Demographic winter

A população portuguesa tem vindo a sofrer, nas últimas décadas, um acentuado envelhecimento. Apenas o contributo do saldo migratório impede que a população não diminua. É nas regiões do interior que o envelhecimento e diminuição da população são mais acentuados. Associada ao fraco dinamismo demográfico está o fraco dinamismo económico, originando o desfalecer de uma região com grande potencial patrimonial, cultural e natural.The Portuguese population has been suffering a marked aging in recent decades. Only the contribution the migratory balance prevents the population from decreasing. It is in the inner regions where aging and declining population are more pronounced. Associated with weak demographic dynamism is the weak economic performance, resulting in the fainting of a region with great potential natural, cultural and heritage

BSA-PEG Hydrogel: A Novel Protein-Ligand Binding 3D Matrix

Hydrogel materials have good biomimetic properties and high potential for biomedical and bioanalytical applications. In this work, a hydrogel of serum albumin crosslinked with poly-(ethylene glycol) was prepared and characterized for its water content, protein structure and stability. The ability of the hydrogel to bind small molecule ligands with different hydrophobicity was evaluated using a homologous series of amphiphiles (NBD-Cn, n = 4, 6 and 8) and the calculated binding affinities were similar to that of free protein in solution. Overall, the results indicate this type of hydrogel system as a convenient tool for studying the binding of xenobiotics to tissue proteins.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Construção de websites com ferramentas open-source: duas experiências de implementação em bibliotecas de ensino superior

As Tecnologias da Informação e da Comunicação (TIC) têm influenciado de forma inequívoca o desenvolvimento das bibliotecas à escala global. Nas últimas décadas, as TIC mudaram a dinâmica das bibliotecas permitindo a sua modernização (pelo desenvolvimento da eficiência das tarefas já realizadas), favorecendo a inovação (pela utilização das tecnologias como base para o desenvolvimento de novos serviços/técnicas) e promovendo a sua transformação (ao nível do paradigma funcional, da disponibilização de conteúdos, etc.) – criando, em suma, uma nova relação com os seus público

Effects of two new di(hetero)arylamines on prevention of oxidative stress induced in two different biological models

We investigated the antioxidant properties of two new diarylamines from organic synthesis (MJQ1 and MJQ2), whose basic structure is similar to others, with reported antioxidant capacity, assessed by chemical tests, and biological activity against microorganisms. In this study we induced lipid peroxidation, in isolated rat liver mitochondria with ADP/Fe2+, and the diarylamine effects were examined by oxygen consumption and by TBARS method. The anti-peroxidative effect was maximal for MJQ1 at 50 nM (higher than the one reported for trolox) and for MJQ2 at 60 μM. At these same concentrations none of them depressed the transmembrane potential (ΔΨ) developed by mitochondria, neither the RCR nor the ADP/O ratio values. For 2-fold these concentrations both diarylamines were effective in the prevention of mitochondrial ΔΨ collapse observed on respiring mitochondria, with the TPP+ electrode, which means a stabilization action on mitochondrial inner membrane. The results obtained were confirmed in whole cells. The compounds did not show toxicity to the L929 cell line, evaluated by the MTT reducing test and clearly protected from lipid peroxidation, induced by the oxidant pair ascorbate/Fe2+, to the PC12 cell model, at the concentrations where maximal antioxidant effect was observed in mitochondria. The new diarylamines revealed as very good antioxidants at very low concentrations, both in mitochondria and in whole cells. The results suggest a specific action site, for MJQ2, at mitochondrial complex I level. We are further exploring other intracellular targets for these new compounds that seems very promising against pathologies where oxidative stress is involved.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BD/17174/2004 - JP

Adaptation and convergence in circadian‐related genes in Iberian freshwater fish

The circadian clock is a biological timing system that improves the ability of organisms to deal with environmental fluctuations. At the molecular level it consists of a network of transcription-translation feedback loops, involving genes that activate (bmal and clock - positive loop) and repress expression (cryptochrome (cry) and period (per) - negative loop). This is regulated by daily alternations of light but can also be affected by temperature. Fish, as ectothermic, depend on the environmental temperature and thus are good models to study its integration within the circadian system. Here, we studied the molecular evolution of circadian genes in four Squalius freshwater fish species, distributed across Western Iberian rivers affected by two climatic types with different environmental conditions (e.g., light and temperature). S. carolitertii and S. pyrenaicus inhabit the colder northern region under Atlantic climate type, while S. torgalensis, S. aradensis and some populations of S. pyrenaicus inhabit the warmer southern region affected by summer droughts, under Mediterranean climate type.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Campaigns Against Intimate Partner Violence Toward Women in Portugal: Types of Prevention and Target Audiences

