Spin and pseudospin symmetries in the antinucleon spectrum of nuclei

Spin and pseudospin symmetries in the spectra of nucleons and antinucleons are studied in a relativistic mean-field theory with scalar and vector Woods-Saxon potentials, in which the strength of the latter is allowed to change. We observe that, for nucleons and antinucleons, the spin symmetry is of perturbative nature and it is almost an exact symmetry in the physical region for antinucleons. The opposite situation is found in the pseudospin symmetry case, which is better realized for nucleons than for antinucleons, but is of dynamical nature and cannot be viewed in a perturbative way both for nucleons and antinucleons. This is shown by computing the spin-orbit and pseudospin-orbit couplings for selected spin and pseudospin partners in both spectra.Comment: 8 figures, uses revtex 4.1 macro

Κ-carrageenan/chitosan nanolayered coating for controlled release of a model bioactive compound

Multilayer nanocoatings composed of K-carrageenan, a sulphated anionic polysaccharide, and chitosan, a cationic polysaccharide, were produced by layer-by-layer deposition. The model cationic compound Methylene Blue (MB) was incorporated in different positions of the nanolayered coating and its loading and release behavior was evaluated. UV-VIS spectroscopy and quartz crystal microbalance analysis showed that the amount of MB loaded increased with the distance from the first layer, suggesting that the MB was able to diffuse into the K-carrageenan/chitosan nanolayered coating and not only adhered to the surface of the layer immediately below it. For most of the tested conditions, the MB release from the K-carrageenan/chitosan nanolayered coatings was successfully described by the linear superimposition model, which allowed concluding that MB transport is due to both concentration gradient and the polymer relaxation of the nanolayers. However, depending on temperature and pH of the medium and on the position of MB incorporated on the nanolayered coatings, different mechanisms prevail.Industrial relevance: The development of novel edible coatings with improved functionality and performance for e.g. fresh and minimally processed fruits is one of the challenges of the post-harvest industry. This work contributes to the understanding of the loading and release phenomena involved in structures at the nanoscale, which is useful for the development of bioactive compounds release systems for application in food industry. Moreover, the K-carrageenan/chitosan nanolayered coatings represent a promising platform from which the controlled release of different bioactive compounds may be explored.The authors Ana C. Pinheiro, Ana I. Bourbon and Mafalda A.C. Quintas are recipient of fellowships from the Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) through grants SFRH/BD/48120/2008, SFRH/BD/73178/2010 and SFRH/BPD/41715/2007, respectively. This work was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through project NANO/NTec-SQA/0033/2007. The authors also acknowledge Dr. Edith Ariza from SEMAT/UM by the support in SEM analysis

Model of irrigation management on green spaces

The presented Model of Irrigation Management was designed for application on green spaces and leisure areas. The Model recognizes water as a production key-factor and optimizes its use on the irrigation of green spaces, giving particular attention to the temporal and spatial variation of input variables. Variables entered in the Model included existing or future target plant species, phenological phases, type of soil (i.e. location and physical characteristics), topography and climate factors. Model construction was similar to the methods outlined in FAO Report 56, namely: the method of Penman-Monteith for the calculation of reference evapotranspiration, the use of dual cultural coefficients to obtain cultural evapotranspirationand the opportunity of irrigation according to the hydric balance. The Model integrates the programming of algorithms implemented in Visual Basic 6, VB6 and a Geographic Information System (GIS). The Model provides the irrigation parameters in real-time scale, the timings for irrigation, depth per irrigation, the period of irrigation, time between two irrigation episodes, and for the sprinkle irrigation, the mean application rate and the degree of pulverization. The Model is used in association with an automatic weather station and irrigation system

Three Months-Old’ Preferences for Biological Motion Configuration and Its Subsequent Decline

