Multi-scale modeling of hydraulic fracturing operations

Apresentação efetuada no 17th International Conference of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering (ICCMSE 2021), em Crete, Greece, 202

Sulfonyldibenzoate coordination polymers as bioactive dopants for polysaccharide films with antibacterial and antibiofilm properties

This work describes the preparation, characterization, and antimicrobial properties of bioactive silver(I) and copper(II) coordination polymers (bioCPs) and derived biopolymer materials. Two bioCPs, [Ag2(6-sdba)]n (1) and [Cu(4-sdba)H2O]n·1.5nH2O (2), were assembled from metal salt precursors and 4,4-sulfonyldibenzoic acid (H2sdba). Both compounds were used as dopants for preparing hybrid biopolymer films based on agarose (AGR) or potato starch (PS) as model polysaccharide biopolymers with varying rates of degradability and silver/copper release. BioCPs and derived biopolymer films (1@[AGR]n, 2@[AGR]n, 1@[PS]n, and 2@[PS]n) with a low loading of dopant (15 wt%) show promising antibacterial activity against Gram-positive (S. aureus and S. epidermidis) and Gram-negative (E. coli and P. aeruginosa) bacteria. Silver-doped biopolymer films also totally impair the formation of bacterial biofilms, with undetectable biofilm cells in several cases (7.5log or 99.99999% inhibition). By reporting new bioCPs and biopolymer films obtained from renewable polysaccharides, this multidisciplinary work extends the application of coordination compounds as components of hybrid functional materials with antimicrobial properties and prospective biomedical relevance.This study was supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (projects PTDC/QUI-QIN/3898/2020, PTDC/QUI-QIN/29697/2017, UIDP/00100/2020, UIDB/00100/2020, LA/P/0056/2020, and REM2013; contracts under DL No. 57/2016, CEECIND/02725/2018, CEECIND/00283/2018 and CEECIND/00194/2020) as well as ISEL (IPL/2022/3DBioProd_ISEL, and IPL/2021/Naf4Med3D_ISEL). We thank Dr. Ivo M. F. Bragança for studying the mechanical properties.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A strategy to overcome multispecies vascular catheter-related infections

Funding Information: The authors thank Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal, for the financial support under the Project PTDC/BTM-SAL/29335/2017 . Portugal 2020 for the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network (Rede Nacional de Espectrometria de Massa RNEM ) is also acknowledged. The authors also acknowledge the Designer Nuno Monge for the artwork, Isabel Dias Nogueira (Microlab, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon University) for the technical assistance with the SEM analysis, Andreia Bento for the assistance with the UHPLC-MS equipment (iMed.Ulisboa) and Professor Maria José Ferreira (FFULisboa) for allowing the use of the automatic flash chromatography equipment. Funding Information: The authors thank Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) Portugal, for the financial support under the Project PTDC/BTM-SAL/29335/2017. Portugal 2020 for the Portuguese Mass Spectrometry Network (Rede Nacional de Espectrometria de Massa RNEM) is also acknowledged. The authors also acknowledge the Designer Nuno Monge for the artwork, Isabel Dias Nogueira (Microlab, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon University) for the technical assistance with the SEM analysis, Andreia Bento for the assistance with the UHPLC-MS equipment (iMed.Ulisboa) and Professor Maria José Ferreira (FFULisboa) for allowing the use of the automatic flash chromatography equipment. Publisher Copyright: © 2022In clinic there is a demand to solve the drawback of medical devices multispecies related infections. Consequently, different biomaterial surfaces, such as vascular catheters, urgently need improvement regarding their antifouling/antimicrobial properties. In this work, we covalently functionalized medical grade polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with antimicrobial rhamnolipids to investigate the biomaterial surface activity towards mono and dual species biofilms. Preparation of surfaces with “piranha” oxidation, followed by APTES bonding and carbodiimide reaction with rhamnolipids effectively bonded these compounds to PDMS surface as confirmed by FTIR-ATR and XPS analysis. Generated surfaces were active towards S. aureus biofilm formation showing a 4.2 log reduction while with S. epidermidis and C. albicans biofilms a reduction of 1.2 and 1.0 log reduction, respectively, was observed. Regarding dual-species testing the higher biofilm log reduction observed was 1.9. Additionally, biocompatibility was assessed by cytocompatibility towards human fibroblastic cells, low platelet activation and absence of vascular irritation. Our work not only sheds light on using covalently bonded rhamnolipids towards dual species biofilms but also highlights the biocompatibility of the obtained PDMS surfaces.publishersversionpublishe

Knee pain and related health in the community study (KPIC): a cohort study protocol

Background: The incidence, progression and related risk factors for recent-onset knee pain (KP) remain uncertain. This study aims to examine the natural history of KP including incidence and progression and to identify possible phenotypes and their associated risk factors. Methods: A prospective community-based cohort of men and women aged 40 years or over within the East Midlands region (UK) will be recruited via a postal questionnaire from their general practices. The questionnaire will enquire about: presence and onset of KP; pain severity (0–10 numerical rating scale (NRS)); pain catastrophizing and neuropathic-like pain (NP) using the painDETECT questionnaires (definite NP scores ≥19–38); risk factors for KP and/or osteoarthritis (OA) (age, body mass index, constitutional knee alignment, nodal OA, index: ring finger length (2D4D) ratio); quality of life (SF12); and mental health (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Clinical assessments will be undertaken in a sample of 400 participants comprising three groups: early KP (≤3 year’s duration), established KP (>3 years) and no KP. Assessments will include knee radiographs (standing semi-flexed and 300 skyline views); knee ultrasound (synovial effusion, hypertrophy, and Doppler activity); quantitative sensory testing; muscle strength (quadriceps, hip abductor, and hand-grip); balance; gait analysis (GAITrite); and biomarker sampling. A repeat questionnaire will be sent to responders at years 1 and 3. The baseline early KP group will undergo repeat assessments at year 1 (apart from radiographs) and year 3 (with radiographs). Any incident KP individuals identified at year 1 or 3 questionnaires will have clinical and radiographic assessments at the respective time points. Discussion: Baseline data will be used to examine risk factors for early onset KP and to identify KP phenotypes. Subsequent prospective data, at least to Year 3, will allow examination of the natural history of KP and risk factors for incidence and progression. Trial registration: The study was registered on the clinicaltrials.gov portal: NCT02098070) on the 14th of March 2014

Modeling Rett syndrome with human patient-specific forebrain organoids

Copyright © 2020 Gomes, Fernandes, Vaz, Silva, Bekman, Xapelli, Duarte, Ghazvini, Gribnau, Muotri, Trujillo, Sebastião, Cabral and Diogo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Engineering brain organoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) is a powerful tool for modeling brain development and neurological disorders. Rett syndrome (RTT), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, can greatly benefit from this technology, since it affects multiple neuronal subtypes in forebrain sub-regions. We have established dorsal and ventral forebrain organoids from control and RTT patient-specific hiPSCs recapitulating 3D organization and functional network complexity. Our data revealed a premature development of the deep-cortical layer, associated to the formation of TBR1 and CTIP2 neurons, and a lower expression of neural progenitor/proliferative cells in female RTT dorsal organoids. Moreover, calcium imaging and electrophysiology analysis demonstrated functional defects of RTT neurons. Additionally, assembly of RTT dorsal and ventral organoids revealed impairments of interneuron's migration. Overall, our models provide a better understanding of RTT during early stages of neural development, demonstrating a great potential for personalized diagnosis and drug screening.We also acknowledge financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through iBB, Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (UIDB/04565/2020) and from Programa Operacional Regional de Lisboa 2020 (Project No. 007317). AG was supported by FCT (PD/BD/128373/2017).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A COLLABORATIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR TRAINING OF SECURITY AGENTS IN NUCLEAR EMERGENCIES

In face the recently observed security menaces related to terrorist actions and natural disasters, there is a need for a major qualification and training of the agents responsible for avoid any problems regarding to abnormal conditions. In the conventional training procedures, however, field simulations are associated to logistical and operational constraints regarded to the execution of the tests which can expose the user to risk. On the other hand, the use of virtual simulations provides an alternative to such limitations besides of promote the qualifying of professionals with a great reliability. For this reason, this paper proposes the development of a collaborative virtual environment that will be used to prepare the security agents on identifying individuals suspected of carrying radioactive materials. The development of the virtual environment consisted on modeling using Autodesk 3ds Max, where the scene itself and the scene objects were modeled besides the terrain creation and basic features programming using the Game Engine Unity 3D. In the Engine Game were included radiation detectors and avatars. The security agents were able to communicate to each other by means of auxiliary external tools like a headset software that makes possible the communication, coordination and cooperation required for an effective collaboration. Experimental tests of the virtual simulations were performed with the participation of CNEN radiological protection agents and collaborators. The tests have shown that the proposed method can contribute to improve the training results of the basic collaborative skills required for a CNEN agent in an emergency situation without the need to espose him to any kind of risk. In face of that, we hope that it can contribute to minimize the demand for qualified security professionals

U-Pb zircon dating of ash fall deposits from the paleozoic paran? basin of Brazil and Uruguay: A reevaluation of the stratigraphic correlations

Ash fall layers and vitroclastic-carrying sediments distributed throughout the entire Permian stratigraphic range of the Paraná Basin (Brazil and Uruguay) occur in the Tubarão Supergroup (Rio Bonito Formation) and the Passa Dois Group (Irati, Estrada Nova/Teresina, Corumbataí, and Rio do Rasto Formations), which constitute the Gondwana 1 Supersequence. U-Pb zircon ages, acquired by SHRIMP and isotope-dissolution thermal ionization mass spectrometer (IDTIMS) from tuffs within the Mangrullo and Yaguari Formations of Uruguay, are compatible with a correlation with the Irati and parts of the Teresina and Rio do Rasto Formations, respectively, of Brazil. U-Pb zircon ages suggest maximum depositional ages for the samples: (1) Rio Bonito Formation: ages ranging from 295:8 5 3:1 to 304:0 5 5:6 Ma (Asselian, lowermost Permian), consistent with the age range of the Protohaploxypinus goraiensis subzone; (2) Irati Formation: ages ranging from 279:9 5 4:8 to 280:0 5 3:0 Ma (Artinskian, middle Permian), consistent with the occurrence of species of the Lueckisporites virkkiae zone; (3) Rio do Rasto Formation: ages ranging from 266:7 5 5:4 to 274:6 5 6:3Ma (Wordian to Roadian, middle Permian). All the SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages are consistent with their superimposition order in the stratigraphy, the latest revisions to the Permian timescale (International Commission of Stratigraphy, 2018 version), and the most recent appraisals of biostratigraphic data. The ID-TIMS U-Pb zircon ages from the Corumbataí Formation suggest that U-Pb ages may be 110% younger than interpreted biostratigraphic ages

Caracterização do vírus da raiva isolado de uma colônia de morcegos Eptesicus furinalis, do Brasil

Some bat species have adapted to the expanding human population by acquiring the ability to roost in urban buildings, increasing the exposure risk for people and domestic animals, and consequently, the likelihood of transmitting rabies. Three dead bats were found in the yard of a house in an urban area of Jundiaí city in the state of São Paulo in southeast Brazil. Two of the three bats tested positive for rabies, using Fluorescent Antibody and Mouse Inoculation techniques. A large colony of Eptesicus furinalis was found in the house's attic, and of the 119 bats captured, four more tested positive for rabies. The objectives of this study were to report the rabies diagnosis, characterize the isolated virus antigenically and genetically, and study the epidemiology of the colony.Algumas espécies de morcegos têm se adaptado ao uso de abrigos em construções urbanas, aumentando a possibilidade de contato desses morcegos com pessoas e animais domésticos e conseqüentemente, o potencial risco de transmissão de raiva. Três morcegos foram encontrados no jardim de uma casa na área urbana da cidade de Jundiaí, Estado de São Paulo, Sudeste do Brasil, dois deles foram positivos para raiva pelas técnicas de imunofluorescência e inoculação em camundongos. Uma grande colônia de E. furinalis foi identificada, vivendo no sótão da casa e 119 morcegos foram encaminhados para diagnóstico de raiva, com mais quatro morcegos positivos. O objetivo desse estudo é apresentar a caracterização genética e antigênica do vírus da raiva isolado desses morcegos e o estudo epidemiológico da colônia

Biblioteca: ferramenta de informação científica e cultural para os alunos

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Análise do laboratório de química de uma escola estadual de ensino médio

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