Prebiotic triose glycolysis promoted by co-catalytic proline and phosphate in neutral water

Proline and phosphate promote a near-quantitative aldol reaction between glycolaldehyde phosphate and formaldehyde at neutral pH in water. Our results demonstrate the important role of general acid-base catalysis in water and underscore the essential role that amino acid catalysis may have played in early evolution of life's core metabolic pathways

Dynamic identification and modelling of Clérigos Tower: initial studies

This paper describes the work carried out to assess the dynamic properties of the historical construction of the Clérigos Tower in Porto, Portugal. A brief description of the Church, Infirmary and Tower is presented followed by a quick survey of the construction in terms of geometry and damages. Later it is discussed the dynamic test plan, and the first results from the modal identification tests are presented and discussed. Finally, a preliminary numerical analysis to tune the mechanical properties is presented as a first attempt to evaluate the structural behaviour and safety of this historical construction

DynaMo - Software for vibration based structural health monitoring

This paper presents an innovative software for continuous dynamic monitoring of civil infrastructures. The followed approach is based in the continuous on-line automatic identification of the structure modal parameters, using its response under operation and adopting state-of-the-art identification algorithms. Therefore, the monitoring software, called DynaMo, includes routines for data and results management, algorithms for operational modal analysis, statistical tools for elimination of environmental and operational factors on the identified modal parameters and also statistical tools for automatic identification of abnormal frequency values that might be associated with the occurrence of damage. The utility and efficiency of DynaMo is illustrated with an application on a large span concrete arch bridge that is being monitored since 2007. © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group

Synthesis, photochemical and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of benzoselenazole-based aminosquaraines

Squaraine dyes have recently attracted interest as potential second generation photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy. Several cationic aminosquaraine dyes bearing benzoselenazole terminal nuclei were synthezised and their cytotoxic activity was tested against four different human tumor cell lines – breast (MCF-7), non-small cell lung (NCI-H460), cervical (HeLa) and hepatocellular (HepG2) carcinomas – and against a non-tumor porcine liver primary cell line (PLP2), both in the absence of light and under irradiation. All dyes, which displayed strong absorption within the phototherapeutic window, were found to exhibit photodynamic activity and were shown to be, in most cases, more cytotoxic, both in the dark and upon irradiation, than their benzothiazole analogues.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and the FEDER for CIMO (UID/ AGR/00690/2013) and CQ-VR (UID/QUI/00616/2013) financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Yicathins B and C and analogues: total synthesis, lipophilicity and biological activities

Natural products had always be an important source of new hits and leads in drug discovery. The marine environment has been regarded as a significant souce of novel and exquisite bioactive compounds. Yicathins B and C are two marine derived xanthones that have shown antibacterial and antifungal activities. Herein, the total synthesis of these yicathins is reported for the first time as well as six novel analogues. As marine natural products tend to bear very lipophilic scaffolds, the lipophilicity of yicathins and its analogues was evaluated using the classical octanol:water system and a biomimetic model based system. As the xanthonic nucleus is a â privileged structureâ , other biological activities were evaluated, namely antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities. An interesting anti-inflammatory activity was identified for yicathins analogues that paves the way for the design of dual activity (anti-infective and anti-inflammatory) marine inspired xanthones derivatives.This work was supported through national funds provided by FCT/MCTES - Foundation for Science and Technology from the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education (PIDDAC) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the COMPETE - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (POFC) programme, under the projects PTDC/MAR-BIO/4694/2014 (reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016790; Project 3599 - Promover a ProducAo Cientifica e Desenvolvimento Tecnologico e a ConstituicAo de Redes Tematicas (3599-PPCDT)) and PTDC/SAU-PUB/28736/2017 (reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER- 028736) in the framework of the programme PT2020. D. R. P. L. is grateful for research grant PTDC/MAR-BIO/4694/2014-BI-2017-003. J. X. S. thanks the FCT PhD Programmes and Programa Operacional Capital Humano (POCH), specifically the BiotechHealth Programme (Doctoral Programme on Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology Applied to Health Sciences), reference PD/00016/2012; through the FCT and POCH for PhD grants (SFRH/BD/98105/2013 and SFRH/BD/116167/2016). The authors would like to thank Sara Cravo and Gisela Adriano for the technical support, the Centro de Apoio Cientifico e Tecnoloxico a Investigation (C.A.C.T.I., University of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain) for HRMS analysis, the Centro de Materiais da Universidade do Porto (CEMUP, Porto, Portugal) for HRMS, and the Departamento de Quimica da Universidade de Aveiro (Portuguese NMR network) for the NMR analysis