Funding: ICL was supported by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (PD/BD/105966/ 2014), and AFP by the research grants PTDC/PSI-GER/2463/2021, PTDC/MHC-PCN/1530/2014, and IF/ 00217/2013. This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (Ref.: UIDB/PSI/01662/ 2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.To perceive, identify and understand the action of others, it is essential to perceptually organize individual and local moving body parts (such as limbs) into the whole configuration of a human body in action. Configural processing—processing the relations among features or parts of a stimulus—is a fundamental ability in the perception of several important social stimuli, such as faces or biological motion. Despite this, we know very little about how human infants develop the ability to perceive and prefer configural relations in biological motion. We present two preferential looking experiments (one cross-sectional and one longitudinal) measuring infants’ preferential attention between a coherent motion configuration of a person walking vs. a scrambled point-light walker (i.e., a stimulus in which all configural relations were removed, thus, in which the perception of a person is impossible). We found that three-month-old infants prefer a coherent point-light walker in relation to a scrambled display, but both five-and seven-month-old infants do not show any preference. We discuss our findings in terms of the different perceptual, attentional, motor, and brain processes available at each age group, and how they dynamically interact with selective attention toward the coherent and socially relevant motion of a person walking during our first year of life.publishersversionpublishe

Fisiopatologia da Hidradenite Supurativa: uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

Hidradenitis suppurative (HS) is a multifactorial, recurrent, chronic inflammatory disease with a significant impact on patient’s quality of life. The etiopathogenesis of this complex condition is not fully understood. In this systematic review, we aimed to address and clarify the role of genetics, immunity, endocrinology, and skin microbiome together with risk factors in HS etio pathogenesis. A systematic review, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, was performed using PubMed® and Web of ScienceTM databases on December 3rd, 2021, using patient/population, intervention, comparison and outcomes (PICO) criteria, limited to the last 10 years and English. Reports were analyzed by two independent reviewers. A total of 123 reports were included and divided into five sections: genetics, immunity, endocrino logy, microbiome, and risk factors. Regarding genetics, up to 30-40% of patients have a positive family history of HS but only a small subset of these harbor genetic variants in components of the gamma-secretase complex. In fact, in more than 90% of HS patients, the genetic features contributing to disease development remain largely unknown. The immune response is also crucial for HS; it is characterized by antimicrobial peptide and proinflammatory cytokine dysregulation, namely interleukin (IL)—IL-23, IL-12, and Th17 immune response. This immune response in local and, consequently, systemic inflammation is amplified in patients with metabolic syndrome. The relationship between metabolic syndrome and HS is clear, and patients with metabolic syndrome have a higher risk of developing HS. The most recent evidence also associates skin microbiota dysbiosis with HS pathogenesis, contributing to local and systemic inflammation. Besides these intrinsic factors, the role of lifestyle in the development of HS is well accepted. Tobacco smoking and obesity are the main risk factors identified as con tributing to HS pathogenesis. Chronic inflammation characterizes HS, a debilitating condition with a complex and multifactorial etiopathogenesis. The current model integrates genetics, immunity, endocrinology, and skin microbiome. Notwithstanding, efforts should be made to improve our comprehension of HS etiopathogenesis, hopefully leading to the development of more effective treatments.A hidradenite supurativa (HS) é uma doença inflamatória, multifatorial, recorrente e crónica com um impacto significativo na qualidade de vida dos doentes. A etiologia desta condição complexa não é totalmente compreendida. Nesta revisão sistemática, pretende-se abordar e clarificar o papel da genética, imunidade, endocrinologia, microbioma cutâneo e fatores de risco que contribuem para o desenvolvimento da HS. A revisão sistemática, seguindo as orientações PRISMA, foi rea lizada através de uma pesquisa bibliográfica nas bases de dados PubMed® e da Web of ScienceTM a 3 de dezembro de 2021, utilizando critérios do PICO, e limitada aos últimos 10 anos e inglês. Os estudos a serem incluídos foram anali sados por dois revisores independentes. Um total de 123 estudos foram selecionados e divididos em cinco secções: genética, imunidade, endocrinologia, microbioma e fatores de risco. Em relação à genética, cerca de 30-40% dos doentes têm uma história familiar positiva de HS, mas as variantes genéticas das componentes do complexo da gama secretase só estão identificadas num número reduzido de doentes. De facto, em mais de 90% dos doentes com HS, a componente genética que contribui para o desenvolvimento da doença permanece desconhecida. A resposta imunitária é também crucial para a HS: caracteriza-se pela desregulação dos péptidos anti-microbianos assim como das citocinas pró-inflamatórias, nomeadamente IL-23, IL-12 e resposta Th17. Esta resposta que ocorre na inflamação local e consequentemente sistémica é exacerbada em doentes com síndrome metabólica. A relação entre a síndrome metabólica e a HS é clara, e os doentes com síndrome metabólica tem um risco elevado para o desenvolvimento de HS. As evidências mais recentes correlacionam também a disbiose do microbioma cutâneo com a patogénese da HS, contribuindo para a inflamação local e sistémica. Além destes fatores intrínsecos, o papel do estilo de vida no desenvolvimento da HS está bem estabelecido. O tabagismo e a obesidade são os principais fatores de risco identificados que contribuem para a patogénese da HS. A inflamação crónica caracteriza a HS, uma condição debilitante com uma etiologia complexa e multifatorial. O presente modelo integra a genética, a imunidade, a endocrinologia e o microbioma cutâneo, e poderá contribuir para o desenvolvimento de tratamentos mais eficazes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

In vitro digestion of protein-based nanohydrogels incorporating curcumin as a lipophilic model compound: effect of a chitosan coating

[Excerpt] Introduction: One of the challenges of food enrichment with lipophilic bioactive compounds is related with their poor solubility in food matrices and their instability during digestion, leading to a poor bioavailability. These challenges are promoting research efforts to find more effective delivery systems based on natural biopolymers. Protein nanohydrogels can be used as carriers of bioactive compounds in food products, however, during gastric digestion, proteins are denatured by environmental conditions and hydrolyzed by enzymes. One of the strategies to improve protein nanohydrogels’ stability and the controlled release of active ingredients during gastrointestinal (GI) digestion is the addition of a coating (polysaccharide layer). The behavior of lactoferrin (Lf)–glycomacropeptide (GMP) nanohydrogels with and without a chitosan coating was evaluated during GI digestion. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of antennal sensilla of Tetragonisca angustula Latreille, 1811 (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) during pupation

The antennal sensilla are sensory organs formed by a group of neurons and accessory cells, which allow perception of environmental cues, which play a role as mechanoreceptors and chemoreceptors. This study describes the post-embryonic development of the antennal sensilla of the stingless Tetragonisca angustula (Hymenoptera: Meliponini) workers. The development of the antennal sensilla begins in the transition stage of the pre-pupae to white-eyed pupae. The sensilla are completely developed at the black-eyed pupae stage, but they are covered by the old cuticle. The sensilla are exposed to the environment only in newly emerged workers of T. angustula, but it is possible that environmental stimuli can be recognized due to the pores in the old cuticle.As sensilas antenais são órgãos sensoriais formados por um conjunto de neurônios que captam estímulos ambientais e células acessórias, desempenhando as funções de mecanorreceptores e quimiorrecepterores. Este trabalho descreve o desenvolvimento pós-embrionário das sensilas antenais de operárias das abelhas sem ferrão Tetragonisca angustula (Hymenoptera: Meliponini). O desenvolvimento das sensilas tem início na transição de pré-pupa para pupa de olho branco e estão completamente desenvolvidas no estágio de pupa de olho preto, mas ainda estão cobertas pela cutícula velha. As sensilas estão completamente expostas em operárias recém-emergidas de T. angustula, mas é possível que estímulos ambientais sejam percebidos em estágios anteriores devido aos poros presentes na cutícula velha