Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) based on sulphur for silicon surfaces as alternative lubricants

Encontro realizado na Universidade Nova de Lisboa de 24-27 de junho de 2019.Deep eutectic mixtures composed of hydrogen-bond donors and hydrogen-bond acceptors, the so-called DESs, have recently being proposed as possible “green” alternatives to mineral oils and ionic liquids (ILs) in the lubrication of steel surfaces. DESs have similar physical properties to ILs but have the advantage of being cheaper and easier to prepare. In this work, new DESs containing sulphur units in their structure were prepared and tested in the lubrication of silicon surfaces which are relevant for nano/microelectromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS). The following new DESs were prepared: dibutil-ethyl sulfonium ethylsulfate: polyethylene glycol ([S4,4,2][EtSO4]:PEG), ethyl-tetrahydrothiophenium ethylsulfate: polyethylene glycol ([C2-THT][EtSO4]:PEG, cis-1-ethyl-3methylimidazolium canforsulfonate: polyethylene glycol ([C2MIM][(S)-CSA]:PEG), and 1,3-dimethylpiridinium methyl sulfate: polyethylene glycol ([C1-3-pic][MeSO4]:PEG). Other DES, already known, were tested for comparison purposes: tetrabutylammonium bromide: ‎tetrahydrothiophene 1,1-dioxide ([N4,4,4,4][Br]:Sulfolane), choline chloride: polyethylene glycol (ChCl:PEG), and tetrabutylammonium bromide: polyethylene glycol ([N4,4,4,4][Br]:PEG). All DESs were characterized in terms of their water content, viscosity, wettability, and tribological properties. The friction coefficients were measured in a nanotribometer using steel spheres against Si surfaces. The new DES prepared from ILs based on the sulfur-containing anions showed good tribological performance, but the best results were obtained with [C2MIM][(S)-CSA]:PEG and [C1-3-pic][MeSO4]:PEG which reduced the friction coefficients to values < 0.1, typical of excellent lubrication conditions.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT-Portugal) and COMPETE (FEDER), within projects UID/QUI/00100/2013, UID/NAN/50024/2013 and PTDC/CTM-POL/3698/2014info:eu-repo/semantics/draf

Parainfluenza fusion peptide promotes membrane fusion by assembling into oligomeric porelike structures

© 2022 The Authors. Published by American Chemical SocietyParamyxoviruses are enveloped viruses harboring a negative-sense RNA genome that must enter the host’s cells to replicate. In the case of the parainfluenza virus, the cell entry process starts with the recognition and attachment to target receptors, followed by proteolytic cleavage of the fusion glycoprotein (F) protein, exposing the fusion peptide (FP) region. The FP is responsible for binding to the target membrane, and it is believed to play a crucial role in the fusion process, but the mechanism by which the parainfluenza FP (PIFP) promotes membrane fusion is still unclear. To elucidate this matter, we performed biophysical experimentation of the PIFP in membranes, together with coarse grain (CG) and atomistic (AA) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The simulation results led to the pinpointing of the most important PIFP amino acid residues for membrane fusion and show that, at high concentrations, the peptide induces the formation of a water-permeable porelike structure. This structure promotes lipid head intrusion and lipid tail protrusion, which facilitates membrane fusion. Biophysical experimental results validate these findings, showing that, depending on the peptide/lipid ratio, the PIFP can promote fusion and/or membrane leakage. Our work furthers the understanding of the PIFP-induced membrane fusion process, which might help foster development in the field of viral entry inhibition.This work was financially supported by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, through project PTDC/CCI-BIO/28200/2017 and by the European Union (H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01, grant no. 828774). This work was also financially supported by Project LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007660 (Microbiologia Molecular, Estrutural e Celular) funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020_Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI). M.V. and D.A.M. thank FCT for their PhD fellowships (SFRH/BD/148542/2019 and PD/BD/136752/2018, respectively). M.N.M. thanks FCT for the Post-Doc fellowship CEECIND/04124/2017. M.N.M. and D.L. thank the MACC for the computing hours in their HPC center (CPCA/A0/7329/2020 and CPCA/A0/7305/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Combined use of chitosan and olfactory mucosa mesenchymal stem/stromal cells to promote peripheral nerve regeneration in vivo

