Chitosan–lignosulfonates sono-chemically prepared nanoparticles : characterisation and potential applications

Due to their recognised properties of biocompatibility, biodegradability and sustainability, chitosan nanocarriers have been successfully used as new delivery systems. In this work, nanoparticles combining chitosan and lignosulfonates were developed for the first time for cosmetic and biomedical applications. The ability of lignosulfonates to act as a counter polyion for stabilisation of chitosan particles, generated using high intensity ultrasound, was investigated. Several conditions for particles preparation were tested and optimised and the resulting nanoparticles were comprehensively characterised by measuring particle size, zeta potential and polydispersity index. The pH of chitosan solution, sonication time and the presence of an adequate surfactant, poloxamer 407, were determinant factors on the development of smaller particles with low polydispersity index (an average particle size of 230 nm was obtained at pH 5 after 8 min of sonication). The beneficial effects of lignosulfonates complex on chitosan nanoparticles were further characterised. Greater stability to lysozyme degradation, biocompatibility with human cells and antimicrobial activity was found upon lignosulfonates incorporation into chitosan nanoparticles. Furthermore, these particles were able to incorporate a hydrophilic model protein – RNase A. A burst release was observed when nanoparticles were loaded with low amount of protein while with high protein content, a sustained release was found, suggesting that the protein cargo maybe loaded both at the surface as in the bulk of the particle, depending on the concentration of drug incorporated.This work was financed by FP6 European project BioRenew (contract no. NMP2-CT-2006-026456), and by FEDER through POFC-COMPETE and by national funds from FCT through the project PEst-C/BIA/UI4050/2011. FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology awarded scholarships to M.M. Fernandes (SFRH/BD/38363/2007), T. Matama (SFRH/BPD/47555/2008) and A. Loureiro (SFRH/BD/81479/2011)

Y-chromosomal STRs in two populations from Israel and the Palestinian Authority Area: Christian and Muslim Arabs

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Partitioning of potentially toxic elements among two colloidal fractions and relevance for their mobility in different water types

Potentially toxic elements are mobilized in aquatic systems in solution or bounded to colloids of different sizes, which may include nanometer particles. The present work studies the distribution of elements (Al, Fe, Zn, Mn, Co, Cd, Ni, Cu, and As) between small (<0.20 mu m) and larger (0.45-0.20 mu m) colloids in different waters sources in a world class metallogenic province (Iberian Pyrite Belt), including the acid mine waters. Syringe filters with pore-size ratings of 0.20 mu m and 0.45 mu m have been used to assess the transport and fate of these potentially toxic elements. The results show the contribution of colloids for mobility of arsenic and most metals, evidencing the role of the small ones in acid mine drainage.This work was co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, based on COMPETE 2020 - project ICT (UID/GEO/04683/2013) with reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690 and project Nano-MINENV number 029259. Patricia Gomes wishes to acknowledge FCT by the research fellowship under the POCH supported by the European Social Fund and National Funds of MCTES with reference SFRH/BD/108887/2015

Hydrogeochemistry and distribution of potentially toxic elements in a metallogenic province – The Iberian Pyrite Belt, Portugal

Contamination by acid drainage is an environmental problem in mineralized regions, especially in the surroundings of sulphide mines. The water rock interaction process involves the oxidative dissolution of sulphides, naturally or by mining activity, that generates acidity which, in turn, produces sulfate, and water pollution by sulphide-hosted metals. The particular geology of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula creates the ideal conditions for such water contamination. Different water types were sampled at 28 locations across the entire IBP metallogenetic province. Anions, metals, and arsenic were analysed to assess the influence of acid drainage. The results demonstrate the sulfate nature of waters in the vicinity of mines. Other types of water in the IPB region are mainly mixed chloride and bicarbonate (river and groundwater) and mixed and sodium-bicarbonate (lakes) types. Water quality assessment indicated strong contamination of surface waters that are directly influenced by mine wastes. There is the additional concern that some lakes and groundwaters exhibit concentrations of potentially toxic elements (e.g. Al, As) that are above the regulatory limits established by the European Commission Water Framework Directive.This work was co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, based on COMPETE 2020 - project ICT (UID/GEO/04683/2013) with reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690 and project Nano-MINENV number 029259

Get to know yourself and transform yourself: Education by people in promoting sexual education and gender equality

