Metabolites released by poaceae roots under iron‐deficient conditions

BackgroundStrategy-II, as a response mechanism, is limited to grasses under Fe deficiency and is based on the secretion of phytosiderophores (PS) into the rhizosphere, in conjunction with the induction of a high-affinity system for Fe(III)-PS uptake. This strategy has a significant ecological impact and is essential for sustainable agriculture.AimsIn this work, we studied the physiological and metabolic responses of Poa pratensis L., Lolium perenne L., and Festuca rubra L. when grown in nutrient solution under Fe deficiency.MethodsAfter chlorosis appeared, we analyzed leaf pigment concentrations, biomass, and ferric chelate reductase (FCR) activity of root tips. We also screened the metabolites released by root exudates using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS).ResultsPlants grown with low or no Fe availability had significantly lower fresh weight (FW) and leaf chlorophyll (Chl) but higher FCR activity as compared to control plants. The root exudates contain carboxylic acids, phenolic acids, polyphenols, and peptides, among others. An increase in carboxylic acid content was correlated with Fe chlorosis in all species studied. However, the specific compounds that were upregulated varied depending on the species. Root exudates contained several upregulated metabolites that were identified as small peptides and/or peptide derivates based on their spectral data and formulas that are compatible with small peptides and/or peptide derivatives.ConclusionsThese results, together with the metal binding/chelation properties of many peptides, highlight the release of these compounds and/or their derivatives as a response of grasses to increase the Fe bioavailability.ALG-01-0145-FEDER-022121

Links between GRACE water storage and NAO-EA-SCAND climate patterns in Iberia

Groundwater drought develops as a smoothed and delayed response to persistent or frequent deficits in rainfall, or as result of a continued negative balance between recharge and extraction. Although not as accurate as in-situ observations, remote sensing has the advantage of providing near real-time and spatially continuous data. GRACE satellite data has been used to show evidence of groundwater depletion in aquifers all over the world (Rodel et al. 2018), and NASA currently generates weakly groundwater and soil moisture drought indicators based on GRACE-FO as part of the United States drought monitoring program. In Europe the Copernicus Global Drought Observatory also uses GRACE total water storage (TWS) anomalies as a proxy of groundwater drought. The use of GRACE satellite data for water resources management, particularly for groundwater systems in the Iberia Peninsula, looks promising (Neves et al. 2020), but its suitability to monitor drought requires further research. On the other hand, large scale atmospheric circulation patterns also known as teleconnections control the interannual to interdecadal natural variability of the climate system. In the Iberian Peninsula, the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic (EA) and the Scandinavian (SCAND) patterns are the three main modes of variability driving winter precipitation, river flow and therefore surface and subsurface water storage. These patterns or modes of variability are characterized by indices which measure the strength of atmospheric pressure anomalies. Positive and negative phases of the indices, defined by values above or below given thresholds(e.g. NAO+ is defined for aggregates of winter month indices above 0.5), are generally associated with either wet or dry conditions. Previous studies have shown that wintertime NAO+ and EAphases potentiate droughts in Iberia, the opposite occurring for NAO- and EA+ phases. However, few studies have recognized the importance of interactions amongst climate patterns and only recently did we become aware that their combinations or superpositions, as well as the temporal shifts in their synchronization, may lead to major anomalies in groundwater storage (Neves et al. 2019). The purpose of the present study is to address the question: Do combined NAO-EA-SCAND phases also produce noticeable extremes in GRACE TWS observations? This question is relevant for two main reasons. First, GRACE offers a unique opportunity of fast and reliable large-scale monitorization of groundwater and can be used as an early warning system for groundwater drought or aquifer depletion. Second, the NAO-EASCAND indices provide a potential source of seasonal forecast since their wintertime value determines the availability of water in the following summer. Teleconnections may also be a source of long-term forecasting as they exert periodic controls on groundwater level and are linked to recurrent droughts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Stress granules in Polyglutamine diseases: new targets for therapeutic intervention?

Polyglutamine (PolyQ) diseases are a group of hereditary and incurable neurodegenerative pathologies, caused by abnormal expansion of CAG trinucleotide repeats in the disease-causing genes. In these disorders, the formation of toxic aggregated species from the expanded protein leads to dysfunction of several biological systems, ultimately resulting in neuronal degeneration and death widespread across different brain regions. Dysfunction of cellular pathways also correlates with stress responses, such as the formation of stress granules (SGs). Recently, multiple evidence suggested that SGs and its components play a role in the pathogenesis of PolyQ diseases. Therefore, the general goal of this project was to clarify the SGs role in the context of PolyQ diseases pathogenesis, trying to identify new pathways and targets for a therapeutic intervention, using spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) and type 2 (SCA2) as PolyQ disease models. We found that several SGs components have their gene expression levels altered in these two diseases, including regulated heat stable protein 1 (CARHSP1) and Pumilio homolog 1 (PUM1), which have their levels upregulated in SCA3 and SCA2 diseases. We found that the downregulation of CARHSP1 resulted in reduced mutant protein aggregation in SCA3 cellular and mouse models, as well as amelioration of motor and neuropathological abnormalities. On the other hand, knockdown of PUM1 levels led to increased aggregation of polyQ-expanded protein, as well as worsening of motor deficits in mouse models of SCA3 disease. We further assessed the downregulation of CARHP1 in a novel striatal lentiviral mouse of SCA2, although no alterations in neuropathological features were observed. Overall, our study contributes to the putative involvement of SGs in PolyQ disease and showed that the modulation of CARHSP1 SGs component could be potential therapeutic approach for SCA3 disease. Future studies are needed to fully understand SGs and its components importance in the context of PolyQ and other neurodegenerative diseases.As doenças de poliglutaminas são um grupo de nove doenças neurodegenerativas causadas pelo mesmo tipo de mutação genética. Estas patologias resultam de uma repetição aberrante do códão CAG na região codificante dos genes responsáveis por cada uma destas doenças. Esta mutação genética traduz-se numa expansão tóxica de glutaminas nas respetivas proteínas traduzidas, que sofrem alterações conformacionais levando à formação de agregados proteicos em diversas populações de neurónios. Apesar de serem causadas por genes e proteínas diferentes, as doenças de poliglutaminas partilham vários mecanismos de patogénese, que incluem a desregulação de diversos sistemas celulares essenciais à sobrevivência celular. Para além disto, a expressão de proteínas com expansões de poliglutaminas conduz a aumento dos níveis de stress celular, induzindo a formação de grânulos de stress. Diversos estudos sugeriram que os grânulos de stress podem desempenhar um papel relevante na patogénese das doenças de poliglutaminas e de outras doenças neurodegenerativas. Assim, o objetivo global deste trabalho foi estudar o papel dos grânulos de stress e dos seus componentes nestas doenças, de forma a tentar identificar novas vias celulares envolvidas nestas patologias e novos alvos com um potencial terapêutico, utilizando a ataxia espinocerebelosa do tipo 3 (SCA3, do inglês spinocerebellar ataxia type 3) e do tipo 2 (SCA2, do inglês spinocerebellar ataxia type 2), como modelos das doenças de poliglutaminas. Estas duas doenças resultam da expansão anormal de poliglutaminas nas proteínas ataxina-3 e ataxina-2, respetivamente. Neste trabalho, começámos por analisar quais os componentes dos grânulos de stress que estavam diferencialmente expressos, utilizando a análise de dados de transcriptómica, de modelos de murganho de cada uma das doenças modelo. Estes resultados demonstraram que as proteínas, CARHSP1 (do inglês calcium regulated heat stable protein 1) e PUM1 (do inglês Pumilio homolog 1) tinham os seus níveis aumentados, comparados com animais saudáveis. De seguida, decidimos avaliar se a diminuição dos níveis destas proteínas através da ferramenta de edição génica CRISPR-Cas (do inglês clustered regularly short palindromic repeats-CRISPR associated nucleases) poderia ter um impacto em diversas caraterísticas da SCA3. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que a diminuição de CARHSP1 levou a uma redução da agregação da proteína ataxina-3 expandida em modelos celulares e animais desta doença. Para além disto, observou-se a melhoria do fenótipo motor e das características neuropatológicas em murganhos de SCA3. Por outro lado, a diminuição dos níveis de PUM1 resultou no aumento dos níveis de agregação da proteína mutante e no agravamento da função motora na doença de SCA3. Assim, estes resultados demonstraram que a diminuição dos níveis de CARHSP1 teve um efeito benéfico nos modelos de doença de SCA3. De forma a podermos testar o efeito do componente dos SGs, CARHSP1, na doença SCA2, procedemos ao desenvolvimento de um novo modelo de murganho desta doença com patologia no estriado. Para isto, recorremos ao uso de vetores lentivirais para expressar a construção com o gene mutante de SCA2. A caraterização deste modelo revelou a expressão da proteína mutante resulta na formação de agregados dentro dos neurónios do estriado, levando à depleção de marcadores neuronais, à morte neuronal e à indução de inflamação no estriado. O modelo lentiviral de murganho de SCA2 criado revelou-se como uma ferramenta útil para estudar novos mecanismos de doenças e testar novos potencias alvos terapêuticos. De seguida, fomos então avaliar se a diminuição dos níveis de CARHSP1 poderia ter o mesmo papel benéfico na doença SCA2. Após a modulação dos níveis de CARHSP1, não observámos alterações significativas na neuropatologia dos animais com SCA2. Em conclusão, este trabalho identificou a proteína CARHSP1, componente dos SGs, como um potencial alvo terapêutico para o tratamento da doença de PolyQ SCA3. Por outro lado, este alvo não resultou em melhorias no modelo de doença de SCA2. Assim, estudos futuros em outras doenças de PolyQ devem ser feitos para validar o CARHSP1 como alvo terapêutico para estas doenças

