Exploring female mice interstrain differences relevant for models of depression

Depression is an extremely heterogeneous disorder. Diverse molecular mechanisms have been suggested to underlie its etiology. To understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for this complex disorder, researchers have been using animal models extensively, namely mice from various genetic backgrounds and harboring distinct genetic modifications. The use of numerous mouse models has contributed to enrich our knowledge on depression. However, accumulating data also revealed that the intrinsic characteristics of each mouse strain might influence the experimental outcomes, which may justify some conflicting evidence reported in the literature. To further understand the impact of the genetic background, we performed a multimodal comparative study encompassing the most relevant parameters commonly addressed in depression, in three of the most widely used mouse strains: Balb/c, C57BL/6, and CD-1. Moreover, female mice were selected for this study taken into account the higher prevalence of depression in women and the fewer animal studies using this gender. Our results show that Balb/c mice have a more pronounced anxious-like behavior than CD-1 and C57BL/6 mice, whereas C57BL/6 animals present the strongest depressive-like trait. Furthermore, C57BL/6 mice display the highest rate of proliferating cells and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) expression levels in the hippocampus, while hippocampal dentate granular neurons of Balb/c mice show smaller dendritic lengths and fewer ramifications. Of notice, the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNos) predict 39.5% of the depressive-like behavior index, which suggests a key role of hippocampal iNOS in depression. Overall, this study reveals important interstrain differences in several behavioral dimensions and molecular and cellular parameters that should be considered when preparing and analyzing experiments addressing depression using mouse models. It further contributes to the literature by revealing the predictive value of hippocampal iNos expression levels in depressive-like behavior, irrespectively of the mouse strain.

Structural analysis of the masonry envelope of Ica Cathedral, Peru

Dissertação de mestrado em Structural Analysis of Monuments and Historical Constructions

Estudo sobre a diferença no comportamento entre consumidores de beachwear no Brasil e sul da Europa e desenvolvimento de um protótipo que permite o bronzeamento

Dissertação de mestrado em Design e Comunicação de Moda

Sensores de fibra ótica baseados em novos materiais flexíveis

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e de Computadores

Sistema de apoio a rondas de segurança

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores

Sistema de aquisição e comunicação para sensores magnetoelétricos

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores

Transferência de Energia sem fios para carregamento de baterias

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores

Jogos sérios para reabilitação cognitiva

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

Benchmarking sobre técnicas de otimização para modelos de apoio à decisão na medicina intensiva

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

Corporate Performance Management através da integração de Business Intelligence e Business Process Management

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

Nicolas Sanson and his Map: The Course of the Amazon River

One of the first scientific maps of the Amazon region, The Course of the Amazon River (Le Cours de La Rivière des Amazones), was constructed by Nicolas Sanson, a French cartographer of the seventeenth century, and served as the prototype for many others. The evaluation of this chart, until now, has been that it is a very defective map, a sketch based on a historical account, according to the opinion of La Condamine. Thus, the aim of the present work was to prove that the map of the Amazon River traced by Nicolas Sanson is a scientific work, a map that presents precise geographic coordinates considering its time, shows a well-determined prime meridian, and also employs a creative methodology to deduce longitudes from latitudes and distances that had been covered. To show such characteristics, an analysis of the accuracy of the map was made by comparing its latitudes and longitudes with those of a current map. We determined the prime meridian of this map and analyzed the methodology used for the calculation of longitudes. The conclusion is that it is actually a good map for the time, particularly considering the technology and the limited information that Sanson had at his disposal. This proves that the negative assertion of La Condamine is unfounded.

Gellan gum-Ionic liquid membranes for electrochromic device application

Biopolymer-based materials have been of particular interest and they are alternatives to synthetic polymers based on the decreasing oil resources. The polymer electrolytes were doped with choline-based IL N,N,Ntrimethyl- N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([N1 1 1 2(OH)][NTf2]), or Er (CF3SO3)3 or both. The polymer electrolytes were employed in the production of glass/ITO/WO3/electrolyte/ CeO2–TiO2/ITO/glass electrochromic devices (ECDs). The lowest onset temperature for the degradation of all the SPEs is at ~130 °C for the Gellan Er (CF3SO3)3 (10:1) this temperature range of stability is wide enough for a material to be applied as an electrolyte/separator component in electrochemical devices. The three ECDs displayed fast switching speed (ca. 15 s). Gellan [N1 1 1 2(OH)][NTf2] Er (CF3SO3)3 (5:1:10) exhibited an electrochromic contrast of 4.2% in the visible region, the coloration efficiency attained at 555 nm was 3.5 and 0.90 cm-2 C-1 in the “colored” and “bleached” states, respectively, and the open circuit memorywas 48 h. Preliminary tests performed with a prototype electrochromic device (ECD) incorporating WO3 as cathodic electrochromic layer, are extremely encouraging.

Lithium-doped silk fibroin films for application in electrochromic devices

Silk fibroin (SF) is a commonly available natural biopolymer produced in specialized glands of arthropods, with a long history of use in textile production and also in health cares. The exceptional intrinsic properties of these fibers, such as self-assembly, machinability, biocompatibility, biodegradation or non-toxicity, offer a wide range of exciting opportunities [1]. It has long been recognized that silk can be a rich source of inspiration for designing new materials with tailored properties, enhanced performance and high added value for targeted applications, opening exciting new prospects in the domain of materials science and related technological fields, including bio-friendly integration, miniaturization and multifunctionalization. In recent years it has been demonstrated that fibroin is an excellent material for active components in optics and photonics devices. Progress in new technological fields such as optics, photonics and electronics are emerging [2,3]. The incorporation of polymer electrolytes as components of various devices (advanced batteries, smart windows, displays and supercapacitors) offers significant advantages with respect to traditional electrolytes, including enhanced reliability and improved safety. SF films are particularly attractive in this context. They have near-perfect transparency across the VIS range, surface flatness (together with outstanding mechanical robustness), ability to replicate patterned substrates and their thickness may be easily tailored from a few nanometers to hundreds of micrometers through spin-casting of a silk solution into subtract. Moreover, fibroin can be added to other biocomponents or salts in order to modify the biomaterial properties leading to optimized and total different functions. Preliminary tests performed with a prototype electrochromic device (ECD) incorporating SF films doped with lithium triflate and lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiTFSI and LiBF4, respectively) as electrolyte and WO3 as cathodic electrochromic layer, are extremely encouraging. Aiming to evaluate the performance of the ion conducting SF membranes doped with LiTFSI and LiBF4 (SF-Li), small ECDs with glass/ITO/WO3/SF-Li/CeO2-TiO2/ITO/glass configuration were assembled and characterized. The device exhibited, after 4500 cycles, the insertion of charge at -3.0 V reached –1.1 mC.cm-2 in 15 s. After 4500 cycles the window glass-staining, glass/ITO/WO3/Fibrin-Li salts electrolyte/CeO2-TiO2/ITO/glass configuration was reversible and featured a T  8 % at λ = 686 nm

Estudo e melhoramento de técnica de aparafusamento de um autorrádio

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Mecânica

Gold nanoparticles functionalised with fast water exchanging Gd3+ chelates: Linker effects on the relaxivity

The relaxivity displayed by Gd3+ chelates immobilized onto gold nanoparticles is the result of complex interplay between nanoparticle size, water exchange rate and chelate structure. In this work we study the effect of the length of -thioalkyl linkers, anchoring fast water exchanging Gd3+ chelates onto gold nanoparticles, on the relaxivity of the immobilized chelates. Gold nanoparticles functionalized with Gd3+ chelates of mercaptoundecanoyl and lipoyl amide conjugates of the DO3A-N-(-amino)propionate chelator were prepared and studied as potential CA for MRI. High relaxivities per chelate, of the order of magnitude 28-38 mM-1s-1 (30 MHz, 25 ºC) were attained thanks to simultaneous optimization of the rotational correlation time and of the water exchange rate. Fast local rotational motions of the immobilized chelates around connecting linkers (internal flexibility) still limit the attainable relaxivity. The degree of internal flexibility of the immobilized chelates seems not to be correlated with the length of the connecting linkers. Biodistribution and MRI studies in mice suggest that the in vivo behavior of the gold nanoparticles is determined mainly by size. Small nanoparticles (HD= 3.9 nm) undergo fast renal clearance and avoidance of the RES organs while larger nanoparticles (HD= 4.8 nm) undergo predominantly hepatobiliary excretion. High relaxivities, allied to chelate and nanoparticle stability and fast renal clearance in vivo suggests that functionalized gold nanoparticles hold great potential for further investigation as MRI Contrast Agents. This study contributes to understand the effect of linker length on the relaxivity of gold nanoparticles functionalized with Gd3+ complexes. It is a relevant contribution towards “design rules” for nanostructures functionalized with Gd3+ chelates as Contrast Agents for MRI and multimodal imaging.