Regulation of receptor kinase-mediated immune signalling by dynamic phosphorylation

Plants recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) via cell surface-localized pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), initiating a broad-spectrum defense response against pathogens, known as PRR-triggered immunity (PTI). However, immunity comes at a cost; and immune responses need to be tightly regulated. How PTI signalling is negatively regulated in plants is not fully understood. PRRs are present at the plasma membrane in dynamic kinase complexes that heavily rely on trans-phosphorylation to initiate signaling. The Arabidopsis cytoplasmic kinase BIK1 associates with different PRRs and plays a central role in the activation of downstream immune signaling. In this study, we identify the protein phosphatase PP2C38 as a negative regulator of BIK1 activity and BIK1-mediated immunity. PP2C38 dynamically associates with BIK1, as well as with the PRRs FLS2 and EFR, but not with the regulatory receptor kinase (RK) BAK1. PP2C38 regulates PAMP-induced BIK1 phosphorylation and impairs the phosphorylation of the NADPH oxidase RBOHD by BIK1, leading to reduced oxidative burst and stomatal immunity. Notably, upon PAMP perception, PP2C38 is phosphorylated on serine 77, most likely by BIK1, and dissociates from the PRR-BIK1 complex. We suggest that this mechanism relieves the negative regulation imposed by PP2C38 to enable efficient BIK1 activation. This study uncovers an important regulatory mechanism of this central immune component, and extends our knowledge on how plant immunity is appropriately controlled

Physical activity and affect of the elderly: Contribution to the validation of the Positive and Negative Affect Shedule (PANAS) in the Portuguese population

The concept of affect corresponds to the emotional dimension of subjective well-being (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). It is represented by two dimensions (negative affect and positive affect), which were the basis of the development of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule - PANAS (Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). It was translated and validated for the Portuguese population by Galinha and Pais-Ribeiro (2005b). Nevertheless, because the Portuguese version was not validated in a sample of Portuguese elderly, the goals of this study consisted in the translation of the scale (PANAS) from the original version of 20 items and the validation of its measurement model (including a shortened version) for a sample of Portuguese elderly (n = 311), aged 60 years or older (M = 68.53; DP = 6.69); it was then tested by a confirmatory factorial analysis. The results demonstrated that the measurement model (two factors and 10 items) of the shortened Portuguese version of the PANAS presented acceptable psychometric qualities, which adjusted to the data in a satisfactory way (factorial weights ranging between .57 and .70 in positive affect and between .52 and .68 in negative affect). We also concluded that older adults who practice more physical activity perceive higher levels of positive affect F(2, 297) = 3,78, p < .05; η2 = .025, and lower levels of negative affect F (2, 297) = 6,24, p < .001; η2 = .040).This project was supported by the National Funds through FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/DTP/04045/2019) - and the European Fund for regional development (FEDER) allocated by European Union through the COMPETE 2020 Programme (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006969).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Benchmarking some Portuguese S&T system research units: 2nd Edition

The increasing use of productivity and impact metrics for evaluation and comparison, not only of individual researchers but also of institutions, universities and even countries, has prompted the development of bibliometrics. Currently, metrics are becoming widely accepted as an easy and balanced way to assist the peer review and evaluation of scientists and/or research units, provided they have adequate precision and recall. This paper presents a benchmarking study of a selected list of representative Portuguese research units, based on a fairly complete set of parameters: bibliometric parameters, number of competitive projects and number of PhDs produced. The study aimed at collecting productivity and impact data from the selected research units in comparable conditions i.e., using objective metrics based on public information, retrievable on-line and/or from official sources and thus verifiable and repeatable. The study has thus focused on the activity of the 2003-06 period, where such data was available from the latest official evaluation. The main advantage of our study was the application of automatic tools, achieving relevant results at a reduced cost. Moreover, the results over the selected units suggest that this kind of analyses will be very useful to benchmark scientific productivity and impact, and assist peer review.Comment: 26 pages, 20 figures F. Couto, D. Faria, B. Tavares, P. Gon\c{c}alves, and P. Verissimo, Benchmarking some portuguese S\&T system research units: 2nd edition, DI/FCUL TR 13-03, Department of Informatics, University of Lisbon, February 201

Goal Content for the practice of physical activity and the impact on subjective well-being in older adults

The main goal of this study consisted in an analysis of the impact that the goal content that leads to the practice of physical activity in the elderly population can play on the variables that constitute subjective well-being, as well as to analyze the differences in these variables’ levels according to the amount of physical activity practiced. A total of 300 individuals participated in this study (n=300), including 238 females and 62 males, aged between 60 and 90 years old (M = 68.59; DP = 6.54), who practice differing levels of physical activity. The results enable us to conclude that the goal content for the practice of physical activity has positive effects on the perception of satisfaction with life and on affect. To the same extent, they verify that health is the motivation that has the greatest weight on the practice of physical activity. We also concluded that elderly people who practice more physical activity perceive higher levels of satisfaction with life and positive affect, and lower levels of negative affectinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Distributed Ontology Language (DOL): Use Cases, Syntax, and Extensibility

The Distributed Ontology Language (DOL) is currently being standardized within the OntoIOp (Ontology Integration and Interoperability) activity of ISO/TC 37/SC 3. It aims at providing a unified framework for (1) ontologies formalized in heterogeneous logics, (2) modular ontologies, (3) links between ontologies, and (4) annotation of ontologies. This paper presents the current state of DOL's standardization. It focuses on use cases where distributed ontologies enable interoperability and reusability. We demonstrate relevant features of the DOL syntax and semantics and explain how these integrate into existing knowledge engineering environments.Comment: Terminology and Knowledge Engineering Conference (TKE) 2012-06-20 to 2012-06-21 Madrid, Spai

Systemic-functional linguistics and computation : New directions, new challenges

Peer reviewe

Broad application of a simple and affordable protocol for isolating plant RNA

BACKGROUND: Standard molecular biological methods involve the analysis of gene expression in living organisms under diverse environmental and developmental conditions. One of the most direct approaches to quantify gene expression is the isolation of RNA. Most techniques used to quantify gene expression require the isolation of RNA, usually from a large number of samples. While most published protocols, including those for commercial reagents, are either labour intensive, use hazardous chemicals and/or are costly, a previously published protocol for RNA isolation in Arabidopsis thaliana yields high amounts of good quality RNA in a simple, safe and inexpensive manner. FINDINGS: We have tested this protocol in tomato and wheat leaves, as well as in Arabidopsis leaves, and compared the resulting RNA to that obtained using a commercial phenol-based reagent. Our results demonstrate that this protocol is applicable to other plant species, including monocots, and offers yield and purity at least comparable to those provided by commercial phenol-based reagents. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we show that this previously published RNA isolation protocol can be easily extended to other plant species without further modification. Due to its simplicity and the use of inexpensive reagents, this protocol is accessible and affordable and can be easily implemented to work on different plant species in laboratories worldwide

Moinho do condado, moinho satãnico: Tolkien, Polanyi e o papel da tecnologia

No tempo presente temos visto o crescimento de movimentos conservadores que buscam a negação de diversos valores da sociedade atual. Ideias-base da sociedade moderna, como a ciência e a tecnologia estão sendo deslegitimados em sua condição de ferramentas de interpretação do mundo e como mecanismo de solução de controvérsias. Isso é preocupante, vendo a importância desses elementos para a melhora da vida material, para o desenvolvimento do ser humano e considerando o potencial desses elementos para a defesa e ampliação da democracia e dos direitos humanos. Ao mesmo tempo, até um pouco em contraste, a indústria cultural se torna uma arena cada vez mais legítima para debates, com as obras pop sendo levadas mais a sério pelo público e moldando as visões de mundo dos seus consumidores (sendo até observadas com mais seriedade na academia como veículos válidos de interpretação) e seu poder de penetração entre o público sendo ampliado pelas novas tecnologias de distribuição de conteúdo e pelas novas mídias (onde muito do discurso deslegitimador da ciência e da tecnologia também acontece via teorias da conspiração e posts virais). Unindo esses elementos, esse trabalho propõe uma reflexão sobre a posição conservadora de uma obra fundacional da cultura pop quando esta se volta para o tema da a ciência e tecnologia. A partir de uma leitura aprofundada da obra de Tolkien, pretende-se observar os pontos de aproximação e distanciamento entre as leituras polanyianas e tolkienianas no que diz respeito à transição para o mundo capitalista, com atenção especial para os princípios éticos católicos desses autores e ao papel da tecnologia nesse processo. Isso será feito por meio de revisão bibliográfica dos autores relacionados. O foco principal do trabalho são as seguintes perguntas: Seria a tecnologia e a indústria o pecado original que gera os males atribuídos à modernidade por Tolkien (como o episódio da criação dos 21 anéis e da destruição de Eregion alude fortemente)? Como a leitura de Polanyi sobre a transição para o capitalismo e a ideia de desenraizamento (ela mesma muito associada às tecnologias da revolução industrial) nos ajuda a observar a questão, sendo ele um dos teóricos mais proeminentes (incluindo no campo cristão) no debate sobre essa transição e seus males? Como podemos aprofundar a nossa compreensão da visão dos dois autores sobre esse tema se notarmos suas relações com o movimento político católico europeu do início do século XX