Breast cancer: biomarkers and biosensors

This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology ( under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/ 04469 2020 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE 01 0145 FEDER 000004 funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte 2020 Programa Operacional Regional do Norte Ana Cláudia Pereira is recipient of fellowships supported by a doctoral advanced training (call NORTE 69 2015 15 funded by the European Social Fund under the scope of Norte 2020 Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimization of enzymes production by Aspergillus niger in solid state fermentation of agro-industrial byproducts

The agri-food industry generates significant amounts of by-products that are often discarded or used in low-value applications. Solid by-products of lignocellulolytic structure have been proved to be suitable substrates in solid-state fermentation (SSF) to produce carbohydrases, that have many industrial applications [1]. In this work, the by-products brewer's spent grain (BSG), rice husk (RH), and vine shoot trimmings (VST) were used to carry out SSF experiments using Aspergillus niger CECT 2088 and to produce enzymes of relevance in textile industry, such as cellulases, xylanases and amylases. Factors influencing SSF performance were examined such as the substrate granulometry and the supplementation of nitrogen and phosphorous sources. In SSF experiments performed at 25ºC and 75% (w/w) moisture for 7 days, a positive effect of medium supplementation with 2% (w/w) (NH4)2SO4 and 1% (w/w) K2HPO4 was observed, leading to 2 to 10-fold increase of enzymes production using RH and BSG. Under these conditions SSF was performed with different particle sizes (1, 4 and 10 mm) and the highest enzyme activities were obtained with the highest size of BSG and RH, and with 4 mm VST. With selected granulometry of the three byproducts, a Simplex-Centroid mixtures design was performed. Optimal enzyme activities were obtained with 100% BSG for xylanase (651 U/g), -glucosidase (363 U/g), cellulase (189 U/g) and 72% (w/w) of BSG and 28% of RH for amylase (263 U/g). Besides those optimal values, the use of 50% (w/w) BSG/RH mixture resulted in high production of xylanase (553 U/g) and -glucosidase (221 U/g), and with 50% (w/w) BSG/VST a cellulase activity similar with 100% BSG was obtained. These results indicates that SSF-based bioprocessing of BSG alone or in mixtures of VST and RH, is an effective and sustainable approach to produce enzymes of textile industry interest, contributing to boost circular economy in this sector.This study was supported by the integrated project be@t – Textile Bioeconomy (TC-C12-i01, Sustainable Bioeconomy No. 02/C12-i01/2022), promoted by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), Next Generation EU, for the period 2021 – 2026; by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit; by LABBELS Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems (LA/P/0029/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A ressignificação do currículo nas escolas do campo: da descontextualização à contextualização

Este artigo apresenta uma pesquisa fundamentada"nas ações desenvolvidas por um"projeto de extensão executado em três escolas"do campo do município de Bananeiras/PB. As ações foram realizadas com o propósito"de ressignificar o currículo dessas escolas,"de forma que a contextualizar o Projeto"Pedagógico Curricular (PPC). Os sujeitos da"pesquisa foram discentes da UFPB, equipe"pedagógica, gestores, professores, alunos e"os representantes de pais das escolas participantes."O aporte metodológico foi organizado"a partir da abordagem qualitativa. Os instrumentos"de coleta de dados foram: a análise"documental; um roteiro de entrevista para"gestores, professores e pais de alunos; e o relato"das ações desenvolvidas nos encontros"para organização do PPC. Após realização"da pesquisa, constatou-se que as demandas"dos povos campesinos não são contempladas"nos projetos pedagógicos analisados; que os"currículos investigados não apresentam características"de contextualização; e que a elaboração"coletiva da proposta curricular para"o ano de 2014 tem contribuído para a reflexão"dos sujeitos sobre a realidade dos povos"do campo.Palavras chave: Currículo. Formação. Identidade.The ressignification of curriculum in countryside schools: from decontextualization to contextualizationThis article presents a survey based on actions taken by an extension project carried out in three schools in the city of Bananeiras / PB field. The shares were held for the purpose of (re) define the curriculum of these schools, so that contextualize the Curriculum Education Program (PPC). The subjects were students UFPB, teaching staff, managers, teachers, students and representatives of parents of participating schools. The methodological approach was organized from the qualitative approach. Data collection instruments were: document analysis; an interview guide for managers, teachers and parents; and the report of the actions carried out in the meetings to the PPC organization. Upon completion of the research, we found that the demands of the peasants people are not included in the analyzed educational projects; that investigated curricula have no context characteristics; and that the collective elaboration of the curriculum proposal for the year 2014 has contributed to the reflection of the subjects on the reality of the peoples of the field.Keywords: Curriculum. Training. Identity

Selection of a new peptide homing SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells

Breast cancer diagnosis remains a challenge, mostly due to its heterogeneity. This reality translates in delayed treatments, increasing treatment aggressiveness and lower chances of overall survival. The conventional detection techniques, although becoming increasingly sophisticated each year, still lack the ability to provide reliable conclusions without being time consuming, expensive and uncomfortable for the patients. The identification of novel biomarkers for breast cancer research is therefore of utmost relevance for an early diagnosis. Moreover, breast cancer specific peptide moieties can be used to develop novel targeted drug delivery systems. In this work we used phage display to identify a novel peptide with specificity to the SK-BR-3 breast cancer cell line. Cytometry assays confirmed its specificity, while bioinformatics and docking studies predicted the potential biomarkers at the SK-BR-3 cells surface. These findings can be potentially useful in the clinical context, contributing to more specific and targeted therapeutic solutions against HER2-positive breast cancer subtypes.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2020 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Débora Ferreira and Ana Cláudia Pereira are recipient of fellowships supported by a doctoral advanced training (call NORTE-69-2015-15) funded by the European Social Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Cátia Santos-Pereira acknowledges the PhD fellowship PD/BD/128032/2016 funded by FCT under the scope of the doctoral programme in Applied and Environmental Microbiology (DP_AEM). The authors also acknowledge César Pimenta from NOVA Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology António Xavier (NOVA ITQB) for the docking insights.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Response of South American Terrestrial Ecosystems to Future Patterns of Sea Surface Temperature

Global warming in the first half of the 21st century is likely to have profound influences on South American vegetation and climate. Although coupled atmosphere-biosphere models have been widely used to forecast future vegetation patterns under various scenarios of global warming, they have not been used to assess the potentially critical role of variations in sea surface temperature (SST) in modifying the climate-vegetation interactions. Here, we use monthly output of a 100-year coupled model run to investigate the relationship between SST, precipitation, and productivity of vegetation. Specifically, we assess statistical correlations between SST variability and vegetation in six different South America regions: Northern South America, Western Amazonia, Eastern Amazonia, Northeast Brazil, Central Brazil, and Patagonia. Our model robustly simulates changes in mean precipitation, net primary production (NPP), upper canopy leaf area index (LAI), and lower canopy LAI under warming and nonwarming scenarios. Most significantly, we demonstrate that spatial-temporal variability in SST exerts a strong influence over the vegetation dynamics in all six South American regions

Enhanced 3T3-L1 differentiation into adipocytes by pioglitazone pharmacological activation of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma)

Despite the primary function of pioglitazone in antidiabetic treatment, this drug is a potent inducer of PPAR-γ, a crucial receptor that is involved in adipocyte differentiation. In this work, we propose an optimized methodology to enhance the differentiation of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts into adipocytes. This process is crucial for adipocyte secretome release, which is fundamental for understanding the molecular mechanisms that are involved in obesity for in vitro studies. To achieve this, a pioglitazone dose-response assay was determined over a range varying from 0 to 10 µM. Lipid accumulation was evaluated using Oil-Red-O. The results showed that 10 µM pioglitazone enhanced differentiation and increased secretome production. This secretome was then added into two cell lines: PC3 and RAW264.7. In the PC3 cells, an increase of aggressiveness was observed in terms of viability and proliferation, with the increase of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Conversely, in RAW264.7 cells, a reduction of viability and proliferation was observed, with a decrease in the overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Overall, the present work constitutes an improved method for adipocyte secretome production that is suitable for experimental biology studies and that could help with our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying adiposity influence in other cells.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutritional potential and toxicological evaluation of tetraselmis sp. CTP4 microalgal biomass produced in industrial photobioreactors

