Joining sustainable design and internet of things technologies on campus : the IPVC smartbottle practical case

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are favored environments for the implementation of technological solutions that accelerate the generation of smart campi, given the dynamic ecosystem they create based on the involvement of inspired and motivated human resources (students, professors, and researchers), moving around in an atmosphere of advanced digital infrastructures and services. Moreover, HEIs have, in their mission, not only the creation of integrated knowledge through Research and Development (R&D) activities but also solving societal problems that address the academic community expectations concerning environmental issues, contributing, therefore, towards a greener society embodied within the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article addresses the design and implementation of a Smartbottle Ecosystem in which an interactive and reusable water bottle communicates with an intelligent water refill station, both integrated by the Internet of Things (IoT) and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), to eliminate the use of single-use plastic water bottles in the premises of the Polytechnical Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC), an HEI with nearly 6000 students. Three main contributions were identified in this research: (i) the proposal of a novel methodology based on the association of Design Thinking and Participatory Design as the basis for Sustainable Design; (ii) the design and development of an IoT-enabled smartbottle prototype; and (iii) the usability evaluation of the proposed prototype. The adopted methodology is rooted in Design Thinking and mixes it with a Participatory Design approach, including the end-user opinion throughout the Smartbottle Ecosystem design process, not only for the product design requirements but also for its specification. By promoting a participatory solution tailored to the IPVC academic community, recycled plastic has been identified as the preferential material and a marine mammal was selected for the smartbottle shape, in the process of developing a solution to replace the single-use plastic bottles.7519-C505-DF9E | Ant?nio Jos? Candeias CuradoN/

Nutritional intake and training load of professional female football players during a mid-season microcycle

Football (soccer) is a high-intensity intermittent sport with large energy demands. In a repeated-measures design, we analysed the nutritional intake and training load of fourteen female football players (22.50 ? 4.38 y; 57.23 ? 8.61 kg; 164 ? 6.00 cm; 18.33 ? 2.48% of fat mass and 23.71 ? 2.51 kg of muscle mass) competing in the highest female Football Portuguese League across a typical mid-season microcycle. The microcycle had one match day (MD), one recovery session (two days after the MD, MD+2), three training sessions (MD-3, MD-2, MD-1) and two rest days (MD+1). Energy intake and CHO (g.kg.BW?1) intake were lower on the days before the competition (MD+2, MD-3, MD-2 and MD-1 vs. MD; p < 0.05; ES: 0.60?1.30). Total distance, distance covered at high-speed running (HSRD) and the high metabolic distance load (HMLD) were lower on MD+2, MD-3 and MD-1 compared with MD (p < 0.05; ES: <0.2?5.70). The internal training load was lower in all training sessions before the competition (MD+2, MD-3, MD-2 and MD-1 vs. MD; p ? 0.01; ES: 1.28?5.47). Despite the small sample size and a single assessment in time, the results suggest that caloric and CHO intake were below the recommendations and were not structured based on the physical requirements for training sessions or match days.D915-7373-ED16 | Cesar LeaoN/

Dual crop coefficient approach in vitis vinifera L. cv. Loureiro

Vineyard irrigation management in temperate zones requires knowledge of the crop water requirements, especially in the context of climate change. The main objective of this work was to estimate the crop evapotranspiration (ETc) of Vitis vinifera cv. Loureiro for local conditions, applying the dual crop coefficient approach. The study was carried out in a vineyard during two growing seasons (2019?2020). Three irrigation treatments, full irrigation (FI), deficit irrigation (DI), and rainfed (R), were considered. The ETc was estimated using the SIMDualKc model, which performs the soil water balance with the dual Kc approach. This balance was performed by calculating the basal coefficients for the grapevine (Kcb crop) and the active soil ground cover (Kcb gcover), which represent the transpiration component of ETc and the soil evaporation coefficient (Ke). The model was calibrated and validated by comparing the simulated soil water content (SWC) with the soil water content data measured with frequency domain reflectometry (FDR). A suitable adjustment between the simulated and observed SWC was obtained for the 2019 R strategy when the model was calibrated. As for the vine crop, the best fit was obtained for Kcb full ini = 0.33, Kcb full mid = 0.684, and Kcb full end = 0.54. In this sense, the irrigation schedule must adjust these coefficients to local conditions to achieve economically and environmentally sustainable production.E518-D54F-9490 | Susana Miguel Afonso Mendes MouraN/

Characterization of an hrp-aox-polyaniline-graphite composite biosensor

Nowadays there is an increasing demand to develop new and robust biosensors in order to detect low concentrations of different chemicals, in practical and small devices, giving fast and confident responses. The electrode material was a polyaniline-graphite-epoxy composite (PANI/GEC). Alcohol oxidase (AOX) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzymes were immobilized and the responses were tested by cyclic voltammetry. The conductivities for the composites of graphite/polyaniline were determined. The cyclic voltammograms allowed detecting ethanol in pure diluted samples in a range from 0.036 to 2.62 M. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetry analysis (TGA) were used to verify the thermal characteristics of the composites (0, 10, 20, 30 and 100 % of graphite). The Imax value was determined for the dual enzyme biosensor (0.0724 mA), and the Kapp m as 1.41 M (with R2 =0.9912)

Study of the spatial variability of copper and cadmium concentration along the Meuse River margin.

