The role of acetylcholinesterase in Alzheimer’s disease: Enzymatic inhibition studies

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and causes a progressive and irreversible neurodegeneration. It is related with loss of cholinergic function, which affects memory, learning and behavior [1]. Neurophathologically, AD is characterized by the presence of beta-amyloid plaques (A ) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) [2] and consequent degeneration of the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons [3]. The loss of cholinergic neurons leads to the progressive reduction of acetylcholine (ACh) in the brain and resulting cognitive impairment in AD [3]. As such, the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) has been one of the prime targets in search for a treatment for AD, which uses reversible inhibitors of AChE, in order to increase levels of acetylcholine (ACh) in the brain [4]. In the present study a small library of quinolinone and indole derivatives was screened for their eeAChE inhibitory activity using the Ellman method

Assessing impacts of Common Agricultural Policy changes on regional use patterns with a decision support system. An application in Southern Portugal

This paper discusses research aiming at assessing Common Agricultural Policy impacts on agriculture and forestry. For this purpose an approach is developed that includes a linear programming model to estimate the Positive Mathematical Programming production cost function coefficients of current agricultural– forestry activities. It further includes a heuristic — simulated annealing — to generate solutions for each policy scenario. This model base approach is integrated within a decision support system (DSS) for testing purposes. The DSS further encompasses a relational database that stores agricultural–forestry technical and economic data and a geographic information system that stores topological data of regional farm-type land units. The DSS Graphical User Interface provides tabular and geographical reporting capabilities. Results are discussed for an application to the Alentejo region in Southern Portugal. Results demonstrate the usefulness and relevance of the proposed approach to assess the impact of changes in prices and in agricultural policy on land use patterns and on forestr

Scattering from supramacromolecular structures

We study theoretically the scattering imprint of a number of branched supramacromolecular architectures, namely, polydisperse stars and dendrimeric, hyperbranched structures. We show that polydispersity and nature of branching highly influence the intermediate wavevector region of the scattering structure factor, thus providing insight into the morphology of different aggregates formed in polymer solutions.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures To appear in PR

Preliminary Analysis of Slope Instability Processes Triggered in the Guilherme Creek Watershed (Nordeste Municipality, S. Miguel Island, Azores)

The Nordeste Volcanic Complex is located in the NE sector of S. Miguel Island (Azores) and it is composed of geological formations with about 4 million years old, extremely weathered. This fact, allied to the steep slopes on the area, promotes the occurrence of slope instability phenomena. In particular, the Guilherme Creek watershed has a high recurrence of this type of geological hazard, mainly triggered by precipitation, which promotes a high density of landslides in the area. Considering as main objective the landslide susceptibility analysis in the Guilherme Creek watershed, using statistical/probabilistic methods, it is ongoing an inventory process of these phenomena in a GIS, based on the aerial photography interpretation and fieldwork. Currently, the inventory is concluded based on aerial photography from 1982 and orthorectified aerial photography from 1995 to 2005. In order to validate and update the landslide inventory produced in the office, fieldwork has been carried out using, besides more traditional techniques, a drone (DJI Phatom 4 PRO). This tool has allowed studying steep slopes, which would otherwise be impossible to access in an area with a high forest density and very steep slopes. Until now, 517 landslides have been identified in the study area, mainly belonging to slides and falls typologies.GeoBioTe

Study protocol of the YP Face IT feasibility study: Comparing an online psychosocial intervention versus treatment as usual for adolescents distressed by appearance-altering conditions/injuries

© Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. Introduction A significant number of adolescents suffer extensive and enduring difficulties such as social anxiety, body image dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and bullying as a result of conditions or injuries that affect their appearance (eg, craniofacial and skin conditions, treatment side effects and scarring). Evidence-based psychosocial interventions to meet their specific needs are currently lacking. YP Face IT, developed by the UK's Centre for Appearance Research in collaboration with clinical experts and young people, is an innovative online psychosocial intervention designed to offer this group immediate support, advice and coping strategies. It has been endorsed by young people, their parents/carers, GPs, clinical psychologists and health professionals working with those affected by appearance-related conditions. Methods and analysis Young people aged 12-17 with an appearance-altering condition/injury that self-identify as experiencing appearance-related distress, teasing or bullying will be invited to participate via GP practices and UK charities. Consenting participants will be randomised to the intervention (YP Face IT) or the treatment as usual (TAU) control group. Outcome measures will be completed by young people and their parents/carers at baseline, 13, 26 and 52â €..weeks. Primary outcome measures will be the Body Esteem Scale and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents. Participants will complete other health-related outcome measures and resource use questionnaires for health economic analysis. We will assess recruitment rates, acceptability of the YP Face IT programme, adherence and retention to treatment, questionnaire completion rates, variation of TAU in Primary Care and the feasibility of GP practice staff supervising young people's use of YP Face IT. Ethics and dissemination This feasibility trial protocol (V.1, 3 March 2014), received a favourable ethical opinion from the NRES Committee South West-Frenchay (reference number 14/SW/0058). Findings will be disseminated through academic peer-reviewed publications, conferences and to participating GP practices and charities supporting those with conditions affecting appearance

VARIABILIDADE ESPACIAL E TEMPORAL DA MATURAÇÃO DE UVA PARA VINHO - VARIEDADES: ARAGONÊS, TRINCADEIRA.

O conceito de terroir no vinho é baseado na observação de que diferentes regiões, vinhas ou mesmo secções diferentes dentro da mesma vinha, podem produzir vinhos com uma identidade muito própria e bem diferente uns dos outros. Os franceses começaram a cristalizar este conceito como uma maneira de descrever os aspectos originais de um determinado lugar (solo, topografia e clima), que influencia e molda o vinho feito a partir dele. Para uma determinada posição geográfica, podemos considerar que o solo e a topografia são fixos no espaço e no tempo, mas não o clima. Na verdade, dentro da mesma vinha, várias regiões microclimáticas podem ser definidas. Os microclimas de uma determinada vinha afectam diferenciadamente a maturação das uvas, criando dessa forma uma variabilidade espacial e temporal da qualidade da uva. Foram analisadas duas variedades de uva, Aragonês e Trincadeira, e para cada variedade foram estudados, respectivamente, 7 e 6 talhões dentro da vinha do CASITO, pertencente à Fundação Eugénio de Almeida. Nestes talhões e nestas variedades, foi acompanhada a maturação das uvas em três anos consecutivos. Como resultado constatou-se que existe uma variabilidade espacial e temporal da maturação da uva entre castas e dentro da mesma casta, abrindo desta forma, a possibilidade de gerir diferenciadamente cada parcela

Suscetibilidade Magnética Como Indicador De Qualidade Do Solo Em áreas Sob Cultivo De Cana-de-açúcar

Sugarcane management practices (unburned cane - UC and burned cane - BC) interfere with dynamics of soil magnetic properties. This study focused on determining the potential of magnetic susceptibility as soil quality indicator in areas under sugarcane cultivation. The experiment area is on the limit between basalt from São Bento Group, Serra Geral Formation, and sandstone from Bauru Group - Adamantina Formation. Twenty soil samples were collected from two management areas (burned and unburned sugarcane prior to harvest) at a depth range of 0.0-0.2 m. Local soil was classified as eutroferric Red Latosol (Oxisol), with highly clayey texture. Chemical and physical properties, CO2 emissions and magnetic susceptibility (MS) in air-dried fine earth (MSADFE), total sand fraction (MSTS) and clay fraction (MSCF). The magnetic signature from MS was effective in identifying changes of physical, chemical and mineralogical traits in Latosols under burned and unburned sugarcane crop. The information provided here can guide further studies on the genesis of minerals with magnetic expression in environments and exposed to fire burning. © 2016, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Arid. All rights reserved.30228729

Geochemistry of groundwater from Graciosa Island (Azores): A contribution to the hydrothermal system conceptual model

Graciosa island is located in the Azores Archipelago, along the so-called Terceira Rift, a major tectonic structure that makes the NE boundary of the Azores Plateau. In general terms, it includes a basaltic plataform on the NW and a silicic poligenetic volcano with caldera on the SE, the Graciosa Caldera Volcano. This volcano has produced significant tephra falls, pyroclastic flows, lahars, and lava flows, both of basaltic s.l. and trachitic s.l. composition. The hydrothermal system shows fumarolic emissions inside the volcano caldera and thermal springs located along the shoreline. This system is exploitated in a thermal building through shallow and deep (110 m) boreholes, near the coast. In Graciosa two types of Na-Cl groundwater systems can be identified: 1) a cold one emerging at springs and exploited by wells for public water supply, and 2) a hydrothermal system with temperatures around 40-44 °C. The cold groundwaters have pH higher than 7 and different degree of mineralization, according to the proximity to the sea. The thermal waters show mixing with seawater, pH varying between 6.20 and 6.94, 166 mg/L of SiO2, and significant concentration of metals, such as Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn. The thermal water mineralization varies strongly, showing EC from 8.87 mS/cm (shallow water) to 47.4 mS/cm (deeper water). The higher mineralized water is rich in CO2(g), with 2130 mg/L of total dissolved CO2. Geothermometers application reveals aquifer temperature around 167 °C and immature/mixed waters, not reaching complete equilibrium with reservoir rock. The geochemistry of the thermal waters indicates the occurrence of seawater/host rock interaction processes at high temperature and slightly acid conditions, favored by CO2(g) input, and a different degrees of mixing with cold and shallow groundwaters

Helium isotopes distribution in NW Iberian peninsula: evidences of a local neotectonic activity

In this work we report new data on He abundances and isotope ratios (3He/4He) from gas associated to some thermal and CO2-rich mineral waters in N-Portugal. Collected gas samples are mainly CO2-dominant except two sites where gas is N2-rich. All the sampling sites are characterized by exceptionally high helium contents with 3He/4He ratios, corrected for air contamination, varying considerably from 0.09 to 2.68 Ra. In all sites, the 3He/4He ratios are higher than that typical for stable continental areas thus indicating a variable but not-negligible (up to 30%) contribution of mantle-derived primordial He. In all the CO2-rich waters, CO2/3He ratios and 13CCO2 are comparable with mantle values, thus suggesting a magmatic origin also for CO2. On the contrary, in the N2-rich waters He is mainly radiogenic, and CO2 is organic in origin. Since no recent volcanic activity is observed in NW Iberia, high 3He/4He values could be due, at least, to three processes: a) releasing of gas from the local upper mantle through deep extensional fault systems; b) releasing of magmatic volatiles from crustal reservoir(s) formed during past volcanic activity; c) degassing of a subsurface emplaced magma body. Mantle He flux in N-Portugal has been estimated to be up to 3 orders of magnitude higher than that typical for stable continental areas, thus suggesting, in this area, the presence of a tensional tectonic regime. This implies that mantle gases could migrate upward probably through inherited tectonic structures reactivated by neotectonic activity. The third possible scenario seems to be less plausible since seismic surveys carried out in NW Iberian did not find any significant evidence of mantle intrusion in the crust. The observed spatial variability in mantle-derived contribution could reflect the geometry of the granitic plutons in this area, thus supporting the hypotheses of an upper mantle degassing. Alternatively, it could be the result of a lateral migration of magmatic volatiles stored in a crustal reservoir