Sequenciação Total do Genoma no Instituto Ricardo Jorge: um virar de página na Microbiologia Clínica

comunicação oral, CO5Esta comunicação tem como objectivo divulgar à comunidade médico-científica o impacto significativo que a WGS, agora disponível no Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), terá em termos de Microbiologia Clínica.N/

HIV-Associated Facial Lipodystrophy: Experience of a Tertiary Referral Center With Fat and Dermis-Fat Compound Graft Transfer

Objectives: HIV-associated lipodystrophy is a common comorbidity in HIV-infected patients, having a profound impact on every aspect of patients' lives, particularly when involving the face. Hence, it is of the utmost importance to evaluate the result of any potential therapies that may help solve HIV-associated facial lipodystrophy. The aim of this article was to evaluate the outcome of patients undergoing facial lipodystrophy correction surgery within our institution. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical charts and iconographic information of patients regarding demographics, morphologic changes, surgical option, postoperative complications, results, and patient satisfaction assessed by a 1- to 10-point scale and by the Assessment of Body Change and Distress questionnaire. Results: Twenty-three patients were operated on from March 2011 to April 2015. Seventy-five percent of cases were treated with fat graft injection, whereas dermis-fat grafts were applied in 25% of patients. The former had their fat harvested more commonly from the abdomen, whereas in the latter case, the graft was harvested mostly from the inner aspect of arms. The mean volume of fat injected on each side of the face was 28.5 ± 22.7 mL. On a scale from 1 to 10, mean patient satisfaction was 7.7 ± 2.8. The Assessment of Body Change and Distress questionnaire revealed statistically significant improvements. Complications occurred in 25% of cases, the most frequent being significant reabsorption. No major complications occurred. Conclusions: Treatment of HIV-associated facial lipodystrophy with autologous fat or dermis-fat compound graft is a safe procedure with long-lasting results and unquestionable aesthetic and social benefits.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evidence for a spectroscopic direct detection of reflected light from 51 Peg b

The detection of reflected light from an exoplanet is a difficult technical challenge at optical wavelengths. Even though this signal is expected to replicate the stellar signal, not only is it several orders of magnitude fainter, but it is also hidden among the stellar noise. We apply a variant of the cross-correlation technique to HARPS observations of 51 Peg to detect the reflected signal from planet 51 Peg b. Our method makes use of the cross-correlation function of a binary mask with high-resolution spectra to amplify the minute planetary signal that is present in the spectra by a factor proportional to the number of spectral lines when performing the cross correlation. The resulting cross-correlation functions are then normalized by a stellar template to remove the stellar signal. Carefully selected sections of the resulting normalized CCFs are stacked to increase the planetary signal further. The recovered signal allows probing several of the planetary properties, including its real mass and albedo. We detect evidence for the reflected signal from planet 51 Peg b at a significance of 3\sigma_noise. The detection of the signal permits us to infer a real mass of 0.46^+0.06_-0.01 M_Jup (assuming a stellar mass of 1.04\;M_Sun) for the planet and an orbital inclination of 80^+10_-19 degrees. The analysis of the data also allows us to infer a tentative value for the (radius-dependent) geometric albedo of the planet. The results suggest that 51Peg b may be an inflated hot Jupiter with a high albedo (e.g., an albedo of 0.5 yields a radius of 1.9 \pm 0.3 R_Jup for a signal amplitude of 6.0\pm0.4 x 10^-5). We confirm that the method we perfected can be used to retrieve an exoplanet's reflected signal, even with current observing facilities. The advent of next generation of observing facilities will yield new opportunities for this type of technique to probe deeper into exoplanets.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Effect of chitosan-Aloe vera coating on postharvest quality of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) fruit

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effect of chitosan-based edible coatings with Aloe vera extract on the postharvest blueberry fruit quality during storage at 5 °C. Firstly, A. vera fractions (pulp and liquid) were extracted from leaves and evaluated in terms of antifungal and antioxidant capacities. The choice of the most adequate chitosan and A. vera fraction concentrations to be incorporated in coating formulation was made based on the wettability of the corresponding coating solutions. Coatings with 0.5% (w/v) chitosan + 0.5% (w/v) glycerol + 0.1% (w/v) Tween 80 + 0.5% (v/v) A. vera liquid fraction presented the best characteristics to uniformly coat blueberry surface. Physico-chemical (i.e., titratable acidity, pH, weight loss) and microbiological analyses of coated blueberries (non-inoculated or artificially inoculated with Botrytis cinerea) were performed during 25 d. Microbiological growth and water loss levels were approximately reduced by 50% and 42%, respectively, in coated blueberries after 25 d compared to uncoated blueberries. After 15 d, weight loss values were 6.2% and 3.7% for uncoated and chitosanA. vera coated blueberries, respectively. Uncoated fruits presented mold contamination after 2 d of storage (2.0 ± 0.32 log CFU g1), whilst fruits with chitosan-based coatings with A. vera presented mold contamination only after 9 d of storage (1.3 ± 0.35 log CFU g1). Overall, coatings developed in this study extend blueberries shelf-life for about 5 d, demonstrating for the first time that the combination of chitosan and A. vera liquid fraction as edible coating materials has great potential in expanding the shelf-life of fruits.Joana T. Martins (SFRH/BPD/89992/2012) is the recipient of a fellowship from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal). María L. Flores-López thanks Mexican Science and Technology Council(CONACYT, Mexico) for PhD fellowship support (CONACYT Grant number: 215499/310847). The authors thank the FCT the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and the project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER- 027462)

Postharvest shelf life extension of blueberries using a chitosan-based edible coating containing aloe vera juice

PosterBlueberries are currently one of the most valuable fruits worldwide, due to their organoleptic and nutritional properties. However these fruits are highly perishable due to their susceptibility to fungal infections (e.g. Botrytis cinerea) and water loss during storage. Edible coatings can improve fruits quality and extend their shelf life by providing a barrier to moisture and gases. The incorporation of natural antifungal compounds, e.g. Aloe vera, into edible coatings provides a novel way to enhance edible coatings properties without using synthetic compounds. In this study, chitosan-based coating (0.5% (w/v)) incorporating Aloe vera juice (0.5% (w/v)) was applied to blueberries to evaluate: (1) their antifungal efficiency and (2) postharvest quality of cold-stored blueberries. Uncoated (B) and coated blueberry (BC) samples were monitored over 25 days at 5.5±0.6 °C and 90±3 % relative humidity. During storage time, samples were analyzed in terms of weight loss, microbiological growth, titratable acidity, pH, soluble solids content, and color properties. Results showed that BC treatment delayed blueberries dehydration after 25 days, since B and BC samples weight losses were 6.2% and 3.7%, respectively. B samples presented contamination after 2 days of storage (2.0 log CFU/g), whilst BC samples presented mold contamination only after 9 days of storage (1.3 log CFU/g). The pH of BC samples remained lower (3.15) than that of B samples (3.54) after 12 days of storage. During storage, B samples had significantly lower titratable acidity values than BC samples (p<0.05), demonstrating that the coating helped retaining acidity of blueberries. Chitosan-based coatings with Aloe vera demonstrated great potential in extending blueberries shelf-life (about 5 days). Moreover, two main factors of blueberry postharvest deterioration (microbiological growth and water loss levels) were reduced, which may represent a significant commercial value to blueberries producers

Indução de resistência e promoção de crescimento em plantas de arroz tratadas com silício e bioagentes.

Os bioagentes são conhecidos pela eficácia em induzir a defesa e promover crescimento das plantas, e o silício por suprimir doenças ao reforçar as barreiras físicas. O efeito supressor e promotor da combinação entre adubação silicatada e bioindutores foi investigado no patossitema arroz/Magnaporthe oryzae, avaliando-se as concentrações 0, 1, 2, 4 e 8 ton.ha-1 de silicato de cálcio e magnésio e o modo de aplicação dos bioagentes Rizo-46, Rizo-55 e Trichoderma sp

Associação genética negativa entre prolificidade e peso ao nascer em ovinos da raça Morada Nova criados no semiárido.

Resumo: Os dados utilizados neste estudo foram provenientes de ovinos da raça Morada Nova, pertencentes à rebanhos participantes do Núcleo de Melhoramento Genético Participativos de Ovinos da Raça Morada Nova e inseridos no Programa de Melhoramento Genético de Caprinos e Ovinos de Corte ? GENECOC. A matriz de parentesco utilizada continha 4.342 animais. Previamente, as características prolificidade (PROL) e peso ao nascimento (PN) foram analisadas utilizando o procedimento MIXED do programa SAS®, para definição dos efeitos fixos que comporiam o modelo de análise. Assim, foram incluídos no modelo os efeitos de grupo contemporâneo (animais paridos na mesma estação e ano e submetidos ao mesmo manejo), ordem de parto e efeito de ambiente permanente do animal, além da covariável peso ao parto das matrizes para característica prolificidade (PROL). Já para peso ao nascimento (PN) o modelo continha efeitos de grupo contemporâneo (animais nascidos na mesma estação e ano e submetidos ao mesmo manejo), idade da ovelha ao parto, efeito materno e efeito de ambiente permanente materno. As estimativas dos parâmetros genéticos foram obtidas pelo método da Máxima Verossimilhança Restrita não Derivativa (DFREML), utilizando o programa MTDFREML, em análises uni característica e, posteriormente, análise bicaracterística entre PROL x PN. Nas análises uni característica, as herdabilidades foram de magnitude moderada a alta. As herdabilidades da análise bicaracterística foram diferentes dos valores apresentados na análise uni característica para prolificidade (PROL) e peso ao nascimento (PN), enquanto para herdabilidade materna para peso ao nascimento (PNm) os valores não diferiram nas duas análises. As estimativas de correlação genética entre o PROL x PN, PROL x PNm e PN xPNm foram, respectivamente, -0,45, -0,26 e -0,35, indicando que a seleção para prolificidade levaria a uma diminuição no peso ao nascer dos cordeiros

Averaged Methods for Vortex-String Evolution

We discuss friction-dominated vortex-string evolution using a new analytic model recently developed by the authors. By treating the average string velocity, as well as the characteristic lengthscale, as dynamical variables, we can provide a quantitative picture of the complete evolution of a vortex-string network. Previously known scaling laws are confirmed, and new quantitative predictions regarding loop production and evolution are made.Comment: REVTeX, 21 pages, 23 .eps files included. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B. Minor changes---but some key concepts clarifie

Ecofisiologia da germinação de Lavandula luisieri (Roseira) Rivaz-Martínez

A capacidade germinativa de Lavandula luisieri (Rozeira) Rivas-Martínez, espécie endémica da Península Ibérica, pertencente à família Lamiaceae, cujos diásporos foram colhidas em quatro locais da Beira Interior-Portugal (Casal da Fraga, Mata, Penamacor e Vila Velha de Ródão), foi avaliada durante dois anos. Sementes conservadas durante diferentes tempos após colheita, foram ensaiadas em condições controladas de temperatura e luz. As modalidades seleccionadas foram: para um tempo de conservação de 40 dias a temperatura contínua de 25ºC e fotoperíodo de 16h e para a alternância de 8º/18ºC o fotoperíodo de 8h que coincidiu com a temperatura mais elevada; para um tempo de conservação de 75 dias, a temperatura contínua de 25ºC e os fotoperíodos de 8h e 16h; para um tempo de conservação de 110 dias a alternância de 8º/18ºC e fotoperíodo de 8h; para um tempo de conservação de 288 dias, a alternância de 8º/18ºC e fotoperíodo de 8h e a temperatura contínua de 25ºC e um fotoperíodo de 16h. Os resultados confirmam que as condições de Outono (temperaturas alternas de 8º/18ªC ) foram as mais adequadas para a germinação desta espécie durante os diferentes tempos de conservação

"I go I die, I stay I die, better to stay and die in my house": understanding the barriers to accessing health care in Timor-Leste.

BACKGROUND: Despite public health care being free at the point of delivery in Timor-Leste, wealthier patients access hospital care at nearly twice the rate of poorer patients. This study seeks to understand the barriers driving inequitable utilisation of hospital services in Timor-Leste from the perspective of community members and health care managers. METHODS: This multisite qualitative study in Timor-Leste conducted gender segregated focus groups (n = 8) in eight districts, with 59 adults in urban and rural settings, and in-depth interviews (n = 8) with the Director of community health centres. Communication was in the local language, Tetum, using a pre-tested interview schedule. Approval was obtained from community and national stakeholders, with written consent from participants. RESULTS: Lack of patient transport is the critical cross-cutting issue preventing access to hospital care. Without it, many communities resort to carrying patients by porters or on horseback, walking or paying for (unaffordable) private arrangements to reach hospital, or opt for home-based care. Other significant out-of-pocket expenses for hospital visits were blood supplies from private suppliers; accommodation and food for the patient and family members; and repatriation of the deceased. Entrenched nepotism and hospital staff denigrating patients' hygiene and personal circumstances were also widely reported. Consequently, some respondents asserted they would never return to hospital, others delayed seeking treatment or interrupted their treatment to return home. Most considered traditional medicine provided an affordable, accessible and acceptable substitute to hospital care. Obtaining a referral for higher level care was not a significant barrier to gaining access to hospital care. CONCLUSIONS: Onerous physical, financial and socio-cultural barriers are preventing or discouraging people from accessing hospital care in Timor-Leste. Improving access to quality primary health care at the frontline is a key strategy for ensuring universal access to health care, pursued alongside initiatives to overcome the multi-faceted barriers to hospital care experienced by the vulnerable. Improving the availability and functioning of patient transport services, provision of travel subsidies to patients and their families and training hospital staff in standards of professional care are some options available to government and donors seeking faster progress towards universal health coverage in Timor-Leste