Developing undergraduate projects in multinational teams to enhance employability

Our society is experiencing sudden changes in work organization in part due to the growing ease with which people can collaborate. Many successful cases of peer-to-peer models of organization arise and assume leading positions in world economy replacing, in many cases, the traditional hierarchical organization. People are evolving and interacting within heterogeneous teams composed by members from many different cultural groups and with distinct skills and backgrounds. Modern economy requires engineers to excel in collaborative and communication skills at an international setting. However, these competences are not usually addressed in most engineering curricula. We believe that in such a demanding and culturally diverse environment as the labour market is today, it is essential to promote team work and communication skills at an international and intercultural level. In the Multinational Undergraduate Team Work course, MUTW, students develop their capstone project as members of an international team while working at their home institutions. MUTW projects are to be developed by teams of final-year-undergraduate students from a multinational group of higher education institutions working to solve some engineering problem. Team members are geographically spread to assure heterogeneous teams and to promote international cooperation. This paradigm can be applied in any project/internship course unit. The results from the first edition are very encouraging supporting our initial hypothesis that MUTW significantly promotes students soft skills without requiring any change to prior degree curricula.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Educational Psychology at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto – School of Engineering: paths of the Bologna project

This article presents the synthesis of intervention in Education Psychology at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto – School of Engineering (ISEP), concerning the Paths of the Bologna Project. The goal that leads the activities of this Project has been, from its beginning, the support of ISEP Scientific Council in the operationalization of the modernization and innovation project of the teaching-learning process in ISEP, induced by joining the Bologna process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Downregulation of snail by DUSP1 impairs cell migration and invasion through the inactivation of JNK and ERK and is useful as a predictive factor in the prognosis of prostate cancer

Dual specificity phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) is crucial in prostate cancer (PC), since its expression is downregulated in advanced carcinomas. Here, we investigated DUSP1 effects on the expression of mesenchymal marker Snail, cell migration and invasion, analyzing the underlying mechanisms mediated by mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs) inhibition. To this purpose, we used different PC cells overexpressing or lacking DUSP1 or incubated with MAPKs inhibitors. Moreover, we addressed the correlation of DUSP1 expression with Snail and activated MAPKs levels in samples from patients diagnosed with benign hyperplasia or prostate carcinoma, studying its implication in tumor prognosis and survival. We found that DUSP1 downregulates Snail expression and impairs migration and invasion in PC cells. Similar results were obtained following the inhibition of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinase (ERK). In clinical samples, we evidenced an inverse correlation between DUSP1 expression and Snail levels, which are further associated with JNK and ERK activation. Consequently, the pattern DUSP1high/activated JNKlow/activated ERKlow/Snaillow is associated with an overall extended survival of PC patients. In summary, the ratio between DUSP1 and Snail expression, with additional JNK and ERK activity measurement, may serve as a potential biomarker to predict the clinical outcome of PC patients. Furthermore, DUSP1 induction or inhibition of JNK and ERK pathways could be useful to treat PCD.M.-M. was recipient of grants from UAM (“Post-Master Program of Dpt. Biochemistry) and from Comunidad de Madrid (“Ayudas para la contratación de investigadores predoctorales y postdoctorales, ref. PEJD-2018-PRE/BMD-8987). P.B. was recipient of a grant from Comunidad de Madrid (“Atracción al Talento Investigador”, ref. 2017-T1/BMD-5704

Weighting and sequence of use of different lab environment in the teaching-learning process

The teaching-learning process has been a constant target of studies, particularly in Higher Education, in consequence of the annual increase of new students that, in merely statistic terms, have been progressively decreasing the application averages. The concern with the maintenance of a certain quality level in the training of these students, conjugated with the will to widen the access to all of those who finish Secondary School Education, has triggered a greater intervention from the education specialists, in partnership with the teachers of all Higher Education areas, in the problem analysis. Considering the particular case of Sciences and Engineering, where the laboratorial component in the teaching-learning process takes a relevant role, recent breakthrough of the educational technologies has created valid alternatives for the traditional laboratorial environments, namely the virtual and remote laboratorial environments, not totally explored yet. In parallel, it is also witnessed a rising concern with the analysis of learning styles, as the outcome of the rising heterogeneity that characterizes, in a global way, the students who choose those Higher Education areas. Having - the teachers - available a rising variety of educational resources and teaching methods before a wide number of students with unique learning styles, it is important to study in what way it is possible to ponder and sequence the different types of laboratorial environments, to achieve the general purpose of increasing the knowledge level and the students‘ experimental competences who chose the Sciences and Engineering.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ponderação e sequência de utilização de diferentes ambientes laboratoriais no processo ensino-aprendizagem

O processo ensino-aprendizagem tem sido alvo constante de estudos, em particular ao nível do Ensino Superior em consequência do aumento anual de novos alunos que, em termos meramente estatísticos, têm vindo a evidenciar um abaixamento progressivo das médias de acesso. A preocupação com a manutenção de um determinado nível de qualidade na formação destes alunos, conjugada com a vontade de alargar o acesso a todos aqueles que terminam o Ensino Secundário, despoletou uma maior intervenção dos especialistas em educação, em parceria com docentes de todas as áreas do Ensino Superior, na análise do problema. Considerando o caso particular das Ciências e Engenharias, onde a componente laboratorial no processo ensino- aprendizagem assume um papel relevante, os recentes avanços ao nível das tecnologias educativas criaram alternativas válidas aos ambientes laboratoriais tradicionais, nomeadamente os ambientes laboratoriais virtuais e remotos, ainda não totalmente exploradas. Em paralelo, assiste-se também a uma crescente preocupação com a análise dos estilos de aprendizagem, em resultado da crescente heterogeneidade que caracteriza, de forma global, os alunos que optam por aquelas áreas do Ensino Superior. Dispondo os docentes de uma variedade crescente de recursos educativos e de métodos de ensino, em face de um leque alargado de alunos com estilos de aprendizagem próprios, importa estudar de que forma se pode ponderar e sequenciar os diferentes tipos de ambientes laboratoriais, para atingir o objectivo geral de aumentar o nível do saber e das competências experimentais dos alunos que optam pelas Ciências e Engenharias.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Protein kinase D activity is a risk biomarker in prostate cancer that drives cell invasion by a Snail/ERK dependent mechanism

Protein kinase D (PKD) family members play controversial roles in prostate cancer (PC). Thus, PKD1 is nearly absent in advanced tumours, where PKD2 and PKD3 are upregulated. Additionally, consequences of activation of these kinases on PC progression remain largely unclear. Here, we first investigated PKD function on PC cell motility, analysing the underlying molecular mechanisms. We find a striking decrease of Snail levels after PKD inhibition followed by cell migration and invasion impairment, demonstrating an unprecedented role of PKD activity on the regulation of this key transcription factor in PC progression. Specifically, we show that PKD2 activity mediates the effects of MEK/ERK pathway on Snail expression, establishing a joint function of ERK/ PKD2/Snail cascade in PC cell invasion regulation. These results led us to address the clinical relevance of the correlation between PKD2 and ERK activities with Snail abundance in samples from PC patients at different stages, analysing its impact on tumour prognosis and patients´survival. Importantly, this is the first study defining a direct correlation between active PKD2 and Snail levels, further linked to ERK activity. We also evidence that PKD2 activity is associated with important poor prognostic factors. Thus, PC patients with the expression pattern: active PKD2high/active ERKhigh/Snailhigh exhibit increased invasiveness and metastasis, and decreased survival. Our findings provide new insights for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in PC progression, pinpointing the combination of active PKD2 and Snail levels, with the additional measurement of active ERK, as a confident biomarker to predict clinical outcome of patients with advanced PCD.C.-R., D.M.-M., and P.B. were recipients of grants from Comunidad de Madrid, Spain (grant numbers PEJ-2019-AI/BMD-14294, PEJD2018-PRE/BMD-8987, and 2017-T1/BMD-5704, respectively). T.I. received funding from Centro de Investigacion ´ Biom´edica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spai

Insights into milk-clotting activity of latex peptidases from <i>Calotropis procera</i> and <i>Cryptostegia grandiflora</i>

Latex fractions from Calotropis procera, Cryptostegia grandiflora, Plumeria rubra, and Himatanthus drasticus were assayed in order to prospect for new plant peptidases with milk-clotting activities, for use as rennet alternatives. Only C. procera and C. grandiflora latex fractions exhibited proteolytic and milk-clotting activities, which were not affected by high concentrations of NaCl and CaCl2. However, pre-incubation of both samples at 75 °C for 10 min eliminated completely their activities. Both proteolytic fractions were able to hydrolyze k-casein and to produce peptides of 16 kDa, a similar SDS-PAGE profile to commercial chymosin. RP-HPLC and mass spectrometry analyses of the k-casein peptides showed that the peptidases from C. procera or C. grandiflora hydrolyzed k-casein similar to commercial chymosin. The cheeses made with both latex peptidases exhibited yields, dry masses, and soluble proteins similar to cheeses prepared with commercial chymosin. In conclusion, C. procera and C. grandiflora latex peptidases with the ability to coagulate milk can be used as alternatives to commercial animal chymosin in the cheese manufacturing process.Centro de Investigación de Proteínas Vegetale

Insights into milk-clotting activity of latex peptidases from <i>Calotropis procera</i> and <i>Cryptostegia grandiflora</i>

Latex fractions from Calotropis procera, Cryptostegia grandiflora, Plumeria rubra, and Himatanthus drasticus were assayed in order to prospect for new plant peptidases with milk-clotting activities, for use as rennet alternatives. Only C. procera and C. grandiflora latex fractions exhibited proteolytic and milk-clotting activities, which were not affected by high concentrations of NaCl and CaCl2. However, pre-incubation of both samples at 75 °C for 10 min eliminated completely their activities. Both proteolytic fractions were able to hydrolyze k-casein and to produce peptides of 16 kDa, a similar SDS-PAGE profile to commercial chymosin. RP-HPLC and mass spectrometry analyses of the k-casein peptides showed that the peptidases from C. procera or C. grandiflora hydrolyzed k-casein similar to commercial chymosin. The cheeses made with both latex peptidases exhibited yields, dry masses, and soluble proteins similar to cheeses prepared with commercial chymosin. In conclusion, C. procera and C. grandiflora latex peptidases with the ability to coagulate milk can be used as alternatives to commercial animal chymosin in the cheese manufacturing process.Centro de Investigación de Proteínas Vegetale

Sondagem ICS/ISCTE, Outubro de 2019

Para uma descrição completa do estudo, http://www.apis.ics.ulisboa.pt/catalogo/APIS0077.Este estudo tem como objetivo medir a intenção de voto nas eleições legislativas de 2019. Para além de se analisar a intenção de voto em geral, teve-se em conta características sociodemográficas (género, idade, escolaridade) e o posicionamento ideológico dos indivíduos.info:eu-repo/semantics/updatedVersio