Feasibility study of an intensive multi-strategy rehabilitation program for Parkinson disease

Poster presented at the 19th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders (MDS Congress 2015). San Diego, 14-18 June 2015

Poly(lactic acid)/graphite nanoplatelet nanocomposite filaments for ligament scaffolds

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most prone to injury in the human body. Due to its insufficient vascularization and low regenerative capacity, surgery is often required when it is ruptured. Most of the current tissue engineering (TE) strategies are based on scaffolds produced with fibers due to the natural ligamentâ s fibrous structure. In the present work, composite filaments based on poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) reinforced with graphite nanoplatelets (PLA+EG) as received, chemically functionalized (PLA+f-EG), or functionalized and decorated with silver nanoparticles [PLA+((f-EG)+Ag)] were produced by melt mixing, ensuring good filler dispersion. These filaments were produced with diameters of 0.25 mm and 1.75 mm for textile-engineered and 3D-printed ligament scaffolds, respectively. The resulting composite filaments are thermally stable, and the incorporation of graphite increases the stiffness of the composites and decreases the electrical resistivity, as compared to PLA. None of the filaments suffered significant degradation after 27 days. The composite filaments were processed into 3D scaffolds with finely controlled dimensions and porosity by textile-engineered and additive fabrication techniques, demonstrating their potential for ligament TE applications.This research was funded by FCT through the National Funds Reference UIDB/05256/2020 and UIDP/05256/2020, the FCT and European Program FEDER/COMPETE through the project PTDC/BTM-MAT/28123/2017, and the FCT, European Union and European Social Fund (FSE) through the PhD Grant Reference SFRH/BD/138244/2018

Classificação Geotécnica do maciço rochoso da Pedreira do Monte das Flores – Évora (Portugal)

No âmbito da atualização do processo de homologação da Pedreira do Monte das Flores - Évora, como fornecedora de balastro ferroviário, procedeu-se à classificação geotécnica do maciço rochoso existente no local. Esta exploração possui 96,90 ha de área arrendada estando 70,70 ha concessionados à exploração. Geologicamente, a área estudada pertence à Zona de Ossa-Morena (Maciço de Évora), enquanto parte integrante do Maciço Ibérico que constitui o setor mais ocidental e contínuo da Cadeia Orogénica Varisca na Europa. Também os eventos tectonotérmicos alpinos se fizeram sentir neste maciço de forma atenuada, permitindo a preservação da história geológica mesozóica [Moita, 2008]. A unidade geológica onde se insere a exploração é constituída por litótipos ígneos e metamórficos de idade precâmbrica e paleozóica [Andrade et al., 1976], denotando-se um domínio das formações de rochas eruptivas. Na área estudada ocorre um afloramento de quartzodiorito e granodiorito de grão médio, não porfiróide, onde os minerais mais representativos da rocha são o feldspato potássico, a plagioclase e o quartzo, sem evidenciarem qualquer orientação à vista desarmada [Moita, 2008]. Neste estudo fez-se a descrição geotécnica da qualidade do maciço rochoso que ocorre na Pedreira do Monte das Flores. Por se tratar de um sistema de classificação generalista e correntemente utilizado na avaliação do comportamento geomecânico dos maciços rochosos, utilizou-se a Descrição Geotécnica Básica (“Basic Geotechnical Description”- BGD), proposta pela Sociedade Internacional de Mecânica das Rochas [ISRM, 1981]. O principal objetivo da aplicação desta classificação foi o de efetuar um zonamento geotécnico do maciço rochoso, quer do local atualmente em exploração, quer da área contígua para onde se prevê o alargamento da corta da exploração, com base no reconhecimento geológico e, na amostragem efetuada em locais selecionados para posterior realização de ensaios laboratoriais de caracterização mecânica. Este reconhecimento geológico de superfície permitiu identificar o tipo de rocha presente, determinar as características estruturais e caracterizar a alteração do maciço rochoso, assim como, definir as diferentes famílias de fraturas presentes e quantificar o espaçamento entre as descontinuidades nestas famílias. Com o objetivo de determinar as características mecânicas, tais como, a resistência à compressão uniaxial e o ângulo de atrito das fraturas, foi realizada uma campanha de ensaios laboratoriais e de campo, nomeadamente, o ensaio de resistência à compressão uniaxial, complementado pelo ensaio de carga pontual, de modo a determinar o valor daquela resistência. Realizou-se também o ensaio com o martelo de Schmidt dado ser um ensaio simples e rápido na caracterização de materiais [Pinho, 2003], que permite estimar o valor da resistência à compressão uniaxial dos planos das descontinuidades do maciço rochoso (JCS), nos diferentes locais de amostragem. O parâmetro JCS, o coeficiente de rugosidade da descontinuidade (JRC) e a tensão efectiva normal (’n ), foram necessários para obter o ângulo de atrito das diaclases (Øpico), de acordo com o método proposto pela Sociedade Internacional de Mecânica das Rochas [ISRM, 1978]. O estudo realizado permitiu concluir que o maciço apresenta boa qualidade, em regra, homogénea relativamente às suas características geológicas e geotécnicas. No entanto, distinguem-se duas zonas, ZG1 e ZG2, com base em pequenas diferenças nos valores da resistência à compressão uniaxial da rocha e do ângulo de atrito das fraturas

Measurement and PC-SAFT modeling of solid-liquid equilibrium of deep eutectic solvents of quaternary ammonium chlorides and carboxylic acids

In this study the solid-liquid equilibria (SLE) of 15 binary mixtures composed of one of three different symmetrical quaternary ammonium chlorides and one of five different fatty acids were measured. The experimental data obtained showed extreme negative deviations to ideality causing large melting-temperature depressions (up to 300 K) that are characteristic for deep eutectic systems. The experimental data revealed that cross-interactions between quaternary ammonium salt and fatty acid increase with increasing alkyl chain length of the quaternary ammonium chloride and with increasing chain length of the carboxylic acid. The pronounced decrease of melting temperatures in these deep eutectic systems is mainly caused by strong hydrogen-bonding interactions, and thermodynamic modeling required an approach that takes hydrogen bonding into account. Thus, the measured phase diagrams were modeled with perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory based on the classical molecular homonuclear approach. The model showed very good agreement with the experimental data using a semi-predictive modeling approach, in which binary interaction parameters between quaternary ammonium chloride and carboxylic acid correlated with chain length of the components. This supports the experimental findings on the phase behavior and interactions present in these systems and it allows estimating eutectic points of such highly non-ideal mixtures.This work was developed in the scope of the project CICECO e Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (Ref. FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013) and LSRE-LCM, POCI-01-0145- FEDER-006984jUID/EQU/50020/2013, financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. M.A.R.M acknowledges FCT for her PhD grant (SFRH/BD/87084/2012). FCT is also acknowledged for funding the project DeepBiorefinery (PTDC/AGRTEC/ 1191/2014). P.V.A.P., G.J.M., M.D.H. and E.A.C.B thank the national funding agencies CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) (305870/2014-9, 309780/2014, 406856/2013-3), FAPESP (Research Support Foundation of the State of S~ao Paulo) (2014/21252-0, 2016/08566-1), FAEPEX/UNICAMP (Fund for Research, Teaching, and Extension) (0125/16) and CAPES (Coordination of Improvement of Higher Level Personnel) for financial support and scholarships. E.A.C thanks Erasmusþ program of the European Union for co-funding.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The InBIO barcoding initiative database: DNA barcodes of Iberian Trichoptera, documenting biodiversity for freshwater biomonitoring in a Mediterranean hotspot

