Culture-dependent characterization of cyanobacterial diversity in the intertidal zones of the Portuguese coast: A polyphasic study

Cyanobacteria are important primary producers, and many are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen playing a key role in the marine environment. However, not much is known about the diversity of cyanobacteria in Portuguese marine waters. This paper describes the diversity of 60 strains isolated from benthic habitats in 9 sites (intertidal zones) on the Portuguese South and West coasts. The strains were characterized by a morphological study (light and electron microscopy) and by a molecular characterization (partial 16S rRNA, nifH, nifK, mcyA, mcyE/ndaF, sxtI genes). The morphological analyses revealed 35 morphotypes (15 genera and 16 species) belonging to 4 cyanobacterial Orders/Subsections. The dominant groups among the isolates were the Oscillatoriales. There is a broad congruence between morphological and molecular assignments. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of 9 strains have less than 97% similarity compared to the sequences in the databases, revealing novel cyanobacterial diversity. Phylogenetic analysis, based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequences showed at least 12 clusters. One-third of the isolates are potential N2-fixers, as they exhibit heterocysts or the presence of nif genes was demonstrated by PCR. Additionally, no conventional freshwater toxins genes were detected by PCR screening.

Criteria for the selection of foster families and monitoring of placements.: Comparative study of the application of the Casey Foster Applicant Inventory-Applicant Version (CFAI-A)

Based on a literature review, this article frames different stages of the foster care process, identifying a set of standardized measures in the American and Portuguese contexts which, if implemented, could contribute towards higher levels of foster success. The article continues with the presentation of a comparative study, based on the application of the Casey Foster Applicant Inventory-Applicant Version (CFAI-A) questionnaire, in the aforementioned contexts. Taking a comparative analyses of CFAI-A's psychometric characteristics in four different samples as a starting point, one discovered that despite the fact that the questionnaire was adapted to Portuguese reality, it kept the quality values presented on the American samples. It specifically shows significant values regarding reliability and validity. This questionnaire, which aims to assess the potential of foster families, also supports the technical staff's decision making process regarding the monitoring and support of foster families, while it also promotes a better decision in the placement process towards the child's integration and development.

Quantification of urban land use intensity - A case of Dhaka City of Bangladesh

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

Biogenic amines in wine: gene transcription as a tool for selection of Oenococcus oeni starter strains

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Biology

Segregated modeling and selection of populations for polyhydroxyalkanoate production by mixed microbial cultures

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Química e Bioquímica

Selection of a co-operation agreement between EMOVE – Innovative Technologies and WavEC – Wave Energy Center

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Trans-Synaptic Signaling by Activity-Dependent Cleavage of Neuroligin-1

Throughout the brain, patterns of activity in postsynaptic neurons influence the properties of synaptic inputs. Such feedback regulation is central to neural network stability that underlies proper information processing and feature representation in the central nervous system. At the cellular level, tight coupling of presynaptic and postsynaptic function is fundamental to neural computation and synaptic plasticity. The cohort of protein complexes at the pre and postsynaptic membrane allows for tight synapse-specific segregation and integration of diverse molecular and electrical signals.(...)

International market selection of Carrefour

Carrefour has been internationalizing into many countries and would like to continue growing. This study focuses on the potential future international market selection of Car-refour, comparing countries from the EU and South America, in a quantitative and qual-itative analysis. The purpose of the project is to help Carrefour to find the right market and the right mode to entry. Through semi-structured interviews and a literature research we found out that Sweden has the highest potential to entry with a Venture (Marketing), followed by Austria

Theranostic applications of phage display to control leishmaniasis: selection of biomarkers for serodiagnostics, vaccination, and immunotherapy

AbstractPhage display is a high-throughput subtractive proteomic technology used for the generation and screening of large peptide and antibody libraries. It is based on the selection of phage-fused surface-exposed peptides that recognize specific ligands and demonstrate desired functionality for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Phage display has provided unmatched tools for controlling viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections, and allowed identification of new therapeutic targets to treat cancer, metabolic diseases, and other chronic conditions. This review presents recent advancements in serodiagnostics and prevention of leishmaniasis -an important tropical parasitic disease- achieved using phage display for the identification of novel antigens with improved sensitivity and specificity. Our focus is on theranostics of visceral leishmaniasis with the aim to develop biomarker candidates exhibiting both diagnostic and therapeutic potential to fight this important, yet neglected, tropical disease.

Analysis and selection of indicators for a sustainability assessment method for school buildings based on SBTool ‐ PT

Nowadays, the sustainability of buildings has an extreme importance. This concept goes towards the European aims of the Program Horizon 2020, which concerns about the reduction of the environmental impacts through such aspects as the energy efficiency and renewable technologies, among others. Sustainability is an extremely broad concept but, in this work, it is intended to include the concept of sustainability in buildings. Within the concept that aims the integration of environmental, social and economic levels towards the preservation of the planet and the integrity of the users, there are, currently, several types of tools of environmental certification that are applicable to the construction industry (LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, SBTool, among others). Within this context, it is highlighted the tool SBTool (Sustainable Building Tool) that is employed in several countries and can be subject to review in institutions of basic education, which are the base for the formation of the critical masses and for the development of a country. The main aim of this research is to select indicators that can be used in a methodology for sustainability assessment (SBTool) of school buildings in Portugal and in Brazil. In order to achieve it, it will also be analyzed other methodologies that already incorporate parameters directly related with the schools environment, such as BREEAM or LEED.

Useful clinical features for the selection of ideal patients with strial fibrillation for mapping and catheter ablation

OBJECTIVE: To identify useful clinical characteristics for selecting patients eligible for mapping and ablation of atrial fibrillation. METHODS: We studied 9 patients with atrial fibrillation, without structural heart disease, associated with: 1) antiarrhythmic drugs, 2) symptoms of low cardiac output, and 3) intention to treat. Seven patients had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and 2 had recurrent atrial fibrillation. RESULTS: In the 6 patients who underwent mapping (all had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation), catheter ablation was successfully carried out in superior pulmonary veins in 5 patients (the first 3 in the left superior pulmonary vein and the last 2 in the right superior pulmonary vein). One patient experienced a recurrence of atrial fibrillation after 10 days. We observed that patients who had short episodes of atrial fibrillation on 24-hour Holter monitoring before the procedure were those in whom mapping the focus of tachycardia was possible. Tachycardia was successfully suppressed in 4 of 6 patients. The cause of failure was due to the impossibility of maintaining sinus rhythm long enough for efficient mapping. CONCLUSION: Patients experiencing short episodes of atrial fibrillation during 24-hour Holter monitoring were the most eligible for mapping and ablation, with a final success rate of 66%, versus the global success rate of 44%. Patients with persistent atrial fibrillation were not good candidates for focal ablation.

Mecanismo de interacción, calcio dependiente, entre Calcineurina y PERK, involucrado en el Estrés de Retículo Endoplásmico. Ca2+ -dependent mechanism of interaction between Calcineurin and PERK involved in Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

