La vallée de l'Escaut à Pont-à-Chin

The sudden opening of a karst pipe in the abandoned bed of the Scheldt River has exposed 8 m ofHolocene deposits; their stratigraphy, archaeological contents, fossil fauna and flora are studied here. A well dated early occupation is from the First Iron Age to Early La Tène (around 650-450 B.C.), a second one from Roman times (around 50-200 A.D.); they permit a close control of the14 C dates, which are systematically too old, due to reworking in the stream. Vertebrate and molluscan assemblages are discussed separatel

Estudo do Sistema de Qualidade (CAF) nos Serviços Municipais : o caso dos SMAS de Oeiras e Amadora

Mestrado em Ciências EmpresariaisVivemos num mundo cada vez mais turbulento e incerto, o que nos obriga a contantes adaptações, a novas atitudes e a novas abordagens para que, não obstante toda esta volatilidade, possamos vir a encontrar ordem no caos e prosperar. No contexto atual de contração económica e subsequente constrangimento orçamental aliado a crescentes exigências por parte da sociedade, um dos principais objetivos que se coloca aos serviços públicos prende-se com a sua eficácia. O desperdício é sinónimo de falta de eficiência e esta, por seu turno, promove a desconfiança que conduz à insatisfação e ao descrédito. O presente TFM tem assim por objetivo, mediante uma abordagem qualitativa com recurso à recolha/pesquisa bibliográfica, estudar de que forma poderão vir a ser encetadas melhorias nos Serviços Municipalizados de Água e Saneamento de Oeiras e Amadora, no que respeita à qualidade do serviço prestado, face à eventual implementação de uma ferramenta de autoavaliação designada por Common Assessment Framework (CAF) ou Estrutura Comum de Avaliação. Pretende-se ainda, e do ponto de vista teórico, analisar quais os principais resultados esperados, os benefícios pretendidos e as melhorias visadas, bem como apontar outras áreas que poderiam vir a beneficiar com o eventual alastramento desta ferramenta às mesmas.We live in a world increasingly turbulent and uncertain which obliges us to constant adjustments, new attitudes and new approaches, so that we might find order in chaos and thrive notwithstanding all the volatility. In the current context of economic contraction and subsequent budget constraint combined with increasing society demands, one of the main public services objectives is its effectiveness. Waste is synonymous of lack of efficiency, which promotes mistrust that leads to dissatisfaction and disbelieve. The objective of this Final Thesis Work is to study, throughout a qualitative literature search approach, how the Municipal Water and Sanitation Services of Oeiras and Amadora could initiate improvements regard the service quality provided if they were to implement a self-assessment tool known by the name of Common Assessment Framework (CAF). The aim is to analyze theoretically the main outcomes, intended benefits, and targeted improvements, as well as identify other areas that could benefit if this tool was to be spread

N-Terminal Gly224–Gly411 Domain in Listeria Adhesion Protein Interacts with Host Receptor Hsp60

Listeria adhesion protein (LAP) is a housekeeping bifunctional enzyme consisting of N-terminal acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and C-terminal alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). It aids Listeria monocytogenes in crossing the epithelial barrier through a paracellular route by interacting with its host receptor, heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60). To gain insight into the binding interaction between LAP and Hsp60, LAP subdomain(s) participating in the Hsp60 interaction were investigated.Using a ModBase structural model, LAP was divided into 4 putative subdomains: the ALDH region contains N1 (Met(1)-Pro(223)) and N2 (Gly(224)-Gly(411)), and the ADH region contains C1 (Gly(412)-Val(648)) and C2 (Pro(649)-Val(866)). Each subdomain was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified. Purified subdomains were used in ligand overlay, immunofluorescence, and bead-based epithelial cell adhesion assays to analyze each domain's affinity toward Hsp60 protein or human ileocecal epithelial HCT-8 cells.The N2 subdomain exhibited the greatest affinity for Hsp60 with a K(D) of 9.50±2.6 nM. The K(D) of full-length LAP (7.2±0.5 nM) to Hsp60 was comparable to the N2 value. Microspheres (1 µm diameter) coated with N2 subdomain showed significantly (P<0.05) higher binding to HCT-8 cells than beads coated with other subdomains and this binding was inhibited when HCT-8 cells were pretreated with anti-Hsp60 antibody to specifically block epithelial Hsp60. Furthermore, HCT-8 cells pretreated with purified N2 subdomain also reduced L. monocytogenes adhesion by about 4 log confirming its involvement in interaction with epithelial cells.These data indicate that the N2 subdomain in the LAP ALDH domain is critical in initiating interaction with mammalian cell receptor Hsp60 providing insight into the molecular mechanism of pathogenesis for the development of potential anti-listerial control strategies

Warmer Weather Linked to Tick Attack and Emergence of Severe Rickettsioses

The impact of climate on the vector behaviour of the worldwide dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus is a cause of concern. This tick is a vector for life-threatening organisms including Rickettsia rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, R. conorii, the agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, and the ubiquitous emerging pathogen R. massiliae. A focus of spotted fever was investigated in France in May 2007. Blood and tissue samples from two patients were tested. An entomological survey was organised with the study of climatic conditions. An experimental model was designed to test the affinity of Rh. sanguineus for biting humans in variable temperature conditions. Serological and/or molecular tools confirmed that one patient was infected by R. conorii, whereas the other was infected by R. massiliae. Dense populations of Rh. sanguineus were found. They were infected with new genotypes of clonal populations of either R. conorii (24/133; 18%) or R. massiliae (13/133; 10%). April 2007 was the warmest since 1950, with summer-like temperatures. We show herein that the human affinity of Rh. sanguineus was increased in warmer temperatures. In addition to the originality of theses cases (ophthalmic involvements, the second reported case of R. massiliae infection), we provide evidence that this cluster of cases was related to a warming-mediated increase in the aggressiveness of Rh. sanguineus, leading to increased human attacks. From a global perspective, we predict that as a result of globalisation and warming, more pathogens transmitted by the brown dog tick may emerge in the future

Characterization of primary human hepatocytes, HepG2 cells, and HepaRG cells at the mRNA level and CYP activity in response to inducers and their predictivity for the detection of human hepatotoxins

In the pharmaceutical industry, improving the early detection of drug-induced hepatotoxicity is essential as it is one of the most important reasons for attrition of candidate drugs during the later stages of drug development. The first objective of this study was to better characterize different cellular models (i.e., HepG2, HepaRG cells, and fresh primary human hepatocytes) at the gene expression level and analyze their metabolic cytochrome P450 capabilities. The cellular models were exposed to three different CYP450 inducers; beta-naphthoflavone (BNF), phenobarbital (PB), and rifampicin (RIF). HepG2 cells responded very weakly to the different inducers at the gene expression level, and this translated generally into low CYP450 activities in the induced cells compared with the control cells. On the contrary, HepaRG cells and the three human donors were inducible after exposure to BNF, PB, and RIF according to gene expression responses and CYP450 activities. Consequently, HepaRG cells could be used in screening as a substitute and/or in complement to primary hepatocytes for CYP induction studies. The second objective was to investigate the predictivity of the different cellular models to detect hepatotoxins (16 hepatotoxic and 5 nonhepatotoxic compounds). Specificity was 100% with the different cellular models tested. Cryopreserved human hepatocytes gave the highest sensitivity, ranging from 31% to 44% (depending on the donor), followed by lower sensitivity (13%) for HepaRG and HepG2 cells (6.3%). Overall, none of the models under study gave desirable sensitivities (80–100%). Consequently, a high metabolic capacity and CYP inducibility in cell lines does not necessarily correlate with a high sensitivity for the detection of hepatotoxic drugs. Further investigations are necessary to compare different cellular models and determine those that are best suited for the detection of hepatotoxic compounds

Subcell Operation and Long Term Stability Analysis of Perovskite Based Tandem Solar Cells Using a Bichromatic Light Emitting Diode Light Source

In monolithic tandem solar cells, current voltage J V characteristics of subcells provide invaluable information about their quality and tandem operation. However, accessing the subcell J Vs is challenging and requires sophisticated spectral methods. Herein, a customized, bichromatic light emitting diode setup BCLED for in depth analysis of tandem solar cells, suitable for subcell operation analysis, and long term stability testing is presented. For this, two spectrally independent LED arrays are used to selectively bias the two subcells. The power of the developed setup is demonstrated by successfully disentangling the tandem J V curve into subcell J V curves. The method is based on a one diode model for each subcell and is validated by electrical simulations. Afterward, it is used on a fabricated 27.6 efficient perovskite silicon tandem device, resulting in great agreement with the measured J V curve. Therefore, the BCLED setup is a versatile tool, suitable for subcell characteristics and long term stability analysis of tandem solar cell

Molecular correlates of host specialization in Staphylococcus aureus

The majority of Staphylococcus aureus isolates that are recovered from either serious infections in humans or from mastitis in cattle represent genetically distinct sets of clonal groups. Moreover, population genetic analyses have provided strong evidence of host specialization among S. aureus clonal groups associated with human and ruminant infection. However, the molecular basis of host specialization in S. aureus is not understood.We sequenced the genome of strain ET3-1, a representative isolate of a common bovine mastitis-causing S. aureus clone. Strain ET3-1 encodes several genomic elements that have not been previously identified in S. aureus, including homologs of virulence factors from other gram-positive pathogens. Relative to the other sequenced S. aureus associated with human infection, allelic variation in ET3-1 was high among virulence and surface-associated genes involved in host colonization, toxin production, iron metabolism, antibiotic resistance, and gene regulation. Interestingly, a number of well-characterized S. aureus virulence factors, including protein A and clumping factor A, exist as pseudogenes in ET3-1. Whole-genome DNA microarray hybridization revealed considerable similarity in the gene content of highly successful S. aureus clones associated with bovine mastitis, but not among those clones that are only infrequently recovered from bovine hosts.Whole genome sequencing and comparative genomic analyses revealed a set of molecular genetic features that distinguish clones of highly successful bovine-associated S. aureus optimized for mastitis pathogenesis in cattle from those that infect human hosts or are only infrequently recovered from bovine sources. Further, the results suggest that modern bovine specialist clones diverged from a common ancestor resembling human-associated S. aureus clones through a combination of foreign DNA acquisition and gene decay

Dermacentor reticulatus: a vector on the rise

Dermacentor reticulatus is a hard tick species with extraordinary biological features. It has a high reproduction rate, a rapid developmental cycle, and is also able to overcome years of unfavourable conditions. Dermacentor reticulatus can survive under water for several months and is cold-hardy even compared to other tick species. It has a wide host range: over 60 different wild and domesticated hosts are known for the three active developmental stages. Its high adaptiveness gives an edge to this tick species as shown by new data on the emergence and establishment of D. reticulatus populations throughout Europe. The tick has been the research focus of a growing number of scientists, physicians and veterinarians. Within the Web of Science database, more than a fifth of the over 700 items published on this species between 1897 and 2015 appeared in the last three years (2013–2015). Here we attempt to synthesize current knowledge on the systematics, ecology, geographical distribution and recent spread of the species and to highlight the great spectrum of possible veterinary and public health threats it poses. Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia canis is a severe leading canine vector-borne disease in many endemic areas. Although less frequently than Ixodes ricinus, D. reticulatus adults bite humans and transmit several Rickettsia spp., Omsk haemorrhagic fever virus or Tick-borne encephalitis virus. We have not solely collected and reviewed the latest and fundamental scientific papers available in primary databases but also widened our scope to books, theses, conference papers and specialists colleagues’ experience where needed. Besides the dominant literature available in English, we also tried to access scientific literature in German, Russian and eastern European languages as well. We hope to inspire future research projects that are necessary to understand the basic life-cycle and ecology of this vector in order to understand and prevent disease threats. We conclude that although great strides have been made in our knowledge of the eco-epidemiology of this species, several gaps still need to be filled with basic research, targeting possible reservoir and vector roles and the key factors resulting in the observed geographical spread of D. reticulatus. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-016-1599-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users