O Programa de Cidades Históricas : por uma política integrada de preservação do patrimônio cultural urbano

O Programa de Cidades Históricas (PCH), implementado a partir de 1973, foi o primeiro programa federal que investiu recursos para a recuperação do patrimônio cultural urbano. Implementado pelo Ministério do Planejamento, buscava o desenvolvimento econômico das cidades históricas e dialogava com outros assuntos em pauta naquele momento, como o desenvolvimento urbano e regional e o turismo cultural. Tinha em sua concepção uma mudança na maneira de abordar as cidades históricas: a partir do entendimento da cidade como produtora de capital, o patrimônio cultural geraria desenvolvimento econômico pelo seu consumo para a atividade turística. De 1973 a 1979, foram investidos 17,3 milhões de dólares, realizando-se 143 obras em monumentos (85% dos investimentos); 8 cursos de qualificação de mão de obra nos três níveis (superior, intermediário e operário); 7 planos urbanísticos; 6 obras em espaços públicos (urbanos); e 10 ações de tipos diversos. Nossa análise busca entender essa política a partir do seu processo de formulação e implementação, no período de 1972 a 1979. Pretende, nesse sentido: a) avaliar as relações de poder em jogo durante a construção e a implementação do programa; b) compreender o grau de sucesso que o programa obteve na construção de um Sistema Nacional de Patrimônio Cultural, analisando sua articulação junto aos estados e outros órgãos federais; e c) avaliar o papel do programa enquanto indutor de novas práticas institucionais no campo da preservação do patrimônio cultural, especialmente com relação ao Iphan e aos estados federativos brasileiros.The Historic Cities Program (PCH: 1973-1979) was the first federal program that has invested resources to the recovery of the urban cultural heritage. Implemented by the Ministry of Planning, sought economic development of historic towns and dialogued with other items on the agenda at the time, such as urban and regional development and cultural tourism. It brought a change in the way of approach the historic towns: from the understanding of the city as a producer of capital, heritage would generate economic development through its consume by the tourism. From 1973 to 1979 it was invested 17.3 million dollars, performing 143 works on monuments (85% of investments); 8 hand-to-work training courses in three levels (top, middle and working class); 7 urban plans; 6 works in public spaces (urban); and 10 shares of various types. Our analysis seeks to understand this policy from its formulation and implementation in the period from 1972 to 1979. The aim, in this sense, is: a) to assess the power relations at play during construction and implementation of the Program; b) to understand the degree of success that the program achieved in building a national system, analyzing its relationship with states and other federal agencies; and c) to evaluate the role of Program while inducing new institutional practices in the field of preservation of cultural heritage, especially with regard to Iphan

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Síntese e avaliação in vitro de compostos esquarílicos como potenciais fotossensibilizadores na terapia fotodinâmica do cancro

O cancro é uma das principais causas de morte a nível mundial, segundo a Organização Mundiald e Saúde e, apesar da enorme evolução na terapéutica, o número de novos compostos anticancerígenos é desapontante.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structures, Activities and Drug-Likeness of Anti-Infective Xanthone Derivatives Isolated from the Marine Environment: A Review

Marine organisms represent almost half of total biodiversity and are a very important source of new bioactive substances. Within the varied biological activities found in marine products, their antimicrobial activity is one of the most relevant. Infectious diseases are responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality and many antimicrobials lose their effectiveness with time due to the development of resistance. These facts justify the high importance of finding new, effective and safe anti-infective agents. Among the variety of biological activities of marine xanthone derivatives, one that must be highlighted is their anti-infective properties. In this work, a literature review of marine xanthones with anti-infective activity, namely antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic and antiviral, is presented. Their structures, biological activity, sources and the methods used for bioactivity evaluation are described. The xanthone derivatives are grouped in three sets: xanthones, hydroxanthones and glycosylated derivatives. Moreover, molecular descriptors, biophysico-chemical properties, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated, and the chemical space occupied by marine xanthone derivatives is recognized. The chemical space was compared with marketed drugs and framed accordingly to the drug-likeness concept in order to profile the pharmacokinetic of anti-infective marine xanthone derivatives