On the occurrence of Mesophyllum expansum (Philippi) Cabioch et Mendoza (Melobesioideae, Corallinales, Rhodophyta) in the Mediterranean, the Canary Isles and the Azores.

Copyright © 2010 by Walter de Gruyter.We reviewed literature records, examined herbarium specimens and studied new collections referred to as Mesophyllum lichenoides from the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, and report for the first time the presence of Mesophyllum expansum in the Canaries and the Azores. Both gametophytes and tetrasporophytes of M. expansum occur in the Canaries, while we found only tetrasporophytes (and sterile thalli) of the species in all other regions. We further consider the presence of M. lichenoides further south than Atlantic France in need of confirmation. A comparative study between these two species points to the number of rosette cells as the most reliable and easily diagnosed character, M. expansum most often having 911 and M. lichenoides 68 cells

Chitosan in nanostructured thin films

This review paper brings an overview of the use of chitosans in nanostructured films produced with the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) or the electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) techniques, with emphasis on their possible applications. From a survey in the literature one may identify three main types of study with chitosan in nanostructured films. First, the interaction between chitosans and phospholipid Langmuir monolayers has been\ud investigated for probing the mechanisms of chitosan action in their biological applications, with the monolayers serving as cell membrane models. In the second type, chitosan serves as a matrix for immobilization of biomolecules in LB as well as in LbL films, for which chitosan is suitable to help preserve the bioactivity of such biomolecules\ud for long periods of time even in dry, solid films. An important application of these chitosan-containing films is in sensing and biosensing. The third type of study involves exploiting the mechanical and biocompatibility properties of chitosan in producing films with enhanced properties, for example, for tissue engineering. It is emphasized\ud that chitosans have been proven excellent building blocks to produce films with controlled molecular architecture, allowing for synergy between distinct materials. We also discuss the prospects of the field, following a critical review of the latest developments in nanostructured chitosan films.FAPESPCNPqCAPE

On the concepts of complex networks to quantify the difficulty in finding the way out of labyrinths

Labyrinths have been a tradition and part of the imagination of the human kind for centuries, and were probably built either as a challenge to make it difficult for someone to find the way out, or for aesthetic purposes. They are conventionally classified according to the country they were built, to the style (Roman, classic and contemporary) or to the construction site. In this study, we show that labyrinths can be modeled as complex networks, whose metrics can be used to classify them in terms of their difficulty to find the way out. This is performed by calculating the absorption time, defined as the time it takes for a particle on an internal node to reach an output node through a random walk. The absorption time correlates well with the shortest paths and length of the networks, as expected, and has a very high correlation (Pearson coefficient of 0.97) with the betweenness, therefore allowing one to quantify the level of complexity of any labyrinth. It is shown that the conventional classification is inappropriate to distinguish between labyrinths, because some with very similar properties exist in different countries or were built in distinct time periods. A refined analysis in 77 famous labyrinths indicated that the majority were built for aesthetic purposes, with relatively small absorption times. Furthermore, with the expectation maximization algorithm, we could combine the complex network metrics to identify four clusters of labyrinths that differ in terms of density and shape.FAPESP (10/00927-9, 05/00587-5)CNPq (301303/06-1

Exploiting cascade reaction in bienzyme layer-by-layer films

Control of supramolecular architectures inherent in layer-by-layer (LbL) films allows for synergistic effects between the film components, as in reactions under controlled conditions. In this paper we show that a bienzyme system can be produced in LbL films, in which the product of a reaction catalyzed by invertase (INV) is used in a catalysis process involving glucose oxidase (GOx). As a proof of principle, simultaneous detection of glucose and sucrose is demonstrated for an optimized film architecture comprising poly allyllamine hydrochloride (PAH) alternated with INV + GOx layers (PAH/(GOx + INV))10. Though the sensitivity for sucrose is low because the product from the reaction with invertase has low electroactivity, the results confirm that cascade reactions can be performed in a controlled manner in LbL films with possible applications in sensors and bioelectrochemical devices.FAPESPCNPqCAPESnBioNet Films & Sensor

On the use of topological features and hierarchical characterization for disambiguating names in collaborative networks

Many features of complex systems can now be unveiled by applying statistical physics methods to treat them as social networks. The power of the analysis may be limited, however, by the presence of ambiguity in names, e.g., caused by homonymy in collaborative networks. In this paper we show that the ability to distinguish between homonymous authors is enhanced when longer-distance connections are considered, rather than looking at only the immediate neighbors of a node in the collaborative network. Optimized results were obtained upon using the 3rd hierarchy in connections. Furthermore, reasonable distinction among authors could also be achieved upon using pattern recognition strategies for the data generated from the topology of the collaborative network. These results were obtained with a network from papers in the arXiv repository, into which homonymy was deliberately introduced to test the methods with a controlled, reliable dataset. In all cases, several methods of supervised and unsupervised machine learning were used, leading to the same overall results. The suitability of using deeper hierarchies and network topology was confirmed with a real database of movie actors, with the additional finding that the distinguishing ability can be further enhanced by combining topology features and long-range connections in the collaborative network.CNPqFAPES

Visualization of protein folding funnels in lattice models

Protein folding occurs in a very high dimensional phase space with an exponentially large number of states, and according to the energy landscape theory it exhibits a topology resembling a funnel. In this statistical approach, the folding mechanism is unveiled by describing the local minima in an effective one-dimensional representation. Other approaches based on potential energy landscapes address the hierarchical structure of local energy minima through disconnectivity graphs. In this paper, we introduce a metric to describe the distance between any two conformations, which also allows us to go beyond the one-dimensional representation and visualize the folding funnel in 2D and 3D. In this way it is possible to assess the folding process in detail, e.g., by identifying the connectivity between conformations and establishing the paths to reach the native state, in addition to regions where trapping may occur. Unlike the disconnectivity maps method, which is based on the kinetic connections between states, our methodology is based on structural similarities inferred from the new metric. The method was developed in a 27-mer protein lattice model, folded into a 3×3×3 cube. Five sequences were studied and distinct funnels were generated in an analysis restricted to conformations from the transition-state to the native configuration. Consistent with the expected results from the energy landscape theory, folding routes can be visualized to probe different regions of the phase space, as well as determine the difficulty in folding of the distinct sequences. Changes in the landscape due to mutations were visualized, with the comparison between wild and mutated local minima in a single map, which serves to identify different trapping regions. The extension of this approach to more realistic models and its use in combination with other approaches are discussed.FAPESPCNPqCAPESnBioNet network (Brazil

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering: metal nanostructures coated with Langmuir-Blodgett films

This review deals with surface-enhancved Raman scattering (SERS) employing Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films, which serve as model systems for developing theoretical and experimental studies to elucidate the SERS effect. In addition, LB films have be used as integral parts of molecular architectures for SERS-active substrates. On the other hand, SERS and surface-enhaced resonant Raman scattering (SERRS) have allowed various properties of LB films to be investigated, especially those associated with molecular-level interactions. In the paper, emphasis is placed on single molecule detection (SMD), where the target molecule is diluted on an LB matrix of spectral silent material (low Raman cross section). The perspectives and challenges for combining SERS and LB films are also discussed.FAPESPCNPqCAPESINCT-INEOnBioNet Films & Sensor

Dor no idoso: satisfação com o tratamento

Conscientes de que a dor é um flagelo a nível mundial, um fenómeno complexo e multifactorial presente na vida de qualquer ser humano, numa determinada fase da vida, e porque efectivamente nos preocupa o sofrimento dos idosos, a forma como eles vivenciam a dor, as repercussões que esta acarreta para as suas vidas, bem como se os tratamentos e as estratégias implementadas são eficazes, decidimos desenvolver este trabalho, cujo objectivo principal é o de “Identificar o grau de satisfação dos Idosos face ao tratamento da dor”. Sabe-se que a satisfação é hoje um indicador de qualidade dos cuidados de saúde, que permite responder às expectativas dos idosos e também identificar estratégias e implementar acções de melhoria, que visem obter ganhos em saúde. Trata-se de um estudo transversal, de natureza quantitativa (questionário sociodemográfico e a Escala de Satisfação com o Tratamento da Dor), seguindo uma via decritivo-correlacional. Utilizou-se uma amostra não probabilística por conveniência, constituída por 89 idosos do Concelho da Covilhã. A amostra estudada apresenta uma média de idades de 77 anos, casados, reformados, a residir no meio rural e detendo baixos níveis de instrução, apresentam na sua maioria dor crónica de origem músculo esquelética, de duração superior a 1 ano com predomínio na região dorso lombar. Grande parte da nossa amostra refere estar satisfeita com o tratamento para a sua dor, contudo as análises exploratórias revelaram que as variáveis como a idade, local de residência, rendimento mensal e religião têm um impacto na satisfação do tratamento com a dor. Palavras Chave: dor, idoso, satisfação com o tratamento da dor.ABSTRACT Conscious that pain is a worldwide scourge, a complex and multidimensional phenomena, present in a certain phase of life of any human being and deeply worried with older adults suffering, the way as they feel pain, its impact on their lives, as well as with efficacy of the treatment and of the implemented strategies, we decided to develop this work, which main purpose is “Evaluating the Older Adults satisfaction degree regarding pain treatment”. Today, it’s known that older adults satisfaction is an indicator of health care quality, allowing answering to their expectations as well as planning strategies and implementing actions to improve health of an increasing number of people in this stage of life. Therefore, the question is: in which way social, demographic and clinical conditions of the older adults are related with their pain treatment satisfaction. It is a transversal and quantitative (questionnaire social demographic and the Pain Treatment Satisfaction Scale) study in a descriptive and correlative way. We used a non probabilistic sample of 89 older adults, living in Covilhã Municipality. The studied sample states an average of 77 years old, married and retired old people, living in rural area, having low level of instruction, most of them suffering from musculoskeletal chronic pain, especially low back pain, lasting for more than one year. Most of them report satisfaction with their pain treatment; however deeper analyses showed that conditions such as age, place of living, monthly income and religion affect treatment pain satisfaction. This knowledge about old adults pain treatment satisfaction is relevant to the health care professionals in order to provide a greater autonomy and independence to those individuals, and consequently improving their quality of life. Keywords: pain, old adults, pain treatment satisfaction

In Silico insights on the electrode high sensitivity to salts.

Recent findings in sensing and biosensing based on electrical measurements\ud point to a very high sensitivity, in which the introduction of one molecule of\ud an analyte into one million (or more) molecules of water is already detectable.\ud In some cases, the high sensitivity could be attributed to specific interactions\ud between the analyte and the molecules on the sensing unit, but results have\ud also been published of considerable sensitivity of bare electrodes for\ud molecules with no molecular recognition capability. This is the case of\ud some electronic tongues reported in the literature. lt seems that the presence\ud of trace amounts of the analyte, e.g. a NaCl molecule, is sufficient to ai ter the\ud properties of the water at the interface, particularly because the electrical\ud measurements are very sensitive to interface changes.CAPESCNPqFAPESPNSF/US