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- 17 Beta-Estradiol and progesterone inhibit L-type Ca2+ current of rat aorta smooth muscle cellsPublication . Verde, Ignacio; Cairrão, Elisa; Carvas, João; Silva, António José Santos; Alvarez, EzequielSex hormones like 17ß-estradiol (ßES) and progesterone have shown rapid non-genomic vasodilator effects, which could be involved in the protection of cardiovascular system. However, the precise mechanism by which this effect occurs has not been elucidated yet, even if Ca2+ influx inhibition seems to be implicated. The aim of this study was to study the influence of ßES and progesterone on the L-type Ca2+ current measured by whole cell voltage-clamp in A7r5 cells. Voltage-operated Ca2+ currents were elicited by square-step voltage pulses and pharmacologically characterized as L-type currents by (-)-Bay K8644 (BAY) and nifedipine. Both ßES and progesterone (1-100 µM), rapidly and reversibly inhibited, in a concentration dependent manner, either non-stimulated or BAY-stimulated Ca2+ currents registered in A7r5 cells. These results suggest that ßES and progesterone inhibit L-type voltage-operated Ca2+ channels through a non-genomic pathway. Consequently, these hormones inhibit the Ca2+ entry into smooth muscle cells from rat aorta, an effect that can contribute for the protection of the cardiovascular system.
- 2019 ARIA Care pathways for allergen immunotherapyPublication . Bousquet, Jean; Pfaar, Oliver; Togias, Alkis; Schünemann, Holger J; Ansotegui, Ignacio; Papadopoulos, Nikolaos G; Tsiligianni, Ioanna; Agache, Ioana; Anto, Josep M.; Bachert, Claus; Bedbrook, Anna; Bergmann, Karl-Christian; Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia; Bosse, Isabelle; Brozek, Jan; Calderon, Moises A; Canonica, Giorgio W; Caraballo, Luigi; Cardona, Victoria; Casale, Thomas; Cecchi, Lorenzo; Chu, Derek; Costa, Elísio; Cruz, Alvaro A; Czarlewski, Wienczyslawa; Durham, Stephen R; Du Toit, George; Dykewicz, Mark; Ebisawa, Motohiro; Fauquert, Jean Luc; Fernandez-Rivas, Montserrat; Fokkens, Wytske J; Fonseca, João; Fontaine, Jean-François; Gerth van Wijk, Roy; Haahtela, Tari; Halken, Susanne; Hellings, Peter; Ierodiakonou, Despo; Iinuma, Tomohisa; Ivancevich, Juan Carlos; Jacobsen, Lars; Jutel, Marek; Kaidashev, Igor; Khaitov, Musa; Kalayci, Omer; Kleine Tebbe, Jörg; Klimek, Ludger; Kowalski, Marek L; Kuna, Piotr; Kvedarienė, Violeta; La Grutta, Stefania; Larenas Linnemann, Désirée; Lau, Susanne; Laune, Daniel; Le Thi Tuyet, Lan; Lodrup Carlsen, Karin; Lourenço, Olga; Malling, Hans-Jørgen; Marien, Gert; Menditto, Enrica; Mercier, Gregoire; Mullol, Joaquim; Muraro, Antonella; O'Hehir, Robyn; Okamoto, Yoshitaka; Pajno, Giovanni B; Park, Hae-Sim; Panzner, Petr; Passalacqua, Giovanni; Pham-Thi, Nhan; Roberts, Graham; Pawankar, Ruby; Rolland, Christine; Rosario, Nelson; Ryan, Dermot; Samolinski, Boleslaw; Sanchez-Borges, Mario; Scadding, Glenis; Shamji, Mohamed H; Sheikh, Aziz; Sturm, Gunter J; Todo-Bom, Ana; Toppila-Salmi, Sanna; Valentin Rostan, Marylin; Valiulis, Arunas; Valovirta, Erkka; Ventura, Maria Teresa; Wahn, Ulrich; Walker, Samantha; Wallace, Dana; Waserman, Susan; Yorgancioglu, Arzu; Zuberbier, TorstenAllergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a proven therapeutic option for the treatment of allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. Many guidelines or national practice guidelines have been produced but the evidence-based method varies, many are complex and none propose care pathways. This paper reviews care pathways for AIT using strict criteria and provides simple recommendations that can be used by all stakeholders including healthcare professionals. The decision to prescribe AIT for the patient should be individualized and based on the relevance of the allergens, the persistence of symptoms despite appropriate medications according to guidelines as well as the availability of good-quality and efficacious extracts. Allergen extracts cannot be regarded as generics. Immunotherapy is selected by specialists for stratified patients. There are no currently available validated biomarkers that can predict AIT success. In adolescents and adults, AIT should be reserved for patients with moderate/severe rhinitis or for those with moderate asthma who, despite appropriate pharmacotherapy and adherence, continue to exhibit exacerbations that appear to be related to allergen exposure, except in some specific cases. Immunotherapy may be even more advantageous in patients with multimorbidity. In children, AIT may prevent asthma onset in patients with rhinitis. mHealth tools are promising for the stratification and follow-up of patients.
- 2023 UPDATE: Luso-Brazilian evidence-based guideline for the management of antidiabetic therapy in type 2 diabetesPublication . Bertoluci, Marcello Casaccia; Júnior, Wellington S. Silva; Valente, Fernando; Araujo, Levimar Rocha; Lyra, Ruy; Castro, João Jácome de; Raposo, João; Miranda, Paulo Augusto Carvalho; Boguszewski, Cesar Luiz; Hohl, Alexandre; Duarte, Rui; Salles, Joao Eduardo Nunes; Silva-Nunes, José; Dores, Jorge; Melo, Miguel; Sá, João Roberto de; Neves, João Sérgio; Moreira, Rodrigo Oliveira; Malachias, Marcus Vinicius Bolivar; Lamounier, Rodrigo Nunes; Malerbi, Domingos Augusto; Calliari, Luís Eduardo; Cardoso, Luis Miguel; Carvalho, Maria Raquel; Ferreira, Hélder José; Nortadas, Rita; Trujilho, Fábio Rogério; Leitão, Cristiane Bauermann; Simões, José Augusto Rodrigues; Reis, Mónica Isabel Natal dos; Melo, Pedro; Marcelino, Mafalda; Carvalho, DavideBackground The management of antidiabetic therapy in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has evolved beyond gly‑ cemic control. In this context, Brazil and Portugal defned a joint panel of four leading diabetes societies to update the guideline published in 2020. Methods The panelists searched MEDLINE (via PubMed) for the best evidence from clinical studies on treating T2D and its cardiorenal complications. The panel searched for evidence on antidiabetic therapy in people with T2D with‑ out cardiorenal disease and in patients with T2D and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), heart failure (HF), or diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The degree of recommendation and the level of evidence were determined using predefned criteria. Results and conclusions All people with T2D need to have their cardiovascular (CV) risk status stratifed and HbA1c, BMI, and eGFR assessed before defning therapy. An HbA1c target of less than 7% is adequate for most adults, and a more fexible target (up to 8%) should be considered in frail older people. Non-pharmacological approaches are recommended during all phases of treatment. In treatment naïve T2D individuals without cardiorenal complications, metformin is the agent of choice when HbA1c is 7.5% or below. When HbA1c is above 7.5% to 9%, starting with dual therapy is recommended, and triple therapy may be considered. When HbA1c is above 9%, starting with dual therapyt is recommended, and triple therapy should be considered. Antidiabetic drugs with proven CV beneft (AD1) are recommended to reduce CV events if the patient is at high or very high CV risk, and antidiabetic agents with proven efcacy in weight reduction should be considered when obesity is present. If HbA1c remains above tar‑ get, intensifcation is recommended with triple, quadruple therapy, or even insulin-based therapy. In people with T2D.
- 3-D Characterisation of Nonwoven Fabrics by means of an optical systemPublication . Pereira, Mário José Teixeira; Salvado, Rita; Fiadeiro, Paulo; Silvy, JacquesThe characterisation of fabric structure by means of quantified parameters is essential for the control of the fabrication processes and the resulting properties of the nonwoven materials. Important parameters of the structure are the porosity, the mean pore size and the pore size distribution, the specific area of the texture, the fibres orientation the last one needing to be characterised in the three dimension of the fabric web. In this research work we intend to evaluate the porous fibres orientation in geotextiles nonwovens using a procedure based on the fibres light conducting and their associated scattering. The interpretation of the phenomena is made through a modelisation concept of the pore fibre interfaces
- 3-Form Cosmology: Phantom Behaviour, Singularities and InteractionsPublication . Morais, João; Bouhmadi Lopez, Mariam; Marto, JoãoThe latest cosmological observations by the Planck collaboration (and combined with others) are compatible with a phantom-like behaviour (w < − 1) for the dark energy equation of state that drives the current acceleration of the Universe. With this mindset, we look into models where dark energy is described by a 3-form field minimally coupled to gravity. When compared to a scalar field, these models have the advantage of more naturally accommodating a cosmological-constant and phantom-like behaviours. We show how the latter happens for a fairly general class of positive-valued potentials, and through a dynamical system approach, we find that in such cases the 3-form field leads the Universe into a Little Sibling of the Big Rip singular event into the future. In this work, we explore the possibility of avoiding such singularity via an interaction in the dark sector between cold dark matter and the 3-form field. For the kind of interactions considered, we deduce a condition for replacing the LSBR by a late time de Sitter phase. For specific examples of interactions that meet this condition, we look for distinctive imprints in the statefinder hierarchy { S 3 ( 1 ) ; S 4 ( 1 ) } , { S 3 ( 1 ) ; S 5 ( 1 ) } , and in the growth rate of matter, e ( z ) , through the composite null diagnostic (CND).
