Biofilms: An Extra Coat on Macroalgae

Biofilms are a mixture of complex communities of organisms mostly composed of diverse bacteria that vary depending on the surrounding environmental conditions induced by physical and chemical factors. In biofilms, symbionts play major roles in the relationship among organisms by the production of bioactive molecules involved in quorum sensing signaling. A cohesive structure of a multi‐layer of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) such as polysaccharides and proteins is the base of biofilm structural organization. Biofilms can be found in a variety of habitats, on free‐living, on the surface of other organisms or inert surfaces, both in aquatic as well as terrestrial environments

Aplicação da alta pressão na conservação de bombons

O presente trabalho teve por objectivo a avaliação do tempo de vida útil de bombons submetidos ao tratamento de alta pressão, utilizando como termo de comparação um ensaio controlo, onde os bombons foram apenas mantidos a 20°C e um ensaio em que as amostras foram conservadas a 4°C. Para tal foi necessário a monitorização das propriedades físico-químicas, microbiológicas e estruturais dos bombons e a optimização das variáveis envolvidas no processo de produção e conservação: i) seleção do tipo de tratamento (alta pressão, refrigeração ou testemunho); ii) seleção dos ciclos de tratamento (400MPa/2,5minutos ou 500MPa/1minuto); iii) temperatura de conservação (20 °C, ou 4 °C); iv) tempo de conservação (dos 0 aos 180dias). Relativamente à revisão bibliográfica, foi feita pesquisa acerca dos desenvolvimentos históricos da tecnologia de alta pressão, princípios gerais e descrição do processo, efeito do tratamento, assim como de factores que o possam influenciar. As metodologias seguidas incluíram a produção de bombons, com recheio constituído por natas e chocolate branco e cobertura de chocolate negro, seguida da avaliação físico-química (humidade, aw, pH, cor), microbiológica (mesófilos aeróbios totais, bolores e leveduras) e de reologia. Os melhores resultados observara.se no ensaio mantido a 4°C. Comparativamente, no tratamento de alta pressão, o ensaio a 400MPa foi o mais negativo relativamente à humidade e o ensaio a 500MPa o menos eficaz ao nível do aw, pH, cor e modulo de armazenamento (G’). Contudo, nas análises microbiológicas, este ultimo foi mais eficiente que o anterior (400MPa) e que o testemunho (0,1MPa/20°C)

Transcriptomic and chemogenomic analyses unveil the essential role of Com2-regulon in response and tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to stress induced by sulfur dioxide

During vinification Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells are frequently exposed to high concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) that is used to avoid overgrowth of unwanted bacteria or fungi present in the must. Up to now the characterization of the molecular mechanisms by which S. cerevisiae responds and tolerates SO2 was focused on the role of the sulfite efflux pump Ssu1 and investigation on the involvement of other players has been scarce, especially at a genome-wide level. In this work, we uncovered the essential role of the poorly characterized transcription factor Com2 in tolerance and response of S. cerevisiae to stress induced by SO2 at the enologically relevant pH of 3.5. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that Com2 controls, directly or indirectly, the expression of more than 80% of the genes activated by SO2, a percentage much higher than the one that could be attributed to any other stress-responsive transcription factor. Large-scale phenotyping of the yeast haploid mutant collection led to the identification of 50 Com2-targets contributing to the protection against SO2 including all the genes that compose the sulfate reduction pathway (MET3, MET14, MET16, MET5, MET10) and the majority of the genes required for biosynthesis of lysine (LYS2, LYS21, LYS20, LYS14, LYS4, LYS5, LYS1 and LYS9) or arginine (ARG5,6, ARG4, ARG2, ARG3, ARG7, ARG8, ORT1 and CPA1). Other uncovered determinants of resistance to SO2 (not under the control of Com2) included genes required for function and assembly of the vacuolar proton pump and enzymes of the antioxidant defense, consistent with the observed cytosolic and mitochondrial accumulation of reactive oxygen species in SO2-stressed yeast cells.This work was funded by INNOVINE&WINE, Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000038, co-financed by the European Region-al Development Fund (ERDF) through Norte 2020 and by ERFD through POCI-COMPETE 2020. Support received by FCT-Portuguese Foundationfor Science and Technology(PTDC/EXPL/AGR-TEC/1823/2013 and PTDC/AGR-TEC/3315/2014) and by INTERACT project –“Integrated Research in Environment, Agro-Chain and Technology”, no. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, in its line of research enti-tled VitalityWine. Supportreceived by Biosystems and In-tegrative Sciences Institute (BioISI; FCT/UID/Multi/04046/2018) and iBB-Institute for Bioengi-neering and Biosciences (UID/BIO/04565/2019) by FCT and from Programa Operacional Regional de Lisboa 2020 (pro-ject no. 007317 and PTDC/AGR-TEC/3315/2014_LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-016834) is also acknowledged.The authors thank Professor Isabel Sá-Correia for the help and guidance in conducting the chemogenomic analysi

Using relief patterns and quartile deviation for modeling of flood susceptibility maps: examples from Presidente Kennedy and Conceição do Castelo, Espírito Santo, Brazil

Flood modeling is one of the layers that compose the preliminary susceptibility map, which after the field investigation step is part of the Mass and Flood Movement Susceptibility Map. These maps are produced by the Geological Survey of Brazil, through the National Plan for Risk Management and Response to Natural Disasters (Programa Nacional de Gestão de Riscos e Respostas a Desastres Naturais, PNGRRDN). Initially, the flood modeling methodology consisted of applying the HAND model based on the following variables, hydrographic basin, and soil susceptibility. However, several inconsistencies were observed during fieldwork, especially regarding the model capacity to describe regions with specific hydrological regimes. A methodological improvement using other variables became necessary. Among the proposed variables, the relief susceptibility to floods yielded the most satisfactory results, especially since it could be applied to the entire national territory and was, therefore, introduced to replace the hydrographic basin susceptibility. Furthermore, the methodology used for defining the thresholds of the three flooding susceptibility classes (high, average and low) has also been modified by using the quartile deviation, which provides a less subjective class distribution. Using relief susceptibility and quartile deviation in flood modeling was tested in the Conceição do Castelo and Presidente Kennedy municipalities (Espírito Santo, Brazil), where the morphological configuration covers a wide variety of environments, which is fundamental for the validation of the new variable. The results of the new model were satisfactory. The various types of plains continue to be well represented while a substantial improvement has been observed in the representation of flood-susceptible areas such as marine terraces and colluvium ramps

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction to obtain mycosterols from Agaricus bisporus L. by response surface methodology and comparison with conventional Soxhlet extraction

Ergosterol, a molecule with high commercial value, is the most abundant mycosterol in Agaricus bisporus L. To replace common conventional extraction techniques (e.g. Soxhlet), the present study reports the optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions for ergosterol. After preliminary tests, the results showed that solvents, time and ultrasound power altered the extraction efficiency. Using response surface methodology, models were developed to investigate the favourable experimental conditions that maximize the extraction efficiency. All statistical criteria demonstrated the validity of the proposed models. Overall, ultrasound-assisted extraction with ethanol at 375 W during 15 min proved to be as efficient as the Soxhlet extraction, yielding 671.5 ± 0.5mg ergosterol/100 g dw. However, with n-hexane extracts with higher purity (mg ergosterol/g extract) were obtained. Finally, it was proposed for the removal of the saponification step, which simplifies the extraction process and makes it more feasible for its industrial transference.The authors acknowledge FCT (Portugal) for financial support to CIMO (PEst-OE/AGUI0690/2014), Sandrina A. Heleno (SFRH/BPD/101413/2014) and L. Barros research contract, to FCT/MEC and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to LSRE (Project UID/EQU/50020/2013), and to QREN, ON2 and FEDER (Projects NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000014 and NORTE-07-0162-FEDER-000050). Xunta de Galicia for financial support for the post-doctoral researcher of M.A. Prieto

The antimicrobial activity of heterotrophic bacteria isolated from the marine sponge Erylus deficiens (Astrophorida, Geodiidae)

