Colocando as mãos (e o conhecimento) na massa: uso de massa de modelar como atividade lúdica no ensino de Biologia Celular

Anais do 3° Encontro Nacional de Jogos e Atividades Lúdicas no Ensino de Química, Física e Biologia (Jalequim - Level III) - Núcleo de Desenvolvimento de Pesquisas em Ensino de Química/Ciências da UNILA (NuDDEQ)Nos últimos anos tem crescido as discussões de educadores e pesquisadores, sobre a busca por novos métodos e propostas de ensino. Para Santos et al. (2011) o aumento desses métodos e pesquisas visam superar o modelo tradicional de ensino, buscando o diálogo entre professores e educandos e a participação dos mesmos em sala de aul

Molecular fragmentation of wheat-germ agglutinin induced by food irradiation reduces its allergenicity in sensitised mice

WGA, an agglutinin from wheat germ which is largely responsible for many of wheat's allergies, was used as a model to investigate the action of ionising radiation on WGA's anti-nutritive effects in sensitised mice. Based on the molecular structure, the present study also examined the structural modification of WGA in relation to the range of dose. Structural integrity was monitored using HPLC, fluorescence spectrometry and circular dichroism. Results showed a loss of intrinsic activity and the formation of insoluble amorphous aggregates with a lack of native conformational structures after irradiation. Current findings suggest that the allergenic epitopes of WGA became less active and antigenic after high-dose radiation. the reduction of cytokines typical of allergic reactions, with decreased lymphocytic infiltrate, was observed in the gut of mice given irradiated versus native WGA. Food irradiation proved effective and safe in combating immunological and allergic effects of WGA. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Ministerio da Ciencia e Tecnologia (Brazilian)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundacao de Amparo a Ciencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE)Univ Fed Pernambuco, Dept Bioquim, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Fed Pernambuco, Dept Histol & Embriol, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Fed Pernambuco, Dept Biofis & Radiobiol, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Fed Pernambuco, Dept Antibiot, Recife, PE, BrazilUniv Estadual Oeste Parana, Ctr Engn & Ciencias Exatas, Toledo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Bioquim, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Bioquim, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Environmental Risk Assessment Based on High-Resolution Spatial Maps of Potentially Toxic Elements Sampled on Stream Sediments of Santiago, Cape Verde

Geochemical mapping is the base knowledge to identify the regions of the planet with critical contents of potentially toxic elements from either natural or anthropogenic sources. Sediments, soils and waters are the vehicles which link the inorganic environment to life through the supply of essential macro and micro nutrients. The chemical composition of surface geological materials may cause metabolic changes which may favor the occurrence of endemic diseases in humans. In order to better understand the relationships between environmental geochemistry and public health, we present environmental risk maps of some harmful elements (As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) in the stream sediments of Santiago, Cape Verde, identifying the potentially harmful areas in this island. The Estimated Background Values (EBV) of Cd, Co, Cr, Ni and V were found to be above the Canadian guidelines for any type of use of stream sediments and also above the target values of the Dutch and United States guidelines. The Probably Effect Concentrations (PEC), above which harmful effects are likely in sediment dwelling organisms, were found for Cr and Ni. Some associations between the geological formations of the island and the composition of stream sediments were identified and confirmed by descriptive statistics and by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The EBV spatial distribution of the metals and the results of PCA allowed us to establish relationships between the EBV maps and the geological formations. The first two PCA modes indicate that heavy metals in Santiago stream sediments are mainly originated from weathering of underlying bedrocks. The first metal association (Co, V, Cr, and Mn; first PCA mode) consists of elements enriched in basic rocks and compatible elements. The second association of variables (Zn and Cd as opposed to Ni; second PCA mode) appears to be strongly controlled by the composition of alkaline volcanic rocks and pyroclastic rocks. So, the second PCA mode is also considered as a natural lithogenic mode. The third association (Cu and Pb; third PCA mode) consists of elements of anthropogenic origin

Xyloglucan and Concanavalin A based dressings in the topical treatment of mice wound healing process

For medical biomaterials, xyloglucan dispersions can form films or gels to be applied as a wound dressing. For this purpose, the structural characterization of xyloglucan dressing (XG) and xyloglucan dressing containing 0.5 mg/mL of concanavalin A (XGL) was performed. The lectin release capacity and stability, cytotoxicity, and pro-wound healing effects were also investigated. XG and XGL films were prepared by mixing 0.5 % (w/v) xyloglucan with 0.3 % (v/v) glycerol. The ConA incorporated in the xyloglucan dressing maintained its biological activity for fourteen days in a controlled-release manner. The films were non-toxic, homogeneous, flexible, and accelerated the wound contraction compared with the control group, promoting less infiltration of inflammatory cells, angiogenesis, remodeling, and early epithelization. The films also alleviate the inflammation phase by reducing the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-, TNF-, IL-1, IL-6, and IL-12), especially the XGL film, which promoted the up- and down-regulation of important proteins associated with the wound repair. All these findings suggest that XG and XGL films may represent a good therapeutic approach for wound healing applications.The authors are grateful for the financial support for research grants from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnol ´ogico (CNPq), Coordenaç˜ao de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and the Fundaç˜ao de Amparo `a Ciˆencia e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE). We are grateful to the Centro de Tecnologias Estrat´egicas do Nordeste (CETENE) and to the Laborat´orio de Imunopatologia Keizo Asami-LIKA at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE) for access to its installation and technical assistance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring access to end of life care for ethnic minorities with end stage kidney disease through recruitment in action research

BACKGROUND: Variation in provision of palliative care in kidney services and practitioner concerns to provide equitable access led to the development of this study which focussed on the perspectives of South Asian patients and their care providers. As people with a South Asian background experience a higher risk of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) and end stage kidney failure (ESKF) compared to the majority population but wait longer for a transplant, there is a need for end of life care to be accessible for this group of patients. Furthermore because non English speakers and people at end of life are often excluded from research there is a dearth of research evidence with which to inform service improvement. This paper aims to explore issues relating to the process of recruitment of patients for a research project which contribute to our understanding of access to end of life care for ethnic minority patients in the kidney setting. METHODS: The study employed an action research methodology with interviews and focus groups to capture and reflect on the process of engaging with South Asian patients about end of life care. Researchers and kidney care clinicians on four NHS sites in the UK recruited South Asian patients with ESKF who were requiring end of life care to take part in individual interviews; and other clinicians who provided care to South Asian kidney patients at end of life to take part in focus groups exploring end of life care issues. In action research planning, action and evaluation are interlinked and data were analysed with emergent themes fed back to care providers through the research cycle. Reflections on the process of patient recruitment generated focus group discussions about access which were analysed thematically and reported here. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were recruited to interview and 45 different care providers took part in 14 focus groups across the sites. The process of recruiting patients to interview and subsequent focus group data highlighted some of the key issues concerning access to end of life care. These were: the identification of patients approaching end of life; and their awareness of end of life care; language barriers and informal carers' roles in mediating communication; and contrasting cultures in end of life kidney care. CONCLUSIONS: Reflection on the process of recruitment in this action research study provided insight into the complex scenario of end of life in kidney care. Some of the emerging issues such as the difficulty identifying patients are likely to be common across all patient groups, whilst others concerning language barriers and third party communication are more specific to ethnic minorities. A focus on South Asian ethnicity contributes to better understanding of patient perspectives and generic concepts as well as access to end of life kidney care for this group of patients in the UK. Action research was a useful methodology for achieving this and for informing future research to include informal carers and other ethnic groups.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