Peripheral nerve injury remains a clinical challenge with severe physiological and functional consequences. Despite the existence of multiple possible therapeutic approaches, until now, there is no consensus regarding the advantages of each option or the best methodology in promoting nerve regeneration. Regenerative medicine is a promise to overcome this medical limitation, and in this work, chitosan nerve guide conduits and olfactory mucosa mesenchymal stem/stromal cells were applied in different therapeutic combinations to promote regeneration in sciatic nerves after neurotmesis injury. Over 20 weeks, the intervened animals were subjected to a regular functional assessment (determination of motor performance, nociception, and sciatic indexes), and after this period, they were evaluated kinematically and the sciatic nerves and cranial tibial muscles were evaluated stereologically and histomorphometrically, respectively. The results obtained allowed confirming the beneficial effects of using these therapeutic approaches. The use of chitosan NGCs and cells resulted in better motor performance, better sciatic indexes, and lower gait dysfunction after 20 weeks. The use of only NGGs demonstrated better nociceptive recoveries. The stereological evaluation of the sciatic nerve revealed identical values in the different parameters for all therapeutic groups. In the muscle histomorphometric evaluation, the groups treated with NGCs and cells showed results close to those of the group that received traditional sutures, the one with the best final values. The therapeutic combinations studied show promising outcomes and should be the target of new future works to overcome some irregularities found in the results and establish the combination of nerve guidance conduits and olfactory mucosa mesenchymal stem/stromal cells as viable options in the treatment of peripheral nerves after injury.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainable development of crop-livestock farms in Africa

Crop-livestock farms across Africa are highly variable due to in agroecological and socioeconomic factors, the latter shaping the demand and supply of livestock products. Crop-livestock farms in Africa in the 20-first century are very different from most mixed farms elsewhere in the world. African crop-livestock farms are smaller in size, have fewer livestock, lower productivity and less dependency on imported feed than farms in most countries of Europe, the Americas and the intensive agricultural systems of Asia. This paper discusses the role African crop-livestock farms have in the broader socio-agricultural economy, and how these are likely to change adapting to pressures brought on by the intensification of food systems. This intensification implies increasing land productivity (more food per hectare), often leading to more livestock heads per farm, producing fertilized feeds in croplands and importing feed supplements from the market. This discussion includes (1) the links between crop yields, soil fertility and crop-livestock integration, (2) the increasing demand for livestock products and the land resources required to meet to this demand, and (3) the opportunities to integrate broader societal goals into the development of crop-livestock farms. There is ample room for development of crop-livestock farms in Africa, and keeping integration as part of the development will help prevent many of the mistakes and environmental problems related to the intensification of livestock production observed elsewhere in the world. This development can integrate biodiversity, climate change adaptation and mitigation to the current goals of increasing productivity and food security. The inclusion of broader goals could help farmers access the level of finance required to implement changes

LPS Induces mTORC1 and mTORC2 Activation During Monocyte Adhesion

Monocyte adhesion is a crucial step in transmigration and can be induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Here, we studied the role of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, and PKC in this process. We used THP-1 cells, a human monocytic cell line, to investigate monocyte adhesion under static and flow conditions. We observed that 1.0 μg/mL LPS increased PI3K/mTORC2 pathway and PKC activity after 1 h of incubation. WYE-354 10−6 M (mTORC2/mTORC1 inhibitor) and 10−6 M wortmannin avoided monocyte adhesion in culture plates. In addition, WYE also blocked LPS-induced CD11a expression. Interestingly, rapamycin and WYE-354 blocked both LPS-induced monocyte adhesion in a cell monolayer and actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, confirming mTORC1 involvement in this process. Once activated, PKC activates mTORC1/S6K pathway in a similar effect observed to LPS. Activation of the mTORC1/S6K pathway was attenuated by 10−6 M U0126, an MEK/ERK inhibitor, and 10−6 M calphostin C, a PKC inhibitor, indicating that the MEK/ERK/TSC2 axis acts as a mediator. In agreement, 80 nM PMA (a PKC activator) mimicked the effect of LPS on the activation of the MEK/ERK/TSC2/mTORC1/S6K pathway, monocyte adhesion to ECV cells and actin cytoskeleton rearrangement. Our findings show that LPS induces activation of mTOR complexes. This signaling pathway led to integrin expression and cytoskeleton rearrangement resulting in monocyte adhesion. These results describe a new molecular mechanism involved in monocyte adhesion in immune-based diseases

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Beta-alanine supplementation improves isometric, but not isotonic or isokinetic strength endurance in recreationally strength-trained young men

Background: β-alanine (BA) supplementation may be ergogenic during high intensity exercise, primarily due to the buffering of hydrogen cations, although the effects of beta-alanine supplementationon strength endurance are equivocal. Aim: To determine the effects of 4 weeks of beta-alanine supplementation on skeletal muscle endurance using a battery of performance tests. Methods: This study employed a parallel group, repeated measures, randomised, double-blinded and placebo controlled design. Twenty recreationally strength-trained healthy males completed tests of isotonic strength endurance (repeated bench and leg press), along with tests of isometric and isokinetic endurance conducted using an isokinetic dynamometer. Tests were performed before and after a 4 week intervention, comprising an intake of 6.4g.day-1 10 of BA (n = 9) or placebo (maltodextrin, n = 11). Results: Time-to-exhaustion during the isometric endurance test improved by ~17% in the BA group (p 0.1) were shown for any of the performance variables in the isokinetic test (peak torque, fatigue index, total work) nor for the total number of repetitions performed in the isotonic endurance tests (leg or bench press). Conclusions: Four weeks of BA supplementation (6.4 g.day-1 15 ) improved isometric, but not isokinetic or isotonic endurance performance

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biomarkers of presbycusis and tinnitus in a Portuguese older population

Introduction: Presbycusis or age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is a ubiquitous health problem. It is estimated that it will affect up to 1.5 billion people by 2025. In addition, tinnitus occurs in a large majority of cases with presbycusis. Glutamate metabotropic receptor 7 (GRM7) and N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) are some of the genetic markers for presbycusis. Objectives: To explore patterns of hearing loss and the role of GRM7 and NAT2 as possible markers of presbycusis and tinnitus in a Portuguese population sample. Materials and Methods: Tonal and speech audiometry, tinnitus assessment, clinical interview, and DNA samples were obtained from patients aged from 55 to 75 with or without tinnitus. GRM7 analysis was performed by qPCR. Genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in NAT2 was performed by PCR amplification followed by Sanger sequencing or by qPCR. Results: We screened samples from 78 individuals (33 men and 45 women). T allele at GRM7 gene was the most observed (60.3% T/T and 33.3% A/T). Individuals with a T/T genotype have a higher risk for ARHL and 33% lower risk for tinnitus, compared to individuals with A/A and A/T genotype, respectively. Being a slow acetylator (53%) was the most common NAT2 phenotype, more common in men (55.8%). Intermediate acetylator was the second most common phenotype (35.9%) also more frequent in men (82.6%). Noise exposed individuals and individuals with ‘high frequency’ hearing loss seem to have a higher risk for tinnitus. Our data suggests that allele AT of GRM7 can have a statistically significant influence toward the severity of tinnitus. Conclusion: For each increasing year of age the chance of HL increases by 9%. The risk for ARHL was not significantly associated with GRM7 neither NAT2. However, we cannot conclude from our data whether the presence of T allele at GRM7 increases the odds for ARHL or whether the A allele has a protective effect. Genotype A/T at GRM7 could potentially be considered a biomarker of tinnitus severity. This is the first study evaluating the effect of GRM7 and NAT2 gene in tinnitus