A live cinema performance: Playing a linear narrative through soundscapes

The aim of this article is to document part of the creative process of the live cinema work Safara—Lucid Dream 2020, an audiovisual show that represents the experience of a lucid dream and consists of a performer, in front of a film projection, manipulating the audiovisual elements using analogue and digital interfaces. It is an art and research project in development since 2020, and in this documented phase the author introduces soundscapes to complete the work in terms of sound and narrative, and we question whether it is possible to improvise in live sound samples while maintaining the continuity of the film’s story. The research methodology is based on artistic practice, and we present a state- of-theart study on the following concepts: sound art, soundscape, sound field recording and soundscape composition. The practical work was carried out with the financial support of government institutions and the technical and production support of a non-profit cultural association.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Apresentação do Nº 1 da Revista Folium

Revistas históricas de municípios ou de arquivos históricos municipais Algarve, 50º aniversário da Revolução de Abril.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Inhibitory potency of active metabolites from different polarities of Datura Stramonium seed extracts: GC-MS analysis, biological evaluations, and molecular docking studies

Datura Stramonium is a well-known and important medicinal plant that is widely used in various medical systems to treat conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to prepare extracts of D. stramonium seeds in different solvent polarities for assessing phytochemical potential, in vitro biological activities, and molecular docking studies. Phytochemical screening was conducted to determine the phytochemical composition, while GC-MS analysis was used to identify secondary metabolites of D. Stramonium. The seed extracts were molecularly docked to evaluate bioactive and antioxidant activity. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extracts against bacteria such as S. aureus, E. coli, Bacillus subtilis, and Proteus mirabilis was determined. Antifungal activity was also tested against fungi including Aspergillus fl avus, Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus niger, and Candida albicans. The results of phytochemical screening indicated that the primary plant constituents in all extracts of different polarities are alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, mucilage, sterols, heterosides, triterpenoids, and cardiac glycosides. Most molecules in the hexane, ether, and chloroform extracts consist of fatty acids, sterols, glycosides, triterpenoids, alkaloids, and phenolic compounds, as revealed by GC-MS analysis. Conversely, extracts from polar solvents like methanol, ethanol, and water are abundant in alkaloids. In vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities demonstrated that ether, methanol, and ethanol extracts were more effective than inhibiting the four bacterial strains compared to the antibiotics Oxacillin and Cefuroxime. The ether and methanol extracts exhibited better zones of inhibition and significant MIC values against A. niger and C. albicans compared to the control and fluconazole. The free radical inhibition (DPPH) (24.92 5.31 m g/mL) for the ethanol extract indicates Datura's antioxidant capacity. It is believed that the main phytochemicals are responsible for the enhanced antioxidant activity observed in other studies. The docking study revealed that the bioactive compounds linoleic acid and atropine formed better hydrogen bonding interactions with proteins than pi-alkyl and alkyl bonds. (c) 2024 SFMM. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies

Identification of stone deterioration patterns with large multimodal models. Definitions and benchmarking

The conservation of stone-based cultural heritage sites is a critical concern for preserving cultural and historical landmarks. With the advent of Large Multimodal Models, as GPT-4omni (OpenAI), Claude 3 Opus (Anthropic) and Gemini 1.5 Pro (Google), it is becoming increasingly important to define the operational capabilities of these models. In this work, we systematically evaluate the image classification capabilities of the main foundational multimodal models to recognise and categorize anomalies and deterioration patterns of stone elements that are useful in the practice of conservation and restoration of world heritage. After defining a taxonomy of the main stone deterioration patterns and anomalies, we asked the foundational models to identify a curated selection of 354 highly representative images of stone-built heritage, offering them a careful selection of labels to choose from. The result, which varies depending on the type of pattern, allowed us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of these models in the field of heritage conservation and restoration

