Design, Green Synthesis and Performance of L-Leucine-Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT/MCTES), Portugal, through projects PTDC/EQU-EQU/32473/2017, PTDC/MEC-ONC/29327/2017, and PTDC/QUI-QIN/30649/2017 (REALM). A.I.F. acknowledges her PhD grant (SFRH/BD/150696/2020) in the aim of the International Year of the Periodic Table─a protocol established between the Portuguese Chemical Society (SPQ) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT/MCTES). R.V. would like to acknowledge Individual Scientific Employment Stimulus (CEEC-IND), reference 2020.00377.CEECIND from the FCT/MCTES, Portugal. The Associate Laboratory Research Unit for Green Chemistry–Clean Technologies and Processes–LAQV-REQUIMTE is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020, UIDP/50006/2020, and UID/QUI/50006/2020) and cofinanced by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER–007265).Biopurification is a challenging and growing market. Despite great efforts in the past years, current purification strategies still lack specificity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The development of more sustainable functional materials and processes needs to address pressing environmental goals, efficiency, scale-up, and cost. Herein, l-leucine (LEU)-molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), LEU-MIPs, are presented as novel biomolecular fishing polymers for affinity sustainable biopurification. Rational design was performed using quantum mechanics calculations and molecular modeling for selecting the most appropriate monomers. LEU-MIPs were synthesized for the first time by two different green approaches, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) technology and mechanochemistry. A significant imprinting factor of 12 and a binding capacity of 27 mg LEU/g polymer were obtained for the LEU-MIP synthesized in scCO2 using 2-vinylpyridine as a functional monomer, while the LEU-MIP using acrylamide as a functional monomer synthesized by mechanochemistry showed an imprinting factor of 1.4 and a binding capacity of 18 mg LEU/g polymer, both systems operating at a low binding concentration (0.5 mg LEU/mL) under physiological conditions. As expected, at a higher concentration (1.5 mg LEU/mL), the binding capacity was considerably increased. Both green technologies show high potential in obtaining ready-to-use, stable, and low-cost polymers with a molecular recognition ability for target biomolecules, being promising materials for biopurification processes.publishersversionpublishe

Multiresolution schemes for time-scaled propagation of wave packets

We present a detailed analysis of the time scaled coordinate approach and its implementation for solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation describing the interaction of atoms or molecules with radiation pulses. We investigate and discuss the performance of multi-resolution schemes for the treatment of the squeezing around the origin of the bound part of the scaled wave packet. When the wave packet is expressed in terms of B-splines, we consider two different types of breakpoint sequences: an exponential sequence with a constant density and an initially uniform sequence with a density of points around the origin that increases with time. These two multi-resolution schemes are tested in the case of a one-dimensional gaussian potential and for atomic hydrogen. In the latter case, we also use Sturmian functions to describe the scaled wave packet and discuss a multi-resolution scheme which consists in working in a sturmian basis characterized by a set of non-linear parameters. Regarding the continuum part of the scaled wave packet, we show explicitly that, for large times, the group velocity of each ionized wave packet goes to zero while its dispersion is suppressed thereby explaining why, eventually, the scaled wave packet associated to the ejected electrons becomes stationary. Finally, we show that only the lowest scaled bound states can be removed from the total scaled wave packet once the interaction with the pulse has ceased

Temperate facultative cleaner wrasses selectively remove ectoparasites from their client-fish in the Azores

Cleaner fishes are key contributors to the health of fish communities. However, much of the information in the literature refers to tropical systems, while fewer studies have examined the activity of cleaner fish inhabiting temperate ecosystems. Facultative cleaner fish are assumed to clean only during their juvenile phase, and have a broader diet than obligatory cleaner fish. Here, we focused on 2 facultative cleaner fish species, Coris julis and Thalassoma pavo, that live along the temperate coasts of the Azorean island of São Miguel. We found that these species focused their cleaning activities on relatively few species of clients, which supports the general idea that facultative cleaner fishes in temperate waters are less dependent on cleaning interactions than obligatory cleaner fishes in tropical waters. Both cleaner species were found to give more bites per host when inspecting larger clients, likely because the latter typically host more parasites. We found that C. julis consumed a greater diversity of food items, which included gnathiid larvae and fewer caligid copepods, compared to T. pavo where no ectoparasites were found. All cleaner fish that we collected after observations of cleaning had eaten gnathiid isopod larvae but not caligid copepods, even though caligid copepods were the most abundant ectoparasite found on the body of 7 selected fish species (including both client and non-client species), suggesting that both species selectively feed on gnathiid isopods. This study is the first to demonstrate that temperate facultative cleaner fish species actively and selectively inspect and remove ectoparasites from their client-fish species.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, grant PTDC/MAR/105276/2008. European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) COMPETE - Operational Competitiveness Programme. FCT - Foundation for Science and Techno - project PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2011.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Shells of the limpet Patella aspera as habitat for epibionts

World Congress of Malacology, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, 21-28 de julho.Although limpets can control the abund ance and distribution of algae and other organisms, their shells can offer a refuge for the establishment of diverse assemblage that would otherwise be excluded. In this study, we make a preliminary analysis of the epibiota growing on shells of the limpet Patella aspern. Individuals of P. aspera were collected in all islands of the Azores and the biota on their shells was identified and quantified to species leveli. A total of 144 species was identified. The composition of the epibiota assemblage varied among islands and among locations within islands. There was also significant variation in epibiota richness at the scale of locations, but not at the scale of islands. A positive and highly significant correlation was also found between epibiota richness and shell length. This study adds to the literature by showing that the shells of P. aspern, an over-exploited species in the Azores, support a very rich community of algae and invertebrates and that this is controlled by processes operating at multiple spatial scales ranging from metres (among individuals) to 100's of kilometers (among islands)

Potencial nutricional de macroalgas marinhas dos Açores. Determinação do teor de proteína.

IV Congresso da Ordem dos Biólogos e II Congresso dos Biólogos dos Açores (Painel Biologia Marinha e Oceanografia). Ponta Delgada, Açores, 13-15 de Outubro de 2011

Shell variation in Patellid limpets: scales of spatial variability

World Congress of Malacology, Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, 21-28 de julho.Species o f the genera Patella generally display a high degree of shell variation, which is thought to be an adaptation to environmental conditions. The present work examines the variation in the morphometry of the two patellid limpets present in the Azores (Patella candei and P. aspera) at multiple spatial scales. Individuals of both patellid species were collected on two sites in each of the nine islands of the Azores. All individuals were measured to estimate base ellipticity, base eccentricity, conicity and cone eccentricity. Shell variation in P. candei was consistent among groups of islands (eastern, central, western) but there was significant variation in shell morphometry at the scales of islands and sites. Components of variation showed that a substantial proportion of variation was associated with the scale of individuais. Shell variation in P. aspera was consistent at the scale of island groups and islands but there was significant variation among sites. Analysis of the components of variability showed that variability in shell morphometrv was mostly associated with differences among individuais. Overall, these results suggest that variation in shell morphometry in the two patellid is not influenced by large scale processes as would be expected given that P. candei and P. aspera both have a pelagic Iarvae. In addition, this study suggests that shell variation in these species is likely to be a result of an adaptation to local conditions (e.g. microhabitats)

(Im)possibilities of Autonomy:? Social Movements In and Beyond Capital, the State and Development

In this paper we interrogate the demand and practice of autonomy in social movements. We begin by identifying three main conceptions of autonomy: (1) autonomous practices vis-à-vis capital; (2) self-determination and independence from the state; and (3) alternatives to hegemonic discourses of development. We then point to limits associated with autonomy and discuss how demands for autonomy are tied up with contemporary re-organizations of: (1) the capitalist workplace, characterized by discourses of autonomy, creativity and self-management; (2) the state, which increasingly outsources public services to independent, autonomous providers, which often have a more radical, social movement history; and (3) regimes of development, which today often emphasize local practices, participation and self-determination. This capturing of autonomy reminds us that autonomy can never be fixed. Instead, social movements' demands for autonomy are embedded in specific social, economic, political and cultural contexts, giving rise to possibilities as well as impossibilities of autonomous practices