Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon

About: Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon is a education organization based out in Lisbon, Portugal. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Monetary policy & New Keynesian economics. The organization has 261 authors who have published 368 publications receiving 3569 citations. The organization is also known as: Polytechnical Institute of Lisbon.

Lack of Consistent Association between Asthma, Allergic Diseases, and Intestinal Helminth Infection in School-Aged Children in the Province of Bengo, Angola.

Abstract: Epidemiological studies have shown conflicting findings on the relationship between asthma, atopy, and intestinal helminth infections. There are no such studies from Angola; therefore, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between asthma, allergic diseases, atopy, and intestinal helminth infection in Angolan schoolchildren. We performed a cross-sectional study of schoolchildren between September and November 2017. Five schools (three urban, two rural) were randomly selected. Asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema were defined by appropriate symptoms in the previous 12 months: atopy was defined by positive skin prick tests (SPT) or aeroallergen-specific IgE; intestinal helminths were detected by faecal sample microscopy. In total, 1023 children were evaluated (48.4% female; 57.6% aged 10-14 years; 60.5% urban). Asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, or eczema were present in 9%, 6%, and 16% of the studies children, respectively. Only 8% of children had positive SPT, but 64% had positive sIgE. Additionally, 40% were infected with any intestinal helminth (A. lumbricoides 25.9%, T. trichiura 7.6%, and H. nana 6.3%). There were no consistent associations between intestinal helminth infections and asthma, allergic diseases, or atopy, except for A. lumbricoides, which was inversely associated with rhinoconjuctivitis and directly associated with aeroallergen-specific IgE. We concluded that, overall, intestinal helminth infections were not consistently associated with allergic symptoms or atopy. Future, preferably longitudinal, studies should collect more detailed information on helminth infections as part of clusters of environmental determinants of allergies.

Chapter 2 – Dispersion Forms

Abstract: Fungi are dispersed in the environment in several ways and their dispersion depends on numerous conditions or fungal features. Always present in the atmosphere, their concentration changes with environmental conditions. Moreover, production and spore release vary drastically from species to species, which influences dissemination in the air and on surfaces. The main exposure route of fungal spores is inhalation. The size, shape, and surface structure of the individual or aggregated spores are of major importance to their aerodynamic behavior and define where they are deposited in the airways. In some professional activities prone to dust inhalation, one must consider dust particles as a vehicle for fungi and their respective metabolites, increasing occupational exposure to both biological and chemical agents.