The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of storage of goat ovarian fragments at different temperatures and for different incubation times on the viability and growth of cultured preantral follicles in vitro. Caprine ovaries were collected and divided into 19 fragments, with one fragment being fixed immediately (fresh control). The remaining fragments were placed in minimal essential medium (MEM) and maintained at 4, 20 or 35 degrees C for 2 or 4 h. After each incubation period, some of the fragments were fixed (non-cultured), whereas others were cultured in vitro for 1 or 7 days. Fragments were processed to enable routine histological and transmission electron microscopic examination. After 7 days of culture, only ovarian fragments stored at 4 degrees C for 4 h maintained a percentage of morphologically normal follicles similar to that in the fresh control. For all other treatments groups, there was a significant increase in follicular activation observed. In addition, there was an increase in oocyte and follicular diameter after culture of ovarian cortex that had been chilled previously at 4 degrees C for 2 or 4 h. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that chilling ovarian fragments at 4 degrees C during transportation is best for maintaining follicle viability and to increase follicular growth during in vitro culture.

AimsIn infective endocarditis (IE), a severe inflammatory disease of the endocardium with an unchanged incidence and mortality rate over the past decades, only 1% of the cases have been described as polymicrobial infections based on microbiological approaches. The aim of this study was to identify potential biodiversity of bacterial species from infected native and prosthetic valves. Furthermore, we compared the ultrastructural micro-environments to detect the localization and distribution patterns of pathogens in IE.Material and methodsUsing next-generation sequencing (NGS) of 16S rDNA, which allows analysis of the entire bacterial community within a single sample, we investigated the biodiversity of infectious bacterial species from resected native and prosthetic valves in a clinical cohort of 8 IE patients. Furthermore, we investigated the ultrastructural infected valve micro-environment by focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM).ResultsBiodiversity was detected in 7 of 8 resected heart valves. This comprised 13 bacterial genera and 16 species. In addition to 11 pathogens already described as being IE related, 5 bacterial species were identified as having a novel association. In contrast, valve and blood culture-based diagnosis revealed only 4 species from 3 bacterial genera and did not show any relevant antibiotic resistance. The antibiotics chosen on this basis for treatment, however, did not cover the bacterial spectra identified by our amplicon sequencing analysis in 4 of 8 cases. In addition to intramural distribution patterns of infective bacteria, intracellular localization with evidence of bacterial immune escape mechanisms was identified.ConclusionThe high frequency of polymicrobial infections, pathogen diversity, and intracellular persistence of common IE-causing bacteria may provide clues to help explain the persistent and devastating mortality rate observed for IE. Improved bacterial diagnosis by 16S rDNA NGS that increases the ability to tailor antibiotic therapy may result in improved outcomes.

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Digital environments play a central role in the news making process. Seeking new ways to interact with people previously seen as audience is a big challenge for media and journalists today, especially in local contexts, where journalists are more embedded in the community, physically and digitally, namely through social media and from mobile devices. This study intends to identify how local journalists are using digital tools in their routines, especially when it comes to be close and engaged with communities. To do so, a survey was applied to a sample of journalists (n = 107) from 42 newsrooms from the central region of Portugal, which gathers the most significant presence of local media. Findings point to full integration of the Internet into local journalists' routines as well as social media and mobile. Digital technologies are used essentially for news gathering and to get in touch with sources. Employing social media to engage with the community is true only for a few. The same happens when it comes to recognize or even incorporate content produced by citizens. Local journalists are not always so available to be close to the public as they usually claim.

Resumo. O texto pretende fazer uma análise de algumas representações da mulher brasileira em Portugal, recorrendo a um corpo empírico constituído por diversos momentos: pela revista Time; pela revista Visão; Jornal da TVI (Televisão Independente) e por peças diversas referentes a eventos ocorridos mais recentemente. Analisa-se o complexo processo de estereotipização discursiva da mulher e de xenofobia recorrente, verifi cado durante o período em que Portugal, com base no impulso proporcionado pelos fundos comunitários, constitui-se como país de acolhimento de imigrantes atraídos pelo desenvolvimento económico. Comparam-se as representações mediáticas de mulheres brasileiras decorrentes de eventos verifi cados em 2003 com representações produzidas no decurso de eventos idênticos dez anos depois, em 2013.Palavras-chave: análise do discurso, representações, identidades, mulheres brasileiras. Abstract.This article intends to analyze some representations of Brazilian women in Portugal, using an empirical body constituted in diff erent moments: by news published by Time magazine; Visão magazine; TVI Journal (Independent Television) and by several pieces relating some cases that occurred more recently. We analyze the complex process of discursive stereotyping of women and recurrent xenophobia during the period in which Portugal, based on the stimulus provided by EU funds, is constituted as host country of immigrants att racted by economic development. One compares the media representation of Brazilian women verifi ed in 2003 with representations performed during similar events, ten years after, in 2013.Keywords: discourse analysis, representations, identities, Brazilian women.Portugal conheceu um período de forte imigração interna em que se assistiram fenóme-nos de estereotipização mediática que tiveram como principal alvo as mulheres brasileiras. Um precioso auxiliar teórico e metodológico da composição de uma teoria do jornalismo, no que respeita ao modo como este se relaciona com a esfera pública e a vida quotidiana, reside nos desenvolvimentos proporcionados pela análise crítica de discurso, ainda que de um modo que recolhe contributos da análise de enquadramentos e de refl exões sociológicas acerca da estruturação do debate público. Discurso e ideologia: uma aproximação teórico-metodológicaOs académicos que praticam a análise crí-tica do discurso desenvolvem uma premissa segundo a qual a capacidade linguística de produção de signifi cado é um produto da estrutura social. A linguagem é uma prática social e, como tal, é um dos mecanismos pelas quais a sociedade se autorregula.Metodologicamente, a análise crítica do discurso escolhe como campos de pesquisa as microestruturas e macroestruturas organizati-