Novel approaches of nanoceria with magnetic, photoluminescent, and gas-sensing properties

The modification of CeO2 with rare-earth elements opens up a wide range of applications as biomedical devices using infrared emission as well as magnetic and gas-sensing devices, once the structural, morphological, photoluminescent, magnetic, electric, and gas-sensing properties of these systems are strongly correlated to quantum electronic transitions between rare-earth f-states among defective species. Quantitative phase analysis revealed that the nanopowders are free from secondary phases and crystallize in the fluorite-type cubic structure. Magnetic coercive field measurements on the powders indicate that the substitution of cerium with lanthanum (8 wt %), in a fluorite-type cubic structure, created oxygen vacancies and led to a decrease in the fraction of Ce species in the 3+ state, resulting in a stronger room-temperature ferromagnetic response along with high coercivity (160 Oe). In addition to the magnetic and photoluminescent behavior, a fast response time (5.5 s) was observed after CO exposure, indicating that the defective structure of ceria-based materials corresponds to the key of success in terms of applications using photoluminescent, magnetic, or electrical behaviors.Fil: Rocha, Leandro S.R.. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Amoresi, Rafael A.C.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Moreno, Henrique. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Ramirez, Miguel A.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Ponce, Miguel Adolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales; ArgentinaFil: Foschini, Cesar R.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Longo, Elson. Universidade Federal do São Carlos; BrasilFil: Simões, Alexandre Z.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasi

Preimplantation development regulatory pathway construction through a text-mining approach

BACKGROUND: The integration of sequencing and gene interaction data and subsequent generation of pathways and networks contained in databases such as KEGG Pathway is essential for the comprehension of complex biological processes. We noticed the absence of a chart or pathway describing the well-studied preimplantation development stages; furthermore, not all genes involved in the process have entries in KEGG Orthology, important information for knowledge application with relation to other organisms. RESULTS: In this work we sought to develop the regulatory pathway for the preimplantation development stage using text-mining tools such as Medline Ranker and PESCADOR to reveal biointeractions among the genes involved in this process. The genes present in the resulting pathway were also used as seeds for software developed by our group called SeedServer to create clusters of homologous genes. These homologues allowed the determination of the last common ancestor for each gene and revealed that the preimplantation development pathway consists of a conserved ancient core of genes with the addition of modern elements. CONCLUSIONS: The generation of regulatory pathways through text-mining tools allows the integration of data generated by several studies for a more complete visualization of complex biological processes. Using the genes in this pathway as "seeds" for the generation of clusters of homologues, the pathway can be visualized for other organisms. The clustering of homologous genes together with determination of the ancestry leads to a better understanding of the evolution of such process

Designing new antitubercular isoniazid derivatives with improved reactivity and membrane trafficking abilities

Funding Information: We acknowledge Diogo Vila Vi?osa for valuable discussions. We acknowledge financial support from Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia, Portugal through projects PTDC/MED-QUI/29036/2017, PTDC/BIA-MIC-30692/2017, UIDB/00100/2020, UIDP/00100/2020, UIDB/04046/2020, UIDP/04046/2020, and UID/Multi/04413/2020, and Grants CEECIND/02300/2017 and DL57/CEECIND/0256/2017. Contributions from JRK, CMB, and DCG supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation, USA (MCB 1616059). Funding Information: We acknowledge Diogo Vila Viçosa for valuable discussions. We acknowledge financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia , Portugal through projects PTDC/MED-QUI/29036/2017 , PTDC/BIA-MIC-30692/2017 , UIDB/00100/2020 , UIDP/00100/2020 , UIDB/04046/2020 , UIDP/04046/2020 , and UID/Multi/04413/2020 , and Grants CEECIND/02300/2017 and DL57/CEECIND/0256/2017 . Contributions from JRK, CMB, and DCG supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation , USA ( MCB 1616059 ). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorsIsoniazid (INH) is one of the two most effective first-line antitubercular drugs and is still used at the present time as a scaffold for developing new compounds to fight TB. In a previous study, we have observed that an INH derivative, an hydrazide N′-substituted with a C10acyl chain, was able to counterbalance its smaller reactivity with a higher membrane permeability. This resulted in an improved performance against the most prevalent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) resistant strain (S315T), compared to INH. In this work, we have designed two new series of INH derivatives (alkyl hydrazides and hydrazones) with promising in silico properties, namely membrane permeabilities and spontaneous IN* radical formation. The kinetics, cytotoxicity, and biological activity evaluations confirmed the in silico predictions regarding the very high reactivity of the alkyl hydrazides. The hydrazones, on the other hand, showed very similar behavior compared to INH, particularly in biological tests that take longer to complete, indicating that these compounds are being hydrolyzed back to INH. Despite their improved membrane permeabilities, the reactivities of these two series are too high, impairing their overall performance. Nevertheless, the systematic data gathered about these compounds have showed us the need to find a balance between lipophilicity and reactivity, which is paramount to devise better INH-based derivatives aimed at circumventing Mtb resistance.publishersversionpublishe

