Meat yield of Bolinus brandaris (Gastropoda: Muricidae): comparative assessment of the influence of sex, size and reproductive status

The present study assessed the influence of sex, size and reproductive status on the meat yield (soft tissues proportion) of the purple dye murex (Bolinus brandaris) from the Ria Formosa lagoon (southern Portugal). During one year of monthly sampling (October 2008-September 2009), average meat yield of B. brandaris was 40.5 +/- 6.1% (range: 25.8-56.1% wet weight), with no significant differences between sexes. Relationships established between specimen size and soft parts weight indicated that both shell length and total weight are excellent indicators of meat yield. Significant differences in meat yield between size classes further reinforced the trend of increasing meat yield during ontogeny. Meat yield exhibited significant monthly variation and a similar temporal trend in both sexes, which were directly related to the reproductive status. Meat yield of B. brandaris was compared with that of other muricid species and the marked influence of the reproductive status on meat yield prompted a comparative assessment of the spawning season and peak of three sympatric muricids (B. brandaris, Hexaplex trunculus and Stramonita haemastoma). Overall, these findings have implications at diverse levels, including the management, regulation and inspection of this fishing/ harvesting activity and the commercialization and consumption of this seafood product.postdoctoral grant [SFRH/BPD/26348/2006]; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT - Portugal); Fisheries Operational Programme (PROMAR); European Fisheries Fund [EFF 2007-2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anticancer peptides : prospective innovation in cancer therapy

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016Current cancer treatments require improvements in selectivity and efficacy. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy approaches result in patient’s suffering over time due to the development of severe side-effects that simultaneously condition adherence to therapy. Biologically active peptides, in particular antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), are versatile molecules in terms of biological activities. The cytotoxic activities of several AMPs turn this group of molecules into an amazing pool of new templates for anticancer drug development. However, several unmet challenges limit application of peptides in cancer therapy. The mechanism(s) of action of the peptides need better description and understanding, and innovative targets have to be discovered and explored, facilitating drug design and development. In this chapter, we explore the natural occurring AMPs as potential new anticancer peptides (ACPs) for cancer prevention and treatment. Their modes of action, selectivity to tumor compared to normal cells, preferential targets, and applications, but also their weaknesses, are described and discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

From antimicrobial to anticancer peptides : a review

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the innate immune defense mechanism of many organisms. Although AMPs have been essentially studied and developed as potential alternatives for fighting infectious diseases, their use as anticancer peptides (ACPs) in cancer therapy either alone or in combination with other conventional drugs has been regarded as a therapeutic strategy to explore. As human cancer remains a cause of high morbidity and mortality worldwide, an urgent need of new, selective, and more efficient drugs is evident. Even though ACPs are expected to be selective toward tumor cells without impairing the normal body physiological functions, the development of a selective ACP has been a challenge. It is not yet possible to predict antitumor activity based on ACPs structures. ACPs are unique molecules when compared to the actual chemotherapeutic arsenal available for cancer treatment and display a variety of modes of action which in some types of cancer seem to co-exist. Regardless the debate surrounding the definition of structure-activity relationships for ACPs, great effort has been invested in ACP design and the challenge of improving effective killing of tumor cells remains. As detailed studies on ACPs mechanisms of action are crucial for optimizing drug development, in this review we provide an overview of the literature concerning peptides' structure, modes of action, selectivity, and efficacy and also summarize some of the many ACPs studied and/or developed for targeting different solid and hematologic malignancies with special emphasis on the first group. Strategies described for drug development and for increasing peptide selectivity toward specific cells while reducing toxicity are also discussed.The authors thank Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT- MEC, Portugal) for funding—PTDC/QUI-BIO/112929/2009. Diana Gaspar also acknowledges FCT for fellowship SFRH/BPD/ 73500/2010 and A. Salome Veiga for funding within the FCT Investigator Programme (IF/00803/2012

Estimating fishing effort in small-scale fisheries using high-resolution spatio-temporal tracking data (an implementation framework illustrated with case studies from Portugal)

Marta M. Rufino is funded by a DL57 contract (junior researcher) awarded by IPMA within the project “Real-time monitoring of bivalve dredge fisheries” (MONTEREAL, MAR-01.03.02-FEAMP-0022), funded by the Fisheries Operational Programme (MAR 2020) and co-financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF 2014–2020). João Samarão received a research grant (Ref: IPMA-2022-015-BII) awarded by IPMA within the framework of the project PESCAPANHA.Small-scale fisheries (SSF, boats < 12 m) represent 90% of this sector at a worldwide scale and 84% of the EU fleet. Mapping the areas and intensity where the fishing operations occur is essential for spatial planning, safety, fisheries sustainability and biodiversity conservation. The EU is currently regulating position tracking of SSF fishing vessels requiring precision resolved geo-positional data (sec to min resolution). Here we developed a series of procedures aimed at categorizing fishing boats behaviour using high resolution data. Our integrated approach involve novel routines aimed at (i) produce an expert validated data set, (ii) pre-processing of positional data, (iii) establishing minimal required temporal resolution, and (iv) final assessment of an optimized classification model. Objective (iv) was implemented by using statistical and machine learning (ML) routines, using novel combinations of fixed thresholds estimates using regression trees and classification methods based on anti-mode, Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM), Expectation Maximisation (EM) algorithms, Hidden Markov Models (HMM) and Random Forest (RF). Of relevance, the final evaluation framework incorporates both error quantification and fishing effort indicators. We tested the method by running through four SSF fisheries from Portugal recorded every 30 sec, with 183 boat trips validated, and concluded that the more robust time interval for data acquisition in these metiers should bePublisher PDFPeer reviewe

