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• Between 2007 and 2016, bloodstream infections (BSI) occurred in 6.8/100 people living with HIV (PLWHIV) admitted to the infectious diseases ward. • PLWHIV were newly diagnosed in 25% of BSI admissions, most commonly late presenters. • Corticoid use, intravenous drug use, and APACHE II score were predictors of 30-day mortality. • The influence of corticotherapy in nosocomial BSI and the short-term prognosis is suggested. • Chronic diseases, lymphoma, and a CD4 cell count <200/µl had an impact on 3-year mortality. Portugal has one of the highest mortality rates for people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in Europe. After antiretroviral therapy introduction, HIV-associated mortality declined, included the one associated with bloodstream infection (BSI). However it is still high, and European data are scarce. Therefore, characterizing BSI and defining prognostic factors may improve our approach. This was a 10-year retrospective study of predictive factors for 30-day and 3-year mortality in PLWHIV with BSI in a tertiary infectious diseases ward. Of 2134 PLWHIV admissions, 145 (6.8%) had a BSI, mostly respiratory and catheter-related bacteremia and globally community-acquired. Nosocomial infections occurred in 42 (36%) cases, mostly caused by Enterococcus spp, Staphylococcus aureus , and Candida spp. PLWHIV with a BSI had higher 30-day mortality (27%) compared to those without a BSI (14%). APACHE II score, corticotherapy, and current intravenous drug use (IDU) had a prognostic impact on 30-day mortality. Three-year survival was 54% in PLWHIV with a BSI; a CD4 <200 cells, vascular or chronic pulmonary disease, and lymphoma were prognostic factors. Patients with a BSI were more likely to present advanced HIV disease, have more comorbidities, a longer length of stay, and higher 30-day mortality. IDU and severity of infection determined the short-term prognosis. Three-year mortality was primarily influenced by lower CD4 cell counts, hematological tumor, and cardiopulmonary comorbidities. Systemic corticotherapy may influence nosocomial BSI and short-term prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Insecticidal effect of Tithonia diversifolia was evaluated against the fall armyworm. • Fraction A reduced the pupal weight. • Fractions B and C increased the duration of the larval phase. • Sesquiterpene lactones reduced the larval period and pupal weight. Plant extracts can be used as an alternative to synthetic insecticides for the control of insect pests. This work aimed to evaluate the insecticidal effect of the ethyl acetate fractions and sesquiterpene lactones from Tithonia diversifolia (Asteraceae) leaf extract against the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). As a result, we found that the fraction A (20% methanol (MeOH)) at 100 ppm reduced pupal weight by 12.2% compared to the control. Fractions B (40% MeOH) and C (60% MeOH) at 100 ppm increased the duration of the larval period by 1.87 and 2.03 days, respectively. The sesquiterpene lactones tagitinin A (1), tagitinin C (2) and 1 β -methoxydiversifolin (3) at 100, 50 and 10 ppm affected the larval development with reduction of the larval period and pupal weight. Neither the fractions nor the pure compounds interfered with the duration of the pupal phase, nor did they cause larval or pupal mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a study about multi-sensory content within the context of learning activities aimed at people with intellectual disability. A story was prepared together with traditional stimulus (audio and visual) and multisensory (audio, video, tactile and smell). Knowing that people with intellectual disability, due to their cognitive limitation, have multiple learning difficulties, namely in areas such as: communication, reading/writing and attention [1] , it is really important to create innovative and pedagogically effective solutions that may motivate them and assist their learning process. Therefore, this study presents Preliminary results showing an overall improvement regarding the participant's memory when using the very multi-sensory contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several mechanisms by which the organism functionally regulates the cell behaviour against oxidative stress, being erythrocyte acid phosphatase activity (ACP1) and plasma epinephrine oxidase activity (EO) important key-players. In 221 young adults (mean age: 22.12±2.9 years old) we evaluated those activities, determined by spectrophotometric methods. The ACP1 and EO activities were inversely correlated (r=-0.392, P<0.0001). The ACP1 activity was higher in men (P=0.039). In relation to a lipid profile, we found that ACP1 activity was directly correlated with fasting (f) insulin (r=0.529, P<0.0001) and inversely correlated with f-glucose (r=-0.216, P=0.004), t-cholesterol (r=-0.184, P=0.014) and c-HDL (r= -0.316, P<0.0001); and the EO activity was directly correlated with c-HDL (r=0.224, P=0.013) and inversely correlated with f-insulin (r=-0.502, P<0.0001) and triglycerides (r=-0.195, P=0.013). ACP1 activity was significantly higher for BMI ≥25 Kg/m2 (vs. BMI<24.9 Kg/m2, P=0.041). Higher values of f-insulin (P=0.001) and triglycerides (P=0.010) and lower for c-HDL (P<0.001) were found in overweight subjects. Therefore, these enzymes involved in oxidative stress could interfere with cellular renewal and be a signalling of cellular changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]