A educação para a saúde é um direito fundamental, por isso, torna-se cada vez mais relevante a abordagem desta temática nas instituições de ensino. O acesso a este tipo de temáticas deve ser feito sem discriminação, coação, violência, e sem ferir suscetibilidades. A promoção da educação para a saúde na escola visa também a criação de ambientes favoráveis à aprendizagem, bem como o desenvolvimento de competências de promoção da saúde individual e comunitária. Neste contexto, o projeto de investigação e intervenção que aqui se apresenta foi realizado por um grupo de alunas da Unidade Curricular de Projeto e Seminário: Dispositivos de Formação e Mediação, que atuaram como voluntárias no Projeto Nacional de Educação pelos Pares (PNEP), realizado pela Fundação Portuguesa “A Comunidade Contra a SIDA”, que atua na Promoção e Educação para a Saúde em Escolas Básicas e Secundárias com o 3º ciclo. O nosso projeto foi implementado numa turma do 8.º ano de escolaridade, numa Escola Básica em Guimarães, onde foi realizado um diagnóstico de necessidades recorrendo a um questionário inicial que fez emergir o seguinte problema de investigação e intervenção: Qual é a potencialidade de um projeto de educação pelos pares para aumentar o conhecimento dos alunos sobre a sexualidade humana, melhorar a sua autoestima, e desenvolver atitudes de prevenção de infeções sexualmente transmissíveis e promoção da igualdade de género? A recolha de dados foi efetuada através de um inquérito por questionário inicial e final, diários de bordo e análise dos documentos produzidos pelos alunos durante o projeto. Os resultados iniciais revelaram alguma falta de conhecimento e mitos em relação ao namoro na adolescência, identidade de género e consumo de substâncias lícitas, ilícitas e outras adições, bem como uma forte motivação para trabalharem esses temas. Ao longo do projeto observou-se um aumento de conhecimentos nas áreas trabalhadas, embora se tivessem recolhidos poucas evidências de mudanças de atitudes e comportamentos nos alunos, principalmente devido ao curto tempo de intervenção do projeto.Health education is a fundamental right, so it is becoming increasingly important to address this issue in educational institutions. Access to these types of themes should be done without discrimination, coercion, violence, and without hurting susceptibilities. The promotion of health education at school also aims to create favourable learning environments, as well as to develop individual and community health promotion skills. In this context, the research and intervention project presented here was carried out by a group of students from the Project and Seminar: Training and Mediation Devices course, who worked as volunteers in the National Peer Education Project (PNEP), conducted by the Portuguese Foundation "The Community Against AIDS", which works in Health Promotion and Education in Elementary and Secondary Schools with the 3rd cycle. Our project was implemented in an 8th grade class, in a Basic School in Guimaraes, where a diagnosis of needs was made using an initial questionnaire that led to the following research and intervention problem: What is the potential of a peer education project to increase students´ knowledge about human sexuality, improve their self-esteem, and develop attitudes of STI prevention and promotion of gender equality? Data collection was carried out through an initial and final questionnaire survey, logbooks and analysis of the documents produced by the students during the project. The initial results revealed some lack of knowledge and myths regarding teenage dating, gender identity, licit and illicit substance use, and other addictions, as well as a strong motivation to work on these topics. Throughout the project an increase in knowledge in the areas worked on was observed, although little evidence of changes in student's attitudes and behaviors was collected, mainly due to the short intervention time of the projectEste trabalho foi financiado por Fundos Nacionais através da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia no âmbito dos projetos do CIEC (Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança da Universidade do Minho) com as referências UIDB/00317/2020 e UIDP/00317/202

Relating microbiological and physicochemical patterns of a traditional Portuguese fermented sausage along processing

Linguiça is a Portuguese popular ready-to-eat dry fermented sausage. Despite the high diversity of sausages produced in Portugal, all of them are made from cut pork meat macerated with water, wine, salt, garlic, pepper, and undergoes processes of maturation, smoking and drying. During the fermentation and drying of sausages, L. monocytogenes tends to decrease considerably. However, despite the various hurdles in the dry sausage manufacturing process, this foodborne pathogen is able to survive and is detected in the final product. Factors that may affect the growth or survival of foodborne pathogens in sausage products such as linguiça include water activity (aw), pH, temperature, use of starter cultures and use of ingredients with antimicrobial activity (e.g., garlic, smoke). The present study has evaluated the influence of the addition of a commercial starter culture and ripening temperature (10º C and 18ºC) on growth and survival of L. monocytogenes strains, isolated from sausage, in experimentally inoculated linguiça. Sliced raw meat was mixed with salt (20g/kg), dry garlic (4,5g/kg), sweet paper (12,5g/kg), laurel (0,5g/kg), dextrose (10g/kg), a mix of red/white wine (410ml/kg) and water (410ml/kg) and inoculated with L. monocytogenes (5 log10/g). Additionally Commercial starter culture (5 log10/g) was added to one batch. The batter was macerated for 3 days at 4ºC. After stuffing into natural pork casings, sausages were hung vertically in a climate controlled chamber, for ripening at 10℃ or 18ºC with 83% relative humidity (RH) during ten days. During maceration step was observed no changes in growth rate of LAB and L. monocytogenes. However during ripening step was verified an increase of the count of LAB and a concomitantly decrease of L. monocytogenes. In the batches not inoculated with a commercial starter culture was observed a decrease of L. monocytogenes of 1 log10/g at 10ºC and 1,57log10/g at 18ºC of ripening temperature. The addition of a commercial starter culture increased the reduction of pathogen at both temperatures (1,57log10/g at 10ºC and 2,24log10/g at 18ºC). This study points out the fact that the decrease of L. monocytogenes contamination rate during the manufacturing process of sausages is due to the drying and ripening step than to the maceration itself and is due mainly to the effect of starter culture and ripening temperature.This research was supported through the project PTDC/AGR-TEC/3107/2012, awarded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), European Regional Development Funds (ERDF). Dr. Gonzales- Barron also acknowledges the financial support provided by FCT through the award of an Investigator Fellowship (IF) in the mode of Development Grants (IF/00570).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Antiproliferative Organic Salts Derived from Betulinic Acid: Disclosure of an Ionic Liquid Selective Against Lung and Liver Cancer Cells

