Actividades experimentais nas escolas através de uma interacção com a universidade

A forma como a ciência é ensinada nas escolas afecta profundamente a percepção que os estudantes têm do mundo que os rodeia e consequentemente a escolha de uma futura carreira nas ciências. Por outro lado, a abertura da escola à comunidade envolvente, proporciona as condições para a sua participação activa na vida escolar, assim como a promoção do sucesso escolar, através da formação integral dos alunos, dotando-os das competências científicas, tecnológicas e sócio-culturais necessárias a sólidas opções futuras. A química como uma ciência de cariz experimental oferece aos estudantes uma melhor compreensão dos conceitos teóricos leccionados. Este trabalho descreve actividades experimentais realizadas no âmbito de um intercâmbio entre a Escola Secundária/3 de Barcelinhos e o Departamento de Química. Os projectos desenvolvidos foram “Museu das Ciências” na disciplina de Área Projecto do 12º ano de escolaridade. A actividade A Ciência na investigação criminal foi baseada nas oficinas apresentadas no projecto Sentidos da Ciência [1]. Estas actividades experimentais executadas em colaboração entre as escolas e a universidade contribuem para uma maior motivação dos alunos, uma formação científica mais sólida e um conhecimento mais integrado

Impact of CO2 leakage from sub-seabed carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) reservoirs on benthic virus-prokaryote interactions and functions

Atmospheric CO2 emissions are a global concern due to their predicted impact on biodiversity, ecosystems functioning, and human life. Among the proposed mitigation strategies, CO2 capture and storage, primarily the injection of CO2 into marine deep geological formations has been suggested as a technically practical option for reducing emissions. However, concerns have been raised that possible leakage from such storagesites, and the associated elevated levels of pCO2 could locally impact the biodiversity and biogeochemical processes in the sediments above these reservoirs. Whilst a number of impact assessment studies have been conducted, no information is available on the specific responses of viruses and virus host interactions. In the present study, we tested the impact of a simulated CO2 leakage on the benthic microbial assemblages, with specific focus on microbial activity and virus-induced prokaryotic mortality VIPM). We found that exposure to levels of CO2 in the overlying seawater from 1,000 to 20,000 ppm for a period up to 140 days, resulted in a marked decrease in heterotrophic carbon production and organic matter degradation rates in the sediments, associated with lower rates of VIPM, and a progressive accumulation of sedimentary organic matter with increasing CO2 concentrations. These results suggest that the increase in seawater pCO2 levels that may result from CO2 leakage, can severely reduce the rates of microbial-mediated recycling of these dimentary organic matter and viralin fections, with major consequences on C cycling and nutrient regeneration, and hence on the functioning of benthic ecosystems.publishedVersio

Short-term delay in neural response with multifocal contact lens might start at the retinal level

Introduction Multifocal simultaneous imaging challenges the visual system to process the multiple overlaps of focused and defocused images. Retinal image processing may be an important step in neuroadaptation to multifocal optical images. Our aims are, firstly to evaluate the short-term effect of different multifocal contact lenses (MF) on retinal activity in young healthy subjects (Experiment#1) and secondly, to evaluate any changes in retinal activity in presbyopic patients fitted with MF over a 15-day period (Experiment#2). Methods In Experiment-#1, 10 emmetropic healthy young subjects were included to evaluate the short-term effect of different MFs designs. In Experiment #2, 4 presbyopic subjects were included to wear MF for 15 days. Following the ISCEV Standards, multifocal electroretinograms (mfERGs) were recorded to evaluate different retinal regions under different conditions: with single vision contact lens (SVCL) and with center-distance and center-near MF. Results In Exp#1 the peak time of N1, P1 and N2 were found to be delayed with the MF (p <= 0.040). There was a significant reduction for N1 amplitude in all retinal regions (p < 0.001), while for P1 and N2 amplitudes this reduction was more significant in the peripheral regions (p < 0.005, ring 5 to 6). With center-near MF the mean response density (nV/deg(2)) showed a significant decrease in all wave components of the mfERGs response, particularly from Ring 3 to Ring 6 (p < 0.001, all Rings). In Exp#2, the mean mfERG response is similar between SVCL and center-distance MF, while center-near MF showed an increase in implicit time N1 and P1 on day 1 that tends to recover to baseline values after 15 days of MF wear. Conclusions significant changes in the mfERGs responses were found with the MF lens, being most noticeable with the center-near MF lens design. The present results suggest that the observed delay in cortical response described during the adaptation to multifocality may partially begin at the retina level.This study was founded by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, PTDC/FIS-OPT/0677/2014); FCT Strategic Funding (UID/FIS/04650/2013) and FCT-SFRH/BPD/92365/2013 (to Paulo Fernandes) and FCT-SFRH/BD/136684/2018 (to Ana Amorim-de Sousa)

Development of weCope, a mobile app for illness self-management in schizophrenia

Objective: To describe the development of weCope, a Portuguese mobile app for people with schizophrenia. Methods: The development of weCope followed 4 stages: I-102 people with psychotic disorders completed an online questionnaire; II-a multidisciplinary focus group was conducted among five mental health professionals; III-we developed the app; IV-9 participants used weCope during 8 weeks to assess its efficiency. Results: weCope targets coping with voices, problem solving, goals setting and stress management, and results indicated that: weCope improved symptoms, sense of recovery and personal and social functioning; 59% of the participants were willing to download an application for illness self-management; professionals revealed some concerns about mHealth but enhanced the high importance to develop these apps; usability testing revealed that 89% considered weCope useful for illness self-management. However, the more years with mental illness, the less importance is given to a mobile application for this purpose. Discussion: weCope was developed through a comprehensive development process and may contribute to a subjective perception of the patient’s better well-being and health condition

Development of bacterial cellulose wound dressings with controlled delivery of vitamin D3

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017[Excerpt] Wounds, in particular traumatic (e.g. burns) and chronic ones, are a major cause of morbidity and impaired life quality. They often result in long hospitalization stays, taking up substantial health resources in developed countries. This proposal aims at developing a safe, easy-to-use and nonexpensive approach to efficiently address this problem, by attaining faster and proper wound healing. Recent studies showed that an antimicrobial peptide (AMP), LLKKK18, released from conjugates with dextrin embedded in a Carbopol hydrogel significantly improved burn wound healing. In addition to antimicrobial activity, this peptide stimulates vascularization, thus supporting a faster healing and tissue regeneration[1]. As such, one can hypothesize that a hydrogel comprising drugs that stimulate the expression of LL37 will improve wound healing while keeping the wound area infection-free. This work comprised the approach towards the development of a novel bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) dressing. BNC, already used clinically for the treatment of burn wounds due to the unique properties like high water holding capacity, high crystallinity, ultrafine fiber network, high resistance, high moldability and biocompatibility[2]. In this work BNC will be used as drug carriers for the controlled release of drugs, namely of vitamin D3, an inducer of an endogenous expression of AMP LL37, known for accelerating the wound healing process, and as a protective barrier against exogenous agents (dust, microorganism) that can impair wound healing. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An objective framework to test the quality of candidate indicators of good environmental status

Large efforts are on-going within the EU to prepare the Marine Strategy Framework Directive's (MSFD) assessment of the environmental status of the European seas. This assessment will only be as good as the indicators chosen to monitor the 11 descriptors of good environmental status (GEnS). An objective and transparent framework to determine whether chosen indicators actually support the aims of this policy is, however, not yet in place. Such frameworks are needed to ensure that the limited resources available to this assessment optimize the likelihood of achieving GEnS within collaborating states. Here, we developed a hypothesis-based protocol to evaluate whether candidate indicators meet quality criteria explicit to the MSFD, which the assessment community aspires to. Eight quality criteria are distilled from existing initiatives, and a testing and scoring protocol for each of them is presented. We exemplify its application in three worked examples, covering indicators for three GEnS descriptors (1, 5, and 6), various habitat components (seaweeds, seagrasses, benthic macrofauna, and plankton), and assessment regions (Danish, Lithuanian, and UK waters). We argue that this framework provides a necessary, transparent and standardized structure to support the comparison of candidate indicators, and the decision-making process leading to indicator selection. Its application could help identify potential limitations in currently available candidate metrics and, in such cases, help focus the development of more adequate indicators. Use of such standardized approaches will facilitate the sharing of knowledge gained across the MSFD parties despite context-specificity across assessment regions, and support the evidence-based management of European seas

MOF-Based Materials with Sensing Potential: Pyrrolidine-Fused Chlorin at UiO-66(Hf) for Enhanced NO2 Detection