Commercial production of microalgal biomass for food and feed is a recent worldwide trend. Although it is common to publish nutritional data for microalgae grown at the lab-scale, data about industrial strains cultivated in an industrial setting are scarce in the literature. Thus, here we present the nutritional composition and a microbiological and toxicological evaluation of Tetraselmis sp. CTP4 biomass, cultivated in 100-m3 photobioreactors at an industrial production facility (AlgaFarm). This microalga contained high amounts of protein (31.2 g/100 g), dietary fibres (24.6 g/100 g), digestible carbohydrates (18.1 g/100 g) and ashes (15.2 g/100 g), but low lipid content (7.04 g/100 g). The biomass displayed a balanced amount of essential amino acids, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, and starch-like polysaccharides. Significant levels of chlorophyll (3.5 g/100 g), carotenoids (0.61 g/100 g), and vitamins (e.g., 79.2 mg ascorbic acid /100 g) were also found in the biomass. Conversely, pathogenic bacteria, heavy metals, cyanotoxins, mycotoxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides were absent. The biomass showed moderate antioxidant activity in several in vitro assays. Taken together, as the biomass produced has a balanced biochemical composition of macronutrients and (pro-)vitamins, lacking any toxic contaminants, these results suggest that this strain can be used for nutritional applications.Agência financiadora Fundação para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) UID/Multi/04326/2019 ALGARED+ 5E - INTERREG V-A Espana-Portugal project 0055 Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) SFRH/BD/105541/2014 SFRH/BPD/81882/2011 SFRH/BPD/100627/2014 CI-ECO - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013 Q-PNA - FCT UID/QUI/00062/2013info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Neuroprotection in a 3D Cell Model of Parkinson's Disease

Funding Information: This work was supported by European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 804229; iNOVA4Health – UIDB/04462/2020 and UIDP/04462/2020, a program financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES), through national funds. FCT/MCTES, through the project PTDC/BTM‐ORG/29580/2017. Authors would like to acknowledge FCT for financial support of R.C. (PD/BD/135492/2018) and J.G.‐P. (SFRH/BD/145522/2019). M.L. was supported by the Land‐BW (NAM‐ACCEPT) and funding by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreements No. 964537 (RISK‐HUNT3R), No. 964518 (ToxFree), and No. 825759 (ENDpoiNTs). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research published by Wiley-VCH GmbHScope: Diets rich in (poly)phenols have been associated with positive effects on neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Several low-molecular weight (poly)phenol metabolites (LMWPM) are found in the plasma after consumption of (poly)phenol-rich food. It is expected that LMWPM, upon reaching the brain, may have beneficial effects against both oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, and possibly attenuate cell death mechanisms relate to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in PD. Methods and Results: This study investigates the neuroprotective potential of two blood-brain barrier permeant LMWPM, catechol-O-sulfate (cat-sulf), and pyrogallol-O-sulfate (pyr-sulf), in a human 3D cell model of PD. Neurospheroids were generated from LUHMES neuronal precursor cells and challenged by 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+) to induce neuronal stress. LMWPM pretreatments were differently neuroprotective towards MPP+ insult, presenting distinct effects on the neuronal transcriptome. Particularly, cat-sulf pretreatment appeared to boost counter-regulatory defense mechanisms (preconditioning). When MPP+ is applied, both LMWPM positively modulated glutathione metabolism and heat-shock response, as also favorably shifting the balance of pro/anti-apoptotic proteins. Conclusions: Our findings point to the potential of LMWPM to trigger molecular mechanisms that help dopaminergic neurons to cope with a subsequent toxic insult. They are promising molecules to be further explored in the context of preventing and attenuating parkinsonian neurodegeneration.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin