Resveratrol affects differently rat liver and brain mitochondrial bioenergetics and oxidative stress in vitro: Investigation of the role of gender

Resveratrol (3,5,40-trihydroxy-trans stilbene) is commonly recognized by its antioxidant properties. Despite its beneficial qualities, the toxic effects of this natural compound are still unknown. Since mitochondria are essential to support the energy-dependent regulation of several cell functions, the objective of this study was to evaluate resveratrol effects on rat brain and liver mitochondrial fractions from male and females regarding oxidative stress and bioenergetics. No basal differences were observed between mitochondrial fractions from males and females, except in liver mitochondria, the generation of H2O2 by the respiratory chain is lower for female preparations. Resveratrol inhibited lipid peroxidation in preparations from both genders and organs. Furthermore, brain mitochondria in both gender groups appeared susceptible to resveratrol as seen by a decrease in state 3 respiration and alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential fluctuations during ADP phosphorylation. As opposed, liver mitochondria were less affected by resveratrol. Our data also demonstrates that resveratrol inhibits complex I activity in all mitochondrial preparations. The results suggest that brain mitochondria appear to be more susceptible to resveratrol effects, and gender appears to play a minor role. It remains to be determined if resveratrol effects on brain mitochondria contribute to deterioration of mitochondrial function or instead to mediate hormesis-mediated events.This work is supported by PTDC/AGR-ALI/108326/2008 to M.S.S. from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FEDER/ Compete/National Funds. A.C.M., A.M.S. and V.A.S. are recipient of SFRH/BD/33892/2009, SFRH/BD/76086/2011 and SFRH/BPD/ 31549/2006 fellowships, respectively

Assessing the unidimensionality of Clayton’s Environmental Identity Scale using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Bifactor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (bifactor-ESEM)

Researche article available on the publisher's website Collections: Section: Social PsychologyCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Prof. Paulo Moreira, Instituto de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, Universidade Lusíada, Rua de Moçambique 21 e 71, Porto 4100-348, Portugal. Email: [email protected] relevant intrapersonal characteristic for understanding intentions and behavior toward environmental sustainability is the degree to which nature is important for a person’s self-definition. Clayton’s Environmental Identity (EID) scale purports to measure this construct. However, a limited number of prior exploratory studies of this measure have supported different factor structures. Hence, our initial aim was to develop an understanding of the dimensionality of Clayton’s 24-item EID scale by testing competing latent structures using confirmatory factor analysis. We analyzed self-reported data from 458 adults (Mage = 26.7 years; 81% female). Four a priori models (a first-order model, a second-order model, a unidimensional model, and a bifactor model) did not show satisfactory fit to the data. An ancillary analysis using bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (bifactor-ESEM) indicated a bifactor model with three specific factors had a good fit to the data. The factor loadings of this model and values for bifactor indices (Omega Hierarchical and Explained Common Variance [ECV]) indicated a single mean score across all EID scale items taps into an essentially unidimensional construct and is therefore appropriate to interpret. In sum, our study provides a critical insight into the dimensionality of Clayton’s EID scale that will be valuable when applying this measure for research and intervention purposes

Biopolymeric matrices for structural and functional stabilization of bacteriophages

In the recent past years, bacteriophage research has experienced a renaissance due to their potential application in the pharmaceutical field, especially with the increase of bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the possibility to take part in new methods of early detection and diagnosis of bacterial infections. In that context, the structural and functional stabilization of bacteriophages using biopolymeric microporous hydrogels represents a promising research focus with a broad potential biomedical/ biopharmaceutical application. The scope of this work was to develop biopolymeric non-toxic phage-hydrogels of agar and sodium alginate, obtained at neutral pH and mild polymerization conditions, in order to offer adequate characteristics to the maintenance of phage’s lytic activity. Disc-like phage-hydrogels were prepared, with a phage and polymer concentration of 1.3x108 PFU/ml and 1.5% (w/v), respectively. Regarding the alginate hydrogels, CaCO3 (22.5 mM) and GDL (48 mM) were also included in the formulation. Agar hydrogels were prepared naturally by jellification, as a function of temperature lowering, and alginate hydrogels were prepared by internal gelation. The matrices were inoculated with a suspension of susceptible (host) bacteria and incubated at 37 ºC for 24h. Observation of bacterial lawn’s lysis demonstrated that bacteriophages kept their lytic activity, being the method of physical entrapment able to promote their stabilization. Cryo-SEM analysis revealed that both types of phage-hydrogels present interconnective microporous network, which guaranties a facilitated access of the phages to the bacteria, ensuring an efficient lysis of the host bacteria present in the surface of the hydrogels.The developed hydrogels also present appropriate physical and chemical properties for a wider variety of applications in the field of pharmaceutical sciences, such as controlled release of (macro)molecules, cell immobilization and 3D support for tissue regeneration

Thermodynamic study of racemic ibuprofen separation by liquid chromatography using cellulose-based stationary phase

Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), also known for its significant antipyretic and analgesic properties. This chiral drug is commercialized in racemic form; however, only S-(+)-ibuprofen has clinical activities. In this paper the effect of temperature change (from 288.15 to 308.15 K) on the ibuprofen resolution was studied. A column ( mm) packed with tris(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) was used to obtain the thermodynamic parameters, such as enthalpy change (), entropy change (), variation enthalpy change (), variation entropy change (), and isoenantioselective temperature (). The mobile phase was a combination of hexane (99%), isopropyl alcohol (1%), and TFA (0.1%), as an additive. The conditions led to a selectivity of 1.20 and resolution of 4.55. The first peak, R-(−)-ibuprofen, presented an enthalpy change of 7.21 kJ/mol and entropy change of 42.88 kJ/K·mol; the last peak, S-(+)-ibuprofen, has an enthalpy change of 8.76 kJ/mol and 49.40 kJ/K·mol of entropy change2016CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQsem informaçã

Identifying key environmental indicators in the assessment of the proof-of-concept in pigment production from the marine Cyanobacterium cyanobium sp.

Cyanobacteria have long attracted market interest as a source of natural compounds such as pigments with proven bioactivity (carotenoid and phycobiliproteins). The cultivation and extraction processes for such compounds have been developed at different levels, from laboratory trials to photobioreactors on a demonstration scale. Based on this experience, it is possible to propose how the different stages of the process can be improved based on environmental performance indicators. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology allows to identify the hotspots that represent the greatest environmental impacts and to propose strategies to focus on those stages that can be improved. The general environmental indicators have been identified and the results showed that cyanobacteria cultivation has the greatest influence on environmental impact for all scales considered (from 20 L to 100 m3), which is attributed to the energy requirements. The main changes proposed to reduce the impact should focus on the stages of reactor cleaning, culture medium sterilisation and biomass drying. The implementation of these improvement alternatives can reduce the impact of the production and extraction processes by 85%. This work demonstrates how technological development must go hand in hand with impact assessment to make the best decisions in the overall process.A PhD fellowship [SFRH/BD/136767/2018] for author F.P. was granted by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) under the auspices of Programa Operacional Capital Humano (POCH), supported by the European Social Fund and Portuguese funds (MECTES). This work was financially co-supported by Galician Competitive Research Group (GRC ED431C 2017/29) and to the Cross-disciplinary Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS Research Center, ED431E 2018/01) and by the strategical funding from FCT (UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020) to CIIMAR and (UIDB/04469/2020) to CEB.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SPI-based drought category prediction using loglinear models

Loglinear modeling for three-dimensional contingency tables was used with data from 14 rainfall stations located in Alentejo and Algarve region, southern of Portugal, for short term prediction of drought severity classes. Loglinear models were fitted to drought class transitions derived from Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) time series computed in a 12-month time scale. Quasi-association loglinear models proved to be the most adequate in fitting all the 14 data series. Odds and respective confidence intervals were calculated in order to understand the drought evolution and to estimate the drought class transition probabilities. The validation of the predictions was performed for the 2004–2006 drought, particularly for periods when the drought was initiating and establishing, and when it was dissipating. Despite the contingency tables of drought class transitions present a strong diagonal tendency, results of three-dimensional loglinear modeling present good results when comparing predicted and observed drought classes with 1 and 2 months lead for those 14 sites. Only for a few cases predictions did not fully match the observed drought severity, mainly for 2-month lead and when the SPI values are near the limit of the severity class. It could be concluded that loglinear prediction of drought class transitions is a useful tool for short term drought warnin

Cryogenic pressure temperature swing adsorption process for natural gas upgrade

The energy and chemical sectors are suffering remarkable changes. In this way, producing abundant quantity of energy with high quality, economic and environmental viability and sustainability is the main concern of the present times. One of such vital components of the world’s energy supply that fulfills the abovementioned requirements is natural gas [1]. Natural gas consists of 85–95% methane, but it also contains considerable amounts of heavier hydrocarbons as well as other compounds (CO2, N2, Hg, He, H2S) [1]. In order to meet the pipeline quality standard specifications or Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) production, impurities must be removed. Carbon dioxide is one of the major contaminants in natural gas, reducing its energy content and becoming acidic and corrosive in the presence of water, damaging pipelines and equipment. In LNG processing plants CO2 can solidify, blocking the pipeline systems and causing transportation drawbacks [1]. In order to meet the pipeline quality standard specifications an upper limit for nitrogen and carbon dioxide of 4 and 2% is necessary, respectively. While, to inhibit the formation of dry ice in the liquefaction step, CO2 content must be reduced to 50 ppm level [2, 3]. Among the several separation technologies available for natural gas upgrade, such as chemical absorption, physical absorption, cryogenic distillation and membrane processes, adsorption processes are considered a competitive solution. Removal of carbon dioxide from natural gas for LNG production, can be carried out by cryogenic distillation using a multicolumn sequence to obtain a product stream with less than 50 ppm of CO2 [4]. Cryogenic adsorption-based processes, particularly pressure thermal swing adsorption, arise as a reliable and innovative alternative to replace the distillation columns, in particular the last one. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Yeast diversity related with Touriga Nacional Grape variety