- 3D and transient numerical modeling of door opening and closing processes and its influence on thermal performance of cold roomsPublication . Carneiro, Rui; Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Silva, Pedro Dinho daThis paper presents the comparison of three-dimensional and transient CFD modelling of the opening and closing processes of hinged and sliding doors and its influence on the thermal performance of cold rooms. A species transport model is used to model a tracer gas. The air infiltration through the door opening is determined by the tracer gas concentration decay technique. The prediction of air temperature and velocity fields in the cold room as function of external air temperature allows quantifying the increase of the air infiltration rate and consequently of the average air temperature inside the cold room. When the hinged door is used, the formation of vortices during the opening movement promotes a larger and faster thermal interaction between the two contiguous air masses. The air infiltration during the sliding door opening/closing is 20% lower than for a hinged door. Consequently, the average air temperature inside the cold room is 17% lower. The air infiltration rate was numerically predicted and compared with analytical models’ results. The numerical model predicts closely the air infiltration rate for each door type. Moreover, the transient CFD modelling extends the results of the analytical models allowing the analysis of the influence of door opening and closing processes on the air temperature and velocity fields.
- 3D Printed Robotic Hand with Piezoresistive Touch CapabilityPublication . Fonseca, Gonçalo; Nunes-Pereira, João; Silva, AbilioThis work proposes the design of a low-cost sensory glove system that complements the operation of a 3D-printed mechanical hand prosthesis, providing it with the ability to detect touch, locate it and even measure the intensity of associated forces. Firstly, the production of the prosthetic model was performed using 3D printing, which allowed for quick and cheap production of a robotic hand with the implementation of a mechanical system that allows controlled movements with high performance and with the possibility of easily replacing each piece individually. Secondly, we performed the construction and instrumentation of a complementary sensory mimicry add-on system, focusing on the ability to sense touch as the primary target. Using piezoresistive sensors attached to the palm of the glove, a multi-sensor system was developed that was able to locate and quantify forces exerted on the glove. This system showed promising results and could be used as a springboard to develop a more complex and multifunctional system in the future.
- 3D Printed scaffolds with bactericidal activity aimed for bone tissue regenerationPublication . Correia, Tiago R.; Figueira, Daniela Sofia Rodrigues; Sá, Kevin; Miguel, Sónia P.; Fradique, Ricardo Gil; Mendonça, António; Correia, I.J.Nowadays, the incidence of bone disorders has steeply ascended and it is expected to double in the next decade, especially due to the ageing of the worldwide population. Bone defects and fractures lead to reduced patient’s quality of life. Autografts, allografts and xenografts have been used to overcome different types of bone injuries, although limited availability, immune rejection or implant failure demand the development of new bone replacements. Moreover, the bacterial colonization of bone substitutes is the main cause of implant rejection. To vanquish these drawbacks, researchers from tissue engineering area are currently using computer-aided design models or medical data to produce 3D scaffolds by Rapid Prototyping (RP). Herein, Tricalcium phosphate (TCP)/Sodium Alginate (SA) scaffolds were produced using RP and subsequently functionalized with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through two different incorporation methods. The obtained results revealed that the composite scaffolds produced by direct incorporation of AgNPs are the most suitable for being used in bone tissue regeneration since they present appropriate mechanical properties, biocompatibility and bactericidal activity.
- 3D scaffolds coated with nanofibers displaying bactericidal activity for bone tissue applicationsPublication . Sá, Kevin; Figueira, Daniela Sofia Rodrigues; Miguel, Sónia P.; Correia, Tiago R.; Silva, Abílio Manuel Pereira da; Correia, I.J.Bone-limited capacity to fully repair large defects requires the development of new implants. In this context, new approaches have been used to promote bone regeneration and also to avoid the side effects associated with the therapeutics currently used in the clinic. Herein, 3D tricalcium phosphate/alginic acid scaffolds were produced and then coated with an electrospun mesh loaded with two different antibacterial agents, silver nanoparticles, and salicylic acid. The obtained results showed that the produced scaffolds have suitable mechanical properties, swelling, biodegradation, biomineralization activity, enhanced cellular adhesion/proliferation and bactericidal activity, and features essential for bone regeneration.
- 3D transient CFD modeling of sliding door operation and its influence on the thermal performance of cold roomsPublication . Carneiro, Rui; Gaspar, Pedro Dinis; Silva, Pedro Dinho daThe need of rationalize energy consumption in agrifood industry has fasten the development of methodologies to improve the thermal and energy performances of cold rooms. This paper presents a 3D transient Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling of a cold room to evaluate the air infiltration rate through sliding doors. A species transport model is used for modelling the tracer concentration decay technique. Numerical predictions indicate that air temperature difference between spaces affects the air infiltration. For this case study, the infiltration rate increases 0.012 m3 s-1 per K of air temperature difference. The knowledge about the evolution of air infiltration during door opening/closing times allows to draw some conclusions about its influence on the air conditions inside the cold room, as well as to suggest best practices and simple technical improvements that can minimize air infiltration, and consequently improve thermal performance and energy consumption rationalization.