Chondrogenic differentiation within magnetic-responsive multilayered liquified capsules containing collagen II/TFG-β3 coated microparticles

The use of stem cells is a promising therapeutic approach for the substantial challenge to regenerate cartilage. Considering the two prerequisites, namely the use of a 3D system to enable the chondrogenic differentiation and growth factors to avoid dedifferentiation, the diffusion efficiency of essential biomolecules is an intrinsic issue. We already proposed a liquified bioencapsulation system containing solid microparticles as cell adhesion sites1. Here, we intend to use the optimized system towards chondrogenic differentiation by encapsulating stem cells and collagenII-TGF-β3 PLLA microparticles. As a proof-of-concept, magnetite-nanoparticles were incorporated into the multilayered membrane. This can be a great advantage after implantation procedures to fixate the capsules in situ with the held of an external magnetic patch and for the follow-up through imaging. Results showed that the production of glycosaminoglycans and the expression of cartilage-relevant markers (collagen II, Sox9, aggrecan, and COMP) increased up to 28 days, while hypertrophic (collagen X) and fibrotic (collagen I) markers were downregulated. The presence of nanofibers in the newly deposited ECM was visualized by SEM, which resembles the collagen fibrils of native cartilage. The presence of the major constituent of cartilage, collagen II, was detected by immunocytochemistry and afranin-O and alcian blue stainings revealed a basophilic ECM deposition, which is characteristic of neocartilage. These findings suggest that the proposed system may provide a suitable environment for chondrogenic differentiation.

Intervalo II: entre geografias e cinemas

O volume I desta obra encontra-se disponível em: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/35539

Las reformas de las universidades ibéricas en la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII

Bajo los auspicios reformadores del Marqués de Pombal, los nuevos estatutos de la Universidad de Coimbra, ratificados por el rey José I en junio de 1772, representaron una importante revisión de los principales estudios en Portugal. Hacia un largo tiempo que los Estatutos de la Universidad de Coimbra no fueron revisados, y la revisión de los Estatutos de 1559 (rey Sebastián), 1591 (el rey Felipe I de Portugal, II de Castilla) y 1653 (rey João IV), se observa que, en comparación con más de dos siglos de vigencia del mismo modelo con modificaciones más o menos limitados, los Estatutos de 1772 traen un nuevo pensamiento y un nuevo impulso mediante la promoción, en particular, de la educación y el desarrollo de las Ciencias exactas y naturales y la valoración del método experimental. Al mismo tiempo, en España, el rey Carlos III, renuncia a imponer un único modelo de estudios de todas las universidades. En ambos casos, el portugués y el español, la urgencia de las reformas es mas aguda pues que los jesuitas fueron expulsados de los territorios en 1759 y 1767, respectivamente; y tanto precursores como mentores quieren estas reformas para abrir las universidades a la ciencia moderna y el humanismo de la Ilustración. La renovación de los contenidos y métodos de enseñanza en Coimbra fue notoria, con la preocupación notable con la investigación, lo que no era muy común en la época. Había también una preocupación con las necesidades de la sociedad en una forma muy práctica (habiendo sido en la época construido el Observatorio Astronómico, el Laboratorio de Física, etc.). Al mismo tempo, la universidad de Coimbra tuvo como profesores dos matemáticos notables, José Anastácio da Cunha y José Monteiro da Rocha. En España también fueron importantes los ensayos de renovación de los métodos, de apertura a la ciencia de la época, de conexión con las realidades de la sociedad española, de coordinación de esfuerzos para conformar una «comunidad universitaria española». En esta comunicación se hace una discusión de comparación entre las dos reformas ibéricas.

Which soft lens power is better for piggyback in keratoconus? Part II

Purpose: To evaluate how soft lens power affects rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lens power and visual acuity (VA) in piggyback fittings for keratoconus. Methods: Sixteen keratoconus subjects (30 eyes) were included in the study. Piggyback contact lens fittings combining Senofilcon-A soft lenses of −6.00, −3.00, +3.00 and +6.00 D with Rose K2 RGP contact lenses were performed. Corneal topography was taken on the naked eye and over each soft contact lens before fitting RGP lenses. Mean central keratometry, over-refraction, RGP back optic zone radius (BOZR) and estimated final power as well as VA were recorded and analyzed. Results: In comparison to the naked eye, the mean central keratometry flattened with both negative lens powers (p < 0.05 in all cases), did not change with the +3.00 soft lens power (p = 1.0); and steepened with the +6.00 soft lens power (p = 0.02). Rigid gas-permeable over-refraction did not change significantly between different soft lens powers (all p > 0.05). RGP’s BOZR decreased significantly with both positive in comparison with both negative soft lens powers (all p < 0.001), but no significant differences were found among negative- or positive-powers separately (both p > 0.05). Estimated RGP’s final power increased significantly with positive in comparison with negative lens powers (all p < 0.001), but no significant differences were found among negative or positive lens powers separately (both p > 0.05). Visual acuity did not change significantly between the different soft lens powers assessed (all p > 0.05). Conclusion: The use of negative-powered soft lenses in piggyback fitting reduces RGP lens power without impacting VA in keratoconus subjects.

Órgãos de máquinas II: exercícios de aplicação

Este documento contém um vasto conjunto de exercícios de aplicação no âmbito dos sistemas de transmissão (Correias, Correntes e Engrenagens), da unidade curricular Órgãos de Máquinas II do Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Mecânica da Universidade do Minho.

The choroid plexus transcriptome reveals changes in type I and II interferon responses in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a marked decline in cognition and memory function. Increasing evidence highlights the essential role of neuroinflammatory and immune-related molecules, including those produced at the brain barriers, on brain immune surveillance, cellular dysfunction and amyloid beta (Aß) pathology in AD. Therefore, understanding the response at the brain barriers may unravel novel pathways of relevance for the pathophysiology of AD. Herein, we focused on the study of the choroid plexus (CP), which constitutes the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier, in aging and in AD. Specifically, we used the PDGFB-APPSwInd (J20) transgenic mouse model of AD, which presents early memory decline and progressive Aß accumulation, and littermate age-matched wild-type (WT) mice, to characterize the CP transcriptome at 3, 5-6 and 11-12months of age. The most striking observation was that the CP of J20 mice displayed an overall overexpression of type I interferon (IFN) response genes at all ages. Moreover, J20 mice presented a high expression of type II IFN genes in the CP at 3months, which became lower than WT at 5-6 and 11-12months. Importantly, along with a marked memory impairment and increased glial activation, J20 mice also presented a similar overexpression of type I IFN genes in the dorsal hippocampus at 3months. Altogether, these findings provide new insights on a possible interplay between type I and II IFN responses in AD and point to IFNs as targets for modulation in cognitive decline.

Corpus e metodologia para o estudo das relações culturais ibéricas: o caso galego-português n’O Commercio do Porto (1927-1936)

O objetivo deste trabalho é contribuir metodologicamente para a pesquisa no estudo das relações culturais na península ibérica, a partir do recurso a corpus elaborados com base na imprensa diária, o que denominamos corpus mediático. Ao longo das páginas seguintes, exporemos (i) em que medida entendemos o estudo primário da imprensa periódica da maior relevância investigadora para a análise das relações entre dois ou mais sistemas culturais e, do mesmo modo, (ii) como a elaboração de corpus deste género pode ser útil e fiável para a análise da(s) natureza(s) das relações objeto de estudo, principalmente através de técnicas de cômputo quantitativo.

Guia da Unidade Curricular Integradora II

O presente guia serve de referência ao planeamento, desenvolvimento, concretização e avaliação das atividades previstas no âmbito da unidade curricular Integradora II, a qual é oferecida no 2º semestre do 1º ano do plano de estudos do curso de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Mecânica da Universidade do Minho.

