Nutrition-related knowledge and its determinants in middle-aged and older patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aims: To analyse nutrition-related knowledge and its determinants in middle-aged and older patients with T2D.

Methods: In a cross sectional study, a total of 116 participants with T2D, aged 50-80 years, were recruited in primary health care. Data was collected by a self-reported questionnaire - the modified version of General Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (0-56 points).

Quality Indicators for Mental Health in Primary Care - A Comparison Between Literature Review Methods.

Evidence regarding quality indicators in primary health care is a major need for better mental health management, monitoring and decision-making. In this paper, we compared two methods of retrieving quality indicators for mental health in primary care by means of an umbrella review, that included eight systematic reviews, and of grey literature. From the umbrella review, 48 primary studies that composed the 8 revisions were analyzed.

Diatraea saccharalis history of colonization in the Americas. The case for human-mediated dispersal.

The sugarcane borer moth, Diatraea saccharalis, is one of the most important pests of sugarcane and maize crops in the Western Hemisphere. The pest is widespread throughout South and Central America, the Caribbean region and the southern United States. One of the most intriguing features of D.

A Comparative Study between Knocked-Down Aligned Carbon Nanotubes and Buckypaper-Based Strain Sensors.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are one of the most promising materials in sensing applications due to their electrical and mechanical properties. This paper presents a comparative study between CNT Buckypaper (BP) and aligned CNT-based strain sensors. The Buckypapers were produced by vacuum filtration of commercial CNTs dispersed in two different solvents, N,N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) and ethanol, forming freestanding sheets, which were cut in 10 × 10 mm squares and transferred to polyimide (PI) films.

Effects of Adding Vertical or Horizontal Force-Vector Exercises to In-season General Strength Training on Jumping and Sprinting Performance of Youth Football Players.

Abade, E, Silva, N, Ferreira, R, Baptista, J, Gonçalves, B, Osório, S, and Viana, JL. Effects of adding vertical or horizontal force-vector exercises to in-season general strength training on jumping and sprinting performance of youth football players. J Strength Cond Res 35(10): 2769-2774, 2021-Football is characterized by short-term high-intensity triaxial activities that require optimized neuromuscular capacity.

Resurrecting the interval of need concept to improve dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and social care practitioners.

Academics, social care practitioners, and policymakers speak different languages. If academic research is to have an impact on society, it must be understandable and convincing to the end users. We argue that the conceptualisation of social care "need" is different among these stakeholders, leading to poor communication between them.

Sustained exercise programs for hemodialysis patients: The characteristics of successful approaches in Portugal, Canada, Mexico, and Germany.

Despite having good intentions, hemodialysis (HD) clinics often fail to sustain exercise programs that they initiate. There are many reasons for this, including a lack of funding, inadequate training of the clinic staff, a lack of exercise professionals to manage the program or train the staff, and the many challenges inherent to exercising a patient population with multiple comorbid diseases. Despite these barriers, there are several outstanding examples of successful exercise programs in HD clinics throughout the world.

Ultrasound assessment of muscle mass in response to exercise training in chronic kidney disease: a comparison with MRI.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a catabolic condition associated with muscle wasting and dysfunction, which associates with morbidity and mortality. There is a need for simple techniques capable of monitoring changes in muscle size with disease progression and in response to interventions aiming to increase muscle mass and function. Ultrasound is one such technique; however, it is unknown how well changes in muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) measured using ultrasound relate to changes in whole muscle volume measured using magnetic resonance imaging.

Carbonaceous Filler Type and Content Dependence of the Physical-Chemical and Electromechanical Properties of Thermoplastic Elastomer Polymer Composites.

Graphene, carbon nanotubes (CNT), and carbon nanofibers (CNF) are the most studied nanocarbonaceous fillers for polymer-based composite fabrication due to their excellent overall properties. The combination of thermoplastic elastomers with excellent mechanical properties (e.g.

Vascular and morphological features of the corpus luteum 12 to 20 days after timed artificial insemination in dairy cattle.

Our objective was to retrospectively compare pregnant versus nonpregnant cattle in terms of vascular and morphometric changes in corpora lutea between d 12 and 20 following timed artificial insemination (TAI). Crossbred (Gir × Holstein) lactating dairy cows (n = 136) and heifers (n = 111) were bred after synchronizing ovulations using an estradiol plus progesterone (P4)-based protocol. Corpus luteum (CL) characteristics (area, echotexture, blood flow) were recorded at 48-h intervals from d 12 to 20 following TAI using an ultrasound equipped with color Doppler.

The SUMO-Conjugase Ubc9 Prevents the Degradation of the Dopamine Transporter, Enhancing Its Cell Surface Level and Dopamine Uptake.

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is a plasma membrane protein responsible for the uptake of released dopamine back to the presynaptic terminal and ending dopamine neurotransmission. The DAT is the molecular target for cocaine and amphetamine as well as a number of pathological conditions including autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dopamine transporter deficiency syndrome (DTDS), and Parkinson's disease. The DAT uptake capacity is dependent on its level in the plasma membrane.

Twelve weeks of supervised exercise improves self-reported symptom burden and fatigue in chronic kidney disease: a secondary analysis of the 'ExTra CKD' trial.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients experience a high symptom burden including fatigue, sleep difficulties, muscle weakness and pain. These symptoms reduce levels of physical function (PF) and activity, and contribute to poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Despite the gathering evidence of positive physiological changes following exercise in CKD, there is limited evidence on its effect on self-reported symptom burden, fatigue, HRQoL and physical activity.

