Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2021-03"
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- Evaluation of Polyciclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water and MicroplasticsPublication . José, Sílvia; Rehan, Iryna; Jordão, LuísaPolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of environmental contaminants, classified as potentially toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic, being an important public health concern. In the present study, we assayed different samples of water (superficial water, groundwater and tap water) for five PAHs: pyrene (Pyr), 1-chloro-pyrene (1-ClPyr), 1-bromine-pyrene (1-BrPyr), benzo-a-anthracene (BaA) and 7-chloro-benzo-a-anthracene (7-ClBaA) by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) after sample concentration by solid phase microextraction. The adsorption of most abundant PAHs (Pyr) by PET (polyethyleneterephthalate), HDPE (high density polyethylene), LDPE (low density PE), PP (polypropylene) and PS (polystyrene) particles with 4 mm diameter (microplastics) dispersed in freshwater was assessed by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) after 3 and 30 days. Our data showed that, all types of plastic adsorbed Pyr without statiscally significant difference. Adsorption enhances Pyr stability contributing to its persistence /accumulation in the environment.
- Alternative SplicingPublication . Jordan, PeterAlternative splicing (AS) is a critical post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism used by more than 95% of transcribed human genes and responsible for structural transcript variation and proteome diversity.
- Tracking SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 dissemination: insights from nationwide spike gene target failure (SGTF) and spike gene late detection (SGTL) data, Portugal, week 49 2020 to week 3 2021Publication . Borges, Vítor; Sousa, Carlos; Menezes, Luís; Gonçalves, António Maia; Picão, Miguel; Almeida, José Pedro; Vieita, Margarida; Santos, Rafael; Silva, Ana Rita; Costa, Mariana; Carneiro, Luís; Casaca, Pedro; Pinto-Leite, Pedro; Peralta-Santos, André; Isidro, Joana; Duarte, Sílvia; Vieira, Luís; Guiomar, Raquel; Silva, Susana; Nunes, Baltazar; Gomes, João P.We show that the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage is highly disseminated in Portugal, with the odds of B.1.1.7 proportion increasing at an estimated 89% (95% confidence interval: 83-95%) per week until week 3 2021. RT-PCR spike gene target late detection (SGTL) can constitute a useful surrogate to track B.1.1.7 spread, besides the spike gene target failure (SGTF) proxy. SGTL/SGTF samples were associated with statistically significant higher viral loads, but not with substantial shift in age distribution compared to non-SGTF/SGTL cases.
- Molecular detection of Rickettsia spp. in ticks and feas collected from rescued hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in PortugalPublication . Barradas, P. F.; Mesquita, J. R.; Mateus, T. L.; Ferreira, P.; Amorim, I.; Gartner, F.; Sousa, R.Hedgehogs (e.g., Erinaceus europaeus, E. roumanicus) are wild mammals that frequently are observed near residential areas. The aim of this study was to investigate ticks and feas collected from European hedgehogs in Portugal and to evaluate the prevalence of Rickettsia in those ectoparasites. Ticks and feas were identifed by morphological and molecular methods, and molecular detection by PCR and genotypic characterization of Rickettsia spp. was performed targeting ompB, ompA and gltA gene fragments. In total, 1892 ticks and 213 feas were collected from 33 rescued European hedgehogs captured in seven districts of the north and centre of Portugal. Two tick species were identifed – Rhipicephalus sanguineus accounted for 91% (n=1719) of the total ticks collected and 9% (n=173) were Ixodes hexagonus. All feas were identifed as Archaeopsylla erinacei. Regarding pathogen detection, Rickettsia massiliae DNA was found in 22 of the 212 tested Rh. sanguineus. None of the 48 I. hexagonus tested showed to be positive for rickettsiae. Rickettsia asembonensis DNA was identifed in 55 A. erinacei feas tested (n=117). These results show that European hedgehogs are exposed to R. massiliae transmitted by ticks and to R. asembonensis via feas suggesting that these mammals might be involved in the natural transmission cycle of these Rickettsia species. This study is the frst report of R. asembonensis in feas in Portugal.
- Burden of Disease Methods: a Guide to Calculate COVID-19 Disability-Adjusted Life YearsPublication . Wyper, Grant; Assunção, Ricardo; Colzani, Edoardo; Grant, Ian; Haagsma, Juanita A; Lagerweij, Giske; Von der Lippe, Elena; McDonald, Scott A.; Pires, Sara; Porst, Michael; Speybroeck, Niko; Devleesschauwer, BrechtBackground: To date, most efforts to understand the comparative population health impact of COVID-19 have been made using mortality-based metrics. This has intensified discussion over methodological choices; in particular, how we value the life-years prematurely lost due to COVID-19. So far, the direct impact of COVID-19 on population health has varied across countries, with wide variation in incidence and infection fatality rates. Understanding and quantifying the combined impact of morbidity and mortality is a key step to standardizing comparisons across countries, and to quantify the within-country impact of COVID-19 relative to other causes of disease and injury, sub-national areas or demographics. This can be achieved by estimating summary measures of population health like disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The estimation of DALYs is useful to provide comprehensive and comparative public health intelligence to inform decision-making for the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly around the extent of direct and indirect consequences. At present, the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study has not integrated COVID-19. Some studies have already estimated DALYs due to COVID-19. The first published assessment was performed for Korea, up until the end of April 2020. An assessment, using a similar time frame, followed for Italy. To date, published studies have only included one COVID-19 related health state, or disability weights were country-specific. Aim: Our paper provides a step-by-step guide to define COVID-19 as a cause of disease burden, which can be used to calculate DALYs. Additionally, we suggest pragmatic data inputs, reflecting that availability and quality of data inputs will vary by country. This paper builds on previous DALY calculation guides. As our paper provides suggestions for different solutions, we recommend that users should be clear about their methodological choices to aid comparisons and knowledge translation.
- Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweightPublication . NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), (NCD-RisC)From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions.
- A Citogenética/Citogenética Molecular no Diagnóstico de Doenças Genéticas de Base Cromossómica e Doenças Hematológicas MalignasPublication . Correia, Hildeberto; Brito, Filomena; Geraldes, Maria do CéuSobre a Citogenética/Citogenética Molecular no Diagnóstico de Doenças Genéticas de Base Cromossómica e Doenças Hematológicas Malignas.
- Improving Data quality for RISK assessment _Foodex2 AutomationPublication . Tomé, SidneyID Risk é um projeto financiado pela EFSA, coordenado pela ASAE e envolve 3 instituições de 2 Estados-membros da União Europeia (UE): ASAE e Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) de Portugal e Agriculture and Food Agency (CSH) da Croácia. O ID Risk tem como objetivo reforçar a capacidade de recolha, gestão e transmissão de dados provenientes dos controlos oficiais para produzir repositórios de informação com robustez e qualidade que permitam o escrutínio dos dados e a realização de estudos de avaliação de risco. O trabalho em conjunto e a troca de conhecimentos entre especialistas de organizações de segurança alimentar de diferentes países garante o aumento da eficiência, maximiza a capacidade das avaliações de risco e, por conseguinte, aumenta a confiança no sistema alimentar europeu, defendendo os consumidores.
- Monitorização da mortalidade: Fevereiro 2021Publication . Torres, Ana Rita; Silva, Susana; Rodrigues, Ana PaulaEste relatório tem como objetivo descrever e interpretar o padrão de mortalidade observado durante o mês de fevereiro, em Portugal, desde a semana 05/2021 até à semana 08/2021 (01 a 28 de fevereiro).
- The 2-hydroxy-nevirapine metabolite as a candidate for boosting apolipoprotein A1 and for modulating anti-HDL antibodiesPublication . Marinho, Aline T.; Batuca, Joana R.; Miranda, Joana P.; Caixas, Umbelina; Dias, Clara G.; Branco, Teresa; Soto, Karina; Pinheiro, Pedro; Bourbon, Mafalda; Marques, M. Matilde; Antunes, Alexandra M.; Monteiro, Emília C.; Pereira, Sofia A.The antiretroviral nevirapine (NVP) is associated to a reduction of atherosclerotic lesions and increases in high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol. Despite being a hepatotoxic drug, which forbids its re-purposing to other therapeutic areas, not all NVP metabolites have the same potential to induce toxicity. Our aim was to investigate the effects of NVP and its metabolites in an exploratory study, towards the identification of a candidate to boost HDL. A pilot prospective (n = 11) and a cross-sectional (n = 332) clinical study were performed with the following endpoints: HDL-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) levels, anti-HDL and anti-ApoA1 antibodies titers, paraoxonase, arylesterase and lactonase activities of paraoxonase-1, and NVP's metabolite profile. NVP treatment increased HDL-cholesterol, ApoA1 and paraoxonase-1 activities, and lowered anti-HDL and anti-ApoA1 titers. In the prospective study, the temporal modulation induced by NVP was different for each HDL-related endpoint. The first observation was a decrease in the anti-HDL antibodies titers. In the cross-sectional study, the lower titers of anti-HDL antibodies were associated to the proportion of 2-hydroxy-NVP (p = 0.03). In vitro models of hepatocytes were employed to clarify the individual contribution of NVP's metabolites for ApoA1 modulation. Long-term incubations of NVP and 2-hydroxy-NVP in the metabolically competent 3D model caused an increase in ApoA1 reaching 43 % (p < 0.05) and 86 % (p < 0.001), respectively. These results support the contribution of drug biotransformation for NVP-induced HDL modulation, highlighting the role of 2-hydroxy-NVP as ApoA1 booster and its association to lower anti-HDL titers. This biotransformation-guided approach allowed us to identify a non-toxic NVP metabolite as a candidate for targeting HDL.