Nannochloropsis lipids and polyunsaturated fatty acids: potential applications and strain improvement

The genus Nannochloropsis comprises a group of oleaginous microalgae that accumulate polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These molecules are essential for the correct development and health of humans and animals. Thanks to their attractive lipid profile, Nannochloropsis is mainly marketed as a feed ingredient in aquaculture. In microalgae of this genus, contents and cellular location of PUFAs are affected by the growth conditions and gene expression. Strain improvement through non-recombinant approaches can generate more productive strains and efficient bioprocesses for PUFA production. Nevertheless, the lack of specific markers, detection methods, and selective pressure for isolating such mutants remains a bottleneck in classical mutagenesis approaches or lipid quality assessment during cultivation. This review encompasses the importance of PUFAs and lipid classes from Nannochloropsis species and their potential applications. Additionally, a revision of the different ways to increase PUFA content in Nannochloropsis sp. by using classical mutagenesis and adaptive laboratory evolution is also presented, as well as various methods to label and quantify lipids and PUFAs from Nannochloropsis microalgae.2022.13209, C644915664-0000002

Editorial: Endocrine disruption in marine species: unraveling pollution and climate change effects

Endocrine disruption in marine species has emerged as a significant concern in environmental endocrinology, particularly in the context of escalating anthropogenic pressures. Persistent pollutants, including microplastics, heavy metals, and agrochemical residues, alongside climate-induced stressors like ocean warming and acidification, are now recognized as potent modulators of endocrine function in aquatic organisms. These stressors compromise critical physiological and behavioral processes, with potential implications for individual fitness, population viability, and ecosystem stability. The Research Topic Endocrine disruption in marine species: unraveling pollution and climate change effects brings together a multidisciplinary set of contributions that examine the mechanistic underpinnings, organismal impacts, and ecological implications of endocrine disruption across marine taxa. This editorial synthesizes the key findings, contextualizes them within the broader scientific discourse, and highlights knowledge gaps and future research directions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reconhecimento de emoções em expressões faciais e na música em indivíduos com Doença de Alzheimer

O reconhecimento de emoções é uma capacidade humana essencial para a comunicação e bem-estar. Contudo, indivíduos com Doença de Alzheimer (DA) apresentam frequentemente um comprometimento nesta área, que afeta a sua capacidade de interação social e, consequentemente, a sua qualidade de vida. Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar o reconhecimento de emoções, através de estímulos faciais e musicais , em indivíduos com DA, procurando compreender o impacto da doença nas diferentes modalidades, comparando-o com indivíduos sem DA. A amostra foi composta por 23 participantes, sendo 11 com DA e 12 do grupo controle, além de um grupo de adultos mais jovens para referência. Foram utilizadas tarefas de reconhecimento emocional através de expressões faciais e estímulos musicais. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que os défices no reconhecimento emocional estão presentes tanto no envelhecimento normal como na DA, sendo que neste último caso os défices estão mais acentuados, em ambas as modalidades. Tanto na música como nas faces, a emoção mais facilmente identificada foi a alegria. Contudo, na música, a emoção mais difícil de identificar para o grupo DA foi o medo e para o grupo controlo foi a tristeza. Por sua vez, nas expressões faciais, a emoção mais difícil de identificar foi o medo, para ambos os grupos. Em conclusão, este estudo demonstra as dificuldades no reconhecimento emocional em indivíduos com DA, sendo discutidas algumas estratégias compensatórias para a melhoria da comunicação e qualidade de vida de indivíduos com DA.Emotion recognition is an essential human ability for communication and wellbeing. However, individuals with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) often present impairment in this area, which affects their ability to interact socially and, consequently, their quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the recognition of emotions through facial and musical stimuli, in individuals with AD, to understand the impact of the disease on the different modalities, comparing it with individuals without AD. The sample consisted of 23 participants, 11 with AD and 12 from the control group, in addition to a group of young adults for reference. Emotional recognition tasks were conducted using both facial expressions and musical stimuli. The results obtained demonstrated that deficits in emotional recognition are present in both normal aging and AD, with the latter case showing more pronounced deficits in the two modalities. In both music and faces, the most easily identified emotion was joy, but in music the most difficult emotion to identify for the clinical group was fear and for the control group it was sadness. In turn, in facial expressions, the most difficult emotion to identify was fear, for both groups. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the difficulties in emotional recognition in individuals with AD, suggesting compensatory strategies to improve communication and quality of life of individuals with AD