Characterization of the oral fungal microbiota in smokers and non-smokers

This study aimed to assess the effect of smoking on the biodiversity of the oral fungal microbiota of healthy young subjects, using an improved culture method that assesses both total and pathogenic viable fungi. Forty individuals (20 smokers and 20 non‐smokers) were selected. All individuals presented fungal growth (100% for molds and 92.5% for yeasts), a prevalence higher than previously reported. The most commonly occurring molds were Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., and Cladosporium sp. Smokers presented significantly higher levels of yeasts and pathogenic molds than did non‐smokers. No differences in fungal prevalence and diversity were observed in smokers and non‐smokers following a 30‐wk observation period. In conclusion, tobacco smoking may alter the oral mycobiota and facilitate colonization of the oral cavity with yeasts and pathogenic molds. The effect of chronic fungal colonization on the oral health of tobacco smokers cannot be neglected

Secreted extracellular vesicle molecular cargo as a novel liquid biopsy diagnostics of central nervous system diseases

Secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous cell-derived membranous granules which carry a large diversity of molecules and participate in intercellular communication by transferring these molecules to target cells by endocytosis. In the last decade, EVs role in several pathological conditions, from etiology to disease progression or therapy evasion, has been consolidated, including in central nervous system (CNS)-related disorders. For this review, we performed a systematic search of original works published, reporting the presence of molecular components expressed in the CNS via EVs, which have been purified from plasma, serum or cerebrospinal fluid. Our aim is to provide a list of molecular EV components that have been identified from both nonpathological conditions and the most common CNS-related disorders. We discuss the methods used to isolate and enrich EVs from specific CNS-cells and the relevance of its components in each disease context.This research was funded by the MindGaP-H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2020, Grant agreement ID: 829040. S.M.-R., C.C.-M., and J.P. hold a fellowship from MindGaP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Angular momentum of focused beams: beyond the paraxial approximation

We investigate in detail the focusing of a circularly polarized Laguerre-Gaussian laser beam ($\hbar \ell$ orbital angular momentum per photon; $\sigma=1/-1$ for left/right-handed polarization) by a high numerical aperture objective. The diffraction-limited focused beam has unexpected properties, resulting from a strong interplay between the angular spatial structure and the local polarization in the non-paraxial regime. In the region near the beam axis, and provided that $|\ell|\ge 2$ and $\ell$ and $\sigma$ have opposite signs, the energy locally counter-propagates and the projection of the electric field onto the focal plane counter-rotates with respect to the circular polarization of the incident beam. We explicitly show that the total angular momentum flux per unit power is conserved after focusing, as expected by rotational symmetry, but the spin and orbital separate contributions change.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Metabolomics and transcriptomics to decipher molecular mechanisms underlying ectomycorrhizal root colonization of an oak tree

Mycorrhizas are known to have a positive impact on plant growth and ability to resist major biotic and abiotic stresses. However, the metabolic alterations underlying mycorrhizal symbiosis are still understudied. By using metabolomics and transcriptomics approaches, cork oak roots colonized by the ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus tinctorius were compared with non-colonized roots. Results show that compounds putatively corresponding to carbohydrates, organic acids, tannins, long-chain fatty acids and monoacylglycerols, were depleted in ectomycorrhizal cork oak colonized roots. Conversely, non-proteogenic amino acids, such as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and several putative defense-related compounds, including oxylipin-family compounds, terpenoids and B6 vitamers were induced in mycorrhizal roots. Transcriptomic analysis suggests the involvement of GABA in ectomycorrhizal symbiosis through increased synthesis and inhibition of degradation in mycorrhizal roots. Results from this global metabolomics analysis suggest decreases in root metabolites which are common components of exudates, and in compounds related to root external protective layers which could facilitate plant-fungal contact and enhance symbiosis. Root metabolic pathways involved in defense against stress were induced in ectomycorrhizal roots that could be involved in a plant mechanism to avoid uncontrolled growth of the fungal symbiont in the root apoplast. Several of the identified symbiosis-specific metabolites, such as GABA, may help to understand how ectomycorrhizal fungi such as P. tinctorius benefit their host plants.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enhancing reductive cleavage of aromatic carboxamides

[GRAPHICS] A set of aromatic and especially heteroaromatic N-benzyl carboxamides, derived from naphthalene, pyridine, pyrazine, and quinoline, and the corresponding tert-butyl acylcarbamates have been synthesized and studied by cyclic voltammetry with respect to facilitated reduction. The latter undergo regiospecific cleavage of their C(O)-N bonds under very mild reductive conditions with formation of Boc-protected (benzyl)amine in most cases in nearly quantitative yields, Examples of preparative cleavage by controlled potential electrolysis, activated aluminum, and NaBH4 are given

CONSCIOUS curriculum projects

Rychlickova, J., Batuca, J. R., Nagy, V., Shiely, F., Cechova, Z., Nebeska, K., Souckova, L., Mouly, S., Kovács, G. L., Németh, A., Oliveira, T., Painho, M., Maia, S., & Monteiro, E. C. (2023). Building key competencies clinical trialists of the future: CONSCIOUS curriculum projects. Poster session presented at ORPHEUS2023, "Putting the i’s and o’s in Doctoral Training; International, Intersectoral, Interdisciplinary, and Open Science", Leuven, Belgium. --- This work was supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the Europe Union (2018-1-HU01-KA203-047811 and 2021-1-CZ01-KA220-HED-000023177).Investigator-initiated clinical trials (IIT) are a broadly interprofessional field that is becoming increasingly relevant to biomedical postgraduate students, especially to validate their research question in clinical practice. Indeed, IIT represent a way to develop individualized treatment and obtain objective evidence to answer questions of day-to-day practice. On the other hand, IIT place greater demands on investigators as they extend their position to include the coordination and management role of the sponsor. At the same time, little formal training in clinical trials is available across European countries in both undergraduate and postgraduate education, and the understanding of biomedical graduates in clinical research organization may not be optimal. A consortium of six European universities was established to fill this gap by preparing a highly practice-based and -oriented curriculum within two consequent projects – CONSCIOUS and CONSCIOUS II. Especially the CONSCIOUS II is focused on postgraduate students and provides them with e-learning lessons of practical guidance on how to design a research question and a clinical trial, the regulatory requirements that need to be met, how to conduct the trial, what activities can be delegated, and how to analyze the results. The second part targets transdisciplinary skills such as leadership, publishing, and teaching. The CONSCIOUS II pedagogical approach moves on to contextualized, case-based exercises allowing to test the acquired skills in simulated situations. Both CONSCIOUS projects thus offer a comprehensive, free-of-charge curriculum for biomedical students but will also open a pilot course with international participation as a further extension of this curriculum.publishersversionpublishersversionpublishe

Cultivo protegido das uvas de mesa sem sementes "BRS Vitória" e "BRS Isis" na região da Serra Gaúcha.

A fruticultura brasileira é responsável por 16% dos empregos gerados pelo agronegócio nacional, sendo que, em média, são geradas duas novas vagas a cada hectare cultivado com frutas (ANUÁRIO..., 2018). Quando se considera o volume total produzido, independente da finalidade, a uva está incluída entre os seis produtos responsáveis por cerca de 70% do valor bruto da produção brasileira de frutas (ANUÁRIO..., 2018). No Brasil, a viticultura é praticada em uma grande extensão norte-sul, de cerca de 78.000 ha, incluindo regiões de clima temperado, subtropical e tropical. São exploradas cultivares que pertencem à espécie Vitis vinifera, híbridos de V. labrusca, além de híbridos complexos. Metade do volume total de uvas produzido no país é destinada para o consumo in natura, sendo originada principalmente em regiões de clima subtropical e tropical, nos estados de Pernambuco, da Bahia, de São Paulo, Paraná e de Minas Gerais, enquanto o segmento de uvas para processamento está concentrado na região Sul do país (MAIA et al., 2018).bitstream/item/202699/1/Circ-Tec143.pd

Novas cultivares brasileiras de uvas para elaboração de suco no Semiárido Brasileiro: desempenho agronômico e qualidade do suco.

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