Células Mato na retina : caracterização morfológica e funcional de uma nova população de células perivasculares autofluorescentes em situação fisiológica e de retinopatia

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências VeterináriasA retina contém diferentes populações celulares derivadas dos monócitos: macrófagos perivasculares e células da micróglia. Neste trabalho, descreve-se a presença de um novo subtipo de macrófagos residentes, distintos das células da micróglia, localizados no espaço perivascular, em retinas humanas e de murganho. Estas células emitem uma fluorescência específica e expressam constitutivamente receptores scavenger da classe A. Exibem um movimento alternado constante, ao longo dos vasos sanguíneos, providenciando um revestimento adicional a áreas mais delgadas da parede vascular. Para além disso, acumulam peroxidase de rábano e lipoproteínas de baixa densidade acetiladas em circulação, sem rotura da barreira hemato-retiniana. No conjunto, estes resultados sugerem que estas células, com função scavenger, contribuem para o funcionamento da barreira hemato-retiniana. Acumulam, também, ferro, em lisossomas, provavelmente por um mecanismo de endocitose de ferritina, mediada por receptores TIM-2, sugerindo o seu envolvimento na homeostasia do ferro na retina e em situações de alteração desta. Em fases iniciais de degenerescência dos fotorreceptores, estas células migram para o local das lesões, sugerindo a sua participação nos processos de retinopatia. Todos estes aspectos são semelhantes aos descritos para as células Mato cerebrais. Por conseguinte, este estudo estabelece, pela primeira vez, a presença de células Mato na retina.ABSTRACT - Retinal Mato cells: morphologic and functional characterization of a new autofluorescent perivascular cell population in physiological conditions and during retinopathy -- The retina contains distinct populations of monocyte-derived cells: perivascular macrophages and microglia. In this work we describe the presence in mouse and human healthy retinas of a new subtype of resident macrophages, present in the perivascular space, different from microglia. These cells emitted specific autofluorescence and constitutively expressed the scavenger receptor class A. They were seen to move in an oscillatory manner along blood vessels, providing an additional coating to thinner areas of the vascular wall. Furthermore, these macrophages also accumulated blood-borne horseradish peroxidase and acetylated low-density lipoprotein without blood-retinal barrier pathological disruption. Taken together these findings suggest that these cells fulfil a major role in the scavenging of blood-borne molecules contributing to blood-retinal barrier function. In addition, they stored iron in lysosomes, probably by the TIM-2 mediated binding of ferritin, indicating they probably are involved in retinal iron homeostasis and related disorders. These cells were also early detected at lesions during photoreceptor degeneration, suggesting a possible role in the onset and development of retinopathy. All these features are consistent with those described for brain Mato cells. Thus, this study shows, for the first time, the presence of autofluorescent perivascular Mato cells in the retina.CIISA\72.retina, financiado pelo CIISA - Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa Investigador principal: Luísa Mendes-Jorge. FIS PI061837, financiado pelo Instituto de Salud Carlos III e CIBER de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabolicas Asociadas Investigador principal: Jesús Ruberte Parí

Financial constraints and financial crises: the case of Portuguese listed companies

The purpose of this study is to analyze the degree of financial constraints faced by the companies included on the Portuguese Stock General Index when accessing to external financing, especially after the beginning and during the most recent financial crisis that affected the world financial markets from 2007. According to this aim, a longitudinal database is collected from the SABI database and was analyzed under panel data methodology. The final sample is panel data of 430 firm-year observations, related to 43 companies, during the period 2006-2015. In line with previous literature, our results provide evidence that the payout ratio is an efficient measure of the degree of financial constraints; companies that pay out less (or no) dividends display higher sensitivity of the investment to the cash flow. Moreover, we also found that the investment sensitivity to cash flow intensifies immediately after and during the most recent financial crisis.(undefined

Conversando sobre Património Industrial e outras Histórias: palavras, espaços e imagens

O conjunto de entrevistas apresentadas neste livro procura dar uma nova visão acerca do património industrial. Com uma abordagem aos estudos e às trajectórias de diversos estudiosos do Brasil e de Portugal, aos percursos de formação de cada autor (a), às suas várias temporalidades e vinculações institucionais distintas, a obra valoriza as narrativas orais de quem viveu o processo de construção e consolidação dessa área de pesquisa nos dois países. O objectivo é contribuir para o debate complexo e contínuo sobre o património e possibilita uma ampliação do nosso entendimento dos modos como esta área se firmou e se vem afirmando em diversos espaços, dentro e fora das universidades

Large-scale screening of unknown varieties in a grapevine intra-varietal variability collection

Since the last decade of the last century, it is known that many old grapevine varieties are descendants of other varieties through natural crossing. Portugal has an important program for the conservation of representative samples of intra-varietal variability of all autochthonous varieties, managed by the Portuguese Association for Grapevine Diversity (PORVID), which makes looking for genotypes with dubious identification an important activity from a perspective of its valorisation. This communication presents the results of the molecular analysis of 5,000 samples (accessions) from the PORVID’s collection, using nine microsatellite loci currently recommended by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) for genetic grapevine identification. The results obtained confirmed the molecular identity of 4,220 samples corresponding to 214 varieties present in the official list of Portuguese varieties. In 780 samples, 95 profiles with a plural number of accessions revealed not to be listed in the Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) database, corresponding to possible varieties either descendent from natural crossing from at least one known parental variety, or from undetermined origin. Furthermore, the need for a comprehensive strategy aimed at uncovering other hidden varieties is discussed to prevent their imminent loss, deepen understanding of their origin, and add economic value and sustainability to the vine and wine sector

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics.

ABSTRACT: A global genome database of all of Earth’s species diversity could be a treasure trove of scientific discoveries. However, regardless of the major advances in genome sequencing technologies, only a tiny fraction of species have genomic information available. To contribute to a more complete planetary genomic database, scientists and institutions across the world have united under the Earth BioGenome Project (EBP), which plans to sequence and assemble high-quality reference genomes for all ∼1.5 million recognized eukaryotic species through a stepwise phased approach. As the initiative transitions into Phase II, where 150,000 species are to be sequenced in just four years, worldwide participation in the project will be fundamental to success. As the European node of the EBP, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) seeks to implement a new decentralised, accessible, equitable and inclusive model for producing high-quality reference genomes, which will inform EBP as it scales. To embark on this mission, ERGA launched a Pilot Project to establish a network across Europe to develop and test the first infrastructure of its kind for the coordinated and distributed reference genome production on 98 European eukaryotic species from sample providers across 33 European countries. Here we outline the process and challenges faced during the development of a pilot infrastructure for the production of reference genome resources, and explore the effectiveness of this approach in terms of high-quality reference genome production, considering also equity and inclusion. The outcomes and lessons learned during this pilot provide a solid foundation for ERGA while offering key learnings to other transnational and national genomic resource projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

A História da Alimentação: balizas historiográficas

Os M. pretenderam traçar um quadro da História da Alimentação, não como um novo ramo epistemológico da disciplina, mas como um campo em desenvolvimento de práticas e atividades especializadas, incluindo pesquisa, formação, publicações, associações, encontros acadêmicos, etc. Um breve relato das condições em que tal campo se assentou faz-se preceder de um panorama dos estudos de alimentação e temas correia tos, em geral, segundo cinco abardagens Ia biológica, a econômica, a social, a cultural e a filosófica!, assim como da identificação das contribuições mais relevantes da Antropologia, Arqueologia, Sociologia e Geografia. A fim de comentar a multiforme e volumosa bibliografia histórica, foi ela organizada segundo critérios morfológicos. A seguir, alguns tópicos importantes mereceram tratamento à parte: a fome, o alimento e o domínio religioso, as descobertas européias e a difusão mundial de alimentos, gosto e gastronomia. O artigo se encerra com um rápido balanço crítico da historiografia brasileira sobre o tema