Organizational ambidestry in the modernization program of the Court of Justice of the State of Ceará

The Court of Justice of the State of Ceará (TJCE), Brazil, is implementing the Judiciary Modernization Program (Promojud) as a strategic change, in the context of digital transformation. The objective of the research is to investigate how the TJCE has been developing this change in the focus of organizational ambidexterity. This is a case study, using content analysis, having as a lens of analysis the Pettigrew model (context, content and process). As data collection, in addition to secondary data, the study was supported by interviews carried out in 2022, with 10 members of the governance structure created for Promojud. In the context of digital transformation, the contextual and structural ambidexterity constructs, as a process, have been supporting organizational ambidexterity (exploitation and exploration), as content. The results suggest that the use of strategic planning and project management, when well aligned with a solid governance structure, support both incremental and radical ambidexterity, in context and structure

Descrição do Girino de Aplastodiscus Arildae (Cruz & Peixoto, 1985) (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae)

The tadpole of Aplastodiscus arildae, from Estação Ecológica de Fechos, Municipality of Nova Lima, State of Minas Gerais, is described and figured. Tadpoles from Parque das Mangabeiras, Municipality of Belo Horizonte, were also examined. Tadpoles were found on the bottom of rocky hillside streams backwaters, edged by riparian vegetation. Tadpoles of A. arildae present labial tooth row formula 2(2)/4(1), oral disc with a median small gap in the anterior labium papillae row, few submarginal papillae without horned teeth, dark red iris and body with marbled olive-brown color in life. These characteristics distinguish A. arildae tadpoles from the tadpoles of A. albofrenatus and A. eugenioi, the already described tadpoles for the A. albofrenatus species group.É descrito e figurado o girino de Aplastodiscus arildae, proveniente da Estação Ecológica de Fechos, Município de Nova Lima, região centro-sul do Estado de Minas Gerais. Girinos coletados no Parque das Mangabeiras, Município de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, foram também examinados. Os girinos foram encontrados sobre o leito de remansos em riachos encachoeirados, permanentes e margeados por vegetação ripária. Apresentam fórmula dentária 2(2)/4(1), disco oral com uma pequena interrupção mediana na fileira de papilas do lábio anterior, poucas papilas submarginais laterais sem dentículos córneos, íris vermelho escuro e corpo com coloração marmoreada pardo-olivácea em vida. Essas características distinguem o girino de A. arildae dos girinos de A. albofrenatus e A. eugenioi, os únicos conhecidos para o grupo de espécies de A. albofrenatus

Rutin-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes: molecular docking, physicochemistry and cytotoxicity in fibroblasts

Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) have been functionalized with rutin through three steps (i. reaction step; ii. purification step; iii. drying step) and their physicochemical properties investigated with respect to morphological structure, thermal analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and cytotoxicity. The molecular docking suggested the rutin-functionalized MWCNT occurred by hydrogen bonds, which was confirmed by FTIR assays, corroborating the results obtained by thermal analyses. A tubular shape, arranged in a three-dimensional structure, could be observed. Mild cytotoxicity observed in 3T3 fibroblasts suggested a doseeffect relationship after exposure. These findings suggest the formation of aggregates of filamentous structures on the cells favoring the cell penetration.The authors acknowledge Classius Ferreira da Silva, from the Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, for the scanning electron microscopy analyses.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Neuroprotective effects on microglia and insights into the structure–activity relationship of an antioxidant peptide isolated from Pelophylax perezi

© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedTryptophyllins constitute a heterogeneous group of peptides that are one of the first classes of peptides identified from amphibian's skin secretions. Here, we report the structural characterization and antioxidant properties of a novel tryptophyllin-like peptide, named PpT-2, isolated from the Iberian green frog Pelophylax perezi. The skin secretion of P. perezi was obtained by electrical stimulation and fractionated using RP-HPLC. De novo peptide sequencing was conducted using MALDI MS/MS. The primary structure of PpT-2 (FPWLLS-NH2 ) was confirmed by Edman degradation and subsequently investigated using in silico tools. PpT-2 shared physicochemical properties with other well-known antioxidants. To test PpT-2 for antioxidant activity in vitro, the peptide was synthesized by solid phase and assessed in the chemical-based ABTS and DPPH scavenging assays. Then, a flow cytometry experiment was conducted to assess PpT-2 antioxidant activity in oxidatively challenged murine microglial cells. As predicted by the in silico analyses, PpT-2 scavenged free radicals in vitro and suppressed the generation of reactive species in PMA-stimulated BV-2 microglia cells. We further explored possible bioactivities of PpT-2 against prostate cancer cells and bacteria, against which the peptide exerted a moderate antiproliferative effect and negligible antimicrobial activity. The biocompatibility of PpT-2 was evaluated in cytotoxicity assays and in vivo toxicity with Galleria mellonella. No toxicity was detected in cells treated with up to 512 µg/ml and in G. mellonella treated with up to 40 mg/kg PpT-2. This novel peptide, PpT-2, stands as a promising peptide with potential therapeutic and biotechnological applications, mainly for the treatment/prevention of neurodegenerative disorders.This work was financed by FEDER - Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020 - Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), and by Portuguese funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in the framework of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031158 – PTDC/BII-BIO/31158/2017. The authors would like to thank the participation and scientific support of the Unit projects UIDB/50006/2020 | UIDP/50006/2020, and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Universal Faixa ‘B’ (grant number 32103/2018-0). A.P. is a recipient of a post-doctoral grant from the project PTDC/BII-BIO/31158/2017. The authors would like to thank the researcher Roberto Resendes (CiBio, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal) for the logistical support in the collection of samples. C.P.A acknowledges FCT-MCTES fellowship PD/BD/136860/2018. A.B.-N. and F.C.D.A.L. acknowledge CNPq (grants 420449/2018-3 and 428211/2018-6) for financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of Bacteria and Fungi DNA Abundance in Human Tissues

