First record of Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, 1880 (Cnidaria: Limnomedusae) in the Azores

[...]. This short communication, reporting the occurrence of C. sowerbii in the Congro Lake (São Miguel), is a result of the ongoing monitoring work of freshwater ecosystems performed by the University of Azores (e.g Gonçalves et al. 2008; Raposeiro & Costa 2009). Intense sampling has been carried out for the last six years in freshwater systems, but only now did we find this species

A decision-support system to Analyse Customer Satisfaction Applied to a Tourism Transport Service

Due to the perishable nature of tourist products, which impacts supply and demand, the possibility of analysing the relationship between customers’ satisfaction and service quality can contribute to increased revenues. Machine learning techniques allow the analysis of how these services can be improved or developed and how to reach new markets, and look for the emergence of ideas to innovate and improve interaction with the customer. This paper presents a decision-support system for analysing consumer satisfaction, based on consumer feedback from the customer’s experience when transported by a transfer company, in the present case working in the Algarve region, Portugal. The results show how tourists perceive the service and which factors influence their level of satisfaction and sentiment. One of the results revealed that the first impression associated with good news is what creates the most value in the experience, i.e., “first impressions matter”..info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hybrid Deep Modeling of a GS115 (Mut+) Pichia pastoris Culture with State–Space Reduction

JP acknowledges the PhD grant SFRD/BD14610472019, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT).Hybrid modeling workflows combining machine learning with mechanistic process descriptions are becoming essential tools for bioprocess digitalization. In this study, a hybrid deep modeling method with state–space reduction was developed and showcased with a P. pastoris GS115 Mut+ strain expressing a single-chain antibody fragment (scFv). Deep feedforward neural networks (FFNN) with varying depths were connected in series with bioreactor macroscopic material balance equations. The hybrid model structure was trained with a deep learning technique based on the adaptive moment estimation method (ADAM), semidirect sensitivity equations and stochastic regularization. A state–space reduction method was investigated based on a principal component analysis (PCA) of the cumulative reacted amount. Data of nine fed-batch P. pastoris 50 L cultivations served to validate the method. Hybrid deep models were developed describing process dynamics as a function of critical process parameters (CPPs). The state–space reduction method succeeded to decrease the hybrid model complexity by 60% and to improve the predictive power by 18.5% in relation to the nonreduced version. An exploratory design space analysis showed that the optimization of the feed of methanol and of inorganic elements has the potential to increase the scFv endpoint titer by 30% and 80%, respectively, in relation to the reference condition.publishersversionpublishe

Genome-scale modeling of Chinese hamster ovary cells by hybrid semi-parametric flux balance analysis

Funding Information: This work was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA whereby the NOVA University Lisbon was engaged under an Agreement for R and D Services. All authors were involved in the conception and design of the study. PD’s lab performed the experiments/acquired the data. JR, GO, RO analyzed and interpreted the data. All authors were involved in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content. All authors had full access to the data and approved the manuscript before it was submitted by the corresponding author. Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Flux balance analysis (FBA) is currently the standard method to compute metabolic fluxes in genome-scale networks. Several FBA extensions employing diverse objective functions and/or constraints have been published. Here we propose a hybrid semi-parametric FBA extension that combines mechanistic-level constraints (parametric) with empirical constraints (non-parametric) in the same linear program. A CHO dataset with 27 measured exchange fluxes obtained from 21 reactor experiments served to evaluate the method. The mechanistic constraints were deduced from a reduced CHO-K1 genome-scale network with 686 metabolites, 788 reactions and 210 degrees of freedom. The non-parametric constraints were obtained by principal component analysis of the flux dataset. The two types of constraints were integrated in the same linear program showing comparable computational cost to standard FBA. The hybrid FBA is shown to significantly improve the specific growth rate prediction under different constraints scenarios. A metabolically efficient cell growth feed targeting minimal byproducts accumulation was designed by hybrid FBA. It is concluded that integrating parametric and nonparametric constraints in the same linear program may be an efficient approach to reduce the solution space and to improve the predictive power of FBA methods when critical mechanistic information is missing.publishersversionpublishe

Quironomídeos (diptera: insecta) da ilha das Flores

XIII Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - Flores e Corvo 2007.O presente trabalho surge no âmbito da XIII Expedição Científica às Ilhas das Flores e Corvo, organizada pelo Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores, onde durante este evento foram amostrados diferentes habitats dulciaquícolas que possibilitou a actualização da lista de espécies de Quironomídeos para a ilha das Flores. Foram adicionados 7 novos registos para as Flores e um novo género para o Arquipélago

Macrófitos da Ilha das Flores

XIII Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - Flores e Corvo 2007.As ribeiras e lagoas das ilhas das Flores e Corvo foram prospectadas para a realização de um levantamento de macrófitos durante a Expedição às Ilhas das Flores e Corvo/2007 do Departamento de Biologia. Foram identificadas 43 espécies, 35 nas Flores e 13 no Corvo, das quais 15 são novos registos para o Arquipélago e 3 foram encontradas pela primeira vez no grupo ocidental. No entanto, a riqueza específica encontrada é baixa, comparativamente a sistemas equivalentes na Europa Continental

Expression, purification and structural analysis of the Pyrococcus abyssi RNA binding protein PAB1135

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The gene coding for the uncharacterized protein PAB1135 in the archaeon <it>Pyrococcus abyssi </it>is in the same operon as the ribonuclease P (RNase P) subunit Rpp30.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Here we report the expression, purification and structural analysis of PAB1135. We analyzed the interaction of PAB1135 with RNA and show that it binds efficiently double-stranded RNAs in a non-sequence specific manner. We also performed molecular modeling of the PAB1135 structure using the crystal structure of the protein Af2318 from <it>Archaeoglobus fulgidus </it>(<ext-link ext-link-id="2OGK" ext-link-type="pdb">2OGK</ext-link>) as the template.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Comparison of this model has lead to the identification of a region in PAB1135 that could be involved in recognizing double-stranded RNA.</p

Antimicrobial effects of chitosans and chitooligosaccharides, upon Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, in food model systems

The objective of this study was to elucidate the controversial relationship between the molecular weight (MW) of chitosans and their antibacterial activity (upon different inoculum levels, at several concentrations). The influence of food components on the activity was also ascertained, as well as acceptance by a sensory panel. All the compounds tested exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. This activity was shown to be closely dependent on the inoculum level, MW and concentration used. Within 4 h at 10³ cells/mL, all five compounds, at every concentration (0.5%, 0.25% and 0.1%, w/v), proved to be bactericidal; for higher inocula, 0.1% (w/v) was only bacteriostatic; at 107 or 105 cells/mL, and independently of the inoculum level, 0.25% (w/v) of any chitooligosaccharide (COS) mixture was sufficient to reduce the E. coli initial population by at least 3 log cycles; COS never exhibited bactericidal action over S. aureus, unlike high and medium MW chitosans—which, at 0.5% (w/v), presented a bactericidal effect even against 107 cells/mL. When incorporated in liquid food matrices, medium and high MW chitosans maintained their activity, for both matrices and bacteria, although a slower activity was noticeable in milk; however, COS lost their activity upon both bacteria in milk after 4–8 h. Furthermore, addition of chitosans to apple juice led to several unpleasant off-flavors, such as astringency and after taste—which increased in magnitude with MW.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Chironomidae (Diptera: Insecta) da ilha de Santa Maria

XIV Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - Santa Maria 2009.O presente trabalho surge no âmbito da Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia da Universidade dos Açores à ilha de Santa Maria, durante a qual foram amostrados diversos ambientes aquáticos para o estudo da sua biodiversidade. O trabalho realizado possibilitou a actualização da lista de espécies de Chironomidae para a ilha de Santa Maria, tendo sido encontrados quatro novos registos para esta ilha