From the Plate Tectonics to the Evolution Theory; from the supercontinents to the dispersion of the living beings

RESUMO: A evolução do conhecimento do interior do nosso planeta tem levado a profundas alterações da forma como a dinâmica da Terra é encarada, evidenciando a existência de ciclo dos supercontinentes. Esta transformação tem permitido uma visão mais integradora, onde os processos tectónicos e de evolução da Vida na Terra surgem como complementares. No entanto, esta nova abordagem ainda não se reflete nos curricula do ensino. A realiza ção de um conjunto de atividades práticas explorando a forma como os grandes blocos continentais foram evoluindo, desde o supercontinente Rodínia até à Atualidade, e a sua influência na dispersão de alguns dos prin cipais grupos de seres vivos, constitui uma abordagem eficiente de alguns aspetos associados ao ciclo dos supercontinentes.ABSTRACT: The evolution of the understanding of the behaviour of the inner layers of our planet led to deep changes in the way we see the Earth dynamics, emphasizing the existence of a supercontinent cycle. This allows an integrative perspective, where the Plate Tectonics and the Evolution of Life on Earth are no longer isolated processes, but the result of a common evolution. However, such innovative view is not yet reflected in the scholar curricula. In this work, we propose a set of practical activities for the sec ondary school level exploiting the concept ofsupercontinent cycle and disper sion of Life on Earth. The reconstruction of the dispersion of the major continental blocks,since Rodínia to the Actuality, allows the understanding, not only of the aggregation and dispersion of supercontinents (Rodínia → Panotia → Pangaea), but also the way they have influenced the dispersion of some of the major groups of animals in the Earth.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adaptação transcultural de escalas de aderência ao tratamento em hemodiálise: Renal Adherence Behaviour Questionnaire (RABQ) e Renal Adherence Attitudes Questionnaire (RAAQ)

Resumo A aderência dos pacientes ao tratamento em hemodiálise é importante para o sucesso do tratamento, mas há carência de instrumentos de avaliação validados para o Brasil. Esta pesquisa visou à adaptação transcultural para o Brasil das escalas Renal Adherence Behaviour Questionnaire (RABQ) e Renal Adherence Attitudes Questionnaire (RAAQ), que avaliam os comportamentos e atitudes de aderência. Esses instrumentos foram submetidos aos procedimentos de adaptação transcultural: tradução, retradução, avaliação por comissão de especialistas e estudo piloto. Foram feitas modificações na redação dos itens e no formato de aplicação, que deve ser em entrevista face a face. Não foi necessário alterar as alternativas de respostas. As versões brasileiras das escalas RABQ e RAAQ apresentam equivalência semântica e cultural com as versões originais e foram redigidas de forma a facilitar sua compreensão pela população-alvo. As duas escalas necessitam ser submetidas a estudos de validade e fidedignidade para serem utilizadas

The effect of the electric field on lag phase, β-galactosidase production and plasmid stability of a recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain growing on lactose

Ethanol and β-galactosidase production from cheese whey may significantly contribute to minimise environmental problems while producing value from lowcost raw materials. In this work, the recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC869-A3/pVK1.1 flocculent strain expressing the lacA gene (coding for β-galactosidase) of Aspergillus niger under ADHI promoter and terminator was used. This strain shows high ethanol and β-galactosidase productivities when grown on lactose. Batch cultures were performed using SSlactose medium with 50 gL−1 lactose in a 2-L bioreactor under aerobic and microaerophilic conditions. Temperature was maintained at 30 °C and pH 4.0. In order to determine the effect of an electric field in the fermentation profile, titanium electrodes were placed inside the bioreactor and different electric field values (from 0.5 to 2 Vcm−1) were applied. For all experiments, β-galactosidase activity, biomass, protein, lactose, glucose, galactose and ethanol concentrations were measured. Finally, lag phase duration and specific growth rate were calculated. Significant changes in lag phase duration and biomass yield were found when using 2 Vcm−1. Results show that the electric field enhances the early stages of fermentation kinetics, thus indicating that its application may improve industrial fermentations’ productivity. The increase in electric field intensity led to plasmid instability thus decreasing β-galactosidase production.The authors gratefully acknowledge Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (Portugal) for the scholarships SFRH/BD/11230/2002 and SFRH/BDP/63831/2009 granted to authors I. Castro and C. Oliveira, respectively

Mucosal Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and Leishmania (Viannia) guyanensis in the Brazilian Amazon

Background: Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis is a parasite recognized as the most important etiologic agent of mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) in the New World. In Amazonia, seven different species of Leishmania, etiologic agents of human Cutaneous Leishmaniasis, have been described. Isolated cases of ML have been described for several different species of Leishmania: L. (V.) panamensis, L. (V.) guyanensis and L. (L.) amazonensis. Methodology: Leishmania species were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of tissues taken from mucosal biopsies of Amazonian patients who were diagnosed with ML and treated at the Tropical Medicine Foundation of Amazonas (FMTAM) in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. Samples were obtained retrospectively from the pathology laboratory and prospectively from patients attending the aforementioned tertiary care unit. Results: This study reports 46 cases of ML along with their geographical origin, 30 cases caused by L. (V.) braziliensis and 16 cases by L. (V.) guyanensis. This is the first record of ML cases in 16 different municipalities in the state of Amazonas and of simultaneous detection of both species in 4 municipalities of this state. It is also the first record of ML caused by L. (V.) guyanensis in the states of Para, Acre, and Rondonia and cases of ML caused by L. (V.) braziliensis in the state of Rondonia. Conclusions/Significance: L. (V.) braziliensis is the predominant species that causes ML in the Amazon region. However, contrary to previous studies, L. (V.) guyanensis is also a significant causative agent of ML within the region. The clinical and epidemiological expression of ML in the Manaus region is similar to the rest of the country, although the majority of ML cases are found south of the Amazon River.SUFRAMA[016/2004

Consequences Of On-Track Competition In Railways By Use Of Simulations

Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio