Emulsion formation and stabilization by biomolecules: the leading role of cellulose

Emulsion stabilization by native cellulose has been mainly hampered because of its insolubility in water. Chemical modification is normally needed to obtain water-soluble cellulose derivatives. These modified celluloses have been widely used for a range of applications by the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutic, paint and construction industries. In most cases, the modified celluloses are used as rheology modifiers (thickeners) or as emulsifying agents. In the last decade, the structural features of cellulose have been revisited, with particular focus on its structural anisotropy (amphiphilicity) and the molecular interactions leading to its resistance to dissolution. The amphiphilic behavior of native cellulose is evidenced by its capacity to adsorb at the interface between oil and aqueous solvent solutions, thus being capable of stabilizing emulsions. In this overview, the fundamentals of emulsion formation and stabilization by biomolecules are briefly revisited before different aspects around the emerging role of cellulose as emulsion stabilizer are addressed in detail. Particular focus is given to systems stabilized by native cellulose, either molecularly-dissolved or not (Pickering-like effect).Financially support by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT, via the projects PTDC/AGR-TEC/4814/2014, PTDC/ASP-SIL/30619/2017 and researcher grant IF/01005/2014. RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB and PERFORM, a competence platform in Formulation Science at RISE, are acknowledged for additional financing. This research has been supported by Treesearch.se.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A foundation for real recursive function theory

The class of recursive functions over the reals, denoted by REC(R), was introduced by Cristopher Moore in his seminal paper written in 1995. Since then many subsequent investigations brought new results: the class REC(R) was put in relation with the class of functions generated by the General Purpose Analogue Computer of Claude Shannon; classical digital computation was embedded in several ways into the new model of computation; restrictions of REC(R) were proved to represent different classes of recursive functions, e.g., recursive, primitive recursive and elementary functions, and structures such as the Ritchie and the Grzergorczyk hierarchies. The class of real recursive functions was then stratified in a natural way, and REC(R) and the analytic hierarchy were recently recognised as two faces of the same mathematical concept. In this new article, we bring a strong foundational support to the Real Recursive Function Theory, rooted in Mathematical Analysis, in a way that the reader can easily recognise both its intrinsic mathematical beauty and its extreme simplicity. The new paradigm is now robust and smooth enough to be taught. To achieve such a result some concepts had to change and some new results were added

Hierarchical Spatial Organization of Geographical Networks

In this work we propose the use of a hirarchical extension of the polygonality index as a means to characterize and model geographical networks: each node is associated with the spatial position of the nodes, while the edges of the network are defined by progressive connectivity adjacencies. Through the analysis of such networks, while relating its topological and geometrical properties, it is possible to obtain important indications about the development dynamics of the networks under analysis. The potential of the methodology is illustrated with respect to synthetic geographical networks.Comment: 3 page, 3 figures. A wokring manuscript: suggestions welcome

The role of network science in glioblastoma

Network science has long been recognized as a well-established discipline across many biological domains. In the particular case of cancer genomics, network discovery is challenged by the multitude of available high-dimensional heterogeneous views of data. Glioblastoma (GBM) is an example of such a complex and heterogeneous disease that can be tackled by network science. Identifying the architecture of molecular GBM networks is essential to understanding the information flow and better informing drug development and pre-clinical studies. Here, we review network-based strategies that have been used in the study of GBM, along with the available software implementations for reproducibility and further testing on newly coming datasets. Promising results have been obtained from both bulk and single-cell GBM data, placing network discovery at the forefront of developing a molecularly-informed-based personalized medicine.This work was partially supported by national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) with references CEECINST/00102/2018, CEECIND/00072/2018 and PD/BDE/143154/2019, UIDB/04516/2020, UIDB/00297/2020, UIDB/50021/2020, UIDB/50022/2020, UIDB/50026/2020, UIDP/50026/2020, NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER000023 and projects PTDC/CCI-BIO/4180/2020 and DSAIPA/DS/0026/2019. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 951970 (OLISSIPO project)

Enhancement of CD4+ T Cell Function as a Strategy for Improving Antibiotic Therapy Efficacy in Tuberculosis: Does It Work?

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains a major public health problem worldwide due in part to the lack of an effective vaccine and to the lengthy course of antibiotic treatment required for successful cure. Combined immuno/chemotherapeutic intervention represents a major strategy for developing more effective therapies against this important pathogen. Because of the major role of CD4+ T cells in containing Mtb infection, augmentation of bacterial specific CD4+ T cell responses has been considered as an approach in achieving this aim. Here we present new data from our own research aimed at determining whether boosting CD4+ T cell responses can promote antibiotic clearance. In these studies, we first characterized the impact of antibiotic treatment of infected mice on Th1 responses to major Mtb antigens and then performed experiments aimed at sustaining CD4+ T cell responsiveness during antibiotic treatment. These included IL-12 infusion, immunization with ESAT-6 and Ag85B immunodominant peptides and adoptive transfer of Th1-polarized CD4+ T cells specific for ESAT-6 or Ag85B during the initial month of chemotherapy. These approaches failed to enhance antibiotic clearance of Mtb, indicating that boosting Th1 responses to immunogenic Mtb antigens highly expressed by actively dividing bacteria is not an effective strategy to be used in the initial phase of antibiotic treatment, perhaps because replicating organisms are the first to be eliminated by the drugs. These results are discussed in the context of previously published findings addressing this concept along with possible alternate approaches for harnessing Th1 immunity as an adjunct to chemotherapy

Emotional responses to motion sickness in autonomous driving

In future autonomous cars, users, free from the primary task of driving, will have time and space to engage in other activities while traveling, such as reading a book, working on a laptop or watching a movie. Although the option for these activities are one of the great advantages of autonomous cars, this will also likely increase motion sickness (MS) inside the car. MS affects numerous individuals, and it occurs when the information received through the eyes differs from what is perceived by the body and the inner ear. Plus, MS can have an impact on the emotional component of the individuals experiencing it, making the experience of traveling in autonomous cars uncomfortable and difficult. Emotional design studies focus on the emotional response of individuals to a product or service. These studies typically employ self-report scales as assessment tools, such as SAM (Self-Assessment Manikin) and PrEmo (Product Emotion Measurement instrument). We present the first study measuring emotional responses to MS using both SAM and PrEmo scales. In our study, we induced MS by asking participants to watch a highly dynamic video of a first-person car trip. We also asked subjects to answer to SAM and PrEmo before and after the visualization of the video. Our results showed a change in the answers in time, that is, before vs. after the experience of MS. MS significantly altered individuals' emotional responses, worsening their condition. These results support the need for studies that reduce MS to improve the experience and well-being of individuals in autonomous cars.Landscape, Heritage and Territory Laboratory (Lab2PT), Ref. UID/04509/2020, financed by national funds (PIDDAC) through the FCT/MCTES and the European Structural and Investment Funds in the FEDER component, through the Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme (COMPETE 2020) [Project n° 039334; Funding Reference: POCI- 01-0247-FEDER-039334]

Green and Roasted Coffee Extracts Inhibit Interferon-β Release in LPS-Stimulated Human Macrophages

The anti-inflammatory activity of coffee extracts is widely recognized and supported by experimental evidence, in both in vitro and in vivo settings, mainly murine models. Here, we investigated the immunomodulatory properties of coffee extracts from green (GCE) and medium-roasted (RCE) Coffea canephora beans in human macrophages. The biological effect of GCE and RCE was characterized in LPS-stimulated THP-1-derived human macrophages (TDM) as a model of inflammation. Results showed decreased amounts of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β and a strong dose-dependent inhibition of interferon-β (IFN-β) release. Molecular mechanism of IFN-β inhibition was further investigated by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy analysis that showed a diminished nuclear translocation of p-IRF-3, the main transcription factor responsible for IFN-β synthesis. The inhibition of IFN-β release by RCE and GCE was also confirmed in human primary CD14+ monocytes-derived macrophages (MDM). The main component of coffee extracts, 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) also inhibited IFN-β production, through a mechanism occurring downstream to TLR4. Inhibition of IFN-β release by coffee extracts parallels with the activity of their main phytochemical component, 5-CQA, thus suggesting that this compound is the main responsible for the immunomodulatory effect observed. The application of 5-CQA and coffee derived-phytoextracts to target interferonopathies and inflammation-related diseases could open new pharmacological and nutritional perspectives

Segmentação automática de áreas urbanas em imagens de sensoriamento remoto

A adoção de ferramentas e métodos de visão computacional aplicados as imagens de sensoriamento remoto pode trazer um grande benefício para os estudos de urbanismo. Neste trabalho é apresentado um arcabouço computacional para auxiliar a aquisição e análise de imagens de sensoriamento remoto, provindas do Google Earth®. O sistema proposto se conecta ao Google Earth e compõe uma imagem especificada pelas coordenadas de latitude e longitude informadas pelo usuário. O sistema também segmenta automaticamente a imagem em áreas edificadas e não-edificadas. O processo de segmentação é realizado por meio de métricas do histograma cromático. É apresentado um experimento com imagens de duas cidades do interior paulista, São Carlos e Rio Claro, a fim de validar o sistema e determinar quais as melhores métricas de histogramas devem ser utilizadas para a tarefa.Computer vision methods applied in remote sensing images can bring important benefits to the field of urbanism. In this work, a computer framework to aid acquiring and analyzing remote sensing images from Google Earth® is presented. The proposed system connects to the Google Earth and extracts an image specified by the latitude and longitude coordinates. The image is automatically segmented into edified and non-edified regions. The segmentation process is carried out by the analysis of the image chromatic histogram. An experiment showing results from the segmentation of two São Paulo State’s towns are\ud presented. The comparison of the histogram metrics and the color channels and its segmentation performance are discussed.CNPq (303746/2007-1; 504476/2007-6; 504476/2007-6