Health literacy, a more complex concept than knowledge, is a required capacity to obtain, understand, integrate and act on health information [1], in order to enhance individual and community health, which is defined by different levels, according to the autonomy and personal capacitation in decision making [2]. Medium levels of Health literacy in an adolescent population were found in a study conducted in 2013/2014, being higher in sexual and reproductive health and lower in substance use. It was also noticed that the higher levels of health literacy were in the area adolescents refer to have receipt more health information. The health literacy competence with higher scores was communication skills, and the lower scores were in the capacity to analyze factors that influence health. Higher levels were also found in younger teenagers, but in a higher school level, confirming the importance of health education in these age and development stage. Adolescents seek more information in health professionals and parents, being friends more valued as a source information in older adolescents, which enhance the importance of peer education mainly in older adolescents [3]. As a set of competences based on knowledge, health literacy should be developed through education interventions, encompassing the cultural and social context of individuals, since the society, culture and education system where the individual is inserted can define the way the development and enforcement of the health literacy competences [4]. The valued sources of information should be taken into account, as well as needs of information in some topics referred by adolescents in an efficient health education. Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental illness which has a profound effect on the health and well-being related with the well-known nature of psychotic symptoms. The exercise has the potential to improve the life of people with schizophrenia improving physical health and alleviating psychiatric symptoms. However, most people with schizophrenia remains sedentary and lack of access to exercise programs are barriers to achieve health benefits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of exercise on I) the type of intervention in mental health, II) in salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol and serum levels of S100B and BDNF, and on III) the quality of life and selfperception of the physical domain of people with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 31 females in long-term institutions in the Casa de Saúde Rainha Santa Isabel, with age between 25 and 63, and with diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Physical fitness was assessed by the six-minute walk distance test (6MWD). Biological variables were determined by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). Psychological variables were assessed using SF-36, PSPP-SCV, RSES and SWLS tests. Walking exercise has a positive impact on physical fitness (6MWD -p = 0.001) and physical components of the psychological test...

The antimicrobial efficacy of two aldehyde-based biocides (glutaraldehyde, GTA, and ortho-phthalaldehyde, OPA) and two surfactants (cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, CTAB, and sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) was tested against planktonic Pseudomonas fluorescens. The antimicrobial effects were evaluated by respiratory activity as a measure of the oxygen uptake rate, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release, outer membrane proteins (OMP) expression and cellular colour changes. The results were compared with the bacterial characteristics without chemical treatment. Tests in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA), in order to mimic a disinfection process in the real situation under dirty conditions, were performed according to the European Standard EN-1276. P. fluorescens was completely inactivated with OPA (minimum bactericidal concentration, MBC = 0.5 mM) and CTAB (MBC = 5 mM) and was resistant to GTA and SDS. Only CTAB promoted cellular disruption and consequent ATP release. The antimicrobial action of the chemicals tested was significantly reduced when BSA was introduced into the bacterial cultures, increasing markedly the MBC values. Additionally, the presence of BSA acted as a disruption protective agent when CTAB was applied and stimulated the bacterial respiratory activity when lower concentrations of SDS were tested. The OMP of the bacterial cells was affected by the application of both surfactants. OMP expression remained unaltered after biocide treatment. Bacterial colour change was noticed after treatment with biocides and surfactants. In summary, P. fluorescens was extremely resistant to GTA and SDS, with antimicrobial action being quenched markedly by the reaction with BSA.

T he action of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), a cationic and an anionic surfactant respectively, were investigated for their ability to control turbulent and laminar flow-generated biofilms formed by P. fluorescens. The disinfectant action of CTAB and SDS on biofilms was assessed by respiratory activity, variation of mass and structure, immediately, 3, 7 and 12 h after the application of the surfactants. Laminar flow-generated biofilms were more susceptible to the action of CTAB than those formed under turbulent flow. Total inactivation of the cells within the biofilms was not achieved for either type of flow-generated biofilms. For SDS, higher concentrations promoted significant biofilm inactivation, for both turbulent and laminar flow-generated biofilms. CTAB and SDS application did not promote the detachment of biofilms from the surfaces. Post-surfactant treatment, biofilms recovered respiratory activity, in some cases, reaching values higher than those found without chemical treatment. After CTAB treatment, the recovery of respiratory activity was not affected by the hydrodynamic conditions. Conversely, turbulent flow-generated biofilms showed a higher potential to recover their metabolic activity than laminar flow-generated biofilms, when previously challenged with SDS. Concerning biofilm mass, no significant variation (increase or decrease) was detected after 12 h of surfactant treatment. This study shows that care is needed when selecting the correct procedure and agent for biofilm control and demonstrates the influence of hydrodynamic conditions on the persistent and recalcitrant properties of P. fluorescens biofilms.

Colony morphology may be an indicator of phenotypic variation, this being an important adaptive process adopted by bacteria to overcome environmental stressors. Furthermore, alterations in colony traits may reflect increased virulence and antimicrobial resistance. Despite the potential relevance of using colony morphological traits, the influence of experimental conditions on colony morphogenesis has been scarcely studied in detail. This study aims to clearly and systematically demonstrate the impact of some variables, such as colony growth time, plate colony density, culture medium, planktonic or biofilm mode of growth and strain genetic background, on bacterial colony morphology features using two Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. Results, based on 5-replicate experiments, demonstrated that all variables influenced colony morphogenesis and 18 different morphotypes were identified, showing different sizes, forms, colours, textures and margins. Colony growth time and composition of the medium were the variables that caused the highest impact on colony differentiation both derived from planktonic and biofilm cultures. Colony morphology characterization before 45 h of incubation was considered inadequate and TSA, a non-selective medium, provided more colony diversity in contrast to P. aeruginosa selective media. In conclusion, data obtained emphasized the need to perform comparisons between colony morphologies in equivalent experimental conditions to avoid misinterpretation of microbial diagnostics and biomedical studies. Since colony morphotyping showed to be a reliable method to evaluate phenotypic switching and also to infer about bacterial diversity in biofilms, these unambiguous comparisons between morphotypes may offer a quite valuable input to clinical diagnosis, aiding the decision-making towards the selection of the most suitable antibiotic and supportive treatments.