Evidence from 3-a-side soccer games

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of mixing and separating students by sex in the game performance, as heart rate (HR) demands and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during 3-a-side small-sided soccer games (SSGs) performed in the context of Physical Education (PE) classes. Twelve students (6 male of 15.33±0.8 years; 1.77±0.10 m; 67.0±4.2 Kg; 21.50±2.5 Kg.m², and; 6 female of 15.00±0.0 years; 1.61±0.01 m; 53.8±9.1 Kg; 19.9±2.3 Kg.m2) performed the SSGs in two conditions: i) separated by sex and ii) mixed-sex. From single-sex to coeducation conditions results showed significant increases in female RPE and HR (14 to 16.1 and 142 to 163, respectively), but a decrease in the number of wrong passes, goals and shooting accuracy (p < 0.05: 80.5 to 15.2; 3.8 to 1.9 and 1.0 to 0.4, respectively). In the male group, only a single significant increase occurred in the total number of passes between the corresponding two conditions (p = 0.023: 12.5 to 14.1). When comparing the two gender groups in the mixed condition, we registered significantly higher values of the total number of passes and number of wrong passes in males than in females (74%), while the RPE was higher in females (p < 0.05). On the contrary, no significant differences between groups were observed in the separated conditions. These findings suggest a trend toward an increase in the perceived exercise intensity, not completely corroborated by HR data, with less technical proficiency for female students, mainly when playing against their male counterparts. PE teachers should be aware that mixing gender during foot-ball related activities may have a negative impact on female performance, which may impact their motivation and skill acquisition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Os artrópodes auxiliares generalistas associados às Macieiras na ilha Terceira (Açores)

Neste trabalho apresenta-se uma listagem das espécies de artrópodes auxiliares encontradas nos pomares de macieiras (Malus sp.) durante o decorrer dos projectos INTERFRUTA e INTERFRUTA II (durante o período de 2003 a 2007), com comentários relativos à biologia e distribuição das espécies mais abundantes

Os artrópodes auxiliares generalistas associados às bananeiras na ilha Terceira (Açores)

"A biodiversidade dos artrópodes associados às fruteiras dos Açores era, até há poucos anos, quase completamente desconhecida, resumindo-se apenas a listagens de pragas e indicação de uma ou outra espécie de auxiliar (e.g., Garcia & Furtado, 1980; Schanderl & Almeida, 1992; Cruz De Boelpaepe & Teixeira, 1990; Soares et al., 1992, 1994, 1996; Costa-Comelles et al., 1994). Com o projecto INTERFRUTA (Lopes et al., 2005) foi possível realizar um inventário mais ou menos exaustivo da diversidade de artrópodes predadores generalistas que podem actuar como auxiliares no combate a muitas pragas. Este projecto teve início em 2003 e resultou já num maior conhecimento dos artrópodes associados a quatro culturas frutícolas (bananeiras, citrinos, macieiras e pessegueiros) da Ilha Terceira (ver Santos et al. 2005a, b, 2009). Em 2006 este projecto foi continuado através do INTERFRUTA II. […].Neste trabalho apresenta-se uma listagem das espécies de artrópodes predadores generalistas encontrados em pomares de bananeiras (Musa sp.), com comentários relativos à biologia e distribuição das espécies mais comuns." (da Introdução

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC MUSCULOSKELETAL MODEL TO IDENTIFY MUSCLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE ACCELERATION PHASE IN ELITE SPRINTING

The purpose of this study was to identify which lower limb joint moments of force and lower limb muscles had the highest contribution to the forward and upward acceleration of the Body Centre of Gravity (BCG) in an elite sprinter during the first step after starting from blocks in 100 meters dash. An induced acceleration analysis approach was used to mechanically ascertain this contribution. Two models were used, one based in a simple multilink rigid body’s model and a second using a musculoskeletal model developed using Opensim. Our results showed a possible synergist action between hip and ankle extensors that allow an optimal combination that resulted in a forward propulsion of the BCG, this results seem to be corroborated using an Opensim musculoskeletal model

Valorization of organic wastes through anaerobic digestion processes

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017[Excerpt] Increasing demand for sustainable development has stimulated political interest in measures to decrease pollution and greenhouse gas production by human activities. The greatest technological challenge for human society today is the replacement of fossil fuels by energy sources that are renewable and carbon neutral. One way to meet this challenge is trough biological processes, which has the potential to generate large flows of renewable energy, useful for decentralized systems. Wastewaters, sludges, residues, and other ‘wastes of today’ must be viewed as resources, within the concept of “waste-toenergy”. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is one of the answers to sustainable development since it reduces carbon emissions, provides clean fertilizers, and generates a green energy carrier (biogas), while concomitantly waste(water) treatment is performed. AD strategies have been implementing in order to maximize the energetic and economic value of recalcitrant wastes. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knee surgery complications related to biomaterials

Recent years have seen a growing interest in biomaterials and use of these materials in the clinical setting is increasing. Despite their advantages, they have also been cited as the source of specific complications and/or fail- ures. Problems such as screw breakage, tunnel enlargement, allergic or foreign body reactions, cyst and abscess formation, or even delayed migration of supposedly biodegradable screws/implants have been reported. This chapter aims to review the basic science and clinical experience with biomaterials currently employed in fixation devices for knee surgery. Information on the clinical implications of biodegradable screws is still limited. Surgeons tend to focus more on the emerging successes of innovations than on the complications and failures (publication bias) of older devices, making it difficult to reliably assess the incidence of such events. More- over, the complexity of possible reactions occurring in the human body cannot be reproduced under controlled laboratory conditions.Neverthe- less, surgeons and patients must be aware of both the advantages and the complications of these devices. Only in this way can informed choices be made, so that both parties are prepared to face and overcome the unde- sired complications, and the improvement of future implants can become a reality

