Investigating physical factors that regulate morphogenesis and fate of mouse embryonic midline sutures

Stem cells are crucial players during development, homeostasis and tissue regeneration and their interactions with the surrounding microenvironment are key to regulate stem cell fate. The skull's stem cell niches reside in the fibrous joints that connect flat bones of the skull. In the embryo, bone and sutures develop in concert to form a complex, multi-facted structure that requires interaction with multiple differentiating cell types to maintain balance between growth and differentiation. Disruption of this balance drives changes in size and shape of skull bones and can severely impact quality of life. Cranial sutures, often seen as simple extracellular matrix-rich structures bridging the rigid plates of the skull, are major actors in craniofacial morphogenesis of as they harmonize bone growth with expansion of the developing brain and participate in providing osteoblasts during repair. The complexity of the extracellular environment and the important role for sutures in skeletal development makes these niches a compelling structure to investigate how interactions with the surrounding microenvironment can modulate stem cells fate. The key role of sutures in development is highlighted by the numerous severe dysmorphisms arising from failure to maintain suture patency. The ability of the suture to respond to brain growth or trauma and the dysmophisms presented by patients with defective sutures is mediated by both biochemical and mechanical cues but the cell biology of these niches remains elusive, especially during their development. In particular, few studies have shed light on the underlying cellular behaviors behind microenvironmental regulation of cranial suture stem cell fate and what role mechanical inputs play in the establishment of this niche. In my thesis, I addressed gaps in our understanding of suture biology by characterizing the suture stem cell niche microenvironment and exploring how cell-ECM interactions serve as regulators of suture stem cell fate. Making use of various microscopy and analytical techniques I first characterized the composition of the microenvironment in a developing suture niche, such as organization of ECM, cytoskeleton and nuclear morphologies. My work builds on an incomplete transcriptional understanding of suture cell development, such that specific genetic markers are rarely useful for identifying distinct suture cell populations during its morphogenesis. By applying shape description tools to parse suture cells and test whether shape correlates to cell identity, we concluded that suture nuclei are distinct and less spherical than those of other cranial tissues. Using 'global' markers such as nuclear stains, I have also identified physical distinctions between suture nuclei and neighboring tissues, indicating that cell shape is an integral part of midline suture identity and can be used to explore coordination of fate choice and morphogenesis in this enigmatic structure. In addition, I present evidence that supports that maturation of extracellular matrix begins during early stages of suture development. In particular, embryonic midline sutures express high levels of fibrillary collagen, which contributes to the formation of a complex extracellular environment that provides the suture with physical properties distinct from those of developing bones. My work shows the presence of cell-ECM and cell-cell adhesions in the developing midline sutures, as well as a complex actin cytoskeleton that is, in part, mediated by physical stresses resultant from underlying brain expansion. Secondly, I aimed to address how perturbations in ECM composition can affect cell specification. To investigate the importance of ECM maturation in regulating suture cell fate I inhibited the function of lysyl oxidase, a collagen crosslinker, during embryonic development. Disruption of collagen crosslinking altered expression of collagen and ECM receptor encoding genes. In addition, this inhibition induced changes in the shape and size of collagen fibers in the embryonic midline suture and decreased tissue bulk stiffness relative to WT. These abnormal properties of the ECM impact tissue delineation in the cranial mesenchyme through nuclear shape analyses. This might be explained by observed changes in the composition of the nuclear envelop of suture cells as we find altered lamin concentration and localization upon lysyl oxidase inhibition. The work developed during myPhD steps away from the traditional genetic approaches used to study the embryonic suture and provides the first in-depth analysis of the physical properties of the developing midline suture at stages preceding known establishment of the niche. The various methods and analyses applied reveal a complex organization of embryonic suture ECM and its tight relationship with shape and fate in this tissue. This work serves as a foundation for future studies that can explore the mechanisms through which ECM regulates fate and development of the suture niche, and potentially skeletal development more generally

Atividades biológicas dos flavonoides: atividade antimicrobiana

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências FarmacêuticasOs flavonoides pertencem a um grupo importante de substâncias naturais constituído por estruturas polifenólicas e que geralmente estão presentes em folhas, flores, raízes e frutos das plantas. As suas principais classes são os flavonóis, flavonas, flavanonas, flavanas, isoflavonoides e antocianinas. Este trabalho tem por objetivo fazer uma revisão acerca de algumas atividades biológicas dos flavonoides dando um particular interesse à atividade antimicrobiana e imunomoduladora destes compostos. Embora a presença de substâncias antimicrobianas nas plantas não seja uma realidade recente, o surgimento de microrganismos resistentes tem incentivado a comunidade científica na pesquisa de novos agentes antimicrobianos. Por outro lado, os flavonoides são capazes de modular a atividade de enzimas e afetar o comportamento de muitos sistemas celulares, exercendo efeitos benéficos sobre o organismo. Através desta pesquisa verifica-se que a comunidade científica tem movido grandes esforços para relatar os potenciais benefícios e atividades dos flavonoides, apesar de ainda ser necessária muito mais informação nesta área. Flavonoids belong to a large group of substances consisting of natural polyphenolic structures and generally are present in leaves, flowers, roots and fruits of plants. Main classes are flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavans, isoflavones and anthocyanins. This paper aims to do a review on some biological activities of flavonoids giving special interest to the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activity of these compounds. Although the presence of antimicrobial substances in plants is not a recent reality, the emergence of resistant microorganisms has encouraged the scientific community in the search for new antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, the flavonoids are capable of modulating the activity of enzymes and affect the behavior of many cellular systems, exerting beneficial effects on the organism. Through this research it appears that the scientific community has moved great efforts to report the potential benefits and activities of flavonoids, although still required much more information in this area

Why consumers purchase organic products? The role of environment, health and age

El mercado de productos ecológicos está aumentando en todo el mundo, especialmente en la categoría de los alimentos, en particular de productos orgánicos. El objetivo de este estudio es entender mejor porque los consumidores compran productos orgánicos, profundizando en su preocupación ambiental, conciencia de salud y edad. La evidencia empírica se basa en una encuesta online, utilizando una muestra de 279 compradores habituales de productos orgánicos en España y Portugal. Los resultados muestran que existe una relación positiva entre preocupación ambiental, conciencia de salud y comportamiento de compra verde. La preocupación ambiental es más fuerte que la salud para explicar esta relación. También la edad es un predictor de la compra y los consumidores mayores de 35 años compran más productos orgánicos que los más jóvenes. Para los profesionales de marketing, el estudio permite desarrollar mejores estrategias de marketing para atraer y retener a estos consumidores.The market of green products is increasing all over the world, especially in food category that shows a great demand for biologic and organics. The aim of this study is to better understand the why consumers buy organic products, more specifically environmental concern, health consciousness and age The empirical evidence is based on an online survey, using a sample of 279, regular shoppers of organic products in Portugal and Spain. The results show there is a positive relation between environmental concern, health consciousness and green purchase behavior. Environmental concern is stronger than health to explain this relation. Also age is a predictor of green purchase behavior and older consumers with more than 35 years purchase more organics than younger consumers. For managers and marketers, the study enables to develop better marketing strategies to address these consumers and to enhance environmental concern, health and age to foster organics consumption

relatório final

O presente relatório final de estágio pretende refletir as experiências vivenciadas no contexto educativo: educação pré-escolar. O seu interior contém um enquadramento teórico, acompanhado de fundamentação, e uma parte mais descritiva em que constam as características do contexto educativo, bem como atividades desenvolvidas com o grupo de crianças, seguida de uma análise e reflexão das práticas educativas desenvolvidas. (...

Avaliação do bem-estar mental das pessoas residentes em Vilarinho dos Galegos - Mogadouro

Até há bem pouco tempo a promoção da saúde e a prevenção da doença baseavam-se no modelo médico de ausência de doença física (Bennett & Murphy, 1999). Recentemente foram surgindo, de forma mais intensiva, estudos relacionados com a saúde mental, nomeadamente com a transição do conceito de ausência de doença para “ o estado de bem-estar no qual cada indivíduo atinge o seu potencial, consegue lidar com stress normal da vida, consegue trabalhar com produtividade e frutuosamente e é capaz de dar o seu contributo para a sua comunidade” (OMS, 2013). Tendo em conta a importância do tema nos dias de hoje e estando a saúde mental intimamente relacionada com o bem-estar, como se poderá verificar ao longo da investigação, este estudo prender-se-á com a caracterização do bem-estar mental das pessoas residentes em Vilarinho dos Galegos – Mogadouro. Nele participaram 61 indivíduos de ambos os sexos e com idades compreendidas entre os 21 e os 92 anos. A recolha de dados foi realizada com base na administração da Versão Portuguesa da Escala de Bem-Estar Mental de Warwick-Edinburgh (WEMWBS) e de um questionário sociodemográfico construído para o efeito. De forma genérica os resultados obtidos apontam para níveis elevados de bem-estar mental na amostra avaliada. Ao longo desta investigação serão ainda abordados temas como a saúde mental positiva, a psicologia positiva e os vários tipos de bem-estar.Until very recently, the promotion of health and prevention of illness were based in the medical model of absence of physical sickness (Bennett & Murphy, 1999). Recently, studies related to mental health have emerged more often, namely with the transition from “absence of sickness” to “the state of well-being in which the individual attains their potential, can deal with life’s regular stress, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to provide their contribution to their community” (WHO, 2013). Taking into account the importance of this subject nowadays, along with the intimate relationship between mental health and well-being, as will be evident throughout this research, the present study will focus on detailing the mental well-being of people residing in Vilarinho dos Galegos – Mogadouro. In this same study, 61 individuals, of both sexes and with ages between 21 and 92 years, were involved. The data collection was performed based on the administration of the Portuguese version of Warwick-Edinburgh’s Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMBWBS) along with a social-demographic questionnaire built for the purpose. Generically, the obtained results point to elevated levels of well-being in the assessed sample. Throughout this investigation, subjects such as positive mental health, positive psychology and various types of well-being will also be discussed

O desafio da interdisciplinaridade – experiências na prática educativa de 1.º CEB

O presente relatório final surge no âmbito do curso de Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, com o objetivo de descrever, analisar e refletir o desafio da Interdisciplinaridade na Prática Educativa. O relatório obedece à seguinte estrutura: introdução, enquadramento teórico, projeto de intervenção pedagógica e considerações finais. A componente de enquadramento teórico enraizada na literatura publicada, contextualiza a prática educativa e a abordagem escolhida. O projeto de intervenção pedagógica teve como principal objetivo evidenciar um conjunto de estratégias que foram estruturadas e planeadas de forma a promover a interdisciplinaridade, com as crianças, com o intuito de potencializar e enriquecer as suas aprendizagens neste contexto. As considerações finais refletem sobre a prática educativa e sobre os principais resultados, e as suas conclusões. Assim, a prática educativa surgiu com base numa prática interdisciplinar, que pretendeu desenvolver a articulação curricular, numa turma de 3.º ano de escolaridade, do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico. No âmago do Relatório Final, procedeu-se à descrição e reflexão de atividades implementadas; e à elaboração de um estudo estatístico exploratório (definição de um problema a estudar, planificação de um questionário e, recolha, organização, tratamento, apresentação e discussão dos dados), analisando as perceções e opiniões dos docentes cooperantes da escola, relativamente à temática em estudo. Relativamente à prática implementada, foi possível observar a motivação das crianças através do seu compromisso nas propostas desenvolvidas, o que permitiu refletir sobre o decorrer das aulas. De forma geral, tendo em conta os instrumentos utilizados, chegouse à conclusão que a interdisciplinaridade é valorizada no domínio das práticas pedagógicas dos docentes inquiridos, sendo apreciada como contributo para tornar as aprendizagens das crianças mais ricas e mais diversificadas

A Influência da percepção dos Rrscos na compra de produtos ecológicos de higiene e cuidado pessoal

The aim of this paper is to explore and better understand purchase behaviour of ecological personal care products (shampoos, deodorants, soaps, cleansing gels), taking into account the influence of perceived risks. This study is quantitative and used an online structured questionnaire. In total there were 702 valid respondents, potentially environmentally conscious and residents in Portugal and Spain. Several correlations were made to test the hypothesized relations. Results have show that consumers perceive financial and convenience risks while buying these products. On the other hand, physical, performance, social and psycological factors are perceived as motivators and not as risks. This research presents a number of limitations due to a limited and non representative sample. Results have to be replicated on wider and more representative sample. Results of the present study have demonstrated that price and convenience are observed as perceived risks by consumers. Financial perceived risks and convenience perceived risks had a positive correlation with green purchase behaviour, which means that are perceived as risks. In turn, physical, performance, social and psychological had a negative correlation with green purchase behaviour, which means that are not perceived as risks, but as facilitators or motivators. This study contributes to an understanding of green purchase behaviour towards ecological personal care products. The results of framework proposed enable managers and marketers to better understand the perceived risks and motivations associated to these products.O objetivo deste artigo é explorar e compreender o comportamento de compra de produtos ecológicos de higiene e cuidados pessoais (champôs, desodorizantes, sabonetes, etc.), tendo em consideração a influência dos riscos percebidos. O estudo é quantitativo e com recurso a um questionário estruturado distribuído online. No total, a amostra é composta por 702 respondentes, residentes em Portugal e Espanha e clientes de supermercados biológicos. Foram realizadas diversas correlações para testar as hipóteses de pesquisa. Os resultados demonstraram que os consumidores percepcionam riscos financeiros e de conveniência quando compram estes produtos. Por outro lado, os factores físicos, de desempenho, sociais e psicológicos são percebidos, não como riscos, mas como motivadores da compra. Esta pesquisa apresenta algumas limitações devido ao facto de utilizar uma amostra não probabilística de conveniência e como tal os resultados não podem ser generalizados à população. Os resultados do presente estudo demonstraram que o preço e a conveniência são os principais riscos percebidos pelos consumidores de produtos ecológicos de higiene e cuidados pessoais. Por seu turno, os factores físicos, de desempenho, sociais e psicológicos apresentam uma correlação negativa com a compra destes produtos, o que significa que não são percebidos como riscos mas sim como motivações de compra. Para os gestores de marketing, este estudo identifica factores positivos (motivações) e negativos (riscos) que devem ser tidos em consideração no desenvolvimento de estratégias e campanhas de forma a aumentar a compra deste tipo de produtos Este estudo contribui para um maior conhecimento na área do comportamento de compra de produtos ecológicos, em particular de produtos na categoria de higiene e cuidado pessoal. Os resultados propõem um modelo que permite aos gestores e profissionais de marketing conhecer melhor o comportamento de compra destes produtos, sobretudo os riscos e motivações percebidos pelos consumidores.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Why consumers purchase organic products? The role of environment, health and age

The market of green products is increasing all over the world, especially in food category that shows a great demand for biologic and organics. The aim of this study is to better understand the why consumers buy organic products, more specifically environmental concern, health consciousness and age The empirical evidence is based on an online survey, using a sample of 279, regular shoppers of organic products in Portugal and Spain. The results show there is a positive relation between environmental concern, health consciousness and green purchase behavior. Environmental concern is stronger than health to explain this relation. Also age is a predictor of green purchase behavior and older consumers with more than 35 years purchase more organics than younger consumers. For managers and marketers, the study enables to develop better marketing strategies to address these consumers and to enhance environmental concern, health and age to foster organics consumption.El mercado de productos ecológicos está aumentando en todo el mundo, especialmente en la categoría de los alimentos, en particular de productos orgánicos. El objetivo de este estudio es entender mejor porque los consumidores compran productos orgánicos, profundizando en su preocupación ambiental, conciencia de salud y edad. La evidencia empírica se basa en una encuesta online, utilizando una muestra de 279 compradores habituales de productos orgánicos en España y Portugal. Los resultados muestran que existe una relación positiva entre preocupación ambiental, conciencia de salud y comportamiento de compra verde. La preocupación ambiental es más fuerte que la salud para explicar esta relación. También la edad es un predictor de la compra y los consumidores mayores de 35 años compran más productos orgánicos que los más jóvenes. Para los profesionales de marketing, el estudio permite desarrollar mejores estrategias de marketing para atraer y retener a estos consumidores.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sex differences in functional connectivity between resting state brain networks in Autism Spectrum Disorder

© The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Functional brain connectivity (FBC) has previously been examined in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between-resting-state networks (RSNs) using a highly sensitive and reproducible hypothesis-free approach. However, results have been inconsistent and sex differences have only recently been taken into consideration using this approach. We estimated main effects of diagnosis and sex and a diagnosis by sex interaction on between-RSNs FBC in 83 ASD (40 females/43 males) and 85 typically developing controls (TC; 43 females/42 males). We found increased connectivity between the default mode (DM) and (a) the executive control networks in ASD (vs. TC); (b) the cerebellum networks in males (vs. females); and (c) female-specific altered connectivity involving visual, language and basal ganglia (BG) networks in ASD-in suggestive compatibility with ASD cognitive and neuroscientific theories.VT received support from Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) PhD fellowship (PD/BD/114460/2016) and paid by FCT DSAIPA/DS/0065/2018 Grant. DP was supported by the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme Marie Curie Career Integration Grant FP7-PEOPLE-2013-CIG-631952, the 2016 Bial Foundation Psychophysiology Grant Ref. 292/16, and the IF/00787/2014, LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-030907 and DSAIPA/DS/0065/2018 FCT Grants, and the iMM Lisboa Director’s Fund Breakthrough Idea Grant 2016; and is co-founder and shareholder of the neuroimaging research services company NeuroPsyAI, Ltd. MA was supported by FCT Grant UID/MAT/00006/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio