Back and spine-related issues are frequent maladies that most people have or will experience during their lifetime. A common and sensible observation that can be made is regarding the posture of an individual. We present a new approach that combines accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer sensor data in combination with permanent magnets assembled as a wearable device capable of real-time spine posture monitoring. An independent calibration of the device is required for each user. The sensor data is processed by a probabilistic classification algorithm that compares the real-time data with the calibration result, verifying whether the data point lies within regions of confidence defined by a computed threshold. An incorrect posture classification is considered if both accelerometer and magnetometer classify the posture as incorrect. A pilot trial was performed in a single adult test subject. The combination of the magnets and magnetometer greatly improved the posture classification accuracy (89%) over the accuracy obtained when only accelerometer data were used (47%). The validation of this method was based on image analysis.

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Introduction The aim of this review was to identify and review studies reporting on the epidemiological, social and economic impact associated with severe hypoglycaemia (SH) in people with diabetes mellitus (DM) in Portugal. Methods A structured literature search was carried out in PubMed and Embase using a predefined selection criterion. Studies published in either Portuguese or English, between January 2010 and February 2021 were deemed eligible for inclusion. Results Twelve studies including adults (aged ≥ 18 years) with type 1 and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM/T2DM) were eligible for inclusion. Epidemiological estimates varied according to the setting and type of data source used. The proportion of patients who experienced ≥ 1 SH episode (SHE) in the previous 6–12 months varied from 3.1% in adults with T2DM to 36.8% in adults with T1DM. In adults with T2DM the prevalence in a community-based study was highest in the insulin and secretagogue combination treated group (9.1%), while in an emergency department setting prevalence was highest in the insulin-based therapy group and the oral hypoglycaemic agent without secretagogues group (32.0% and 20.0%, respectively). The prevalence of SH in other studies in patients with DM ranged from 0.1% (emergency department) to 18.1% (hospital ward). Patients treated with secretagogues had the highest rates of hospitalisations. In patients with T1DM, the annual rate of SHE was higher in those with impaired hypoglycaemia awareness than in those with intact awareness. Mean total cost (direct and indirect) per SHE ranged from €1493.00 in patients with T2DM treated in an emergency setting to €2608.51 in patients with T1DM who were hospitalised. Conclusion Hypoglycaemic events, especially SHE, have a significant effect on the life of persons living with DM and their caregivers. Studies show that the prevalence of this acute complication of diabetes is not negligible. In addition to the negative impact on the quality of life, the burden of SHE in Portugal translates into a significant impact on the global health expenditure. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13300-022-01358-1.

Objective: Genetic counseling and carrier screening are part of the gamete donation process by healthy individuals. We aim to review the findings of genetic counseling and carrier screening of a cohort of candidates at our public gametes bank.Methods: Thirty-four male and 64 female candidates had genetic counseling with a medical geneticist before donation. Of these, one female candidate voluntarily dropped-out. Thirty-four males and 63 females performed karyotype and screening for the more common pathogenic variants for CFTR-related cystic fibrosis and spinal muscular atrophy (SMN1) in the Portuguese population. In addition, all females also performed Fragile X expansion screening (FMR1). Thirty candidates with known or assumed African ancestry performed hemoglobinopathies screening.Results: Six candidates were definitely or temporarily withheld from the donation process given their family or personal history that required further investigation. Of 97 candidates tested, 16.5% presented anomalous laboratory results (16/97): ten candidates were carriers for an autosomal recessive disorder -cystic fibrosis (5/97), sickle cell anemia (3/30), and spinal muscular atrophy (2/97). One female was an FMR1 pre-mutation carrier (1/63). One female candidate presented with triple X mosaicism: 47,XXX[2]/46,XX [50]. Two candidates presented with chromosomal instability of unknown origin. In one candidate, a mosaic for the Philadelphia chromosome was detected, revealing the diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia.Conclusions: From a cohort of 97 candidates, 21.7% had a family/personal history or an anomalous laboratory result that required additional genetic counseling, stressing the importance of performing pre-donation genetic counseling in this population.

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