Rheological and Textural Analyses

LA/P/0140/2020Biobased raw materials like natural polysaccharides are increasingly sought by the cosmetic industry for their valuable properties. Such biodegradable and usually non-cytotoxic biopolymers are commonly used in skin-care products as rheological modifiers, bioemulsifiers and/or bioactive ingredients. FucoPol is a natural polysaccharide with reported biocompatibility, emulsion-forming and stabilizing capacity, shear-thinning behavior and bioactivity (e.g., antioxidant capacity, wound healing ability) that potentiate its utilization in skin-care products. In this study, olive oil and α-tocopherol containing emulsions were stabilized with FucoPol. Although the presence of α-tocopherol negatively impacted the emulsions’ stability, it increased their emulsification index (EI). Moreover, FucoPol outperformed the commercial emulsifier Sepigel® 305, under the tested conditions, with higher EI and higher stability under storage for 30 days. The formulation of FucoPol-based emulsions with olive oil and α-tocopherol was studied by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) that allowed the definition of the ingredients’ content to attain high emulsification. The RSM model established that α-tocopherol concentration had no significant impact on the EI within the tested ranges, with optimal emulsification for FucoPol concentration in the range 0.7–1.2 wt.% and olive oil contents of 20–30 wt.%. Formulations with 25 wt.% olive oil and either 0.5 or 2.0 wt.% α-tocopherol were emulsified with 1.0 wt.% or 0.7 wt.% FucoPol, respectively, resulting in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. The emulsions had similar shear-thinning behavior, but the formulation with higher FucoPol content displayed higher apparent viscosity, higher consistency, as well as higher firmness, adhesiveness and cohesiveness, but lower spreadability. These findings show FucoPol’s high performance as an emulsifier for olive oil/α-tocopherol, which are supported by an effective impact on the physicochemical and structural characteristics of the emulsions. Hence, this natural polysaccharide is a potential alternative to other emulsifiers.publishersversionpublishe

Aqueous Biphasic Systems Comprising Natural Organic Acid-Derived Ionic Liquids

Despite the progress achieved by aqueous biphasic systems (ABSs) comprising ionic liquids (ILs) in extracting valuable proteins, the quest for bio‐based and protein‐friendly ILs continues. To address this need, this work uses natural organic acids as precursors in the synthesis of four ILs, namely tetrabutylammonium formate ([N4444][HCOO]), tetrabutylammonium acetate ([N4444][CH3COO]), tetrabutylphosphonium formate ([P4444][HCOO]), and tetrabutylphosphonium acetate ([P4444][CH3COO]). It is shown that ABSs can be prepared using all four organic acid‐derived ILs paired with the salts potassium phosphate dibasic (K2HPO4) and tripotassium citrate (C6H5K3O7). According to the ABSs phase diagrams, [P4444]‐based ILs outperform their ammonium congeners in their ability to undergo liquid–liquid demixing in the presence of salts due to their lower hydrogen‐bond acidity. However, deviations to the Hofmeister series were detected in the salts’ effect, which may be related to the high charge density of the studied IL anions. As a proof of concept for their extraction potential, these ABSs were evaluated in extracting human transferrin, allowing extraction efficiencies of 100% and recovery yields ranging between 86 and 100%. To further disclose the molecular‐level mechanisms behind the extraction of human transferrin, molecular docking studies were performed. Overall, the salting‐out exerted by the salt is the main mechanism responsible for the complete extraction of human transferrin toward the IL‐rich phase, whereas the recovery yield and protein‐friendly nature of these systems depend on specific “IL-transferrin” interactions.publishe

Viscosity and density measurements on compressed liquid n-Tetradecane

Comunicação apresentada na "University of Technology", em Graz, Áustria de 3-8 de setembro de 2017FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologiainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Extraction and purification of violacein from Yarrowia lipolytica cells using aqueous solutions of surfactants

BACKGROUND: L-Asparaginase (ASNase) is an important biopharmaceutical for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); however, with some restrictions due to its high manufacturing costs. Aqueous biphasic systems (ABS) have been suggested as more economical platforms for the separation/purification of proteins, but a full understanding of the mechanisms behind the ASNase partition is still a major challenge. Polymer/salt-based ABS with different driving-forces (salting-out and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity effects) were herein applied to control the partition of commercial ASNase. RESULTS: The main results showed the ASNase partition to the salt- or polymer-rich phase depending on the ABS studied, with extraction efficiencies higher than 95%. For systems composed of inorganic salts, the ASNase partition was controlled by the polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecular weight used. Cholinium-salts-based ABS were able to promote a preferential ASNase partition to the polymer-rich phase using PEG-600 and to the salt-rich phase using a more hydrophobic polypropylene glycol (PPG)-400 polymer. It was possible to select the ABS composed of PEG-2000 + potassium phosphate buffer as the most efficient to separate the ASNase from the main contaminant proteins (purification factor = 2.4 ± 0.2), while it was able to maintain the enzyme activity for posterior application as part of a therapeutic. CONCLUSION: Polymer/salt ABS can be used to control the partition of ASNase and adjust its purification yields, demonstrating the ABS potential as more economic platform for the selective recovery of therapeutic enzymes from complex broths.publishe