An efficient strategy to develop porous materials with potential for NO2 sensing was based in the preparation of a metal-organic framework (MOF), UiO-66(Hf), modified with a very small amount of meso-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) N-methylpyrrolidine-fused chlorin (TCPC), TCPC@MOF. Chlorin’s incorporation into the UiO-66(Hf) framework was verified by several characterization methods and revealed that the as-synthesized TCPC@MOF brings together the chemical stability of UiO-66(Hf) and the photophysical properties of the pyrrolidine-fused chlorin which is about five times more emissive than the porphyrin counterpart. TCPC@MOF was further incorporated into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and the resulting TCPC@MOF@PDMS film was tested in NO2 gas sensing. It showed notable sensitivity as well as a fast response in the range between 0.5 and 500 ppm where an emission intensity quenching is observed up to 96% for 500 ppm. This is a rare example of a chlorin-derivative used for gas-sensing applications through emission changes, and an unusual case of this type of optical-sensing composites of NO2.FCT-MCTE

Complementary roles of wild boar and red deer to animal tuberculosis maintenance in multi-host communities

[EN] The contribution of wildlife species to pathogen maintenance in multi-host communities has seldom been quantified. To assess the relative contribution of the main wildlife hosts of animal tuberculosis (TB) to its maintenance, we estimated the basic reproduction number (R0) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in wild boar and red deer at 29 sites in the Iberian Peninsula. Host abundance and true TB prevalence were estimated for each species at each site by sampling from distributions incorporating the uncertainty in the proportion of the population harvested each year, sensitivity, and specificity of the diagnostic methods, while excretion of mycobacteria was estimated using site-occupancy models. The distributions of these parameters were then used to estimate, at each site, the R0,wild boar (range 0.1 – 55.9, average 8.7, standard deviation 11.8), and the R0,red deer (0.1 – 18.9, 2.2, 3.9). Animal TB is maintained in epidemiological scenarios ranging from any single species acting as a maintenance host (the wild boar in 18 sites and the red deer in 5), to facultative multi-host disease (6 sites). The prevalence of TB in the red deer is likely an important driver of the epidemiology in multi-host communities. The wild boar was the main maintenance host of TB in most of the study sites and could have an epidemiological role linking the wildlife multi-host community and livestockSIThis work was supported by Fundaç˜ao para a Ciˆencia e Tecnologia [project grant EXPL/CVT-CVT/1525/2021 and fellowship SFRH/BPD/ 116596/2016 to N.S.]. FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 +UIDB/50017/2020), through national fund

Synthesis of Catechol Derived Rosamine Dyes and Their Reactivity toward Biogenic Amines

Functional organic dyes play a key role in many fields, namely in biotechnology and medical diagnosis. Herein, we report two novel 2,3- and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl substituted rosamines (3 and 4, respectively) that were successfully synthesized through a microwave-assisted protocol. The best reaction yields were obtained for rosamine 4, which also showed the most interesting photophysical properties, specially toward biogenic amines (BAs). Several amines including n- and t-butylamine, cadaverine, and putrescine cause spectral changes of 4, in UV–Vis and fluorescence spectra, which are indicative of their potential application as an effective tool to detect amines in acetonitrile solutions. In the gas phase, the probe response is more expressive for spermine and putrescine. Additionally, we found that methanolic solutions of rosamine 4 and n-butylamine undergo a pink to yellow color change over time, which has been attributed to the formation of a new compound. The latter was isolated and identified as 5 (9−aminopyronin), whose solutions exhibit a remarkable increase in fluorescence intensity together with a shift toward more energetic wavelengths. Other 9-aminopyronins 6a, 6b, 7a, and 7b were obtained from methanolic solutions of 4 with putrescine and cadaverine, demonstrating the potential of this new xanthene entity to react with primary amines.Financial support from PT national funds (FCT/MCTES, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) through the project PTDC/QUI-QOR/29426/2017. The research team would like to thank the projects UIDB/50006/2020, PTDC/QUI-QIN/28142/2017 and Grant BU263P18 (from the Junta de Castilla y León, Consejería de Educación y Cultura y Fondo Social Europeo). F. M. -S. gratefully acknowledges FCT (Portugal’s Foundation for Science and Technology) within grant DFA/BD/9136/2020. A.M.G.S. and A.L. thank FCT for the program DL 57/2016 – Norma transitória

Scaling up experimental ocean acidification and warming research: from individuals to the ecosystem

NERC UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme NE/HO1747X/1 The full text is under embargo until 17.08.1