Development of a Smartphone-Based System for Intrinsically Photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells Targeted Chromatic Pupillometry.

Chromatic Pupillometry, used to assess Pupil Light Reflex (PLR) to a coloured light stimulus, has regained interest since the discovery of melanopsin in the intrinsically photosensitive Retinal Ganglion Cells (ipRGCs). This technique has shown the potential to be used as a screening tool for neuro-ophthalmological diseases; however, most of the pupillometers available are expensive and not portable, making it harder for them to be used as a widespread screening tool. In this study, we developed a smartphone-based system for chromatic pupillometry that allows targeted stimulation of the ipRGCs.

Evaluating the success of vegetation restoration in rewilded salt marshes.

Floodbank realignment is a common practice aimed at restoring salt marsh vegetation on previously embanked land. However, experiences indicate that it may take several years before salt marsh vegetation becomes fully established. Various challenges arising from ecogeomorphic feedback mechanisms could pose significant setbacks to vegetation recolonization.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis latent infection in healthcare students: systematic review of prevalence.

Objective: The aim of this study was to synthesize the evidence on the prevalence of latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among undergraduate health care students.

Methods: A systematic review of prevalence with meta-analysis was conducted. Prospective and retrospective cohorts and cross-sectional studies involving probable exposure to M.

Using seagrass as a nature-based solution: Short-term effects of Zostera noltei transplant in benthic communities of a European Atlantic coastal lagoon.

Seagrass meadows provide several ecological functions that improve the overall ecological health of coastal systems and therefore, it is urgent to promote the restoration of such habitats. In Ria de Aveiro, a coastal lagoon in the Atlantic Coast of Portugal, a restoration initiative was responsible for transplanting the dwarf eelgrass Zostera noltei into a highly degraded area. This eelgrass was used as a nature-based solution (NbS) to mitigate some of the impacts of historical mercury contamination.

A trait-based framework for seagrass ecology: Trends and prospects.

In the last three decades, quantitative approaches that rely on organism traits instead of taxonomy have advanced different fields of ecological research through establishing the mechanistic links between environmental drivers, functional traits, and ecosystem functions. A research subfield where trait-based approaches have been frequently used but poorly synthesized is the ecology of seagrasses; marine angiosperms that colonized the ocean 100M YA and today make up productive yet threatened coastal ecosystems globally. Here, we compiled a comprehensive trait-based response-effect framework (TBF) which builds on previous concepts and ideas, including the use of traits for the study of community assembly processes, from dispersal and response to abiotic and biotic factors, to ecosystem function and service provision.

Geospatialization of tuberculosis and income transfer programs among Indigenous peoples in an endemic territory.

Objective: To analyze the spatial pattern of tuberculosis in Indigenous peoples from the State of Pará and its correlation with income transfer.

Methods: Ecological study, with 340 cases reported in Indigenous peoples in the State of Pará, Brazil, in the period 2016-2020. The study performed a descriptive analysis and calculation of incidence rates with smoothing by the local empirical Bayesian method.

Challenging Obstetrical Management in Generalized Peritonitis during Pregnancy.

Acute abdomen in pregnancy represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, despite the current advances in modern medicine, since the typical symptoms and altered laboratory parameters mimic normal pregnancy. Acute appendicitis is the most common nonobstetric surgical emergency during pregnancy, with an incidence of 1 per 500-2000 pregnancies. Delayed diagnosis and reluctance to operate on a pregnant woman predispose to adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.

Ambitious global targets for mangrove and seagrass recovery.

There is an urgent need to halt and reverse loss of mangroves and seagrass to protect and increase the ecosystem services they provide to coastal communities, such as enhancing coastal resilience and contributing to climate stability. Ambitious targets for their recovery can inspire public and private investment in conservation, but the expected outcomes of different protection and restoration strategies are unclear. We estimated potential recovery of mangroves and seagrass through gains in ecosystem extent to the year 2070 under a range of protection and restoration strategies implemented until the year 2050.

Enhancing the resilience of Zostera noltei seagrass meadows against Arenicola spp. bio-invasion: A decision-making approach.

Seagrass meadows provide important and valuable ecosystem services. They are affected by several natural and human-induced stressors, but a combination of natural recovery and management actions have recently inverted the worldwide reduction. The main objectives of this study were to provide science-based knowledge on ecology and restoration, framed on environmental-related policies.

Safety of patients with mental disorders: a collective construction of strategies.

Objective: to describe risk management implementation in the safety of patients with mental disorders through action research.

Method: an action research carried out with a multidisciplinary team from a reference hospital in mental health in Southeast Brazil.

Results: three strategies considered as managerial technologies for the mentally ill patient were developed: risk management diagram for patient safety; patient safety protocols; and textual proposal of software for internal management of incident notifications.

Blue Carbon stock in Zostera noltei meadows at Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (Portugal) over a decade.

This work assessed the Blue Carbon (C) stock in the seagrass meadows (Zostera noltei) of Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon (Portugal), and evaluated its spatio-temporal trend over the 2003-2005 to 2013-2014 period. Zostera noltei spatial distribution, restricted to intertidal areas in 2014, was mapped by remote sensing using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and aerial photography. Zostera noltei biomass was also monitored in situ over a year and its Blue C stock was estimated.

Sensitive detection of Piper nigrum L. adulterants by a novel screening approach based on qPCR.

