Achieving a successful relationship between Neuroscience and Education: The views of Portuguese teachers

AbstractEducational Neuroscience is currently raising high attention by the educational and neuroscientific community. However, society has created too many expectations concerning what Neuroscience can bring to Education. With this study, we aim to identify eventual distorted expectations of the teachers and propose ways to overcome these. This study was carried out in Portugal with 30 participating schools, where 627 questionnaires were answered by teachers from Preschool to High School. Our results show that there are still misunderstandings concerning the Portuguese teachers’ views about the links between Neuroscience and Education. More collaborative efforts between professionals of both fields are needed for the field of Educational Neuroscience to succeed

Lactobacillus crispatus represses vaginolysin expression by BV associated Gardnerella vaginalis and reduces cell cytotoxicity

Using a chemically-defined medium simulating genital tract secretions, we have shown that pre-adhering Lactobacillus crispatus to Hela epithelial cells reduced cytotoxicity caused by Gardnerella vaginalis. This effect was associated to the expression of vaginolysin and was specific to L. crispatus interference, as other vaginal facultative anaerobes had no protective effect.This work was supported by Portuguese National Funds (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684). JC, and MER acknowledge the financial support of individual Grants SFRH/BD/93963/2013, and SFRH/BPD/95401/2013 respectively. NC is an Investigador FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização do património geomorfológico do Parque Natural do Douro Internacional (NE de Portugal) com vista à sua valorização

O Parque Natural do Douro Internacional (PNDI) é uma área protegida pertencente à Rede Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, sob a alçada do Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e da Biodiversidade. O Parque localiza-se no nordeste transmontano, numa área de 851 km2, que acompanha longitudinalmente os rios Douro e Águeda, através de um troço fronteiriço e ao longo de 130 km. Os vales do tipo canhão fluvial com as sua vertentes abruptas, as arribas, destacam-se entre outras geoformas no PNDI. O presente trabalho visa caracterizar e quanti!car a relevância do Património Geomorfológico, inserido no riquíssimo Património Geológico existente na área, bem como a apresentação de propostas de valorização. Foi feita a caracterização dos geomorfossítios inventariados no âmbito dum projecto anterior, tendo-se concluído que os aspectos de maior importância da paisagem do PNDI são o Planalto Mirandês, os relevos residuais, as geoformas graníticas e os vales profundos do rio Douro e afluentes. De seguida, procedeu-se à quantificação da relevância, utilizando uma adaptação dos métodos propostos por Cendrero (2000) e Brilha (2005) para o Património Geológico, obtendo-se uma seriação dos geomorfossítios quanti!cados, o que permite concluir quais os locais com maior potencial para valorização e divulgação. Para a valorização destes geomorfossítios propõem-se várias estratégias como a implementação de painéis interpretativos temáticos, inseridos num percurso rodoviário com o tema “Rota das Arribas”, passando pelos miradouros mais emblemáticos dos rios Douro e Águeda. O Património Geomorfológico do PNDI é um dos ex-libris do Parque, pelo que deverá ser valorizado, constituindo uma importante valência para o impulso do geoturismo na região.The International Douro Natural Park (IDNP) is a protected area that belongs to the Protected Areas National Network, managed by the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Institute. It is located in northeastern Portugal, with an area of 851 km2. The Park follows the Douro and Águeda rivers, through the border with Spain, along 130 km. The fluvial canyons and cliffs associated with these rivers are important landscape elements in the IDNP. The present work intends to characterize and quantify the relevance of Geomorphological Heritage, inserted in the rich Geological Heritage of this area, as also to present valorization strategies. A characterization of potential geomorphosites identified in a previous project was developed, which highlights the most important elements of the IDNP landscape, namely the Miranda Plain, residual reliefs, granitic landforms and deep valleys of the Douro and the Águeda rivers. A quantitative assessment was also applied, based on a modified version of the models proposed by Cendrero (2000) and Brilha (2005) for the Geological Heritage. A final ranking of the geomorphosites was proposed which establishes the valuable sites that must be included in conservation strategies or selected for geotourism and educational programs. Several strategies were proposed to value these geomorphosites, such as thematic interpretative panels and a car route, the “Arribas Route”, joining the most important viewpoints of the Douro and the Águeda rivers. The Geomorphological Heritage of the IDNP is an ex-libris of this Natural Park. It must be recognized, valued and considered as a major contribution to the geotourism in the region

Olive fungal epiphytic communities are affected by their maturation stage

The phyllosphere comprises the aerial parts of plants and is colonized by a great diversity of microorganisms, either growing inside (as endophytes) or on the surface (as epiphytes) of plant tissues. The factors that structure the diversity of epiphytes and the importance of these microorganisms for host plant protection have been less studied when compared to the case of endophytes. In this work, the epiphytic fungal communities from fruits of the olive tree (olives) in different maturation stages (green and semi-ripened), obtained from different olive orchard managements (integrated and organic production) and from distinct cultivars displaying different susceptibilities to olive anthracnose (Cobrançosa and Madural), are compared by using a metabarcoding approach. We discuss whether such differences in host resistance against anthracnose depend on both the fungal taxa or fungal community composition. A total of 1565 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were obtained, mainly belonging to the Ascomycota phylum and Saccharomycetes class. Although significant differences on epiphytic fungal richness were observed among olives obtained in different production systems and maturation stages, these factors in addition to host cultivar did not influence the composition of the epiphytes. Despite these results, a co-inertia analysis showed that Aureobasidium spp. and Sporocadaceae spp. were positively associated with the green olives of the cv. Madural produced under integrated production, while Saccharomycetales spp. (Kluyveromyces, Candida, Kazachstania and Saccharomyces) were positively associated with the semi-ripened olives of the cv. Cobrançosa obtained from organic production. The discriminant power of these fungi, some of them recognized as biocontrol agents, suggest that they might be important in conferring differences on host plant susceptibility to anthracnose.This research was funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE (Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade) and by national funds by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) in the framework of the projects PTDC/ASP-PLA/31133/2017, as well as BioISI (UIDB/04046/2020), CBMA (UIDB/04050/2020) and Mountain Research Center—CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The impact of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and their secretome as a treatment for gliomas

In recent years, we have witnessed a significant increase in the amount of studies using Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) for cancer therapy, mostly as vectors for drug or gene delivery strategies. This is because of their intrinsic capacity of homing into tumor niches. However, the interactions between MSCs themselves and tumor cells is not fully understood, with contradictory results frequently being observed regarding their effects on cancer cell invasion and proliferation. This poses an important question of safety in respect to the application of these cells. The source of the MSC population used, as well as the type of cancer cells under study might strongly influence this interaction. Moreover, differences in isolation protocols, culture media compositions, time of culture and conditioned media collection, or even timing and mode of MSCs administration to in vivo models of cancer may also affect the interaction MSC-tumor cells. In this review, we drive our focus into malignant brain tumors, particularly gliomas, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Moreover, we look with some detail into different studies using MSCs as a treatment for brain tumors and compare them, highlighting the main deviations and similarities among them.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology: pre- doctoral fellowship to E.D. Gomes (SFRH/BD/103075/2014) and J. Vieira de Castro (SFRH/BD/88121/2012); FCT Investigator Starting Grant to B.M. Costa (IF/00601/2012); FCT Investigator Development Grant to A.J. Salgado (IF/00111/2013). This article has been devel- oped under the scope of the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER- 000023, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). This work has also been funded by FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE), and by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the scope of the project POCI-01-0145- FEDER-007038info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A new chalcone derivative with promising antiproliferative and anti-invasion activities in glioblastoma cells

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and most deadly primary malignant brain tumor. Current therapies are not effective, the average survival of GBM patients after diagnosis being limited to few months. Therefore, the discovery of new treatments for this highly aggressive brain cancer is urgently needed. Chalcones are synthetic and naturally occurring compounds that have been widely investigated as anticancer agents. In this work, three chalcone derivatives were tested regarding their inhibitory activity and selectivity towards GBM cell lines (human and mouse) and a non-cancerous mouse brain cell line. The chalcone 1 showed the most potent and selective cytotoxic effects in the GBM cell lines, being further investigated regarding its ability to reduce critical hallmark features of GBM and to induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. This derivative showed to successfully reduce the invasion and proliferation capacity of tumor cells, both key targets for cancer treatment. Moreover, to overcome potential systemic side effects and its poor water solubility, this compound was encapsulated into liposomes. Therapeutic concentrations were incorporated retaining the potent in vitro growth inhibitory effect of the selected compound. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that this new formulation can be a promising starting point for the discovery of new and more effective drug treatments for GBM.This research was funded by FCT to the PhD grant of DM fellowship (PD/BD/143038/2018) and the projects PATH (PD/00169/2013), FROnTHERA (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023), Cells4_IDs (PTDC/BTM-SAL/28882/2017) and the NORTE 2020 Structured Project, co-funded by Norte2020 (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000021). This research was also supported by the Strategic Funding UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 (Group of Natural Products and Medicinal ChemistryCIIMAR) through national funds provided by the FCT and ERDF, within the framework of the program PT2020. Joana Moreira acknowledges her grant (SFRH/BD/135852/2018)

Analgesia em modelo animal superior para ortopedia

O teste de novos biomateriais para aplicações clínicas em ortopedia, ou noutras áreas da medicina, em modelos animais vivos e sencientes, em prol do benefício humano, deve ser objecto de planeamento cuidado e ponderado, dado o conflito ético que se coloca. Compete-nos a nós, enquanto investigadores, garantir que as condições de vida, saúde e bem-estar são asseguradas. O uso de ovinos como modelo superior pré-clínico, para investigação em Ortopedia, tem-se evidenciado devido às suas características translacionais para a espécie humana. Neste estudo retrospectivo deu-se ênfase ao plano anestésico/ analgésico instituído em três tipos de técnicas cirúrgicas ortopédicas, realizadas em ovinos. Os animais intervencionados foram adquiridos com 2 meses de antecedência em relação às cirurgias e mantidos em rebanho, com condições condignas de abrigo e alimentação. As técnicas cirúrgicas inovadoras foram treinadas previamente em peças anatómicas adquiridas no matadouro. Todas as cirurgias e anestesias foram realizadas por médicos veterinários devidamente qualificados. Durante os períodos pós-operatórios os animais foram mantidos no Hospital Veterinário, sob vigilância e tratamento, após o que regressaram ao pasto. Considera-se que os protocolos anestésico e analgésico instituídos foram suficientes para eliminar a dor ortopédica/ neuropática causada pelas técnicas cirúrgicas referidas

Optimization of a multiple water-in-oil-in-water nanoemulsion encasing bacteriophages for inhalational antibiotherapy

Infectious bacterial diseases still remain the main cause of human premature deaths, especially in developing countries. The emergence and spread of pathogenic bacteria resistant to many chemical antibiotics (multidrugresistant strains) have created the need for the development of novel therapeutic agents. Bacteriophages have proven to be an interesting and effective alternative in the management of persistent bacterial infections where conventional chemical antibiotherapies fail. The lethality and specificity of bacteriophages for specific bacteria, their ability to replicate within bacterial hosts and safety of these human-friendly viruses makes them highly lethal antibacterial agents, besides being efficient and relatively cost-effective. Group A streptococci (GAS) are serious human pathogens that cause infections ranging from mild pharyngitis, tonsillitis, to chronic rheumatic heart disease and, in some cases, severe streptococcal toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis. The frequency and severity of GAS infections has been increasing over the last decades, which has promoted extensive research on the improvement of naturally occurring antimicrobials as alternatives to their conventional chemical counterparts. In this research effort, development and optimization of a biotechnological process for the inhalational administration of a bacteriophage was pursued, using strategies of nanoencapsulation within lipid nanovesicles. This method of targeting may have a high potential for the treatment of bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, caused mainly by Streptococcus pyogenes. As a proof-of-concept for the nanoencapsulation strategy, and since there is not yet available a strictly lytic bacteriophage cocktail for Streptococcus pyogenes, a well-defined and characterized bacteriophage was utilized, viz. bacteriophage T4. Water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) multiple emulsions are nanosystems in which dispersions of small water droplets within larger oil droplets are themselves dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase. Due to their compartimentalized internal structure, multiple emulsions present important advantages over simple O/W emulsions for encapsulation of biomolecules, such as the ability to carry both polar and non-polar molecules, and a better control over releasing of therapeutic molecules. Bacteriophage T4 was accordingly entrapped within W/O/W multiple nanoemulsions, aiming at mimicking the multifunctional design of biology, optimized with several lipid matrices, poloxamers and stabilizing layer compositions. Physicochemical characterization of the optimized bacteriophage-encasing nanovesicle formulations encompassed determination of particle (hydrodynamic) size, size distribution and particle charge (Zeta potential), via Dynamic Light Scattering analysis, surface morphology via Cryo-SEM, and thermal analysis via DSC, whereas antimicrobial activity of the nanoemulsions produced were evaluated via the “spot-test” using appropriate bacterial cultures