The Trichoptera are an important component of freshwater ecosystems. In the Iberian Peninsula, 380 taxa of caddisflies are known, with nearly 1/3 of the total species being endemic in the region. A reference collection of morphologically identified Trichoptera specimens, representing 142 Iberian taxa, was constructed. The InBIO Barcoding Initiative (IBI) Trichoptera 01 dataset contains records of 438 sequenced specimens. The species of this dataset correspond to about 37% of Iberian Trichoptera species diversity. Specimens were collected between 1975 and 2018 and are deposited in the IBI collection at the CIBIO (Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Portugal) or in the collection Marcos A. González at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).Twenty-nine species, from nine different families, were new additions to the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). A success identification rate of over 80% was achieved when comparing morphological identifications and DNA barcodes for the species analysed. This encouraging step advances incorporation of informed Environmental DNA tools in biomonitoring schemes, given the shortcomings of morphological identifications of larvae and adult Caddisflies in such studies. DNA barcoding was not successful in identifying species in six Trichoptera genera: Hydropsyche (Hydropsychidae), Athripsodes (Leptoceridae), Wormaldia (Philopotamidae), Polycentropus (Polycentropodidae) Rhyacophila (Rhyacophilidae) and Sericostoma (Sericostomatidae). The high levels of intraspecific genetic variability found, combined with a lack of a barcode gap and a challenging morphological identification, rendered these species as needing additional studies to resolve their taxonomy

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK.

BACKGROUND: A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. METHODS: This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. FINDINGS: Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0-75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4-97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8-80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3-4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. INTERPRETATION: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials. FUNDING: UK Research and Innovation, National Institutes for Health Research (NIHR), Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Lemann Foundation, Rede D'Or, Brava and Telles Foundation, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Thames Valley and South Midland's NIHR Clinical Research Network, and AstraZeneca

Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK

Background A safe and efficacious vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), if deployed with high coverage, could contribute to the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in a pooled interim analysis of four trials. Methods This analysis includes data from four ongoing blinded, randomised, controlled trials done across the UK, Brazil, and South Africa. Participants aged 18 years and older were randomly assigned (1:1) to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine or control (meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine or saline). Participants in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group received two doses containing 5 × 1010 viral particles (standard dose; SD/SD cohort); a subset in the UK trial received a half dose as their first dose (low dose) and a standard dose as their second dose (LD/SD cohort). The primary efficacy analysis included symptomatic COVID-19 in seronegative participants with a nucleic acid amplification test-positive swab more than 14 days after a second dose of vaccine. Participants were analysed according to treatment received, with data cutoff on Nov 4, 2020. Vaccine efficacy was calculated as 1 - relative risk derived from a robust Poisson regression model adjusted for age. Studies are registered at ISRCTN89951424 and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04324606, NCT04400838, and NCT04444674. Findings Between April 23 and Nov 4, 2020, 23 848 participants were enrolled and 11 636 participants (7548 in the UK, 4088 in Brazil) were included in the interim primary efficacy analysis. In participants who received two standard doses, vaccine efficacy was 62·1% (95% CI 41·0–75·7; 27 [0·6%] of 4440 in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group vs71 [1·6%] of 4455 in the control group) and in participants who received a low dose followed by a standard dose, efficacy was 90·0% (67·4–97·0; three [0·2%] of 1367 vs 30 [2·2%] of 1374; pinteraction=0·010). Overall vaccine efficacy across both groups was 70·4% (95·8% CI 54·8–80·6; 30 [0·5%] of 5807 vs 101 [1·7%] of 5829). From 21 days after the first dose, there were ten cases hospitalised for COVID-19, all in the control arm; two were classified as severe COVID-19, including one death. There were 74 341 person-months of safety follow-up (median 3·4 months, IQR 1·3–4·8): 175 severe adverse events occurred in 168 participants, 84 events in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group and 91 in the control group. Three events were classified as possibly related to a vaccine: one in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group, one in the control group, and one in a participant who remains masked to group allocation. Interpretation ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has an acceptable safety profile and has been found to be efficacious against symptomatic COVID-19 in this interim analysis of ongoing clinical trials