O conhecimento dos n?veis de concentra??o de metais pesados no ambiente e sua dissemina??o no solo e nas ?guas s?o de primordial import?ncia em estudos ambientais, por constituir um dos indicadores de ?medi??o? do equil?brio da biodiversidade e da estabilidade dos ecossistemas. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo, estudar a distribui??o espacial de dois metais pesados (Cobre e C?dmio) ao longo das margens do rio Meuse, por forma a medir os n?veis de contamina??o por esses metais. Foram usados dados da concentra??o de Cd e Cu amostrados em 155 pontos georeferenciados. Estes dados foram obtidos no programa R no pacote ?gstat? cuja base de dados denomina-se ?Meuse?. A metodologia de an?lise dos dados consistiu em ajustar semivariogramas para an?lise da depend?ncia espacial, e foram ajustados os modelos esf?ricos e gaussiano para a concentra??o de Cobre e C?dmio, respectivamente. O grau de depend?ncia espacial foi classificado como forte para a concentra??o de Cobre e moderada para a concentra??o de C?dmio. A estima??o da concentra??o destes metais pesados em pontos n?o amostrados, foi feita usando o m?todo de krigagem produzindo mapas de distribui??o espacial da concentra??o de Cobre e C?dmio que apresentaram um padr?o similar entre si. Verificou-se que dentre os dois metais pesados, o Cobre apresenta concentra??es muito altas que chegam a atingir os 130 mg/Kg de solo.The knowledge of the concentration levels of heavy metals in the environment and their dissemination in soil and water are of paramount importance in environmental studies, as one of the indicators of "measuring" the balance of biodiversity and the stability of ecosystems. The objective of this study was to study the spatial distribution of two heavy metals (Copper and Cadmium) along the banks of the Meuse River, in order to measure the levels of contamination by these metals. Cd and Cu concentration data were sampled at 155 georeferenced points. These data were obtained in the program R in the package "gstat" whose database is called "Meuse". The data analysis methodology consisted in adjusting semivariograms for spatial dependence analysis, and the spherical and Gaussian models were adjusted for the copper and cadmium concentration, respectively. The degree of spatial dependence was classified as strong for the copper concentration and moderate for the cadmium concentration. The estimation of the concentration of these heavy metals in non-sampled points was done using the kriging method, producing spatial distribution maps of the copper and cadmium concentrations that presented a similar pattern. It was verified that of the two heavy metals, Copper has very high concentrations that reach 130 mg / kg of soil

Bayesian inference of biochemical kinetic parameters using the linear noise approximation

Background Fluorescent and luminescent gene reporters allow us to dynamically quantify changes in molecular species concentration over time on the single cell level. The mathematical modeling of their interaction through multivariate dynamical models requires the deveopment of effective statistical methods to calibrate such models against available data. Given the prevalence of stochasticity and noise in biochemical systems inference for stochastic models is of special interest. In this paper we present a simple and computationally efficient algorithm for the estimation of biochemical kinetic parameters from gene reporter data. Results We use the linear noise approximation to model biochemical reactions through a stochastic dynamic model which essentially approximates a diffusion model by an ordinary differential equation model with an appropriately defined noise process. An explicit formula for the likelihood function can be derived allowing for computationally efficient parameter estimation. The proposed algorithm is embedded in a Bayesian framework and inference is performed using Markov chain Monte Carlo. Conclusion The major advantage of the method is that in contrast to the more established diffusion approximation based methods the computationally costly methods of data augmentation are not necessary. Our approach also allows for unobserved variables and measurement error. The application of the method to both simulated and experimental data shows that the proposed methodology provides a useful alternative to diffusion approximation based methods

Cloxacillin nanostructured formulation for the treatment of bovine keratoconjunctivitis.

Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) is a widespread, contagious ocular disease that affects cattle, especially dairy breeds. The disease is caused by Gram-negative bacteria mainly Moraxella bovis, and its treatment consists of parenteral or topic antibiotic therapy. The topic treatment approach is used more commonly in lactating cows, to avoid milk disposal. However, treatment failures are common, because the antibiotic is removed during lacrimation. This study aimed to evaluate the susceptibility of commercial cloxacillin and evaluate the efficacy of nanostructured cloxacillin in clinical cases of IBK by Moraxella. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of nanoparticle cloxacillin nanocoated, the nanoparticle without the antibiotic and the commercial cloxacillin were determined in vitro with field samples of Moraxella ovis (5) and Moraxella bovis (5). The efficiency of nanoparticles was tested in three cows naturally infected that were treated with 1.0 mL (with 0.32 mg of nanostructured cloxacillin) for the ocular route. Moraxella bovis was isolated and identified by biochemical and molecular methods before the treatment. The animals were treated every 12 h for six days. The cure was considered by the absence of clinical symptoms and bacteria after treatment. The mucoadhesive nanoparticle-based formulation promoted clinical cure with a low number of doses of antibiotics, probably due to the maintenance of the MIC in the ocular mucosa for longer due to the mucoadhesive characteristics of the nanoparticle. The results indicate that the use of nanocoated cloxacillin is possible to control infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis

Apolipophorin-III Mediates Antiplasmodial Epithelial Responses in Anopheles gambiae (G3) Mosquitoes

Apolipophorin-III (ApoLp-III) is known to play an important role in lipid transport and innate immunity in lepidopteran insects. However, there is no evidence of involvement of ApoLp-IIIs in the immune responses of dipteran insects such as Drosophila and mosquitoes.We report the molecular and functional characterization of An. gambiae apolipophorin-III (AgApoLp-III). Mosquito ApoLp-IIIs have diverged extensively from those of lepidopteran insects; however, the predicted tertiary structure of AgApoLp-III is similar to that of Manduca sexta (tobacco hornworm). We found that AgApoLp-III mRNA expression is strongly induced in the midgut of An. gambiae (G3 strain) mosquitoes in response to Plasmodium berghei infection. Furthermore, immunofluorescence stainings revealed that high levels of AgApoLp-III protein accumulate in the cytoplasm of Plasmodium-invaded cells and AgApoLp-III silencing increases the intensity of P. berghei infection by five fold.There are broad differences in the midgut epithelial responses to Plasmodium invasion between An. gambiae strains. In the G3 strain of An. gambiae AgApoLp-III participates in midgut epithelial defense responses that limit Plasmodium infection

Comparative genomics of canine-isolated Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis from an endemic focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Governador Valadares, southeastern Brazil.

Leishmaniasis is a highly diverse group of diseases caused by kinetoplastid of the genus Leishmania. These parasites are taxonomically diverse, with human pathogenic species separated into two subgenera according to their development site inside the alimentary tract of the sand fly insect vector. The disease encompasses a variable spectrum of clinical manifestations with tegumentary or visceral symptoms. Among the causative species in Brazil, Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis is an important etiological agent of human cutaneous leishmaniasis that accounts for more than 8% of all cases in endemic regions. L. (L.) amazonensis is generally found in the north and northeast regions of Brazil. Here, we report the first isolation of L. (L.) amazonensis from dogs with clinical manifestations of visceral leishmaniasis in Governador Valadares, an endemic focus in the southeastern Brazilian State of Minas Gerais where L. (L.) infantum is also endemic. These isolates were characterized in terms of SNPs, chromosome and gene copy number variations, confirming that they are closely related to a previously sequenced isolate obtained in 1973 from the typical Northern range of this species. The results presented in this article will increase our knowledge of L. (L.) amazonensis-specific adaptations to infection, parasite survival and the transmission of this Amazonian species in a new endemic area of Brazil

Intronic Alus Influence Alternative Splicing

Examination of the human transcriptome reveals higher levels of RNA editing than in any other organism tested to date. This is indicative of extensive double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) formation within the human transcriptome. Most of the editing sites are located in the primate-specific retrotransposed element called Alu. A large fraction of Alus are found in intronic sequences, implying extensive Alu-Alu dsRNA formation in mRNA precursors. Yet, the effect of these intronic Alus on splicing of the flanking exons is largely unknown. Here, we show that more Alus flank alternatively spliced exons than constitutively spliced ones; this is especially notable for those exons that have changed their mode of splicing from constitutive to alternative during human evolution. This implies that Alu insertions may change the mode of splicing of the flanking exons. Indeed, we demonstrate experimentally that two Alu elements that were inserted into an intron in opposite orientation undergo base-pairing, as evident by RNA editing, and affect the splicing patterns of a downstream exon, shifting it from constitutive to alternative. Our results indicate the importance of intronic Alus in influencing the splicing of flanking exons, further emphasizing the role of Alus in shaping of the human transcriptom