Physiology and metabolic profile of Moringa olifera and Eucalyptus globulus plants subjected to climate changes

As alterações climáticas emergentes têm um grande impacto no crescimento e desenvolvimento de espécies florestais, nomeadamente em espécies de valor industrial e medicinal, como é o caso do eucalipto (Eucalyptus globulus) e da moringa (Moringa oleifera). Assim, é urgente conhecer as respostas fisiológicas e entender as variações que ocorrem nos perfis metabólicos de espécies vegetais. Neste trabalho, plantas jovens de Eucalyptus globulus foram expostas a radiação UVB (12kJ/m2) e foram avaliadas as respostas fisiológicas e o perfil metabólico, um e onze dias após a aplicação da radiação. A dose de UVB usada não afetou as reações fotoquímicas nem as trocas gasosas, contudo ao nível do metabolismo do carbono (AST e amido) e do conteúdo de pigmentos verificaram-se pequenas alterações (AST e pigmentos). Através da análise do perfil metabólico de E. globulus foram encontrados compostos voláteis e semi-voláteis pertencentes às famílias dos terpenos, sesquiterpenos e aldeídos. Em geral, os sesquiterpenos e os álcoois monoterpénicos apresentaram uma tendência para manter e, em alguns casos, diminuir com o stress, enquanto que o grupos dos aldeídos aumentou e os monoterpenos apresentaram um comportamento mais heterogéneo. O E. globulus mostrou ser uma espécie tolerante à aplicação da dose de UVB usada neste trabalho. Por outro lado, plantas jovens de M. oleifera foram expostas a défice hídrico (DH). Um grupo de plantas foi recolhido um dia após o final da exposição e o outro grupo após onze dias do final da exposição. Foi avaliado o perfil metabólico desta espécie através de GC/MS. Os dados cromatográficos indicaram que em condições de stress (DH(1) e DH(11)), as quantidades de compostos associados a vias primárias e secundárias de defesa (como os alcanos, álcoois, ácidos carboxílicos, esteróis, aminoácidos e açucares) sofreram algumas alterações. As plantas analisadas 11 dias após a remoção do stress mostraram maiores variações do perfil de metabolitos. No entanto, tanto um como onze dias após a remoção do stress, as plantas apresentaram a formação de novos rebentos. Apesar do perfil de metabolitos ter sofrido algumas alterações, por não se registarem casos de morte, conclui-se que as plantas de moringa mostraram ser tolerantes aos tratamentos aplicados.

Birdwatcher profile in the Ria Formosa Natural Park

Dissertação de mestrado, Economia do Turismo e Desenvolvimento Regional, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Low Profile Multi-Band Antenna for Mobile Communications

In this paper, the design of low profile antennas by using Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG) structures is introduced. Taking advantage of the fact that they can behave as Perfect Magnetic Conductor (PMC), it is shown that these structures exhibit dual band in-phase reflection at WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) bands, the 2.4 GHz and 5.2 GHz bands. These structures are applied to PIFA (Planar Inverted-F Antenna) and the results show that it is possible to obtain low profile PIFA's.

Phenylketonuria: Protein content and amino acids profile of dishes for phenylketonuric patients. The relevance of phenylalanine

Phenylketonuria is an inborn error of metabolism, involving, in most cases, a deficient activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase. Neonatal diagnosis and a prompt special diet (low phenylalanine and natural-protein restricted diets) are essential to the treatment. The lack of data concerning phenylalanine contents of processed foodstuffs is an additional limitation for an already very restrictive diet. Our goals were to quantify protein (Kjeldahl method) and amino acid (18) content (HPLC/fluorescence) in 16 dishes specifically conceived for phenylketonuric patients, and compare the most relevant results with those of several international food composition databases. As might be expected, all the meals contained low protein levels (0.67–3.15 g/100 g) with the highest ones occurring in boiled rice and potatoes. These foods also contained the highest amounts of phenylalanine (158.51 and 62.65 mg/100 g, respectively). In contrast to the other amino acids, it was possible to predict phenylalanine content based on protein alone. Slight deviations were observed when comparing results with the different food composition databases.

Isoflavones in food supplements: chemical profile, label accordance and permeability study in Caco-2 cells

Consumers nowadays are playing an active role in their health-care. A special case is the increasing number of women, who are reluctant to use exogenous hormone therapy for the treatment of menopausal symptoms and are looking for complementary therapies. However, food supplements are not clearly regulated in Europe. The EFSA has only recently begun to address the issues of botanical safety and purity regulation, leading to a variability of content, standardization, dosage, and purity of available products. In this study, isoflavones (puerarin, daidzin, genistin, daidzein, glycitein, genistein, formononetin, prunetin, and biochanin A) from food supplements (n = 15) for menopausal symptoms relief are evaluated and compared with the labelled information. Only four supplements complied with the recommendations made by the EC on the tolerable thresholds. The intestinal bioavailability of these compounds was investigated using Caco-2 cells. The apparent permeability coefficients of the selected isoflavonoids across the Caco-2 cells were affected by the isoflavone concentration and product matrix.

Relatório de estágio em educação pré-escolar e ensino do 1º ciclo do ensino básico

presente relatório de qualificação profissional foi elaborado no âmbito da Unidade Curricular de Prática Pedagógica Supervisionada, inserida no plano de estudos do mestrado profissionalizante em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico. Intenta evidenciar o desenvolvimento de competências pessoais e profissionais pela estudante nos níveis educativos já referenciados, visando a construção de um perfil docente generalista. Em primeiro lugar, fundamenta-se o desenvolvimento uma ação dotada de intencionalidade num quadro teórico-concetual, construído ao longo do percurso formativo da mestranda, nos normativos legais em vigor, nas características dos contextos educativos que integrou e nos conhecimentos sobre cada criança. Posteriormente, apresenta-se através de uma análise crítica e reflexiva, o desenvolvimento vivenciado pela discente ao longo dos períodos de estágio que visava promover a progressiva autonomia e responsabilização pela ação docente. A metodologia de investigação-ação foi fundamental na construção das bases do perfil profissional da mestranda pois alicerçou o desenvolvimento da práxis e estruturou os processos de observação, planificação, ação, avaliação e reflexão. Esta metodologia e as estratégias e instrumentos formativos que a integram e que se adotaram nos dois níveis educativos fomentaram a transformação e a melhoria da prática educativa, através do desenvolvimento de competências reflexivas, investigativas e indagadoras. O processo vivenciado promoveu simultaneamente o desenvolvimento da estudante e a construção de aprendizagens por parte das crianças, constituindo-se como a primeira etapa de uma aprendizagem ao longo da vida com vista à constante adaptação e transformação do conhecimento praxeológico.

The Impact of the Lisbon Football Derby on the Profile of Emergency Department Admissions

BACKGROUND: Variations in emergency department admissions have been reported to happen as a result of major sports events. The work presented assessed changes in volume and urgency level of visits to a major Emergency Department in Lisbon during and after the city's football derby. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Volume of attendances and patient urgency level, according to the Manchester Triage System, were retrospectively analyzed for the 2008-2011 period. Data regarding 24-hour periods starting 45 minutes before kick-off was collected, along with data from similar periods on the corresponding weekdays in the previous years, to be used as controls. Data samples were organized according to time frame (during and after the match), urgency level, and paired accordingly. RESULTS: A total of 14 relevant periods (7 match and 7 non-match) were analyzed, corresponding to a total of 5861 admissions. During the match time frame, a 20.6% reduction (p = 0.06) in the total number of attendances was found when compared to non-match days. MTS urgency level sub-analysis only showed a statistically significant reduction (26.5%; p = 0.05) in less urgent admissions (triage levels green-blue). Compared to controls, post-match time frames showed a global increase in admissions (5.6%; p = 0.45), significant only when considering less urgent ones (18.9%; p = 0.05). DISCUSSION: A decrease in the total number of emergency department attendances occurred during the matches, followed by a subsequent increase in the following hours. These variations only reached significance among visits triaged green-blue. CONCLUSION: During major sports events an overall decrease in emergency department admissions seems to take place, especially due to a drop in visits associated with less severe conditions.

Clinical Outcomes and Genetic Expression Profile in Human Liver Graft Dysfunction During Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Introduction. This study aims to compare the molecular gene expression during ischemia reperfusion injury. Several surgical times were considered: in the beginning of the harvesting (T0), at the end of the cold ischemia period (T1), and after reperfusion (T2) and compared with graft dysfunction after liver transplant (OLT). Methods. We studied 54 patients undergoing OLT. Clinical, laboratory data, and histologic data (Suzuki classification) as well as the Survival Outcomes Following Liver Transplantation (SOFT) score were used and compared with the molecular gene expression of the following genes: Interleukin (IL)-1b, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-a, perforin, E-selectin (SELE), Fas-ligand, granzyme B, heme oxygenase-1, and nitric oxide synthetase. Results. Fifteen patients presented with graft dysfunction according to SOFT criteria. No relevant data were obtained by comparing the variables graft dysfunction and histologic variables. We observed a statistically significant relation between SELE at T0 (P ¼ .013) and IL-1b at T0 (P ¼ .028) and early graft dysfunction. Conclusions. We conclude that several genetically determined proinflammatory expressions may play a critical role in the development of graft dysfunction after OLT.

Portuguese investor profile in Poland, a managerial approach

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

Comparative analysis of Spanish Banks’ Standalone credit profile

The paper studies the relationship between four differently rated bank’s financial profile and their standalone credit rating issued by Moody’s. The comparative analysis shows an example that despite their pricing power and geographical coverage, larger banks do not necessarily have better credit ratings. Instead, business model and risk appetite seem to be the defining factors of banks’ vulnerability to shocks, such as the Spanish real estate crisis. The risk-return relationship is also identified in the banks’ fundamentals meaning that while expansionary strategy in riskier asset classes enhances margins, it also potentially distorts the credit risk profile.

High-resolution spatial mapping of changes in the neurochemical profile after focal ischemia in mice.

After ischemic stroke, the ischemic damage to brain tissue evolves over time and with an uneven spatial distribution. Early irreversible changes occur in the ischemic core, whereas, in the penumbra, which receives more collateral blood flow, the damage is more mild and delayed. A better characterization of the penumbra, irreversibly damaged and healthy tissues is needed to understand the mechanisms involved in tissue death. MRSI is a powerful tool for this task if the scan time can be decreased whilst maintaining high sensitivity. Therefore, we made improvements to a (1) H MRSI protocol to study middle cerebral artery occlusion in mice. The spatial distribution of changes in the neurochemical profile was investigated, with an effective spatial resolution of 1.4 μL, applying the protocol on a 14.1-T magnet. The acquired maps included the difficult-to-separate glutamate and glutamine resonances and, to our knowledge, the first mapping of metabolites γ-aminobutyric acid and glutathione in vivo, within a metabolite measurement time of 45 min. The maps were in excellent agreement with findings from single-voxel spectroscopy and offer spatial information at a scan time acceptable for most animal models. The metabolites measured differed with respect to the temporal evolution of their concentrations and the localization of these changes. Specifically, lactate and N-acetylaspartate concentration changes largely overlapped with the T(2) -hyperintense region visualized with MRI, whereas changes in cholines and glutathione affected the entire middle cerebral artery territory. Glutamine maps showed elevated levels in the ischemic striatum until 8 h after reperfusion, and until 24 h in cortical tissue, indicating differences in excitotoxic effects and secondary energy failure in these tissue types. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cohort profile: Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration (ART-CC).

The advent of effective combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 1996 resulted in fewer patients experiencing clinical events, so that some prognostic analyses of individual cohort studies of human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals had low statistical power. Because of this, the Antiretroviral Therapy Cohort Collaboration (ART-CC) of HIV cohort studies in Europe and North America was established in 2000, with the aim of studying the prognosis for clinical events in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the mortality of adult patients treated for HIV-1 infection. In 2002, the ART-CC collected data on more than 12,000 patients in 13 cohorts who had begun combination ART between 1995 and 2001. Subsequent updates took place in 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. The ART-CC data base now includes data on more than 70,000 patients participating in 19 cohorts who began treatment before the end of 2009. Data are collected on patient demographics (e.g. sex, age, assumed transmission group, race/ethnicity, geographical origin), HIV biomarkers (e.g. CD4 cell count, plasma viral load of HIV-1), ART regimen, dates and types of AIDS events, and dates and causes of death. In recent years, additional data on co-infections such as hepatitis C; risk factors such as smoking, alcohol and drug use; non-HIV biomarkers such as haemoglobin and liver enzymes; and adherence to ART have been collected whenever available. The data remain the property of the contributing cohorts, whose representatives manage the ART-CC via the steering committee of the Collaboration. External collaboration is welcomed. Details of contacts are given on the ART-CC website (www.art-cohort-collaboration.org).