Advancing osteosarcoma 3D modeling in vitro for novel tumor microenvironment-targeted therapies development.

Osteosarcoma (OS) represents one of the most common primary bone cancers affecting children and young adults. The available treatments have remained unimproved for the past decades, hampered by the poor knowledge of OS etiology/pathophysiology and the lack of innovative, predictive and biologically relevant in vitro models, that can recapitulate the 3D OS tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, we report the development and characterization of an innovative 3D model of OS, composed of OS tumor cells, immune cells (macrophages) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), that formed a multicellular tissue spheroid (MCTS).

Patient-Derived Melanoma Immune-Tumoroids as a Platform for Precise High throughput Drug Screening.

In vitro models are crucial in cancer research, but they must truthfully mimic in vivo tumors for clinical relevance. The development of unprecedent melanoma quadruple multicellular tumoroids (MCTs) is proposed comprising tumor cells, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and monocytes that replicate tumor architecture, tumor microenvironment, and secretome behavior. These MCTs of 300 µm in diameter secreted keratin and collagen, showing complexity proportional to their cell combinations.

Exploring Nanocarriers for Boosting Entacapone Bioavailability: A Journey through System Characterization and Assessment of Toxicity and Pharmacological and 2D Permeability Paybacks.

Catechol--methyltransferase inhibitors (iCOMT), such as entacapone, have been successfully employed to treat tremor-related symptoms of Parkinson's disease. However, iCOMT has been associated with a short half-life and poor oral bioavailability. Nanobased drug delivery systems have often been used to overcome this type of setbacks.

A Sex-Specific Trade-Off Between Pesticide Resistance and Tolerance to Heat-Induced Sterility in .

Current pest management relies extensively on pesticide application worldwide, despite the frequent rise of pesticide resistance in crop pests. This is particularly worrisome because resistance is often not costly enough to be lost in populations after pesticide application, resulting in increased dependency on pesticide application. As climate warming increases, effort should be put into understanding how heat tolerance will affect the persistence of pesticide resistance in populations.

Multicriteria Measures to Assess the Sustainability of Diets: A Systematic Review.

Context: Assessing the overall sustainability of a diet is a challenging undertaking requiring a holistic approach capable of addressing the multicriteria nature of this concept.

Objective: The aim was to identify and summarize the multicriteria measures used to assess the sustainability characteristics of diets reported at the individual level by healthy adults.

Data Sources: Articles were identified via PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Association between bisphenol A exposure and cardiometabolic outcomes: A longitudinal approach.

Increased cardiometabolic risk is associated with abnormalities in blood biomarkers profile and adiposity measurements. Some substances found in the food matrix and the environment, called endocrine-disrupting chemicals, may impair cardiometabolic health in the early and later stages of life. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a food contaminant that migrates from food contact materials and may act as an endocrine disruptor, negatively affecting human health.

Exploring the virulence potential of Staphylococcus aureus CC121 and CC152 lineages related to paediatric community-acquired bacteraemia in Manhiça, Mozambique.

Staphylococcus aureus is a frequent agent of bacteraemia. This bacterium has a variety of virulence traits that allow the establishment and maintenance of infection. This study explored the virulence profile of S.

Bisphenol A and cardiometabolic risk in adolescents: Data from the Generation XXI cohort.

Background And Aims: Bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor widely used in food contact materials, has been linked to a worse health profile. This study intends to estimate the association between BPA exposure and cardiometabolic patterns at adolescence.

Methods And Results: Data from the Portuguese population-based birth cohort Generation XXI at the age of 13 were used (n = 2386 providing 3-day food diaries and fasting blood samples).

Rare cause of jaundice in a term newborn.

Neonatal jaundice is a frequently observed occurrence in full-term newborns and typically manifests between 48 and 96 hours following birth. Early-onset jaundice is primarily induced by pathological factors, namely sepsis, hemolysis and an excessive accumulation of bilirubin resulting from the breakdown of red blood cells.We present a case involving a full-term newborn with an uneventful perinatal history, who exhibited jaundice within the initial day of life and was subsequently admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit to commence intensive phototherapy.

Leveraging Emotion for Behavior Change: Lessons from Implementation of the "Emo-Demo" Behavior Change Technique in Rural Mozambique.

Innovative social behavior change communication (SBCC) can help improve child nutrition, but little is known about the process of implementing innovative nutrition SBCC strategies in resource-poor settings and associated challenges. This research study examines emotional demonstrations (Emo-Demos), interactive game-like group activities that aim to spark behavior change by pulling emotional levers. It seeks to determine whether they are feasible and acceptable for implementers and targeted community members in rural Mozambique, aiming to draw lessons for the application of similar highly interactive SBCC approaches in resource-poor settings-a key equity issue.

Methodological approaches for the assessment of bisphenol A exposure.

Unlabelled: Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor used in food contact materials, by the application of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. The main objective of this study is to compare the estimate of daily BPA exposure at 13 years of age and in the adult Portuguese population, using different methodological approaches, and assess the associations between this exposure and sociodemographic characteristics.

Methodology: Cross-sectional data of 13-years follow-up from a population-based birth cohort Generation XXI (GXXI) (n = 2804) and from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (IAN-AF 2015-2016) (n = 3845, ≥18 years old) was used.

Antimicrobial resistance and clonality of causing bacteraemia in children admitted to the Manhiça District Hospital, Mozambique, over two decades.

Background: is one of the main causes of bacteraemia, associated with high mortality, mainly due to the occurrence of multidrug resistant (MDR) strains. Data on antibiotic susceptibility and genetic lineages of bacteraemic are still scarce in Mozambique. The study aims to describe the antibiotic susceptibility and clonality of isolated from blood cultures of children admitted to the Manhiça District Hospital over two decades (2001-2019).

Genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance profiles of associated with skin and soft-tissue infections in companion animals in Lisbon, Portugal.

is the main bacterial pathogen of skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) in companion animals. Antimicrobial resistance in this species is a growing public health concern. This study aims to characterize a collection of causing SSTIs in companion animals, establishing the main clonal lineages and antimicrobial resistance traits.

Exploring Efflux as a Mechanism of Reduced Susceptibility towards Biocides and Fluoroquinolones in .

is the main bacterial cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in companion animals, particularly dogs. The emergence of methicillin-resistant (MRSP) strains, frequently with multidrug resistance phenotypes is a public health concern. This study aimed to evaluate efflux, a resistance mechanism still poorly characterized in , as a contributor to biocide and fluoroquinolone resistance.

The Influence of Serious Games in the Promotion of Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Health: A Systematic Review.

(1) Background: serious games seem to show promising strategies to promote treatment compliance and motivate behavior changes, and some studies have proven to contribute to the literature on serious games. (2) Methods: this systematic review aimed to analyze the effect of serious games in promoting healthy eating behaviors, effectively preventing childhood obesity, and improving physical activity in children. Five electronic bibliographic databases-PubMed, ACM Digital Library, Games for Health Journal, and IEEE Xplore were used to conduct a systematic literature search based on fixed inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Epidemiology and clinical presentation of community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in children under 5 years of age admitted to the Manhiça District Hospital, Mozambique, 2001-2019.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is one of the most common bloodstream infections globally. Data on the burden and epidemiology of community-acquired SAB in low-income countries are scarce but needed to define preventive and management strategies. Blood samples were collected from children < 5 years of age with fever or severe disease admitted to the Manhiça District Hospital for bacterial isolation, including S.

Occurrence and Variability of the Efflux Pump Gene across the Genus.

NorA is one of the main native MDR efflux pumps of , contributing to reduced susceptibility towards fluoroquinolones and biocides, but little is known about its variability within or its distribution and conservation among other staphylococci. We screened for sequences homologous to and found it in 61 out of the 63 species described. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the occurrence of across the genus.

Virulence Potential of Biofilm-Producing , and Causing Skin Infections in Companion Animals.

Coagulase-positive staphylococci (CoPS) account for most bacteria-related pyoderma in companion animals. Emergence of methicillin-resistant strains of (MRSP), (MRSA) or (MRSC), often with multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotypes, is a public health concern. The study collection comprised 237 staphylococci ( ( = 155), ( = 55) and ( = 27)) collected from companion animals, previously characterized regarding resistance patterns and clonal lineages.

gen. nov., sp. nov., gen. nov., sp. nov. and sp. nov., isolated from inter- and subtidal environments from northern Portugal.

The morphology, 16S rRNA gene phylogeny and 16S-23S rRNA gene ITS secondary structures of three strains of marine Cyanobacteria, isolated from inter- and subtidal environments from north Portugal were studied, resulting in the description of gen. nov., sp.

Causing Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Companion Animals: Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles and Clonal Lineages.

is a relevant agent of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in animals. Fifty-five comprising all SSTI-related isolates in companion animals, collected between 1999 and 2018 (Lab 1) or 2017 and 2018 (Lab 2), were characterized regarding susceptibility to antibiotics and heavy metals and carriage of antimicrobial resistance determinants. Clonal lineages were established by PFGE, MLST and typing.

Risk characterization of dietary acrylamide exposure and associated factors in the Portuguese population.

Acrylamide exposure, mainly resulting from food cooking and processing, has been associated with a higher risk of health problems, due to genotoxic effects. This study aims to estimate acrylamide dietary exposure of the Portuguese population and its associated factors. Dietary data collected through 2 non-consecutive 24 hour recalls or food diaries from a representative sample of the Portuguese population from the National Food, Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey was used ( = 5811; 3-84 years).

Drug Delivery Systems for Photodynamic Therapy: The Potentiality and Versatility of Electrospun Nanofibers.

Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) has become a promising approach for the treatment of a broad range of diseases, including oncological and infectious diseases. This minimally invasive and localized therapy is based on the production of reactive oxygen species able to destroy cancer cells and inactivate pathogens by combining the use of photosensitizers (PSs), light, and molecular oxygen. To overcome the drawbacks of drug systemic administration, drug delivery systems (DDS) can be used to carrier the PSs, allowing higher therapeutic efficacy and minimal toxicological effects.