as horseshoe kidneys) and biometry anomalies are described in the literature. However, to our knowledge, some features of the present case were not seen in other reported cases, for instance clinodactyly, club foot, overlapping fingers, thymus hypoplasia and bladder hypoplasia. Other reports described cardiac and cerebral anomalies, diaphragmatic hernia, and also UPD(14)like phenotypes, which are possibly liked to the 14q32 imprinted region. The establishment of a phenotype-genotype correlation is difficult given the size of the deletion, which includes a large number of genes in distinct regions. Nevertheless, this work contributes to a better identification of additional features associated to del(14q) that can be present in PND.
- New functional ingredients from Salvia sclareoides for the prevention of Alzheimer´s diseasePublication . Abraços, L.; Martins, A.; Neng, N.; Nogueira, J.M.F.; Serralheiro, M.L.; Batista, A.; Raymundo, A.; Sousa, I.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Costa, H.S.; Rauter, A.P.Salvia sclareoides is a plant of spontaneous Portuguese vegetation that has relevant properties, as part of its cholinergic action and in the prevention of the formation of amyloid plaques. Previous studies suggested1,2 that this species of Salvia can be used as a functional food and also in the development of a food supplement in the context of the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Salty cookies were developed with the incorporation of different concentrations (2% and 5%) of S. Sclareoides. The nutritional composition of the cookies was determined, namely: fatty acid profile3, moisture content, ash, total protein, total fat3, dietary fibre and salt3. The available carbohydrates and the energetic value were obtained by calculation. Ethanol extracts from the salty cookies were prepared to evaluate the antioxidant (DPPH) and anticholinesterase (Ellman method) activities. Total phenolic content was evaluated by the Folin-Ciocalteu1 method and the phenolic composition was analysed by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The ethanol extracts of the cookies with 5% of S. sclareoides showed the best acetylcholinesterase inhibition (44.4%), the highest concentration of phenolic compounds (22.78 mg GAE/g dry extract), and antioxidant activity (10.3%). The flavonoids rutin and (7-O-glucosyl)luteolin are clearly the major constituents present in the extracts, along with epicatechin, ellagic acid, and (7-O-glucosyl) naringenin. The incorporation of this plant in the cookies formulation resulted in a pleasant and nutritionally interesting functional product with potential application in the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
- NUTRIAGEING: combining science, cooking and agriculturePublication . Silva, M.S.; Ferreira, A.; Sousa, L.; Costa, H.S.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Silva, M.A.; Sanches-Silva, A.; Martins, A.; Turkman, A.; Turkman, F.; Antunes, M.; Rauter, A.P.There are three main behavior traits that have been associated with human health status: to be physically active, to be mentally active and to eat well. These are the main topics addressed by PERSSILAA, an European Project focused on the development and validation of a new service model, to screen for and prevent frailty in older adults, integrating nutrition, physical and cognitive function. Nutrition plays an important role all over our life span, especially in older adults. The importance of nutrition education and the impact of consumer misinformation about the benefits of these food choices becomes clear with the recognition that nutritional status influences the rate of physiologic and functional decline with age. Helping people to choose more nutritive food that will contribute to maintain good health, improve their cognitive function, increase their energy levels and prevent their frailty. There are several available websites related to nutrition targeting the older adult population. However, some are not user friendly and eHealth literacy is still seen as a major obstacle to the uptake of ICT technologies in the health sector. The development of an interactive and user-friendly website providing information, advice and simple services focused on the nutritional status of elderly people, was a most needed task. The NUTRIAGEING website has emerged to address this need. It was created to be a major platform for the transfer of scientific knowledge into advice to the general public, integrated in the PERSSILAA platform. It will offer several modules to promote healthier nutrition, to educate the population on how to improve food habits, and on how to grow a vegetable garden. It will be structured around healthy eating, cooking recipes with videos, and vegetable gardens.
- PERSSILAA Project-An Innovative Approach to Nutritional Education for Older AdultsPublication . Martins, A.; Turkman, A.; Ferreira, A.; Turkman, F.; Antunes, M.; Silva, M.S.; Sousa, L.; Costa, H.S.; Albuquerque, T.G.; Sanches-Silva, A.; Vollenbroek-Hutten, M.; Rauter, A.P.Demographic ageing is a global trend and frailty is highly prevalent among older adults, which constitutes a major health problem. PERSSILAA (PERsonalised ICT Supported Service for Independent Living and Active Ageing) is a unique European project that develops and validates a new service model, to screen for and prevent frailty in community dwelling older adults. This multimodal service integrates nutrition, physical and cognitive function and is supported by an interoperable ICT service infrastructure. A multidisciplinary team from 5 countries, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland, is providing a unique combination of skills to develop remote services for screening, monitoring and training modules aiming to contribute to good health habits on the nutritional, physical and cognitive domains. This communication will give a special focus to the work developed by the Portuguese team in this project, comprising also the design of an interactive nutrition website.