Top Recent and Outstanding Portuguese Scientific and Technological Achievements

I am here celebrating Portugal, for today 10th of June 2015, is Portugal Day. And for those who think we dont mean science youre so wrong. We are clever, we have always been astute and quite ingenious under very difficult economical conditions. From Braamcamp (inventor of the brick in 1853 - top image) to Patricio Vieira da Silva (inventor of the anticonvulsant Eslicarbazepine acetate in 2014), the world has gained from the Portuguese ingenuity and creativity. Check hereby our recent top contributions to the world of science and technology and vote/comment on the one you believe is the most impressive achievement for such a small nation as the Portuguese Republic:

ENDOSCOPY, 1965, by Fernando Alves Martins

Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an endoscope, an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike most other medical imaging devices, endoscopes are inserted directly into the organ. 

BIGGUN – CHILD & ACCIDENT PROOF ROTATING PERCUSSION HANDGUN, 2004, by Fernando Lopes

RPH – BIGGUN - The first Less-Than-Lethal (LTL) weapon concept to be demonstrably created in Portugal and in the XXI Century, with the main purposes of saving Human Lives. It brings various defence and safety mechanisms, which combines a high level of defence and effective protection by virtue of its unique characteristics with the advantage of providing greater safety, in order to go some way towards reducing the high firearms accident rate among adults and children. Considered the “World’s Safest Weapon”. 

PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION, UNDER SUBCRITICAL CONDITIONS OF MONOLITHIC XEROGELS AND AEROGELS OF SILICA/LATEX HIBRIFS, MODIFIED WITH AKOXYSILANE GROUPS (SPACE SHUTTLE SHIELDS - AEROGEL ), 2006, by Instituto Superior Tecnico

The invention relates to a process for the preparation of monolithic xerogels and aerogels of silica/latex hybrids under subcritical conditions. In the two-stage synthesis of these alcogels in the presence of an acid-base catalyst, the hydrolysis and polycondensation of a silicon alkoxide are carried out in an organic medium containing excess water. A latex consisting of polybutyl methacrylate and polybutyl acrylate, modified with alkoxysilane groups, is first synthesized and then incorporated in the mixture either in the first stage in order to effect its co-hydrolysis with the silicon alkoxide, or in the second stage to effect its cocondensation with the previously hydrolysed colloidal silica. The resulting alcogels are aged, washed, and dried under subcritical conditions. 

ESLICARBAZEPINE ACETATE AND METHODS OF USE, 2014, by Patricio Soares da Silva

New applications of eslicarbazepine and eslicarbazepine acetate in the treatment of intractable conditions, selected from epilepsy, central and peripheric nervous system disorders, affective disorders, schizoaffective disorders, bipolar disorders, attention disorders, anxiety disorders, neurophatic pain and neuropathic pain-related disorders, sensorimotor disorders, vestibular disorders, and nervous function alterations in degenerative and post-ischemic diseases. 

The Multibanco System

Portugals Multibanco System is a sophisticated system of Automatic Teller Machines (ATM). SIBS (Sociedade Interbancária de Serviços SA), the company behind Multibanco, launched the network in September 1985 with the installation of 12 machines in Lisbon and Oporto. Over 11,000 machines are now available throughout Portugal, in banks, supermarkets, shopping malls, stations, museums and airports.

• The SIBS website has information about the Multibanco services, useful information and news in English: Click here

Prepaid Mobile Phone

A prepaid mobile phone (also commonly referred to as pay-as-you-go, pay-as-you-talk, pay and go, prepaid wireless, prepay or, if soon disposed of burner phone) is a mobile phone for which credit is purchased in advance of service use. The purchased credit is used to pay for mobile phone services at the point the service is accessed or consumed. If there is no available credit then access to the requested service is denied by the mobile phone network. Users are able to top up their credit at any time using a variety of payment mechanisms. The first European PAYG deployment was in Portugal in 1995 when Portuguese operator TMN deployed a PAYG solution called MIMO.

All-on-four dental method

Developed in the 1990s by famed dentist, inventor and businessman Paulo Maló, in collaboration with a Swiss prosthetics company called Nobel Biocare, the All-on-Four procedure quickly came to be recognized as one of the biggest breakthroughs in modern dentistry. Because the arches are replaced all at once – anchored to the jaw using four titanium screws – the procedure is faster, less invasive and less expensive than the alternative of replacing each and every tooth with its own dental implant.

Via Verde

Via Verde (literally "Green Lane") is an electronic toll collection system used in Portugal since 1991. It is available at all toll roads and bridges in the country since 1995. Toll roads and bridges are operated by multiple operators, the main being Brisa - Auto-estradas de Portugal. Upon passing in a non-stop lane at a toll, a DSRC tag attached to the vehicles windshield transmits its identifier and the toll amount is debited directly from the clients bank account. If an exception is detected (the tag is invalid (or non-existent) or the vehicles class (as detected by the lane sensors) does not correspond to the class encoded in the tag, amongst others) the vehicle is photographed and, if there is indication of fraud, a legal procedure is initiated.

See you back in July. Go on and read other posts while  The Toxicologist Today is on holidays. Cheers!