The SOAR Gravitational Arc Survey - I: Survey overview and photometric catalogs

We present the first results of the SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research) Gravitational Arc Survey (SOGRAS). The survey imaged 47 clusters in two redshift intervals centered at $z=0.27$ and $z=0.55$, targeting the richest clusters in each interval. Images were obtained in the $g'$, $r'$ and $i'$ bands using the SOAR Optical Imager (SOI), with a median seeing of 0.83, 0.76 and 0.71 arcsec, respectively, in these filters. Most of the survey clusters are located within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 region and all of them are in the SDSS footprint. Photometric calibration was therefore performed using SDSS stars located in our SOI fields. We reached for galaxies in all fields the detection limits of $g \sim 23.5$, $r \sim 23$ and $i \sim 22.5$ for a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 3. As a by-product of the image processing, we generated a source catalogue with 19760 entries, the vast majority of which are galaxies, where we list their positions, magnitudes and shape parameters. We compared our galaxy shape measurements to those of local galaxies and concluded that they were not strongly affected by seeing. From the catalogue data, we are able to identify a red sequence of galaxies in most clusters in the lower $z$ range. We found 16 gravitational arc candidates around 8 clusters in our sample. They tend to be bluer than the central galaxies in the lensing cluster. A preliminary analysis indicates that $\sim 10$ of the clusters have arcs around them, with a possible indication of a larger efficiency associated to the high-$z$ systems when compared to the low-$z$ ones. Deeper follow-up images with Gemini strengthen the case for the strong lensing nature of the candidates found in this survey.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures (most of them multi-panel) MNRAS (2013

Discovery of thiazolo [5,4-c] isoquinoline based compounds as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors through computational target prediction, molecular docking and bioassay

We thank Nathalie Reichmann and Leendert Hamoen (University of Amsterdam) for critical reading of the manuscript, Ana Velic (Proteome Center Tübingen) for help with proteome analysis and Mike VanNieuwenhze (Indiana University) for the generous gift of HADA. This study was funded by the European Research Council through grant ERC‐2017‐CoG‐771709 (to MGP), by national funds through FCT– Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, PTDC/BIA‐MIC/6982/2020 (to HV); PTDC/BIA‐PLA/3432/2012 (to SRF); FCT through MOSTMICRO‐ITQB R&D Unit (UIDB/04612/2020, UIDP/04612/2020) and LS4FUTURE Associated Laboratory (LA/P/0087/2020) and FCT fellowship SFRH/BD/147052/2019 (to BMS); by the Swiss National National Foundation through P300P3_155346 (to AJ); by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska‐Curie grant agreement No 839596 (to SS) and by the European Molecular Biology Organization through award ALTF 673‐2018 (to SS). Figure 6D and Appendix Fig S7 were created with Biorender.com .A computer-aided drug design (CADD) approach was developed for a focused chemical library comprising a series of sixteen thiazolo[5,4-c]isoquinoline derivatives. Little is known about this group of heteroaromatic compounds, both from the point of view of their synthesis and their biological properties. First, our CADD approach included target prediction by Mondrian conformal prediction with the ChEMBL database. The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was identified as having a high probability of thiazolo[5,4-c]isoquinolines being active against it. Secondly, the molecular docking predictions revealed four promising thiazoloisoquinolines (2, 7, 13 and 14) according to their prominent ligand-protein energy scores and relevant binding affinities with the AChE pocket residues. The subsequent in vitro evaluation of promising hits and related ones revealed a set of novel AChE inhibitors. Therefore, the findings reported herein may provide a new strategy for discovering novel AChE inhibitors.publishersversionpublishe

Xanthenedione derivatives, new promising antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibitor agents

Natural and synthetic xanthone derivatives are well-known for their ability to act as antioxidants and/or enzyme inhibitors. This paper aims to present a successful synthetic methodology towards xanthenedione derivatives and the study of their aromatization to xanthones. Additionally their ability to reduce Fe(III), to scavenge DPPH radicals and to inhibit AChE was evaluated. The results demonstrated that xanthenedione derivative 5e, bearing a catechol unit, showed higher reduction capacity than BHT and similar to quercetin, strong DPPH scavenging activity (EC50 = 3.79 ± 0.06 μM) and it was also showed to be a potent AChEI (IC50 = 31.0 ± 0.09 μM) when compared to galantamine (IC50 = 211.8 ± 9.5 μM)