Exploring bioactive properties of marine cyanobacteria Isolated from the Portuguese coast: high potential as a source of anticancer compounds

The oceans remain a major source of natural compounds with potential in pharmacology. In particular, during the last few decades, marine cyanobacteria have been in focus as producers of interesting bioactive compounds, especially for the treatment of cancer. In this study, the anticancer potential of extracts from twenty eight marine cyanobacteria strains, belonging to the underexplored picoplanktonic genera, Cyanobium, Synechocystis and Synechococcus, and the filamentous genera, Nodosilinea, Leptolyngbya, Pseudanabaena and Romeria, were assessed in eight human tumor cell lines. First, a crude extract was obtained by dichloromethane:methanol extraction, and from it, three fractions were separated in a Si column chromatography. The crude extract and fractions were tested in eight human cancer cell lines for cell viability/toxicity, accessed with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactic dehydrogenase release (LDH) assays. Eight point nine percent of the strains revealed strong cytotoxicity; 17.8% showed moderate cytotoxicity, and 14.3% assays showed low toxicity. The results obtained revealed that the studied genera of marine cyanobacteria are a promising source of novel compounds with potential anticancer activity and highlight the interest in also exploring the smaller filamentous and picoplanktonic genera of cyanobacteria.

Six thinking hats for electricity markets simulation: adapting meeting tools to agent decision

In almost all industrialized countries, the energy sector has suffered a severe restructuring that originated a greater complexity in market players’ interactions. The complexity that these changes brought made way for the creation of decision support tools that facilitate the study and understanding of these markets. MASCEM – “Multiagent Simulator for Competitive Electricity Markets” arose in this context providing a framework for evaluating new rules, new behaviour, and new participants in deregulated electricity markets. MASCEM uses game theory, machine learning techniques, scenario analysis and optimisation techniques to model market agents and to provide them with decision-support. ALBidS is a multiagent system created to provide decision support to market negotiating players. Fully integrated with MASCEM it considers several different methodologies based on very distinct approaches. The Six Thinking Hats is a powerful technique used to look at decisions from different perspectives. This tool’s goal is to force the thinker to move outside his habitual thinking style. It was developed to be used mainly at meetings in order to “run better meetings, make faster decisions”. This dissertation presents a study about the applicability of the Six Thinking Hats technique in Decision Support Systems, particularly with the multiagent paradigm like the MASCEM simulator. As such this work’s proposal is of a new agent, a meta-learner based on STH technique that organizes several different ALBidS’ strategies and combines the distinct answers into a single one that, expectedly, out-performs any of them.

Avaliação do impacte cumulativo de parques eólicos em matéria de colisão de aves: caso de estudo alinhamento Montejunto - Estrela

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, perfil Gestão de Sistemas Ambientais

Guimarães e as suas tradições orais: um estudo etnográfico e patrimonial sobre as Festas Nicolinas e a Festa das Cruzes

"O presente relatório de estágio desenvolveu-se no âmbito da missão e atribuições do Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação, através do estudo de duas festividades proposto pelo mesmo e, igualmente, no âmbito do projecto expositivo, em curso pelo Museu de Alberto Sampaio, a realizar no contexto de Guimarães – Capital Europeia da Cultura 2012. A realização do estágio teve como principal objectivo a elaboração de duas Fichas de Inventário nos termos das orientações técnicas do Instituto dos Museus e da Conservação. O estágio pretende contribuir ou servir de iniciação a um estudo/investigação etnográfico e patrimonial sobre duas festas do concelho de Guimarães: as festas Nicolinas e a festa das Cruzes.”

Esquistossomose mansônica: a propósito da alta predominância das formas intestinais em uma localidade do Estado de Pernambuco

Considerando que a Esquistossomose Mansônica é geralmente considerada doença de mau prognóstico, os Autores lembram que esta noção é fruto do contacto exclusivo, por parte dos médicos, com casos avançados e graves, praticamente os únicos que vêm ter aos hospitais das grandes cidades. Ressaltando que estágios ou pesquisas em zonas endêmicas dão, aos interessados pelo assunto, uma visão mais exata da morbidade da parasitose, eles reproduzem seus achados em 220 esquistossomóticos de uma localidade (Tiúma) do Município de São Lourenço da Mata, Pernambuco: 90% de formas intestinais (muitas vezes assintomáticas), 7,7% de formas hépato-intestinais e 2,3% de formas hépato-espleno-intestinais. Nenhuma forma descompensada com hematêmese, ascite ou coma hepático foi assinalada. Aproveitando a circunstância, foram recordadas as possíveis causas determinantes das formas clínicas e da evolução da Esquistossomose Mansônica, acreditando os Autores serem duas as de maior importância : a carga parasitária e as reações imunológicas.

Atrás da Máscara – O Teatro na Lusofonia

Este relatório pretende afirmar o trabalho desenvolvido pelo jornalista João Costa Dias sobre o seu programa na RDP África, Atrás da Máscara - O Teatro na Lusofonia. O trabalho encontra-se dividido em três fases. Na primeira, desenvolve-se uma contextualização da RDP África e do Programa Atrás da Máscara – O Teatro na Lusofonia. Numa segunda fase, apresentam-se as funções realizadas durante o estágio e a estrutura do programa. E, para finalizar, na terceira fase procura-se responder às questões que foram surgindo no decorrer do estágio, de que forma se poderá projetar a visibilidade do Teatro na Rádio e as dificuldades em divulgar o Teatro Africano na Rádio

Report of new cases of Trypanosoma caninum in Brazil

INTRODUCTION: Trypanosoma caninum is a protozoan species recently described in dogs, whose occurrence has been reported in areas of overlap with visceral leishmaniasis. METHODS: Trypanosoma sp. were isolated from nine dogs and characterized by molecular methods. RESULTS: PCR and sequencing confirmed the presence of T. caninum in all dogs, revealing two new areas of transmission: Barra Mansa and São João do Piauí. CONCLUSIONS: The nine new cases described, when added to those already published, account for 62 cases of natural infection by T. caninum and show the geographical spread of this species to new areas, where other trypanosomatids circulate.

Proposal of a methodology for the design of the installation of turrets on aircrafts – the approach on the aerodynamic influences

The present work has its origin on the necessity of enabling a design certified company, or DOA (Design Organization Approval), to perform a modification; this modification is the installation of EO/IR (Electro-optical infrared) sensors on aircrafts. The subject of interest in this dissertation lies on the aerodynamic impact of the modification on the aircraft. The primary purpose of the present thesis is the creation of a methodology that regards the design stage of the modification. This methodology serves as guidance to the DOA design team that is assigned to the design of the modification. The methodology includes a recommendation to the certification of the modification; it contains a method intended to decide the location of the installation of the sensors on the aircraft; it also comprises of a design structure specifically adapted to the modification in study. Regarding the aerodynamic impact, it is studied the aerodynamic analysis’ tools, which allows one to relate the different stages of design to the most suited tools to each stage. A case study is performed with the purpose of not only validating the methodology which was created but also to giving a first approach to the preliminary design of the modification. As example, there are used the Lockheed Martin C-130 aircraft and the FLIR Star Safire III sensor.

Understanding multi-asset factor models: Factor exposure interpretation

Field lab: Business project

A geographic opportunistic forwarding strategy for vehicular named data networking

Studies in Computational Intelligence, 616

Female hippocampus vulnerability to environmental stress, a precipitating factor in tau aggregation pathology

Tau-mediated neurodegeneration is a central event in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Consistent with suggestions that lifetime stress may be a clinically-relevant precipitant of AD pathology, we previously showed that stress triggers tau hyperphosphorylation and accumulation; however, little is known about the etiopathogenic interaction of chronic stress with other AD risk factors, such as sex and aging. This study focused on how these various factors converge on the cellular mechanisms underlying tau aggregation in the hippocampus of chronically stressed male and female (middle-aged and old) mice expressing the most commonly found disease-associated Tau mutation in humans, P301L-Tau. We report that environmental stress triggers memory impairments in female, but not male, P301L-Tau transgenic mice. Furthermore, stress elevates levels of caspase-3-truncated tau and insoluble tau aggregates exclusively in the female hippocampus while it also alters the expression of the molecular chaperones Hsp90, Hsp70, and Hsp105, thus favoring accumulation of tau aggregates. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms through which clinically-relevant precipitating factors contribute to the pathophysiology of AD. Our data point to the exquisite sensitivity of the female hippocampus to stress-triggered tau pathology.

Stenting of unprotected left main coronary artery in a patient with cardiogenic shock

A 64-year-old female presented with pulmonary edema and cardiogenic shock after coronary arteriography that showed severe suboclusive lesion in the left main coronary artery (LMCA) in a dominant left coronary system. The patient succesfully underwent urgent angioplasty with stent deployment in the LMCA. After an uneventful period, the patient was discharged at day six.

Adaptabilidade e estabilidade produtiva de feijão-caupi de porte semiprostrado

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a adaptabilidade e a estabilidade produtiva de genótipos de feijão-caupi (Vigna unguiculata) de porte semiprostrado. Foram avaliados 20 genótipos de feijão-caupi com uso do modelo de efeitos aditivos principais e interação multiplicativa (AMMI) com genótipo e ambiente suplementares. Os ensaios foram conduzidos em nove ambientes (Balsas, MA, 2010; Balsas, MA, 2011; Bom Jesus, PI, 2010; Bom Jesus, PI, 2011; São Raimundo das Mangabeiras, MA, 2010; São Raimundo das Mangabeiras, MA, 2011; São João do Piauí, PI, 2011; Campo Grande do Piauí, PI, 2011; Buriti, MA, 2011), da região Meio-Norte do Brasil, em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com 20 tratamentos e quatro repetições. Os efeitos de genótipos, ambientes e da interação genótipo x ambiente foram significativos. Os genótipos diferiram quanto à adaptabilidade e à estabilidade da produtividade. A linhagem MNC03-736F-2 apresentou genes para adaptabilidade e estabilidade produtiva. Entre as cultivares avaliadas, BR 17-Gurguéia e Pingo-de-Ouro-1-2 são as mais previsíveis, e a BRS Xiquexique é a mais adaptada. Entre os locais de teste, Balsas, MA, é o mais adequado para a seleção de genótipos superiores em adaptabilidade e estabilidade produtiva.