Browsing by Author "Duarte, Aida"
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- Antimicrobial and wound healing effects associated to cytocompatibility and the relationship with phytochemical profile of selected Portuguese monofloral honeysPublication . Machado, Alexandra M.; Marto, Joana; Gonçalves, Lídia Maria; Ribeiro, Helena Margarida; Duarte, Aida; Tomás, Andreia; Falcão, Soraia; Vilas-Boas, Miguel; Miguel, Maria Graça; Figueiredo, Ana CristinaOwing to its applications in both food and pharmaceutical industries honey is regarded as a functional product. This study evaluated 32 Portuguese monofloral honeys and their activity was compared with manuka honey 850 + . The antimicrobial activity was determined against Gram-positive and negative bacteria, and yeast. Antioxidant activity, wound healing ability, and cell viability were studied in the human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). Phytochemical profile analysis was performed by UPLC/DAD/ESI-MSn. Chestnut, bell heather, eucalyptus, manuka, and strawberry tree honeys demonstrated higher antioxidant activity and were effective against S. aureus. Incense and orange honeys showed wound healing rates of 89 % and 86 %, respectively. All the honeys had cell viability above 76 %. Bell heather and strawberry tree honeys showed the highest total phenolic content, while incense and orange honeys, showed the lower ones. Phytochemical profile analysis evidenced two main clusters, one dominated by isoprenoids and norisoprenoids, as well as phenolic acids and derivatives, while the other included flavonoids as main compounds. Blending different Portuguese monofloral honeys may be an alternative to faster wound healing, by combining their diverse bioactive components. The gathered knowledge can be further explored in formulations that consider the biological activity capacity and composition of each honey.
- Caracterização da resistência a antibióticos de isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae em infeções associadas aos cuidados de saúde (IACS)Publication . Afonso, Ana Cristina; Fernandes, Conceição; Garcia, Juliana; Duarte, Aida; Saavedra, Maria JoséA emergência e disseminação global de Enterobacteriaceae resistentes aos carbapenemos constitui um grave problema de Saúde Pública, uma vez que estão associadas a altas taxas de morbilidade e mortalidade. Estirpes produtoras de carbapenemases são caracteri -lactâmicos, fluoroquinolonas e aminoglicosídeos. Num estudo longitudinal, num total de 198 isolados clínicos, analisaram-se 102 isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae resistentes a carbapenemos provenientes do Centro Hospitalar de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (CHTMAD), no âmbito de protocolo aprovado pela Comissão de Ética. Os perfis de suscetibilidade dos isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae foram estudados. Adicionalmente fez-se a caracterização da origem dos isolados: serviço hospitalar, amostra biológica, idade e género. A maioria dos isolados apresentou fenótipo de multirresistência. Observou-se que nos isolados em que foram testados, todos apresentaram resistência ao Ertapenemo, Doripenemo e Aztreonamo. Dos aminoglicosídeos testados (Amicacina, Gentamicina e Tobramicina) observou-se uma percentagem de suscetibilidade para a Gentamicina. De salientar que o antibiótico com atividade mais eficaz foi a colistina, havendo no entanto estirpes resistentes a este fármaco de último recurso, uma das últimas alternativas terapêuticas para tratar infeções causadas por bacilos Gram-negativo extremamente resistentes (XDR).A multirresistência encontrada nos isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae em Infeções Associadas aos Cuidados de Saúde (IACs) constitui um sério problema de Saúde Pública a nível Mundial, demonstrando a necessidade de uma vigilância contínua.
- Caracterização da resistência a antibióticos de isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae em Infeções Associadas aos Cuidados de Saúde (IACS)Publication . Afonso, Ana Cristina; Fernandes, Conceição; Garcia, Juliana; Duarte, Aida; Saavedra, Maria JoséA emergência e disseminação global de Enterobacteriaceae resistentes aos carbapenemos constitui um grave problema de Saúde Pública, uma vez que estão associadas a altas taxas de morbilidade e mortalidade. Estirpes produtoras de carbapenemases são caracteri -lactâmicos, fluoroquinolonas e aminoglicosídeos. Num estudo longitudinal, num total de 198 isolados clínicos, analisaram-se 102 isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae resistentes a carbapenemos provenientes do Centro Hospitalar de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (CHTMAD), no âmbito de protocolo aprovado pela Comissão de Ética. Os perfis de suscetibilidade dos isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae foram estudados. Adicionalmente fez-se a caracterização da origem dos isolados: serviço hospitalar, amostra biológica, idade e género. A maioria dos isolados apresentou fenótipo de multirresistência. Observou-se que nos isolados em que foram testados, todos apresentaram resistência ao Ertapenemo, Doripenemo e Aztreonamo. Dos aminoglicosídeos testados (Amicacina, Gentamicina e Tobramicina) observou-se uma percentagem de suscetibilidade para a Gentamicina. De salientar que o antibiótico com atividade mais eficaz foi a colistina, havendo no entanto estirpes resistentes a este fármaco de último recurso, uma das últimas alternativas terapêuticas para tratar infeções causadas por bacilos Gram-negativo extremamente resistentes (XDR).A multirresistência encontrada nos isolados de Klebsiella pneumoniae em Infeções Associadas aos Cuidados de Saúde (IACs) constitui um sério problema de Saúde Pública a nível Mundial, demonstrando a necessidade de uma vigilância contínua.
- In vitro biological activity and phenolic profile of selected portuguese monofloral honeysPublication . Machado, Alexandra M.; Marto, Joana; Gonçalves, Lídia Maria; Ribeiro, Helena Margarida; Duarte, Aida; Tomás, Andreia; Falcão, Soraia; Vilas-Boas, Miguel; Miguel, Maria Graça; Figueiredo, Ana CristinaPortuguese monofloral honeys from carob tree, chestnut, bell heather, eucalyptus, incense, orange, and strawberry tree, were evaluated in vitro for antimicrobial, antioxidant, wound healing, and cell viability effect, compared to manuka honey 850+. Antimicrobial activity was determined against Gram+-and Gram- bacteria and yeast. Antioxidants, wound healing, and cell viability effects were studied in the Human Keratinocyte (HaCaT) cell line. Chestnut, bell heather, eucalyptus, manuka and strawberry tree honeys were most effective against S. aureus with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 12.5%-25.0% (w/v), and greater ability to decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) production (> 75%), than manuka honey (68%). Incense and orange honeys exhibited high wound healing rates, 89% and 86%, respectively, higher than manuka honey, 53%. Honeys showed cell viability > 76%. Bell heather and strawberry tree honeys exhibited the highest total phenolic content, 38 and 137 mg/100 g honey respectively, being more effective against the microorganisms tested and showing greater antioxidant activity. Opposite, incense, and orange honeys with lower phenolic amounts, 11 and 15 mg/100g honey, respectively, achieved higher wound healing ability. Flavonoid aglycones were the most abundant flavonoids in all honeys. This knowledge can be further explored in formulations that take the best out of each honey type composition and biological activity capacity.
- Quality assessment of Portuguese monofloral honeys. Physicochemical parameters as tools in botanical source differentiationPublication . Machado, Alexandra M.; Tomás, Andreia; Russo-Almeida, Paulo; Duarte, Aida; Antunes, Marília; Vilas-Boas, Miguel; Miguel, Maria da Graça; Figueiredo, Ana CristinaThe quality evaluation and physicochemical parameters assessment of Portuguese monofloral honeys were performed. Fifty-one monofloral honeys were collected from several regions from mainland Portugal, and from the Azores islands, producer labelled as carob tree (n = 5), chestnut (n = 2), eucalyptus (n = 5), bell heather (n = 6), incense (n = 4), lavender (n = 8), orange (n = 9), rape (n = 2), raspberry (n = 2), rosemary (n = 1), sunflower (n = 3), and strawberry tree (n = 4). Pollen analysis and microbiological safety were evaluated, and the parameters such as colour index, moisture content, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural, pH, free and total acidity, diastase activity, proline, and sugar profile were assessed for physicochemical characterization, in all 51 monofloral honeys. After melissopalynological examination, the honeys were either confirmed as monofloral, or classified as multifloral with predominance of a specific pollen type or multifloral. Microbiological analysis showed that honeys were safe for human consumption. Pairwise comparisons of physicochemical parameters, using only honey types with n ≥ 3, revealed significant differences between honey types. Despite some homogeneity in sugar profile among honeys, eucalyptus honey was significantly different in glucose, maltose and maltulose content compared to incense, orange and sunflower honeys, and also exhibited a higher isomaltose amount compared to all analyzed honeys. Electrical conductivity, colour index, free and total acidity, and diastase activity showed significant differences between the analyzed honeys, indicating that these parameters may provide an additional tool in monofloral honey identification.
- Thyroid Incidentalomas detected by 68Ga-DOTANOC PET/CT - Correlation of clinical findings and maximum standardized value uptake (SUVmax)Publication . Violante, L.C. Sobral; Teixeira, João Paulo Fernandes; Sampaio, I.L.; Duarte, Aida; Soares, O.; Lopes, F.; Costa, Lígia; Fonseca, A.; Couto, J.; Duarte, HugoAim: In this retrospective study we investigated the clinical relevance of focal increased 68Ga‐DOTANOC uptake in the thyroid gland in patients with no previous history of thyroid disease. The aim was to assess the incidence of malignant disease in these incidental findings and to inspect the potential diagnostic SUVmax ability to differentiate malignant from benign lesions. Material and methods: A total of 954 68Ga‐DOTANOC PET/ CT scans acquired between August 2010 and July 2013 were reviewed and 43 cases were retrospectively studied in which incidental thyroid 68Ga‐DOTANOC increased uptake was reported. Eighteen patients (pts) were excluded due to previous history of thyroid disease. Patients found to have focal thyroid uptake were subsequently correlated with thyroid ultrasonography (US), US‐fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology or pathology of the specimen from surgical excision. SUVmax of each focal abnormal thyroid uptake was calculated. Results: Thyroid incidentalomas was found by 68Ga‐DOTANOC PET/CT in 2.6% of pts (25/954). Demographics on these 25 pts included 18 women, 7 men, an age range of 36 to 79 years and mean age of 58 years. Five pts did not have clinical follow‐up and of the remaining 20 cases, 2 had an inconclusive FNA citology result and US did not reveal thyroid alterations in other 2. Conclusive diagnosis by US‐FNA cytology or pathology of the specimen was available in 16 cases: 7 (44%) revealed malignant lesions (SUVmax: 2.36 to 9.63; average: 6.10; median: 6.22) corresponding to six well‐differentiated papillary carcinoma and one case of secondary lesion, 9 (56%) were benign nodules (SUVmax: 2.59 to 11.59; average: 6.46; median: 6.27). No statistically significant difference was found between SUVmax of benign and malignant lesions (p=0.918, Mann‐ Whitney test). Conclusion: Our results showed that focal thyroid uptake in 68Ga‐DOTANOC PET/CT was related to a high incidence of malignancy (44%), which suggests that these findings should always be reported and investigated. In our study, SUVmax was not a reliable mean to differentiate malignancy from a benign process, but a larger sample is needed to further validate this statement.