The diversity of yeast species related with the grape variety Touriga Nacional was evaluated at four distinct vineyards of three Portuguese wine regions. Samples were collected 48 h after crushing, and when the loss of CO2 reached 70 g/L. Restriction profiles analysis of 26S rDNA region with the endonucleases HaeIII, CfoI, HinfI, ApaI and MseI was used to characterize the five hundred and nine isolates obtained. A total of twenty yeast species were found. As expected higher species diversity was obtained for the initial sampling time. The most representative species was Hanseniaspora uvarum, which was detected in grape must from all the vineyards, followed by Candida zemplinina. Some species like Pichia membranifaciens, Pichia kluyveri var kluyveri, Candida railenensis, Saccharomycopsis vini, Candida diversa, among others, were only detected in grape must from one vineyard. None of the isolates belonged to the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Optimization of gold core-mesoporous silica shell functionalization with TPGS and PEI for cancer therapy

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has captured the attention of different researchers around the world, since the application of NIR light responsive-nanomaterials has shown promising results in cancer therapy. Gold-core mesoporous silica shell (Au-MSS) nanoparticles allow the combination of gold mediated PTT with the drug delivery in order to improve their therapeutic potential. In this study, two different methodologies, electrostatic or chemical linkage, were explored to functionalize Au-MSS nanorods with TPGS and PEI. For that purpose, the TPGS and PEI were chemically coupled to each other or modified with 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate. The produced Au-MSS nanorods display a uniform morphology and a well-defined gold nucleus and silica shell. Further, the particles surface charge was dependent on the synthesis methodology. The particles modified by electrostatic interactions (Au-MSS/TPGS-PEI) were slightly negative (−16.9 and −5.1 mV) whereas the formulations produced by chemical linkage (Au-MSS/TPGS/PEI) resulted in positively charged nanoparticles (30.9 and 6.8 mV). The successful incorporation of the polymers was confirmed by Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, the Au-MSS functionalization did not affect the particles PTT capacity. However, the Au-MSS/TPGS/PEI nanorods displayed a decreased drug encapsulation efficiency. In vitro assays demonstrated the cytocompatibility of Au-MSS up to concentrations of 200 μg/mL, however the positively charged formulations only remained biocompatible until 100 and 125 μg/mL. Overall, the attained data confirm the successful modification of Au-MSS nanorods with TPGS and PEI as well as their applicability as PTT and drug delivery agents.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Desenvolvimento e avaliação das características psicométricas do inventário de avaliação das percepções dos professores acerca das necessidades ao nível da promoção de competências sociais e emocionais

The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of an assessment instrument on teachers' perceptions regarding the development of socio-emotional skills. Results revealed a consistent four-factor structure (School/teachers' needs for socio-emotional skills promotion; Needs regarding teaching-learning process; Difficulties in dealing with students' socio-emotional deficits, Socio-emotional needs related to teacher's initial training) with internal consistency values above .79. Confirmatory analyses revealed a good fit of the model to the data. Teachers reported having more needs at the school/ teachers conditions for the promotion of social and emotional needs, and less needs at the level of their Teachers' initial training. The instrument also showed to be sensitive in capturing teachers' perception of schooling social and emotional needs in terms of teachers' gender, pedagogic group and school level.O objectivo deste estudo foi avaliar as características psicométricas de um instrumento de avaliação das percepções dos professores acerca das suas necessidades na promoção das competências sociais e emocionais. Os resultados revelaram uma estrutura de quatro factores (Necessidades ao nível da escola/professor, necessidades ao nível do processo de ensino-aprendizagem, Dificuldades em lidar com défices sócio-emocionais dos alunos e Necessidades ao nível da formação inicial), com valores de consistência interna acima de 0,79. As análises confirmatórias revelaram bom ajustamento do modelo aos dados. Os professores revelaram sentir maiores dificuldades ao nível das condições da escola/ professores e menores ao nível da formação inicial. O instrumento revelou-se também sensível às diferenças de percepções em termos do género, grupo pedagógico, e nível de ensino