The Optimized Model of Multiple Invasion Percolation

We study the optimized version of the multiple invasion percolation model. Some topological aspects as the behavior of the acceptance profile, coordination number and vertex type abundance were investigated and compared to those of the ordinary invasion. Our results indicate that the clusters show a very high degree of connectivity, spoiling the usual nodes-links-blobs geometrical picture.Comment: LaTeX file, 6 pages, 2 ps figure

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bitstream/item/77143/1/DOC50-2010-Anais-da-II-Jornada-Cientifica.pd

Phage-derived peptidoglycan degrading enzymes: challenges and future prospects for in vivo therapy

Peptidoglycan degrading enzymes are of increasing interest as antibacterial agents, especially against multi-drug resistant pathogens. Herein we present a review about the biological features of virion-associated lysins and endolysins, phage-derived enzymes that have naturally evolved to compromise the bacterial peptidoglycan from without and from within, respectively. These natural features may determine the adaptability of the enzymes to kill bacteria in different environments. Endolysins are by far the most studied group of peptidoglycan-degrading enzymes, with several studies showing that they can exhibit potent antibacterial activity under specific conditions. However, the lytic activity of most endolysins seems to be significantly reduced when tested against actively growing bacteria, something that may be related to fact that these enzymes are naturally designed to degrade the peptidoglycan from within dead cells. This may negatively impact the efficacy of the endolysin in treating some infections in vivo. Here, we present a critical view of the methods commonly used to evaluate in vitro and in vivo the antibacterial performance of PG-degrading enzymes, focusing on the major hurdles concerning in vitro-to-in vivo translation.By the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and the Project PTDC/BBB-BSS/6471/2014 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016678). This work was also supported by BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Hugo Oliveira acknowledges the FCT grant SFRH/BPD/111653/2015.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

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bitstream/CPPSE/18235/1/Documentos79.pdfEditado por Marco Aurélio C.M. Bergamaschi e Patricia Menezes Santo

Stomach cancer incidence in Southern Portugal 1998-2006:a spatio-temporal analysis

Understanding geographical differences in health, particularly in small areas, became a major concern of epidemiologists. Geographical association studies and, more recently, several spatial disease mapping studies have emerged due to the development of new spatial statistical tools. Among other diseases, these methods are being applied to analyze cancer data. However, in this kind of studies, it is of utmost importance to also investigate the influence of temporal variability and that is why spatio-temporal studies became so popular. The aim of this study is to investigate spatial and temporal trends for the incidence of this type of cancer. This retrospective population-based study is based on data on all stomach cancers registered by the Southern Portuguese Cancer Registry (ROR Sul) between 1998 and 2006. Because several studies have underlined the important role of socioeconomic status in cancer risk, information on this variable has also been taken into account. Bayesian hierarchical models were applied to model stomach incidence at a county level and resulting relative risks were used to build risk maps for cancer incidence. Age-Period-Cohort models were also applied.N/

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bitstream/item/84035/1/DOC56-2012.pd