Access to confidential information regarding cartels within the Eu context - the management of information related to leniency

On 14th March 2017, with the Evonik Case, the European Court of Justice refused a cartel member's safeguard to whom the European Commission had conceded protection in exchange for information (the Leniency Program). Never before the Commission had been able to publish cartel’s documents without protecting its information's source (the Whistleblower). This verdict shall allow cartels' Victims to access more information needed to obtain compensation for damages, but may jeopardize Commission's Leniency Program. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how undertakings and European Authorities should manage the access to confidential information regarding cartels from this point onwards

Adversidades na infância, stress pós-traumático, desregulação emocional, empatia e desenvolvimento moral: comparação numa amostra feminina em meio livre e em meio prisional

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no ISPA – Instituto Universitário para obtenção de grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.O número de reclusas nos sistemas prisionais em Portugal tem vindo a aumentar desde 2010. Perceber quais os fatores que levam as pessoas a cometer um crime, poderá servir para desenvolver programas de intervenção e por sua vez baixar os números da reincidência. Esta investigação pretende perceber se existem diferenças entre uma amostra de reclusas e uma amostra em meio livre feminina, em alguns fatores designadamente, Adversidades na Infância, no Stress Pós-Traumático, na Desregulação Emocional, na Empatia e no Desenvolvimento Moral, por serem alguns dos quais a literatura indica como preditores do crime, e o objeto de estudo desta investigação. O estudo é do tipo transversal, realizado no ano 2019 a uma amostra de reclusas de 70 mulheres, com trânsito em julgado recluídas no Estabelecimento Prisional de Tires, comparativamente com uma amostra em meio livre de 156 mulheres. Ambas amostras apresentam como critério de inclusão, nacionalidade Portuguesa, mais de 18 anos de idade e pelo menos o 4º ano de escolaridade. Os resultados revelam que a amostra em meio prisional apresenta maior número de adversidades na infância e de diagnósticos de Stress Pós-Traumático, menor nível de empatia e menor nível de desenvolvimento moral, quando comparadas com a amostra em meio livre. Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas para a desregulação emocional. Os resultados da investigação mostram-se pertinentes para o estudo da criminalidade, confirmam dados de estudos empíricos recentes, e contribuem para o desenvolvimento de programas de prevenção e de intervenção que visem diminuir a taxa de criminalidade em Portugal.The number of prisoners in Portugal prison systems has been increasing since 2010. Understanding what factors lead people to commit a can be used for intervention programs and therefore lowering recidivism numbers. This research aims to detect several differences between a sample of female prisoners and a female sample that not committed crimes, in some factors namely, Childhood Adversity, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Emotional Dysregulation, Empathy and Moral Development by using some of which are the literature indicated as predictors of crime. This is a transverse study conducted in 2019 on a sample of 70 women arrested in Tires prison system, compared with a sample of 156 women. Both selected as inclusion criteria, Portuguese nationality, over 18 years and more than 4th grade. The results of this research show that a prison sample, have a higher number of childhood adversities, a higher number of pos traumatic stress diagnoses, a lower level of empathy, and a lower level of moral development when compared to the other woman. No significant differences were founded for emotional dysregulation. The results of the investigation are relevant to the study of crime, confirming data from recent empirical studies and contributing to the development of prevention and intervention programs aimed at reducing crime rates in Portugal

Unveiling clones and integrons dynamics associated with carbapenemase-producing P. aeruginosa clinical isolates in a portuguese hospital

[Excerpt] Particular epidemic lineages (e.g. 235, 111, ST175 and 244) are associated with carbapenemase-producing P. aeruginosa (CPPA) isolates causing infections. Due to limited therapeutic options and possible carbapenemase spread, CPPA infections are of great concern. Nevertheless, the occurrence, genetic background and clonal dynamics over a long period of time of CPPA strains in Portuguese hospitals are unknown. The study aimed to assess the occurrence and the genetic background of CPPA isolates obtained from a Portuguese University Hospital. Carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates obtained from different biological samples from inpatients attending the Hospital Geral de Santo António, Porto during 2006 (n=27) and 2011-3 (n=135) were included. Carbapenemase production was searched by Blue-Carba. Carbapenemase and associated integrons were characterized by PCRs and sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility was performed by disc diffusion, E-test and agar dilution methods. Clonality was assessed by MLST. The bla genes location was assessed by I-CeuI/ S1 PFGE and hybridization with specific probes. Plasmid analysis included identification of incompatibility groups by PCR and electrotransformation of P. aeruginosa PAO1. [...

Aerocyte specification and lung adaptation to breathing is dependent on alternative splicing changes

© 2022 Fidalgo et al. This article is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution 4.0 International, as described at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Adaptation to breathing is a critical step in lung function and it is crucial for organismal survival. Alveoli are the lung gas exchange units and their development, from late embryonic to early postnatal stages, requires feedbacks between multiple cell types. However, how the crosstalk between the alveolar cell types is modulated to anticipate lung adaptation to breathing is still unclear. Here, we uncovered a synchronous alternative splicing switch in multiple genes in the developing mouse lungs at the transition to birth, and we identified hnRNP A1, Cpeb4, and Elavl2/HuB as putative splicing regulators of this transition. Notably, we found that Vegfa switches from the Vegfa 164 isoform to the longer Vegfa 188 isoform exclusively in lung alveolar epithelial AT1 cells. Functional analysis revealed that VEGFA 188 (and not VEGFA 164) drives the specification of Car4-positive aerocytes, a subtype of alveolar endothelial cells specialized in gas exchanges. Our results reveal that the cell type-specific regulation of Vegfa alternative splicing just before birth modulates the epithelial-endothelial crosstalk in the developing alveoli to promote lung adaptation to breathing.This work was supported by European Research Council (ERC starting grant [679368]), the European Union (H2020-TWINN-2015 – Twinning [692322]), Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (PTDC/MED-PAT/31639/2017, and UIDP/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences - UCIBIO), and Fondation Leducq (17CVD03). CG Fonseca was supported by a PhD fellowship from the doctoral program Bioengineering: Cellular Therapies and Regenerative Medicine funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (PD/BD/128375/2017). T Balboni was supported by a PhD fellowship from the doctoral program “Oncology, Hematology and Pathology - 30th Cycle” funded by University of Bologna, Italy. P Caldas was supported by a postdoctoral researcher fellowship from FCT (PTDC/MED-ONC/28660/2017). AASF Raposo was supported by FCT and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) PAC-PRECISE-LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-016394 and by an assistant researcher contract from FCT (CEECIND/01474/2017). AR Grosso was supported by a principal investigator contract from FCT (CEECIND/02699/2017). FF Vasconcelos was supported by a postdoctoral researcher contract from FCT (CEECIND/04251/2017). CA Franco was supported by a principal investigator contract from FCT (CEECIND/02589/2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring the potential of invasive species Sargassum muticum: microwave-assisted extraction optimization and bioactivity profiling

Sargassum muticum (SM) poses a serious environmental issue since it is a fast-expanding invasive species occupying key areas of the European shoreline, disrupting the autochthonous algae species, and disturbing the ecosystem. This problem has concerned the general population and the scientific community. Nevertheless, as macroalgae are recognized as a source of bioactive molecules, the abundance of SM presents an opportunity as a raw material. In this work, response surface methodology (RSM) was applied as a tool for the optimization of the extraction of bioactive compounds from SM by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). Five different parameters were used as target functions: yield, total phenolic content (TPC); and the antioxidant measurements of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS), and β-carotene bleaching (BC). After the optimal extraction conditions were determined (time = 14.00 min; pressure = 11.03 bar; ethanol = 33.31%), the chemical composition and bioactivity of the optimum extract was evaluated to appraise its antioxidant capability to scavenge reactive species and as a potential antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiproliferation, and neuroprotective agent. The results lead to the conclusion that MAE crude extract has bioactive properties, being especially active as an antiproliferation agent and as a nitric oxide and superoxide radical scavenger.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Kinetic extraction of fucoxanthin from Undaria pinnatifida using ethanol as a solvent

Fucoxanthin (Fx) has been proven to exert numerous biological properties, which makes it an interesting molecule with diverse industrial applications. In this study, the kinetic behavior of Fx was studied to optimize three variables: time (t—3 min to 7 days), temperature (T—5 to 85 °C), and concentration of ethanol in water (S—50 to 100%, v/v), in order to obtain the best Fx yield from Undaria pinnatifida using conventional heat extraction. The Fx content (Y1) was found through HPLC-DAD and expressed in µg Fx/g of algae sample dry weight (AS dw). Furthermore, extraction yield (Y2) was also found through dry weight analysis and was expressed in mg extract (E)/g AS dw. The purity of the extracts (Y3) was found and expressed in mg Fx/g E dw. The optimal conditions selected for Y1 were T = 45 °C, S = 70%, and t = 66 min, obtaining ~5.24 mg Fx/g AS; for Y2 were T = 65 °C, S = 60%, and t = ~10 min, obtaining ~450 mg E/g AS; and for Y3 were T = 45 °C, S = 70%, and t = 45 min, obtaining ~12.3 mg Fx/g E. In addition, for the selected optimums, a full screening of pigments was performed by HPLC-DAD, while phenolics and flavonoids were quantified by spectrophotometric techniques and several biological properties were evaluated (namely, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and cholinesterase inhibitory activity). These results could be of interest for future applications in the food, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical industries, as they show the Fx kinetic behavior and could help reduce costs associated with energy and solvent consumption while maximizing the extraction yields.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. RYC-2017-22891Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación | Ref. FPU2020/06140Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED431F 2020/12Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481B-2021/152Xunta de Galicia | Ref. ED481A) -2019/295Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. UIDB/50006/2020Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia | Ref. POCI-01- 0145-FEDER-03024

Phytochemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation of the Aqueous and Supercritical Fluid Extracts from Salvia sclareoides Brot

Plants belonging to the genus Salvia (Lamiaceae) are known to have a wide range of biological properties. In this work, extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides Brot. were evaluated to investigate their chemical composition, toxicity, bioactivity, and stability under in vitro gastrointestinal conditions. The composition of the supercritical fluid extract was determined by GC and GC-MS, while the identification of the infusion constituents was performed by HPLC-DAD and LC-MS. The in vitro cytotoxicity of both extracts (0-2 mg/mL) was evaluated in Caco-2 cell lines by the MTT assay. The anti-inflammatory and anticholinesterase activities were determined through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1 and acetylcholinesterase enzymes, while β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching test and the DPPH assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity. The infusion inhibited cyclooxygenase-1 (IC50 = 271.0 μg/mL), and acetylcholinesterase (IC50 = 487.7 μg/ mL) enzymes, also demonstrated significant antioxidant properties, as evaluated by the DPPH (IC50 = 10.4 μg/mL) and β-carotene/linoleic acid (IC50 = 30.0 μg/mL) assays. No remarkable alterations in the composition or in the bioactivities of the infusion were observed after in vitro digestion, which supports the potential of S. sclareoides as a source of bioactive ingredients with neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Project UID/MULTI/00612/2013 and UID/QUI/50006/2013. FCT is also acknowledged for PJAM post-doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/86948/2012) and for CG FCT Investigator (IF/01332/2014). The European Commission is also acknowledged for approval of the INOVAFUNAGEING commitment and the support of the projects PERSSILAA-FP7-ICT-2013-10, Project Nr. 610359, and D3i4AD, FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IAPP, GA 612347. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the collaboration of Prof. Ana Cristina Figueiredo (DBV-FCUL), for GC and GC-MS analysis, and of Prof. Maria Helena Florêncio (DQB-FCUL) for LC-MS support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Genetic and microenvironmental intra-tumor heterogeneity impacts colorectal cancer evolution and metastatic development

