Monitorização óptica da evolução de deformações em edifícios históricos

As estruturas de património arquitectónico apresentam, pela sua natureza e história, um elevado desafio no campo da conservação. Para vencer esse desafio é indispensável combinar o conhecimento e experiência científico e cultural para o estudo exaustivo das melhores soluções a aplicar, quer no âmbito da análise e diagnóstico, quer no âmbito da intervenção e conservação. Com o objectivo de facultar meios de análise e diagnóstico adequados ao património arquitectónico, foram desenvolvidos e implementados sistemas ópticos para monitorização estrutural. Um dos sistemas tem por base o uso de sensores de fibra óptica baseados em redes de Bragg. Um outro sistema tem por base a medição laser de distâncias por diferença de fase

The effect of the electric field on lag phase, β-galactosidase production and plasmid stability of a recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain growing on lactose

Ethanol and β-galactosidase production from cheese whey may significantly contribute to minimise environmental problems while producing value from lowcost raw materials. In this work, the recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC869-A3/pVK1.1 flocculent strain expressing the lacA gene (coding for β-galactosidase) of Aspergillus niger under ADHI promoter and terminator was used. This strain shows high ethanol and β-galactosidase productivities when grown on lactose. Batch cultures were performed using SSlactose medium with 50 gL−1 lactose in a 2-L bioreactor under aerobic and microaerophilic conditions. Temperature was maintained at 30 °C and pH 4.0. In order to determine the effect of an electric field in the fermentation profile, titanium electrodes were placed inside the bioreactor and different electric field values (from 0.5 to 2 Vcm−1) were applied. For all experiments, β-galactosidase activity, biomass, protein, lactose, glucose, galactose and ethanol concentrations were measured. Finally, lag phase duration and specific growth rate were calculated. Significant changes in lag phase duration and biomass yield were found when using 2 Vcm−1. Results show that the electric field enhances the early stages of fermentation kinetics, thus indicating that its application may improve industrial fermentations’ productivity. The increase in electric field intensity led to plasmid instability thus decreasing β-galactosidase production.The authors gratefully acknowledge Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (Portugal) for the scholarships SFRH/BD/11230/2002 and SFRH/BDP/63831/2009 granted to authors I. Castro and C. Oliveira, respectively

Padrões micrometeorológicos da plantação de cana-de-açúcar.

A indústria do etanol e açúcar cresceu como uma atividade agrícola muito relevante no Brasil, especialmente no estado de São Paulo. Entender a variabilidade temporal de troca de água e calor sobre plantações de cana-de-açúcar tornou-se um assunto bastante importante no contexto de mudanças climáticas regionais e globais. Este trabalho pretende discutir a variabilidade dos fluxos de radiação e fluxos turbulentos de energia sobre 3 tipos de manejo de plantação de cana-de-açúcar, no estado de São Paulo, entre 1997 e 2007. Os agroecossistemas foram manejados com diferentes sistemas de colheita e com diferenças de solo entre dois deles. A variabilidade dos fluxos dependeu em primeiro lugar da variabilidade climática sazonal, e finalmente notou-se a caracterização de padrões que refletiram o tipo de manejo e por conseguinte os diferentes estágios fenológicos das plantas em cada um deles

Resistance of the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (Diptera: Muscidae), to cypermethrin in outbreak areas in Midwestern Brazil.

Population explosions of the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) have become a serious concern for livestock producers near sugarcane mills in some regions of Brazil due to the insect?s massive reproduction on sugarcane byproducts and waste. Despite the limited efficiency of insecticides for controlling stable fly outbreaks, producers still rely on chemical control to mitigate the alarming infestations in affected areas. This study evaluated the susceptibility of S. calcitrans populations to cypermethrin in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Stable flies were tested from three field populations and two colonies, established from flies previously collected at sugarcane mills. Wild flies were collected with Nzi traps in areas of sugarcane plantations. Both wild and colonized flies were exposed to eleven concentrations of cypermethrin in impregnated filter paper bioassays. All the populations proved to be resistant to cypermethrin, with resistance factors among field populations ranging from 6.8 to 38.6. The intensive use of insecticides has led to the development of pyrethroid resistance in stable fly populations in the proximities of sugarcane mills in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul

Cellulose nanocrystals of variable sulfation degrees can sequester specific platelet lysate-derived biomolecules to modulate stem cell response

The surface chemistry of cellulose nanocrystals was engineered to show variable sulfation degrees, which was exploited to modulate platelet lysate-derived biomolecule sequestration and presentation. The protein coronas developed on CNC surfaces were characterized and it was demonstrated how they promote different signaling effects on human adipose-derived stem cell behavior.The research has received funding from PTDC/NAN-MAT/30595/2017, ERC Grant No. 772817; FCT/MCTES for PD/59/2013 - PD/BD/113807/2015, for ITI Research grant 1306_2018,ROTEIRO/0028/2013, and LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022125

A Quantitative Microbiological Risk Assessment for Salmonella transmission in pigs in individual EU Member States

A farm-to-consumption quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) for Salmonella in pigs has been developed for the European Food Safety Authority. The primary aim of the QMRA was to assess the impact of reductions of slaughter-pig prevalence and the impact of important control measures applied at the farm and during transport, lairage and slaughter on the number of human cases of salmonellosis

Identification of {HNRNPK} as Regulator of Hepatitis {C} Virus Particle Production

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of chronic liver disease affecting around 130 million people worldwide. While great progress has been made to define the principle steps of the viral life cycle, detailed knowledge how HCV interacts with its host cells is still limited. To overcome this limitation we conducted a comprehensive whole-virus RNA interference-based screen and identified 40 host dependency and 16 host restriction factors involved in HCV entry/replication or assembly/release. Of these factors, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (HNRNPK) was found to suppress HCV particle production without affecting viral RNA replication. This suppression of virus production was specific to HCV, independent from assembly competence and genotype, and not found with the related Dengue virus. By using a knock-down rescue approach we identified the domains within HNRNPK required for suppression of HCV particle production. Importantly, HNRNPK was found to interact specifically with HCV RNA and this interaction was impaired by mutations that also reduced the ability to suppress HCV particle production. Finally, we found that in HCV-infected cells, subcellular distribution of HNRNPK was altered; the protein was recruited to sites in close proximity of lipid droplets and colocalized with core protein as well as HCV plus-strand RNA, which was not the case with HNRNPK variants unable to suppress HCV virion formation. These results suggest that HNRNPK might determine efficiency of HCV particle production by limiting the availability of viral RNA for incorporation into virions. This study adds a new function to HNRNPK that acts as central hub in the replication cycle of multiple other viruses