From the manuscript to the screen: Implementing electronic editions of mediaeval handwritten material

This paper describes the electronic editing of the Middle English material housed in the Hunterian Collection at Glasgow University Library (GUL), a joint project undertaken by the universities of Málaga, Glasgow, Oviedo, Murcia and Jaén which pursues the compilation of an electronic corpus of mediaeval Fachprosa in the vernacular (http://hunter.filosofia.uma.es/manuscripts). The paper therefore addresses the concept of electronic editing as applied to The corpus of Late Middle English scientific prose with the following objectives: (a) to describe the editorial principles and the theoretical implications adopted; and (b) to present the digital layout and the tool implemented for data retrieval. A diplomatic approach is then proposed wherein the editorial intervention is kept to a minimum. Accordingly, features such as lineation, punctuation and emendations are every now and then accurately reproduced as by the scribe’s hand whilst abbreviations are yet expanded in italics. GUL MS Hunter 497, holding a 15th-century English version of Aemilius Macer’s De viribus herbarum, will be used as a sample demonstration (Calle-Martín – Miranda-García, forthcoming).The present research has been funded by the Autonomous Government of Andalusia (project P07-HUM–02609) and by the Spanish Ministry of Education (project FFI2008-02336)

Fractal theory and scale change effect: application for studying soil porosity

[Abstract] In this article the fractal theory and its application to soil structure and porosity is rewieved.Fractal geometry may provide a reliable description of soil structure, particularly in the case of heterogeneous soil. The rewiev illustrates how the geometry of complex porous media may be represented with simple fractal scaling models. Furthermore, three main clases of models proposed in the literature for soil porous space representation are discussed. A case study was presented based on quantitative evaluation of pore size distributions carried on nine pairs of cultivated and uncultivated neighbour located soils. The fractal approach appears to be a useful tool for understanding domains of organization as found in soil aggregates

Survival language learning syllabuses revisited: a customized functional-notional approach

Research on survival English syllabuses has been scarce in the last decades. There is nothing worse than the solitude of a teacher facing a course with such characteristics as continuous hesitations about the materials, activities and the learners’ needs arise every now and then. Our contribution stems from Nation and Crabbe’s article “A Survival Language Learning Syllabus for Foreign Travel” published in System in 1991, where a topic-based syllabus is proposed. The two-year experimental use of Nation and Crabbe’s model, though successful, unveiled some shortcomings having to do with the inventory of situations and the lexical domain included therein. In the light of the limited period of instruction and the short-term benefits that these courses usually hold, a functional/ notional model has been designed for the purpose inasmuch as students seem to gain a wider scope at the end of the learning process.La investigación en torno a la programación de un curso de inglés de supervivencia ha sido bastante escasa en las últimas décadas, basada casi exclusivamente en la publicación de libros de texto, la mayoría aplicados a la enseñanza del inglés como segunda lengua. La presente contribución parte del artículo de Nation y Crabbe “A Survival Language Learning Syllabus for Foreign Travel” (1991), donde se propone un enfoque basado en tareas. El empleo del modelo propuesto por Nation y Crabbe, aunque positivo en cuanto a los resultados, revela algunas deficiencias relacionadas fundamentalmente con el inventario de situaciones así como el componente léxico de las mismas. Estos cursos, por lo general, se caracterizan por su escaso número de horas así como por las expectativas en los resultados. Por lo tanto, en el presente artículo se propone un modelo funcional/nocional para los cursos de estas características que permite obtener una mayor competencia comunicativa por parte de los alumnos

Design of Bioelectrochemical Interfaces Assisted by Molecular Dynamics Simulations

The design of bioelectrochemical interfaces (BEI) is an interesting topic that recently demands attention. The synergy between biomolecules and chemical components is necessary to achieve high molecular selectivity and sensitivity for the development of biosensors, synthesis of different compounds, or catalytic processes. For most BEI, the charge transfer process occurs in environments with particular chemical conditions; modeling these environments is a challenging task and requires multidisciplinary efforts. These interfaces can be composed of biomolecules, such as proteins, DNA, or more complex systems like microorganisms. Oxidoreductases enzymes are good candidates, among others, due to their catalytic activities and structural characteristics. In BEI, enzymes are immobilized on conductive surfaces to improve charge transfer processes. Covalent immobilization is the most common method to prolong lifetime or modulate the detection process. However, it is necessary to implement new methodologies that allow the selection of the best candidates for a more efficient design. Homology modeling of oxidoreductases combined with Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation methods are alternative and already routinely used tools to investigate the structure, dynamics, and thermodynamics of biological molecules. Our motivation is to show different techniques of molecular modeling (Homology Modeling, Gaussian accelerated molecular dynamics, directed adaptive molecular dynamics and electrostatic surface calculations), and using horseradish peroxidase as a model to understand the interactions between biomolecules and gold nanoclusters (as current collector). Additionally, we present our previous studies considering molecular simulations and we discuss recent advances in biomolecular simulations aimed at biosensor design

