The Framework “Iberian Massif Landscape and Fluvial Network” in the scope of the Portuguese Geological Heritage Inventory

A diversidade de aspectos do relevo e da drenagem fluvial no Maciço Ibérico justificaram a definição de 5 temas dominantes, agrupados numa categoria temática, com vista ao processo de inventariação de geossítios de valor científico e relevância internacional ou nacional, no âmbito da inventariação do património geológico português em curso. Os temas sucintamente caracterizados são: Macro-geoformas residuais, Geoformas graníticas, Geoformas tectónicas, Sedimentos cenozóicos e Geoformas fluviais. Para cada tema foram definidos alguns subtemas e áreas-chave para a selecção dos geossítios.Five themes were defined taking into account the diversity of geomorphological elements in the Portuguese Iberian Massif. These themes are grouped under a geological framework established to help the selection of geosites with scientific value of national or international significance, under the scope of the ongoing inventory of the Portuguese geological heritage. These themes are: Residual macro-landforms, Granite landforms, Tectonic landforms, Cenozoic sediments, and Fluvial landforms. For each theme, some sub-themes were defined as well as key-areas for the selection of geosites.Este trabalho é apoiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, através do financiamento plurianual do CGUP e do projecto de investigação “Identificação, caracterização e conservação do património geológico: uma estratégia de geoconservação para Portugal” (PTDC/CTE-GEX/64966/2006).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Robust industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for very high gravity bio-ethanol fermentations

The application and physiological background of two industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, isolated from harsh industrial environments, were studied in Very High Gravity (VHG) bio-ethanol fermentations. VHG laboratory fermentations, mimicking industrially relevant conditions, were performed with PE-2 and CA1185 industrial strains and the CEN.PK113-7D laboratory strain. The industrial isolates produced remarkable high ethanol titres (>19%, v/v) and accumulated an increased content of sterols (2 to 5-fold), glycogen (2 to 4-fold) and trehalose (1.1-fold), relatively to laboratory strain. For laboratory and industrial strains, a sharp decrease in the viability and trehalose concentration was observed above 90 g l-1 and 140 g l-1 ethanol, respectively. PE-2 and CA1185 industrial strains presented important physiological differences relatively to CEN.PK113-7D strain and showed to be more prepared to cope with VHG stresses. The identification of a critical ethanol concentration above which viability and trehalose concentration decrease significantly is of great importance to guide VHG process engineering strategies. This study contributes to the improvement of VHG processes by identifying yeast isolates and gathering yeast physiological information during the intensified fermentation process, which, besides elucidating important differences between these industrial and laboratory strains, can drive further process optimization.The authors thank Daniel Gomes for performing some of the fermentation samples analyses, COPAM - Companhia Portuguesa de Amidos S.A. (Portugal) for kindly providing the CSL, and Rosane Schwan (Federal University of Lavras, Brazil) for kindly providing the yeast strains PE-2 and CA1185. The financial support of Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, is acknowledged: project ProBioethanol PTDC/BIO/66151/2006, grant SFRH/BD/64776/2009 to F.B. Pereira and grant SFRH/BPD/44328/2008 to P.M.R. Guimaraes

Optimization of low-cost medium for very high gravity ethanol fermentations by Saccharomyces cerevisiae using statistical experimental designs

Statistical experimental designs were used to develop a medium based on corn steep liquor (CSL) and other low-cost nutrient sources for high-performance very high gravity (VHG) ethanol fermentations by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The critical nutrients were initially selected according to a Plackett–Burman design and the optimized medium composition (44.3 g/L CSL; 2.3 g/L urea; 3.8 g/L MgSO4·7H2O; 0.03 g/L CuSO4·5H2O) for maximum ethanol production by the laboratory strain CEN.PK 113-7D was obtained by response surface methodology, based on a three-level four-factor Box-Behnken design. The optimization process resulted in significantly enhanced final ethanol titre, productivity and yeast viability in batch VHG fermentations (up to 330 g/L glucose) with CEN.PK113-7D and with industrial strain PE-2, which is used for bio-ethanol production in Brazil. Strain PE-2 was able to produce 18.6 ± 0.5% (v/v) ethanol with a corresponding productivity of 2.4 ± 0.1 g/L/h. This study provides valuable insights into cost-effective nutritional supplementation of industrial fuel ethanol VHG fermentations.The authors thank Marisa Cunha for performing the preliminary fermentations with varying CSL concentrations, COPAM - Companhia Portuguesa de Amidos, S.A. (Portugal) for kindly providing glucose syrup and CSL, and Rosane Schwan (University of Lavras, Brazil) for kindly providing the yeast strain PE-2. The financial support of Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, is acknowledged: Project ProBioethanol PTDC/BIO/66151/2006, Grant SFRH/BD/64776/2009 to F.B. Pereira and Grant SFRH/BPD/44328/2008 to P.M.R. Guimaraes

Cell recycling during repeated very high gravity bio-ethanol fermentations using the industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain PE-2

A very high gravity (VHG) repeatedbatch fermentation system using an industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae PE-2 (isolated from sugarcane-to-ethanol distillery in Brazil) and mimicking industrially relevant conditions (high inoculation rates and low O2 availability) was successfully operated during fifteen consecutive fermentation cycles, attaining ethanol at 17.1 ± 0.2% (v/v) with a batch productivity of 3.5 ± 0.04 g l-1 h-1. Moreover, this innovative operational strategy (biomass refreshing step) prevented critical decreases on yeast viability levels and promoted high accumulation of intracellular glycerol and trehalose, which can provide an adaptive advantage to yeast cells under harsh industrial environments. This study contributes to the improvement of VHG fermentation processes by exploring an innovative operational strategy that allows attaining very high ethanol titres without a critical decrease of the viability level thus minimizing the production costs due to energy savings during the distillation process.The authors thank COPAM-Companhia Portuguesa de Amidos SA (Portugal) for kindly providing the CSL, and Rosane Schwan (Federal University of Lavras, Brazil) for kindly providing the PE-2 yeast strain. The financial support of Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, is acknowledged: project ProBioethanol PTDC/BIO/66151/2006, grant SFRH/BD/64776/2009 to F. B. Pereira and grant SFRH/BPD/44328/2008 to P. M. R. Guimaraes

Plasmid-mediate transfer of FLO-1 into industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae PE-2 strain creates a strain useful for repeat-batch fermentations involving flocculation-sedimentation

The flocculation gene FLO1 was transferred into the robust industrial strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae PE-2 by the lithium acetate method. The recombinant strain showed a fermentation performance similar to that of the parental strain. In 10 repeat-batch cultivations in VHG medium with 345 g glucose/L and cell recycling by flocculation–sedimentation, an average final ethanol concentration of 142 g/L and an ethanol productivity of 2.86 g/L/h were achieved. Due to the flocculent nature of the recombinant strain it is possible to reduce the ethanol production cost because of lower centrifugation and distillation costs.The authors thank COPAM - Companhia Portuguesa de Amidos S.A. (Portugal) for kindly providing the CSL, Rosane Schwan (Federal University of Lavras, Brazil) for kindly providing the PE-2 yeast strain and Merja Penttila (VTT, Finland) for plasmids pET13.1 and pBR-ADH1-FL01. The financial support of Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, is acknowledged. Project ProBioethano

Electron scattering processes in Ho5(SixGe1−x)4 compounds: Electrical resistivity studies

8 páginas, 7 figuras, 1 tabla.-- PACS number(s): 75.30.Sg, 71.70.Ch, 75.30.Kz, 75.10.DgWe present a detailed study of the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity [ρ(T)] in the range 13–300 K for the Ho5(SixGe1-x)4 system. Three distinct ρ(T) behaviors are observed, associated with different magnetic and crystallographic structures along the series. In the samples with an antiferromagnetic phase (AFM) one observes a shoulder near the Néel temperature (TN) attributed to the formation of a gap on the Fermi surface. This gap is analyzed using a phenomenological two-band model for an AFM with distinct atomic and magnetic periodicities, and its effect seems to extend well above TN. We also found the presence of short-range magnetic clusters in the paramagnetic (PM) phase. On the ferromagnetic (FM) materials, the distinct ρ(T) scattering contributions (phonon, magnetic, and residual terms) are extracted from the measurements, with ρ(T) mainly dominated by electron spin scattering. An additional contribution is also observed, arising from the strong crystal field effect in these materials. The effect is mainly observed in the PM phase, leading to a curvature on ρ(T) in this phase. Using a two-level crystal field model the corresponding gap was estimated for the different Si/Ge ratio samples, revealing that the crystal field splitting increases linearly with Si content.Work partially supported by the projects POCI/CTM/61284/2004, PTDC/CTM/NAN/115125/2009, and FEDER/POCTI n0155/94 from Fundaçâo para a Ciência ex Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal. A.M.P. thanks FCT for Grant No. SFRH/BPD/63150/2009. C.M. acknowledges the support of the Fundación ARAID. The financial support of the Spanish MEC (MAT2008-06567-C02) and DGA (Grant No. E26) is acknowledged.Peer reviewe

Selective albumin-binding surfaces modified with a thrombin-inhibiting peptide

Blood-contacting medical devices have been associated with severe clinical complications, such as thrombus formation, triggered by the activation of the coagulation cascade due to the adsorption of certain plasma proteins on the surface of biomaterials. Hence, the coating of such surfaces with antithrombotic agents has been used to increase biomaterial haemocompatibility. Biomaterial-induced clotting may also be decreased by albumin adsorption from blood plasma in a selective and reversible way, since this protein is not involved in the coagulation cascade. In this context, this paper reports that the immobilization of the thrombin inhibitor D-Phe-Pro-D-Arg-D-Thr-CONH2 (fPrt) onto nanostructured surfaces induces selective and reversible adsorption of albumin, delaying the clotting time when compared to peptide-free surfaces. fPrt, synthesized with two glycine residues attached to the N-terminus (GGfPrt), was covalently immobilized onto self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) having different ratios of carboxylate-hexa(ethylene glycol)- and tri(ethylene glycol)-terminated thiols (EG6-COOH/EG3) that were specifically designed to control GGfPrt orientation, exposure and density at the molecular level. In solution, GGfPrt was able to inactivate the enzymatic activity of thrombin and to delay plasma clotting time in a concentration-dependent way. After surface immobilization, and independently of its concentration, GGfPrt lost its selectivity to thrombin and its capacity to inhibit thrombin enzymatic activity against the chromogenic substrate n-p-tosyl-Gly-Pro-Arg-p-nitroanilide. Nevertheless, surfaces with low concentrations of GGfPrt could delay the capacity of adsorbed thrombin to cleave fibrinogen. In contrast, GGfPrt immobilized in high concentrations was found to induce the procoagulant activity of the adsorbed thrombin. However, all surfaces containing GGfPrt have a plasma clotting time similar to the negative control (empty polystyrene wells), showing resistance to coagulation, which is explained by its capacity to adsorb albumin in a selective and reversible way. This work opens new perspectives to the improvement of the haemocompatibility of blood-contacting medical devices

Shedding light on the african enigma: In vitro testing of homo sapiens-helicobacter pylori coevolution

The continuous characterization of genome-wide diversity in population and case- cohort samples, allied to the development of new algorithms, are shedding light on host ancestry impact and selection events on various infectious diseases. Especially interesting are the longstanding associations between humans and certain bacteria, such as the case of Helicobacter pylori, which could have been strong drivers of adaptation leading to coevolution. Some evidence on admixed gastric cancer cohorts have been suggested as supporting Homo-Helicobacter coevolution, but reliable experimental data that control both the bacterium and the host ancestries are lacking. Here, we conducted the first in vitro coinfection assays with dual humanand bacterium-matched and -mismatched ancestries, in African and European backgrounds, to evaluate the genome wide gene expression host response to H. pylori. Our results showed that: (1) the host response to H. pylori infection was greatly shaped by the human ancestry, with variability on innate immune system and metabolism; (2) African human ancestry showed signs of coevolution with H. pylori while European ancestry appeared to be maladapted; and (3) mismatched ancestry did not seem to be an important differentiator of gene expression at the initial stages of infection as assayed here.Funds were guaranteed by the project “Advancing cancer research: from basic knowledge to application”; NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029; Projetos Estruturados de I & D & I, funded by Norte 2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. i3S is financed by FEDER-Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020-Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Programme (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274)