Heavy metals removal in dual media filters

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente – Perfil de Engenharia SanitáriaThe purpose of this study was to investigate physicochemical mechanisms for the removal of heavy metals from the effluent of Harnaschpolder’s WWTP Pilot Installation in the South of Netherlands. This effluent is partially submitted to tertiary treatment in a water reuse pilot which aims the production of water for two different end‑uses: crop irrigation in greenhouses and surface‑type water. Tertiary filters were mounted and started up at the reuse pilot and specific concentrations of heavy metals were dosed in the filters. Removal efficiencies were then calculated after the end of the experiments. As a parallel research project, the removal of HM was also carried out by inoculating selected bacteria (biosorption). Solubility curves were calculated for the dosed heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Zn) using PHREEQc programme, to predict if heavy metal precipitation occurred in the filters (using the same experimental data: temperature, pH , alkalinity, etc.). Results show that physicochemical precipitation was not the primary removal mechanism for heavy metals. The results suggest that other mechanisms such as adsorption and/or chelation may be involved in the removal of these species

Weak ferromagnetism in cobalt oxalate crystals

Microcrystals of diaquocobalt(II) oxalate have been synthesized by the coprecipitation reaction of aqueous solutions of Cobalt (II) bromide and oxalic acid. Chemical analysis and thermal experiments revealed that there is only one phase present. X-ray powder diffraction studies show that this compound is orthorhombic with space group Cccm. Molar susceptibility versus temperature measurements show the existence of an antiferromagnetic ordering, however, the hysteresis measured in magnetization measurements as a function of magnetic field reveals a weak ferromagnetic behavior.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figure

Cobrão's stream ecological restoration. An ecological process to embrace Companhia das Lezirias' greenway network

Mestrado em Arquitectura Paisagista - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaRiparian corridors are unique ecosystems, established normally along the river margins forms dense patches of vegetation adapted to water and soil dynamics. It forms a “continuum” of higher biodiversity then the surroundings, commonly observed in Portugal mainland, with its dry Mediterranean climate. The aim of this study is the ecological restoration of Cobrão’s riparian corridor on Lezírias Company, a state-owned agricultural and forestry farmstead, located near Tagus estuary, not far from Lisbon. Lezírias Company property has most of its area covered by cork oak woodlands, integrated on a managed agro-silvo pastoral system. It is under this context that Cobrão’s stream riparian corridor is subjected. This stream’s longitudinal profile has suffered many anthropological changes throughout the years, mostly for agricultural purposes, affecting the riparian corridor’s ecological status. This study will focus, firstly on the regional and local landscape, and climate characterization, as well as the typical Mediterranean riparian ecosystems and finally an overall national and European legislative approach relative to water, land management and conservation. Afterwards, the proposal will aim the ecological renaturalisation and will recommend, on Cobrão’s riparian corridor, new accesses and cycling and pedestrian paths. Lastly, this proposal will contemplate an integrated long term management pla

The navigator company: the path towards a new cycle? Which investment to choose?

The Navigator Company case presents a realistic situation wherein a multinational manufacturer of pulp and paper enters in a new cycle in order to improve its international competitiveness. For that reason, three alternative investment opportunities arose. In the case study context, all alternatives are analyzed in order to assess the fit with the company’s new motto and the compliance with the financial requirements. All that takes place in the year of 2014, with the entrance of a new CEO, coinciding with the period straight after the crisis. The circumstances that The Navigator Company faced at that time provide an interesting case study on the topic of strategic growth and M&A

Use of in vitro human keratinocyte models to study the effect of cooling on chemotherapy drug-induced cytotoxicity

A highly distressing side-effect of cancer chemotherapy is chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA). Scalp cooling remains the only treatment for CIA, yet there is no experimental evidence to support the cytoprotective capacity of cooling. We have established a series of in vitro models for the culture of human keratinocytes under conditions where they adopt a basal, highly-proliferative phenotype thus resembling the rapidly-dividing sub-population of native hair-matrix keratinocytes. Using a panel of chemotherapy drugs routinely used clinically (docetaxel, doxorubicin and the active metabolite of cyclophosphamide 4-OH-CP), we demonstrate that although these drugs are highly-cytotoxic, cooling can markedly reduce or completely inhibit drug cytotoxicity, in agreement with clinical observations. By contrast, we show that cytotoxicity caused by specific combinatorial drug treatments cannot be adequately attenuated by cooling, supporting data showing that such treatments do not always respond well to cooling clinically. Importantly, we provide evidence that the choice of temperature may be critical in determining the efficacy of cooling in rescuing cells from drug-mediated toxicity. Therefore, despite their reductive nature, these in vitro models have provided experimental evidence for the clinically-reported cytoprotective role of cooling and represent useful tools for future studies on the molecular mechanisms of cooling-mediated cytoprotection

Sumoylation Dynamics During Keratinocyte Differentiation

SUMO modification regulates the activity of numerous transcription factors that have a direct role in cell cycle progression, apoptosis, cellular proliferation, and development, but its role in differentiation processes is less clear. Keratinocyte differentiation requires the coordinated activation of a series of transcription factors, and as several critical keratinocyte transcription factors are known to be SUMO substrates, we investigated the role of sumoylation in keratinocyte differentiation. In a human keratinocyte cell line model (HaCaT cells), calcium-induced differentiation led to the transient and coordinated transcriptional activation of the genes encoding critical sumoylation system components, including SAE1, SAE2, Ubc9, SENP1, Miz-1 (PIASxβ), SUMO2, and SUMO3. The increased gene expression resulted in higher levels of the respective proteins and changes in the pattern of sumoylated substrate proteins during the differentiation process. Similar to the HaCaT results, stratified human foreskin keratinocytes showed an upregulation of Ubc9 in the suprabasal layers. Lastly, abrogation of sumoylation by Gam1 expression severely disrupted normal HaCaT differentiation, consistent with an important role for sumoylation in the proper progression of this biological process

