Stimuli-sensitive self-assembled tubules based on lysine-derived surfactants as nanocarriers for proteins

Drug delivery vectors based on amphiphilic molecules present considerable advantages, namely versatility in physicochemical properties and sensitivity to stimuli. Amino acid-based surfactants, in particular, are rather promising amphiphiles for this purpose1 because of their enhanced biocompatibility compared to conventional surfactants. In addition to forming micelles and vesicles, they can self-organize into other complex supramolecular structures, such as fibers, twisted ribbons, helical tapes and nanotubes.2,3 Herein, we have studied a family of novel anionic double-chained lysine-based surfactants, with variable degree of chain length mismatch. Because of their peculiar structure, these compounds are able to form in water tubular structures with assorted morphologies, as evidenced by video-enhanced light microscopy (VELM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM and cryo-SEM), cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).3 The loading ability of the tubules towards lysozyme, under varying experimental conditions, has been investigated inter alia by differential scanning microcalorimetry, gel electrophoresis and UV/VIS spectroscopy, with the goal of assessing the efficiency of these aggregates as pH- and temperature-sensitive nanocarriers for a model biomolecule. Results on the stability of the native and loaded tubules when in contact with different fluids (serum, artificial saliva, artificial sweat, blood), and on their toxicity in human cells, are also presented and discussed.FCT is gratefully acknowledged for financial support through Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/108629/2015. CIQUP acknowledges financial support from FEDER/COMPETE and FCT through grants UID/QUI/00081/2013, POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 006980 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000028

Conformal prediction for frequency-severity modeling

We present a nonparametric model-agnostic framework for building prediction intervals of insurance claims, with finite sample statistical guarantees, extending the technique of split conformal prediction to the domain of two-stage frequency-severity modeling. The effectiveness of the framework is showcased with simulated and real datasets. When the underlying severity model is a random forest, we extend the two-stage split conformal prediction procedure, showing how the out-of-bag mechanism can be leveraged to eliminate the need for a calibration set and to enable the production of prediction intervals with adaptive width

High-intensity interval training upon cognitive and psychological outcomes in youth : a systematic review

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Development of innovative and time-efficient strategies to involve youth in physical activity is pivotal in the actual inactivity pandemic. Moreover, physical activity may improve academic performance, of great interest for educators. This present systematic review aimed to analyze the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on cognitive performance and psychological outcomes in youth. A database search (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and PsycINFO) for original research articles was performed. A total of eight articles met the inclusion criteria, and the Cochrane risk of bias tool was used. The studies' results were recalculated to determine effect sizes using Cohen's d. Different HIIT interventions reported improvements on cognitive performance at executive function (d = 0.75, +78.56%), linguistic reasoning (d = 0.25, +7.66%), concentration (d = 0.71, +61.10%), selective attention (d = 0.81, +60.73%), non-verbal and verbal abilities (d = 0.88, +47.50%; d = 1.58, +22.61%, respectively), abstract reasoning (d = 0.75, +44.50%), spatial and numerical abilities (d = 37.19, +22.85%; d = 1.20, +8.28%, respectively), and verbal reasoning (d = 1.00, +15.71%) in youth. Regarding psychological outcomes, HIIT showed higher self-concept (d = 0.28, +8.71%) and psychological well-being in boys and girls (d = 0.73, +32.43%, d = 0.39, +11.58%, respectively). To sum up, HIIT interventions between 4-16 weeks, for 8-30 min/session, at ≥85% maximal heart rate, would provide positive effects on cognitive performance and psychological outcomes in youth.This research was funded by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, I.P.), under the project UIDB/04045/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O PAPEL DO ESTADO: UM RETRATO DA ADMINISTRAÇÃO PÚBLICA NA ERA VARGAS COM UM DIÁLOGO A PARTIR DA OBRA DE PEDRO CEZAR DUTRA FONSECA. “VARGAS: O CAPITALISMO EM CONSTRUÇÃO”.

A proposta do trabalho é fazer uma análise da administração pública no governo Getúlio Vargas, a partir da obra de Pedro Cezar Dutra Fonseca com ênfase nos setores econômicos, políticos, sociais e industriais. O retrato da gestão pública neste período tem como proposta, a difusão da sociedade capitalista que emergia no Brasil com consistência, e as bases sólidas advindas de outros países. As reformas contempladas no governo de Getúlio Vargas proporcionam a construção, e a dinâmica do capitalismo no país, e com isto, a sua contribuição aos setores ligados a administração pública. Também serão descritos alguns pontos ligados aos períodos presidenciais de Getúlio Vargas (1930 a 1945). Para tanto a abordagem da história econômica será indispensável para os estudos dos fatos a serem discorridos nesta etapa

Electrospun magnetic ionic liquid based electroactive materials for tissue engineering applications

