Publications by authors named "Sofia Ribeiro"

Arctic marine ecosystems have undergone notable reconfigurations in response to Holocene climate and environmental changes. Yet our understanding of how marine mammal occurrence was impacted remains limited, due to their relative scarcity in the fossil record. We reconstruct the occurrence of marine mammals across the past 12,000 years through detections based on sedimentary ancient DNA from four marine sediment cores collected around Northern Greenland, and integrate the findings with local and regional environmental proxy records.

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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-Electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) is a non-operative technique that allows for magnetic cortical stimulation (TMS) and analysis of the electrical currents generated in the brain (EEG). Despite the regular utilization of both techniques independently, little is known about the potential impact of their combination in neurosurgical practice. This scoping review, conducted following PRISMA guidelines, focused on TMS-EEG in epilepsy, neuro-oncology, and general neurosurgery.

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Article Synopsis
  • Plastic pollution significantly impacts marine ecosystems, with microplastics entering the food chain through invertebrates and fish.
  • The study examined the diets of six fish species to determine how their feeding behaviors contribute to plastic ingestion, classifying them into various predator groups based on age and trophic interactions.
  • Results showed that fish with higher dietary overlap consumed more microplastic fibers, indicating that a broader diet may increase vulnerability to plastic ingestion, highlighting the need to understand ecological interactions to address plastic contamination effectively.
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The Arctic is among the most climatically sensitive environments on Earth, and the disappearance of multiyear sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is predicted within decades. As apex predators, polar bears are sentinel species for addressing the impact of environmental variability on Arctic marine ecosystems. By integrating genomics, isotopic analysis, morphometrics, and ecological modeling, we investigate how Holocene environmental changes affected polar bears around Greenland.

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Spiny brown dinoflagellate cysts are commonly used as sea-ice indicators in the Arctic, but their biological affinities are not well known. We present the first indication of hitherto temperate Protoperidinium tricingulatum in the Arctic based on single-cell LSU rDNA sequencing from sediments of the Disko Bay-Vaigat Sound, West Greenland. The morphological similarity of the sequenced cyst morphotype to the sea-ice indicator Islandinium? cezare morphotype 1 is striking.

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The Pikialasorsuaq (North Water polynya) is an area of local and global cultural and ecological significance. However, over the last decades, the region has been subject to rapid warming, and in some recent years, the seasonal ice arch that has historically defined the polynya's northern boundary has failed to form. Both factors are deemed to alter the polynya's ecosystem functioning.

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Article Synopsis
  • Immunological memory is essential for immune defense, especially in areas prone to infections, like epithelial sites.
  • CD8 memory T cells are formed during infections and can develop into tissue-resident memory cells, primarily in response to type-1 infections, while type-1 regulatory T cells play a crucial role in this process.
  • Research with three lung infection models revealed that type-2 helminth infections do not generate CD8 T cells, unlike type-1 and type-3 infections, suggesting that the latter rely on specific immune responses and could influence vaccine design targeting CD8 T cells.
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Concerns about colistin-resistant bacteria in animal food-environmental-human ecosystems prompted the poultry sector to implement colistin restrictions and explore alternative trace metals/copper feed supplementation. The impact of these strategies on the selection and persistence of colistin-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in the whole poultry production chain needs clarification. We assessed colistin-resistant and copper-tolerant K.

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Enthesis repair remains a challenging clinical indication. Herein, a three-layer scaffold composed of a tendon-like layer of collagen type I, a fibrocartilage-like layer of collagen type II and a bone-like layer of collagen type I and hydroxyapatite, was designed to recapitulate the matrix composition of the enthesis. To aid tenogenic and fibrochondrogenic differentiation, bioactive molecules were loaded in the tendon-like layer or the fibrocartilage-like layer and their effect was assessed in setting using human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells and in an model.

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Background: The past years have witnessed dramatic changes in the population admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Older and sicker patients are now commonly treated in this setting due to the newly available sophisticated life support. However, the short- and long-term benefit of this strategy is scarcely studied.

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Neighbourhood and health research often relies on personal location data (e.g., home address, daily itineraries), despite the risks of geoprivacy breaches.

