Understanding the relationship between central metabolism and virulence in the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D. degree in BiochemistryStreptococcus pneumoniae is a normal inhabitant of the human nasopharynx, but it is better known for its role in a plethora of human diseases. Growing emergence of antibiotic-resistant streptococci and non-type vaccine strains increases the urgency of finding new targets for the development of novel therapeutic and preventive drugs. As a major concern for global public health, S. pneumoniae has always attracted great attention from the scientific community, which has translated into knowledge on pathogenesis and virulence and the development of a considerable “toolbox” for genetic manipulation and genomic analysis, as well as a large number of deciphered genome sequences. Interestingly, genome-wide studies have consistently pinpointed genes involved in carbohydrate uptake and metabolism as essential for the virulence of S. pneumoniae. These global studies offered the opportunity to investigate in greater depth the potential connections between basic physiology, and in particular central metabolism, and pneumococcal virulence and pathogenesis. The general goal of this thesis is to achieve a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying sugar metabolism and their relation to virulence factors in S. pneumoniae, with a special focus on capsule production. In the present work, glucose (Glc) and galactose (Gal) were used as carbon sources for the study of pneumococcal sugar metabolism. This choice was made for two reasons: Firstly, Glc is a common preferred sugar and is also found as a major carbon source in niches potentially occupied by S. pneumoniae during host inflammation or hyperglycaemia. Secondly, Gal, generally a slowly metabolized non-preferred sugar, is a major carbohydrate in the human nasopharynx, the non-pathological colonization niche of S. pneumoniae.Apoio financeiro da Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia e do FSE no âmbito do Quadro Comunitário de apoio, Bolsa de Doutoramento com a referência SFRH/BD/35947/200

Cientistas, jornalistas e profissionais de comunicação : agentes na comunicação de ciência e tecnologia

Um dos temas emergentes na temática da comunicação de ciência é a interacção do trinómio cientista-comunicador-jornalista. Este artigo baseia-se num estudo empírico aplicado a investigadores do INESC Porto e tem como objectivo identificar as suas motivações ou desmotivações para comunicar publicamente sobre ciência, bem como analisar a sua percepção sobre a mediatização do seu trabalho de investigação e sobre o papel do profissional de comunicação como intermediário. Os resultados indicaram que a maioria dos investigadores comunica os resultados científicos com a motivação de, pura e simplesmente, descomplexificar a ciência no sentido de a tornar mais inteligível para diferentes públicos. Apesar de evocarem algumas experiências menos bem-sucedidas, os investigadores avaliaram positivamente a forma como os jornalistas têm tratado o seu trabalho. A função do profissional de comunicação nas instituições de investigação foi assumida como importante, podendo contribuir para uma efectiva melhoria da comunicação da ciência.(undefined

Projecto de sistemas de climatização em salas limpas farmacêuticas

Pretende-se com este trabalho de projecto de Mestrado, conceber uma unidade fabril, do tipo farmacêutica, destinada ao enchimento asséptico de sacos com antibióticos injectáveis. O trabalho inicia-se com a definição dos principais objectivos de uma unidade fabril deste tipo. Nesta conformidade, como caso de estudo, apresenta-se o controlo de condição da qualidade do ar interior e o processo de classificação das salas limpas, constituintes de uma área de injectáveis de um laboratório farmacêutico existente, de acordo com a Norma ISO 14644-1:1999. O trabalho desenvolvido permite concluir que uma adequada renovação do ar é crítica no projecto e/ou na manutenção dos sistemas de AVAC das salas das áreas limpas de uma indústria farmacêutica. No decorrer da elaboração do projecto, será feita uma descrição do edifício e suas instalações técnicas necessárias para manter temperaturas, humidades e pressões adequadas no interior das salas. Serão analisados os enquadramentos técnico-funcional e as condições higieno-sanitárias exigidas para o funcionamento correcto desta unidade, de acordo com a regulamentação comunitária e nacional existente

Overview on the antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility of sputtered carbon-based coatings

