Heavy metals removal in dual media filters

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente – Perfil de Engenharia Sanitária

EVIDENCE OF Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum INFECTION IN DOGS FROM JUIZ DE FORA, MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL, BASED ON IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC DUAL-PATH PLATFORM (DPP®) AND PCR ASSAYS

In Brazil, domestic dogs are branded as the primary reservoir for zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis, due to the clear positive correlation observed between human and canine infection rates. This study aimed to carry out a serological survey of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in dogs housed at a public kennel in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, using the immunochromatographic TR DPP® CVL rapid test. Additionally, conventional and/or real time PCR assay was used to detect and confirm L. infantum infection in the DPP positive dogs only. Of the 400 dogs studied, most did not present clinical signs for CVL (p < 0.05), and fifteen (3.8%) were seropositive in the DPP test. There was no statistically significant difference between the DPP seropositive dogs and the clinical signs of the disease (p > 0.05). Both conventional and real time PCR tests confirmed L. infantum infection in nine (75.0%) of the twelve DPP seropositive dogs that remained alive during the follow-up period. This study is the first seroepidemiologic survey of CVL held in the city of Juiz de Fora, and the results reinforce the idea that this disease is currently in a process of expansion and urbanization in Brazil. Furthermore, this study highlights the use of the DPP test as an alternative for diagnosing CVL in large and mid-sized cities, due to its ease of implementation.

Insights into the biological significance of alternative splicing in Arabidopsis: functional characterization of a dual-targeted E3 ligase and the SCL30a SR protein

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Molecular Biology

Dual track sell-out: Signaling through IPO and Underpricing

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

Nos bastidores da Corte. O Rei e a Casa Real na crise da Monarquia 1889-1908

Tese apresentada para cumprimentos dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do graus de Doutor em História, especialidade História Contemporânea

A heráldica municipal portuguesa na transição do Antigo Regime para a monarquia constitucional: reflexos revolucionários

RODRIGUES, José Damião (coord.),

Margarida de Saboia, Duquesa de Mântua (1589-1655) percurso biográfico e político na monarquia hispânica

Este trabalho aborda o vice-reinado de Margarida de Mântua em Portugal, integrandoo num percurso biográfico e político vivido sob a influência da Monarquia dos Habsburgo. Princesa de Saboia pelo nascimento e duquesa de Mântua pelo casamento, sempre privilegiou e cultivou a identidade com a linhagem materna, atuando como fiel aliada política do seu primo Filipe IV. A princesa Margarida foi nomeada para o exercício de um vice-reinado de sangue no cenário de crise da Monarquia Hispânica em Portugal que antecederia a Restauração de 1640. Deparou-se com um contexto de tensão militar com outras potências coloniais, marcado pela transformação das instituições políticas e da fiscalidade e pela agitação popular. Na análise das questões fundamentais que marcaram o vice-reinado, a avaliação da intervenção governativa da princesa Margarida é frequentemente limitada pelo preconceito de género, inerente à mentalidade da época, que percorre as fontes literárias e documentais. Descrita pelos seus contemporâneos como altiva e orgulhosa, Margarida de Mântua revelou-se determinada nas suas decisões e persistente nos seus objetivos.

O Conselho de Estado na monarquia constitucional: uma reflexão preliminar

This article summarises the transformations in the State Council’s functions and membership throughout the Portuguese Constitutional Monarchy, and makes a preliminary attempt to scrutinise the political role played by an institution designed since its inception to advise the monarch. In spite of the parsimony of contemporary sources, and even contradictory empirical evidence, it seems indisputable that in several critical occasions the monarch’s political decisions were influenced by the dominant view in the State Council. Finally, the article presents the collective biography of the 73 individuals appointed to the State Council between 1833 and 1910 – who may be defined as the inner circle of the ruling elite - focusing on basic background features (birthplace, age, education, occupation, noble titles and political experience).

Uma cidade em mudança: a evolução do comércio de retalho de Lisboa no final da Monarquia

Uma parte significativa das mudanças sociais e económicas que estavam a ocorrer nas cidades europeias na passagem do século XIX para o século XX foi resultado do crescimento demográfico que as mesmas sofreram nessa época. Estes factores tiveram influência determinante na reorganização do espaço urbano e implicaram mudanças na geografia económica e social das cidades. Lisboa não foi excepção e o comércio de retalho da cidade, depois de uma fase de crescimento, na década de 1880, atravessou uma crise nos anos finais da centúria. Isto ocorreu enquanto a cidade se transformou, com a expansão urbana para novas áreas de modo a acomodar um afluxo crescente de habitantes. Através de uma análise à distribuição geográfica do comércio de retalho, entre 1878 e 1910, procurar-se-á compreender o impacto destas dinâmicas. O estudo baseia-se, essencialmente, na análise de informação recolhida na série documental Licenças para Estabelecimentos de Comércio e Indústria, depositada no Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa (Arco do Cego). Os dados foram tratados e analisados através de ferramentas de análise e estatística espacial, nomeadamente, sistemas de informação geográfica.

Portugal na Monarquia Hispânica. Dinâmicas de integração e conflito

Ao longo das últimas duas décadas a historiografia tem dedicado especial atenção ao período durante o qual Portugal fez parte da Monarquia Hispânica (1581-1640), tornando-o numa das épocas mais bem conhecidas da trajectória histórica portuguesa. O presente volume visa, precisamente, fazer um balanço das investigações mais recentes sobre o Portugal dos Áustrias, reunindo as comunicações apresentadas nas V Jordnadas Internacionais da Red Columnaria - História das monarquias ibéricas, realizadas em Lisboa no final de 2009 e organizadas por um conjunto de instituições universitárias. As investigações reunidas neste volume analisam não apenas os factores que propiciaram a integração de Portugal no universo dos Áustrias, mas também as tensões e os conflitos entre as instituições e os grupos sociais portugueses, por um lado, e, por outro, as autoridades hispânicas, tanto na Europa quanto nos territórios ultramarinos de Portugal e de Castela. No seu conjunto, estes estudos retratam o papel que os portugueses desempenharam no âmbito político, económico e cultural hispânico durante os sessenta anos em que Portugal fez parte da Monarquia Espanhola, proporcionando uma imagem aprofundada e inovadora deste período tão rico da história ibérica.

Nonlinear optimization for human-like synchronous movements of a dual arm-hand robotic system

In previous work we have presented a model capable of generating human-like movements for a dual arm-hand robot involved in human-robot cooperative tasks. However, the focus was on the generation of reach-to-grasp and reach-to-regrasp bimanual movements and no synchrony in timing was taken into account. In this paper we extend the previous model in order to accomplish bimanual manipulation tasks by synchronously moving both arms and hands of an anthropomorphic robotic system. Specifically, the new extended model has been designed for two different tasks with different degrees of difficulty. Numerical results were obtained by the implementation of the IPOPT solver embedded in our MATLAB simulator.

MicroRNA-375 plays a dual role in prostate carcinogenesis

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa), a highly incident and heterogeneous malignancy, mostly affects men from developed countries. Increased knowledge of the biological mechanisms underlying PCa onset and progression are critical for improved clinical management. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) deregulation is common in human cancers, and understanding how it impacts in PCa is of major importance. MiRNAs are mostly downregulated in cancer, although some are overexpressed, playing a critical role in tumor initiation and progression. We aimed to identify miRNAs overexpressed in PCa and subsequently determine its impact in tumorigenesis. Results: MicroRNA expression profiling in primary PCa and morphological normal prostate (MNPT) tissues identified 17 miRNAs significantly overexpressed in PCa. Expression of three miRNAs, not previously associated with PCa, was subsequently assessed in large independent sets of primary tumors, in which miR-182 and miR-375 were validated, but not miR-32. Significantly higher expression levels of miR-375 were depicted in patients with higher Gleason score and more advanced pathological stage, aswellaswithregionallymph nodesmetastases. Forced expression of miR-375 in PC-3 cells, which display the lowest miR-375 levels among PCa cell lines, increased apoptosis and reduced invasion ability and cell viability. Intriguingly, in 22Rv1 cells, which displayed the highest miR-375 expression, knockdown experiments also attenuated the malignant phenotype. Gene ontology analysis implicated miR-375 in several key pathways deregulated in PCa, including cell cycle and cell differentiation. Moreover, CCND2 was identified as putative miR-375 target in PCa, confirmed by luciferase assay. Conclusions: A dual role for miR-375 in prostate cancer progression is suggested, highlighting the importance of cellular context on microRNA targeting.

Cognitive processes affect the gait of subjects with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease in dual tasks

Objective To investigate the relation between gait parameters and cognitive impairments in subjects with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) during the performance of dual tasks. Methods This was a cross-sectional study involving 126 subjects divided into three groups: Parkinson group (n = 43), Alzheimer group (n = 38), and control group (n = 45). The subjects were evaluated using the Timed Up and Go test administered with motor and cognitive distracters. Gait analyses consisted of cadence and speed measurements, with cognitive functions being assessed by the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery and the Clock Drawing Test. Statistical procedures included mixed-design analyses of variance to observe the gait patterns between groups and tasks and the linear regression model to investigate the influence of cognitive functions in this process. A 5% significant level was adopted. Results Regarding the subjects’ speed, the data show a significant difference between group vs task interaction (p = 0.009), with worse performance of subjects with PD in motor dual task and of subjects with AD in cognitive dual task. With respect to cadence, no statistical differences was seen between group vs task interaction (p = 0.105), showing low interference of the clinical conditions on such parameter. The linear regression model showed that up to 45.79%, of the variance in gait can be explained by the interference of cognitive processes. Conclusion Dual task activities affect gait pattern in subjects with PD and AD. Differences between groups reflect peculiarities of each disease and show a direct interference of cognitive processes on complex tasks.

Presence of dual diagnosis between users and non-users of licit and illicit drugs in Brazil

ABSTRACT Objective Investigate the occurrence of dual diagnosis in users of legal and illegal drugs. Methods It is an analytical, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, non-probabilistic intentional sampling, carried out in two centers for drug addiction treatment, by means of individual interviews. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) and the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) were used. Results One hundred and ten volunteers divided into abstinent users (group 1), alcoholics (group 2) and users of alcohol and illicit drugs (group 3). The substances were alcohol, tobacco, crack and marijuana. A higher presence of dual diagnosis in group 3 (71.8%) was observed, which decreased in group 2 (60%) and 37.1% of drug abstinent users had psychiatric disorder. Dual diagnosis was associated with the risk of suicide, suicide attempts and the practice of infractions. The crack consumption was associated with the occurrence of major depressive episode and antisocial personality disorder. Conclusion It was concluded that the illicit drug users had a higher presence of dual diagnosis showing the severity of this clinical condition. It is considered essential that this clinical reality is included in intervention strategies in order to decrease the negative effects of consumption of these substances and provide better quality of life for these people.

Impact of Delftia tsuruhatensis and Achromobacter xylosoxidans on Escherichia coli dual-species biofilms treated with antibiotic agents

Recently it was demonstrated that for urinary tract infections species with a lower or unproven pathogenic potential, such as Delftia tsuruhatensis and Achromobacter xylosoxidans, might interact with conventional pathogenic agents such as Escherichia coli. Here, single- and dual-species biofilms of these microorganisms were characterized in terms of microbial composition over time, the average fitness of E. coli, the spatial organization and the biofilm antimicrobial profile. The results revealed a positive impact of these species on the fitness of E. coli and a greater tolerance to the antibiotic agents. In dual-species biofilms exposed to antibiotics, E. coli was able to dominate the microbial consortia in spite of being the most sensitive strain. This is the first study demonstrating the protective effect of less common species over E. coli under adverse conditions imposed by the use of antibiotic agents.