© The Author(s) 2022 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a highly diverse disease, where different genomic instability pathways shape genetic clonal diversity and tumor microenvironment. Although intra-tumor heterogeneity has been characterized in primary tumors, its origin and consequences in CRC outcome is not fully understood. Therefore, we assessed intra- and inter-tumor heterogeneity of a prospective cohort of 136 CRC samples. We demonstrate that CRC diversity is forged by asynchronous forms of molecular alterations, where mutational and chromosomal instability collectively boost CRC genetic and microenvironment intra-tumor heterogeneity. We were able to depict predictor signatures of cancer-related genes that can foresee heterogeneity levels across the different tumor consensus molecular subtypes (CMS) and primary tumor location. Finally, we show that high genetic and microenvironment heterogeneity are associated with lower metastatic potential, whereas late-emerging copy number variations favor metastasis development and polyclonal seeding. This study provides an exhaustive portrait of the interplay between genetic and microenvironment intra-tumor heterogeneity across CMS subtypes, depicting molecular events with predictive value of CRC progression and metastasis development.This work was financed by national funds from FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the project UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020 of the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences - UCIBIO and the project LA/P/0140/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy - i4HB. This research was also funded by: PTDC/MED-ONC/28660/2017 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) to A.R.G. A.R.G is recipient of Researcher Grant CEECIND/02699/2017 from FCT. The biobanking of CRC samples from Hospital Santa Maria, Lisbon, Portugal was supported by FCT research grant PIC/IC/82821/2007. This work was produced with the support of INCD funded by FCT and FEDER under the project 22153-01/SAICT/2016.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ser ou não ser praxado? A teoria da ação planeada como modelo para compreender a participação dos caloiros na praxe académica

The main goal of this study was to investigate the predictors of the freshmen’s intentions to participate in academic hazing. With this goal, we used the theory of planned behavior (Azjen, 1991) which allows an analysis of the relative weight of attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control in the intentions to participate in academic hazing. The freshmen who participated in this study (N = 353) filled in a questionnaire. The results supported the theory of planned behavior predictive power, with the attitude and perceived behavioral control as significant predictors of the freshmen’s intentions to participate in academic hazing. The subjective norm was not a significant predictor. The theoretical and social implications of these results are discussed.Com este estudo pretendemos investigar quais são os preditores da intenção de participação dos caloiros na praxe académica. Para tal, recorremos à teoria da ação planeada (Ajzen, 1991) que permite analisar o peso relativo das atitudes, da norma subjetiva, e do controlo comportamental percebido nas intenções de ser praxado. Os participantes, estudantes universitários (N = 353) a frequentar o 1º ano de uma Licenciatura, preencheram um questionário. Os resultados confirmaram o valor preditivo da teoria, tendo sido a atitude e o controlo comportamental percebido preditores significativos da intenção dos caloiros em serem praxados. A norma subjetiva não se mostrou um preditor significativo. As implicações teóricas e sociais destes resultados são discutidas

The InBIO barcoding initiative database: DNA barcodes of Iberian Trichoptera, documenting biodiversity for freshwater biomonitoring in a Mediterranean hotspot

The Trichoptera are an important component of freshwater ecosystems. In the Iberian Peninsula, 380 taxa of caddisflies are known, with nearly 1/3 of the total species being endemic in the region. A reference collection of morphologically identified Trichoptera specimens, representing 142 Iberian taxa, was constructed. The InBIO Barcoding Initiative (IBI) Trichoptera 01 dataset contains records of 438 sequenced specimens. The species of this dataset correspond to about 37% of Iberian Trichoptera species diversity. Specimens were collected between 1975 and 2018 and are deposited in the IBI collection at the CIBIO (Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Portugal) or in the collection Marcos A. González at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain).Twenty-nine species, from nine different families, were new additions to the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). A success identification rate of over 80% was achieved when comparing morphological identifications and DNA barcodes for the species analysed. This encouraging step advances incorporation of informed Environmental DNA tools in biomonitoring schemes, given the shortcomings of morphological identifications of larvae and adult Caddisflies in such studies. DNA barcoding was not successful in identifying species in six Trichoptera genera: Hydropsyche (Hydropsychidae), Athripsodes (Leptoceridae), Wormaldia (Philopotamidae), Polycentropus (Polycentropodidae) Rhyacophila (Rhyacophilidae) and Sericostoma (Sericostomatidae). The high levels of intraspecific genetic variability found, combined with a lack of a barcode gap and a challenging morphological identification, rendered these species as needing additional studies to resolve their taxonomy