Robotics as a tool to increase the motivation levels in problematic students

The study described in this work was done by students of the Training and Education Courses (CEFs) in Informatics Operators of EB 2,3 Gonçalo Sampaio in Póvoa de Lanhoso during the academic year 2008/09. The study was conducted with two classes, with a total of 23 students. These students are aged between 15 and 18 years and the majority are males with only 4 girls. These students were not very motivated to attend school successfully, since they were students that had difficulties and failed one ornmore years. The CEFs were created to allow these students to finish their academic studies, in a less constrained pedagogical environment, that provided access to professional studies

Phase diagram and critical properties within an effective model of QCD: the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model coupled to the Polyakov loop

We investigate the phase diagram of the so-called Polyakov--Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model at finite temperature and non-zero chemical potential with three quark flavors. Chiral and deconfinement phase transitions are discussed and the relevant order-like parameters are analyzed. The results are compared with simple thermodynamic expectations and lattice data. We present the phase diagram in the ($T,\,\mu_B)$ plane, paying special attention to the critical end point: as the strength of the flavor-mixing interaction becomes weaker, the critical end point moves to low temperatures and can even disappear.Comment: 46 pages, 11 figures, 3 table

Avaliação das alterações na sensibilidade para os gostos doce e amargo em ratos sujeitos a uma dieta hiperlipídica

A obesidade é actualmente considerada uma epidemia estando associada a uma predisposição genética do indivíduo e a um consumo energético desadequado O consumo de alimentos ricos em gordura é um dos factores que contribui para o ganho de peso e obesidade. O gosto é um factor determinante na escolha de alimentos e variações individuais na sensibilidade gustativa podem condicionar os hábitos alimentares. O presente trabalho teve como objectivo avaliar potenciais alterações na sensibilidade para os gostos doce e amargo resultantes de um ganho de peso induzido pelo consumo prolongado de uma dieta rica em gordura. Um grupo de ratos Wistar fêmeas mantido numa dieta standard (N=5) e um grupo de animais da mesma estirpe (N=5) com ganho de peso induzido pelo consumo de uma dieta rica em gordura (14% gordura total), durante 12 semanas, foram submetidos a testes de microestrutura de ingestão de líquidos. Os ensaios consistiram na testagem de duas soluções de diferentes concentrações de sacarose (0,3 e 0,1M), para o gosto doce, e duas soluções de diferentes concentrações de quinino (0,1 e 1 mM), para o gosto amargo. Antes de cada ensaio os animais foram submetidos a um jejum hídrico de 16 horas, sendo posteriormente colocados em gaiolas individuais equipadas com um sensor ligado a um computador. Foram feitos os registos das lambidelas, com uma sensibilidade de 20 mili-segundos. Os níveis plasmáticos de insulina e leptina foram avaliados por ELISA. Não se observaram diferenças significativas nos níveis destas hormonas entre os dois grupos testados, apesar dos pesos significativamente mais elevados dos animais sujeitos a dieta rica em gordura. Foram observados aumentos no tamanho dos intervalos de ingestão (nº de lambidelas/cluster), para a solução doce mais concentrada, nos animais tratados com dieta rica em gordura. Essas diferenças apenas se observaram no primeiro minuto de ensaio, sugerindo que as diferenças se devem a alterações de sensibilidade gustativa e não a factores pós-ingestivos. Estes resultados sugerem que indivíduos com aumentos de peso induzidos pelo consumo prolongado de níveis elevados de gordura poderão ter alterações na percepção do gosto doce

Characterization of rigor mortis of longissimus dorsi and triceps brachii muscles of male cattle carcasses

In this work, six bovine carcasses butchered in a slaughterhouse in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil (SIE 504) were studied and temperature, pH, sarcomere length in different periods after slaughter (1, 5, 8, 12, 15 and24 h) of the longissimus dorsi (LD) and triceps brachii (TB) muscles as well as the shear force (meat tenderness) and colour were evaluated, aiming at characterizing the rigor mortis in the meat during industrial processing. Data statistic treatment demonstrated that carcass temperature and pH decreased gradually during the industrial chilling. The chilly room temperature varied from 10.2 to 4.0°C, the mean initial temperature of longissimus dorsi was 34.03°C and the final one was 7.12°C; the mean initial temperature of Triceps brachii was 39.00°C and the final one was 6.42°C. The mean initial pH of Longissimus dorsi was 6.47 and the final one was 5.46; the mean initial pH of Triceps brachii was 6.66 and the final one was 5.54. The smallest sarcomere size obtained in both muscles occurred at 12 h post mortem, and the sarcomere lengths were 1.44 and 1.41 μm, respectively. As for the colour parameters, the b* value presented higher correlation with the ultimate pH. The absence of cold shortening and the non-occurrence of dark firm and dry (DFD) meat indicate better quality of the meat analyzed.Keywords: Bovine carcass, muscles, rigor morti

Understanding the molecular basis behind hair morphology: development of new strategies to modulate hair from the follicle

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Olive tree (Olea europaea L.) diversity in traditional small farms of Ficalho, Portugal

The genetic diversity of “Gama” and “Bico de Corvo”, local cultivars of olive tree (Olea europaea) from seven traditional orchards of Ficalho (Alentejo region, Portugal), was studied to characterize the local diversity and assess the level of on farm diversity. Two different analytical systems were used: endocarp morphological characteristics and genetic analysis by microsatellite markers (Simple Sequence Repeats or SSR). The seven screened loci were polymorphic and allowed the identification of 23 distinct SSR profiles within the 27 trees analyzed. A total of 52 different alleles were scored, with an average of 7.43 alleles/SSR locus, and considerable genetic diversity was found. Neighbor-Joining algorithm cluster analysis and principal co-ordinate analysis (PCoA) allowed for the identification of the genetic relationships between several accessions. The 27 Olea accessions were clearly separated into three different groups. SSR analysis was more precise than endocarp characterization in the classification of genetic diversity among the olive tree cultivars. The study shows reasonable olive tree diversity in Ficalho, indicating that these traditional orchards are important reservoirs of old minor cultivars and incubators of new genotypesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

3-Hydroxypyrrolidine and (3,4)-dihydroxypyrrolidine derivatives: inhibition of rat intestinal α-glucosidase

Thirteen pyrrolidine-based iminosugar derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated for inhibition of α-glucosidase from rat intestine. The compounds studied were the non-hydroxy, mono-hydroxy and dihydroxypyrrolidines. All the compounds were N-benzylated apart from one. Four of the compounds had a carbonyl group in the 2,5-position of the pyrrolidine ring. The most promising iminosugar was the trans-3,4-dihydroxypyrrolidine 5 giving an IC50 of 2.97 ± 0.046 and a KI of 1.18 mM. Kinetic studies showed that the inhibition was of the mixed type, but predominantly competitive for all the compounds tested. Toxicological assay results showed that the compounds have low toxicity. Docking studies showed that all the compounds occupy the same region as the DNJ inhibitor on the enzyme binding site with the most active compounds establishing similar interactions with key residues. Our studies suggest that a rotation of ∼90° of some compounds inside the binding pocket is responsible for the complete loss of inhibitory activity. Despite the fact that activity was found only in the mM range, these compounds have served as simple molecular tools for probing the structural features of the enzyme, so that inhibition can be improved in further studies

High variability within Candida albicans transcription factor RLM1: Isolates from vulvovaginal infections show a clear bias toward high molecular weight alleles

Previous studies have correlated the severity of recurrent vulvovaginal Candida infections (VVC) and balanitis in patients from China with the presence of some dominant genotypes at the ORF RLM1. Here we tested VVC vs non-VVC isolates from Portugal, Brazil and Greece and, although the same genotypes were identified in VVC isolates, they were present in only five out of 150 strains. However, this analysis showed that VVC isolates presented a higher percentage of genotypes with similar high molecular weight alleles, in comparison with strains isolated from other biological source

Effects of hyperleptinemia in rat saliva composition, histology and ultrastructure of the major salivary glands

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of the satiety hormone, leptin, in saliva proteome and salivary gland histology and ultrastructure. DESIGN: Increases in blood leptin levels were induced through mini-pump infusion in male Wistar rats, during a period of 7 days. Saliva was collected before and at the end of the experimental period, for proteomic analysis, and major salivary glands were collected, at the end, for biochemical, histological and ultrastructural analysis. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of leptin receptors in major salivary glands. Salivary amylase levels and enzymatic activity were decreased in saliva, whereas the enzymatic activity of this protein was increased in the cytosol of parotid gland cells. Transmission electron microscopy allowed the observation of high number of electron-dense granules in cytosol of parotid acinar cells, from leptin treated animals. CONCLUSIONS: Increased levels of plasmatic leptin result in changes in saliva composition and salivary glands function. To our knowledge, this is the first study providing evidences for a potential role of leptin in salivary gland secretion and saliva composition. An understanding of how appetite/satiety factors influence saliva composition and how this composition influences food processing in mouth may be relevant in understanding ingestive behaviour.FC