Campus Decarbonization: Students’ Perceptions for Reducing Meat Consumption in a Portuguese University

This study is focused on perceptions regarding meat consumption, targeting university students. This is a timely topic in a context of climate change (CC), sustainability in agri-food systems and in universities. Recently, some universities adopted food-related CC mitigation measures, by removing some types of meat from their canteens. This research intended to find trends, at a Portuguese university, on consumption habits and on willingness to reduce meat. The methodology follows a quantitative and descriptive approach. The universe is the students’ community from the University of Aveiro, with a random sample of 876 valid questionnaires. Although results show that meat is a substantial part of students’ diet, most of them are willing to reduce this product, and mainly for environmental reasons. Undergraduate students have higher level of awareness in this matter, namely from Natural Sciences. Female students are more receptive to diet changes. Further studies and educational actions on Diet-CC should be promoted in all levels of Academy, especially in PhD, Social Sciences and with gender differentiation. Such results may support an effectively participatory discussion to better decide on decarbonization of the Campus through the dietThanks are due for the financial support to CESAM (UID/AMB/50017/2019), to FCT/MCTES through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. This work was also supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia under pos-doc Grant SFRH/BPD/116379/2016S

Genetic and cellular sensitivity of Caenorhabditis elegans to the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin

Cisplatin and derivatives are commonly used as chemotherapeutic agents. Although the cytotoxic action of cisplatin on cancer cells is very efficient, clinical oncologists need to deal with two major difficulties, namely the onset of resistance to the drug and the cytotoxic effect in patients. Here, we used Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate factors influencing the response to cisplatin in multicellular organisms. In this hermaphroditic model organism, we observed that sperm failure is a major cause of cisplatin-induced infertility. RNA sequencing data indicate that cisplatin triggers a systemic stress response, in which DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/NRF2, two conserved transcription factors, are key regulators. We determined that inhibition of the DNA damage-induced apoptotic pathway does not confer cisplatin protection to the animal. However, mutants for the pro-apoptotic BH3-only gene ced-13 are sensitive to cisplatin, suggesting a protective role of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway. Finally, we demonstrated that our system can also be used to identify mutations providing resistance to cisplatin and therefore potential biomarkers of innate cisplatin-refractory patients. We show that mutants for the redox regulator trxr-1, ortholog of the mammalian thioredoxin reductase 1 TRXR1, display cisplatin resistance. By CRISPR/Cas9, we determined that such resistance relies on the presence of the single selenocysteine residue in TRXR-1.Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI15/00895 PI16/01898European Regional Development Fund/FEDERNetherlands Organization for Scientific Research 711.014.005Sociedad Española de Oncología MédicaMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad BFU2007-67123 BFU2015-64408-PEuropean Social Fund BFU2015-64408-

Seasonal Variation of the Proximate Composition, Mineral Content, Fatty Acid Profiles and Other Phytochemical Constituents of Selected Brown Macroalgae

The main objective was to determine the chemical, phytochemical, fatty acid and mineral profiles of three commercially relevant brown macroalgae (Laminaria digitata, Laminaria hyperborea and Ascophyllum nodosum) collected each season for two years off the west coast of Ireland. All the chemical, phytochemical, fatty acid and minerals analysed varied significantly depending on the macroalgal species, season and year of collection. Overall, the protein contents of macroalgae were negatively correlated with carbohydrate content. Protein (2–11%) was at its highest during winter and/or spring, decreasing to a minimum during summer and/or autumn. The three macroalgal species analysed in this study had clearly differentiated fatty acid profiles. The concentration of fatty acids was higher in A. nodosum compared with both Laminaria species. The mineral profile of the three macroalgal species was rich in essential metals, particularly Ca, Mg and P, while the levels of I were approximately 9- to 10-fold higher in both Laminaria spp. compared with A. nodosum. The levels of toxic metals (Cd, Hg and Pb) in all the macroalgal species studied were low in the current study; while the levels of total As were high (49–64 mg/kg DW macroalgae) compared with previous reportsThis work was supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) (grant number: 14/IA/2548)S