Lipid signalling in grapevine resistance against fungal pathogens

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L) is one of the most economically important crops worldwide, mostly due to its uses for wine and table grape production. However, it is prone to several diseases. Downy and powdery mildews and grey mold, caused by Plasmopara viticola, Erisiphe necator and Botrytis cinerea, respectively, are among the most devastating ones. Disease control strategies include phytochemical applications every growing season, jeopardizing the sustainability of viticulture. Understanding the molecular processes behind disease resistance or susceptibility is vital to define alternative control strategies and select new disease resistance traits for breeding programs. The identification of molecular markers that allow discriminating tolerant and susceptible grapevine genotypes to their pathogens is an important step to help breeders select genotypes for crossings to produce hybrids with good winemaking and disease tolerance traits. Lipids and lipid-derived metabolites are not only major structural and metabolic constituents of the cell, but they also function as modulators of a multitude of signal transduction pathways evoked by biotic stresses. It has been proposed that specific fatty acids (FA) may be involved in plant resistance against pathogens with different colonization strategies (biotroph, hemibiotroph and necrotroph). Previous results indicate that the content of several FA suffers alterations at early time-points after grapevine inoculation with the biotrophic oomycete Plasmopara viticola. These alterations are linked with reactive oxygen species and Jasmonic acid (JA) associated signalling. Moreover, lipid molecules and their derivatives, including JA, when applied externally, can cause a modulation of the lipid and FA signalling mechanisms in a similar manner to the pathogen challenge. Plants that are exposed to these elicitor molecules show a quicker and more intense defence response upon contact with a pathogen. The extracellular matrix (ie apoplast) is the first battlefield where pathogen recognition occurs and secretion of both defence molecules and pathogen effectors take place. Therefore, the apoplast is one of the most important cell compartments in plant-pathogen interaction. Nonetheless, despite our knowledge on apoplast involvement on several processes from cell growth to stress responses, its dynamics is still poorly known due to the lack of efficient extraction processes adequate to each plant system. Because apoplastic fluid extraction from woody plants is a challenging task, studies regarding grapevine apoplast are still scarce to this day. There are two published studies on the grapevine leaf apoplast proteome and none on its metabolome. In this work, the problems raised above were addressed. The analysis of the constitutive lipid and FA composition of tolerant and susceptible grapevine genotypes to P. viticola was carried out, along with the expression analysis of FA desaturase (FAD) genes. These studies allowed to identify lipids and FA as potential biomarkers for tolerance or susceptibility to P. viticola. The saturated FA, mainly in monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and phosphatidyl choline are candidate tolerance biomarkers and the polyunsaturated linoleic acid (C18:2) as well as the plastidial lipids are candidate susceptibility biomarkers. Moreover, the higher expression levels of FAD4, FAD6 and FAD8 in susceptible genotypes suggest that they might also be considered as candidate biomarkers for susceptibility. The analysis of the total leaf FA composition revealed corroborating results in terms of FA saturation degree and FAD expression, and it is a more rapid and less costly approach (discussed in the chapters II and III). Due to the relevance of the JA mediated lipid signalling in the grapevine-P. viticola interaction, another question that raised was whether this mechanism would be conserved in the interaction with other pathogens with different invasion and/or lifestyles. Therefore, the FA modulation events, crucial for JA synthesis and signalling, were also addressed in the grapevine interaction with E. necator (biotroph, invading the plant leaf in the adaxial page from wound apertures) and B. cinerea (necrotroph). While the interaction with the biotrophs may trigger a higher synthesis of polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) at early time-points with a tendency to return to basal levels, the interaction with B. cinerea may trigger a later and more durable induction of PUFA synthesis. In all interactions, membrane fluidity modulation occurred, which may be crucial to maintain cellular function during infection (discussed in chapter IV). Since lipid molecules and JA showed previously to play important roles in the grapevine defence responses to P. viticola, the potential role of this molecule as a FA signalling trigger was studied. In fact, FA modulation after JA elicitation is similar to that described previously after P. viticola inoculation even in a susceptible cultivar, highlighting the potential of this molecule as an alternative to prevent grapevine diseases (discussed in chapter V). To uncover the lipid signalling events of the first moments of plant pathogen interaction, a thorough analysis of the apoplastic fluid is necessary. A new methodological approach to isolate grapevine leaf apoplast compatible with proteomic and lipidomic based studies was defined. The constitutive metabolome was assessed by FTICR-MS, which allowed the identification of 514 unique putative compounds revealing a broad spectrum of molecular classes. Among them, lipids are the most abundant molecular class. This methodology represents an optimization to the existing protocols and opens the way to study the lipid signalling events in the first battlefield of the grapevine-pathogen interaction (discussed in chapter VI). This work allowed to bring us a few steps closer to the complete disclosure of the grapevine lipid mediated defence mechanisms highlighting also candidate molecules to be used in future breeding programs for disease tolerance

The psychological impact of COVID-19 in the general population: A review and reflection in Portuguese Speaking Countries

Despite being a global condition, the COVID-19 pandemic, has differential impacts, expressed in different number of cases, deaths, information, political and cultural issues. We review and summarized the literature related to the pandemic of COVID-19 in Portuguese speaking countries. The goal of our review was: 1) summarize the research that reported the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic disorder, and other indicators of psychological impact in the general population from Portuguese speaking countries, in specific Portugal and Brazil; 2) focus on the COVID-19 related experiences that can be associated with psychological issues; 3) reflect on risk and protective factors that may be associated with psychological distress; and 4) present some reflections about psychological processes that can explain the association between the pandemic and mental health.Resumen A pesar de ser una condición global, la pandemia del COVID-19, tiene impactos diferenciales, manifestados en diferente número de casos, muertes, información, cuestiones políticas y culturales. Resumimos la literatura relacionada con la pandemia de COVID-19 en los países de habla portuguesa. El objetivo de nuestra revisión fue: 1) resumir la investigación que informó la prevalencia de síntomas de ansiedad, depresión, trastorno postraumático y otros indicadores de impacto psicológico en la población general de países de habla portuguesa, en particular Portugal y Brasil; 2) centrarse en las experiencias relacionadas con COVID-19 que pueden asociarse con problemas psicológicos; 3) reflexionar sobre los factores de riesgo y protección que pueden estar asociados con la angustia psicológica; y 4) presentar algunas reflexiones sobre procesos psicológicos que pueden explicar la asociación entre pandemia y salud mental.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Understanding differential stress and mental health reactions to COVID-19 related events

The effects of the pandemic on mental health can be studied through different variables, such as the number of COVID-19 stressors, the stressor types, and the stress responses. Understanding the sources of mental strain is crucial for developing effective interventions. The present study analyzed the relationship between these COVID-19-related variables and positive and negative mental health. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 666 individuals from the Portuguese general population, mostly females (65.5%) between 16–93 years old. They completed self-report measures regarding the number of COVID-19 stressors, the stressor types, the stress responses (IES-R), and positive (MHC-SF) and negative mental health (BSI-18). The results demonstrated that a higher number of COVID-19-experienced stressors and more stress responses were related to worse mental health. Regarding stressor types, experiences not related to the COVID-19 infection (e.g., tension at home) presented the largest effects on mental health. The strongest predictor was the stress responses for negative (β = 0.50) and positive mental health (β = −0.17). The predictors explained more about negative mental health than positive. These findings support the idea that individual appraisals play a crucial role in mental health.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Arquitetura, imagem e cenografia

