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- Validation of a video-based system to determine heart rate for stress monitoringPublication . Ferreira, Simão; Rodrigues, Matilde; Rocha, NunoStudies estimate that about 50% of all lost workdays are related to occupational stress. Academic researchers have been using heart rate variability (HRV) as an indicator of stress. As a way of providing the needed heart rate data, an unobtrusive approach points to video plethysmography, being a recent method that needs further investigation and validation. Specific barriers such as room lighting conditions and face movement have been identified as the main risks for software progression. The present chapter presents a validation protocol of a video-based system to determine heart rate for stress monitoring, under different illuminance levels and position conditions. We present an in-depth protocol on how to assess the reliability of a video facial recognition software on collecting physiological data (heart rate), and our software results when compared to the gold standard, Electrocardiogram (ECG).
- What do preschool teachers and parents think about the influence of screen-time exposure on children’s development? Challenges and opportunitiesPublication . Monteiro, Rita; Fernandes, Sandra; Rocha, NunoChildren’s exposure to screens has been increasing in recent years and so has the concern about its impact on children’s development. This study aims to analyze preschool teachers’ and parents’ views on the influence of screen-time exposure on children’s development. Semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers (n = 9), as well as data from a previous quantitative study, based on an online questionnaire applied to parents of children in preschool (n = 266) were used for data collection. For this study, eminently of qualitative nature, the following dimensions were analyzed: children’s habits of exposure to screens at home, changes in children’s play habits at school, strategies/methodologies used by preschool teachers, use of technologies at school and children’s language development. The results from the study with parents show that screen-time exposure of children is between 1 h to 2 h of television per day, mostly to watch cartoons. Parents also report that most of the children use vocabulary in other languages at home. Most preschool teachers agreed that children are changing their play habits and mainly their behaviors and attitudes, influenced by screen-time exposure. They believe that language development is also changing, mentioning more language problems in children. Changes in pedagogic strategies and specialized training on educational technology are needed to get closer to children’s interests.
- New CTX-M group conferring β-Lactam resistance: A compendium of phylogenetic insights from biochemical, molecular, and structural biologyPublication . Mendonça, Jacinta; Guedes, Carla; Silva, Carina; Sá, Sara; Oliveira, Marco; Accioly, Gustavo; Baylina, Pilar; Barata, Pedro; Pereira, Cláudia; Fernandes, RubenThe production of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) is the main defense mechanism found in Gram negative bacteria. Among all the ESBLs, the CTX-M enzymes appear as the most efficient in terms of dissemination in different epidemiological contexts. CTX-M enzymes exhibit a striking plasticity, with a large number of allelic variants distributed in several sublineages, which can be associated with functional heterogeneity of clinical relevance. This observational analytical study provides an update of this family, currently with more than 200 variants described, from a phylogenetic, molecular, and structural point of view through homology in amino acid sequences. Our data, combined with described literature, provide phylogenetic and structural evidence of a new group. Thus, herein, we propose six groups among CTX-M enzymes: the already stablished CTX-M-1, CTX-M-2, CTX-M-8, CTX-M-9, and CTX-M-25 clusters, as well as CTX-M-151 as the new cluster.
- Ionizing radiation from radiopharmaceuticals and the human gut microbiota: An ex vivo approachPublication . Fernandes, Ana; Oliveira, Ana; Guedes, Carla; Fernandes, Rúben; Soares, Raquel; Barata, PedroThis study aimed to determine the effect of three widely used radiopharmaceuticals with intestinal excretion on selected relevant bacteria that are part of the human gut microbiota, using an ex vivo approach. Fecal samples obtained from healthy volunteers were analyzed. Each sample was divided into four smaller aliquots. One served as the non-irradiated control. The other three were homogenized with three radiopharmaceutical solutions ([131I]NaI, [99mTc]NaTcO4, and [223Ra]RaCl2). Relative quantification of each taxa was determined by the 2−ΔΔC method, using the ribosomal gene 16S as an internal control (primers 534/385). Twelve fecal samples were analysed: three controls and nine irradiated. Our experiment showed fold changes in all analyzed taxa with all radiopharmaceuticals, but results were more significant with I-131, ranging from 1.87–83.58; whereas no relevant differences were found with Tc-99m and Ra-223, ranging from 0.98–1.58 and 0.83–1.97, respectively. This study corroborates limited existing research on how ionizing radiation changes the gut microbiota composition, providing novel data regarding the ex vivo effect of radiopharmaceuticals. Our findings justify the need for future larger scale projects.
