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As lithium-bearing minerals become critical raw materials for the field of energy storage and advanced technologies, the development of tools to accurately identify and differentiate these minerals is becoming essential for efficient resource exploration, mining, and processing. Conventional methods for identifying ore minerals often depend on the subjective observation skills of experts, which can lead to errors, or on expensive and time-consuming techniques such as Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) or Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). More recently, Raman Spectroscopy (RS) has emerged as a powerful tool for characterizing and identifying minerals due to its ability to provide detailed molecular information. This technique excels in scenarios where minerals have similar elemental content, such as petalite and spodumene, by offering distinct vibrational information that allows for clear differentiation between such minerals. Considering this case study and its particular relevance to the lithium-mining industry, this manuscript reports the development of an unsupervised methodology for lithium-mineral identification based on Raman Imaging. The deployed machine-learning solution provides accurate and interpretable results using the specific bands expected for each mineral. Furthermore, its robustness is tested with additional blind samples, providing insights into the unique spectral signatures and analytical features that enable reliable mineral identification.

Objectives: Chronic dyspnea, a distressing symptom in patients with complex chronic conditions, is linked to higher risks of mortality. This study aimed to identify nursing interventions that could improve self-management for complex chronic patients, thereby enhancing control over chronic dyspnea. The findings intend to guide nursing care strategies that promote self-management among this population. Methods: We searched the databases Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), and Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) databases were searched in December 2023. We included adult patients with complex chronic conditions with chronic dyspnoea. The team screened articles collaboratively, using Rayyan software. A qualitative appraisal was performed according to JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist tools. The review protocol is registered under the number CRD42023456021. Results: Our review included 18 studies that explored a variety of interventions for chronic dyspnea. We identified pharmacological interventions (such as oxygen therapy and inhalation treatments) and non-pharmacological approaches (including educational programs, breathing exercises, fluid intake management, body awareness techniques, peer support, emotional intelligence training, and the use of web applications). Those interventions empower patients, improve their ability to fulfill life roles, mitigate emotional distress, and improve overall quality of life. Nursing care can be crucial in enabling individuals to achieve independence and autonomy in self-care. Conclusions: Promoting self-management for chronic dyspnea in complex chronic patients requires a holistic approach, encompassing multidisciplinary interventions, individualized self-care education, peer engagement, and technological support. Current research on self-management inadequately addresses interventions targeting patient behaviour change. It highlights the need to delve deeper into the self-management process. Further research is needed to expand the evidence base and refine these interventions.

A retrospective study was conducted to analyze prescription pattern of clozapine in dual diagnosis inpatients' and to find out if there was any association between clozapine prescription and acute relapses either from psychiatric symptoms or from substance use disorder. All patients admitted at Lisbon's Psychiatric Hospital Center during a 4 months' period for psychiatric inpatient treatment with a dual diagnosis at discharge were selected and their clinical files were screened. From 536 patients, 17,5% had a dual diagnosis at discharge. Most frequent psychiatric diagnosis associated with substance use disorder was schizophrenia (50%), followed by major depression disorder (17%) and bipolar disorder (10,6%). Most frequent substance of abuse was alcohol, followed by cannabinoids, nicotine, cocaine, and opiates. At least one antipsychotic drug was prescribed to 85,1% patients, and clozapine was prescribed to 22,3%. There was a statistically significant association between clozapine prescription and prevention of acute relapses of psychiatric symptoms in dual diagnosis patients. Although there was no significant association between prescription of clozapine versus other antipsychotic drugs in the prevention of relapses of substance use, there was a larger than expected number of patients in clozapine that didn't have a relapse of substance use.

Summary: Nucleotide repeat expansions are a hallmark of over 40 neurodegenerative diseases and cause RNA toxicity and multisystemic symptoms that worsen with age. Through an unclear mechanism, RNA toxicity can trigger severe disease manifestation in infants if the repeats are inherited from their mother. Here we use Caenorhabditis elegans bearing expanded CUG repeats to show that this asymmetric intergenerational inheritance of toxicity contributes to disease pathogenesis. In addition, we show that this mechanism is dependent on small RNA pathways with maternal repeat-derived small RNAs causing transcriptomic changes in the offspring, reduced motility, and shortened lifespan. We rescued the toxicity phenotypes in the offspring by perturbing the RNAi machinery in the affected hermaphrodites. This points to a novel mechanism linking maternal bias and the RNAi machinery and suggests that toxic RNA is transmitted to offspring, causing disease phenotypes through intergenerational epigenetic inheritance.

Resumo: Objectivo: Foi objectivo deste estudo determinar a sensibilidade e a especificidade da oximetria nocturna (ON) como método de screening diagnóstico para a síndroma de apneia-hipopneia obstrutiva do sono (SAHOS), utilizando como método de referência a polissonografia (PSG).Metodologia: Foram incluídos 63 doentes com sus-peita clínica de SAHOS e exclusão de doença respiratória, sendo submetidos a uma PSG completa, incluin-do ON. Posteriormente, foram determinados: a sensibilidade, a especificidade e os valores preditivos positivo (VPP) e negativo (VPN) da ON.Resultados: A SAHOS foi diagnosticada em 47 doentes com uma média etária de 54 anos. Verificaram-se diferenças significativas na avaliação da percentagem do tempo total de sono (TTS) com dessaturação de O2 abaixo de 90% entre doentes com SAHOS (25,4 29,7%) e sem SAHOS (1±1,5%), p

Objectivo: Foi objectivo deste estudo determinar a sensibilidade e a especificidade da oximetria nocturna (ON) como método de screening diagnóstico para a síndroma de apneia-hipopneia obstrutiva do sono (SAHOS), utilizando como método de referência a polissonografia (PSG) . Metodologia: Foram incluídos 63 doentes com suspeita clínica de SAHOS e exclusão de doença respiratória, sendo submetidos a uma PSG completa, incluindo ON. Posteriormente, foram determinados: a sensibilidade, a especificidade e os valores preditivos positivo (VPP) e negativo (VPN) da ON. Resultados: A SAHOS foi diagnosticada em 47 doentes com uma média etária de 54 anos. Verificaram-se diferenças significativas na avaliação da percentagem do tempo total de sono (TTS) com dessaturação de O2 abaixo de 90% entre doentes com SAHOS (25,4 29,7%) e sem SAHOS (1 ± 1,5%), pAim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of Nocturnal Oximetry (NO) as a diagnostic screening tool for obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS), compared with polysomnography (PSG) as the gold standard. Methodology: 63 patients with clinical suspicion of OSAHS and exclusion of respiratory disease underwent PSG and NO. We then determined NO sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV). Results: OSAHS was diagnosed in 47 patients with a mean age of 54 years. In the evaluation of the percentage of Total Sleep Time (TST) with oxygen desaturation below 90%, we found significant differences between patients with OSAHS (25.4 ± 29.7%) and without OSAHS (1 ± 1.5%), p