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Arquitectura, apresentada ao Departamento de Arquitectura da F. C. T. da Univ. de Coimbra.O tema dos regimes políticos totalitários que aparecem na Europa no início do século XX é sempre um tema sensível e difícil de abordar tendo em conta os problemas sociais e humanos que causaram no desenvolvimento da sociedade. O envolvimento emocional com o tema acaba por ser um pouco inevitável mesmo para quem não viveu essas épocas diretamente. É praticamente impossível exigir uma imparcialidade ao analisar algum tema relacionado com esta área de estudo. Mas é precisamente por esta carga emocional existir que tantos estudos relativos aos diferentes casos foram feitos, este incluído. Estes momentos “negros” da história permitiram, no entanto, situações interessantes do ponto de vista da investigação. Ignorando questões de qualidade ou legitimidade moral, estas experiências sociais acabaram por fornecer elementos de estudo importantes mais não seja para uma questão de prevenção para que não se voltem a repetir. E o caso da arquitetura não é diferente. Num momento de revolução e inovação arquitectónicas muito importante no contexto europeu, o esforço por parte destes regimes em travá-lo é enorme. E todos eles, de uma forma ou de outra, o tentaram fazer. O caso português não é diferente neste aspecto mas é diferente em muitos outros. A política do Estado Novo era mais fechada dentro de fronteiras e não havia uma política de expansão mas sim de conservação das conquistas antigas. E era isto que se procurava transmitir para a arquitetura, quando se descobre – a par dos restantes regimes totalitários europeus – que esta era um excelente instrumento de propaganda e de propagação de uma imagem de Estado. Existem algumas linhas em comum com os outros regimes como a monumentalidade, o gosto pelo clássico e a conciliação da modernidade com a tradição, mas o confiar numa iconografia do imaginário da história de Portugal era a forma de garantir que a arquitetura que aqui se faria era mesmo portuguesa. E se eram as imagens que se criam para o Estado Novo o derradeiro objectivo, não só como educação de uma população mas também como o assegurar da permanência de sua imagem na história, então serão essas imagens que serão aqui estudadas. Então, não haverá melhor forma de estudar que imagens se pretendiam realmente transpor do que se se tomar como objecto de estudo a Exposição do Mundo Português de 1940. Esta exposição acaba por ser não só a derradeira manifestação da arquitetura que o Estado Novo pretendia que fosse sua mas também o melhor exemplo de quais eram realmente os valores e ideologias que pretendiam que essa arquitetura contivesse. Para isto, não se analisa a arquitetura só a partir dos desenhos de seus autores, dos discursos de quem se encontrava no poder e das opiniões mais ou menos emocionais dos arquitetos ou historiadores, tanto dos que vivem como dos que não vivem esta época. Procura-se fazer esta análise também recorrendo ao estudo das fotografias que dela foram tiradas pelo observador - ou fotógrafo - comum, para quem ela realmente foi construída. Sendo assim, o trabalho separa-se em dois capítulos, um de contextualização e outro de análise. O primeiro procura fazer a contextualização tanto da época que se vive, em termos políticos e sociais, no panorama europeu e no caso português em particular. O seu primeiro subcapítulo trata o tema da ditadura, arquitetura e propaganda procurando referir as diferentes formas como estes três temas se relacionam entre si no início do século XX. O segundo subcapítulo procura trazer algumas bases para a questão da relação entre os edifícios e o poder, referindo alguns estudos sobre a questão da carga simbólica que estes podem conter e sua influência em termos sociais. O terceiro, e último, subcapítulo tem o objectivo de fornecer um contexto acerca da Exposição do Mundo Português de 1940, o principal caso de estudo. O segundo capítulo procura então analisar as tais imagens como fonte de informação não só sobre as intenções do Estado para a Exposição e sua arquitetura mas também sobre o cunho pessoal que o arquiteto lhes transmite mais ou menos de acordo com as orientações estabelecidas pelo programa. Este está dividido em dois grandes subcapítulos, um sobre os estilismos portuguesistas e outro sobre os estrangeirismos vanguardistas. Cada um destes capítulos oferece dois casos de estudo da própria Exposição do Mundo Português e outro caso paralelo mas igualmente pertinente para consolidação das ideias chave. O primeiro analisa os exemplos mais historicistas do Pavilhão de Honra e de Lisboa de Cristino da Silva, do Núcleo das Aldeias Portuguesas de Jorge Segurado e do Portugal dos Pequenitos em Coimbra de Cassiano Branco. Já o segundo analisa o Pavilhão dos Portugueses no Mundo e a Porta da Fundação de Cotinelli Telmo, e o Pavilhão de Portugal na Exposição de Paris de 1937 de Keil do Amaral. Este estudo procura, assim, entender de que forma são escolhidas pelo Estado Novo as linguagens ou estilos arquitectónicos a representá-lo, sendo que estes dependem diretamente do intuito do edifício e do programa do mesmo

SoResilere—A Social Resilience Index Applied to Portuguese Flood Disaster-Affected Municipalities

Decades of academic discussion on social resilience have led to the development of indicators, indexes, and different approaches to assessing it at national and local levels. The need to show real-world applications of such assessments is evident since resilience became a political and disaster risk reduction governance component. This article gives a full description of the methodology used to develop SoResilere, a new social resilience index applied to flood disaster-affected Portuguese municipalities. Study cases were selected according to historical databases, academic sources and governmental entities. Statistical methods for data dimension reduction, such as Factor Analysis (through Principal Component Analysis), were applied to the quantitative data and Optimal Scaling to the categorical data. SoResilere results were analyzed. Since SoResilere is a new tool, component weighting was applied to compare results with no weighting, although it did not affect the SoResilere status in 55.5% of the study cases. There is a tendency to look at the improvement of SoResilere results with component weighting due mainly to the quantitative subindex. There is no evidence of the benefits of component weighting, as no logical association or spatial pattern was found to support SoResilere status improvement in 22.22% of the study cases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Representations of depression and schizophrenia in the community: The role of illness and risk perceptions on help-seeking intentions

Illness perceptions (IPs) are important in understanding human reactions to illnesses, including mental health disorders. They influence risk perceptions and several variables relevant to the adjustment to a disorder, treatment seeking, and health outcomes. This study sought to compare IP, risk perception, and help-seeking intention for depression and schizophrenia in a community sample and to assess the mediating role of risk perception in the relationship between IP and help-seeking intention. A total of 380 adults participated in this study and filled out self-report measures of IPs, risk perceptions, and help-seeking intention. The previous diagnosis of depression was used to control the comparisons between the two disorders. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the mediation relationship. Perceived consequences, expected timeline, lack of personal control, and symptom identity were higher for schizophrenia, while lack of treatment control and concern were higher for depression. An interaction occurred with a previous diagnosis of depression for several dimensions of IP. Concerning the SEM, a valid model was obtained for depression, explaining 15.5% of help-seeking intentions, but not for schizophrenia. The results show that the general population represents depression and schizophrenia differently. These representations are influenced by having experienced depression, and that illness and risk perceptions contribute to explaining the intention to seek help. Considering these illness representations makes it possible to understand the general population’s emotional and cognitive reactions to mental health disorders

Representations of depression and schizophrenia in the community: The role of illness and risk perceptions on help-seeking intentions

Objective: Illness perceptions (IPs) are important in understanding human reactions to illnesses, including mental health disorders. They influence risk perceptions and several variables relevant to the adjustment to a disorder, treatment seeking, and health outcomes. This study sought to compare IP, risk perception, and help-seeking intention for depression and schizophrenia in a community sample and to assess the mediating role of risk perception in the relationship between IP and help-seeking intention. Materials and methods: A total of 380 adults participated in this study and filled out self-report measures of IPs, risk perceptions, and help-seeking intention. The previous diagnosis of depression was used to control the comparisons between the two disorders. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the mediation relationship. Results: Perceived consequences, expected timeline, lack of personal control, and symptom identity were higher for schizophrenia, while lack of treatment control and concern were higher for depression. An interaction occurred with a previous diagnosis of depression for several dimensions of IP. Concerning the SEM, a valid model was obtained for depression, explaining 15.5% of helpseeking intentions, but not for schizophrenia. Conclusion: The results show that the general population represents depression and schizophrenia differently. These representations are influenced by having experienced depression, and that illness and risk perceptions contribute to explaining the intention to seek help. Considering these illness representations makes it possible to understand the general population’s emotional and cognitive reactions to mental health disorders.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Representations of depression and schizophrenia in the community: The role of illness and risk perceptions on help-seeking intentions

ObjectiveIllness perceptions (IPs) are important in understanding human reactions to illnesses, including mental health disorders. They influence risk perceptions and several variables relevant to the adjustment to a disorder, treatment seeking, and health outcomes. This study sought to compare IP, risk perception, and help-seeking intention for depression and schizophrenia in a community sample and to assess the mediating role of risk perception in the relationship between IP and help-seeking intention.Materials and methodsA total of 380 adults participated in this study and filled out self-report measures of IPs, risk perceptions, and help-seeking intention. The previous diagnosis of depression was used to control the comparisons between the two disorders. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the mediation relationship.ResultsPerceived consequences, expected timeline, lack of personal control, and symptom identity were higher for schizophrenia, while lack of treatment control and concern were higher for depression. An interaction occurred with a previous diagnosis of depression for several dimensions of IP. Concerning the SEM, a valid model was obtained for depression, explaining 15.5% of help-seeking intentions, but not for schizophrenia.ConclusionThe results show that the general population represents depression and schizophrenia differently. These representations are influenced by having experienced depression, and that illness and risk perceptions contribute to explaining the intention to seek help. Considering these illness representations makes it possible to understand the general population’s emotional and cognitive reactions to mental health disorders