In the last few years, we have been witnessing an increasing interest in ionic liquids (ILs) and organic salts, given their potential applications in biological and pharmaceutical sciences. We report the synthesis and in vitro evaluation of novel organic salts combining betulinate, known for its anticancer properties, with antimalarial drugs, primaquine, chloroquine, and mepacrine, and also with the trihexyltetradecylphosphonium ([P6,6,6,14]) cation. The salts were screened for their in vitro activity against tumor lines HepG2 (liver), MG63 (osteosarcoma), T47D (breast), A459 (lung), and RKO (colon), and also on normal human fibroblasts. All betulinates prepared displayed antiproliferative properties, with the trihexyltetradecylphosphonium betulinate standing out for its higher selectivity. This unprecedented disclosure of a betulinic acid (BA)-derived IL with selective antitumor activity constitutes a relevant first step toward development of novel anticancer therapies based on BA-derived IL.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A conceptual social media tool for supporting collaborative university-industry R&D programs

This paper aims to help professionals and academics involved in collaborative university-industry RD programs and projects, by presenting a conceptual social media tool that can be used to improve communication and collaboration between internal stakeholders. The social media tool conceptualization was developed based on a case study research strategy. The case selected was a large publicly funded RD collaborative program that covers 30 RD projects carried out by a university and an industry partner. During the case study analysis three research methods were applied: participant observation, document analysis, and focus groups. The social media tool is conceptualized in seven functional building blocks: identity, relationships, sharing, presence conversations, reputation and groups. For each building block, its main objectives and requirements are detailed, within this particular context of collaborative university-industry RD programs and projects.This research is sponsored by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia FCT (SFRH/BPD/111033/2015), and by the Portugal Incentive System for Research and Technological Development. Project in co-promotion nº 36265/2013 (Project HMIExcel - 2013-2015)

É possível inovar e valorizar produtos e sub-produtos de origem vegetal tradicionais?

A Escola Superior Agrária do Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (Portugal) tem desenvolvido e participado em projetos relacionados com a valorização de produtos e sub-produtos de origem vegetal, tais como o projeto “AGRINNDIF - Mejora de la competitividad del sector agrario de Castilla y León y Norte de Portugal através de la innovación y el desarrollo de productos diferenciados de alto valor”, financiado pelo POCTEP, e o projeto “Borra de café: programa de reconversão hortícola e implicações na qualidade e segurança dos vegetais produzidos” (FCT/PTDC/AGR-AAM/102447/2008). No projeto AGRIINDIF foram realizadas, até ao momento, diversas atividades, tais como: caracterização físico-química e biológica de frutos colhidos na região de Trás-os-Montes (NE Portugal), tais como medronhos (Arbutus unedo L.) ao longo da maturação; produção e caracterização físico-química, biológica e sensorial de geleias de uva, preparadas a partir de castas regionais, e de pastas de azeitona, às quais foram adicionados diferentes temperos e especiarias; e, realização de ensaios de secagem de frutos da região (ex. castanha) e fungos (ex. cogumelos) e sua modelação. Em paralelo, foram ainda realizados estudos para valorizar sub-produtos, tais como, grainha de uva, através da produção de óleos bastante procurados pelas indústrias farmacêutica e de cosméticos. No projeto “Borra de café”, estudou-se o efeito da adição da borra de café em fresco e após compostagem no crescimento, composição mineral, morfologia radicular e propriedades biológicas da planta modelo alface (Lactuca sativa L.). Desse modo, na presente comunicação serão apresentados alguns dos resultados até agora obtidos nestes projetos e estudos, com vista à inovação e valorização dos produtos estudados.POCTEP através do Projeto “AGRINNDIF - Mejora de la competitividad del sector agrario de Castilla y León y Norte de Portugal através de la innovación y el desarrollo de productos diferenciados de alto valor”. FCT através do projeto “Borra de café: programa de reconversão hortícola e implicações na qualidade e segurança dos vegetais produzidos” (FCT/PTDC/AGR-AAM/102447/2008)