Management of Research Data in Image Format: An Exploratory Study on Current Practices

Research data management is the basis for making data more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. In this context, little attention is given to research data in image format. This article presents the preliminary results of a study on the habits related to the management of images in research. We collected 107 answers from researchers using a questionnaire. These researchers were PhD students, fellows and university professors from Life and Health Sciences, Exact Sciences and Engineering, Natural and Environmental Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanities. This study shows that 83.2% of researcher use images as research data, however, its use is generally not accompanied by a guidance document such as a research data management plan. These results provide valuable insights into the processes and habits regarding the production and use of images in the research context. (c) 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG

New Features to Look at Natural Phenomena

Proceeding of the 3rd International Conference on Fractional Systems and Signals, at Ghent, BelgiumThe paper focuses the patterns seen in the number of victims from natural catastrophic phenomena. We consider the number of victims of storms from 1900 up to 2013 in 11 countries and study the distributions of the events with more than 30 deadly victims. The similarities among events across the 11 countries are analysed using agglomerative hierarchical clustering. Countries belonging to the same cluster are similar with respect to fatalities. Power laws and hierarchical clustering provide comparable results for the data. Future work is needed in order to explore these numerical tools in more countries and in victims of other hazards

A review of power laws in real life phenomena

Power law distributions, also known as heavy tail distributions, model distinct real life phenomena in the areas of biology, demography, computer science, economics, information theory, language, and astronomy, amongst others. In this paper, it is presented a review of the literature having in mind applications and possible explanations for the use of power laws in real phenomena. We also unravel some controversies around power laws

Contributo para a classificação da funcionalidade na população com mais de 65 anos, segundo a Classificação Internacional de Funcionalidade

Finalidade: Identificação das categorias da Classificação Internacional da Funcionalidade (CIF), incapacidade e saúde, para a classificação da funcionalidade da população com mais de 65 anos de idade. Objectivo: Identificar os domínios e as categorias da CIF mais referidos para classificar a população com mais de 65 anos de idade. Metodologia: Revisão da literatura efectuada na CINAHL (Plus with Full Text, MEDLINE with Full Text). Foram pesquisados artigos científicos publicados em Texto Integral (Fevereiro de 2010), entre 2000/01/01 e 2010/01/31, utilizando o método de PI[C]O e seleccionados 17 artigos do total de 505 encontrados. Resultados: Foram identificados 252 categorias que caracterizam a funcionalidade da população com mais de 65 anos de idade. Com a frequência de descrição ≥ a 30 %, observamos 79 categorias, que se encontram divididas em 3 dos 4 componentes da CIF. No componente das Funções do Corpo, as categorias identificadas foram: Funções mentais globais (b110, b114, b130, b134); Funções mentais específicas (b140, b144, b152, b167); Visão e funções relacionadas (b210); Funções auditivas e vestibulares (b230); Dor (b280); Funções da voz e da fala (b310); Funções do aparelho cardiovascular (b410, b420); Funções dos sistema hematológico e imunológico (b430, b435); Funções do aparelho respiratório (b440); Funções relacionadas com o aparelho digestivo (b510, b525). No Componente das Estruturas do Corpo, as categorias identificadas foram: Estruturas do sistema nervoso (s110); Estruturas do aparelho cardiovascular, do sistema imunológico e do aparelho respiratório (s410, s430); Estruturas relacionadas com o movimento (s760). No componente das Actividades e Participação, as categorias identificadas foram: Experiências sensoriais intencionais (d110); Aprendizagem básica (d155); Aplicação do conhecimento (d160, d166, d170, d175, d177); Tarefas e exigências gerais (d220, d230, d240); Comunicar e receber mensagens (d310, d315); Comunicar e produzir mensagens (d330, d335, d345); Conversação e utilização de dispositivos e de técnicas de comunicação (d350, d360); Mudar e manter a posição do corpo (d410, d415, d420); Transportar, mover e manusear objectos (d430, d440, d445); Andar e deslocar-se (d450, d460, d465); Auto cuidados (d540, d550, d560, d570); Aquisição do necessário para viver (d620); Tarefas domésticas (d640); Relacionamentos interpessoais particulares (d760); Vida comunitária, social e cívica (d910). Na componente dos factores ambientais as categorias mais referidas foram: Produtos e tecnologia (e110, e115, e120, e125, e150); Ambiente natural e mudanças ambientais feitas pelo homem (e260); Apoio e relacionamentos (e310, e315, e320, e355, e360); Atitudes (e410, e415, e420, e450, e455, e465); Serviços, sistemas e políticas (e570, e575, e580). Conclusões: Os totais de categorias identificadas distribuem-se do seguinte modo: 83 categorias do componente Funções do Corpo (32,93 %) em 12 artigos; 30 categorias do componente das Estruturas do Corpo (11,90 %) em 7 artigos; 82 categorias do componente das Actividades e Participação (32,53 %) em 16 artigos; 57 categorias do componente dos Factores Ambientais (22,61 %) em 15 artigos. A identificação desta categoria permite ter uma base de trabalho para iniciar o processo de caracterização da funcionalidade da população com mais de 65 anos no contexto nacional

pH-responsive hybrid nanoassemblies for cancer treatment: formulation development, optimization, and in vitro therapeutic performance

Current needs for increased drug delivery carrier efficacy and specificity in cancer necessitate the adoption of intelligent materials that respond to environmental stimuli. Therefore, we developed and optimized pH-triggered drug delivery nanoassemblies that exhibit an increased release of doxorubicin (DOX) in acidic conditions typical of cancer tissues and endosomal vesicles (pH 5.5) while exhibiting significantly lower release under normal physiological conditions (pH 7.5), indicating the potential to reduce cytotoxicity in healthy cells. The hybrid (polymeric/lipid) composition of the lyotropic non-lamellar liquid crystalline (LNLCs) nanoassemblies demonstrated high encapsulation efficiency of the drug (>90%) and high drug loading content (>7%) with colloidal stability lasting at least 4 weeks. Confocal microscopy revealed cancer cellular uptake and DOX-loaded LNLCs accumulation near the nucleus of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells, with a large number of cells appearing to be in apoptosis. DOX-loaded LNLCs have also shown higher citotoxicity in cancer cell lines (MDA-MB 231 and HepG2 cell lines after 24 h and in NCI-H1299 cell line after 48 h) when compared to free drug. After 24 h, free DOX was found to have higher cytotoxicity than DOX-loaded LNLCs and empty LNLCs in the normal cell line. Overall, the results demonstrate that DOX-loaded LNLCs have the potential to be explored in cancer therapy.This research was funded by FCT/MCTES—Foundation for Science and Technology I.P. from the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education (PIDDAC) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the COMPETE—Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC) through the project CONCERT [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032651 and PTDC/NAN-MAT/326512017]. This work was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UIDB/04650/2020 and UIDB/04050/2020 (CF-UM-UP and CBMA). The authors are grateful for the support of the BioISI center grant (UIDB/04046/2020 and UIDP/04046/2020), financed by FCT. R.M. acknowledges FCT I.P. for funding within the Scientific Employment Stimulus instrument (CEECIND/00526/2018)

Double power law behavior in everyday phenomena

We study similar statistical properties observed in distinct real world data. In particular, we focus on the power law (PL) distribution. We nd that some data is well tted by a single PL distribution whereas other phenomena force the use of two distinct PLs. This behavior is similar in, a priori, unrelated phenomena, such as catastrophes (terrorism, earthquakes) and variables associated to man-made systems, such as distribution of the number of words in texts or of the number of hits received by websites.N/

Lipid nanocarriers for anti-HIV therapeutics: a focus on physicochemical properties and biotechnological advances

Since HIV was first identified, and in a relatively short period of time, AIDS has become one of the most devastating infectious diseases of the 21st century. Classical antiretroviral therapies were a major step forward in disease treatment options, significantly improving the survival rates of HIV-infected individuals. Even though these therapies have greatly improved HIV clinical outcomes, antiretrovirals (ARV) feature biopharmaceutic and pharmacokinetic problems such as poor aqueous solubility, short half-life, and poor penetration into HIV reservoir sites, which contribute to the suboptimal efficacy of these regimens. To overcome some of these issues, novel nanotechnology-based strategies for ARV delivery towards HIV viral reservoirs have been proposed. The current review is focused on the benefits of using lipid-based nanocarriers for tuning the physicochemical properties of ARV to overcome biological barriers upon administration. Furthermore, a correlation between these properties and the potential therapeutic outcomes has been established. Biotechnological advancements using lipid nanocarriers for RNA interference (RNAi) delivery for the treatment of HIV infections were also discussed.This research was funded by FCT/MCTES—Foundation for Science and Technology I.P. from the Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education (PIDDAC) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the COMPETE—Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC) through the project CONCERT [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032651 and PTDC/NANMAT/326512017] and the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2019 and “Contrato-Programa” UIDB/ 04469/2020 (CF-UM-UP and CBMA). Marlene Lúcio thanks FCT and ERDF for the doctoral position [CTTI-150/18-CF (1)] in the scope of the project CONCERT. Maria João Faria thanks FCT for PhD grant [2020.06561.BD]

Fractional dynamics and MDS visualization of earthquake phenomena

This paper analyses earthquake data in the perspective of dynamical systems and fractional calculus (FC). This new standpoint uses Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) as a powerful clustering and visualization tool. FC extends the concepts of integrals and derivatives to non-integer and complex orders. MDS is a technique that produces spatial or geometric representations of complex objects, such that those objects that are perceived to be similar in some sense are placed on the MDS maps forming clusters. In this study, over three million seismic occurrences, covering the period from January 1, 1904 up to March 14, 2012 are analysed. The events are characterized by their magnitude and spatiotemporal distributions and are divided into fifty groups, according to the Flinn–Engdahl (F–E) seismic regions of Earth. Several correlation indices are proposed to quantify the similarities among regions. MDS maps are proven as an intuitive and useful visual representation of the complex relationships that are present among seismic events, which may not be perceived on traditional geographic maps. Therefore, MDS constitutes a valid alternative to classic visualization tools for understanding the global behaviour of earthquakes

Phytoplankton diversity and strategies in regard to physical disturbances in a shallow, oligotrophic, tropical reservoir in Southeast Brazil

The IAG Lake is a small, oligotrophic, and shallow reservoir located in the Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga Biological Reserve, south of Municipality of Sao Paulo, southeast Brazil. The study of the phytoplankton community dynamics is based on samples collected along the vertical profile of the water column in the pelagic region of the reservoir (Zmax = 4.7 m), 3 times a day (7 h, 13 h, and 19 h) during 7 consecutive days of the dry period (20-26 August 1996) and of the rainy period (22- 28 January 1997), but at 5 depths during the dry period and at 4 depths during the rainy one. The relationships among species richness, diversity, evenness, and dominance were discussed within the Connell's Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis (IDH). The responses of the descriptive species in the community and C-R-S strategies were studied. The variation of the mixing zone was the main factor responsible for the changes in the community structure as well as for the maintenance of the diversity during both climate periods. The disturbance was considered of high frequency during the dry period and of intermediate frequency during the rainy one. The diversity was higher during the rainy period, confirming the IDH, at least during the present study. Peridinium gatunense Nygaard was dominant in most sample units during the dry period. During the rainy one, Chlamydomonas debaryana Goroschankin and Oocystis lacustris Chodat were the species that contributed the most. Regarding the functional groups, S-strategists dominated the dry period, differing from the rainy one, when the functional diversity was higher. In conclusion, changes in the phytoplankton community structure were well explained by Connell's IDH.El lago IAG es un embalse pequeño, oligotrófico y somero, ubicado en la Reserva Biológica del Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga, Sur de la Municipalidad de Sao Paulo, sureste del Brasil. El estudio de la dinámica de la comunidad fitoplanctónica está basado en muestras colectadas al largo del perfil vertical de la columna de agua en la región pelágica del embalse (Zmax = 4.7 m), 3 veces al día (7 h, 13 h y 19 h) durante 7 días consecutivos de los períodos seco (20-26 Agosto 1996) y húmedo (22-28 Enero 1997), pero en 5 profundidades durante el período seco y en 4 durante el húmedo. Las relaciones entre riqueza de especies, diversidad, equitabilidad y dominancia fueron discutidos dentro de la Hipótesis de Connell de la Perturbación Intermedia (HPI). Las respuestas de las especies descriptoras de la comunidad y estrategias C-R-S fueron estudiadas. La variación de la zona de mezcla fue el factor más importante en los cambios en la estructura de la comunidad así como para el mantenimiento de la diversidad durante los dos períodos climáticos. La perturbación fue considerada de frecuencia alta durante el período seco y de frecuencia intermedia durante el húmedo. La diversidad fue más alta durante el período de lluvias, confirmando la HPI, por lo menos en este estudio. Peridinium gatunense Nygaard fue dominante en la mayoría de las unidades de muestreo durante el período seco. Durante el período húmedo, Chlamydomonas debaryana Goroschankin y Oocystis lacustris Chodat fueron las especies que más contribuyeron. Considerando los grupos funcionales, los estrategas S dominaron el período seco, a diferencia del período húmedo, cuando la diversidad funcional fue más alta. Concluyendo, los cambios en la estructura de la comunidad del fitoplancton fueron bien explicados por la HPI de Connell