Whereas targeted and shotgun sequencing approaches are both powerful in allowing the study of tissue-associated microbiota, the human: microorganism abundance ratios in tissues of interest will ultimately determine the most suitable sequencing approach. In addition, it is possible that the knowledge of the relative abundance of bacteria and fungi during a treatment course or in pathological conditions can be relevant in many medical conditions. Here, we present a qPCR-targeted approach to determine the absolute and relative amounts of bacteria and fungi and demonstrate their relative DNA abundance in nine different human tissue types for a total of 87 samples. In these tissues, fungi genomes are more abundant in stool and skin samples but have much lower levels in other tissues. Bacteria genomes prevail in stool, skin, oral swabs, saliva, and gastric fluids. These findings were confirmed by shotgun sequencing for stool and gastric fluids. This approach may contribute to a more comprehensive view of the human microbiota in targeted studies for assessing the abundance levels of microorganisms during disease treatment/progression and to indicate the most informative methods for studying microbial composition (shotgun versus targeted sequencing) for various samples types

The use of dual-lumen balloon for embolization of peripheral arteriovenous malformations

PURPOSEWe aimed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the embolization of peripheral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) with non-adhesive liquid agents (NALA) injected by dual-lumen balloons (DLB).METHODSWe conducted a multicenter retrospective study between January 2017 and June 2019, including patients with peripheral AVM embolized with NALA by DLB. Fourteen patients were included. The AVM classification, technical and clinical success were evaluated, as were nidus size, liquid agent used, volume and time of injection in DLB, complications, follow-up and need of surgical intervention.RESULTSThe mean age of the patients was 37±22.5 years (range, 6–82 years). The mean nidus size was 5.2±2.4 cm (range, 3.0–12.0 cm). By Schobinger classification, 11 AVMs were classified in stage 3 and 3 AVMs were classified in stage 2. By Cho’s classification, 2 AVMs were in stage II, 4 AVMs were in stage I, 4 AVMs were in stage IIIa and 4 AVMs were in stage IIIb. Onyx was used in 11 patients (78.6%), while Squid, PHIL, and both Onyx and Squid were used in one patient each (7.1%). Seven patients (50%) required one session of embolization, 4 patients (28.6%) required two, 2 patients (14.3%) required three and 1 patient (7.1%) required four sessions. Complete nidus exclusion was achieved in 11 patients (78.6%), optimal clinical response in 12 patients (85.7%). Four patients (28.6%) exhibited minor complications, all controlled. No major complications were seen. Four patients underwent surgical intervention (28.6%). CONCLUSIONThe embolization of peripheral AVM with NALA in DLB appears to be safe and feasible, achieving high rates of technical and clinical success

Concretos secos produzidos com agregados reciclados de RCD separados por densidade

ResumoO uso de agregados reciclados de resíduos de construção e demolição (RCD) em blocos de concreto permite compatibilizar as diferentes características de composição e porosidade desses agregados com os diferentes níveis de exigência mecânica em uso dos blocos. Paralelamente, concretos secos são pouco estudados porque a energia de prensagem obtida em vibroprensas não é facilmente reprodutível em escala de laboratório; porém, parte dessa limitação pode ser superada, realizando-se a avaliação do comportamento da mistura (sob confinamento) com prensas de laboratório com controle de deformação. Assim, o objetivo deste artigo foi analisar o comportamento do concreto seco (no estado fresco e endurecido) produzido com agregados de RCD (separados ou não por densidade), empregando-se esse método laboratorial de prensagem. Com substituição total do agregado natural pelo agregado reciclado misto obtido por processo de jigagem obteve-se resistências à compressão comparáveis às dos concretos de referência. A influência das características dos agregados e das formulações de concretos secos foi identificada pela técnica de compactação laboratorial. A redução da porosidade do agregado reciclado e a otimização da granulometria da mistura seca (cimento e agregados) foram os parâmetros mais importantes para o incremento de resistência observado

Data standardization of plant–pollinator interactions

Background: Animal pollination is an important ecosystem function and service, ensuring both the integrity of natural systems and human well-being. Although many knowledge shortfalls remain, some high-quality data sets on biological interactions are now available. The development and adoption of standards for biodiversity data and metadata has promoted great advances in biological data sharing and aggregation, supporting large-scale studies and science-based public policies. However, these standards are currently not suitable to fully support interaction data sharing. Results: Here we present a vocabulary of terms and a data model for sharing plant–pollinator interactions data based on the Darwin Core standard. The vocabulary introduces 48 new terms targeting several aspects of plant–pollinator interactions and can be used to capture information from different approaches and scales. Additionally, we provide solutions for data serialization using RDF, XML, and DwC-Archives and recommendations of existing controlled vocabularies for some of the terms. Our contribution supports open access to standardized data on plant–pollinator interactions. Conclusions: The adoption of the vocabulary would facilitate data sharing to support studies ranging from the spatial and temporal distribution of interactions to the taxonomic, phenological, functional, and phylogenetic aspects of plant–pollinator interactions. We expect to fill data and knowledge gaps, thus further enabling scientific research on the ecology and evolution of plant–pollinator communities, biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services, and the development of public policies. The proposed data model is flexible and can be adapted for sharing other types of interactions data by developing discipline-specific vocabularies of termsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio