Low-Dose Aspirin and Prevention of Spontaneous Preterm Birth: Is It Worthwhile? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, low-dose aspirin (LDA) has been theorized to mitigate spontaneous preterm birth (PTB). This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to report the available evidence to determine whether LDA administration prevents any spontaneous PTB.

Methods: Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register, and Web of Science databases were searched, and the protocol was registered within the PROSPERO database (CRD42021288021).

Epigenetic alterations in urothelial bladder cancer associated with disease outcomes.

Objectives: Bladder cancer (BLCA) is a molecular heterogeneous disease with known genetic distinctive signatures. However, DNA methylation is highly prevalent across a wide range of tumors, suggesting its potential in oncogenesis. Here, we aimed to interrogate the role of nine epigenetic alterations as diagnostic and prognostic markers in BLCA.

Experience with direct oral anticoagulants in pregnancy - a systematic review.

Objectives: The experience and use of the new direct oral anti coagulants (DOACs) in pregnancy is limited, but as they offer many practical advantages compared to low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), the pursue of their safety is challenging.

Methods: Systematic review of studies in which DOACs were used during pregnancy and the puerperal period (PROSPERO registry-CRD42021237688). Searches were performed on MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases, until July 2021 and secondary sources using the MeSH terms 'pregnancy', 'pregnancy complications', 'venous thrombosis', 'congenital abnormalities', 'Factor Xa Inhibitors,' and names of specific DOACs.

Unhealthy lifestyles, environment, well-being and health capability in rural neighbourhoods: a community-based cross-sectional study.

Background: Non-communicable diseases are a leading cause of health loss worldwide, in part due to unhealthy lifestyles. Metabolic-based diseases are rising with an unhealthy body-mass index (BMI) in rural areas as the main risk factor in adults, which may be amplified by wider determinants of health. Changes in rural environments reflect the need of better understanding the factors affecting the self-ability for making balanced decisions.

Type 2 and type 3 innate lymphoid cells at the maternal-fetal interface: implications in preterm birth.

Background: Preterm birth (PTB) is one of the major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is commonly accepted that the act of giving birth is the final step in a proinflammatory signaling cascade, orchestrated by an intrauterine milieu coupled to hormonal cues. Consequently, the inflammatory process plays a pivotal role during the pathogenesis of human labor, both in term and preterm deliveries.

Innate Lymphoid Cells in Human Pregnancy.

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a new set of cells considered to be a part of the innate immune system. ILCs are classified into five subsets (according to their transcription factors and cytokine profile) as natural killer cells (NK cells), group 1 ILCs, group 2 ILCs, group 3 ILCs, and lymphoid tissue inducers (LTi). Functionally, these cells resemble the T helper population but lack the expression of recombinant genes, which is essential for the formation of T cell receptors.

Can immunity during pregnancy influence SARS-CoV-2 infection? - A systematic review.

Background: During pregnancy, the maternal immune system must create and sustain tolerance to the allogeneic fetus while maintaining the ability to protect against microbial assaults.

Objectives: Ascertain the immunological differences in immune cells of pregnant women that may influence SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Study Design: Systematic review conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and registered within PROSPERO CRD42020189735.

Procalcitonin in preterm rupture of membranes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Early detection of infection is of supreme importance in obstetrics; however, during pregnancy it is not reliably predicted by standard laboratory tests. We aimed to determine if procalcitonin (PCT) is a reliable predictor of chorioamnionitis (CA) in women with premature rupture of membranes (PPROM).

Methods: An electronic search of Scopus, ISI, Medline, Embase, ClinicalTrials.

A multi-staged neuropeptide response to traumatic brain injury.

Purpose: As the most abundant neuropeptides in Central Nervous System, Substance P and Neuropeptide Y are arguably involved in the response to brain trauma. This study aims to characterize a new concept of multi-staged neuropeptide response to TBI.

Methods: This study assessed Substance P, Neuropeptide Y, S100B, standard inflammatory parameters and ionic disturbance in TBI victims, with and without intracranial lesions, and healthy controls.

Assessing Functional Capacity and Factors Determining Functional Decline in the Elderly: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to assess functional capacity and determine the factors associated with functional decline in the elderly in adult day care centres and home care support in the County of Coimbra, Portugal.

Material And Methods: Cross-sectional study. A total of 115 participants of both genders, aged between 65 and 98, were enrolled in the home care support and adult day care system of the County of Coimbra, Portugal.

The role of innate immunity in spontaneous preterm labor: A systematic review.

Background: Immunoinflammatory response by innate immunity components is a field with increasing interest in understanding the mechanisms behind preterm labor (PTL).

Objectives: Systematic review of the role of innate immunity in spontaneous PTL.

Study Design: PubMed, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.

Development of a Healthy Lifestyle Assessment Toolkit for the General Public.

The prevalence of age-related non-communicable chronic diseases has increased worldwide, being the leading causes of morbidity and death in many world regions, including in Europe. Innovative models and strategies focused on preventive care, including early identification of risk factors underlying disease onset and progression, and proper modification of lifestyle habits and behaviors, might contribute to promote quality of life, healthy living and active aging. Healthy Lifestyle Innovative Quarters for Cities and Citizens (HeaLIQs4cities) is an EIT Health-funded project aiming to engage, empower and educate citizens toward healthy lifestyles.

