An evolutionary perspective on the kinome of malaria parasites

Malaria parasites belong to an ancient lineage that diverged very early from the main branch of eukaryotes. The approximately 90-member plasmodial kinome includes a majority of eukaryotic protein kinases that clearly cluster within the AGC, CMGC, TKL, CaMK and CK1 groups found in yeast, plants and mammals, testifying to the ancient ancestry of these families. However, several hundred millions years of independent evolution, and the specific pressures brought about by first a photosynthetic and then a parasitic lifestyle, led to the emergence of unique features in the plasmodial kinome. These include taxon-restricted kinase families, and unique peculiarities of individual enzymes even when they have homologues in other eukaryotes. Here, we merge essential aspects of all three malaria-related communications that were presented at the Evolution of Protein Phosphorylation meeting, and propose an integrated discussion of the specific features of the parasite's kinome and phosphoproteome

Improving the Knowledge on Seismogenic Sources in the Lower Tagus Valley for Seismic Hazard Purposes

The Lower Tagus Valley, that includes the metropolitan area of Lisbon, has been struck by several earthquakes which produced significant material damage and loss of lives. Their exact location remains unknown. Our goal is to shed some light into the seismogenic sources in the area using seismic reflection and geological data. In areas with no seismic coverage, potential-field data interpretation was carried out. Seismicity was overlaid to the potential seismogenic structures and high-resolution data was acquired in order to confirm which structures have been active into the Quaternary. Three major fault-zones affecting the Neogene were identified: V. F. Xira, Samora-Alcochete and Pinhal Novo. For the first fault, strong evidences suggest it is active. The other two fault-zones and other structures previously unknown can be correlated with several epicentres. Empirical relationships between maximum moment magnitude and fault area indicate that MW > 6.5 earthquakes can be expected for the larger structures

Scalable quantum field simulations of conditioned systems

We demonstrate a technique for performing stochastic simulations of conditional master equations. The method is scalable for many quantum-field problems and therefore allows first-principles simulations of multimode bosonic fields undergoing continuous measurement, such as those controlled by measurement-based feedback. As examples, we demonstrate a 53-fold speed increase for the simulation of the feedback cooling of a single trapped particle, and the feedback cooling of a quantum field with 32 modes, which would be impractical using previous brute force methods.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Oral bacterial microflora associated with total acrylic dentures: implant supported vs mucus supported

Poster presented at the 1st International Congress of CiiEM - From Basic Sciences to Clinical Research. 27-28 November 2015, Egas Moniz, Caparica, Portugal

Final Analysis and Results of the Phase II SIMPLE Dark Matter Search

We report the final results of the Phase II SIMPLE measurements, comprising two run stages of 15 superheated droplet detectors each, the second stage including an improved neutron shielding. The analyses includes a refined signal analysis, and revised nucleation efficiency based on reanalysis of previously-reported monochromatic neutron irradiations. The combined results yield a contour minimum of \sigma_{p} = 4.2 x 10^-3 pb at 35 GeV/c^2 on the spin-dependent sector of WIMP-proton interactions, the most restrictive to date from a direct search experiment and overlapping for the first time results previously obtained only indirectly. In the spin-independent sector, a minimum of 3.6 x 10^-6 pb at 35 GeV/c^2 is achieved, with the exclusion contour challenging the recent CoGeNT region of current interest.Comment: revised, PRL-accepted version with slightly weakened limit contour

Systematic review and meta-analysis on physical barriers to prevent root dentin demineralization.

The present review systematically analyzed in vitro and in situ studies investigating physical diffusion barriers (sealants, desensitizer or adhesives) to prevent the development or the progression of root (dentin) demineralization. Three electronic databases (PubMed-Medline, CENTRAL, Ovid-EMBASE) were screened for studies from 1946 to 2022. Cross-referencing was used to identify further articles. Article selection and data abstraction were done in duplicate. Languages were not restricted. The type of outcome was not restricted, and their mean differences (MD) were calculated using fixed- or random-effects models. Risk of Bias was graded using Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. From 171 eligible studies, 34 were selected for full-text analysis evaluating 69 different materials, and 17 studies-still evaluating 36 different materials-were included (3 in situ and 14 in vitro). Ten studies evaluated desensitizers; 8 adhesives; and 1 infiltration. Meta-analyses were possible for all 17 studies. Meta-analyses revealed that lesion depth after no treatment was significantly higher than after the application of single-step adhesives (MD[95%CI] = - 49.82[- 69.34; - 30.30]) and multi-step adhesives (MD[95%CI]=-60.09 [-92.65, -27.54]). No significant differences in the lesion depth increase between single- and multi-step adhesives could be observed (MD[95%CI]=30.13 [-21.14, 81.39]). Furthermore, compared to no treatment the increase of the lesion depth was significantly hampered using desensitizers (MD[95%CI] = - 38.02[- 51.74; - 24.31]). Furthermore, the included studies presented unclear or high risk. A physical diffusion barrier can significantly hamper the increase of lesion depth under cariogenic conditions. Furthermore, multi-step adhesives seem not to be more effective than single-step adhesives. However, this conclusion is based on only few in vitro and in situ studies