Background: Iodine is the key element for thyroid hormone synthesis, and its deficiency, even moderate, is harmful in pregnancy, when needs are increased, because of its potential deleterious effects on fetal brain development. In Portugal, no recent data on iodine intake exists. The objective of this countrywide study was to analyze iodine status in pregnant Portuguese women in order to propose adequate measures to the health authorities. Subjects and methods: Using a fast colorimetric method, urine iodine concentration (UIC) was evaluated in 3631 pregnant women followed in 17 maternity hospitals from hinterland and coastal areas in Continental Portugal and the Portuguese islands of Açores and Madeira. Results: Median UIC value was 84.9 mg/l (range 67.6-124.1) in Continental Portugal, 69.5 mg/l in Madeira, and 50.0 mg/l in Açores. The percentage of satisfactory values (O150 mg/l) was 16.8, ranging from 8.8 to 34.1 in the Continent, and being 8.2 in Madeira and 2.3 in Açores. The percentage of values below 50 mg/l was 23.7, ranging from 14.0 to 37.4 in the Continent, 33.7 in Madeira, and 50.0 in Açores. Conclusions: Our results point to an inadequate iodine intake in pregnant women assisted in most Portuguese maternity hospitals. Considering the potential deleterious effects of inadequate iodine supply in pregnancy, iodine supplementation is strongly recommended in this period of life.

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has simultaneous time and space dynamics. This behaviour results from a complex combination of factors, including social ones, which lead to significant differences in the evolution of the spatiotemporal pattern between and within countries. Usually, spatial smoothing techniques are used to map health outcomes, and rarely uncertainty of the spatial predictions are assessed. As an alternative, we propose to apply direct block sequential simulation to model the spatial distribution of the COVID-19 infection risk in mainland Portugal. Given the daily number of infection data provided by the Portuguese Directorate-General for Health, the daily updates of infection rates are calculated by municipality and used as experimental data in the geostatistical simulation. The model considers the uncertainty/error associated with the size of each municipality’s population. The calculation of daily updates of the infection risk maps results from the median model of one ensemble of 100 geostatistical realizations of daily updates of the infection risk. The ensemble of geostatistical realizations is also used to calculate the associated spatial uncertainty of the spatial prediction using the interquartile distance. The risk maps are updated daily and show the regions with greater risks of infection and the critical dynamics related to its development over time.

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International audienceHuman mammaglobin (hMAM) mRNA is a sensitive and specific marker of breast cancer cells. We evaluated if hMAM mRNA detection in serial peripheral blood samples from non-metastatic breast cancer patients predicts for disease recurrence. Patients scheduled for adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy were eligible. Serial blood samples were collected up to 5 years, the first before (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy. hMAM gene expression was analysed by RT-PCR. Specificity was evaluated in blood samples from healthy volunteers. A total of 321 patients were included. The incidence of pre-chemotherapy hMAM-positive samples was similar in patients who latter experienced cancer recurrence (22.4%) and those who remained disease-free (17.9%; = 0.46). Similarly, the mean number of positive follow-up samples was similar in both groups (0.15 ± 0.22 and 0.13 ± 013; = 0.29). Furthermore, there was no difference in disease-free (= 0.63) or overall survival (= 0.57) in patients with and without positive baseline samples or between patients whose follow-up samples were always hMAM negative and those with at least one positive sample. Multivariate survival analysis confirmed that hMAM mRNA detection before or after (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy was not predictive of recurrence. There is no evidence that hMAM mRNA detection at diagnosis or during follow-up predicts for breast cancer recurrence

Total particulate matter (TPM) was passively collected inside two classrooms of each of five elementary schools in Lisbon, Portugal. TPM was collected in polycarbonate filters with a 47 mm diameter, placed inside of uncovered plastic petri dishes. The sampling period was from 19 May to 22 June 2009 (35 days exposure) and the collected TPM masses varied between 0.2 mg and 0.8 mg. The major elements were Ca, Fe, Na, K, and Zn at μg level, while others were at ng level. Pearson′s correlation coefficients above 0.75 (a high degree of correlation) were found between several elements. Soil-related, traffic soil re-suspension and anthropogenic emission sources could be identified. Blackboard chalk was also identified through Ca large presence. Some of the determined chemical elements are potential carcinogenic. Quality control of the results showed good agreement as confirmed by the application of u-score test.