Smart monitoring of constructed wetlands to improve efficiency and water quality

The Smart monitoring of constructed wetlands to improve efficiency and water quality (SmarterCW) project aims to monitor biological wastewater treatment processes by gathering continuous data from remote water and environmental sensors. The acquired data can be processed and analysed through data science tools to better understand the complex and coupled phenomena underneath wastewater treatment, as well as, to monitor and optimize the system performance. The results will improve the efficiency and control of nature-based wastewater treatment technologies. The methodology comprises the following tasks and activities: Implementation of a set of electrochemical sensors in the input and output flow streams of pilot-scale constructed wetlands; Acquisition of water quality parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, and ionic compounds; Acquisition of environmental parameters, such as temperature and humidity; Application of data analysis tools to design and optimize conceptual models to correlate pollutants removal with operative parameters in green technologies for wastewater treatment. This methodology was applied to a patent-protected pilot-scale modular constructed wetland in which filling media consists of a mixture of solid waste. The system is complemented by a high-level IoT communication layer structure to support remote real-time water and environmental monitoring, system performance, and data dissemination. The project contributes to: Water and Environment through the efficient management and use of water resources and waste reduction, management, treatment, and valorisation; Materials and raw-materials through efficient, secure, and sustainable use of resources; and Environmental Education promoting environmental awareness and best environmental practices through the dissemination of scientific data and results using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools and IoT platforms. The project also contributes to giving response to Societal Challenges, such as Environment protection, sustainable management of natural resources, water, biodiversity, and ecosystems; Enabling the transition to a green society and economy through eco-innovation.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Human Extracellular-Matrix Functionalization of 3D hiPSC-Based Cardiac Tissues Improves Cardiomyocyte Maturation

The work here presented was funded by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) projects NETDIAMOND (SAICTPAC/0047/2015), financially supported by FEEI-Lisboa2020 and FCT/POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016385, and MetaCardio (PTDC/BTM-SAL/32566/2017); iNOVA4-Health -UIDB/04462/2020 and UIDP/04462/2020, a program financially supported by FCT/Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, through national funds is acknowledged; Funding from INTERFACE Programme, through the Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy Fund (FITEC), is gratefully acknowledged; and EU-funded projects BRAV3 (H2020, ID:874827) and ERAatUC (ref. 669088). HVA, AFL, and DS were financed by FCT Grants SFRH/BPD/120595/2016 and PD/BD/139078/2018 and PD/BD/106051/2015, respectively.Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) possess significant therapeutic potential due to their high self-renewal capability and potential to differentiate into specialized cells such as cardiomyocytes. However, generated hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) are still immature, with phenotypic and functional features resembling the fetal rather than their adult counterparts, which limits their application in cell-based therapies, in vitro cardiac disease modeling, and drug cardiotoxicity screening. Recent discoveries have demonstrated the potential of the extracellular matrix (ECM) as a critical regulator in development, homeostasis, and injury of the cardiac microenvironment. Within this context, this work aimed to assess the impact of human cardiac ECM in the phenotype and maturation features of hiPSC-CM. Human ECM was isolated from myocardium tissue through a physical decellularization approach. The cardiac tissue decellularization process reduced DNA content significantly while maintaining ECM composition in terms of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (s-GAG) and collagen content. These ECM particles were successfully incorporated in three-dimensional (3D) hiPSC-CM aggregates (CM+ECM) with no impact on viability and metabolic activity throughout 20 days in 3D culture conditions. Also, CM+ECM aggregates displayed organized and longer sarcomeres, with improved calcium handling when compared to hiPSC-CM aggregates. This study shows that human cardiac ECM functionalization of hiPSC-based cardiac tissues improves cardiomyocyte maturation. The knowledge generated herein provides essential insights to streamline the application of ECM in the development of hiPSC-based therapies targeting cardiac diseases.publishersversionpublishe

Herbage Intake, Methane Emissions and Animal Performance of Steers Grazing Dwarf Elephant Grass with or without Access to \u3cem\u3eArachis pintoi\u3c/em\u3e Pastures

The inclusion of legumes in diets based on grass has nutritional benefits due to ingestive and digestive interactions (Niderkorn and Baumont 2009). Moreover, it is speculated that tropical legumes can contribute to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) compared to diets exclusively composed of grasses (Archimède et al. 2011). However, under grazing conditions, these advantages are not always possible to obtain. This occurs when the spatial distribution of sward grasses impose limitations on access to legumes by grazing animals (Solomon et al. 2011). This can be the case, for example, when legumes are overlapped by the leaves of a tufted tall grass, as dwarf elephant grass (Crestani et al. 2013). Considering that management strategies for increasing legumes in the diet of grazing animals should be better studied and data on enteric methane emitted by ruminants eating tropical forages are scarce, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of access to an exclusive area of peanuts (Arachis pintoi cv. Amarillo) for cattle grazing dwarf elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum cv. BRS Kurumi) on herbage intake, animal performance and enteric methane emission

