IEEE Access Special Section Editorial: Wirelessly Powered Networks, and Technologies

Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is, by definition, a process that occurs in any system where electrical energy is transmitted from a power source to a load without the connection of electrical conductors. WPT is the driving technology that will enable the next stage in the current consumer electronics revolution, including battery-less sensors, passive RF identification (RFID), passive wireless sensors, the Internet of Things and 5G, and machine-to-machine solutions. WPT-enabled devices can be powered by harvesting energy from the surroundings, including electromagnetic (EM) energy, leading to a new communication networks paradigm, the Wirelessly Powered Networks

Contactless smart screening in nursing homes : an IoT-enabled solution for the COVID-19 era

In the COVID-19 era, the provision of health indicators seamlessly and without contact, in groups at risk such as the elderly, is crucial due to the fast spread of the disease and the need to act quickly to contain its evolution. Continuous monitoring of vital signs, such as body temperature and cardio-respiratory rates, can be vital in early detection and prediction of COVID-19, which rapidly progresses and particularly affects the elderly population in nursing homes. Conventional clinical methods used for monitoring vital signs are contact-based, require contact sensors that need to be precisely attached by a trained health professional, are less convenient for repeatable measurements, and not practical for long-term monitoring. On the other hand, contactless vital signs monitoring using radar-based techniques, or IR-thermal imaging, do not require the attachment of physical electrodes and can be of great value in health screening of patients and help health professionals in early detection of the COVID-19 in the elderly population, in the specific context of nursing houses. This work describes the design and specification of a low-cost contactless health screening system for nursing homes, and includes the design of an IoT Edge device that can be placed above the beds where patients rest, allowing the continuous acquisition of health information and its processing without any type of contact and invasiveness.911A-2C18-106F | Carlos Jorge Enes Capit?o de AbreuN/

Understanding dengue virus capsid protein interaction with key biological targets

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Supplementary information accompanies this paper at http://www.nature.com/srepDengue virus (DENV) causes over 500,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths worldwide every year. Dengue epidemics now reach temperate regions due to globalization of trade and travel and climate changes. Currently, there are no successful therapeutic or preventive approaches. We previously developed a peptide drug lead, pep14-23, that inhibits the biologically relevant interaction of DENV capsid (C) protein with lipid droplets (LDs). Surprisingly, pep14-23 also inhibits DENV C interaction with very low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). We thus investigated the similarity between the proposed DENV C molecular targets in LDs and VLDL, respectively, the proteins perilipin 3 (PLIN3) and apolipoprotein E (APOE). APOE N-terminal and PLIN3 C-terminal regions are remarkably similar, namely APOE α -helix 4 (APOEα 4) and PLIN3 α -helix 5 (PLIN3α 5) sequences, which are also highly superimposable structurally. Interestingly, APOE α -helical N-terminal sequence and structure superimposes with DENV C α -helices α 1 and α 2. Moreover, the DENV C hydrophobic cleft can accommodate the structurally analogous APOEα 4 and PLIN3α 5 helical regions. Mirroring DENV C-LDs interaction (previously shown experimentally to require PLIN3), we experimentally demonstrated that DENV C-VLDL interaction requires APOE. Thus, the results fit well with previous data and suggest future drug development strategies targeting the above mentioned α –helical structures.We acknowledge the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia – Ministério da Educação e Ciência (FCT-MEC, Portugal) project PTDC/SAU-ENB/117013/2010, and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Portugal). AFF and ICM also acknowledge FCT-MEC fellowship SFRH/BD/77609/2011 and Investigador FCT Program research contract IF/00772/2013, respectively

Targeting p53 for melanoma treatment: counteracting tumour proliferation, dissemination and therapeutic resistance