Alterações na biometria e na refração durante o ano letivo II

Dissertação de mestrado em Optometria Avançada

Synthesis, antiangiogenesis evaluation and molecular docking studies of 1-Aryl-3-[(thieno[3,2-b]pyridin-7-ylthio)phenyl]ureas: Discovery of a new substitution pattern for type II VEGFR-2 Tyr kinase inhibitors

The synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1-aryl-3-[2-, 3- or 4-(thieno[3,2-b]pyridin-7-ylthio)phenyl]ureas 3, 4 and 5 as VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors, are reported. The 1-aryl-3-[3-(thieno[3,2-b]pyridin-7-ylthio)phenyl]ureas 4a-4h, with the arylurea in the meta position to the thioether, showed the lowest IC50 values in enzymatic assays (10-206 nM), the most potent compounds 4d-4h (IC50 10-28 nM) bearing hydrophobic groups (Me, F, CF3 and Cl) in the terminal phenyl ring. A convincing rationalization was achieved for the highest potent compounds 4 as type II VEGFR-2 inhibitors, based on the simultaneous presence of: (1) the thioether linker and (2) the arylurea moiety in the meta position. For compounds 4, significant inhibition of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) proliferation (BrdU assay), migration (wound-healing assay) and tube formation were observed at low concentrations. These compounds have also shown to increase apoptosis using the TUNEL assay. Immunostaining for total and phosphorylated (active) VEGFR-2 was performed by Western blotting. The phosphorylation of the receptor was significantly inhibited at 1.0 and 2.5 microM for the most promising compounds. Altogether, these findings point to an antiangiogenic effect in HUVECs.

Metodologia de investigação em cibercultura II: Métodos em hipermédia / hibrimédia

Metodologia da pesquisa em Hibrimédia: Método 1: Pesquisa e aprendizagem sociais-semânticas; Web 2.0 e Web 3.0 no museu; Pedagogia e investigação em Hibrimédia; Metodologia GeoNeoLógica; Método GeoNeoLógico 1 - Questionário Interactivo Multitoque; Método GeoNeoLógico 2 -o Jogo das Tricotomias; Método GeoNeoLógico 3 - Novela GeoNeoLógica; Interface; Enredo; A novela de Híbrido-personagens sociais; Redes sociais pré-digitais, digitais e semântico-lógicas; Sociologia Crítica Semântico-Lógica.

Espacialidades e temporalidades da cibercultura II: Pós-Panoptismos

Sociologia das visibilidades. Panoptismo e contemporaneidade: Dispositivos inter-panópticos; Sociologia do panoptismo; Cidadão e instituições; Autores observadores do social; Ótica inter-moderna; Contra-panoptismo; Retórica do site Surveillance & Society.

Assessment of prognosis in patients with stage II colon cancer

Assessment of prognosis of patients with stage II colon cancer.

La televisione nella vita quotidiana dei bambini. II contesto come testo

(Excerto) La ricerca sociologica si colloca sempre in un hie et nunc e lo studio di cui parlen) nel mio intervento non sfugge a questa inconveniente. Come altri studi empirici sui rapporto tra giovani e media, questa lavoro e nato, innanzitutto, dagli interrogativi suscitati dai miei figli, quando erano ancora piccoli. Non posso escludere che quest' interesse sia una sorta di tentativo inconscio di placare Ia mia coscienza di fronte ai problemi che facevo fatica a risolvere ali'interno della mia famiglia. Permettetemi anche di soffermarmi brevemente sui mio paese, il Portogalla, e sulla sua realtii culturale e politica. Vorrei sottolineare che, in una prospettiva di lungo peri ado, alia maniera di Braude!, il mio ·paese ha ritrovato Ia democrazia moho recentemente, dopa mezzo secolo di oscurantismo e di repressione del pensiero e della partecipazione attiva dei cittadini alia vita sociale.