Analysis of Global Sumoylation Changes Occurring during Keratinocyte Differentiation

Sumoylation is a highly dynamic process that plays a role in a multitude of processes ranging from cell cycle progression to mRNA processing and cancer. A previous study from our lab demonstrated that SUMO plays an important role in keratinocyte differentiation. Here we present a new method of tracking the sumoylation state of proteins by creating a stably transfected HaCaT keratinocyte cell line expressing an inducible SNAP-SUMO3 protein. The SNAP-tag allows covalent fluorescent labeling that is denaturation resistant. When combined with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, the SNAP-tag technology provides direct visualization of sumoylated targets and can be used to follow temporal changes in the global cohort of sumoylated proteins during dynamic processes such as differentiation. HaCaT keratinocyte cells expressing SNAP-SUMO3 displayed normal morphological and biochemical features that are consistent with typical keratinocyte differentiation. SNAP-SUMO3 also localized normally in these cells with a predominantly nuclear signal and some minor cytoplasmic staining, consistent with previous reports for untagged SUMO2/3. During keratinocyte differentiation the total number of proteins modified by SNAP-SUMO3 was highest in basal cells, decreased abruptly after induction of differentiation, and slowly rebounded beginning between 48 and 72 hours as differentiation progressed. However, within this overall trend the pattern of change for individual sumoylated proteins was highly variable with both increases and decreases in amount over time. From these results we conclude that sumoylation of proteins during keratinocyte differentiation is a complex process which likely reflects and contributes to the biochemical changes that drive differentiation

Staphylococcus aureus Keratinocyte Invasion Is Dependent upon Multiple High-Affinity Fibronectin-Binding Repeats within FnBPA

Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal organism and a frequent cause of skin and soft tissue infections, which can progress to serious invasive disease. This bacterium uses its fibronectin binding proteins (FnBPs) to invade host cells and it has been hypothesised that this provides a protected niche from host antimicrobial defences, allows access to deeper tissues and provides a reservoir for persistent or recurring infections. FnBPs contain multiple tandem fibronectin-binding repeats (FnBRs) which bind fibronectin with varying affinity but it is unclear what selects for this configuration. Since both colonisation and skin infection are dependent upon the interaction of S. aureus with keratinocytes we hypothesised that this might select for FnBP function and thus composition of the FnBR region. Initial experiments revealed that S. aureus attachment to keratinocytes is rapid but does not require FnBRs. By contrast, invasion of keratinocytes was dependent upon the FnBR region and occurred via similar cellular processes to those described for endothelial cells. Despite this, keratinocyte invasion was relatively inefficient and appeared to include a lag phase, most likely due to very weak expression of α5β1 integrins. Molecular dissection of the role of the FnBR region revealed that efficient invasion of keratinocytes was dependent on the presence of at least three high-affinity (but not low-affinity) FnBRs. Over-expression of a single high-affinity or three low-affinity repeats promoted invasion but not to the same levels as S. aureus expressing an FnBPA variant containing three high-affinity repeats. In summary, invasion of keratinocytes by S. aureus requires multiple high-affinity FnBRs within FnBPA, and given the importance of the interaction between these cell types and S. aureus for both colonisation and infection, may have provided the selective pressure for the multiple binding repeats within FnBPA

Recherche, caractérisation et mise en œuvre d'extraits végétaux bifonctionnels antioxydants et antimicrobiens

L’oxydation et le développement microbien constituent les paramètres majeurs à l’origine de l’altération des produits alimentaires, notamment des aliments pour animaux. Ces dégradations affectent les qualités nutritionnelles et sensorielles des produits et peuvent avoir des répercussions au niveau sanitaire. Dans ce contexte, différents moyens de prévention sont disponibles pour limiter ces phénomènes. Parmi eux, la valorisation d’ingrédients d’origine végétale à des fins alimentaires représente un enjeu majeur pour la recherche et l’industrie. Leur utilisation en tant que conservateurs naturels pourrait constituer une alternative attractive aux antioxydants et antimicrobiens synthétiques qui souffrent d’une moindre acceptation par le consommateur.Au travers de cette étude nous avons identifié et caractérisé la performance de quinze extraits végétaux d’un point de vue antioxydant et antimicrobien. Après une caractérisation moléculaire des extraits, leur pouvoir antioxydant a été mesuré puis leur pouvoir antimicrobien sur trois souches de Salm onella. Pour cela, une procédure de sélection a été mise en place. Enfin les extraits présentant les caractéristiques les plus intéressantes ont été testés sur une vraie matrice alimentaire : des croquettes.Oxidation and microbial growth are the major parameters causing the deterioration of food products, including pet food. These degradations affect the nutritional and sensory qualities of the products and may lead to health issues. In this context, various ways of prevention are available to limit these phenomena. Among them, the promotion of plant extracts for food is a major challenge for research and industry. Their use as natural preservatives could be an attractive alternative to synthetic antioxidants or antimicrobials that suffer from lower consumer acceptance.Through this study we have identified and characterized the performance of fifteen plant extracts from an antioxidant and antimicrobial point of view. After a molecular characterization of the extracts, their antioxidant capacity was measured as well as their antimicrobial property on three Salmonella strains. The establishment of a selection procedure was made. Finally, the extracts presenting the most interesting characteristics were tested on a real food matrix: kibbles