- Neuroinflammation and Parkinson’s disease—from neurodegeneration to therapeutic opportunitiesPublication . Araújo, Bruna; Caridade-Silva, Rita; Soares-Guedes, Carla; Martins-Macedo, Joana; Gomes, Eduardo D.; Monteiro, Susana; Teixeira, Fábio G.Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder world wide. Clinically, it is characterized by a progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons (DAn), resulting in severe motor complications. Preclinical and clinical studies have indicated that neuroin flammation can play a role in PD pathophysiology, being associated with its onset and progression. Nevertheless, several key points concerning the neuroinflammatory process in PD remain to be answered. Bearing this in mind, in the present review, we cover the impact of neuroinflammation on PD by exploring the role of inflammatory cells (i.e., microglia and astrocytes) and the interconnections between the brain and the peripheral system. Furthermore, we discuss both the innate and adaptive immune responses regarding PD pathology and explore the gut–brain axis communication and its influence on the progression of the disease.
- Synthesis and biological evaluation of Amphotericin B formulations based on organic salts and ionic liquids against Leishmania infantumPublication . Ferraz, Ricardo; Santarém, Nuno; Santos, Andreia F. M.; Jacinto, Manuel L.; Cordeiro-da-Silva, Anabela; Prudêncio, Cristina; Noronha, João Paulo; Branco, Luis C.; Petrovski, ŽeljkoNowadays, organic salts and ionic liquids (OSILs) containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are being explored as drug delivery systems in modern therapies (OSILs-API). In that sense, this work is focused on the development of novel OSILs-API based on amphotericin B through an innovative procedure and the evaluation of the respective biological activity against Leishmania infantum. Several ammonium, methylimidazolium, pyridinium and phosphonium organic cations combined with amphotericin B as anion were synthesized in moderate to high yields and high purities by the water-reduced buffer neutralization method. All prepared compounds were characterized to confirm the desired chemical structure and the specific optical rotation ([α]D25) was also determined. The biological assays performed on L. infantum promastigotes showed increased activity against this parasitic disease when compared with the starting chloride forms and amphotericin B alone, highlighting [P6,6,6,14][AmB] as the most promising formulation. Possible synergism in the antiprotozoal activity was also evaluated for [P6,6,6,14][AmB], since it was proven to be the compound with the highest toxicity. This work reported a simple synthetic method, which can be applied to prepare other organic salts based on molecules containing fragile chemical groups, demonstrating the potential of these OSILs-AmB as possible agents against leishmaniasis.
- Impact of umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal/stem cell secretome and cord blood serum in prostate cancer progressionPublication . Sousa, André ; Coelho, Pedro; Leite, Fernanda ; Teixeira, Catarina ; Rocha, Ana Catarina ; Santos, Inês ; Baylina, Pilar; Fernandes, Ruben ; Soares, Raquel ; Costa, Raquel ; Gomes, AndreiaProstate cancer (PCa) is the second most common malignancy in men, and the ffth leading cause of death worldwide. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSC) have been identifed in PCa, although contradictory efects in malignant transformation and tumor progression have been described. Since umbilical cord (UC) MSC and cord blood serum (CBS) are rich in numerous growth and anti-infammatory factors, UC-MSC secretome and CBS are able to modulate tumor cell proliferation and survival as well as immunity and angiogenesis. In the present study, we address this relationship and investigate the infuence of UC-MSC secretome and CBS on two human PCa cell lines (PC3 and LNCaP) and a normal epithelial prostate cell line (HPEpiC). Our results disclosed that upon exposure to UC-MSC-conditioned medium or CBS, both PC3 and LNCaP cells exhibited reduced viability, proliferation, and motility while non-malignant epithelial prostate cells were unafected. These fndings were corroborated by expression analysis of AKT/PI3K signaling pathway, p53 and interleukin genes. UC-MSC and CBS factors decreased the expression of growth-stimulating AKT and PI3K efectors and simultaneously up-regulated the expression of tumor-suppressor p53. Moreover, a more anti-infammatory expression profle was found in both malignant PCa cell lines. Altogether, these results shed light into possible mechanisms by which UC-MSC and CBS reduce PCa progression, further reinforcing their potential use as novel therapeutic agents in PCa.
- The relationship between childhood abuse and adult attachment styles: the mediator role of sensory over-responsivityPublication . Silva, Alexandra; Ferreira, Simão; Pinto, Élia Silva; Rocha, Susana Aguiar; Rocha, Nuno BarbosaChild abuse portrays health and well-being issues that can last for several years, including altering interpersonal behavior. Evidence has shown that these early negative experiences may cause changes in sensory modulation. This study aimed to understand if sensory over-responsivity (SOR) plays an important role in mediating the association between childhood abuse (emotional abuse, emotional neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse, physical neglect) and attachment-related anxiety or avoidance in adult romantic relationships. An online survey was conducted to examine these associations in a Portuguese community sample (N = 500) aged 18–62 years. The presented mediation models shown a higher mediation percentage for attachment-related anxiety rather than avoidance. All variables predicted the mediator, except sexual abuse which did not predict the overall model when the mediator was included. Our results have implications for individual treatment approaches regarding child abuse victims and can certainly influence intervention strategies.
- Does digital media use contribute to decreased expressive language skills of pre-school-aged children? An exploratory study in Portuguese childrenPublication . Monteiro, Rita; Ferreira, Simão; Fernandes, Sandra; Rocha, NunoThe purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between digital media use and expressive language skills in the semantic and morphosyntactic domains, of pre-school-aged children (3 years-and-0 months to 5 years-and-11 months). Verbal oral expression (VOE) tasks of the Pre-school Assessment of Language Test (Teste de Linguagem-Avaliação da Linguagem Pré-Escolar) were administered to 237 pre-school children with no previous identified neurological or developmental conditions associated with language disorders to assess expressive language skills in the semantic and morphosyntactic domains. Parents completed a questionnaire about their children’s medical conditions, development (using the milestones of the Survey of Well-being of Young Children and the Pre-school Paediatric Symptom Checklist), and exposure to screens (using ScreenQ). Correlations between VOE and continuous variables such as ScreenQ were computed and a regression model incorporating all variables significantly associated with total language verbal expression was created. ScreenQ revealed a negative and significant correlation with children’s verbal oral expression as well as significance in the regression model. Parents’ education was the most significant predictor in this regression model. This study emphasizes the importance of parents establishing limits for digital media use and promote good practices such as co-viewing.
- Dissociating cognitive and affective empathy across psychopathy dimensions: the role of interoception and alexithymiaPublication . Campos, Carlos; Rocha, Nuno Barbosa; Barbosa, FernandoThis study examined the associations between psychopathy dimensions (triarchic phenotypes and classical factors), empathy domains (cognitive and affective), and interoception (interoceptive attention and accuracy) while accounting for the putative role of alexithymia. A community sample (n = 515) completed an online survey encompassing: Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (boldness, meanness, disinhibition); Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (primary and secondary psychopathy); Body Perception Questionnaire (interoceptive attention); Interoceptive Accuracy Scale; Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Hierarchical linear regression models were implemented for hypothesis-driven analyses examining the associations between psychopathy, empathy, and interoception while controlling for sex, age, and alexithymia. Exploratory path models were employed to investigate alexithymia and/or cognitive empathy as mediators between interoception and psychopathy. Our results largely confirmed the postulated empathy profiles across psychopathy dimensions, as meanness and primary psychopathy displayed a broad empathy impairment, while disinhibition and secondary psychopathy were only associated with diminished cognitive empathy. Importantly, boldness displayed a unique pattern (enhanced cognitive empathy and reduced affective empathy), further reinforcing its importance within the constellation of psychopathy traits. Contrary to our hypotheses, self-perceived interoceptive attention and accuracy were not associated with either psychopathy dimension after controlling for alexithymia. However, interoceptive accuracy and alexithymia were associated with cognitive empathy, while alexithymia was also positively related to all psychopathy dimensions (as expected), despite the unexpected strong and negative association with boldness. Exploratory analyses suggested significant indirect effects (mediation) between interoceptive accuracy and psychopathy via alexithymia and/or cognitive empathy. These mediating effects must be interpreted with caution and future studies should be designed to formally test this model.