Informal learning at school. Science fairs in basic schools

The communication herein reports on the second edition of the annual Science Fair at Externato Maria Auxiliadora, in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. It was intended to give continuity to the research project on science fairs of the previous year improving, based on past conclusions, some aspects: the age group of the participants was enlarged to ages 10 to 15, and there was a major effort to engage parents and the whole school community in the process and in the development/construction of the projects to the science fair. Besides that, to the teachers involved in the project, was assigned an increased set of weekly hours to give support to the works realization. The participation of the students was not obligatory and it had no weight in the student’s formal evaluation. The results suggested that the whole school benefited from the enlargement of the age group of the participants in the event, and that the projects made by the younger students were particularly interesting. We concluded again that the Science Fair contributed effectively to an increase of the student’s interest on scientific subjects

animal and meat samples

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Study of Ni (II) and diethylketone removal from aqueous solutions using a biofilm of Streptococcus equisimilis supported on vermiculite

The novelty of this work lies in the development of an environmental-friendly technology to remove diethylketone and Ni (II) from aqueous solutions using the interaction between bacteria and clays. Concentrated biomass of Streptococcus equisimilis and vermiculite were used for the removal of both pollutants No published work on the usage of this combination to remove heavy metals and organic solvents from aqueous solutions was acknowledged. The developed work is original and its impact on society and on environment is evident due to the toxicological effects of those substances on the health of living beings

UPIMAPI, reCOGnizer and KEGGCharter: three tools for functional annotation

Omics technologies generate large datasets from which biological information must be extracted by using bioinformatics tools. Although web services provide easier to use interfaces, large datasets are difficult to handle. This is not a limitation of command-line tools and programmatic modules, but these may be challenging to use. In this work, three command-line tools were developed, aimed for speed and automation. The tools are available through Bioconda for Unix systems and were developed in Python 3, making use of multithreading/multiprocessing in computationally demanding steps. UPIMAPI integrates annotation with reference to the UniProt database with automatic retrieval of internal and cross-reference information from other databases (e.g., KEGG, BRENDA and RefSeq) through UniProts API, accessed with urllib package. The input is a FASTA file containing protein sequences, and the outputs are EXCEL or TSV files containing taxonomic, functional, and cross-reference information. reCOGnizer performs domain-based annotation of protein sequences with CDD, Pfam, NCBIfam, Protein Clusters, TIGRFAM, SMART, COG and KOG as reference databases, and obtains EC numbers and taxonomic assignments per domain identified. The results are outputted in TSV and EXCEL files. KEGGCharter is a command line implementation of KEGG Pathways mapping service, while also obtaining additional KOs and EC numbers, through the methods available in BioPython for accessing KEGGs API. KEGGCharter takes as input a table (TSV or EXCEL), containing either KEGG IDs, KOs or EC numbers. KEGGCharter represents identified KOs in metabolic maps and includes information on differential gene expression. When data from more than one organism is uploaded, KEGGCharter links function to taxonomic identification, which can be visualized in the maps. Differential expression of genes/proteins can be visualized in metabolic maps, by showing mini heatmaps. UPIMAPI and reCOGnizer are complementary tools, providing functional annotation based on protein sequencing homology and on identification of protein conserved domains, respectively. Both tools retrieve the IDs (KEGG IDs, EC numbers and KOs) necessary to run KEGGCharter. Together, these tools provide a complete characterization and visualization of results, facilitating the interpretation of omics experiments, and requiring minimal bioinformatics expertise.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Release of acyclovir from polymeric nanofibers: comparing aqueous versus membrane-water interfaces kinetics

We are very thankful to Labesfal Genericos, S.A. for kindly providing acyclovir. We also thank PARALAB for the SEM-EDS analysis and Sr. Azevedo for the X-ray analysis. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013. Marlene Lúcio acknowledges the exploratory project funded by FCT with the reference IF/00498/2012The objective of this study is to develop a novel system for acyclovir (ACV) controlled release after cutaneous application through the encapsulation of the drug into polymeric nanofibers of policaprolactone (PCL) produced by the electrospinning technique to overcome the limitations of the conventional topical formulations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Can artificial diets be a feasible alternative for the gonadal growth and maturation of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816)?

Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck 1816) has high-value reddishorange gonads that are regarded as a delicacy. In this study, three jellified diets have been tested for 90 days to assess the effect of different diets on P. lividus somatic and gonadal growth, gonad color, and reproductive state. All diets contained agar as a gelling agent and consisted of: maize and spinach (A); maize, spinach, and macroalga Laminaria digitata (B); and maize, spinach, and pumpkin Cucurbita maxima (C). Diet B was the most successful in promoting somatic growth with regard to test diameter (1.2 mm month−1) and total wet weight (79.9 mg ind−1 day−1). The individuals from Diet A presented a higher final gonadosomatic index (9.07 ± 2.39%) where all sea urchins initially presented with an index of 3.33 ± 0.02%. Diets A and C led to a marked advance (p < .05) in the gametogenic cycle (66.7% and 46.7% of the individuals with mature gametes, respectively), while Diet B resulted in less-developed gonadal stages, which are more appropriate for commercial purposes in terms of sensorial characteristics appreciated by the consumers. The gonad color analyses confirmed a redder roe in females and also the suitability of C. maxima as a potential gonad color enhancer for P. lividus.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biorecovery of heavy metals using vermiculite for sediment and water protection

The release of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems is a matter of great concern due to their toxicity and accumulation in biota. Bottom sediments can act as sink of these pollutants. Several remediation technologies have been applied in order to treat wastewater and contaminated sediments. In this study, a permeable bio-barrier composed by low cost biomaterials was tested for water treatment and sediment protection against metal adsorption. The novelty of this work entails the combination of bacterial biosorption properties with the adsorption capacity of a natural clay. The results of preliminary continuous column experiments reveal the ability of vermiculite to entrap Cu ions, and highlight that metal adsorption can be enhanced by the presence of a Pseudomonas putida biofilm attached to the vermiculite surface

Chironomidae (Diptera: Insecta) da ilha de Santa Maria

XIV Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - Santa Maria 2009.O presente trabalho surge no âmbito da Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores à ilha de Santa Maria, durante a qual foram amostrados diversos ambientes aquáticos para o estudo da sua biodiversidade. O trabalho realizado possibilitou a actualização da lista de espécies de Chironomidae para a ilha de Santa Maria, tendo sido encontrados quatro novos registos para esta ilha

Control release of acyclovir nanocristals from electrospun nanofibers: comparison of two polymeric matrices

The objective of this study is to develop a novel system for cutaneous application of ACV that is capable of a controlled release of the drug overcoming the limitations of the conventional topical formulations.We are thankful to Labesfal Genericos, S.A. for kindly providing acyclovir. We also thank PARALAB for the SEM-EDS analysis and Dr. A. S. Azevedo for the X-ray analysis. This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2013. Marlene Lúcio acknowledges the exploratory project funded by FCT with the reference IF/00498/2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio