Alzheimer's disease (AD), which predominantly affects women, involves at its onset a metabolic deregulation associated with a synaptic failure. Here, we performed a behavioral, neurophysiological and ...neurochemical characterization of 9-month-old female APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) mice as a model of early AD. These animals showed learning and memory deficits in the Morris water maze, increased thigmotaxis and anxiety-like behavior and showed signs of fear generalization. Long-term potentiation (LTP) was decreased in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), but not in the CA1 hippocampus or amygdala. This was associated with a decreased density of sirtuin-1 in cerebrocortical synaptosomes and a decreased density of sirtuin-1 and sestrin-2 in total cerebrocortical extracts, without alterations of sirtuin-3 levels or of synaptic markers (syntaxin, synaptophysin, SNAP25, PSD95). However, activation of sirtuin-1 did not affect or recover PFC-LTP deficit in APP/PS1 female mice; instead, inhibition of sirtuin-1 increased PFC-LTP magnitude. It is concluded that mood and memory dysfunction in 9-month-old female APP/PS1 mice is associated with a parallel decrease in synaptic plasticity and in synaptic sirtuin-1 levels in the prefrontal cortex, although sirtiun1 activation failed to restore abnormal cortical plasticity.
People spend most of their time in indoor environments without knowing about the air quality in these spaces. In this study, indoor low-cost sensors were used (for 5 months) to assess the comfort and ...air quality patterns in two indoor households. To strengthen the robustness of the considered approach and build confidence in the obtained comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) levels, the sensor measurements were also compared against information from reference monitoring equipment; in which, high correlation coefficients were obtained (> 0.85) and also low errors (on average 22%). The IAQ results were strongly influenced by the residents’ activity and behaviour, the outdoor weather conditions, and indoor/outdoor air pollution sources. Overall, the recommended values of temperature and relative humidity for the occupant’s comfort in indoor environments were not fulfilled. The highest particulate matter (PM) levels were recorded at the weekend (on average +14% higher), while maximum CO
2
and CO levels were obtained on the weekdays (on average +9% higher). PM daily profiles followed the outdoor concentrations with the maximum levels at the end of the night and the lowest values in the early morning/mid-afternoon. The highest and lowest CO
2
concentrations were registered in the early morning (< 1536 ppm) and mid-afternoon (< 627 ppm), respectively, while the CO daily profiles showed a high impact of outdoor emissions, with the minimum concentrations up to 0.81 mg m
−3
(at 10 a.m. or 6 p.m.), and a maximum concentration of 1.87 mg m
−3
(at 10 p.m.). Real-time comfort conditions and IAQ levels are a powerful approach to providing fast decisions to minimise human exposure and prevent negative health impacts.
This study aims to compare the sodium content of foods sold in a market-leading Portuguese food retail company with global Sodium Benchmarks (SB). The labelled salt content of foods sold in 2020 and ...2021 was collected in-store using photographs, except for white-label brand products for which a database was provided. Descriptive statistics were used: the median, minimum, and maximum sodium content (mg/100 g), the percentage of products above the SB, and the percentual difference between median sodium content and the benchmark by subcategory. From the 4086 products, a total of 62.7% exceeded the benchmark. From the 64 subcategories, 46 subcategories showed a median sodium content higher than the SB. A total of 16 subcategories showed lower median sodium content than the SB. No difference was observed for two subcategories. The percentual difference between the median sodium content and the SB ranged from −96% for “Minimally processed breakfast cereals” and + 715% for “Processed fish/seafood products, non-heat-treated”. The results showed an excessive sodium content for most products. This study contributes to defining priority food groups regarding salt reformulation by performing a stratified analysis by subcategory.
•Compliance of Portuguese supermarket foods with global Sodium Benchmarks (SB).•From the 4086 studied products, a total of 62.7% exceeded the SB.•Low-processed breakfast cereals had the lowest median sodium compared to the SB.•Processed fish (non-heat-treated) had the highest median sodium compared to the SB.
Cases of thelaziosis by Thelazia callipaeda have been increasing considerably in Europe throughout the 21st century, with recent emphasis on Eastern Europe. A systematic review was conducted using ...defined search terms across three major databases and, additionally, with the examination of the references of the 56 articles selected. Available information about epidemiological and clinical features of all cases of thelaziosis by T. callipaeda in companion animals, wildlife and humans was extracted, evaluated and subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. In all cross-sectional studies about dogs, cats and red foxes, males were more frequently infected than females (dogs: p = 0.0365; cats: p = 0.0164; red foxes: p = 0.0082). Adult dogs seem to be more prone to infection (p < 0.0001), as well as large-sized dogs (p < 0.0001), and companion animals that live exclusively outdoors (p < 0.0001). Dogs and red foxes involved in these cross-sectional studies harboured significantly more female than male nematodes (p < 0.0001). Thelaziosis by T. callipaeda is far from controlled in Europe. Only through updated epidemiological data, knowledge improvement and awareness can correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment and prevention be ensured to tackle this zoonosis.
Q fever is caused by the pathogen
and is a zoonosis that naturally infects goats, sheep, and cats, but can also infect humans, birds, reptiles, or arthropods. A survey was conducted for the detection ...of antibodies against
in a sample of 617 free-ranging wild ruminants, 358 wild boar (
) and 259 red deer (
), in east-central Portugal during the 2016-2022 hunting seasons. Only adult animals were sampled in this study. Antibodies specific to
were detected using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; IDVet
, Montpellier, France) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The seroprevalence of
infection was 1.5% (
= 9; 95% confidence interval CI: 0.7-2.8%). Antibodies against
were detected in 4/358 wild boar (1.1%; 95% CI: CI: 0.3-2.8%) and 5/259 red deer (1.9%; 0.6-4.5%). Results of the present study indicate that antibodies against
were present in wild boar and red deer in Portugal. These findings can help local health authorities to focus on the problem of
in wildlife and facilitate the application of a One Health approach to its prevention and control.
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Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been extensively used to coat the surface of nanocarriers to improve their physicochemical properties and allow the grafting of targeting moieties. ...Still, to date there is no common agreement on the ideal PEG coverage-density or length to be used for optimum vector performance. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of both PEG density and length on the vectoring capacity of neuron-targeted gene-carrying trimethyl chitosan nanoparticles. The non-toxic fragment from the tetanus toxin (HC) was coupled to a 5 kDa heterobifunctional PEG (HC-PEG5k) reactive for the thiol groups inserted into the polymer backbone and grafted at different densities onto the nanoparticles. Internalization and transfection studies on neuronal versus non-neuronal cell lines allowed to determine the PEG density of 2 mol% of PEG chains per mol of primary amine groups as the one with superior biological performance. To enhance HC exposure and maximize cell-nanoparticle specific interaction, NPs containing different ratios of HC-PEG5k and 2 kDa methoxy-PEG at the same grafting density were produced. By intercalating HC-PEG5k with methoxy-PEG2k we attained the best performance in terms of internalization (higher payload delivery into cells) and transfection efficiency, using twice lower amount of HC. This outcome highlights the need for fine-tuning of PEG-modified nanoparticles towards the achievement of optimal targeting.
The amount and exposure of targeting moieties at a nanoparticle surface are critical parameters regarding the targeting potential of nanosized delivery vectors. However, to date, few studies have considered fundamental aspects impacting the ligand-receptor pair interaction, such as the effect of spacer chain length, flexibility or conformation. By optimizing the PEG spacer density and chain length grafted into nanoparticles, we were able to establish the formulation that maximizes cell-nanoparticle specific interaction and has superior biological performance. Our work shows that the precise adjustment of the PEG coverage-density presents a significant impact on the selectivity and bioactivity of the developed formulation, emphasizing the need for the fine-tuning of PEG-modified nanoparticles for the successful development of the next-generation nanomedicines.
Adenosine receptors mainly control synaptic function, and excessive activation of adenosine receptors may worsen the onset of many neurological disorders. Accordingly, the regular intake of moderate ...doses of caffeine antagonizes adenosine receptors and affords robust neuroprotection. Although caffeine intake alters brain functional connectivity and multi-omics analyses indicate that caffeine intake modifies synaptic and metabolic processes, it is unclear how caffeine intake affects behavior, synaptic plasticity and its modulation by adenosine. We now report that male mice drinking caffeinated water (0.3 g/L) for 2 weeks were behaviorally indistinguishable (locomotion, mood, memory) from control mice (drinking water) and displayed superimposable synaptic plasticity (long-term potentiation) in different brain areas (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, amygdala). Moreover, there was a general preservation of the efficiency of adenosine A
and A
receptors to control synaptic transmission and plasticity, although there was a tendency for lower levels of endogenous adenosine ensuring A
receptor-mediated inhibition. In spite of similar behavioral and neurophysiological function, caffeine intake increased the energy charge and redox state of cortical synaptosomes. This increased metabolic competence likely involved a putative increase in the glycolytic rate in synapses and a prospective greater astrocyte-synapse lactate shuttling. It was concluded that caffeine intake does not trigger evident alterations of behavior or of synaptic plasticity but increases the metabolic competence of synapses, which might be related with the previously described better ability of animals consuming caffeine to cope with deleterious stimuli triggering brain dysfunction.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to gain insight into the epidemiology of canine ehrlichiosis and rickettsiosis in northern Portugal. Specific IgG antibodies to
were analysed using a commercial ...enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and antibodies to
were analysed using a commercial indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT). A total of 113 dogs from two different shelters were sampled, and seroprevalence values of 0.9% (95% confidence (CI): 0.2-4.8%) for
and 9.7 (95% CI: 5.5-16.6%) for
were found. Multiple logistic regression investigated risk factors for seropositivity. The odds ratios (ORs) of
seropositivity were higher for female dogs (OR = 6.429; 95% CI: 1.201-34.407). Dogs seropositive for co-infection (
+
) were more frequently observed among females (OR = 7.606; CI 95%: 1.478-39.132) and in Shelter 2 (OR = 18.229; 95% CI: 2.190-151.756). These findings show that shelter dogs in northern Portugal are exposed to
and
, which can affect both canines and humans. It is imperative to adopt a One Health approach to educate the public about the hazards of canine zoonoses and develop legislation and procedures to control their spread and preserve public health.
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