Ancient Pbx-Hox signatures define hundreds of vertebrate developmental enhancers

Background: Gene regulation through cis-regulatory elements plays a crucial role in development and disease. A major aim of the post-genomic era is to be able to read the function of cis-regulatory elements through scrutiny of their DNA sequence. Whilst comparative genomics approaches have identified thousands of putative regulatory elements, our knowledge of their mechanism of action is poor and very little progress has been made in systematically de-coding them. Results: Here, we identify ancient functional signatures within vertebrate conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) through a combination of phylogenetic footprinting and functional assay, using genomic sequence from the sea lamprey as a reference. We uncover a striking enrichment within vertebrate CNEs for conserved binding-site motifs of the Pbx-Hox hetero-dimer. We further show that these predict reporter gene expression in a segment specific manner in the hindbrain and pharyngeal arches during zebrafish development. Conclusions: These findings evoke an evolutionary scenario in which many CNEs evolved early in the vertebrate lineage to co-ordinate Hox-dependent gene-regulatory interactions that pattern the vertebrate head. In a broader context, our evolutionary analyses reveal that CNEs are composed of tightly linked transcription-factor binding-sites (TFBSs), which can be systematically identified through phylogenetic footprinting approaches. By placing a large number of ancient vertebrate CNEs into a developmental context, our findings promise to have a significant impact on efforts toward de-coding gene-regulatory elements that underlie vertebrate development, and will facilitate building general models of regulatory element evolution

Serial mediation model predicting covid-19 vaccines acceptance in Portugal: The critical role of conspiracy theories in the wake of perceived quality of government communication and national stereotypes

Ever since the Covid-19 vaccination rollout, governments have aimed for herd immunity. Yet, many countries are far from achieving this goal mainly due to vaccine refusal. Previous research has pointed to conspiracy beliefs and the role of trust in governments as predictors of vaccine acceptance, yet a more comprehensive explanatory model is still missing. Using data from a convenience sample of 377 residents in Portugal (Mage = 33.56, SD = 13.67), the present study extends previous research by proposing a serial mediation model in the prediction of vaccine acceptance. The results confirm the critical role of conspiracy beliefs mediating the link between perceived quality of government communication and general vaccine acceptance (Model 1) as well as national stereotypes and acceptance of the Sinovac vaccine from China (Model 2). The implications are discussed considering that Portugal is currently ranked the second country in the world with the highest vaccination rate.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Feynman parametrization and Mellin summation at finite temperature

We show that the Mellin summation technique (MST) is a well defined and useful tool to compute loop integrals at finite temperature in the imaginary-time formulation of thermal field theory, especially when interested in the infrared limit of such integrals. The method makes use of the Feynman parametrization which has been claimed to have problems when the analytical continuation from discrete to arbitrary complex values of the Matsubara frequency is performed. We show that without the use of the MST, such problems are not intrinsic to the Feynman parametrization but instead, they arise as a result of (a) not implementing the periodicity brought about by the possible values taken by the discrete Matsubara frequencies before the analytical continuation is made and (b) to the changing of the original domain of the Feynman parameter integration, which seemingly simplifies the expression but in practice introduces a spurious endpoint singularity. Using the MST, there are no problems related to the implementation of the periodicity but instead, care has to be taken when the sum of denominators of the original amplitude vanishes. We apply the method to the computation of loop integrals appearing when the effects of external weak magnetic fields on the propagation of scalar particles is considered.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure. Discussion expanded. References added. Published versio

Expressões de microagressões dirigidas a mulheres no contexto do sistema de saúde: uma abordagem baseada em incidentes críticos

Purpose. Patients belonging to social minorities can be exposed to various forms of discrimination in the healthcare context. Previous research in this domain has overlooked expressions of microaggressions against women and the role of intersectional identities. This study aims to uncover the themes that underly the experience of microaggressions by diverse women in Portugal. Methods. Using an interview model based on the Critical Incident Technique (Flanagan, 1954) 17 women were interviewed about their microaggression experiences in the healthcare setting. Among those with an intersectional identity, social minority membership was also based on ethnicity, LGB sexual orientation and functional diversity. Results. A total of 17 microaggressive themes were retrieved, five of which were found to be related to microaggressions towards women in general and a total of seven were unique for women with specific intersectional identities. Another four themes reflected providers’ general attitudes towards patients without being related to gender or any intersectional minority group, and one theme described systemic microaggressions. Conclusion. Some of the retrieved themes reflect microaggressions that women seem to experience in their everyday life but that are exacerbated by the health provider-patient power disparity. Some themes appear to be specific to the healthcare context and related to providers’ lack of patient-centeredness.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

What kinds of microaggressions do women experience in the health care setting? Examining typologies, context and intersectional identities

Microaggressions are everyday verbal and non-verbal indignities, promoted intentionally or by well-intentioned people towards minority and disadvantaged individuals or groups. Microaggressions are often unconscious, socially normalized and naturalized. This qualitative study intended to examine and understand microaggressions lived by women with different intersectional identities (women of Color, immigrant women, straight women, LGBTQ+ women, functionally diverse women) in the Portuguese healthcare context. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using the Critical Incident Technique. Seventeen self-identified female feminists, activists and/or that were involved with NGOs and organizations actively committed to social causes participated. Content and thematic analysis were used in order to recognize the different microaggressive forms (microinsults, microinvalidations, microassaults) and manifestations (verbal, nonverbal/behavioral, environmental) committed in the healthcare context. The results are discussed in light of diversity training opportunities to raise awareness about subtle forms of discrimination among health care practitioners.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exact inflationary solutions

We present a new class of exact inflationary solutions for the evolution of a universe with spatial curvature, filled with a perfect fluid, a scalar field with potential $V_{\pm}(\phi)=\lambda(\phi^2\pm\delta^2)^2$ and a cosmological constant $\Lambda$. With the $V_+(\phi)$ potential and a negative cosmological constant, the scale factor experiments a graceful exit. We give a brief discussion about the physical meaning of the solutions.Comment: 10 pages, revtex file, 6 figures included with epsf. To be published in IJMP-

Learning environment properties in Partially Observable Monte Carlo Planning

We tackle the problem of learning state-variable relationships in Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes to improve planning performance on mobile robots. The proposed approach extends Partially Observable Monte Carlo Planning (POMCP) and represents state-variable relationships with Markov Random Fields. A ROS-based implementation of the approach is proposed and evaluated in rocksample, a standard benchmark for probabilistic planning under uncertainty. Experiments have been performed in simulation with Gazebo. Results show that the proposed approach allows to effectively learn state- variable probabilistic constraints on ROS-based robotic platforms and to use them in subsequent episodes to outperform standard POMC

In vitro inhibitory effect of two commercial probiotics on chromogenic actinomycetes

Black extrinsic discoloration is a common clinical and aesthetic problem. This study aims to evaluate the potential in vitro antagonistic activity of two commercial probiotics, Streptococcus salivarius M18 and Lactobacillus reuteri ProDentis, against microorganisms associated with black stains

NIR-emission from Yb(III)- and Nd(III)-based complexes in the solid state sensitized by a ligand system absorbing in a broad UV and visible spectral window

In this contribution, we present the synthesis, characterization and spectroscopic investigation of the heteroleptic (R,R)-YbL1(tta) and (R,R)-NdL1(tta) complexes (with tta = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetonate and L1 = N,N'-bis(2-(8-hydroxyquinolinate)methylidene)-1,2-(R,R or S,S)-cyclohexanediamine) in the solid state. The f-f metal-centered NIR luminescence emission of Nd(III) and Yb(III) is efficiently sensitized by both chromophoric ligands in a very broad range of wavelengths [from 250 to 600 nm, in the case of Nd(III) and from 250 to 650 nm, for Yb(III)]. A possible energy transfer mechanism is proposed: for (R,R)-NdL1(tta) complex a classical Ligand-to-Metal Energy Transfer (LMET) mechanism (antenna effect) is suggested, whilst in the case of the (R,R)-YbL1(tta) complex, the presence of a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) state determines the sensitization of Yb(III) luminescence. We propose that this level is populated by the singlet and triplet excited states belonging to pi -> pi* and n -> pi* transitions of both ligands and it can transfer the excitation energy to F-2(5/2)