Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2011-10-15"
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- 3D vs 2D Cell Cultures in the Evaluation of Radiobiological Effects of Exposition to Low Doses - Medical Imaging Levels - of Ionizing RadiationPublication . Costa, Pedro; Caires, Hugo; Lemos, Joana; Cunha, Lídia; Bravo, Joana; Bravo, Isabel; Silva, Regina; Summavielle, Teresa; Metello, Luís F.Pretending to develop advanced biological models to study biological effects of low doses of ionizing radiation and following the actual policies on Animal Sciences, based on 3 R’s Rule (to Reduce, Refine and Replace) – that limits as much as possible the application of animal models – scientific research using cellular models is constantly increasing. Nevertheless, the intrinsic limitations of actual cellular models quite often had been recognized on a significant number of papers pointing a significant number of non-concordances between results obtained using in vitro and in vivo studies. Actually, an increasing number of authors admit that three-dimensional cell culture (and spheroid cell culture in particular) could represent an interesting solution and a step further on use of cellular models. The work here to be presented reflects the first phase on the use of this methodology on the study, evaluation and quantification of cellular effects of low doses – starting on medical imaging level - of exposition to ionizing radiation.
- In the Way to ISO 9001:2008: Obtaining the Quality Certification in Public Higher EducationPublication . Metello, Luís F.; Cunha, Lídia; Lemos, Joana; Lourenço, Leonel; Ferreira, Sara; Nogueira, Fábio; Vieira, Domingos; Pinto, HelenaQuality Management in Higher Education is a rather complex and each day more challenging process. Nevertheless, it is believed to soon become the cornerstone for the development of modern Higher Education, so with an increasing role on Society itself; the clear assumption of this might be the – so needed - turning point in the relations between Academy and the “Real World”, helping to fill the gap.
- Zebrafish and Nuclear Medicine methods and techniques: an each-day improving partnershipPublication . Lemos, Joana; Metello, Luís F.; Caires, Hugo; Costa, Pedro; Martins, Rosario; Bravo, Isabel; Carvalho, António Paulo; Vasconcelos, VítorAims: This work aims the introduction of zebrafish as a very promising and each day more interesting animal model in radiobiology. It will be briefly discussed the most relevant advantages and disadvantages related with the use of zebrafish, mentioning some of the previous studies using this model in Nuclear Medicine and concluding with its potential applications.
- Study of Non-Targeted Effects Induced on Cell Lines Using Low Doses of Ionizing RadiationPublication . Caires, Hugo R.; Costa, Pedro; Lemos, Joana; Silva, Regina; Bravo, Isabel; Cunha, Lídia; Metello, Luís F.The LNT - Linear-no-Threshold model, used to analyze dose-effect ratios after biological irradiation exposures, theorizes that effects produced are directly proportional to the irradiating doses, with a linear without threshold pattern. Nevertheless, there is a relevant number of evidence, accumulated essentially over the last decade, suggesting that risks inherent to low doses of irradiation cannot be strictly predicted by the LNT model. Among those, there is a significant number of experimental evidence for a variety of low dose induced biological phenomena, which seems to have an impact on modulating the shape of dose-effect curves, namely for expositions below 0.2 Sv, causing the deviation of LNT model. Accumulated evidence demonstrate that cell irradiation induces biological effects, both to directly irradiated cells as well as to cells not exposed to any kind of ionizing radiation, present in a mixed population. This assumption is breaking the classical idea, based on the belief that damage to cellular DNA is only induced by purely ionizing events in cells directly irradiated. This phenomenon, based on cell communication pathways, is termed “Bystander Effect” - clearly highlighted between the “non-targeted effects” of irradiation not considered by the LNT model - being considered one of the biggest paradigm shifts of modern radiobiology.
- The Role of Mitochondria in Acetyl-L-Carnitine Neuroprotective ActionPublication . Cunha, Lídia; Bravo, Joana; Costa, Pedro; Gonçalves, Raquel; Rodrigues, Catarina; Rodrigues, Adriano; Metello, Luís F.; Summavielle, TeresaIt is widely known that a number of chronic neurodegenerative disorders are related with dysfunctional mitochondria. Although it has been proposed that Acetyl-L-Carnitine (ALC) confers neuroprotection through mitochondria viability improvement, little is known concerning the molecular mechanisms involved. We propose to characterize the action of ALC in mitochondria bioenergetics and functional integrity.
- The Bologna Era and the Nuclear Medicine Technologists Education: three years afterPublication . Metello, Luís F.; Cunha, LídiaAllied Health Technologies in general and Medical Imaging in particular are medical specialities where the intrinsic dynamic nature and the absolute need for the related health professionals to entirely comply with an external environment in constant evolution, with technical and regulatory issues obliging the provision of a solid basic education to be complemented with an adequate long-life learning attitude. At our institution the “Bologna Process” was considered as a great opportunity to re-think all the educative process, and the Nuclear Medicine Degree Course chose the moment to work on its adaptation regarding the real nature of the competences perceived as needed – and so naturally expected as an intrinsic characteristic from the new graduates - as well as the possible best solutions to optimize the correlation between the formal and informal education received, the “real world” needs and the preparation towards its predictable evolution.