Ulva rigida Valorization into Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), Organic Acids and Functional Ingredients.

Halomonas elongata 1H9T is a moderate halophilic strain able to produce poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)), a biodegradable plastic, and gluconic acid, a valuable organic acid with wide industrial applications. In this work, the green alga Ulva rigida was used as platform to produce cultivation substrates for microbial conversion as well as functional ingredients, targeting its full valorization. The liquor obtained by autohydrolysis presented the highest concentration of oligosaccharides and protein, being an interesting feedstock to produce functional ingredients. The acid and/or enzymatic hydrolysis liquors are adequate as substrates for microbial processes. Shake flask assays with H. elongata revealed that the N-rich liquor produced after acidic treatment was the best suited for cell growth while the N-poor liquor produced by the enzymatic treatment of acid-pretreated algae residues produced the highest P(3HB) titers of 4.4 g/L. These hydrolysates were used in fed-batch cultivations as carbon and protein sources for the co-production of gluconic acid and polymer achieving titers of 123.2 g/L and 7.2 g/L, respectively. Besides gluconic acid, the Krebs cycle intermediate 2-oxoglutaric acid, also called alpha-ketoglutaric acid (KGA), was produced. Therefore, the co-production of P(3HB) and acids may be of considerable interest as an algal biorefinery valorization strategy.

Hard routes of mental health in Portugal: what can we offer to an adolescent with serious mental illness and multiple social risk factors?

Worldwide, millions of children and adolescents are suffering due to a lack of efficient mental healthcare. Although some progress has been made to address the mental health problems in this age group, currently, even developed countries fail in providing psychiatric patients with the best practice care. We present a case of a Portuguese adolescent with a first episode of psychosis in whom multiple social and environmental risk factors were identified as triggers to his clinical presentation, as well as fundamental determinants of prognosis in the short and long term. In this case, we demonstrate how social determinants, including poverty, family dysfunction and difficulties in accessing appropriate mental healthcare, strongly influence the development, maintenance and prognosis in early psychosis during adolescence. Furthermore, we consider the implications of an absence of community-based mental healthcare and rehabilitation services and reasons for why this may complicate the management and limit opportunities to this patient population.

Use of mobile apps and technologies in child and adolescent mental health: a systematic review.

QUESTION: This review will aim to critically evaluate the currently available literature concerning the use of online mobile-based applications and interventions in the detection, management and maintenance of children and young people's mental health and well-being. STUDY SELECTION AND ANALYSIS: A systematic literature search of six electronic databases was conducted for relevant publications until May 2019, with keywords pertaining to mental health, well-being and problems, mobile or internet apps or interventions and age of the study population. The resulting titles were screened and the remaining 92 articles were assessed against the inclusion and exclusion criteria with a total of 4 studies included in the final review. FINDINGS: In general, young people seem to engage very well with this type of tools, and they demonstrate some positive effects in emotional self-awareness. There have been some studies about this issue and many of the outcomes were notstatistically significant. However, it is still a sparsely documented area, and more research is needed in order to prove these effects. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health apps directed at young people have the potential to be important assessment, management and treatment tools, therefore creating easier access to health services, helping in the prevention of mental health issues and capacitating to self-help in case of need. However, a limited number of studies are currently available, and further assessments should be made in order to determine the outcomes of this type of interventions.

Marine algal carbohydrates as carbon sources for the production of biochemicals and biomaterials.

The high content of lipids in microalgae (>60% w/w in some species) and of carbohydrates in seaweed (up to 75%) have promoted intensive research towards valorisation of algal components for the production of biofuels. However, the exploitation of the carbohydrate fraction to produce a range of chemicals and chemical intermediates with established markets is still limited. These include organic acids (e.g. succinic and lactic acid), alcohols other than bioethanol (e.g. butanol), and biomaterials (e.g. polyhydroxyalkanoates). This review highlights current and potential applications of the marine algal carbohydrate fractions as major C-source for microbial production of biomaterials and building blocks.