El Estrés de Retículo Endoplásmico (RE) es inducido por la acumulación de proteínas sin plegar en el lumen de la organela. Esto se puede observar en diversas situaciones fisio-patológicas como durante una infección viral o en proceso isquémico. Además, contribuye a la base molecular de numerosas enfermedades ya sea índole metabólico (Fibrosis quística o Diabetes Miellitus) o neurodegenerativas como mal de Alzheimer o Parkinson (Mutat Res, 2005, 569). Para restablecer la homeostasis en la organela se activa una señal de transducción (UPR), cuya respuesta inmediata es la atenuación de la síntesis de proteína debido a la fosforilación de subunidad alpha del factor eucariótico de iniciación de translación (eIF2α) vía PERK. Esta es una proteína de membrana de RE que detecta estrés. Bajo condiciones normales, PERK está inactiva debido a la asociación de su dominio luminar con la chaperona BIP (Nat Cell Biol, 2000, 2: 326). Frente a una situación de estrés, la chaperona se disocia causando desinhibición. Recientemente, (Plos One 5: e11925) se observó, bajo condiciones de estrés, un aumento de Ca2+ citosólico y un rápido incremento de la expresión de calcineurina (CN), una fosfatasa citosólica dependiente de calcio, heterodimérica formada por una subunidad catalítica (CN-A) y una regulatoria (CN-B). Además, CN interacciona, sin intermediarios, con el dominio citosólico de PERK favoreciendo su trans-autofosforilación. Resultados preliminares indican que, astrocitos CNAβ-/- exhibieron, en condiciones basales, un mayor número de células muertas y de niveles de eIF2α fosforilado que los astrocitos CNAα-/-. Hipótesis: CNAβ/B interacciona con PERK cuando el Ca2+ citosólico esta incrementado luego de haberse inducido Estrés de RE, lo cual promueve dimerización y auto-fosforilación de la quinasa, acentuándose así la fosforilación de eIF2α e inhibición de la síntesis de proteínas. Esta activación citosólica de PERK colaboraría con la ya descrita, desinhibición luminal llevada cabo por BIP. Cuando el Ca2+ citosólico retorna a los niveles basales, PERK fosforila a CN, reduciendo su afinidad de unión y disociándose el complejo CN/PERK. Objetivo general: Definir las condiciones por las cuales CN interacciona con PERK y regula la fosforilación de eIF2α e inhibición de la síntesis de proteína. Objetivos específicos: I-Estudiar la diferencia de afinidades y dependencia de Ca2+, de las dos isoformas de CN (α y β) en su asociación con PERK. Además verificar la posible participación de la subunidad B de CN en esta interacción. II-Determinar si la auto-fosforilación de PERK es diferencialmente regulada por las dos isoformas de CN. III-Discernir la relación del estado de fosforilación de CN con su unión a PERK. IV-Determinar efectos fisiológicos de la interacción de CN-PERK durante la respuesta de Estrés de RE. Para llevar a cabo este proyecto se realizarán experimentos de biología molecular, interacción proteína-proteína, ensayos de fosforilación in vitro y un perfil de polisoma con astrocitos CNAβ-/- , CNA-/- y astrocitos controles. Se espera encontrar una mayor afinidad de unión a PERK de la isoforma β de CN y en condiciones donde la concentración de Ca2+ sea del orden micromolar e imite niveles del ión durante un estrés. Con respecto al estado de fosforilación de CN, debido a los resultados preliminares, donde solo se la encontró fosforilada en condiciones basales, se piensa que CN podría interactuar con mayor afinidad con PERK cuando CN se encuentre desfosforilada. Por último, se espera encontrar un aumento de eIF2α fosforilado y una acentuación de la atenuación de la síntesis de proteína como consecuencia de la mayor activación de PERK por su asociación con la isoforma β de CN en astrocitos donde el Estrés de RE se indujo por privación de oxigeno y glucosa. Estos experimentos permitirán avanzar en el estudio de una nueva función citoprotectora de CN recientemente descrita por nuestro grupo de trabajo y sus implicancias en un modelo de isquemia. The accumulation of unfolded proteins into the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) activates a signal transduction cascade called Unfolding Protein Response (UPR), which attempts to restore homeostasis in the organelle. (PKR)-like-ER kinase (PERK) is an early stress response transmembrane protein that is generally inactive due to its association with the chaperone BIP. During ER stress, BIP is tritrated by the unfolded protein, leading PERK activation and phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor-2 alpha (eIF2alpha), which attenuates protein síntesis. If ER damage is too great and homeostasis is not restored within a certain period of time, an apoptotic response is elicited. We recently demonstrated a cytosolic Ca2+ increase in Xenopus oocytes after induce ER stress. Moreover, calcineurin A/B, a an heterotrimeric Ca2+ dependent phosphatases (CN-A/B), associates with PERK increasing its auto-phosphorylation and significantly enhancing cell viability. Preliminary results suggest that, CN-Aβ-/- knockout astrocytes exhibit a significant higher eIF2α phosphorylated level compared to CN-Aα-/- astrocytes. Our working hypothesis establishes that: CN binds to PERK when cytosolic Ca2+ is initially increased by ER stress, promoting dimerization and autophosphorylation, which leads to phosphorylation of elF2α and subsequently attenuation of protein translation. When cytosolic Ca2+ returns to resting levels, PERK phosphorylates CN, reducing its binding affinity so that the CN/PERK complex dissociates. The goal of this project is to determine the conditions by which CN binding to PERK attenuates protein translation during the ER stress response and subsequently, to determine how the interaction of CN with PERK is terminated when stress is removed. To perform this project is planed to do molecular biology experiments, pull down assays, in vitro phosphorylations and assess overall mRNA translation efficiency doing a polisome profile.

A study of the interaction between national and corporate culture in a selection of Irish based companies

This research studies the phenomenon of national and corporate culture. National culture is the culture the members of a country share and corporate culture is a subculture which members of an organisation share (Schein, 1992). The objective of this research is to reveal if the employees within equivalent Irish and American companies share the same corporate and national culture and to ascertain if, within each company, there is a link between national culture and corporate culture. The object of this study is achieved by replicating research which was conducted by Shing (1997) in Taiwan. Hypotheses and analytical tools developed by Shing are employed in the current study to allow comparison of results between Shing’s study and the current study. The methodology used, called for the measurement and comparison of national and corporate culture in two equivalent companies within the same industry. The two companies involved in this study are both located in Ireland and are of American and Irish origin. A sample of three hundred was selected and the response rate was 54%. The findings from this research are: (1) The two companies involved had different corporate cultures, (2) They had the same national culture, (3) There was no link between national culture and corporate culture within either company, (4) The findings were not similar to those of Shing (1997). The implication of these findings is that national and corporate culture are separate phenomena therefore corporate culture is not a response to national culture. The results of this research are not reflected in the finding’s of Shing (1997), therefore they are context specific. The core recommendation for management is that, corporate culture should take account of national culture. This is because although employees recognise the espoused values of corporate culture (Schein, 1992), they are at the same time influenced by a much stronger force, their national culture.

Synaptic plasticity in mature cultured hippocampal-entorhinal cortex slices : activity-dependent regulation of cAMP response-element binding protein

LTP, synaptic plasticity, hippocampus, organotypic cultures, CREB