113 results match your criteria: "University of Minho Braga[Affiliation]"

Emulsions vs excipient emulsions as α-tocopherol delivery systems: Formulation optimization and behaviour under in vitro digestion.

Food Res Int

September 2024

Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho Braga, Portugal; LABBELS -Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal. Electronic address:

Oil-in-water emulsions (EM) have been extensively used for the encapsulation of lipophilic bioactive compounds and posterior incorporation into food matrices to obtain functional foods. Conversely, novel excipient oil-in-water emulsions (EXC) present identical composition and structure as EM, albeit are not bioactive by themselves since no bioactive compound is encapsulated. Instead, EXC aims at improving the bioavailability of foods' natural bioactive compounds upon co-ingestion with nutrient-rich foods.

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In this study, a molecularly imprinted polymer film (MIP) was prepared on the surface of a disposable carbon screen-printed electrode (C-SPE) using (3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride (AMPTMA) as a functional monomer and the cancer biomarker carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) as a template. The MIP was synthesized by electropolymerization (ELP) of the AMPTMA monomer in the presence of the CA 15-3 protein on the C-SPE surface. The target was subsequently removed from the polymer matrix by the action of proteinase K, resulting in imprinted cavities with a high affinity for CA 15-3.

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Background: Peripheral artery disease is characterized by an intense inflammatory process that can be associated with a higher mortality rate, particularly in chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). This study aims to compare the evolution of inflammatory markers between patients with claudication with those with CLTI at 3, 6, and 12 months.

Methods And Results: An observational, single-center, and prospective study was conducted.

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Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a group of uncommon neoplasms derived from enterochromaffin or Kulchitsky cells (that secrete serotonin or other molecules into the bloodstream), which can manifest with symptoms of hormonal overproduction, namely carcinoid syndrome (CS). This can be the presenting feature in patients with advanced disease. We report the case of a 66-year-old woman presenting with chronic diarrhea, facial venous telangiectasia and elevated urinary 5-hydrocyindoleacetic acid levels.

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Penile cancer (PeCa) is a rare tumor, generally associated with socioeconomic conditions in low-income countries. Hence, a delay in diagnosis and treatment leads in more advanced tumors, to higher comorbidity, and mortality. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been identified as one of the major risk factors for PeCa.

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Reading performance in Portuguese children from second to tenth grade with the MNREAD reading acuity test.

J Optom

November 2023

Department of Medicine and Optometry, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden; Low Vision and Visual Rehabilitation Lab, Department and Center of Physics-Optometry and Vision Science, University of Minho Braga, Braga, Portugal.

Purpose: To assess reading performance and report normative values for normal sighted Portuguese schoolchildren using the Portuguese version of the MNREAD reading acuity chart.

Methods: Children in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th grade in Portugal were recruited for this study. One hundred and sixty-seven children from 7 to 16 years of age participated.

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Diabetic foot infection (DFI) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Antibiotics are fundamental for treating DFI, although bacterial biofilm formation and associated pathophysiology can reduce their effectiveness. Additionally, antibiotics are often associated with adverse reactions.

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Reconsidering frailty from a human and social sciences standpoint: towards an interdisciplinary approach to vulnerability.

Age Ageing

May 2023

Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, ULR 2694-METRICS: Évaluation des technologies de santé et des pratiques médicales, Lille F-59000, France.

Although frailty is an important, well-characterized concept in the provision of medical care to older adults, it has not been linked to the concept of vulnerability developed in the humanities and social sciences. Here, we distinguish between the two main dimensions of vulnerability: a fundamental, anthropological dimension in which people are exposed to a risk of injury, and a relational dimension in which people depend on each other and on their environment. The relational notion of vulnerability might provide healthcare professionals with a better understanding of frailty (and its potential interaction with precarity).

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Introduction: The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised has been developed to evaluate the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both clinical and non-clinical individuals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version.

Material And Methods: This questionnaire was applied to 90 people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 246 without a known mental illness.

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Quality of Life in Women With Breast Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy and the Moderating Role of Cortisol.

Cancer Nurs

October 2022

Author Affiliations: School of Psychology (Mss I. Pereira and M. Pereira and Dr Pereira) and Psychology Research Center (CIPsi) (Dr Leite), University of Minho Braga, Portugal.

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is severely affected by breast cancer (BC) and its treatment, particularly chemotherapy treatment. Psychological morbidity, illness perceptions, and self-efficacy for coping are important variables that impact QoL during the treatment of BC. The impact of cortisol on QoL has been poorly studied.

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Introduction: Heart failure is a disease with survival estimates of around 10% after 10 years of the disease. Being a chronic and debilitatingillness, it is important to investigate the potential efficacy of a palliative care approach for these patients. The aim of this study is to systematically review the efficacy of integrating palliative care in patients with advanced heart failure, including the outcomes overall quality of life and well-being, overall symptom burden and possible specific symptoms, hospital admission rates and mortality.

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Evaluation of the genetic risk for COVID-19 outcomes in COPD and differences among worldwide populations.

PLoS One

March 2022

Department of Medical Sciences, Genome Medicine Laboratory, Institute of Biomedicine-iBiMED, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.

Background: Populations seem to respond differently to the global pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Recent studies show individual variability in both susceptibility and clinical response to COVID-19 infection. People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) constitute one of COVID-19 risk groups, being already associated with a poor prognosis upon infection.

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Objectives: Life events have important effects on psychological well-being. Yet, studies have mainly focused on exploring the impact of traumatic and negative experiences on health and well-being, with positive events receiving marginal attention. In this study, we investigated the association between negative and positive life events, cognitive performance and psychological status in older individuals.

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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1055/a-1372-4051.].

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Introduction: Transmission of COVID-19 through close contact and droplets is well established, but the influence of aerosol and surface contamination remains to be determined. Literature is scarce and inconsistent about the viable virus particles free-distance from infected patients, as well as about different swabbing methods for surface contamination evaluation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the most sensitive method for the assessment of surface contamination, classify the likelihood of environmental contamination in risk zones and compare the environmental contamination between oxygenation and ventilatory support.

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Genetic variants in human () are associated with ulcerative forms of Buruli ulcer.

Emerg Microbes Infect

December 2021

Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho Braga, Portugal.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a devastating skin mycobacterial infection characterized by extensive cell death, which was previously suggested to be mediated by Bcl2-like protein 11 (BIM, encoded by the gene). We here report the association of genetic variants in with ulcerative forms of the disease in a cohort of 618 Beninese individuals. Our results show that regulation of apoptosis in humans contributes to BU lesions associated with worse prognosis, prompting for further investigation on the implementation of novel methods for earlier identification of at-risk patients.

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Increased Intraspecies Diversity in Biofilms Promotes Cellular Growth at the Expense of Matrix Production.

Antibiotics (Basel)

November 2020

LEPABE-Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.

Intraspecies diversity in biofilm communities is associated with enhanced survival and growth of the individual biofilm populations. Studies on the subject are scarce, namely, when more than three strains are present. Hence, in this study, the influence of intraspecies diversity in biofilm populations composed of up to six different strains isolated from urine was evaluated in conditions mimicking the ones observed in urinary tract infections and catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

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