Pseudomonas putida KT2440 is naturally endowed to withstand industrial-scale stress conditions

Pseudomonas putida is recognized as a very promising strain for industrial application due to its high redox capacity and frequently observed tolerance towards organic solvents. In this research, we studied the metabolic and transcriptional response of P. putida KT2440 exposed to large-scale heterogeneous mixing conditions in the form of repeated glucose shortage. Cellular responses were mimicked in an experimental setup comprising a stirred tank reactor and a connected plug flow reactor. We deciphered that a stringent response-like transcriptional regulation programme is frequently induced, which seems to be linked to the intracellular pool of 3-hydroxyalkanoates (3-HA) that are known to serve as precursors for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). To be precise, P. putida is endowed with a survival strategy likely to access cellular PHA, amino acids and glycogen in few seconds under glucose starvation to obtain ATP from respiration, thereby replenishing the reduced ATP levels and the adenylate energy charge. Notably, cells only need 0.4% of glucose uptake to build those 3-HA-based energy buffers. Concomitantly, genes that are related to amino acid catabolism and β-oxidation are upregulated during the transient absence of glucose. Furthermore, we provide a detailed list of transcriptional short- and long-term responses that increase the cellular maintenance by about 17% under the industrial-like conditions tested.publishersversionpublishe

Teacher training for professional and technological education

As pesquisas e discussões em formação de professores assumem importância por se constituírem preocupação constante das políticas públicas, programas, planos de Governo e reformas educacionais. O reconhecimento de que a formação de professores se articula com o desenvolvimento profissional e favorece a melhoria da educação é proclamado por inúmeros pesquisadores, o que exige a permanente reflexão e divulgação das pesquisas realizadas. Esse dossiê ao eleger como tema “A formação de professores para a educação profissional e tecnológica” se soma ao movimento de debates, análises e ponderações e possibilidades da formação docente para essa modalidade educativa. A proposta desse Dossiê é gerada diante da expansão da oferta de Educação Profissional e Tecnológica - EPT, especialmente a partir da implantação dos Institutos Federais, que ampliaram a oferta de cursos desde a formação inicial até a pós- graduação. Com efeito, a preocupação com a formação dos professores para atuar em EPT é uma questão central no exame de sua configuração pedagógica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The 3’-5’ exoribonuclease Dis3 regulates the expression of specific microRNAs in Drosophila wing imaginal discs

Dis3 is a highly conserved exoribonuclease which degrades RNAs in the 3'-5' direction. Mutations in Dis3 are associated with a number of human cancers including multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukaemia. In this work, we have assessed the effect of a Dis3 knockdown on Drosophila imaginal disc development and on expression of mature microRNAs. We find that Dis3 knockdown severely disrupts the development of wing imaginal discs in that the flies have a "no wing" phenotype. Use of RNA-seq to quantify the effect of Dis3 knockdown on microRNA expression shows that Dis3 normally regulates a small subset of microRNAs, with only 11 (10.1%) increasing in level > 2-fold and 6 (5.5%) decreasing in level >2-fold. Of these microRNAs, miR-252-5p is increased 2.1-fold in Dis3-depleted cells compared to controls while the level of the miR-252 precursor is unchanged, suggesting that Dis3 can act in the cytoplasm to specifically degrade this mature miRNA. Furthermore, our experiments suggest that Dis3 normally interacts with the exosomal subunit Rrp40 in the cytoplasm to target miR-252-5p for degradation during normal wing development. Another microRNA, miR-982-5p, is expressed at lower levels in Dis3 knockdown cells, while the miR-982 precursor remains unchanged, indicating that Dis3 is involved in its processing. Our study therefore reveals an unexpected specificity for this ribonuclease towards microRNA regulation, which is likely to be conserved in other eukaryotes and may be relevant to understanding its role in human disease

Experimental supporting data on DIS3L2 over nonsense-mediated mRNA decay targets in human cells

In this article, we present supportive data related to the research article “A role for DIS3L2 over natural nonsense-mediated mRNA decay targets in human cells” [1], where interpretation of the data presented here is available. Indeed, here we analyze the impact of the DIS3L2 exoribonuclease over nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD)-targets. Specifically, we present data on: a) the expression of various reporter human β-globin mRNAs, monitored by Northern blot and RT-qPCR, before and after altering DIS3L2 levels in HeLa cells, and b) the gene expression levels of deregulated transcripts generated by re-analyzing publicly available data from UPF1-depleted HeLa cells that were further cross-referenced with a dataset of transcripts upregulated in DIS3L2-depleted cells. These analyses revealed that DIS3L2 regulates the levels of a subset of NMD-targets. These data can be valuable for researchers interested in the NMD mechanism.This work was partially supported by Fundação para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) (PTFC/BIM-MEC/3749/2014 to LR and UID/MULTI/04046/2013 to BioISI). PJdC, HAS and JFG-M are recipients of a fellowship from BioSys PhD programme (SFRH/BD/52495/2014, SFRH/BD/52492/2014, and PD/BD/ 142898/2018, respectively) and JM is a postdoctoral fellow (SFRH/BPD/98360/2013) from FCT. Work at ITQB-NOVA was financially supported by: Project LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007660 funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and by FCT funds: PTDC/BIA-MIC/1399/2014 to CMA and PTFC/BIM-MEC/3749/2014 to SCV. SCV was financed by program IF of FCT (IF/00217/2015). MS was financed by an FCT contract according to DL57/2016 [SFRH/BPD/109464/2015]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nutritional characterization of Strychnos madagascariensis fruit flour produced by Mozambican communities and evaluation of Its contribution to nutrient adequacy

The indigenous fruit Strychnos madagascariensis is usually processed to flour, called nfuma, being highly consumed during staple food shortage. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional composition of nfuma and its nutrient adequacy. Flours from four districts of Mozambique were analyzed using AOAC methods for proximate composition, HPLC for sugar, amino acids (AA), vitamin E and carotenoids and ICP-MS and FAAS for minerals. The results showed that nfuma stands out for its high content of fat (26.3–27.8%), mainly oleic acid, fiber (>6%), vitamin E (6.7 to 8.0 mg/100 g) and carotenes (2.2 to 2.6 mg/100 g). The main amino acids of nfuma protein were Arg, Asp and Glu, and Lys was the limiting one. The mineral composition reveals K (~1200 to 1700 mg/100 g) as the main macromineral followed by Mg > Ca > Na. The main trace element was Mn (~4 mg/100 g) followed by Fe > Zn > Cu > Cr > Co. Aluminum (~3 mg/100 g) was the main non-essential element and Rb, Ni, Sr, Ba, V, Cd were also quantified. Assuming the daily consumption of 50 g, nfuma provides 82% of Vitamin A dietary reference value for toddlers, while the consumption of 100 g contributes to 132% and 60% of Mn and vitamin A DRV for adults, respectively. Despite the nutritional advantages of nfuma, this flour can be a source of Ni, highlighting the importance of the study of good practices in its preparation to decrease the exposure to non-essential elements.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Is the air we breathe while sleeping conditioning our sleep quality?

Human exposure to air pollution: high variability of air pollutants concentration within a city; people spend more than 90% of their time in indoor environments; high variability of patterns of spaces’ occupation within the population. What do we know now? Sleep has a vital role in human welfare; low ventilation rates; breathing area closer to potential sources of pollutants; lack of studies about exposure during sleep. Why sleep matters – the economic costs of insufficient sleep: sleep has an overall impact on the countries’ richness; lower productivity levels and higher mortality risks related to insufficient sleep can result in substantial economic losses to modern economies; insufficient sleep among its populations cost the 5 OECD countries under consideration (USA, UK, Japan, Germany and Canada) up to $680 billion of economic output lost every year. The aim of this study: Do indoor air quality influences sleep quality?info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Regulation of the small regulatory RNA MicA by ribonuclease III: a target-dependent pathway

MicA is a trans-encoded small non-coding RNA, which downregulates porin-expression in stationary-phase. In this work, we focus on the role of endoribonucleases III and E on Salmonella typhimurium sRNA MicA regulation. RNase III is shown to regulate MicA in a target-coupled way, while RNase E is responsible for the control of free MicA levels in the cell. We purified both Salmonella enzymes and demonstrated that in vitro RNase III is only active over MicA when in complex with its targets (whether ompA or lamB mRNAs). In vivo, MicA is demonstrated to be cleaved by RNase III in a coupled way with ompA mRNA. On the other hand, RNase E is able to cleave unpaired MicA and does not show a marked dependence on its 5′ phosphorylation state. The main conclusion of this work is the existence of two independent pathways for MicA turnover. Each pathway involves a distinct endoribonuclease, having a different role in the context of the fine-tuned regulation of porin levels. Cleavage of MicA by RNase III in a target-dependent fashion, with the concomitant decay of the mRNA target, strongly resembles the eukaryotic RNAi system, where RNase III-like enzymes play a pivotal role

Impacto da qualidade do ar interior nos parâmetros cardiorrespiratórios durante o sono

Projeto IPL/2017/E2SLEEP/ESTeSL/711030Os efeitos da poluição ambiental na saúde estão amplamente documentados, havendo evidências dos efeitos a longo e a curto prazo que se relacionam com maiores taxas de morbilidade e mortalidade, principalmente de causa cardiovascular e respiratória. No entanto, as evidências sobre os efeitos da qualidade do ar interior (QAI) no sono são ainda limitadas. Durante o sono NREM e REM existem diferentes mediadores ao nível da função autonómica, podendo conduzir a características distintas ao nível da frequência cardíaca (FC), respiratória (FR) e pressão arterial. O presente estudo tem o objetivo de avaliar a existência de correlações entre determinados parâmetros cardiorrespiratórios durante o sono e a QAI.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Será a estrutura do sono vulnerável a contaminantes microbiológicos do ar interior?

Projeto IPL/2017/E2SLEEP/ESTeSL/711030Os humanos passam um terço da sua vida a dormir, sendo do conhecimento geral que o sono desempenha um papel fundamental no bem-estar e desempenho físico e cognitivo. Nas últimas décadas, o estudo do impacto da qualidade do ar interior (QAI) na saúde dos ocupantes tem aumentado significativamente, porém, a investigação nesta área tem sido direcionada principalmente para microambientes onde os indivíduos realizam as suas atividades durante o dia. Apesar de limitadas, existem algumas evidências relacionadas com o impacto da QAI nalguns parâmetros do sono, no entanto, estudos com uma caracterização abrangente dos contaminantes ambientais, nomeadamente microbiológicos, são ainda inexistentes. O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos da exposição microbiológica na estrutura do sono.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio