Prevalence of abdominal obesity in the Portuguese population assessed by different anthropometric indices.

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. The association between abdominal obesity and cardiovascular risk is well established. This study aimed to estimate and characterize the prevalence of abdominal obesity in the Portuguese population aged 25-74 years in 2015, using waist circumference, waist to- hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, and a body shape index.

Indoor air quality and airborne transmission under the One Health lens: A scoping review.

Humans spend around 90 % of their time indoors, making Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) of utmost importance. Its importance has been recently highlighted by COVID-19. However, IAQ significantly impacts public health, concerning not only respiratory, but also cardiovascular diseases.

Alginate-based hydrogels loaded with human β-defensin-2 promote healing of MRSA-infected wounds in a diabetic model: a preclinical proof-of-concept study.

Diabetic foot infections (DFIs), resulting from microbial colonization and proliferation in non-healing diabetic wounds, are among the most serious and common complications in patients with diabetes. As antimicrobial resistance continues to rise, the clinical management of DFI persists as a major challenge, emphasizing the need for novel therapeutic approaches. In this study, we aimed to combine the dual antimicrobial and pro-healing properties of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with the intrinsic characteristics of the alginate polymer as an encouraging strategy to address the multifactorial etiology of chronic wounds.

Empowering communities through One Health and ArtScience: An innovative approach to combat Chagas disease in endemic areas of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Background: Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected zoonosis that requires study through the One Health approach, as it involves various aspects of animal, environmental, and human health in its transmission cycle. This disease affects 7 million people in 20 countries in Latin America, resulting in approximately seven thousand deaths annually worldwide. Local knowledge is crucial for developing educational strategies to mitigate the risks of disease transmission, particularly in endemic areas.

Alginate-based hydrogels for sustained antimicrobial peptide delivery to enhance wound healing in diabetes.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are the leading cause of non-traumatic amputations, and its efficient management remains a clinical challenge, particularly in treating severe infections. Current treatment strategies often fail to address the multifactorial nature of DFUs. Combining antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with the intrinsic properties of alginate hydrogels offers a promising solution for handling the complex etiology of DFUs.

Characterizing extracellular vesicles of human fungal pathogens.

Since their discovery in 2007, there has been growing awareness of the importance of fungal extracellular vesicles (EVs) for fungal physiology, host-pathogen interactions and virulence. Fungal EVs are nanostructures comprising bilayered membranes and molecules of various types that participate in several pathophysiological processes in fungal biology, including secretion, cellular communication, immunopathogenesis and drug resistance. However, many questions remain regarding the classification of EVs, their cellular origin, passage across the cell wall, experimental models for functional and compositional analyses, production in vitro and in vivo and biomarkers for EVs.

Detection of and the Genotypes of Resistance to Clarithromycin, Fluoroquinolones, and Metronidazole in Gastric Biopsies: An In Silico Analysis to Help Understand Antibiotic Resistance.

Antibiotic resistance in is increasing rapidly and emerging as a major factor in treatment failure. We aimed to identify genetic mutations associated with resistance to clarithromycin (23S rRNA peptidyl transferase), fluoroquinolones (), and metronidazole (), and to explore their mechanisms of action through molecular modeling. detection and the molecular characterization of genes were conducted directly on gastric biopsies by real-time PCR followed by nucleotide sequencing.

Enhancement of wound healing in diabetic mice by topical use of a peptide-ionic liquid conjugate.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are one of the most devastating complications of diabetes, with high impact on patient's quality of life. In worst scenarios, DFU can lead to severe amputation or even death. DFUs are an easy target for microbial pathogens and their effective healing is hampered by the galloping increase of microbial resistance to antibiotics, including from the most prevalent pathogens in DFU, e.

HiDaFernPT: Historical data of spore availability for 121 fern and lycopod taxa in Portugal (1926-2013).

Species phenology is being altered by ongoing climate changes with yet underappreciated consequences for ecological processes and ecosystem stability. Contrary to what happens with some key life events of flowering plants, comparatively little information exists about fern and lycophyte phenology and how it is affected by the current climatic changes. In part, this stems from the lack of long-term datasets.

Decoding Urinary Tract Infection Trends: A 5-Year Snapshot from Central Portugal.

Introduction: This study analyzes urinary tract infections (UTIs) in a hospital in Central Portugal over a five-year period, focusing on bacterial prevalence, patient demographics, and antibiotic resistance patterns. This investigation aims to provide insights that can guide improved infection control and treatment strategies.

Methods: A total of 6161 positive urine cultures collected over five years were examined, with particular emphasis on 2019 due to a peak in infection rates.

Predominance of as Agent of Dermatophytoses in Cape Verdean School-Age Children.

Dermatophytoses are infectious skin diseases of public health importance because of their transmissibility and high prevalence, especially among children. This is the first study aiming to estimate and report the burden of dermatophytoses on school-age children on the island of Santiago in Cape Verde, an African country that is an archipelago. A total of 249 students attending the afternoon shift of three elementary schools in the city of Achada Igreja were examined.

Health Status and COVID-19 Epidemiology in an Inland Region of Portugal: A Retrospective Study.

Multiple factors, from socioeconomic development to genetic background, can affect the regional impact of some diseases, and this has also been seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this retrospective study was to characterize a population in the interior of Portugal regarding health status and COVID-19 epidemiology. Between October 2021 and January 2023, 1553 subjects residing in Beira Baixa, Portugal, were included.

Estimation of 10-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk in the Portuguese Population Using the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2 (SCORE2).

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally. The objective of this study was to estimate the 10-year cardiovascular risk in the Portuguese population using the new Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation 2. Data from the first National Health Examination Survey from 2015 were used.

Caffeine Protects Keratinocytes from Infection and Behaves as an Antidermatophytic Agent.

Caffeine affords several beneficial effects on human health, acting as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent, and analgesic. Caffeine is widely used in cosmetics, but its antimicrobial activity has been scarcely explored, namely against skin infection agents. Dermatophytes are the most common fungal agents of human infection, mainly of skin infections.

Connexin43 promotes exocytosis of damaged lysosomes through actin remodelling.

A robust and efficient cellular response to lysosomal membrane damage prevents leakage from the lysosome lumen into the cytoplasm. This response is understood to happen through either lysosomal membrane repair or lysophagy. Here we report exocytosis as a third response mechanism to lysosomal damage, which is further potentiated when membrane repair or lysosomal degradation mechanisms are impaired.

O armário: Fruiting phenology data for 4,462 plant taxa in Portugal (1926-2013).

Species phenology - the timing of key life events - is being altered by ongoing climate changes with yet underappreciated consequences for ecosystem stability. While flowering is generally occurring earlier, we know much less about other key processes such as the time of fruit ripening, largely due to the lack of comprehensive long-term datasets. Here we provide information on the exact date and site where seeds of 4,462 taxa were collected for the Index Seminum (seed exchange catalogue) of the Botanic Garden of the University of Coimbra, between 1926 and 2013.

Variety is the spice: The role of morphological variation of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) at a macro-scale.

Chagas disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas, 1909). One of the primary vectors of T. cruzi in South America is Triatoma infestans (Klug, 1834).

Distinct proteomes and allergen profiles appear across the life-cycle stages of Alternaria alternata.

Background: Alternaria alternata is associated with allergic respiratory diseases, which can be managed with allergen extract-based diagnostics and immunotherapy. It is not known how spores and hyphae contribute to allergen content. Commercial allergen extracts are manufactured by extracting proteins without separating the different forms of the fungus.

Experimental Hybrids of the Species Complex Show Higher Susceptibility to the Infection Than Their Parentals.

The species complex is a monophyletic group encompassing two subspecies and six species. Recently, a hybrid zone of members of this complex was recorded in the state of Pernambuco. Questions concerning the capability of the hybrids to become infected with have been raised.

Azorean Black Tea () Antidermatophytic and Fungicidal Properties.

The treatment of dermatophytoses, the most common human fungal infections, requires new alternatives. The aim of this study was to determine the antidermatophytic activity of the aqueous Azorean Black Tea extract (ABT), together with an approach to the mechanisms of action. The phytochemical analysis of ABT extract was performed by HPLC.

Mechanisms of Alternaria pathogenesis in animals and plants.

Alternaria species are cosmopolitan fungi darkly pigmented by melanin that infect numerous plant species causing economically important agricultural spoilage of various food crops. Alternaria spp. also infect animals, being described as entomopathogenic fungi but also infecting warm-blooded animals, including humans.

Texture feature analysis of MRI-ADC images to differentiate glioma grades using machine learning techniques.

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an indispensable imaging technique in clinical neuroimaging that quantitatively assesses the diffusivity of water molecules within tissues using diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). This study focuses on developing a robust machine learning (ML) model to predict the aggressiveness of gliomas according to World Health Organization (WHO) grading by analyzing patients' demographics, higher-order moments, and grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture features of ADC. A population of 722 labeled MRI-ADC brain image slices from 88 human subjects was selected, where gliomas are labeled as glioblastoma multiforme (WHO-IV), high-grade glioma (WHO-III), and low-grade glioma (WHO I-II).