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Presently, water quantity and quality problems persist both in developed and developing countries, and concerns have been raised about the presence of emerging pollutants (EPs) in water. The circular economy provides ways of achieving sustainable resource management that can be implemented in the water sector, such as the reuse of drinking water treatment sludges (WTSs). This study evaluated the potential of WTS containing a high concentration of activated carbon for the removal of two EPs: the steroid hormones 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). To this end, WTSs from two Portuguese water treatment plants (WTPs) were characterised and tested for their hormone adsorbance potential. Both WTSs showed a promising adsorption potential for the two hormones studied due to their textural and chemical properties. For WTS1, the final concentration for both hormones was lower than the limit of quantification (LOQ). As for WTS2, the results for E2 removal were similar to WTS1, although for EE2, the removal efficiency was lower (around 50%). The overall results indicate that this method may lead to new ways of using this erstwhile residue as a possible adsorbent material for the removal of several EPs present in wastewaters or other matrixes, and as such contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets.

Although socioeconomic inequalities in health have long been observed in Europe, few studies have analysed their recent patterning. In this paper, we examined how educational inequalities in self-reported health have evolved in different European countries and welfare state regimes over the last decade, which was troubled by the Great Recession. We used cross-sectional data from the EU-SILC survey for adults from 26 European countries, from 2005 to 2014 (n = 3,030,595). We first calculated education-related absolute (SII) and relative (RII) inequalities in poor self-reported health by country-year, adjusting for age, sex, and EU-SILC survey weights. We then regressed the year- and country-specific RII and SII on a yearly time trend, globally and by welfare regime, adjusting for country fixed effects. We further adjusted the analysis for the economic cycle using GDP growth, unemployment, and income inequality. Overall, absolute inequalities persisted and relative inequalities slightly widened (betaRII = 0.0313, p<0.05). There were substantial differences by welfare regime: Anglo-Saxon countries experienced the largest increase in absolute inequalities (betaSII = 0.0032, p<0.05), followed by Bismarkian countries (betaSII = 0.0024, p<0.001), while they reduced in Post-Communist countries (betaSII = -0.0022, p<0.001). Post-Communist countries also experienced a widening in relative inequalities (betaRII = 0.1112, p<0.001), which were found to be stable elsewhere. Adjustment for income inequality only explained such trend in Anglo-Saxon countries. Educational inequalities in health have overall persisted across European countries over the last decade. However, there is considerable variation across welfare regimes, possibly related to underpinning social safety nets and to austerity measures implemented during this 10-year period.

Introduction Health inequalities are recognised as a public health issue worldwide, but only a few countries have developed national strategies to monitor and reduce them. Despite its considerable health inequalities, Portugal seems to lack a systematic strategy to tackle them, possibly due to the absence of organised evidence on the issue. We performed a systematic review that aimed to describe the available evidence on social inequalities in health in Portugal, in order to contribute towards a comprehensive and focused strategy to tackle them. Methods We followed the PRISMA guidelines and searched Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed for studies that looked at the association between a measure of socioeconomic status and a health outcome in the Portuguese resident population since the year 2000. We excluded health behaviours and healthcare use from our search. We performed a qualitative description of the results. Results Seventy-one publications were selected, all reporting observational analyses, most of them using cross-sectional data. These publications showed strong evidence for health inequalities related to education and gender, chiefly for obesity, self-rated health and mental health. Conclusions Analysis of the eligible publications showed that current research does not seem to have consistently covered the link between health and key Portuguese social problems. A strategy focusing on the monitoring of most prevalent diseases, most determining socioeconomic factors and vulnerable populations would be crucial to guide academic research in a country in which health inequalities are so ubiquitous and deeply rooted. Registration This systematic review is not registered.

Phoretic mites attach to different body parts of the red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790), to disperse. However, the question of how the patterns of attachment sites are formed remains intriguing. Here, we examined RPW‐associated phoretic mites in four districts in Northern Portugal (macrohabitat), and investigated the patterns of mite distribution on six body parts of RPW (microhabitat). At the macrohabitat level, we detected seven phoretic mite taxa using the RPW host in each of the four studied districts, all documented for the first time in association with this invasive exotic species in Portugal. However, their relative abundance (species evenness) varied between districts, as did species diversity. All examined weevils carried mites, and the prevalence of the different taxa did not differ between districts or sex of weevils. Measured by mean abundance and degree of aggregation, Centrouropoda sp. proved to be the dominant taxon, while Acarus sp. and Curculanoetus rhynchophorus were considered common subordinate taxa and Uroovobella sp., Mesostigmata, Nenteria extremica and Dendrolaelaps sp. sparse taxa. At the microhabitat level, all taxa were present on all body parts of the RPW; the highest abundance was in a region encompassing the inner surface of the elytra and the membranous hind wings (subelytral space). Analysis of niche overlap revealed that the distribution patterns of phoretic mite taxa on the RPW were not randomly structured. In the subelytral space, interspecific coexistence of mites increased as a function of body size difference with the dominant Centrouropoda sp. We found that in the subelytral space the large dominant species Centrouropoda sp. displaced the larger species Uroobovella sp. and the similarly sized species Nenteria extremica, but coexisted with smaller taxa. We report a high species richness of up to seven phoretic mite taxa, including five unspecified taxa, actively using the red palm weevil as a host in the first study of these organisms in Portugal. We also found body size‐dependent effects on the coexistence or exclusion of phoretic mite taxa that ultimately determine their distribution patterns on the weevil body.

Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis is a rare condition characterized by the formation of noninfectious vegetations on the heart valves. It is related with systemic embolic phenomena occurring predominantly in advanced cancer stages, particularly adenocarcinomas. It is a diagnosis of exclusion based on the clinical context, echocardiographic findings of a vegetation, and negative blood cultures, and distinction between infective endocarditis is challenging. We report a case of a 66‐year‐old woman, with history of previously treated breast and urothelial carcinoma, presenting with constitutional syndrome and pulmonary thromboembolism. Computed tomography scan revealed systemic embolic phenomena and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathies. A vegetation in the mitral valve constituted a finding on echocardiography, causing severe mitral regurgitation, which led to severe acute heart failure and culminated in patient’s death. Subsequent results of immunohistochemistry of the lymph node biopsy yielded the recurrence of urothelial carcinoma.

Developing technologies to capture, purify, and reuse potent greenhouse gases such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is crucial because of their high global warming potential. Porous solid matrices are promising candidates for this purpose, due to their high surface areas and pore volumes. Herein, two coconut shell–derived activated carbons (AC) (CS‐CO2 and CS‐ZnCl2), obtained through physical and chemical activation, are evaluated and compared with two commercial adsorbents: an AC monolith (ACM) and a metal‐organic framework. The adsorption capacities for SF6 and nitrogen (N2) are measured gravimetrically at three temperatures: 283.15, 303.15, and 323.15 K. The experimental data are fitted using the Toth model, and the impact of temperature and pressure on the adsorption performance is analyzed. The order of SF6 adsorption capacity is: ACM > CS‐ZnCl2 > Fe‐BTC > CS‐CO2, reflecting dependence on surface area. Selectivity for SF6/N2 separation is evaluated using Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory, with ACM exhibiting the highest adsorption capacity due to its selective separation properties. These findings contribute to the understanding and selection of efficient adsorbent materials for SF6 separation and recovery, providing valuable insights for their future implementation in industrial gas treatment and environmental management applications. The effective capture of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), one of the most potent greenhouse gases, is a critical environmental challenge. This study evaluates porous materials—coconut shell‐derived activated carbons, a commercial activated carbon monolith, and a metal‐organic framework—for capturing SF6. The materials show promising adsorption and selectivity, supporting their use in preventing SF6 emissions.

This study aimed to describe the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and management of Campylobacter sp. and Salmonella sp. infections in a tertiary hospital in Northern Portugal (2010–2020) and identify factors associated with reporting, invasive disease, and hospitalization. A retrospective review included patients with Campylobacter sp. (2015–2020) or Salmonella sp. infections (2010–2020). Reported cases were cross-referenced with the National Epidemiological Surveillance System. A total of 742 patients were included: 342 with Campylobacter sp., 392 with non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS), and 15 with typhoidal Salmonella (TS). Immunosuppression was present in 16.7% of cases. NTS infections were invasive in 21.4% of cases, compared to 4.0% for Campylobacter. Macrolide resistance in Campylobacter reached 10%, particularly in C. coli, while multidrug resistance (MDR) was observed in 37.8% of NTS isolates. Immunocompromised patients accounted for over 70% of relapses in Campylobacter disease. Reporting rates were low: 32.8% for NTS, 30.6% for Campylobacter, and 14.3% for TS. Reporting was associated with male sex, no immunosuppression, hospitalization, and non-MDR organisms. In conclusion, immunocompromised patients face higher risks of invasive and relapsing disease. High rates of MDR in NTS limit treatment options. Underreporting remains significant, underscoring the need for improved awareness and reporting to inform public health strategies.

