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Antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a global public health threat, and development of novel therapeutics for treating infections caused by multi-drug resistant bacteria is urgent. Staphylococcus aureus is a major human and animal pathogen, responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The intracellular survival of S. aureus in macrophages contributes to immune evasion, dissemination, and resilience to antibiotic treatment. Here, we present a confocal fluorescence imaging assay for monitoring macrophage infection by green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged S. aureus as a front-line tool to identify antibiotic leads. The assay was employed in combination with nanoscaled chemical analyses to facilitate the discovery of a new, active rifamycin analogue. Our findings indicate a promising new approach for the identification of antimicrobial compounds with macrophage intracellular activity. The antibiotic identified here may represent a useful addition to our armory in tackling the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance.

APEduC Revista - Investigação e Práticas em Educação em Ciências, Matemática e Tecnologia, Vol 4 Nº 1 (2023): APEduC Revista | APEduC Journal

Funding Information: The present publication was funded by Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia, IP national support through CHRC (UIDP/04923/2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Objectives To identify the factors associated with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) use of TAVI in inpatients with aortic stenosis (AS) in Portugal and its geographical distribution. Methods A quantitative, observational and retrospective study using the Portuguese National Health Service inpatient discharge database from 2015 to 2017. Surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and TAVI procedures were selected using the International Classification of Diseases. First, we mapped the yearly age-standardised rate for each procedure using QGIS. Then, we performed χ 2 tests, independent t-tests and logistic regressions to study the factors associated with TAVI use. Results From 2015 to 2017, 8398 hospitalisations were selected, 88.5% SAVR and 11.5% TAVI. From 2015 to 2017, SAVR use increased in the Northern region and decreased in the Lisbon region, while the opposite was observed for TAVI. TAVI was performed among the most complex (p

Smoke-Free School Policies (SFSP) are primarily designed to ensure educational spaces remain free of second-hand smoke, whilst contributing to a reduction in adolescent smoking by challenging the practice per se. Evidence regarding the latter goal is inconclusive, however, with most studies suggesting SFSPs are ineffective in reducing smoking prevalence. A dearth of qualitative research limits our understanding of why this inefficacy persists and how it might be addressed. This paper addresses this lacuna through a critical discursive analysis of data from 56 focus groups, generated with adolescents across 17 schools in seven European cities. It reveals that, while smoking is banned on school premises in most European countries, young people experience wide variation in implementation. Despite this, participants framed SFSPs in remarkably similar ways. Among young people most likely to smoke, representations of SFSPs often undermined their efficacy, leading to the displacement of smoking (outside the school grounds) rather than a reduction in prevalence. We argue that, policy effectiveness could be improved if schools worked collaboratively with students to develop positive collective beliefs and understandings about SFSPs, but caution realism about the potentially limited power of schools to reduce adolescent smoking prevalence.

Despite efforts to reduce adolescent smoking via minimum age-of-sale legislation, many young people continue to access tobacco through a mix of social and commercial sources. Little is known about the roles of habitus, capital, and social topographies in shaping under-age access to tobacco. This article draws on Bourdieu’s theory of practice and data generated from 56 focus groups with 14- to 19-year-olds across seven European cities to answer the question “via what sources and by what means do adolescents obtain tobacco?” We find that adolescents use a range of personal capitals (social, cultural, and economic) to access tobacco, with the specific constitution and deployment of these capitals varying according to the regularities of different fields. Since adolescents access tobacco via culturally embedded practices, attempts to curtail this access are more likely to be effective if they are multi-pronged, culturally informed, and attuned to the lived experiences of adolescent smokers.

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The Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique) is one of the most emblematic protected areas in Africa, well known for its vertebrate biodiversity and restoration ecology efforts following the Mozambican civil war in 1992. The invertebrate biodiversity of Gorongosa National Park is still poorly studied, although the scarce information available indicates the existence of a rich number of species, particularly ground-beetles. The study of Caraboidea beetles is key for designing conservation practices since they are frequently used as biodiversity and ecological indicators and provide valuable information to help decision making. Therefore, the diversity assessment of Caraboidea beetles using standardized methodologies, can be used to quantify the effects of climate change in areas identified as vulnerable to antropogenic pressures, such as the Gorongosa National ParkWe report the occurrence of five tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) and 93 ground beetles (Carabidae) species/morphospecies in Gorongosa National Park from a field survey funded by the ECOASSESS project. Sampling was performed in the four main habitat types present in the park (miombo tropical forest, mixed dry forest, transition forest and grasslands) between October 25th and November 25th. In this sampling window, the turnover of Caraboidea species from the dry season to the wet season was recorded for the first time. Twenty-seven species of ground-beetles are new records to Mozambique, including three new subgenera and two new genera. Additional information on species phenology and habitat preferences is also provided.

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A pandemia Covid-19 levou milhões de profissionais em Portugal a trabalharem a partir de casa durante os períodos de confinamento viabilizando modelos de trabalho como o teletrabalho ou híbridos. O presente projeto, desenhado para uma equipa específica de uma empresa inserida no setor dos serviços, call centre e outsourcing, pretende desenvolver propostas de intervenção para a eventualidade dos colaboradores terem de regressar ao modelo presencial ou para a possibilidade da adoção de um modelo de trabalho híbrido. Deste modo, foi efetuada uma revisão de literatura das vantagens e desvantagens dos modelos de trabalho assim como de considerações para regressar ao escritório num período pós pandemia, abarcando práticas de algumas organizações. Esta revisão levou ao diagnóstico, baseado no modelo de Porras & Roberston (1992) denominado de Dinâmicas Organizacionais, que se baseou na realização de cinco focus group com 27 elementos da equipa em estudo, reuniões com a equipa do departamento de well-being e num questionário enviado a toda a equipa. Destes resultados extraíram-se os recursos e exigências de trabalhar no escritório e em home office, trabalhados à luz do Modelo Job Demands-Resources desenvolvido por Bakker & Demerouti (2007). Foram assim desenvolvidas propostas de intervenção de forma a melhorar os níveis de saúde mental dos colaboradores, a sua satisfação com o trabalho, a desenvolver competências e facilitar as suas interações sociais. As propostas encontram-se desenvolvidas neste projeto e estão divididas pelos cenários de regresso ao modelo presencial ou a adoção um modelo de trabalho híbrido. The Covid-19 pandemic has led millions of professionals in Portugal to work from home during periods of confinement, enabling work models such as telework or hybrid work. The present project, designed for a specific team of a company that operates in the services, call centre and outsourcing sector, aims to develop intervention proposals for the eventuality of employees having to return to the face-to-face model or for the possibility of adopting a hybrid work model. In this way, a literature review was carried out on the advantages and disadvantages of work models as well as considerations for returning to the office in a post-pandemic period, covering practices of some organizations. This review led to the diagnosis, based on the model by Porras & Roberston (1992) called Organizational Dynamics, which was based on five focus groups with 27 members of the team under study, meetings with the well-being team and a questionnaire sent to the entire team. From these results, the resources and requirements of working in the office and at home office were extracted, worked in the light of the Job Demands-Resources Model developed by Bakker & Demerouti (2007). Intervention proposals were thus developed in order to improve the mental health levels of employees, their work satisfaction, develop skills and facilitate their social interactions. The proposals are developed in this project and are divided by the scenarios of return to the face-to-face model or the adoption of a hybrid work model.

Scoping review of the applicaction of Tradicional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as an female infertility treatment.