Interest in the study of marine sponges and their associated microbiome has increased both for ecological reasons and for their great biotechnological potential. In this work, heterotrophic bacteria associated with three specimens of the marine sponge Erylus deficiens, were isolated in pure culture, phylogenetically identified and screened for antimicrobial activity. The isolation of bacteria after an enrichment treatment in heterotrophic medium revealed diversity in bacterial composition with only Pseudoalteromonas being shared by two specimens. Of the 83 selected isolates, 58% belong to Proteobacteria, 23% to Actinobacteria and 19% to Firmicutes. Diffusion agar assays for bioactivity screening against four bacterial strains and one yeast, revealed that a high number of the isolated bacteria (68.7%) were active, particularly against Candida albicans and Vibrio anguillarum. Pseudoalteromonas, Microbacterium, and Proteus were the most bioactive genera. After this preliminary screening, the bioactive strains were further evaluated in liquid assays against C. albicans, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Filtered culture medium and acetone extracts from three and 5 days-old cultures were assayed. High antifungal activity against C. albicans in both aqueous and acetone extracts as well as absence of activity against B. subtilis were confirmed. Higher levels of activity were obtained with the aqueous extracts when compared to the acetone extracts and differences were also observed between the 3 and 5 day-old extracts. Furthermore, a low number of active strains was observed against E. coli. Potential presence of type-I polyketide synthases (PKS-I) and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) genes were detected in 17 and 30 isolates, respectively. The high levels of bioactivity and the likely presence of associated genes suggest that Erylus deficiens bacteria are potential sources of novel marine bioactive compounds

O processo de formação política da Marcha Mundial das Mulheres – Núcleo Agreste de Pernambuco

O presente artigo é um estudo sobre a formação política desenvolvida na Marcha Mundial das Mulheres- Núcleo Agreste. Temos como objetivo geral compreender como se dá o processo de formação política da Marcha Mundial das Mulheres diante de uma sociedade patriarcal, juntamente com os objetivos específicos: identificar o processo de formação política da Marcha Mundial das Mulheres; caracterizar o Movimento da Marcha Mundial das Mulheres e descrever as principais condições de opressão sexista o qual as mulheres vivem no patriarcalismo. Este trabalho justifica-se pela emergência de uma prática feminista dentro dos movimentos sociais, como é o caso da Marcha Mundial das Mulheres- Núcleo Agreste. Nossa problematização é saber como ocorre o processo de formação política da Marcha Mundial das Mulheres diante de uma sociedade patriarcal? Em nossa metodologia adotamos uma pesquisa qualitativa/ exploratória/ explicativa e descritiva (GIL, 2002; MINAYO 2008; DESLAURIERS, 2008; LAGE, 2013) apoiada ao estudo do Caso Alargado (SANTOS, 1983) para análise e sistematização dos dados, também utilizamos as bases teóricas apoiadas pelas epistemologias feministas e teorias de gênero para situar o nosso trabalho dentro de um contexto atual. Nossas conclusões foram na linha horizontal e não-linear de construir o conhecimento sobre os enfrentamentos oriundos do patriarcado e do sexismo, construindo uma epistemologia feminista de prática não sexista

Characterization of Cynara cardunculus L. flower from Alentejo as a coagulant agent for cheesemaking

This work was supported by the project ValBioTecCynara (ALT2003-0145- FEDER-000038) - Economic valorisation of Cardoon (Cynara cardunculus): study of natural variability and biotechnological applications), cofinanced by FEDER under the Alentejo 2020 Program.The cardoon (Cynara cardunculus L.) is a mandatory vegetable coagulant for certain Protected Designation of Origin Portuguese cheeses. It grows wild in Portugal and is used without any type of control regarding flower picking or extract preparation, representing some uncertainty in cheese manufacture. The variability in technological properties, in the context of traditional cheese manufacture, of cardoon flower ecotypes from the Alentejo region was evaluated, including milk clotting and proteolytic activities, coagulation properties and potential cheesemaking yield of flower extracts. Multivariate statistics highlighted the variability of flower properties for cheesemaking, but allowed the aggregation of the ecotypes into five groups under the major influence of milk clotting activity and effect on gel firmness and micellar aggregation rate, followed by proteolytic activity. These differences may have an impact on cheese properties and therefore can allow the selection of cardoon flower for the manufacture of different types of cheese.publishersversionpublishe