Due to their outstanding properties, carbon-based structures have received much attention from the scientific community. Their applications are diverse and include use in coatings on self-lubricating systems for anti-wear situations, thin films deposited on prosthetic elements, catalysis structures, or water remediation devices. From these applications, the ones that require the most careful testing and improvement are biomedical applications. The biocompatibility and antibacterial issues of medical devices remain a concern, as several prostheses still fail after several years of implantation and biofilm formation remains a real risk to the success of a device. Sputtered deposition prevents the introduction of hazardous chemical elements during the preparation of coatings, and this technique is environmentally friendly. In addition, the mechanical properties of C-based coatings are remarkable. In this paper, the latest advances in sputtering methods and biocompatibility and antibacterial action for diamond-based carbon (DLC)-based coatings are reviewed and the greater outlook is then discussed.This research is sponsored by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under the projects UIDB/00285/2020, UID/EMS/00285/2019 and UIDB/04650/2020, ATRITO-0 (co-financed via FEDER (PT2020) POCI-01-545 0145-FEDER-030446) and On-SURF (cofinanced via FEDER (PT2020) POCI-01-0247-FEDER-024521). Also, this work is supported by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Centro 2020 Regional Operational Programme under project CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000012-HealthyAging2020, and through the COMPETE 2020—Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization and Portuguese national funds via FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, under projects POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440 and UID/NEU/04539/2019

Construire un outil d'aide à la production écrite au cycle 3 : la carte mentale

L'écriture n'est pas une activité anodine et nécessite la mise en œuvre de divers processus de niveaux cognitifs différents. Nous nous intéressons ici à une manière d'aider et faciliter la production d'écrits narratifs par les élèves de cycle 3, en construisant avec eux un outil allégeant la planification de l'écriture : la carte mentale. Après un travail préparatoire sur la structure narrative, nous avons construit ensemble cet outil qu'ils avaient ensuite la possibilité d'utiliser pour produire un récit narratif cohérent. Notre objectif était alors d'étudier l'impact d'un travail préalable sur le schéma narratif ainsi que celui de la carte mentale sur les productions des élèves

Physical vapor deposition technology in personal protective equipment production: improved antibacterial and hydrophobic character of textiles

Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been adapted as biological threats have emerged, such as increasingly drug-resistant bacteria and the emergence of new viruses such as COVID-19. PPE must be increasingly resilient to prevent the proliferation of pathogens, but using sustainable raw materials and environmentally friendly technologies. The aim of this study is to show a new way of modifying the surface of various types of fabrics to enable their efficient use as PPE. The Ag/DLC coating was successfully deposited by sputtering onto several types of textiles using different chemical compositions of Ag/DLC (0, 8, 10, and 12Ag). As a crucial parameter, wettability was evaluated, showing that silver addition increases the hydrophobicity character of the coated fabrics, namely in cotton, changing from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. Antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity were evaluated on all coatings, revealing that they are efficient in eliminating the spread of bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and pose no risk to the human body. The results presented here are promising in protecting healthcare workers, with the next steps being to study the efficiency of these coatings against viruses. In addition, this study reveals an opportunity to use sustainable fabrics, such as cotton, with high efficiency in protection against pathogens, instead of synthetic fiber textiles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

TMS application in both health and disease

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be useful for therapeutic purposes for a variety of clinical conditions. Numerous studies have indicated the potential of this noninvasive brain stimulation technique to recover brain function and to study physiological mechanisms. Following this line, the articles contemplated in this Research Topic show that this field of knowledge is rapidly expanding and considerable advances have been made in the last few years. There are clinical protocols already approved for Depression (and anxiety comorbid with major depressive disorder), Obsessive compulsive Disorder (OCD), migraine headache with aura, and smoking cessation treatment but many studies are concentrating their efforts on extending its application to other diseases, e.g., as a treatment adjuvant. In this Research Topic we have the example of using TMS for pain, post-stroke depression, or smoking cessation, but other diseases/injuries of the central nervous system need attention (e.g., tinnitus or the surprising epilepsy). Further, the potential of TMS in health is being explored, in particular regarding memory enhancement or the mapping of motor control regions, which might also have implications for several diseases. TMS is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that can be used for modulating brain activation or to study connectivity between brain regions. It has proven efficacy against neurological and neuropsychiatric illnesses but the response to this stimulation is still highly variable. Research works devoted to studying the response variability to TMS, as well as large-scale studies demonstrating its efficacy in different sub-populations, are therefore of utmost importance. In this editorial, we summarize the main findings and viewpoints detailed within each of the 12 contributing articles using TMS for health and/or disease applications.publishe

Industrial network membership: Reducing psychic distance hazards in the internationalization of the firm

The network approach to internationalization of the firms has warranted the research focus of many international business scholars. Firms are increasingly involved in international business endeavors and arguably need to learn to adapt to idiosyncratic milieus they encounter in the foreign markets. This paper proposes a conceptual model suggesting that integration in networks strengthens corporate competitiveness in international markets. Network membership provides access to knowledge that facilitates adaptation to the various dimensions - economic, political, legal, cultural ? of the international business environments. Membership in social and business networks are likely to ease internationalization by reducing firms? perceived psychic distance.Networks, internationalization theories, psychic distance