Tropical South Atlantic influence on Northeastern Brazil precipitation and ITCZ displacement during the past 2300 years.

Recent paleoclimatic studies suggest that changes in the tropical rainbelt across the Atlantic Ocean during the past two millennia are linked to a latitudinal shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) driven by the Northern Hemisphere (NH) climate. However, little is known regarding other potential drivers that can affect tropical Atlantic rainfall, mainly due to the scarcity of adequate and high-resolution records. In this study, we fill this gap by reconstructing precipitation changes in Northeastern Brazil during the last 2,300 years from a high-resolution lake record of hydrogen isotope compositions of plant waxes.

Computational Studies Applied to Flavonoids against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, are understood as occurring through genetic, cellular, and multifactor pathophysiological mechanisms. Several natural products such as flavonoids have been reported in the literature for having the capacity to cross the blood-brain barrier and slow the progression of such diseases. The present article reports on enzymatic target studies and natural products as inhibitors for the treatment of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

Hospitalisations with burns in children younger than five years in Portugal, 2011-2015.

Introduction: Paediatric population still represents a high burden of hospitalisations among burns inpatients. Children under five years old have a distinct aetiology distribution comparing to other age groups, representing in Portugal a fifth of all hospitalisations with burns. We aimed to describe the demographic and clinical burden of burns requiring hospitalization, as well as hospitalization charges, among this age group in Portugal.

Bovine epididymal spermatozoa treatment for in vitro fertilization: Heparin accelerates fertilization and enables a reduction in coincubation time.

This study aimed to establish a protocol for in vitro embryo production using epididymal sperm (EP). Samples were obtained from ejaculated sperm (EJ) and the epididymis of 7 Gir bulls. First, the effect of heparin (+) on the viability, longevity (Experiment 1) and fertilization rates (Experiment 2) of the EP was evaluated.

Differential gene expression between and maturation: a comparative study with bovine oocytes derived from the same donor pool.

Objective: maturation has been shown to influence gene expression in oocytes, but a common shortcoming in reports on the matter has been the use of different donors in each experimental group thus disregarding donor effects. This study aimed to investigate the abundance of mRNA in oocytes matured and obtained from the same group of donors.

Methods: A bovine model was used to assess the relative abundance of specific transcripts in in vitro-matured (IN VITRO-OPU) and -matured (IN VIVO-OPU) oocytes collected from the same donors by transvaginal ovum pick-up (OPU).

Consequences of assisted reproductive technologies for offspring function in cattle.

Abnormal fetuses, neonates and adult offspring derived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have been reported in humans, rodents and domestic animals. The use of ART has also been associated with an increased likelihood of certain adult diseases. These abnormalities may arise as a result of an excess of or missing maternally derived molecules during invitro culture, because the invitro environment is artificial and suboptimal for embryo development.

The Portuguese Severe Asthma Registry: Development, Features, and Data Sharing Policies.

The Portuguese Severe Asthma Registry ( RAG) was developed by an open collaborative network of asthma specialists. RAG collects data from adults and pediatric severe asthma patients that despite treatment optimization and adequate management of comorbidities require step 4/5 treatment according to GINA recommendations. In this paper, we describe the development and implementation of RAG, its features, and data sharing policies.

Recent Developments in the Optimization of the Bulk Heterojunction Morphology of Polymer: Fullerene Solar Cells.

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, made with semiconducting polymers, have recently attained a power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 14% in single junction cells and over 17% in tandem cells. These high performances, together with the suitability of the technology to inexpensive large-scale manufacture, over lightweight and flexible plastic substrates using roll-to-roll (R2R) processing, place the technology amongst the most promising for future harvesting of solar energy. Although OPVs using non-fullerene acceptors have recently outperformed their fullerene-based counterparts, the research in the development of new fullerenes and in the improvement of the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) morphology and device efficiency of polymer:fullerene solar cells remains very active.

A new mucin-binding lectin from the marine sponge Aplysina fulva (AFL) exhibits antibiofilm effects.

A new mucin-binding lectin (AFL) was isolated from the marine sponge Aplysina fulva. AFL was purified by affinity chromatography on Sepharose™ matrix. Its hemagglutinating activity was independent of divalent ions, and it was weakly inhibited by simple sugars.

Differential expression of LHCGR and its isoforms is associated to the variability in superovulation responses of Gir cattle.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of expression of LHCGR isoforms in Gir heifers characterized as good (10.3 ± 1.2 ova/embryos per flush, n = 5) or poor responders (1.

The Role of Astrocytic Calcium Signaling in the Aged Prefrontal Cortex.

Aging is a lifelong process characterized by cognitive decline putatively due to structural and functional changes of neural circuits of the brain. Neuron-glial signaling is a fundamental component of structure and function of circuits of the brain, and yet its possible role in aging remains elusive. Significantly, neuron-glial networks of the prefrontal cortex undergo age-related alterations that can affect cognitive function, and disruption of glial calcium signaling has been linked with cognitive performance.

Development and Evaluation of a Global Burnout Index Derived from the Use of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory in Portuguese Physicians.

Introduction: The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was developed to overcome what some authors have proposed as potential limitations of existing burnout measures. Specifically, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory measures the main component of burnout (i.e.

Stroke incidence in the young: evidence from a Norwegian register study.

Introduction: While there is a general agreement that stroke incidence among the elderly is declining in the developed world, there is a concern that it may be increasing among the young. The present study investigates this issue for the Norwegian population for the years 2010-2015. Cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs) for patients younger than 55 years were identified through the Norwegian Patient Registry and the Norwegian Cause-of-death Registry.