A rational design of drug delivery systems requires in-depth knowledge not only of the drug itself, in terms of physical state and molecular mobility, but also of how it is distributed among a carrier and its interactions with the host matrix. In this context, this work reports the behavior of simvastatin (SIM) loaded in mesoporous silica MCM-41 matrix (average pore diameter ~3.5 nm) accessed by a set of experimental techniques, evidencing that it exists in an amorphous state (X-ray diffraction, ssNMR, ATR-FTIR, and DSC). The most significant fraction of SIM molecules corresponds to a high thermal resistant population, as shown by thermogravimetry, and which interacts strongly with the MCM silanol groups, as revealed by ATR-FTIR analysis. These findings are supported by Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations predicting that SIM molecules anchor to the inner pore wall through multiple hydrogen bonds. This anchored molecular fraction lacks a calorimetric and dielectric signature corresponding to a dynamically rigid population. Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry showed a weak glass transition that is shifted to lower temperatures compared to bulk amorphous SIM. This accelerated molecular population is coherent with an in-pore fraction of molecules distinct from bulklike SIM, as highlighted by MD simulations. MCM-41 loading proved to be a suitable strategy for a long-term stabilization (at least three years) of simvastatin in the amorphous form, whose unanchored population releases at a much higher rate compared to the crystalline drug dissolution. Oppositely, the surface-attached molecules are kept entrapped inside pores even after long-term release assays.

The present work proposes an experimental strategy to prepare argan nutshell-derived porous carbons using potassium hydroxide (KOH). Several experimental parameters of the activation process were evaluated (temperature, impregnation ratio, and activation time), and an optimized carbon (ACK) was obtained. The surface properties of the ACK sample were determined, and the porous carbon was applied as an adsorbent of diclofenac (DCF) and paroxetine (PARX). A commercial carbon (CC) was used as a benchmark. The ACK porous carbon presented a higher surface area and micropore volume (1624 m2 g−1 and 0.40 cm3 g−1, respectively) than CC carbon (1030 m2 g−1 and 0.30 cm3 g−1, respectively), but the maximum adsorption capacities of DCF (214–217 mg g−1) and PARX (260–275 mg g−1) were comparable among the two carbons. Besides π-π interactions, H-bonds with the electronegative atoms of the adsorbate molecules and the electropositive H of the oxygen functional groups were appointed as the most probable mechanisms for adsorption onto ACK porous carbon. The electrostatic attraction was also considered, particularly for DCF with CC carbon. The pore size might have also been critical, since CC carbon presented more supermicropores (0.7–2 nm), which are usually more favorable toward the adsorption of pharmaceutical molecules. The reusability of the ACK carbon was tested up to four cycles of adsorption–desorption by using ultrasonic washing with water. The results indicated that no more than one cycle of use of ACK should be performed.

We explore how health inequalities (HI) changed in Portugal over the last decade, considering it is one of the most unequal European countries and has gone through major economic changes. We describe how inequalities in limitations changed considering different socioeconomic determinants, in order to understand what drove changes in HI. We used cross-sectional waves from the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions database to determine how inequalities in health limitations changed between 2004 and 2014 in Portugal in residents aged 16 years and over. We calculated prevalence estimates of limitations and differences between income terciles, the concentration index for each year and its decomposition and multiple logistic regressions to estimate the association between socioeconomic determinants and limitations. The prevalence of health limitations increased in Portugal since 2004, especially after 2010, from 35 to 47%. But the difference between top and bottom income terciles decreased from 23 to 10 percentage points, as richer people experienced a steeper increase. This was driven by an increase in prevalence among economically active people, who, from 2011 onwards, had more limitations (OR and 95% CI were 2.42 [2.13-2.75] in 2004 and 0.71 [0.65-0.78] in 2014). These results suggest worsening health in Portugal in the last decade, possibly connected to periods of economic instability. However, absolute HI decreased considerably in the same period. We discuss the possible role of diverse adaptation capacity of socioeconomic groups, and of high emigration rates of young, healthier people, reflecting another side of the 'migrant health effect'.