Caracterização da rebentação da tangerineira ‘Setubalense’ em anos de safra e de contrassafra

A produção de citrinos encontra-se amplamente disseminada por todos os continentes, representando uma atividade económica geradora de milhões de euros. As crescentes exigências dos consumidores conduzem ao aparecimento de novas variedades, em detrimento das cultivares tradicionais. A produção de tangerineira ‘Setubalense’ tem vindo a sofrer um acentuado declínio, mas os consumidores mais exigentes em aromas cítricos e fragrâncias intensas continuam a apreciar esta cultivar. Por isso, esta cultivar tem algum espaço comercial para mercados diferenciados em que se valorizam as cultivares tradicionais. Estas características e a sua época de maturação, que implica ser pouco afetada pela Ceratitis capitata, fazem da ‘Setubalense’ uma cultivar recomendável para o modo de produção biológico. Com o objetivo de caracterizar o padrão produtivo alternante e tendo por objeto de estudo um pomar de 5 anos de tangerineira ‘Setubalense’ enxertado sobre citranjeira ‘Troyer’ [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck x Poncirus trifoliata L.], foi avaliada a composição da rebentação e da floração nos anos de safra e de contrassafra. A intensidade e as características da rebentação dependem do quadrante da árvore e do ano (safra ou contrassafra). Nos anos de safra a percentagem de nós rebentados oscila entre 67,6 a 79,5 %, que contrasta com os 25,4 a 28,2 % dos anos de contrassafra, função do quadrante analisado. Nos anos produtivos os rebentos formados são essencialmente florais e nos improdutivos quase exclusivamente vegetativos. A formação de elevado número de flores nos anos de safra conduz a uma intensa abcisão de órgãos generativos. O número de folhas formada por cada 100 nós é similar nos anos de safra e de contrassafra. Os resultados obtidos refletem o padrão alternante desta cultivar, evidenciando o cuidado particular que esta cultura tem de ter na sua condução.

Atitudes dos enfermeiros perante morte cerebral e transplantação de órgãos

Dissertação de mest., Psicologia (Psicologia da Saúde), Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Univ. do Algarve, 2010

Population model of the recent subtidal invasion of Sargassum muticum in southern Portugal

Dissertação de Mestrado, Biologia Marinha, Especialização em Ecologia e Conservação, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, 2007

Educação intercultural

Dissertação de Mestrado, Observação e Análise da Relação Educativa, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, 2007

The role of lymphotoxin-B receptor signaling in t-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia development

Dissertação de mest., Ciências Biomédicas, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Univ. do Algarve, 2010

Searching biocompounds in marine natural extracts with potential use in tumor prevention and treatment

Cancer is a multistage process characterized by three stages: initiation, promotion and progression; and is one of the major killers worldwide. Oxidative stress acts as initiator in tumorigenesis; chronic inflammation promotes cancer; and apoptosis inactivation is an issue in cancer progression. In this study, it was investigated the antioxidant, antiinflammatory and antitumor properties of hexane, ether, chloroform, methanol and water extracts of five species of halophytes: A. macrostachyum, P. coronopus, J. acutus, C. edulis and A. halimus. Antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH• and ABTS•+ methods, and the total phenolics content (TPC) was evaluated by the Folin-Ciocalteau method. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts was determined by the Griess method, and by evaluating the inhibition of NO production in LPS-stimulated RAW- 264.7 macrophages. The cytotoxic activity of the extracts against HepG2 and THP1 cell lines was estimated by the MTT assay, and the results obtained were further compared with the S17 non-tumor cell line. The induction of apoptosis of J. acutus ether extract was assessed by DAPI staining. The highest antioxidant activities was observed in C. edulis methanol and the J. acutus ether extracts against the DPPH• radical; and J. acutus ether and A. halimus ether extracts against the ABTS•+ radical. The methanol extracts of C. edulis and P. coronopus, and the ether extract of J. acutus revealed a high TPC. Generally the antioxidant activity had no correlation with the TPC. The A. halimus chloroform and P. coronopus hexane extracts demonstrated ability to reduce NO production in macrophages (> 50%), revealing their anti-inflammatory capacity. The ether extract of J. acutus showed high cytotoxicity against HepG2 cancer cells, with reduced cellular viability even at the lowest concentrations. This outcome was significantly lower than the obtained with the non-tumor cells (S17). This result was complemented by the induction of apoptosis.

The activity of mouse Cerberus like 2 during cardiogenesis - genetic and morphogenetic studies

Cardiogenesis is a delicate and complex process that requires the coordination of an intricate network of pathways and the different cell types. Therefore, understanding heart development at the morphogenetic level is an essential requirement to uncover the causes of congenital heart disease and to provide insight for disease therapies. Mouse Cerberus like 2 (Cerl2) has been defined as a Nodal antagonist in the node with an important role in the Left-Right (L/R) axis establishment, at the early embryonic development. As expected, Cerl2 knockout mice (Cerl2-/-) showed multiple laterality defects with associated cardiac failure. In order to identify the endogenous role of Cerl2 during heart formation independent of its described functions in the node, we accurately analyzed animals where laterality defects were not present. We thereby unravel the consequences of Cerl2 lossof- function in the heart, namely increased left ventricular thickness due to hyperplasia of cardiomyocytes and de-regulated expression of cardiac genes. Furthermore, the Cerl2 mutant neonates present impaired cardiac function. Once that the cardiac expression of Cerl2 is mostly observed in the left ventricle until around midgestration, this result suggest a specific regulatory role of Cerl2 during the formation of the left ventricular myoarchitecture. Here, we present two possible molecular mechanisms underlying the cardiac Cerl2 function, the regulation of Cerl2 antagonist in activation of the TGFßs/Nodal/Activin/Smad2 signaling identified by increased Smad2 phosphorilation in Cerl2-/- hearts and the negative feedback between Cerl2 and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in heart formation. In this work and since embryonic stem cells derived from 129 mice strain is extensively used to produce targeted mutants, we also present echocardiographic reference values to progressive use of juveniles and young adult 129/Sv strain in cardiac studies. In addition, we investigate the cardiac physiology of the surviving Cerl2 mutants in 129/Sv background over time through a follow-up study using echocardiographic analysis. Our results revealed that Cerl2-/- mice are able to improve and maintain the diastolic and most of systolic cardiac physiologic parameters as analyzed until young adult age. Since Cerl2 is no longer expressed in the postnatal heart, we suggest that an intrinsic and compensatory mechanism of adaptation may be active for recovering the decreased cardiac function found in Cerl2 mutant neonates. Altogether, these data highlight the role of Cerl2 during embryonic heart development in mice. Furthermore, we also suggest that Cerl2-/- may be an interesting model to uncover the molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms behind the improvement of the cardiac function, contributing to the development of therapeutic approaches to treat heart failures.

Identification of novel molecular determinants of tissue mineralization in fish

The identification of genes involved in signaling and regulatory pathways, and matrix formation is paramount to the better understanding of the complex mechanisms of bone formation and mineralization, and critical to the successful development of therapies for human skeletal disorders. To achieve this objective, in vitro cell systems derived from skeletal tissues and able to mineralize their extracellular matrix have been used to identify genes differentially expressed during mineralization and possibly new markers of bone and cartilage homeostasis. Using cell systems of fish origin and techniques such as suppression subtractive hybridization and microarray hybridization, three genes never associated with mechanisms of calcification were identified: the calcium binding protein S100-like, the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase sdr-like and the betaine homocysteine S-methyltransferase bhmt3. Analysis of the spatial-temporal expression of these 3 genes by qPCR and in situ hybridization revealed: (1) the up-regulation of sdr-like transcript during in vitro mineralization of gilthead seabream cell lines and its specificity for calcified tissues and differentiating osteoblasts; (2) the up-regulation of S100-like and the down-regulation of bhmt3 during in vitro mineralization and the central role of both genes in cartilaginous tissues undergoing endo/perichondral mineralization in juvenile fish. While expression of S100-like and bhmt3 was restricted to calcified tissues, sdr-like transcript was also detected in soft tissues, in particular in tissues of the gastrointestinal tract. Functional analysis of gene promoters revealed the transcriptional regulation of the 3 genes by known regulators of osteoblast and chondrocyte differentiation/mineralization: RUNX2 and RAR (sdr-like), ETS1 (s100-like; bhmt3), SP1 and MEF2c (bhmt3). The evolutionary relationship of the different orthologs and paralogs identified within the scope of this work was also inferred from taxonomic and phylogenetic analyses and revealed novel protein subfamilies (S100-like and Sdr-like) and the explosive diversity of Bhmt family in particular fish groups (Neoteleostei). Altogether our results contribute with new data on SDR, S100 and BHMT proteins, evidencing for the first time the role for these three proteins in mechanisms of mineralization in fish and emphasized their potential as markers of mineralizing cartilage and bone in developing fish.

Avaliação do perfil funcional dos idosos do conselho de Monchique: fundamentos com vista à intervenção do fisioterapeuta

Dissertação de Mestrado, Gerontologia Social, Escola Superior de Educação e Comunicação, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Lesão aguda pulmonar induzida por choque séptico. A aplicação de células estaminais

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Corporate governance in municipality-owned enterprises: a case study

Dissertação de Mestrado, Finanças Empresariais, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Drug repurposing in the treatment of Melanoma Brain Metastasis

Dissertação de Mestrado, Biologia Molecular e Microbiana, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Loss of Par3 leads to aberrant divisions and faster mitotic progression in differentiating primary murine keratinocytes

Dissertação de Mestrado, Oncobiologia: Mecanismos Moleculares do Cancro, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015