Síntese de Lentes para Aplicação em Antenas

O ritmo a que a capacidade de processamento dos computadores tem evoluido em gerações consecutivas de processadores está a potenciar uma rápida expansão de aplicações multimedia sofisticadas, e de outros serviços via Internet. Existe uma apetência crescente para que estes conteúdos multimedia possam ficar acessíveis a utilizadores móveis através de terminais portáteis. No entanto, os ficheiros associados a estes contéudos serão cada vez mais pesados, com dezenas ou mesmo centenas de megabytes (Mb). O UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, sistema de comunicações móveis da chamada terceira geração (3G) que está em fase de pré-lançamento, vem aumentar significativamente a largura de banda em relação ao GSM, mas fica muito aquém da capacidade que vai ficando disponível na rede fixa de banda larga. Para poder estender totalmente essa capacidade a utilizadores móveis com necessidades mais exigentes, será necessário complementar o UMTS com sistemas de comunicações móveis de banda larga

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An optimized nanoparticle delivery system based on chitosan and chondroitin sulfate molecules reduces the toxicity of amphotericin B and is effective in treating tegumentary leishmaniasis

Amphotericin B (AmpB) is active against leishmaniasis, but its use is hampered due to its high toxicity observed in patients. In this study, a nanoparticles-delivery system for AmpB (NQC-AmpB), containing chitosan and chondroitin sulfate molecules, was evaluated in BALB/c mice against Leishmania amazonensis. An in vivo biodistribution study, including biochemical and toxicological evaluations, was performed to evaluate the toxicity of AmpB. Nanoparticles were radiolabeled with technetium-99m and injected in mice. The products presented a similar biodistribution in the liver, spleen, and kidneys of the animals. Free AmpB induced alterations in the body weight of the mice, which, in the biochemical analysis, indicated hepatic and renal injury, as well as morphological damage to the kidneys of the animals. In general, no significant organic alteration was observed in the animals treated with NQC-AmpB. Mice were infected with L. amazonensis and treated with the nanoparticles or free AmpB; then, parasitological and immunological analyses were performed. The NQC-AmpB group, as compared to the control groups, presented significant reductions in the lesion size and in the parasite burden in all evaluated organs. These animals presented significantly higher levels of IFN-γ and IL-12, and low levels of IL-4 and IL-10, when compared to the control groups. The NQC-AmpB system was effective in reducing the infection in the animals, and proved to be effective in diminishing the toxicity evoked by AmpB, which was observed when it was administered alone. In conclusion, NQC-AmpB could be considered a viable possibility for future studies in the treatment of leishmaniasisThis work was supported by grants from Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa from UFMG (Edital 01/2014), Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Nano-biofarmacêutica (INCT-Nanobiofar), FAPEMIG (CBB-APQ-00496-11 and CBB-APQ-00819-12), and CNPq (APQ-472090/2011-9 and APQ-482976/2012-8). MACF is a grant recipient of FAPEMIG/CAPES. EAFC, VNC, and AAGF are grant recipients of CNPq. Eduardo AF Coelho and André AG Faraco are co-senior authors of this stud

Ion conducting and paramagnetic d-PCL(530)/siloxane-based biohybrids doped with Mn 2+ ions

Amorphous α,ω-hidroxylpoly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL(530))/siloxane ormolytes doped with manganese perchlorate (Mn(ClO4)2) (d-PCL(530)/siloxanenMn(ClO4)2) with n = 20, 50, and 100), thermally stable up to at least 200 ºC, were synthesized by the sol-gel method. Ionic conductivity values up to 4.8×10−8 and 2.0×10−6 S cm−1 at about 25 and 100 ºC, respectively, where obtained for n = 20. FT-IR data demonstrated that the hydrogen bonding interactions present in the non-doped d-PCL(530)/siloxane host hybrid matrix were significantly influenced by the inclusion of Mn(ClO4)2 which promoted the formation of more oxyethylene/urethane and urethane/urethane aggregates. In addition, the Mn2+ ions bonded to all the “free” C=O groups of the urethane cross-links and to some of the “free” ester groups of the amorphous PCL(530) chains. In the electrolytes, the ClO4 − ions were found “free” and bonded to the Mn2+ ions along a bidentate configuration. The magnitude of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) hyperfine constant of the analyzed samples (A ≈ 90×10-4 cm−1 ) suggested that the bonding between Mn2+ ions and the surrounding ligands is moderately ionic. The synthetized d-PCL(530)/siloxanenMn(ClO4)2 biohybrids have potential application in paramagnetic, photoelectrochemical and electrochromic devices.This work was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT) and Feder (contracts PTDC/CTM-BPC/112774/2009, PEst-OE/QUI/UI0616/2014 and PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2013) and COST Action MP1202 "Rational design of hybrid organic-inorganic interfaces". R.F.P.P. acknowledges FCT for a grant (SFRH/BPD/87759/2012). M.M.S. acknowledges CNPq (PVE grant 406617/2013-9), for a mobility grant. The financial support of the Brazilian agencies Capes and CNPq are gratefully acknowledged. Research was partially financed by the CeRTEV, Center for Research, Technology and Education in Vitreous Materials, FAPESP 2013/07793-6.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Beware of scientific scams! Hints to avoid predatory publishing in biological journals

Our motivation for writing this editorial is to alert the academic community about the risks of predatory publishing in Biology. By piggy-backing on the open access (OA) movement and taking advantage of the “publish or perish” culture in a system that prioritises quantity over quality, predatory publishing has grown exponentially in recent years and spread across all areas of knowledge. Thousands of predatory journals and books have emerged and (provided a fee is paid) they publish scientific papers and chapters without submitting them to rigorous peer review. Now there are even predatory meetings, which promise to accept talks and publish complete works for a fee, also without reviewing them properly. These profit-making machines can damage both academia and society, putting at risk the quality of science and public trust in it, the well-being of the population, the conservation of biodiversity and the mitigation of climate change. We show the modus operandi behind invitations to contribute to predatory journals, books and meetings and suggest ways to separate the wheat from the chaff. Finally, we discuss the need to create regulatory agencies that perform a careful and systematic evaluation of the activities carried out by publishers