Design, synthesis and biologival evaluation of novel isoniazid derivatives with potente antitubercular activity

The disturbing emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) has been driving the scientific community to urgently search for new and efficient antitubercular drugs. Despite the various drugs currently under evaluation, isoniazid is still the key and most effective component in all multi-therapeutic regimens recommended by the WHO. This paper describes the QSAR-oriented design, synthesis and in vitro antitubercular activity of several potent isoniazid derivatives (isonicotinoyl hydrazones and isonicotinoyl hydrazides) against H37Rv and two resistant Mtb strains. QSAR studies entailed RFs and ASNNs classification models, as well as MLR models. Strict validation procedures were used to guarantee the models' robustness and predictive ability. Lipophilicity was shown not to be relevant to explain the activity of these derivatives, whereas shorter N-N distances and lengthy substituents lead to more active compounds. Compounds I, 2, 4, 5 and 6, showed measured activities against H37Rv higher than INH (i.e., MIC <= 0.28 mu M), while compound 9 exhibited a six fold decrease in MIC against the katG (S315T) mutated strain, by comparison with INH (Le., 6.9 vs. 43.8 mu M). All compounds were ineffective against H37Rv(INH) (Delta katG), a strain with a full deletion of the katG gene, thus corroborating the importance of KatG in the activation of INH-based compounds. The most potent compounds were also shown not to be cytotoxic up to a concentration 500 times higher than MIC. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

Mode cleaning in graphene oxide-doped polymeric whispering gallery mode microresonators

The strategy to incorporate graphene oxide (GO) in a composite material offers significant opportunities to realize compact photonic devices, such as saturable absorbers and polarization selective devices. However, the processing of GO-based composites by direct laser writing, which would afford vast patterning and material flexibility in a single step process, has been little addressed. In this work, we investigated the mechanisms underlying a mode cleaning effect in polymeric whispering gallery mode microresonators containing GO, aiming at the development of on-chip integrable photonic devices. We fabricated the microresonators (cavity loaded Q-factor of 20 000 at 1550 nm) in a single step of femtosecond laser writing via two-photon polymerization. By calculating the resonance response to damping mechanisms in the microresonators, we showed that additional losses introduced by GO play a major role in reducing the visibility of a number of resonances up to the point of effectively filtering a set of modes out. Interestingly, although the presence of GO leads to extra losses in the microresonator, it does not change the order of magnitude of the Q-factor of the highest extinction ratio resonances. Overall, this work offers interesting physical insights that can be useful for the design and fabrication of GO-based photonic micro/nanodevices.PIRSES-GA-2013- 612267FAPESP 2018/ 11283-7FAPESP 2015/22392-3CAPES 88882.328716/2018-0

Abnormal thyroid hormone status differentially affects bone mass accrual and bone strength in C3H/HeJ mice: a mouse model of type I deiodinase deficiency

C3H/HeJ (C3H) mice are deficient of type I deiodinase (D1), an enzyme that activates thyroid hormone (TH), converting thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3). Nevertheless, C3H mice present normal serum T3 and a gross euthyroid phenotype. To investigate if a global D1 deficiency interferes in the TH effects on bone, we compared bone growth, bone mass accrual and bone strength of C3H and C57BL/6J (B6) mice under abnormal TH status. Four-week-old female mice of both strains were grouped as Euthyroid, Hypothyroid (pharmacologically-induced), 1xT4 and 10xT4 (hypothyroid animals receiving 1- or 10-fold the physiological dose of T4 /day/16 weeks). Hypothyroidism and TH excess similarly impaired body weight (BW) gain and body growth in both mice strains. In contrast, whereas hypothyroidism only slightly impaired bone mineral density (BMD) accrual in B6 mice, it severely impaired BMD accrual in C3H mice. No differences were observed in serum and bone concentrations of T3 between hypothyroid animals of both strains. Interestingly, treatment with 10xT4 was less deleterious to BMD accrual in C3H than in B6 mice and resulted in less elevated T3 serum levels in B6 than in C3H mice, which is probably explained by the lower D1 activity in C3H mice. In addition, hypothyroidism decreased bone strength only in C3H but not in B6 mice, while TH excess decreased this parameter in both strains. These findings indicate that D1 deficiency contributes to the TH excess-induced differences in bone mass accrual in C3H vs. B6 mice and suggest that deiodinase-unrelated genetic factors might account for the different skeleton responses to hypothyroidism between strains