Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Foods, Herbal Drugs, and Food Supplements: Chemistry, Metabolism, Toxicological Significance, Analytical Methods, Occurrence, and Challenges for Future.

Consumers are increasingly seeking natural alternatives to chemical compounds, including the use of dried aromatic plants as seasonings instead of salt. However, the presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in food supplements and dried plants has become a concern because of their link to liver diseases and their classification as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Despite European Union (EU) Regulation (EU) 2023/915, non-compliance issues persist, as indicated by alerts on the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal. Analyzing PAs poses a challenge because of their diverse chemical structures and low concentrations in these products, necessitating highly sensitive analytical methods. Despite these challenges, ongoing advancements in analytical techniques coupled with effective sampling and extraction strategies offer the potential to enhance safety measures. These developments aim to minimize consumer exposure to PAs and safeguard their health while addressing the growing demand for natural alternatives in the marketplace.

A intervenção do enfermeiro especialista em enfermagem de reabilitação à criança com alteração da função respiratória no primeiro ano de vida / The intervention of a nurse specialist in rehabilitation nursing for children with respiratory function alterations in the first year of life

O primeiro ano de vida envolve uma transformação progressiva e célere de todos os sistemas corporais, particularmente, do sistema respiratório, predispondo o lactente a alterações da função respiratória e, consequentemente, ao desenvolvimento de doenças respiratórias agudas e crónicas, pelo que a sua prevenção e tratamento precoces são fundamentais. O presente relatório de estágio apresenta a descrição e reflexão sobre o percurso concretizado para adquirir as competências específicas e comuns do Enfermeiro Especialista em Enfermagem de Reabilitação e as competências preconizadas nos descritores de Dublin, para a obtenção do grau de Mestre. Tendo em conta que os cuidados de Enfermagem de Reabilitação integram a pessoa com necessidades especiais ao longo de todo o ciclo vital e que as intervenções autónomas do Enfermeiro Especialista em Enfermagem de Reabilitação na função respiratória carecem de investigação premente, pretendemos evidenciar o seu contributo no cuidado à criança com alteração da função respiratória, no primeiro ano de vida, sustentando-nos no Modelo de Sistemas de Betty Neuman. Compreendemos, através da pesquisa e ao longo deste percurso formativo, que no âmbito da prevenção primária, o Enfermeiro Especialista em Enfermagem de Reabilitação intervém na educação e capacitação da família para promover a saúde respiratória da criança e prevenir doenças respiratórias agudas. Através da reeducação funcional respiratória contribui para a prevenção secundária dos compromissos de ventilação e oxigenação da criança, prevenindo complicações. No que concerne à prevenção terciária, sustenta a reconstituição da estabilidade do sistema cliente, criança e família, colaborando na transição segura para a comunidade, mitigando o impacto das limitações e promovendo a continuidade dos cuidados.

The first year of life involves a gradual and rapid transformation of all body systems, particularly the respiratory one, predisposing the infant to respiratory function impairments and, consequently, to the development of acute and chronic respiratory diseases, which makes its prevention and early treatment essential. This internship report presents the description and reflection on the path taken to acquire the specific and common skills of the Specialist Nurse in Rehabilitation Nursing and the Dublin descriptors for the Master level. Taking into consideration that Rehabilitation Nursing care integrates the person with special needs throughout the life cycle and that the autonomous interventions of these Specialist Nurses in person's respiratory function require urgent research, we intend to highlight their contribution to the care of infants with respiratory function impairment, sustained on the Neuman Systems Model. We understood, through research and along this formative path, that, in the context of primary prevention, the Specialist Nurse in Rehabilitation Nursing intervenes in the anticipatory guidance of the family to promote infant's respiratory health and prevent acute respiratory diseases. Through functional respiratory re-education promotes secondary prevention of infant's ventilation and oxygenation impairments, preventing complications. Regarding tertiary prevention, supports the reconstitution of the child and family/client system stability, collaborating in the safe transition to the community, mitigating the impact of limitations and promoting the continuity of care.

Microbial Contaminants of Cord Blood Units Identified by 16S rRNA Sequencing and by API Test System, and Antibiotic Sensitivity Profiling.

Over a period of ten months a total of 5618 cord blood units (CBU) were screened for microbial contamination under routine conditions. The antibiotic resistance profile for all isolates was also examined using ATB strips. The detection rate for culture positive units was 7.5%, corresponding to 422 samples.16S rRNA sequence analysis and identification with API test system were used to identify the culturable aerobic, microaerophilic and anaerobic bacteria from CBUs. From these samples we recovered 485 isolates (84 operational taxonomic units, OTUs) assigned to the classes Bacteroidia, Actinobacteria, Clostridia, Bacilli, Betaproteobacteria and primarily to the Gammaproteobacteria. Sixty-nine OTUs, corresponding to 447 isolates, showed 16S rRNA sequence similarities above 99.0% with known cultured bacteria. However, 14 OTUs had 16S rRNA sequence similarities between 95 and 99% in support of genus level identification and one OTU with 16S rRNA sequence similarity of 90.3% supporting a family level identification only. The phenotypic identification formed 29 OTUs that could be identified to the species level and 9 OTUs that could be identified to the genus level by API test system. We failed to obtain identification for 14 OTUs, while 32 OTUs comprised organisms producing mixed identifications. Forty-two OTUs covered species not included in the API system databases. The API test system Rapid ID 32 Strep and Rapid ID 32 E showed the highest proportion of identifications to the species level, the lowest ratio of unidentified results and the highest agreement to the results of 16S rRNA assignments. Isolates affiliated to the Bacilli and Bacteroidia showed the highest antibiotic multi-resistance indices and microorganisms of the Clostridia displayed the most antibiotic sensitive phenotypes.