The spice made from the fruits of Piper nigrum L. (Piperaceae) has high economic value since the beginnings of international trade. Because its price has been increasing, adulterations with papaya seeds, cayenne pepper and maize flour were reported.

Participatory coastal management through elicitation of ecosystem service preferences and modelling driven by "coastal squeeze".

The Baixo Vouga Lagunar (BVL) is part of Ria de Aveiro coastal lagoon in Portugal, which is classified as a Special Protection Area under the European Habitats and Birds Directives. This part of the system, corresponding to the confluence of the Vouga River with the lagoon, is very important culturally and socioeconomically for the local communities, taking place several human activities, especially agriculture. To prevent salt water intrusion from the Ria de Aveiro into agriculture fields, a floodbank was initiated in the 90's.

Early prenatal diagnosis of parapagus conjoined twins.

Conjoined twinning occurs in 1/100 of monozygotic twins, 1/50,000 gestations and 1/250,000 live births. It is the consequence of a division event at the primitive streak stage of the human embryonic development, about 13-14 days after fertilisation, in monochorionic monoamniotic gestations. A healthy pregnant woman, Gravida 2 Para 1, was admitted into our Fetal Medicine Unit to perform the first trimester ultrasound.

Effect of spatio-temporal shifts in salinity combined with other environmental variables on the ecological processes provided by Zostera noltei meadows.

The present study aims to assess the plastic response of Zostera noltei meadows traits under spatio-temporal shifts in salinity combined with sediment environmental variables (temperature; pH; loss-on-ignition (LOI); carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools (top 5 cm)). Z. noltei biomass, C and N pools, leaf photosynthetic performance and esterified fatty acid (FA) profile were assessed within a temperate coastal lagoon during winter and late spring, along sites spatially distributed.

'Blue Carbon' and Nutrient Stocks of Salt Marshes at a Temperate Coastal Lagoon (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal).

Ria de Aveiro is a mesotidal coastal lagoon with one of the largest continuous salt marshes in Europe. The objective of this work was to assess C, N and P stocks of Spartina maritima (low marsh pioneer halophyte) and Juncus maritimus (representative of mid-high marsh halophytes) combined with the contribution of Halimione portulacoides, Sarcocornia perennis, and Bolbochenous maritimus to the lagoon ≈4400 ha marsh area. A multivariate analysis (PCO), taking into account environmental variables and the annual biomass and nutrient dynamics, showed that there are no clear seasonal or spatial differences within low or mid-high marshes, but clearly separates J.

Quality assessment of a system of prenatal information.

Objective To evaluate the quality of the Prenatal Information System of the city of Vitoria - ES. Methods This is a cross-sectional study with an analysis of the Prenatal Information System Data (SISPRENATAL) from a municipality in the Southeast Region of Brazil. The quality of the system was evaluated according to the accessibility criteria, methodological clarity, timeliness and completeness defined by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Towards the development of multifunctional chitosan-based iron oxide nanoparticles: Optimization and modelling of doxorubicin release.

In the present work composite nanoparticles with a magnetic core and a chitosan-based shell were produced as drug delivery systems for doxorubicin (DOX). The results show that composite nanoparticles with a hydrodynamic diameter within the nanometric range are able to encapsulate more DOX than polymeric nanoparticles alone corresponding also to a higher drug release. Moreover the synthesis method of the iron oxide nanoparticles influences the total amount of DOX released and a high content of iron oxide nanoparticles inhibits DOX release.

Chitosan-based nanoparticles as drug delivery systems for doxorubicin: Optimization and modelling.

In the present work, two drug delivery systems were produced by encapsulating doxorubicin into chitosan and O-HTCC (ammonium-quaternary derivative of chitosan) nanoparticles. The results show that doxorubicin release is independent of the molecular weight and is higher at acidic pH (4.5) than at physiological pH.

Assessment of marine ecosystem services indicators: Experiences and lessons learned from 14 European case studies.

This article shares the experiences, observations, and discussions that occurred during the completing of an ecosystem services (ES) indicator framework to be used at European Union (EU) and Member States' level. The experience base was drawn from 3 European research projects and 14 associated case study sites that include 13 transitional-water bodies (specifically 8 coastal lagoons, 4 riverine estuaries, and 1 fjord) and 1 coastal-water ecosystem. The ES pertinent to each case study site were identified along with indicators of these ES and data sources that could be used for mapping.

Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping.

A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea).

An assessment of primary care attributes from the perspective of female healthcare users.

Objective: this study sought to assess the quality of the Family Health Strategy (FHS) and investigated the association between primary care attributes (PCAs) and the sociodemographic characteristics of users.

Method: a total of 215 female FHS users were interviewed for this descriptive and cross-sectional study. The Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCATool), Adult Edition was used, and the results were analyzed using Fisher's exact tests, Pearson's chi-square tests and logistic regressions.

Clinical and epidemiological profile of cases of deaths from stomach cancer in the National Cancer Institute, Brazil.

Introduction: Stomach cancer is the third most common cause of death worldwide, mainly affecting people with low socioeconomic status. In Brazil, we expect 20,390 new cases of stomach cancer in 2014, in both sexes, and according to the proportional distribution of the ten most prevalent types of cancer (except non-melanoma skin cancer) expected for 2014, this type of cancer was estimated to be the fourth most common in men and sixth in women.

Aim: To investigate and analyse the clinical and epidemiological profile of deaths caused by stomach adenocarcinoma in patients enrolled in the National Cancer Institute, Brazil.