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- Cytotoxic activity of settled dust in primary schools: a multi-matrix, multi-season screening approach for children’s environmental healthPublication . Cervantes, Renata; Pena, Pedro; Carolino, Elisabete; Soszczyńska, Ewelina; Twarużek, Magdalena; Viegas, Susana; Viegas, CarlaChildren spend up to nine hours daily in school environments, yet the potential health impact of accumulated indoor dust remains largely uncharacterised. This study provides the first multi-matrix, multi-season assessment of passive dust samples from Portuguese primary schools, using the MTT assay to evaluate the biological activity of complex indoor pollutant mixtures. 207 passive samples were collected across 11 primary schools in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, using four sampling matrices, settled dust filters, electrostatic dust cloths (EDC), electrostatic dust cloths on T-shirts (EDCT), and floor mops, across six indoor locations, warm and cold seasons, and in urban and rural contexts. Cytotoxic activity was assessed in A549 (human alveolar epithelial) and SK (swine kidney) cells, potential azole resistance was detected by growth on azole-supplemented culture media. Cytotoxic activity was detected in 64.7% (A549) and 24.6% (SK) of samples. Sampling matrix was the strongest predictor of cytotoxic variability for both cell lines (A549: R2 = 0.199; SK: R2 = 0.081; p < 0.001), with floor mops exhibiting the highest cytotoxic rates (A549: 94.4%; SK: 83.3%). Season was a significant secondary modulator exclusively for A549 cells, with cold-season positivity of 82.8% versus 50.0% (p < 0.001). Geographic context, school identity, and indoor location showed no significant effects, suggesting cytotoxic variability reflects building-level operational factors, cleaning practices, and ventilation, rather than environmental setting. Spearman analysis revealed cell-line and compound-specific associations between fungal burden, potential azole resistance detected by growth on azole-supplemented culture media, and cytotoxic responses, with reduced susceptibility to itraconazole, voriconazole, and posaconazole detected in school dust isolates. These findings demonstrate that microbial contamination in school settled dust may result in potential health effects involving clinically relevant antifungal resistance species. Floor mop sampling is identified as a high-sensitivity sentinel approach for the combined biological and chemical toxic burden accumulated at floor level. Passive multi-matrix cytotoxicity assessment should be integrated into school indoor air quality surveillance to protect this vulnerable population.
- Multimodal ultrasound assessment of the diaphragm during the maximal inspiratory pressure maneuverPublication . Leote, João; Nunes, Daniela; Oliveira, Inês; Silva, Rafael; Pereira, Marco; Bacariza, Jacobo; Gonzalez, Filipe; Hermínia Brites DiasDiaphragm ultrasound (DU) is increasingly used to assess diaphragmatic function, but its relationship with maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), particularly when both are acquired during the same maneuver, remains unclear. This exploratory cross-sectional study investigated associations between MIP and DU parameters, compared diaphragmatic strain obtained with two different probes and imaging planes, and explored the association between diaphragmatic strain and the diaphragm thickening fraction (TF). Eleven healthy participants (median age 21 years; median body mass index 22.1 kg/m2) with normal phrenic nerve conduction, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and occlusion pressure at 100 ms underwent DU during the MIP maneuver using phased-array and linear probes at the subcostal window and zone of apposition, respectively. Each ultrasound acquisition was paired with an MIP recorded simultaneously during that acquisition; the two probes were therefore studied within the same session and not during a single shared maneuver. No a priori sample size or power calculation was performed. MIP showed moderate positive associations with diaphragmatic excursion (DE) (rs = 0.603, p = 0.050) and TF (rs = 0.482, p = 0.133), and moderate negative associations with time to peak diaphragmatic excursion (TPDE) (rs = −0.400, p = 0.223) and linear-probe strain (rs = −0.469, p = 0.241). Linear-probe strain was strongly associated with TF (rs = −0.710, p = 0.048). Every bootstrap 95% confidence interval included zero. In this exploratory sample, DE and TF showed the strongest associations with MIP, while zone-of-apposition strain was strongly associated with TF; they merit evaluation as part of a multimodal DU assessment as candidate quantitative parameters rather than validated markers.
- Female gamers’ evaluation of influencer-generated gaming content: the roles of informativeness, playfulness, and homophilyPublication . Rita, Paulo; Santos, Zelia Raposo; Zhou, RanAbstract Influencer-generated content has become a prominent source of information and entertainment in digital gaming environments, yet limited research has examined how female gamers cognitively and affectively evaluate such content. This study examines how perceived informativeness, playfulness, and homophily are associated with attitudes toward influencer-generated gaming content and how these attitudes, in turn, are associated with purchase intention. The study uses a TPB-informed attitude-intention model, complemented by Social Influence Theory and a gender-sensitive contextual perspective. Survey data from 340 female gamers were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Perceived informativeness and playfulness were significantly positively associated with attitude, whereas homophily was not significantly associated with attitude. Attitude, in turn, was significantly positively associated with purchase intention. Formal coefficient comparisons showed that the associations of informativeness and playfulness with attitude were significantly stronger than the association of homophily with attitude, while the informativeness and playfulness associations did not differ significantly. The study provides a contextual extension of influencer-marketing and digital-persuasion research by examining content-based and relational evaluations within an underexamined female-gamer context.