WHY IS IT BETTER AT HOME? SERVICE USERS’ AND CAREGIVERS’ PERCEPTION OF HOME CARE

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar as perspectivas dos usuários sobre os atendimentos de suas necessidades pelo serviço de atenção domiciliar. Trata-se de estudo qualitativo, com abordagem descritiva e exploratória. Participaram do estudo, usuários de serviços de atenção domiciliar de 16 municípios de Minas Gerais. Os dados foram obtidos de entrevistas com 20 usuários. Os resultados indicam que o perfil da população atendida pelos serviços remete a um público idoso. Os motivos de admissão são diversos e remetem à cronicidade. As equipes buscam realizar as atividades considerando as necessidades naturais e radicais de usuários. O atendimento no domicílio é apresentado como melhor, pelo conforto do lar, vínculo e pela superação quanto as barreiras de acesso a outros pontos da rede. Foi possível compreender que na perspectiva de usuários que o cuidar em casa apresenta novas relações que ampliam o acesso, a autonomia e a qualidade de vida do usuário. Estudio cuyo intuito fue analizar las perspectivas de los usuarios acerca de los atendimientos de sus necesidades por el servicio de Atención Domiciliar. Es un estudio cualitativo, de abordaje descriptivo y exploratorio, realizado entre febrero de 2014 y julio de 2015. Participaron 15 usuarios y 15 cuidadores de la Atención Domiciliar de ocho municipios de Minas Gerais. Los resultados apuntaron que el perfil de la población atendida es de ancianos en mayoría. Los motivos de esa opción son variables y se asocian a la cronicidad. Los equipos buscan realizar las actividades considerando las necesidades naturales y radicales de los usuarios. El atendimiento en domicilio es presentado como mejor opción a causa del conforto del hogar, vínculo con la familia y con el equipo, además de la superación de dificultades de acceso a otros puntos de la red de atención a la salud. Se constató que, en la perspectiva de los usuarios, cuidar en casa presenta nuevas relaciones que extienden el acceso, la autonomía y la cualidad de vida del usuario.The objective was to analyze service users’ perspectives regarding the attendance of their needs by the Home Care Service. This is a qualitative study, with a descriptive and exploratory approach, undertaken between February 2014 and July 2015. A total of 15 service users and 15 caregivers participated, from the Home Care Service of eight municipalities in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The results indicated that the profile of the population attended is mainly older adults. The reasons for admission are diverse, and relate to the chronic nature of the health conditions. The team seeks to undertake the activities taking into account the service users’ natural and radical needs. Attendance in the home is presented as the best option due to the comfort of the home, the link with the family and with the team, and to the fact that this overcomes the barriers to accessing other points in the healthcare network. It is possible to understand that, in the service users’ perspective, care provided in the home presents new relationships which broaden access, autonomy and quality of life for the service user

Marcas versus as denominações de cultivares presentes, em duas indicações geográficas brasileiras para café

The coffees consumer interest based on quality and origin labeling increasing is creating a market which seeks for more than can be perceived through the five physical senses. These extra attributes can be signaled by the producers through the use of brands and geographical indications. Insert in a coffee package the cultivars denomination as a brand could be a way of carrying the prestige of it to the product. However, registers a cultivar denomination as trademark is prohibited under the Brazilian Plant Cultivar Protection Act. This study sought to identify the existence of brands with varieties denominations used by “Região do Cerrado Mineiro” and “Alta Mogiana”, coffee Brazilian Geographic Indications.As well discuss conflicts legislative possible solutions. It has confronted information provided by Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply´s and National Institute of Industrial Property´ databases. 7 of the 10 cultivars discriminated on Geographical Indications are present in brands deposited at the National Institute of Industrial Property. But none of the registers belongs to the National Listrecord designation´s owner. It´s suggested that varieties denominations should use VI, X and XVII Industrial Property Law ´s sections of prohibitions, as applicable.O crescente interesse dos consumidores nos cafés que destacam a qualidade e origem está criando um nicho mercadológico que busca mais do que se pode perceber através dos cinco sentidos físicos. Estes atributos extras podem ser sinalizados pelos produtores através do uso de Marcas e Indicações Geográficas. Indicar a cultivar fornecedora do café no pacote, inserindo-a na marca poderia ser uma forma de carrear o prestígio da cultivar ao produto. Porém, o registro de marcas como denominações de cultivares é proibido, segundo a Lei de Cultivares brasileira. Procurou-se, no presente trabalho, identificar a existência de marcas, contendo as denominações das cultivares utilizadas pelas Indicações Geográficas “Região do Cerrado Mineiro” e “Alta Mogiana”. Visou-se, ainda, propor possíveis soluções para o conflito legislativo. Para tanto, confrontaram-se as informações disponibilizadas pelos bancos de dados do Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA) e do Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI). Como resultado, concluiu-se que, 7 das 10 cultivares discriminadas nas Indicações Geográficas estão presentes em marcas depositadas no INPI. Porém, nenhuma marca foi solicitada por titulares de denominação de cultivar no Registro Nacional de Cultivares. Devido à ausência de proibição na lei de Marcas sobre o registro de denominações de cultivares, sugere-se o uso dos incisos VI, X e XVII da Lei da Propriedade Industrial