Understanding the objectives and groups targeted by previous campaigns to prevent intimate partner violence will prove useful in developing future such efforts. This study examines the types of prevention and audiences of Portuguese poster campaigns against Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) toward women, comparing governmental and nongovernmental organizations and observing how objectives evolved between 2000 and 2011. These comparisons were made through inductive and deductive content analysis of 74 posters – received after contacting 1,097 institutions – using standardized residual analysis from the chi-square test. Results indicated tertiary prevention as the main aim and the general population as the main target audience. Differences in these regards were found between public and private organizations, and campaigns were found to have changed over the years, mainly concerning target audiences. This study provides an overview of the directions of the campaigns against IPV over 11 years; these emphasized the urgency of informing abused or at-risk women about resources available in the community and strategies for getting help, and they sought to alert the general population that IPV is a public crime that everyone has a responsibility to combat.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis of the Equilibrium Distribution of Ligands in Heterogeneous Media–Approaches and Pitfalls

The equilibrium distribution of small molecules (ligands) between binding agents in heterogeneous media is an important property that determines their activity. Heterogeneous systems containing proteins and lipid membranes are particularly relevant due to their prevalence in biological systems, and their importance to ligand distribution, which, in turn, is crucial to ligand’s availability and biological activity. In this work, we review several approaches and formalisms for the analysis of the equilibrium distribution of ligands in the presence of proteins, lipid membranes, or both. Special attention is given to common pitfalls in the analysis, with the establishment of the validity limits for the distinct approaches. Due to its widespread use, special attention is given to the characterization of ligand binding through the analysis of Stern–Volmer plots of protein fluorescence quenching. Systems of increasing complexity are considered, from proteins with single to multiple binding sites, from ligands interacting with proteins only to biomembranes containing lipid bilayers and membrane proteins. A new formalism is proposed, in which ligand binding is treated as a partition process, while considering the saturation of protein binding sites. This formalism is particularly useful for the characterization of interaction with membrane proteins

Transforming ideas and developing entrepreneurship skills in computing sciences and informatics engineering courses

This paper presents an approach on entrepreneurship education which helps to turn ideas into Minimum Viable Products (MVP) and to capacitate students to become entrepreneurs. In this approach, we integrate development and management project to different business models. Students acquire, in addition to technical competencies, skills on market knowledge and business modeling. This approach has been applied for several years in an informatics engineering course and suggests a set of activities on 18 weeks. Teachers’ perceptions and students’ opinions were collected through direct observations and using a questionnaire in order to evaluate the process behind this pedagogical project which goes beyond the walls of the university. Most of the students are satisfied with the process since they develop projects that have a good fit with the market needs and opportunities and some of them are close to creating a startup.(undefined

Produção e consumo de cerâmica islâmica em Lisboa: conclusões de um projecto de investigação

Peer reviewe

Influence of low insertion torque values on survival rate of immediately loaded dental implants: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Aim The aim was to systematically evaluate the effect of low insertion torque values on the survival rate of immediately loaded dental implants. Materials and Methods The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (ID CRD42020189499). An electronic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials until June 2022 in English and Spanish. Studies analysing the failure or survival rate of immediately loaded dental implants according to different insertion torque values were included. Results Five-hundred seventy-three articles were assessed for eligibility, of which seven articles, four randomized clinical trials (RCTs), one controlled clinical trial, and two prospective case series studies were included in the qualitative analysis. The RCTs were classified as having low risk of bias and the non-RCTs as having moderate and serious risk of bias. The mean survival rate for implants with low insertion toque (≤35 Ncm) was 96% (p > .001, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.91–0.98) and that for implants with medium or high insertion torque (>35 Ncm) was 92% (p > .001, 95% CI: 0.86–0.96) (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.79–1.39, p = .175, I2 = 0.0%). Splinted implants with insertion torque >20 Ncm and single implants with insertion torque >35 Ncm had a higher survival rate than implants with lower insertion torque values (IRR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.78–1.43, p = .956, I2 = 0.0%, and RR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.48–1.75, p = .799, I2 = 0.0%, respectively). Different insertion torque values achieved equivalent outcomes. The mean follow-up was 24 months. Conclusions Low insertion torque values have no significant effect on survival rates of immediate loading implants at a mean follow-up of 24 monthsThere was no funding for this studyS