Pt-mBRCN/MIRRI-PT: Aims and benefits for the portuguese culture collections

Microbial Culture Collections (CCs) are biobanks that preserve and provide microorganisms to the user communities. In the Portuguese landscape, CCs differ considerably regarding size, taxonomic target group, level of organization and implemented quality management systems. Since 2017, the CCs have been working together in the Portuguese microbiological Resource Centre Network (Pt-mBRCN), which was recognised as the Portuguese MIRRI node of the ESFRI Landmark MIRRI in June 2020, to promote a common voice, share experience and foster cooperation. As part of its operation, Pt-mBRCN/MIRRI- PT aims to guarantee the quality of its microbial holdings and associated data, and to implement common procedures and quality management systems to mitigate the current resource/data fragmentation microbial resources. To accomplish these objectives, a strong investment in dedicated human resources and cutting edges technologies is required, which can be partly achieved through competitive funding, such as MIRRI-PT-Polo Norte project. An example of activities within Pt-mBRCN is the collaboration between Micoteca da Universidade do Minho (MUM) and Azorean Regional Veterinary Laboratory Micoteca (LRV-Micoteca). This is providing conditions to accelerate LRV-Micoteca strains requalification process and catalogue improvement, allowing a faster development and establishment of this emerging CC, paving the future to implement ISO 17025 accreditation system.This work was supported by the European Unions Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme, under the Grant Agreement no 871129. This publication reflects only the authors view and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.This study was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit, and by LABBELS Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechnaical Systems, LA/P/0029/2020, and of MIRRI-PT (Pólo Norte) project (PINFRA04/84445/2020) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

FIRST RECORD OF TWIN FETUSES OF SOUTH AMERICAN SEA LION IN THE SOUTHERN BRAZILIAN COAST

We report the first known occurrence of South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) twins for the South American coast. In January 2021 a female pregnant with dizygotic male and female fetuses was found dead in southern Brazil. The timing of the stranding event suggests that the pregnancy was near-term. However, the total body length and weight of fetuses suggested poor development and growth, which could be due to the advanced age of the mother and/or poor nutrition of the individual during pregnancy. The female fetus was larger and heavier than the male and could have been implanted and developed earlier

PROJETO DE MONITORIA DA DISCIPLINA FUNDIÇÃO DA FACULDADE DE ENGENHARIA DE MATERIAIS.

O Curso de Engenharia de Materiais da Unifesspa tem como base a formação generalista do engenheiro, a ênfase nas três grandes áreas: Metais, Cerâmica e Polímeros. Todas estas áreas se apresentam contempladas plenamente no currículo do curso, com atividades didáticas teóricas e práticas, com objetivo de dar ao aluno uma visão bem completa da atividade profissional do Engenheiro de Materiais. Existe uma preocupação, por partes dos docentes do curso, em promover a maior quantidade possível de atividades práticas, principalmente as desenvolvidas nos diversos laboratórios do curso, no sentido de mostrar aos alunos grande parte das atividades que estes deverão exercer após sua formação. A área de Metalurgia constitui-se de um dos principais campos de atuação do Engenheiro de Materiais, devido à sua grande diversidade de produtos gerados, bem como a versatilidade de implementação de projetos industriais ligados à transformação, processamento e produção de materiais metálico, ferrosos e não ferrosos. Devido a esta situação, o curso de Engenharia de Materiais, além das atividades didáticas curriculares, mantém um grupo de pesquisa e extensão ligados à área de metalurgia, com intuito de formar engenheiros que possam atuar plenamente nas indústrias do setor metal-mecânico, à nível regional e nacional. A disciplina de Fundição tem, além de seu conteúdo teórico, uma extensa carga horária prática, na qual são desenvolvidas atividades laboratoriais de processamento, transformação e caracterização de materiais metálicos diversos, tais como ligas ferrosas (aços e ferros fundidos), ligas de alumínio, cobre, zinco, entre outras. Para tanto, existe a necessidade de auxílio durante estas atividades práticas, para que todas as atividades sejam inteiramente compreendidas e bem executas pelos alunos. Assim, o objetivo do presente projeto é solicitar a implementação de duas bolsas para monitores, para que estes possam auxiliar nas aulas práticas da disciplina de Fundição do Curso de Engenharia de Materiais

OS CASOS “GOMES LUND” E “HERZOG” NA DITADURA MILITAR: dialógo entre cortes ou reforço da supremacia judicial interna?