Functional electrospun fibers incorporating ionic liquids (ILs) present a novel approach in the development of active microenviroments due to their ability to respond to external magnetic fields without the addition of magnetic particles. In this context, this work reports on the development of magnetically responsive magneto-ionic fibers based on the electroactive polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride) and the magnetic IL (MIL), bis(1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) tetrathiocyanatocobaltate ([Bmim]2[(SCN)4Co]). The PVDF/MIL electrospun fibers were prepared incorporating 5, 10 and 15 wt.% of the MIL, showing that the inclusion of the MIL increases the polar β-phase content of the polymer from 79% to 94% and decreases the crystallinity of the fibers from 47% to 36%. Furthermore, the thermal stability of the fibers decreases with the incorporation of the MIL. The magnetization of the PVDF/MIL composite fibers is proportional to the MIL content and decreases with temperature. Finally, cytotoxicity assays show a decrease in cell viability with increasing the MIL content.This research was funded by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/FIS/04650/2020, and project PTDC/BTM-MAT/28237/2017. Moreover, the authors thank FCT for the research grant SFRH/BD/145345/2019 (LMC), SFRH/BD/148655/2019 (RMM), and D.M.C. and CR thank the FCT for the contract under the Stimulus of Scientific Employment 2020.02915.CEECIND and 2020.04163.CEECIND, respectively.The authors acknowledge funding by Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERFD) through the project PID2019-106099RB-C43/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and from the Basque Government Industry Departments under the ELKARTEK program. Technical and human support provided by IZO-SGI, SGIker (UPV/EHU, MICINN, GV/EJ, ERDF and ESF) is gratefully acknowledged

Effective cytocompatible nanovectors based on serine-derived gemini surfactants and monoolein for small interfering RNA delivery

Supplementary data to this article can be found online athttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2020.09.077.Non-viral gene therapy based on gene silencing with small interfering RNA (siRNA) has attracted great interest over recent years. Among various types of cationic complexation agents, amino acid-based surfactants have been recently explored for nucleic acid delivery due to their low toxicity and high biocompatibility. Monoolein (MO), in turn, has been used as helper lipid in liposomal systems due to its ability to form inverted nonbilayer structures that enhance fusogenicity, thus contributing to higher transfection efficiency. In this work, we focused on the development of nanovectors for siRNA delivery based on three gemini amino acid-based surfactants derived from serine (12Ser)2N12, amine derivative; (12Ser)2COO12, ester derivative; and (12Ser)2CON12, amide derivative individually combined with MO as helper lipid. The inclusion of MO in the cationic surfactant system influences the morphology and size of the mixed aggregates. Furthermore, the gemini surfactant:MO systems showed the ability to efficiently complex siRNA, forming stable lipoplexes, in some cases clearly depending on the MO content, without inducing significant levels of cytotoxicity. High levels of gene silencing were achieved in comparison with a commercially available standard indicating that these gemini:MO systems are promising candidates as lipofection vectors for RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapies.The authors acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnolo-gia (FCT) for financial support through projects UIDB/00081/2020 and UIDB/50006/2020. This work was supported by the‘‘Contrato-Programa” UIDB/04050/2020 funded by national fundsthrough the FCT I.P. Dr. Marisa Passos is gratefully acknowledged for help with the statistical analysis of cytotoxicity data. Fundingby the CCDR-N/NORTE2020/Portugal2020 through project DESign-BIOtechHealth (ref. Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000024) is also acknowledged. I. S. Oliveira and S.G. Silva also acknowledge finan-cial support from FCT through PhD grant SFRH/BD/108629/2015 and Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus - CEEC Indi-vidual grant CEECIND/01932/2017, respectivelyinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estudo do crescimento somático e da aptidão física relacionados à saúde em estudantes surdos das escolas especiais da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar os níveis de aptidão física relacionados à saúde em alunos surdos de seteescolas especiais da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre - RS. Foram analisados 149 meninos e 139 meninas comidades entre 07 e 15 anos. Os instrumentos possibilitaram avaliar índice massa corporal (IMC), flexibilidade, força/resistência muscular localizada e resistência cárdio-respiratória. Os resultados se relacionam de um lado ao crescimentosomático, no qual foi utilizado como referência as curvas da National Center for Health and Statistic(NCHS) recomendado pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS); e por outro ao estudo da aptidão física(ZSApF), a partir dos dados recomendados pelo Projeto Esporte Brasil (Proesp-BR).Palavras-chave: surdos, aptidão física, saúde

Recharge assessment in the context of expanding agricultural activity: Urucuia Aquifer System, western State of Bahia, Brazil

Groundwater recharge rate estimation is crucial to sustainable development of aquifers in intensely pumped regions, such as the Urucuia Aquifer System (UAS). A sedimentary aquifer in Western Bahia, Brazil, that underlies one of the major agricultural areas of the country where there has been major growth of irrigated areas. This study seeks to evaluate the recharge component of the water budget in the UAS area, based on three complementary techniques. The double-ring infiltrometer test was used to evaluate surface infiltration capacity, an important control on recharge. Water level data from wells (2011–2019 period, 19 wells) in the Brazilian Geological Survey’s Integrated Groundwater Monitoring Network (RIMAS-CPRM) was used to estimate the aquifer recharge using the water table fluctuation (WTF) method. Additionally, this study used the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in two selected sub-basins to estimate deep recharge from the surface hydrological data. The results of the infiltrometer tests show a notable difference in the infiltration rates between the natural vegetation zones and cropped areas. The WTF and SWAT simulations results suggest similar ranges of recharge rate (an average of 24% of precipitation, in both methods). Results of the study indicate equivalence of these methods to estimate the recharge in sedimentary unconfined aquifers as UAS