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, primarily due to its high metastatic propensity and therapeutic resistance in advanced stages. The frequent inactivation of the p53 tumour suppressor protein in melanomagenesis may predict promising outcomes for p53 activators in melanoma therapy. Herein, we aimed to investigate the antitumor potential of the p53-activating agent SLMP53-2 against melanoma. Two- and three-dimensional cell cultures and xenograft mouse models were used to unveil the antitumor activity and the underlying molecular mechanism of SLMP53-2 in melanoma. SLMP53-2 inhibited the growth of human melanoma cells in a p53-dependent manner through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Notably, SLMP53-2 induced p53 stabilization by disrupting the p53–MDM2 interaction, enhancing p53 transcriptional activity. It also promoted the expression of p53-regulated microRNAs (miRNAs), including miR-145 and miR-23a. Moreover, it displayed anti-invasive and antimigratory properties in melanoma cells by inhibiting the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), angiogenesis and extracellular lactate production. Importantly, SLMP53-2 did not induce resistance in melanoma cells. Additionally, it synergized with vemurafenib, dacarbazine and cisplatin, and resensitized vemurafenib-resistant cells. SLMP53-2 also exhibited antitumor activity in human melanoma xenograft mouse models by repressing cell proliferation and EMT while stimulating apoptosis. This work discloses the p53-activating agent SLMP53-2 which has promising therapeutic potential in advanced melanoma, either as a single agent or in combination therapy. By targeting p53, SLMP53-2 may counteract major features of melanoma aggressiveness.This work received financial support from PT national funds (FCT/MCTES, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior) through LAQV/REQUIMTE (UID/QUI/50006/2020), iMed.ULisboa (UIDB/04138/2020), and PTDC/QUIQOR/29664/2017, PTDC/MEC-ONC/32018/2017. We thank FCT for the fellowships SFRH/BD/ 128673/2017 (J. Loureiro), 2020.04613.BD (J. Calheiros), PD/BD/143126/2019 (V. Barcherini)

A wastewater-based epidemiology tool for COVID-19 surveillance in Portugal

Funding: Strategic funding of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, to cE3c and BioISI Research Units ( UIDB/00329/2020 and UIDB/04046/2020 ] is also gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by Programa Operacional de Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) (FEDER component), Programa Operacional Regional de Lisboa , and Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (Project COVIDETECT, ref. 048467 ).The presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater produced interest in its use for sentinel surveillance at a community level and as a complementary approach to syndromic surveillance. With this work, we set the foundations for wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in Portugal by monitoring the trends of SARS-CoV-2 RNA circulation in the community, on a nationwide perspective during different epidemiological phases of the pandemic. The Charité assays (E_Sarbecco, RdRP, and N_Sarbecco) were applied to monitor, over 32-weeks (April to December 2020), the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at the inlet of five wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), which together serve more than two million people in Portugal. Raw wastewater from three Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reference hospitals was also analyzed during this period. In total, more than 600 samples were tested. For the first weeks, detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was sporadic, with concentrations varying from 103 to 105 genome copies per liter (GC/L). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA increased steeply by the end of May into late June, mainly in Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region (LVT), during the reopening phase. After the summer, with the reopening of schools in mid-September and return to partial face-to-face work, a pronounced increase of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater was detected. In the LVT area, SARS-CoV-2 RNA load agreed with reported trends in hotspots of infection. Synchrony between trends of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw wastewater and daily new COVID-19 cases highlights the value of WBE as a surveillance tool, particularly after the phasing out of the epidemiological curve and when hotspots of disease re-emerge in the population which might be difficult to spot based solely on syndromic surveillance and contact tracing. This is the first study crossing several epidemiological stages highlighting the long-term use of WBE for SARS-CoV-2.PostprintPeer reviewe

The C Allele of rs5743836 Polymorphism in the Human TLR9 Promoter Links IL-6 and TLR9 Up-Regulation and Confers Increased B-Cell Proliferation

In humans, allelic variants in Toll-like receptors (TLRs) associate with several pathologies. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of this association remain largely unknown. Analysis of the human TLR9 promoter revealed that the C allele of the rs5743836 polymorphism generates several regulatory sites, including an IL-6-responding element. Here, we show that, in mononuclear cells carrying the TC genotype of rs5743836, IL-6 up-regulates TLR9 expression, leading to exacerbated cellular responses to CpG, including IL-6 production and B-cell proliferation. Our study uncovers a role for the rs5743836 polymorphism in B-cell biology with implications on TLR9-mediated diseases and on the therapeutic usage of TLR9 agonists/antagonists

Air Travel Is Associated with Intracontinental Spread of Dengue Virus Serotypes 1–3 in Brazil

Dengue virus and its four serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4) infect 390 million people and are implicated in at least 25,000 deaths annually, with the largest disease burden in tropical and subtropical regions. We investigated the spatial dynamics of DENV-1, DENV-2 and DENV-3 in Brazil by applying a statistical framework to complete genome sequences. For all three serotypes, we estimated that the introduction of new lineages occurred within 7 to 10-year intervals. New lineages were most likely to be imported from the Caribbean region to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, and then to disperse at a rate of approximately 0.5 km/day. Joint statistical analysis of evolutionary, epidemiological and ecological data indicates that aerial transportation of humans and/or vector mosquitoes, rather than Aedes aegypti infestation rates or geographical distances, determine dengue virus spread in Brazil