Regional and temporal changes in bivalve diversity off the south coast of Portugal

12 pages, 8 figures.-- Printed version published Dec 10, 2008.From 2000 to 2006, a total of 75 bivalve species were identified, varying from 29 (spring 2001) to 54 species (spring 2005) per year. Seasonal tendencies in diversity varied according the year, thus the interpretation of long-term and regional scales is essential before drawing any conclusions in other studies. Richness and diversity consistently decreased with depth and increased with sediment grain size (from low in very coarse sand to high in coarse silt). Diversity decreased progressively from 3 to 16 m depth, thus the harsher shallower environments (due to waves and tidal air exposure) showed greater diversity than the most stable areas. Communities in finer sediments were more diverse than those in coarser sand. Evenness showed patterns opposite to diversity, overall.Diversity and evenness maps (produced with multivariate universal kriging), showed that most geographic areas with greater diversity were farer from river outflows and wastewater treatment plants. Two types of geographic pattern were observed: areas with persistently greater bivalve diversity through time and areas that changed locally from year to year. This spatial analysis can be used to establish priority conservation areas for management purposes, and to analyse the persistency of regional diversity patterns. The area with most habitat heterogeneity (Sotavento) corresponded to greatest diversity.There was a positive relationship between Spisula solida and Chamelea gallina landings and bivalve diversity 2 years and 1 year later, respectively. Possibly, local fisheries, by selectively withdrawing the commercial numerically dominant species from the ecosystem, increased diversity 1 to 2 years later, as the ecological niches of the dominants are quickly filled by several other species thereby creating a more even community. On regional scales, no significant impact was found on long-term bivalve diversity in local fisheries.This work was part of an MMR Post-doc program financed by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia BPD /14935/ 2004.Peer reviewe

Regional and temporal changes in bivalve diversity off the south coast of Portugal

12 pages, 8 figures.-- Printed version published Dec 10, 2008.From 2000 to 2006, a total of 75 bivalve species were identified, varying from 29 (spring 2001) to 54 species (spring 2005) per year. Seasonal tendencies in diversity varied according the year, thus the interpretation of long-term and regional scales is essential before drawing any conclusions in other studies. Richness and diversity consistently decreased with depth and increased with sediment grain size (from low in very coarse sand to high in coarse silt). Diversity decreased progressively from 3 to 16 m depth, thus the harsher shallower environments (due to waves and tidal air exposure) showed greater diversity than the most stable areas. Communities in finer sediments were more diverse than those in coarser sand. Evenness showed patterns opposite to diversity, overall.Diversity and evenness maps (produced with multivariate universal kriging), showed that most geographic areas with greater diversity were farer from river outflows and wastewater treatment plants. Two types of geographic pattern were observed: areas with persistently greater bivalve diversity through time and areas that changed locally from year to year. This spatial analysis can be used to establish priority conservation areas for management purposes, and to analyse the persistency of regional diversity patterns. The area with most habitat heterogeneity (Sotavento) corresponded to greatest diversity.There was a positive relationship between Spisula solida and Chamelea gallina landings and bivalve diversity 2 years and 1 year later, respectively. Possibly, local fisheries, by selectively withdrawing the commercial numerically dominant species from the ecosystem, increased diversity 1 to 2 years later, as the ecological niches of the dominants are quickly filled by several other species thereby creating a more even community. On regional scales, no significant impact was found on long-term bivalve diversity in local fisheries.This work was part of an MMR Post-doc program financed by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia BPD /14935/ 2004.Peer reviewe

Antibodies for the treatment of brain metastases, a dream or a reality?

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).The incidence of brain metastases (BM) in cancer patients is increasing. After diagnosis, overall survival (OS) is poor, elicited by the lack of an effective treatment. Monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapy has achieved remarkable success in treating both hematologic and non-central-nervous system (CNS) tumors due to their inherent targeting specificity. However, the use of mAbs in the treatment of CNS tumors is restricted by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) that hinders the delivery of either small-molecules drugs (sMDs) or therapeutic proteins (TPs). To overcome this limitation, active research is focused on the development of strategies to deliver TPs and increase their concentration in the brain. Yet, their molecular weight and hydrophilic nature turn this task into a challenge. The use of BBB peptide shuttles is an elegant strategy. They explore either receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) or adsorptive-mediated transcytosis (AMT) to cross the BBB. The latter is preferable since it avoids enzymatic degradation, receptor saturation, and competition with natural receptor substrates, which reduces adverse events. Therefore, the combination of mAbs properties (e.g., selectivity and long half-life) with BBB peptide shuttles (e.g., BBB translocation and delivery into the brain) turns the therapeutic conjugate in a valid approach to safely overcome the BBB and efficiently eliminate metastatic brain cells.This research was funded by the Portuguese Funding Agency, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, FCT IP, grants PD/BD/128281/2017, PTDC/BBB-BQB/1693/2014 and PTDC/BBB-NAN/1578/2014.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Shifting gear in antimicrobial and anticancer peptides biophysical studies : from vesicles to cells

© 2015 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Despite the intensive study on the mechanism of action of membrane-activemolecules such as antimicrobial and anticancer peptides, most of the biophysical work has been performed using artificial model systems, mainly lipid vesicles. The use of these systems allows full control of the experimental parameters, and to obtain molecular-level detail on the action of peptides, the correlation with biological action is intangible. Recently, several biophysicalmethodologies have been translated to studies using bacterial and cancer cells. Here, we review biophysical studies on the mechanism of action of antimicrobial and anticancer peptides performed directly on cells. The data in these studies allow to correlate vesicle-based and cell-based studies and fill the vesicle-cell interdisciplinary gap.Projects Ciência Sem Fronteiras PVE 171/2012 (CAPES, Brazil) and MSCA-RISE-2014-Nr644167 are acknowledged. D. Gaspar and J. Freire are recipients of fellowships SFRH/BPD/73500/2010 and SFRH/BD/70423/2010 from FCT, Portugal, respectively. A.S. Veiga acknowledges FCT, Portugal, for funding within the FCT Investigator Programme (IF/00803/2012)

Extraction of Biocompatible Collagen From Blue Shark Skins Through the Conventional Extraction Process Intensification Using Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents

ERC-2016-CoG 725034The disposal of large amounts of skin waste resulting from the blue shark fishing industry presents several industrial and environmental waste management concerns. In addition, these marine subproducts are interesting sources of collagen, a fibrous protein that shows high social and economic interest in a broad range of biomedical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications. However, blue shark wasted skins are a poorly explored matrix for this purpose, and conventional collagen recovery methodologies involve several pre-treatment steps, long extraction times and low temperatures. This work presents a new green and sustainable collagen extraction approach using a natural deep eutectic solvent composed of citric acid:xylitol:water at a 1:1:10 molar ratio, and the chemical characterization of the extracted collagen by discontinuous electrophoresis, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism. The extracted material was a pure type I collagen, and the novel approach presented an extraction yield 2.5 times higher than the conventional one, without pre-treatment of raw material and reducing the procedure time from 96 to 1 h. Furthermore, the in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation, performed with a mouse fibroblasts cell line, has proven the biocompatibility of the extracted material. Overall, the obtained results demonstrate a simple, quick, cheap and environmentally sustainable process to obtain marine collagen with promising properties for biomedical and cosmetic applications.publishersversionpublishe

Assessment of habitat suitability for common cockles in the Ria the Aveiro Lagoon under average and projected environmental conditions

The common cockle Cerastoderma edule is a widespread bivalve species inhabiting estuarine systems across the North East Atlantic, where it provides several ecosystem services, and represents a valuable fishery resource for local economies. However, anthropogenic pressure and more frequent extreme weather events threaten the resilience of the species. Spatially explicit information on species distribution is critical for the implementation of management and conservation practices. This study assessed the potential distribution of C. edule in the Ria de Aveiro by estimating the habitat suitability using an ensemble approach based on ecological niche modeling and recently developed hydrodynamic and water quality models to forecast both average and projected estuarine conditions. The models were developed for the summer of 2013 and spring of 2019 and potential range shifts in the species distribution were forecasted under projected environmental conditions: high and low estimates of freshwater discharge, a 2 °C increase in water temperature, and the combined effect of low freshwater discharge and increased water temperature. The results suggest that salinity, time of submersion, and current velocity play an important role in the distribution of cockles, and large areas were consistently classified with high habitat suitability. Increased freshwater discharge (both seasons) and low discharge coupled to increased temperature (spring) resulted in large decreases in suitable habitat. Conversely, low freshwater discharges and average (unchanged) temperatures increased the suitable habitat in the outermost regions of the Ria. The spatially explicit information provided contributes to a better understanding of the vulnerability of C. edule in the Ria de Aveiro to extreme weather events (e.g., droughts, river floods) and may support adaptive management strategies of the cockle fishery during these conditions. Moreover, this approach can be transferred to other estuarine ecosystems for which data describing the environmental conditions (e.g., derived from numerical models), and information about species presence are available (including data-poor species).publishe