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Introduction Individuals experiencing psychotic symptoms often lack insight into their conditions, especially in first psychotic episodes. According to the Portuguese Mental Health Law, involuntary hospitalization may be necessary in cases of severe mental disorder, involving a threat to the patient or his/her legal assets, when there is a refusal of the necessary treatment. Objectives The aim of our study was to characterize patients admitted involuntarily for first psychotic episode and to compare them with the patients undergoing inpatient voluntary treatment. Methods Out of a total of 87 patients diagnosed with first psychotic episode, hospitalized between 2020 and 2022 in our service, at Hospital Magalhães Lemos, 65 were included in the study. Exclusion criteria included patients from other residential areas. 40 patients were admitted under involuntary treatment, whereas 25 were hospitalized voluntarily. For both groups, we calculated the duration of untreated psychosis, the prevalence of psychoactive substance abuse, the type of treatment provided and the number of re-hospitalizations. Results Patients in involuntary treatment had longer duration of untreated psychosis (71 vs 38 weeks). Among these patients, 53% had comorbid psychoactive substance abuse, in contrast with only 36% of voluntarily treated patients. Upon discharge, 58% of patients in involuntary treatment were prescribed depot antipsychotic medication, whereas only 12% of the ones in voluntary treatment. Out of 40 patients admitted involuntarily, 11 were re-hospitalized, but only 4 of the 25 patients in voluntary treatment (28 vs 16%). Conclusions Patients in involuntary treatment probably suffered from more severe disease, as seen for the higher duration of untreated psychosis and frequent comorbid substance abuse. Injectable medication was the preferred choice at the time of discharge for this group. Additionally, they experienced higher rates of re-hospitalizations. Recent changes in Portuguese Mental Health Law, that aims to safeguard the rights and responsibilities of individuals with mental health care needs, motivated this study. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

In recent years, climate changes and fossil resources depletion prompted efforts on R&D of technologies associated with the production of biodiesel, among other biofuels. However, expensive refined vegetable oils and supply shortages of waste cooking oils are still major factors hindering biodiesel market growth to substitute petroleum diesel, due to lack of economic competitiveness and sustainability issues. We address in this paper the production of biodiesel coupled with soybean processing to study possible synergies leading to economic and sustainability gains. Simulations in Aspen Plus® were carried employing detailed thermodynamic and kinetic models from previous works; these were obtained fromexperimental and industrial data, to describe more rigorously the various unit operations. The simulation framework under analysis includes the soybeans preparation and extraction areas, the miscella distillation and physical soybean oil refining, the production of sodium methoxide and biodiesel using the homogeneous alkaline transesterification technology. A base case with a process structure and operating conditions similar to the ones reported in the literature is adopted, and several integration opportunities in the global process are identified. Results show that biodiesel production costs can be significantly reduced from 795 $/t to 584 $/t, by incorporating in the chemical supply chain soy meal, lecithins and soy deodorization distillate (SODD) products that have high commercial value. Moreover, the integration of these processes helps to further reduce the biodiesel production costs by 2.6 % and the amount of wastewater generated by almost 10 %.

The water gas shift (WGS) reaction is widely used in the production of hydrogen, by the conversion of carbon monoxide into CO2 and of water into H2. In the present work, copper catalysts supported on alumina or carbon nanofibers (CNF) were used to study the WGS reaction. The catalysts were prepared by impregnating coppernitrate in the supports, with a nominal mass metallic content of 5%. The solids were dried, calcined and characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption, nitrous oxide chemisorption and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP OES). After calcination, the catalysts were loaded into the reactor, reduced and then tested in the WGS reaction at medium temperatures (398 – 573 K). The gases from reactor were analyzed online by Gas Chromatography (GC). The products were CO2, H2 and, probably, small amounts of coke. The CO partial pressure varied between 4.6 and 6.6 kPa, and the water partial pressure varied between 20.0 and 47.4 kPa. Among the catalysts tested, 5% Cu/Al2O3 was the most active under all conditions used in this work, due tothe high dispersion of the metal particles on the support. The most favorable reaction conditions for this catalyst were p0H2O= 38.6 kPa and p0CO= 5.3 kPa (H2O:CO molar ratio of 7.3), for all reaction temperaturesused in this work. Cu/CNF had low CO conversions, due to the support hydrophobicity. In case of this catalyst, the most favorable conditions were p0H2O= 20.0 kPa and p0CO= 6.6 kPa, corresponding to a H2O:CO molar ratio of 3.1. The apparent activation energy calculated for the WGS reaction was 86.1 kJ mol-1 for 5% Cu/Al2O3 and 69.8 kJ mol-1 for 5% Cu/CNF. For Cu/CNF a co-operative redox reaction mechanism was proposed, andapparent reaction orders were 0.64 in relation to CO and approximately zero in relation to water.

Abstract Background Aging decreases skeletal muscle mass and quality. Maintenance of healthy muscle is regulated by a balance between protein and organellar synthesis and their degradation. The autophagy-lysosome system is responsible for the selective degradation of protein aggregates and organelles, such as mitochondria (i.e., mitophagy). Little data exist on the independent and combined influence of age, biological sex, and exercise on the autophagy system and lysosome biogenesis. The purpose of this study was to characterize sex differences in autophagy and lysosome biogenesis in young and aged muscle and to determine if acute exercise influences these processes. Methods Young (4–6 months) and aged (22–24 months) male and female mice were assigned to a sedentary or an acute exercise group. Mitochondrial content, the autophagy-lysosome system, and mitophagy were measured via protein analysis. A TFEB-promoter-construct was utilized to examine Tfeb transcription, and nuclear-cytosolic fractions allowed us to examine TFEB localization in sedentary and exercised muscle with age and sex. Results Our results indicate that female mice, both young and old, had more mitochondrial protein than age-matched males. However, mitochondria in the muscle of females had a reduced respiratory capacity. Mitochondrial content was only reduced with age in the male cohort. Young female mice had a greater abundance of autophagy, mitophagy, and lysosome proteins than young males; however, increases were evident with age irrespective of sex. Young sedentary female mice had indices of greater autophagosomal turnover than male counterparts. Exhaustive exercise was able to stimulate autophagic clearance solely in young male mice. Similarly, nuclear TFEB protein was enhanced to a greater extent in young male, compared to young female mice following exercise, but no changes were observed in aged mice. Finally, TFEB-promoter activity was upregulated following exercise in both young and aged muscle. Conclusions The present study demonstrates that biological sex influences mitochondrial homeostasis, the autophagy-lysosome system, and mitophagy in skeletal muscle with age. Furthermore, our data suggest that young male mice have a more profound ability to activate these processes with exercise than in the other groups. Ultimately, this may contribute to a greater remodeling of muscle in response to exercise training in males.

Abstract In this work, an intercomparison of sensitization effects produced by gold (GNP) and dextran-coated iron oxide (SPION-DX) nanoparticles in M059J and U87 human glioblastoma cells was performed using 6 MV-photons. Three variables were mapped: the nanoparticle material, treatment concentration, and cell radiosensitivity. For U87, GNP treatments resulted in high sensitization enhancement ratios (SER $$_{10\%}$$ 10 % up to 2.04). More modest effects were induced by SPION-DX, but still significant reductions in survival were achieved (maximum SER $$_{10\%}=1.61$$ 10 % = 1.61 ). For the radiosensitive M059J, sensitization by both NPs was poor. SER $$_{10\%}$$ 10 % increased with the degree of elemental uptake in the cells, but not necessarily with treatment concentration. For GNP, where exposure concentration and elemental uptake were found to be proportional, SER $$_{10\%}$$ 10 % increased linearly with concentration in both cell lines. For SPION-DX, saturation of sensitization enhancement and metal uptake occurred at high exposures. Fold change in the $$\alpha /\beta$$ α / β ratios extracted from survival curves are reduced by the presence of SPION-DX but strongly increased by GNPs , suggesting that sensitization by GNPs occurs mainly via promotion of lethal damage, while for SPION-DX repairable damage dominates. The NPs were more effective in eliminating the radioresistant glioblastoma cells, an interesting finding, as resistant cells are key targets to improve treatment outcome.

Abstract Background There is a lack of studies that assess the effectiveness of pharmacotherapeutic follow-up in the context of the judicialization of insulin analogues. Aims To evaluate the clinical and humanistic impact of pharmacotherapeutic follow-up in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus who receive insulin analogues by judicial decision in a Brazilian municipality. Methods A quasi-experimental study of the before-and-after type was carried out through pharmacotherapeutic follow-up. Patients who accepted to participate in the study underwent laboratory tests of glycemic and lipid profile before and after the intervention, and underwent five pharmaceutical consultations. In addition, quality of life and health, knowledge, and skills related to insulin application techniques were analyzed. Results 28 patients participated in all stages. Of these, most were female (53.6%), with a mean age of 32.8 ± 11.6 years. After the intervention, there was a reduction in blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and increased body mass index. In addition, there was greater knowledge and skills regarding insulin application techniques, improved quality of life, health, greater number of medications used, reduction of pharmacotherapeutic problems, and improvement in eating habits. Conclusion The pharmacotherapeutic follow-up promoted clinical and humanistic benefits, with improvement in quality of life and health.

Abstract The excess of salts present in the water can limit the hydroponic cultivation of melon in semi-arid regions of the Brazilian Northeast, making it necessary to use strategies that allow the use of these waters. Among these strategies, the use of elicitor substances stands out, such as salicylic acid. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of foliar application of salicylic acid in mitigating the harmful effects of salt stress on the morphophysiology and production of 'Gaúcho' melon cultivated in a hydroponic system. A completely randomized design was adopted in a split-plot scheme, with four levels of electrical conductivity of the nutrient solution - ECsn (2.1, 3.2, 4.3, and 5.4 dS m-1) considered the plots and four salicylic acid concentrations - SA (0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 mM), the subplots, with six replications. The foliar application of salicylic acid concentrations did not mitigate the deleterious effects of salt stress on the morphophysiology and yield of melon grown in hydroponic system. The concentration of 4.5 mM of salicylic acid intensified the harmful effects of the salinity of the nutrient solution on gas exchange and fresh weight of hydroponic melon.

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive primary tumor of central nervous system, where no efficient therapy has been found so far. This is due to high intra- and inter- tumor heterogeneity, fast invasion and the therapy-resistant subpopulation of GB stem cells and their plasticity. Tumor heterogeneity involves interactions among cancer cells and stromal cells, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), that are recruited into the tumor microenvironment and migrate to the tumor site. Here, we characterized the impact of kinin receptors on the interaction of MSCs with GB cells which is further enhanced by kinin receptor agonists. Interactions between GB cells and MSCs were studied in two- and three-dimensional co-cultures. Kinin receptor activity was modulated by selective agonists and antagonists to evaluate their influence on cell viability, cell-cell interactions, GB U87 cell invasiveness, and phenotype alterations. Tumor cell invasion was enhanced by the kinin-B2 receptor agonist bradykinin, while it was blocked by B2 receptor antagonists applied in U87 cells monoculture and in co-culture with MSCs. Kinin receptor inhibition correlated with enhanced direct U87/MSC interactions, such as heterotypic fusion, vesicle transfer and entosis. Furthermore, kinin receptor modulation influenced expression of F-actin expression and genes associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in U87 cells upon U87/MSCs co-cultures. Our data support ongoing investigations of kinin receptor inhibition as an adjuvant approach in GB therapy. MSC impacts on cancer progression need further investigation, as they may have a synergistic effect with kininergic receptor activation.

Rationale: Co-infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Leishmania spp. has impact on clinical and therapeutic outcomes of leishmaniases. Most studies do not present the identification of Leishmania species causing American tegumentary leishmaniasis in co-infections. In the Americas, Leishmania (L.) Viannia (V.) braziliensis and L. (V.) guyanensis have been identified. Patient concerns: In this study, two cases of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in patients infected with HIV are described. Patients presented several lesions with rapid dissemination and mucosal involvement. Diagnosis: Disseminated cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. amazonensis was identified by molecular test. Interventions: The patients were treated with conventional therapies for HIV infection and American tegumentary leishmaniasis. Outcomes: In co-infection, the clinical manifestations are atypical and the treatment response can be impaired. Lessons: These cases show that HIV infection impacts L. amazonensis infection and point to the relevance of identifying Leishmania species, which can lead to a better patient management.

Two-phase flow through porous media leads to the formation of drops and fingers, which eventually break and merge or may be trapped behind obstacles. This complex dynamical behavior highly influences macroscopic properties such as the effective permeability and it also creates characteristic fluctuations in the velocity fields of the two phases, as well as in their relative permeability curves. In order to better understand how the microscopic behavior of the flow affects macroscopic properties of two phases, we simulate the velocity fields of two immiscible fluids flowing through a two-dimensional porous medium. By analyzing the fluctuations in the velocity fields of the two phases, we find that the system is ergodic for large volume fractions of the less viscous phase and high capillary numbers Ca. We also see that the distribution of drop sizes m follows a power-law scaling, P(m)∝m−ξ. The exponent ξ depends on the capillary number. Below a characteristic capillary number, namely Ca* ≈ 0.046, the drops are large and cohesive with a constant scaling exponent ξ ≈ 1.23 ± 0.03. Above the characteristic capillary number Ca*, the flow is dominated by many small droplets and few finger-like spanning clusters. In this regime the exponent ξ increases approaching 2.05 ± 0.03 in the limit of infinite capillary number. Our analysis also shows that the temporal mean velocity of the entire mixture can be described by a generalization of Darcy’s law of the form v̄(m)∝(∇P)β where the exponent β is sensitive to the surface tension between the two phases. In the limit of infinite capillary numbers the mobility term increases exponentially with the saturation of the less viscous phase. This result agrees with previous observations for effective permeabilities found in dissolved-gas-driven reservoirs.

Classical and more recently deep computer vision methods are optimized for visible spectrum images, commonly encoded in grayscale or RGB colorspaces acquired from smartphones or cameras. A more uncommon source of images exploited in the remote sensing field are satellite and aerial images. However the development of pattern recognition approaches for these data is relatively recent, mainly due to the limited availability of this type of images, as until recently they were used exclusively for military purposes. Access to aerial imagery, including spectral information, has been increasing mainly due to the low cost of drones, cheapening of imaging satellite launch costs, and novel public datasets. Usually remote sensing applications employ computer vision techniques strictly modeled for classification tasks in closed set scenarios. However, real-world tasks rarely fit into closed set contexts, frequently presenting previously unknown classes, characterizing them as open set scenarios. Focusing on this problem, this is the first paper to study and develop semantic segmentation techniques for open set scenarios applied to remote sensing images. The main contributions of this paper are: 1) a discussion of related works in open set semantic segmentation, showing evidence that these techniques can be adapted for open set remote sensing tasks; 2) the development and evaluation of a novel approach for open set semantic segmentation. Our method yielded competitive results when compared to closed set methods for the same dataset.

Diagnosis of cancer using electroanalytical methods can be achieved at low cost and in rapid assays, but this may require the combination with data treatment for determining biomarkers in real samples. In this paper, we report an immunomagnetic nanoparticle-based microfluidic sensor (INμ-SPCE) for the amperometric detection of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) biomarker, the data of which were treated with information visualization methods. The INμ-SPCE consists of eight working electrodes, reference and counter electrodes. On the working electrodes, magnetic nanoparticles with secondary antibodies with the enzyme horseradish peroxidase were immobilized for the indirect detection of PSA in a sandwich-type procedure. Under optimal conditions, the immunosensor could operate within a wide range from 12.5 to 1111 fg·L−1, with a low detection limit of 0.062 fg·L−1. Multidimensional projections combined with feature selection allowed for the distinction of cell lysates with different levels of PSA, in agreement with results from the traditional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The approaches for immunoassays and data processing are generic, and therefore the strategies described here may provide a simple platform for clinical diagnosis of cancers and other types of diseases.

Abstract Background Plasmodium falciparum has shown multidrug resistance, leading to the necessity for the development of new drugs with novel targets, such as the synthesis of isoprenic precursors, which are excellent targets because the pathway is different in several steps when compared with the human host. Naphthoquinone derivatives have been described as potentially promising for the development of anti-malarial leader molecules. In view of that, the focus in this work is twofold: first, evaluate the in vitro naphthoquinone antiplasmodial activity and cytotoxicity; secondly, investigate one possible action mechanism of two derivatives of hydroxy-naphthoquinones. Results The two hydroxy-naphthoquinones derivatives have been tested against P. falciparum in vitro, using strains of parasites chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and chloroquine-resistant (Dd2), causing 50% inhibition of parasite growth with concentrations that varied from 7 to 44.5 μM. The cell viability in vitro against RAW Cell Line displayed IC50 = 483.5 and 714.9 μM, whereas, in primary culture tests using murine macrophages, IC50 were 315.8 and 532.6 μM for the two selected compounds, causing no haemolysis at the doses tested. The in vivo acute toxicity assays exhibited a significant safety margin indicated by a lack of systemic and behavioural toxicity up to 300 mg/kg. It is suggested that this drug seems to inhibit the biosynthesis of isoprenic compounds, particularly the menaquinone and tocopherol. Conclusions These derivatives have a high potential for the development of new anti-malarial drugs since they showed low toxicity associated to a satisfactory antiplasmodial activity and possible inhibition of a metabolic pathway distinct from the pathways found in the mammalian host.