National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
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Health risk posed by direct ingestion of yeasts from polluted river water
No full textRiver water is an essential human resource that may be contaminated with hazardous microorganisms. However, the risk of yeast infection through river water exposure is unclear because it is highly dependant on individual susceptibility and has therefore not been well-studied, to date. To evaluate this undefined risk, we analysed the fungal communities in less polluted (LP) and highly polluted (HP) river water, as determined using principal coordinate analysis of pollution indicators. We enumerated culturable yeasts using a thermally selective isolation procedure (37 °C) and thus promoted the growth of potentially opportunistic species. Yeast species identified as clinically relevant were then tested for antifungal resistance. In addition, we propose a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) framework to quantitatively assess the potential risk of yeast infection. Our results indicated that pollution levels significantly altered fungal communities (p = 0.007) and that genera representing opportunistic and pathogenic members were significantly more abundant in HP waters (p = 0.038). Additionally, the yeast species Candida glabrata and Clavispora lusitaniae positively correlated with other pollution indicators, demonstrating the species' indicator potential. Our QMRA results further indicate that higher risk of infection is associated with increased water pollution levels (considering both physicochemical and bacterial indicators). Furthermore, yeast species with higher pathogenic potential present an increased risk of infection despite lower observed concentrations in the river water. Interestingly, the bloom of Meyerozyma guilliermondii during the wet season suggests that other environmental factors, such as dissolved oxygen levels and water turbulence, might affect growth characteristics of yeasts in river water, which consequently affects the distribution of annual infection risks. The presence of antifungal resistant yeasts, observed in this study, could further contribute to variation in risk distribution. Research on the ecophysiology of yeasts in these environments is therefore necessary to ameliorate the uncertainty and sensitivity of the proposed QMRA model. In addition to the vital knowledge on opportunistic and pathogenic yeast occurrence in river water and their observed association with pollution, this study provides valuable methods and insights to initiate future QMRAs of yeast infections.This work was supported by the Water Research Commission (WRC)
of South Africa (Project No: K5/2019/2020–00137). Ms Heidi Steffen
received personal funding from the National Research Foundation
(South Africa). The work of João Brandão received financial support
from CESAM (UID/AMB/50017-POCI-01–0145-FEDER-007638) and
CITAB (UID/AGR/04033/2019), via FCT/MCTES, from national funds
(PIDDAC), co-founded by FEDER, (PT2020 Partnership Agreement and
Compete 2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Uso da ferramenta Microbial Source Tracking para identificar a origem da contaminação das águas balneares, após o 1º confinamento COVID-19 em Portugal
Get PDFOs espaços balneares referem-se a qualquer área costeira, estuarina ou de água doce, onde um número significativo de pessoas realiza atividades recreativas. Dada a sua natureza, estes constituem um habitat favorável para o abrigo, a multiplicação e a disseminação de uma variedade de microrganismos, podendo assim expor os utilizadores a diversos riscos.
Em Julho de 2020, após o levantamento das restrições após o 1º confinamento em Portugal devido à pandemia de COVID-19, verificou-se que a água balnear de uma praia vulcânica amplamente usada, na ilha de São Miguel - Açores, apresentava valores elevados de bactérias indicadoras de contaminação fecal (Enterococos e Escherichia coli). Importava averiguar se as bactérias fecais detetadas tinham origem humana, pecuária ou de aves marinhas selvagens, dado que no local existe nidificação de várias espécies de aves.
Optou-se por aplicar a ferramenta Microbial Source Tracking (MST) para identificar a origem da contaminação destas águas balneares, uma vez que esta permite identificar de forma inequívoca as origens da contaminação fecal, tendo por base as seguintes permissas: 1) existe uma associação entre determinados microrganismos fecais e o respetivo hospedeiro; 2) as bactérias entéricas passam para o ambiente através das fezes. A metodologia MST tem já sido aplicada, surgiu no final do século XX e têm sido amplamente desenvolvidas de modo a dar resposta à limitação indicada anteriormente: identificar de forma inequívoca as fontes e origens da poluição fecal, incluindo as fontes difusas de contaminação fecal. Recentemente foi aplicada também a areias balneares, tendo permitido identificar com sucesso as várias origens de contaminação da praia em causa.
Neste trabalho serão apresentados os principais resultados obtidos e discutidas as causas deste evento de contaminação.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Co‐creating obesity prevention policies with youth: Policy ideas generated through the CO‐CREATE project
Get PDF(This article belongs to the Special Issue: The CO‐CREATE Project:Co‐creating policy with youth)Despite growing recognition of the importance of applying a systems lens to action on obesity, there has only been limited analysis of the extent to which this lens has actually been applied. The CO-CREATE project used a youth-led participatory action research approach to generate policy ideas towards the reduction of adolescent overweight and obesity across Europe. In order to assess the extent to which these youth-generated policy ideas take a systems approach, we analyzed them using the Intervention Level Framework (ILF). The ILF ascribes actions to one of five system levels, from Structural Elements, the least engaged with system change, up to Paradigm, which is the system's deepest held beliefs and thus the most difficult level at which to intervene. Of the 106 policy ideas generated by young people during the CO-CREATE project, 91 (86%) were categorized at the level of Structural Elements. This emphasis on operational rather than systems level responses echoes findings from a previous study on obesity strategies. Analyzing the distribution of systems level responses using the ILF has the potential to support more effective action on obesity by allowing identification of opportunities to strengthen systems level responses overall.The CO-CREATE project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 774210.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
What policies are there and what policies are missing? A Photovoice study of adolescents' perspectives on obesity‐prevention policies in their local environment
Get PDFAna Rito: Departamento de Alimentação e Nutrição do INSA; Centre for Studies and Research in Social
Dynamics and Health - CEIDSS.Part of Special Issue: The CO‐CREATE Project:Co‐creating policy with youthThe aim of this study was to investigate adolescents' critical awareness of whether obesity prevention policies targeting physical activity (PA) and nutrition were operating in their local community. Participants were 41 adolescents (aged 16–18, 90%women) recruited from three communities in Poland. Prior to this study, they were involved in obesity-prevention participatory initiatives (conducted within the CO-CREATE project), where obesity-related public policy limitations were analyzed in a youth-led discussion. A Photovoice exercise was designed to capture obesity-related public policies that were either present or absent in young people's local environments. The photographs (N=213) were coded and mapped according to the policy themes they illustrated, using the MOVING and NOURISHING frameworks. The public policies represented in the photographs are most frequently related to: healthy retail or food service environments; food advertising or promotion; structures and surroundings that promote PA; and infrastructure and opportunities that support public or active transport. Adolescents are critically aware of the presence and lack of specific public policies operating in their local environment, particularly policies affecting structural aspects of food and PA environments. Policy-oriented photovoice exercises may prompt critical awareness among adolescents and empower them to contribute to obesity prevention policy processes.KEYWORDSadolescence, framework, obesity prevention policies, PhotovoiceAbbreviations:CO-CREATE, confronting obesity: co-creating policy with youth; PA, physical activity; SES, socioeconomic status; YPAR, youth-led participatory action research.Received: 11 April 2023 Revised: 15 June 2023 Accepted: 13 July 2023DOI: 10.1111/obr.13617This is an open access article under the terms of theCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialLicense, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.The CO-CREATE project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 774210.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Users’ perception of the OH-EpiCap evaluation tool based on its application to nine national antimicrobial resistance surveillance systems
Get PDFIntroduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a One Health (OH) challenge. To achieve or maintain an effective and efficient AMR surveillance system, it is crucial to evaluate its performance in meeting the proposed objectives, while complying with resource restrictions. The OH-EpiCap tool was created to evaluate the degree of compliance of hazard surveillance activities with essential OH concepts across the following dimensions: organization, operational activities, and impact of the surveillance system. We present feedback on the application of the OH-EpiCap tool from a user's perspective, based on the use of the tool to evaluate nine national AMR surveillance systems, each with different contexts and objectives.
Methods: The OH-EpiCap was assessed using the updated CoEvalAMR methodology. This methodology allows the evaluation of the content themes and functional aspects of the tool and captures the user's subjective experiences via a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) approach.
Results and discussion: The results of the evaluation of the OH-EpiCap are presented and discussed. The OH-EpiCap is an easy-to-use tool, which can facilitate a fast macro-overview of the application of the OH concept to AMR surveillance. When used by specialists in the matter, an evaluation using OH-EpiCap can serve as a basis for the discussion of possible adaptations of AMR surveillance activities or targeting areas that may be further investigated using other evaluation tools.This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research through the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR). The Portuguese case study was supported by funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 773830: One Health European Joint Programme (MATRIX project).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Utility of salivary leucocytes for biomonitoring of human exposure to nanomaterials by means of the comet assay
No full textMetal-based nanoparticles (NP) are being increasingly used in a wide variety of applications
in consumer products and biomedical practices. As a result, human exposure to these
nanomaterials is frequent, becoming a concern to public health. Human salivary leucocytes
have been proposed as a proper biological sample for the comet assay, becoming an
adequate non-invasive alternative model to evaluate DNA damage. In the present study, the
suitability of salivary leucocytes to respond to exposure to different nanomaterials was
addressed.Xunta de Galicia (collaboration agreement "Development of research strategic actions UDC
I+D+i 2021-2022: CI-CA-Disrupting Projects 2021SEM-B2 (NeuroiNPact) and 2021SEM-A1 (TOXI-NANO)”,
MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Grant PID2020-114908GA-I00); Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y
Deporte (BEAGAL18/00142, to V. Valdiglesias); (SFRH/BPD/122112/2016 to A.T. Reis) NanoBioBarriers
(PTDC/MED-TOX/31162/2017) and NanoLegaTox (PO-CI-01-0145-FEDER-029651) funded by Operational
Program for Competitiveness and Internationalisation through European Regional Development Funds
(FEDER/FNR) and through national funds by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).N/
General Knowledge and Attitudes about Safety and Emergency Evacuation: The Case of a Higher Education Institution
Get PDFThe implementation of a safety culture and awareness of emergency issues in buildings has been growing in more developed societies. It is essential that all occupants know how to act in an emergency situation, particularly during an emergency evacuation. In higher education institutions (HEIs), which annually host not only their many employees, but also national and international students, it is essential to know and understand the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that the academic community demonstrates in this matter. This study aimed to characterize the perception of occupants regarding safety, specifically in the emergency evacuation phase, within the academic community of an HEI. In this observational cross-sectional study, data on general knowledge and attitudes regarding safety and actions during emergency situations were collected through an anonymous questionnaire targeting students, faculty, and non-teaching staff, which was sent via institutional email. Valid responses were received from 392 participants and then scored and assessed on different domains. The results obtained showed that, despite a reasonable average regarding the general level of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of the occupants on the subject, the community falls somewhat short in terms of training. It is noteworthy that approximately 64% of the sample has never received awareness or training related to emergency evacuation, and around 68% are unaware of the location of their institution’s meeting/gathering point. Finally, by identifying the most common gaps, namely the training dimension, some simple measures could be improved, such as the dissemination of safety instructions accessible through QR codes placed in strategic locations or even conducting small drills during class sessions, as well as learning with simulation concerning different scenarios of emergency.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Chlamydial and Gonococcal Genital Infections: A Narrative Review
Get PDFReviewSexually transmitted infections (STIs) constitute one of the leading causes of disease burden worldwide, leading to considerable morbidity, mortality, health expenditures, and stigma. Of note are the most common bacterial STIs, chlamydial and gonococcal infections, whose etiological agents are Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), respectively. Despite being usually asymptomatic, in some cases these infections can be associated with long-term severe complications, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic pelvic pain, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and increased risk of other STIs acquisition. As the symptoms, when present, are usually similar in both infections, and in most of the cases these infections co-occur, the dual-test strategy, searching for both pathogens, should be preferred. In line with this, herein we focus on the main aspects of CT and NG infections, the clinical symptoms as well as the appropriate state-of-the-art diagnostic tests and treatment. Cost-effective strategies for controlling CT and NG infections worldwide are addressed. The treatment for both infections is based on antibiotics. However, the continuing global rise in the incidence of these infections, concomitantly with the increased risk of antibiotics resistance, leads to difficulties in their control, particularly in the case of NG infections. We also discuss the potential mechanism of tumorigenesis related to CT infections. The molecular bases of CT and NG infections are addressed, as they should provide clues for control or eradication, through the development of new drugs and/or effective vaccines against these pathogens.This work was financed by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolimento Regional through the COMPETE 2020—Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, in a framework of the projects in CINTESIS, R&D Unit (reference UIDB/4255/2020), and within the scope of the project “RISE—LA/P/0053/2020”. N.V. would also like to thank the support from FCT and FEDER (European Union), award number IF/00092/2014/CP1255/CT0004 and CHAIR in Onco-Innovation at FMUP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Nanotoxicologia e Nanosegurança
No full textSobre avaliação de riscos dos nanomateriais.Financiado por FCT/MCTES através de fundos nacionais(PIDDAC), PTDC/SAU-PUB/29481/2017 and
PTDC/SAUPUB/32587/2017, and co-funded by UIDP/00009/2020 (Centre for Toxicogenomics and
Human Health – ToxOmics, FCT).N/
Innovating in the exposure and risk assessment of chemical contaminants – exploring synergies with the European PARC Project
No full textThe prevalence of many human diseases can be drastically reduced through the identification and prevention of environmental risk factors. This fact constitutes a strong incentive to innovate in the exposure and
hazard assessment of chemicals, through all available knowledge and technologies, towards a next-generation risk assessment (NGRA). The European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals
(PARC, 2022 – 2029) coordinated by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), brings together around 200 partners from all Europe and three European
Agencies, with the common goal of strengthening research and increasing the capacity for innovation in risk assessment, to protect human health and the environment. PARC is organized in three main pillars; i) establishment of a high level network at the interface of science and policy, setting the science-policy agenda and developing synergies collaboration and awareness; ii) implementation of Research & Innovation towards NGRA , comprising the fields of exposure and monitoring, hazard assessment, innovation in regulatory risk assessment and concepts and toolboxes; iii) development of capacities and platforms, to ensure FAIR data production and to develop infrastructures and human capacities.
PARC was built on lessons learned and knowledge acquired in other initiatives, e.g., the Human Biomonitoring Initiative for Europe (HBM4EU) but intends to go further and use a more holistic approach through the development of tools and methods that will enable the integration of all sources and routes of exposure to chemical contaminants and by targeting human and environmental health.
Several substances groups have been prioritised for study, including heavy metals, bisphenol A analogues, pesticides, and mycotoxins.
Taking advantage of established and innovative tools and technologies, PARC also expects to increase the effi ciency of in vitro toxicity testing while reducing the use of animals. The development of Adverse Outcome Pathways will set the biological framework to enable the development of integrated approaches to testing and assessment for regulatory decision-making. This will support the implementation of preventive measures, interventions, or new policies, to better protect public health.
To boost its impact, a strategy for the communication and dissemination of PARC outcomes, targeted to diff erent end-users, has been established. Furthermore, PARC offers a unique opportunity to foster
synergies and establish effective collaborations with other relevant scientifi c and/or regulatory initiatives at a global level, which will be crucial to maximize the global impact and regulatory acceptance of NGRA.PARC has received funding from the European
Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under
Grant Agreement No 101057014.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio