The case of social organizations

Silveira, C., Reis, L., Santos, V., & Mamede, H. S. (2020). Creativity in prototypes design and sustainability: The case of social organizations. Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems, 5(6), 1237-1243. https://doi.org/10.25046/AJ0506147The role of creativity techniques in the design of prototypes is of particular interest given its potential for innovation. At same time, despite the efforts of decades in terms of policies and programs of action, humanity has not yet come close to global sustainability. Sustainability design must involve society and creatively employ all available knowledge sources for creating sustainable software. This paper proposes a prototype design approach rooted in employing creativity techniques, while being guided by the dimensions and principles of the Karlskrona Manifesto. This approach is applied to the development of a multidisciplinary aggregator for the optimization of social services. As a result. guidelines for the use of creativity in requirements engineering will be presented, as well as on how to include sustainability issues, namely the Sustainable Development Goals and the five dimensions of sustainability in the design of prototypes.publishersversionpublishe

Photometric type Ia supernova surveys in narrow band filters

We study the characteristics of a narrow band type Ia supernova survey through simulations based on the upcoming Javalambre Physics of the accelerating universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS). This unique survey has the capabilities of obtaining distances, redshifts, and the SN type from a single experiment thereby circumventing the challenges faced by the resource-intensive spectroscopic follow-up observations. We analyse the flux measurements signal-to-noise ratio and bias, the supernova typing performance, the ability to recover light curve parameters given by the SALT2 model, the photometric redshift precision from type Ia supernova light curves and the effects of systematic errors on the data. We show that such a survey is not only feasible but may yield large type Ia supernova samples (up to 250 supernovae at $z<0.5$ per month of search) with low core collapse contamination ($\sim 1.5$ per cent), good precision on the SALT2 parameters (average $\sigma_{m_B}=0.063$, $\sigma_{x_1}=0.47$ and $\sigma_c=0.040$) and on the distance modulus (average $\sigma_{\mu}=0.16$, assuming an intrinsic scatter $\sigma_{\mathrm{int}}=0.14$), with identified systematic uncertainties $\sigma_{\mathrm{sys}}\lesssim 0.10 \sigma_{\mathrm{stat}}$. Moreover, the filters are narrow enough to detect most spectral features and obtain excellent photometric redshift precision of $\sigma_z=0.005$, apart from $\sim$ 2 per cent of outliers. We also present a few strategies for optimising the survey's outcome. Together with the detailed host galaxy information, narrow band surveys can be very valuable for the study of supernova rates, spectral feature relations, intrinsic colour variations and correlations between supernova and host galaxy properties, all of which are important information for supernova cosmological applications.Comment: 20 pages, 12 tables and 26 figures. Version accepted by MNRAS, with results slightly different from previous on

The Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (IBB)

The Laboratório Associado Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (IBB) is a research unit aiming to be a strategic infrastructure for the development of the Portuguese R&D and innovation policies in the areas of Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Life, Biomedical and Agricultural Sciences. IBB combines its R&D activities with advanced higher education, technology transfer, consulting and services, with the aim of fostering the industrial, health, agriculture and environmental sectors

Fuzzy modeling to define corrosivity potential in oil pipelines

In this work, a Fuzzy logic model was developed using the Fuzzy Logic Toolbox™ of the MATLAB® software, for monitoring the corrosivity potential in oil pipelines whose corrosion mechanism is predominantly by microbiological action. With the use of operational parameters, the model presents itself as an alternative to conventional monitoring methods, allowing to infer the corrosion rate in the pipeline, and therefore, the corrosivity potential. The model was applied to an oil pipeline and its results were compared with conventional monitoring methods. The analysis of the results concluded that the model can be used as a monitoring method for pipelines with those predominant corrosion mechanisms, helping to manage the integrity of oil pipelines

MicroRNA profiling in human breast cancer cell lines exposed to the anti-neoplastic drug cediranib

Cediranib, a pan-tyrosine kinase inhibitor is showing promising results for the treatment of several solid tumours. In breast cancer, its effects remain unclear, and there are no predictive biomarkers. Several studies have examined the expression profiles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in response to different chemotherapy treatments and found that the expression patterns may be associated with the treatment response. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the cellular behaviour and differential expression profiles of miRNAs in breast cancer cell lines exposed to cediranib. The biological effect of this drug was measured by viability, migration, invasion and cell death in in vitro assays. Signaling pathways were assessed using a human phospho-receptor tyrosine kinase array. Furthermore, using a miRNA array and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), we assessed the relative expression of miRNAs following cediranib treatment. The breast cancer cell lines exhibited a distinct cytotoxic response to cediranib treatment. Cediranib exposure resulted in a decrease in the cell migration and invasion of all the breast cancer cell lines. Treatment with cediranib appeared to be able to modulate the activation of several RTKs that are targets of cediranib such as EGFR and a new potential target ROR2. Furthermore, this drug was able to modulate the expression profile of different microRNAs such as miR-494, miR-923, miR-449a, miR-449b and miR-886-3 in breast cancer cell lines. These miRNAs are reported to regulate genes involved in important molecular processes, according to bioinformatics prediction tools.We would like to thank Olga Martinho and Celine Pinheiro for assisting in the cellular experiments. This study received financial support from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP Proc. no. 2010/16796-0, São Paulo, brazil)

The usefulness of an Online Simplified Screening Questionnaire (SSQ) in identifying work-related cancers

To obtain a history of occupational exposure in the workplace, the questionnaire is one of the main sources of information. The aim of this study was to develop an online questionnaire using the REDCap data management platform based on the Work-Related Cancer Surveillance Guidelines, reported by the Brazilian National Cancer Institute. Several issues were taken into consideration for its routine application. It should be simple, easy, capable of being applied in a short time and used in the clinical setting of collecting information on the occupational history of the cancer patient. Consequently, this could enable the compulsory notification of work-related cancer. The questionnaire was developed based on questions about the use of and exposure to carcinogenic factors at work and due to smoking. An entirely electronic version of the cancer patient interview was performed using tablets. The online questionnaire was applied at the Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, to newly diagnosed patients from July 2016 to 2018. A total of 1063 patients were included, and 550 indicated positively when asked “Do you work, or have you worked with this substance and/or in this function?/job?” Of these potentially notified patients, 38 subsequently had compulsorily reported work-related cancer. Another important result of this study was the creation and development of a website. In conclusion, we developed an online tool that could facilitate hospital routines, contributing to generating data for the compulsory notification of work-related cancer and triggering investigations and surveillance actions in Brazil.This research was funded by Barretos Cancer Hospital and the Public Ministry of Labor Campinas (Research, Prevention and Education of Occupational Cancer). Vazquez, F.L. is supported by the Public Ministry of Labor Campinas (Research, Prevention, and Education of Occupational Cancer) in Campinas, Brazil

Coffee and tea consumption in the early adult lifespan and left ventricular function in middle age: the CARDIA study

AIMS: The long-term impact of coffee or tea consumption on subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic or diastolic function has not been previously studied. We examined the association between coffee or tea consumption beginning in early adulthood and cardiac function in midlife. METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated 2735 Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study participants with long-term total caffeine intake, coffee, and tea consumption data from three visits over a 20 year interval and available echocardiography indices at the CARDIA Year-25 exam (2010-2011). Linear regression models were used to assess the association between caffeine intake, tea, and coffee consumption (independent variables) and echocardiography outcomes [LV mass, left atrial volume, and global longitudinal strain (GLS), LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and transmitral Doppler early filling velocity to tissue Doppler early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/e )]. Models were adjusted for standard cardiovascular risk factors, socioeconomic status, physical activity, alcohol use, and dietary factors (calorie intake, whole and refined grain intake, and fruit and vegetable consumption). Mean (standard deviation) age was 25.2 (3.5) years at the CARDIA Year-0 exam (1985-1986), 57.4% were women, and 41.9% were African-American. In adjusted multivariable linear regression models assessing the relationship between coffee consumption and GLS, beta coefficients when comparing coffee drinkers of \u3c 1, 1-2, 3-4, and \u3e 4 cups/day with non-coffee drinkers were beta = -0.30%, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.35%, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.32%, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.40%, P \u3e 0.05; respectively (more negative values implies better systolic function). In adjusted multivariable linear regression models assessing the relationship between coffee consumption and E/e , beta coefficients when comparing coffee drinkers of \u3c 1, 1-2, 3-4, and \u3e 4 cups/day with non-coffee drinkers were beta = -0.29, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.38, P \u3c 0.01; beta = -0.20, P \u3e .05; and beta = -0.37, P \u3e 0.05, respectively (more negative values implies better diastolic function). High daily coffee consumption ( \u3e 4 cups/day) was associated with worse LVEF (beta = -1.69, P \u3c 0.05). There were no associations between either tea drinking or total caffeine intake and cardiac function (P \u3e 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Low-to-moderate daily coffee consumption from early adulthood to middle age was associated with better LV systolic and diastolic function in midlife. High daily coffee consumption ( \u3e 4cups/day) was associated with worse LV function. There was no association between caffeine or tea intake and cardiac function

T-box transcription factor Brachyury is associated with prostate cancer progression and aggressiveness

Purpose: Successful therapy of patients with prostate cancer is highly dependent on reliable diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Brachyury is considered a negative prognostic factor in colon and lung cancer; however, there are no reports on Brachyury’s expression in prostate cancer. Experimental Design: In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of Brachyury expression in prostate tumorigenesis using a large series of human prostate samples comprising benign tissue, prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions, localized tumor, and metastatic tissues. The results obtained were compared with what can be inferred from the Oncomine database. In addition, multiple in vitro models of prostate cancer were used to dissect the biologic role of Brachyury in prostate cancer progression. Results: We found that Brachyury is significantly overexpressed in prostate cancer and metastatic tumors when compared with normal tissues, both at protein and at mRNA levels. Brachyury expression in the cytoplasm correlates with highly aggressive tumors, whereas the presence of Brachyury in the nucleus is correlated with tumor invasion. We found that Brachyury-positive cells present higher viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion rates than Brachyury-negative cells. Microarray analysis further showed that genes co-expressed with Brachyury are clustered in oncogenic-related pathways, namely cell motility, cellcycle regulation, and cell metabolism. Conclusions: Collectively, the present study suggests that Brachyury plays an important role in prostate cancer aggressiveness and points, for the first time, to Brachyury as a significant predictor of poor prostate cancer prognosis. Our work paves the way for future studies assessing Brachyury as a possible prostate cancer therapeutic target.This study was supported by the ICVS internal research funds of participating authors and by the FCT project, ref. PTDC/SAU-MET113415/2009. F. Pinto and N. Pertega-Gomes received fellowships from the FCT, ref. SFRH/BD/81369/2011 and SFRH/BD/61027/2009, respectively. R. P. Andrade was funded by Ciencia2007 Program Contract and Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON. 2) - NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000017

Functional characterization of a xylose transporter in Aspergillus nidulans

BACKGROUND: The production of bioethanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks will only become economically feasible when the majority of cellulosic and hemicellulosic biopolymers can be efficiently converted into bioethanol. The main component of cellulose is glucose, whereas hemicelluloses mainly consist of pentose sugars such as D-xylose and L-arabinose. The genomes of filamentous fungi such as A. nidulans encode a multiplicity of sugar transporters with broad affinities for hexose and pentose sugars. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which has a long history of use in industrial fermentation processes, is not able to efficiently transport or metabolize pentose sugars (e.g. xylose). Subsequently, the aim of this study was to identify xylose-transporters from A. nidulans, as potential candidates for introduction into S. cerevisiae in order to improve xylose utilization. RESULTS: In this study, we identified the A. nidulans xtrD (xylose transporter) gene, which encodes a Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS) transporter, and which was specifically induced at the transcriptional level by xylose in a XlnR-dependent manner, while being partially repressed by glucose in a CreA-dependent manner. We evaluated the ability of xtrD to functionally complement the S. cerevisiae EBY.VW4000 strain which is unable to grow on glucose, fructose, mannose or galactose as single carbon source. In S. cerevisiae, XtrD was targeted to the plasma membrane and its expression was able to restore growth on xylose, glucose, galactose, and mannose as single carbon sources, indicating that this transporter accepts multiple sugars as a substrate. XtrD has a high affinity for xylose, and may be a high affinity xylose transporter. We were able to select a S. cerevisiae mutant strain that had increased xylose transport when expressing the xtrD gene. CONCLUSIONS: This study characterized the regulation and substrate specificity of an A. nidulans transporter that represents a good candidate for further directed mutagenesis. Investigation into the area of sugar transport in fungi presents a crucial step for improving the S. cerevisiae xylose metabolism. Moreover, we have demonstrated that the introduction of adaptive mutations beyond the introduced xylose utilization genes is able to improve S. cerevisiae xylose metabolism.We would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq) and the Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) for providing financial support. We also thank Dr Eckardt Boles for providing the EBY.VW4000 yeast strain, Dr Ronald Hector for providing the plasmids pRH274 and pRH195, Dr Michel Flipphi for providing the Delta creA4 strain, and the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions. We also acknowledge the Program project grant GM068087 (PI Jay Dunlap) for providing the deletion cassettes

Fossil microbialites of the Ja?ba Formation, Bambu? Group, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Microbialites are carbonatic deposits, whose genesis is organosedimentary, deposited by benthic microbial mats. Microbialites are the most common fossils in rocks of the Proterozoic, worldwide and in Brazil. They exhibit morphological diversity since the oldest Archean forms, and are fundamental in studies concerning the biota and environmental aspects of past times, allowing better comprehension of biological and carbonate biosedimentary evolution through time. Microbial laminites and thrombolites of the Ja?ba Formation, upper Bambu? Group, are described. Thrombolites show columnar and irregular shape, centimetric size, and are locally coalescent. Laminites, overlying the thrombolitic strata, display smooth, wavy, and crenulate synoptic relief. Five microfabrics and microfossils of two distinct morphologies, coccoidal and filamentous, were identified. Microfabrics may be of biogenic or abiogenic origin, representing different processes involved in the formation of microbialites. Thus, microbialites and microfossils of the Ja?ba Formation show potential to better understand the producer biota in the context of the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, probable age of this unit, and an important moment of profound changes in biosphere, due to the diversification of metazoans.Os microbialitos s?o dep?sitos carbon?ticos cuja origem ? organossedimentar, depositados por esteiras microbianas bent?nicas. Microbialitos s?o os f?sseis mais comuns encontrados no Brasil e no mundo em rochas do Proterozoico. Apresentam diversidade morfol?gica desde as formas mais antigas, datadas do Arqueano, e s?o fundamentais nos estudos da paleobiota e aspectos ambientais pret?ritos, permitindo o melhor entendimento da evolu??o biol?gica e biossedimentar carbon?tica ao longo do tempo geol?gico. Neste trabalho s?o descritos laminitos e tromb?litos da Forma??o Ja?ba, na por??o superior do Grupo Bambu?. Os tromb?litos encontrados apresentam formas colunares e irregulares, centim?tricas e pontualmente coalescentes. J? os laminitos microbiais, sobrejacentes aos tromb?litos, apresentam lamina??es com relevo sin?ptico entre plano, ondulado e crenulado. Cinco microtexturas e microf?sseis de duas morfologias distintas, cocoides e filamentosos, foram identificados. As microtexturas s?o de origem biog?nica e abiog?nica, e representam os diferentes processos de forma??o dos microbialitos. Dessa forma, os microbialitos e microf?sseis encontrados na Forma??o Ja?ba apresentam potencial para melhor compreender a paleobiota produtora no contexto da transi??o Ediacarano?Cambriano, prov?vel idade desta unidade, um momento importante de mudan?as profundas na biosfera, devido ? diversifica??o dos metazo?rios