A partir da ideia de um diálogo a ser exercido entre o âmbito interno e externo, especialmente entre o Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) e a Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos (Corte IDH), em se tratando do Brasil, questiona-se: diante dos casos “Gomes Lund” e “Herzog”, versus Brasil, é possível afirmar a (in)existência de uma abertura ao diálogo jurisdicional por parte do STF, com relação à Corte IDH? Assim, utiliza-se o método hipotético-dedutivo e objetiva-se, num primeiro momento, abordar a lógica de funcionamento do Sistema Interamericano, para, então, apontar os aspectos essenciais referentes às teorias que sustentam diálogos jurisdicionais, e, por fim, analisar se há, ou não, uma abertura ao diálogo com a Corte IDH, por parte do STF, a partir dos casos “Gomes Lund” e “Herzog”. É possível afirmar, diante da análise realizada, que o STF vem reforçando uma supremacia judicial interna, não mostrando-se aberto ao diálogo jurisdicional, sustentado argumentativamente

Enhanced solar driven photocatalytic removal of antibiotics from aquaculture effluents by TiO2/carbon quantum dot composites

Aquaculture exploitation is associated with the consumption of antibiotics, such as sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and trimethoprim (TMP), the latter two being also vastly used to treat bacterial infections in humans. Consequently, and given that aquaculture wastewater treatments are not actually designed for the removal of antibiotics, they are ubiquitous in aquaculture effluents, which sets the risk of bacterial resistance. To face the need for an efficient and sustainable treatment to remove these antibiotics from the referred effluents, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were produced, incorporated into titanium dioxide (TiO2), and evaluated for solar driven photodegradation of SDZ, SMX and TMP. Eleven different materials were synthesized and tested for their photocatalytic activity in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) and synthetic sea salts (SSS), used as synthetic matrices to simulate fresh and brackish water, respectively. Upon selection of the most efficient photocatalyst for each antibiotic and matrix, kinetic results demonstrated that its use allowed for remarkable reductions of SDZ, SMX and TMP half-life times (t1/2) in both matrices (between 19 and 68 times). Therefore, the application of the here synthesized photocatalysts for the advanced treatment of aquaculture effluents is promising, allowing for a green solar driven removal of antibiotics.publishe

Characterization and control of oocyte large-scale chromatin configuration in different cattle breeds.

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-11T01:57:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-01-01 Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Differences in reproductive physiology between cattle breeds may help to explain distinct responses to assisted reproductive techniques and to define breed-specific protocols with improved efficiency. Germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes are characterized by increasing levels of chromatin compaction enclosed within the nucleus (graded from GV0 to GV3), associated with different developmental competence. The first objective of this study was to characterize chromatin configuration of GV stage oocytes recovered by OPU at random days of the estrous cycle from Nelore (Bos indices) and Holstein (Bos taurus) cows. In Nelore 90% of the oocytes presented advanced stages of chromatin compaction associated with higher developmental competence (GV2 and GV3), while in Holstein, only 65% of the oocytes were at these stages. Then, aiming to obtain a more homogeneous population of oocytes in Holstein, we tested two synchronization protocols combining aspiration of all visible follicles at a random day (day 0), two IM injections of FSH 12 h apart on day 2, and OPU on day 4 (OPU/D4) or 5 (OPU/D5). The protocol OPU/D4 provided around 45% of the oocytes with low chromatin compaction (GV1), while the protocol OPU/D5 provided 70% of the oocytes at GV2 and 20% at GV3. Finally, we assessed the effects of a culture system known to prevent meiotic resumption on chromatin configuration of the GV2 enriched oocyte population obtained with the protocol OPU/D5. After 9 h of culture most oocytes transited from GV2 to GV3, with 90% of the oocytes at GV3 stage. This study demonstrates differences between Nelore and Holstein cows regarding patterns of chromatin configuration that may account for their different performance in IVM/IVF. In addition, it provides novel references for the design of protocols aiming to regulate oocyte quality before IVM for the optimization of IVF outcomes. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Sao Paulo State Univ, Inst Biosci, Dept Physiol, Ovarian Mol Physiol Lab, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Anim Reprod, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Milan, Dept Hlth Anim Sci & Food Safety, Reprod & Dev Biol Lab, Milan, Italy Sao Paulo State Univ, Inst Biosci, Dept Physiol, Ovarian Mol Physiol Lab, Sao Paulo, Brazil CAPES: 001 FAPESP: 2017/07588-4 FAPESP: 2016/21671-