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Human-wildlife coexistence may increase the potential risk of direct transmission of emergent or re-emergent zoonotic pathogens to humans. Intending to assess the occurrence of three important foodborne pathogens in wild animals of two wildlife conservation centers in Portugal, we investigated 132 fecal samples for the presence of (Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) and non-STEC), spp. and spp.

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Poultry meat has been a vehicle of antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes. Yet, the diversity of selective pressures associated with their maintenance in the poultry-production chain remains poorly explored. We evaluated the susceptibility of Enterococcus spp.

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The combined effect of surface topography and substrate rigidity in stem cell cultures is still under-investigated, especially when biodegradable polymers are used. Herein, we assessed human bone marrow stem cell response on aliphatic polyester substrates as a function of anisotropic grooved topography and rigidity (7 and 12 kPa). Planar tissue culture plastic (TCP, 3 GPa) and aliphatic polyester substrates were used as controls.

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The increasing demand for more aesthetic/comfortable orthodontic alternatives fostered the utilization of clear aligners in recent years. However, the efficacy of clear aligners for treating complex malocclusions is often treated with scepticism. This case series aims to evaluate the predictability of the Invisalign First system in moderate and severe cases requiring interceptive orthodontic treatments in mixed dentition.

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The metabolic capacity of many cells is tightly regulated and can adapt to changes in metabolic resources according to environmental changes. Tissue-resident memory (T) CD8 T cells are one of the most abundant T cell populations and offer rapid protection against invading pathogens, especially at the epithelia. T cells metabolically adapt to their tissue niche, such as the intestinal epithelial barrier.

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The expansion of mcr-carrying bacteria is a well-recognized public health problem. Measures to contain mcr spread have mainly been focused on the food-animal production sector. Nevertheless, the spread of MCR producers at the environmental interface particularly driven by the increasing population of gulls in coastal cities has been less explored.

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Up to 27 May 2022, Portugal has detected 96 confirmed cases of monkeypox. We describe 27 confirmed cases (median age: 33 years (range: 22-51); all males), with an earliest symptom onset date of 29 April. Almost all cases (n = 25) live in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley health region.

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Polysaccharides constitute an important carbon pool in marine systems, but much is still unknown about the fate and degradation of these compounds. They are derived partly from production , and in coastal areas, they are partly terrestrially derived, originating from freshwater runoff from land. The aim of this study was to test the applicability of high-throughput polysaccharide profiling for plant and algal cell-wall compounds in dated sediment cores from a coastal marine environment, to examine the preservation of cell-wall polysaccharides and explore their potential as proxies for temporal environmental changes.

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With the objective of characterizing the composition and spatial distribution of plastic fragments in a subtropical lagoon system, five sample areas affected by various anthropogenic impacts were chosen in the southern part of the Estuarine Lagoon System in Laguna, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The total density of the floating meso- and microplastics encountered was 7.32/m, with the greatest density in the access channel and external area of the lagoon.

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Expansion of mcr-carrying Enterobacteriaceae (MCR-E) is a well-recognized problem affecting animals, humans and the environment. Ongoing global control actions involve colistin restrictions among food-animal production, but their impact on poultry-derived products is largely unknown, justifying comprehensive farm-to-fork studies. Occurrence of MCR-E among 53 chicken-meat batches supplied from 29 Portuguese farms shortly after colistin withdrawal was evaluated.

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High Arctic ecosystems and Indigenous livelihoods are tightly linked and exposed to climate change, yet assessing their sensitivity requires a long-term perspective. Here, we assess the vulnerability of the North Water polynya, a unique seaice ecosystem that sustains the world's northernmost Inuit communities and several keystone Arctic species. We reconstruct mid-to-late Holocene changes in sea ice, marine primary production, and little auk colony dynamics through multi-proxy analysis of marine and lake sediment cores.

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Objective: Reflect on the influence of Florence Nightingale's teachings to face the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions for the future of the profession.

Methods: Descriptive reflective study, carried out between May and July 2020, through narrative review on the theme and debates between the authors.

Results: The findings are divided into two chapters, namely: Environmental Theory and the teachings of Florence Nightingale in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic; and Florence Nightingale: legacy, present and perspectives.

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