Advanced Maternal Age: Adverse Outcomes of Pregnancy, A Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: The risks of pregnancy in women of advanced maternal age are not consensual amongst studies. The aim of this metaanalysis  was to determine whether women of advanced maternal age (≥ 35 years old) had worse obstetrical and perinatal outcomes than non- advanced maternal age women (20 - 34 years old) in singleton, naturally-conceived pregnancies.

Material And Methods: We searched PubMed/ MEDLINE, IndexRMP and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Aging Hallmarks: The Benefits of Physical Exercise.

World population has been continuously increasing and progressively aging. Aging is characterized by a complex and intraindividual process associated with nine major cellular and molecular hallmarks, namely, genomic instability, telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, a loss of proteostasis, deregulated nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence, stem cell exhaustion, and altered intercellular communication. This review exposes the positive antiaging impact of physical exercise at the cellular level, highlighting its specific role in attenuating the aging effects of each hallmark.

The Quadruple Helix-Based Innovation Model of Reference Sites for Active and Healthy Ageing in Europe: The Ageing@Coimbra Case Study.

Challenges posed by demographic changes and population aging are key priorities for the Horizon 2020 Program of the European Commission. Aligned with the vision of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA), the development, exchange, and large-scale adoption of innovative good practices is a key element of the responses required to ensure all European citizens remain as active and healthy as possible as they age. Urged by the need of developing scalable disruptive innovation across Europe, the European Commission and the EIP on AHA created the Reference Sites; local coalition of partners that develop good practices to support AHA.

[Relevant Factors on Cognitive Evaluation of the Portuguese Population].

Introduction: Aging is an inevitable process that has a social impact in the forecoming decades, and it will present a great challenge regarding public health. An efficient health system requires a reflection on the preventive measures to be implemented.

Material And Methods: The study population comprised a total number of 2672 individuals of both genders, aged 55 years and over, residents in continental Portugal, to whom a questionnaire was applied that included the following sections: Social network; Locomotion; Physical autonomy; Instrumental autonomy; Cognitive assessment; Physical activity.

Association between obesity and asthma - epidemiology, pathophysiology and clinical profile.

Obesity is a risk factor for asthma, and obese asthmatics have lower disease control and increased symptom severity. Several putative links have been proposed, including genetics, mechanical restriction of the chest and the intake of corticosteroids. The most consistent evidence, however, comes from studies of cytokines produced by the adipose tissue called adipokines.

A Standardized Classification for Subdural Hematomas- I.

Subdural hematomas are a frequent and highly heterogeneous traumatic disorder, with significant clinical and socioeconomic consequences. In clinical and medicolegal practice, subdural hematomas are classified according to its apparent age, which significantly influences its intrinsic pathogenic behavior, forensic implications, clinical management, and outcome. Although practical, this empirical classification is somewhat arbitrary and scarcely informative, considering the remarkable heterogeneity of this entity.

MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 - pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma cell lines with neuroendocrine differentiation and somatostatin receptors.

Studies using cell lines should always characterize these cells to ensure that the results are not distorted by unexpected morphological or genetic changes possibly due to culture time or passage number. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe those MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 cell line phenotype and genotype characteristics that may play a crucial role in pancreatic cancer therapeutic assays, namely neuroendocrine chemotherapy and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy. Epithelial, mesenchymal, endocrine and stem cell marker characterization was performed by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry, and genotyping by PCR, gene sequencing and capillary electrophoresis.

Can membrane progesterone receptor α on T regulatory cells explain the ensuing human labour?

Progesterone acts as an immunosteroid by contributing to the establishment of a pregnancy-protective milieu. It seems that it is the responsibility of progesterone to evade the inflammatory events that lead to parturition. T regulatory lymphocytes (Treg cells) could further explain the inhibition of the inflammatory mechanisms that lead to labour through the rapid action of progesterone on this cell subset.

Does progesterone administration in preterm labor influence Treg cells?

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine if the actions of progesterone on preterm labor are accomplished through modulation of the percentage of regulatory T-cells (Treg).

Methods: The study was a cohort pilot study made in a single center tertiary obstetrical unit with women in preterm labor arrested with tocolytic treatment. Variation of the number and percentage of Treg cells obtained from peripheral blood samples of women with preterm labor were calculated by flow cytometry, before and after progesterone administration.

The aging profile of the Portuguese population: a principal component analysis.

In the last 5 years the resident population of Portugal has increased 2.3%, along with a progressive ageing. This study aims assessing the social dependence and frailty, as well as social and familial support needs of the elderly.

[CD4+, CD8+ AND CD19+ cells in individuals with dyslipidemia].

Introduction: The past decade has witnessed an increasing recognition that inflammatory mechanisms play a central role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and its complications. Recently, attention was focused on the potential role of plasma markers of inflammation as risk predictors among those at risk for cardiovascular events. Of these potential markers, C-reactive protein (CRP), IL6, metalloproteinases, ICAM, VCAM and other molecules, have been extensively studied.

Human periprostatic adipose tissue promotes prostate cancer aggressiveness in vitro.

Background: Obesity is associated with prostate cancer aggressiveness and mortality. The contribution of periprostatic adipose tissue, which is often infiltrated by malignant cells, to cancer progression is largely unknown. Thus, this study aimed to determine if periprostatic adipose tissue is linked with aggressive tumor biology in prostate cancer.