In Vivo Biodistribution of Respirable Solid Lipid Nanoparticles Surface-Decorated with a Mannose-Based Surfactant: A Promising Tool for Pulmonary Tuberculosis Treatment?

The active targeting to alveolar macrophages (AM) is an attractive strategy to improve the therapeutic efficacy of ‘old’ drugs currently used in clinical practice for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. Previous studies highlighted the ability of respirable solid lipid nanoparticle assemblies (SLNas), loaded with rifampicin (RIF) and functionalized with a novel synthesized mannose-based surfactant (MS), both alone and in a blend with sodium taurocholate, to efficiently target the AM via mannose receptor-mediated mechanism. Here, we present the in vivo biodistribution of these mannosylated SLNas, in comparison with the behavior of both non-functionalized SLNas and bare RIF. SLNas biodistribution was assessed, after intratracheal instillation in mice, by whole-body real-time fluorescence imaging in living animals and RIF quantification in excised organs and plasma. Additionally, SLNas cell uptake was determined by using fluorescence microscopy on AM from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and alveolar epithelium from lung dissections. Finally, histopathological evaluation was performed on lungs 24 h after administration. SLNas functionalized with MS alone generated the highest retention in lungs associated with a poor spreading in extra-pulmonary regions. This effect could be probably due to a greater AM phagocytosis with respect to SLNas devoid of mannose on their surface. The results obtained pointed out the unique ability of the nanoparticle surface decoration to provide a potential more efficient treatment restricted to the lungs where the primary tuberculosis infection is located

Estratégias para sair de si ou de que vida se trata? : Aula online de atuação em tempo de pandemia

Abstract: The article analyzes pedagogical practices carried out at the university, in acting classes, in a remote environment, during the pandemic. Students were invited to reflect on the attentional regimes most operative in contemporary society and investigate, in their homes and everyday spaces, a different perception regime structured around silence, pause, dilated time, and getting out of oneself and moving towards others. The individual creative experiences born in this new attentional environment were collectively analyzed, transforming the classroom into a laboratory where art appeared as a propitious place to imagine other worlds, less violent, individualistic, and anthropocentric.El artículo analiza las prácticas pedagógicas realizadas en la universidad, en clases de actuación escénica, en un entorno online, durante el período de la pandemia. Se invitó a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre los regímenes atencionales más operativos en la sociedad contemporánea, e investigar, en sus hogares y espacios cotidianos, un régimen de percepción diferente, estructurado en torno al silencio, la pausa, la prolongación del tiempo y la salida de sí mismo en dirección a los demás. Las experiencias creativas individuales generadas en este nuevo entorno atencional fueron analizadas colectivamente, transformando la clase en laboratorio donde el arte apareció como un lugar propicio a la imaginación de otros mundos menos violentos, individualistas y antropocéntricos.O artigo analisa práticas pedagógicas realizadas na universidade, em aulas de atuação cênica, em ambiente remoto, no período pandêmico. Os estudantes foram convidados a refletir sobre os regimes atencionais mais operantes na sociedade contemporânea, e a investigar, em suas casas e espaços cotidianos, um regime de percepção outro, estruturado em torno do silêncio, da paragem, do alargamento do tempo e da saída de si mesmo na direção dos outros. As experiências criativas individuais gestadas nesse novo ambiente atencional foram analisadas coletivamente, transformando a sala de aula em um laboratório onde a arte se apresentava como um lugar propício à imaginação de mundos outros, menos violentos, individualistas e antropocentrados