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Indoors Top 5 Most Toxic Plants

My dear mum sent me a list that is circulating in the internet concerning the Top 5 deadliest flowers.  Another one of those emails, I thought!!! Slightly exaggerated, if you consider that they are a direct threat to pet animals rather than people. The email suggests that some of these flowers have been in our own houses for many years now and have caused several human deaths, but in honesty it is more related to incidents involving cats and dogs. I was so curious I had to double check and share it with you. I did not rank them the way they did it because I could not be bothered to find a suitable standard  reference; but you can enjoy ranking them yourselves in accordance to the number of pets your neighbour had to treat so far... poor kittens. 

If you also feel curious to know whether youre harbouring a deadly flower in your house, take a look at this small list filled with interesting information actually picked from reliable sources (click on the images to enhance the info card).

Number 1 "Anthurium" [1]

Number 2 "Hydrangea" [2]

                  Number 3 "Azalea" [3]

Number 4 "Nerium oleander" [4]

Number 5 "Acacia cognata" [5]

[1] Anthurium spp. - NC State University, [http://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/all/anthurium-spp/], last visited on the 22nd of February 2015, last update unknown.

[2] Hydrangea - Pet Poison Helpline, [http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/hydrangea/], last visited on the 22nd of February 2015, last update unknown.

[3] Azalea - ASPCA, [https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/azalea], last visited on the 22nd of February 2015, last update unknown.

[4] Nerium oliander, Pet Poison Helpline, [http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/oleander/], last visited on the 22nd of February 2015, last update unknown.

[5] Acacia cognata - Shoot, [http://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/acacia-cognata], last visited on the 22nd of February 2015, last update unknown.

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Ebola virus Top Sierra Leone doctor Sheik Umar Khan dies of disease

"The top doctor treating patients infected with the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone has died from the disease, officials have confirmed.

Dr Sheik Umar Khan had been hospitalised in quarantine since he contracted the virus last week. The virologist was credited with treating more than 100 patients at the hospital in Kenema - one of the world’s leading Ebola diagnosis facilities.

The current outbreak is the largest in history, so far killing more than 672 people across West Africa since the outbreak began in February, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Nations affected include Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria.

Dr Khans death on Tuesday afternoon was confirmed by chief medical officer Dr Brima Kargbo, who had previously hailed him as a "national hero" when she announced he had contracted the the disease.

"It is a big and irreparable loss to Sierra Leone as he was the only specialist the country had in viral haemorrhagic fevers," Kargbo said on Tuesday.

Dr Khan was being treated at an Ebola ward run by the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, which has in recent weeks described the disease’s West African outbreak as "out of control".

At the time of his diagnosis, it was not immediately clear how Dr Khan became infected. While health workers are especially vulnerable to contracting the virus spread through bodily fluids such as saliva, sweat, blood and urine, Reuters reporters who visited Kenema in June heard the doctor was “always meticulous with protection, wearing overalls, mask, gloves and special footwear”.

Before his diagnosis, Dr Khan told reporters: "I am afraid for my life, I must say, because I cherish my life."

"Health workers are prone to the disease because we are the first port of call for somebody who is sickened by disease. Even with the full protective clothing you put on, you are at risk," he added.

The confirmation of Dr Khans death came as two American health workers were being treated for Ebola at a hospital in neighboring Liberia.

Health workers have become increasingly frustrated by the outbreak that has killed dozens of their colleagues. Last week, dozens of nurses at the Kenema facility staged a strike after three colleagues died, BBC News reported.

Despite international help ranging from doctors to safety equipment, weak health systems in affected countries are struggling to contain the disease.

Efforts are further hindered by the fact the disease has no vaccine and no specific treatment. The current outbreak has a fatality rate of at least 60 percent, but it can reach as high as 90 percent.

In an attempt to control the virus in Liberia, police officers have been deployed to the nations international airport to ensure passengers are screened for symptoms. Fever, aches and sore throat are among the early signs of the disease. Only in later stages do patients sometimes experience severe internal bleeding and blood coming out of their mouth, eyes or ears.

Earlier on Tuesday, the West African airline Asky suspended flights to and from Sierra Leone and Liberia. Tensions in the region were heightened last Friday when 40-year-old Patrick Sawyer became the first person to die in Nigerias coastal city of Lagos, home to 21 million people.

Sawyer was of Liberian descent, and worked for the West African nations Finance Ministry. He had taken several flights on ASKY Airlines. His sister had died of Ebola though he maintained he had not had close physical contact with her when she was sick. At the time, Liberian authorities said they had not been requiring health checks of departing passengers in Monrovia.

At the Finance Ministry where Sawyer worked, officials announced they were temporarily shutting down operations. All employees who came into contact with Sawyer before he left for Nigeria were being placed under surveillance, it said.

"We have a presence of the police at the airport to enforce what were doing," said Binyah Kesselly, chairman of the Liberia Airport Authority board. "So if you have a flight and you are not complying with the rules, we will not allow you to board."

However, the WHO said travellers are unlikely to catch Ebola because it is not be spread like flu through casual contact or breathing in the same air. 

Meanwhile in Washington, a US administration official said on Monday that President Barack Obama was receiving updates and noted that US agencies had stepped up assistance to help contain the virus."

in www.independent.co.uk on the 29th of July 2014, by Kashima Gander

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