1
|
Alarcão SM, Mendonça V, Maruta C, Fonseca MJ. ExpertosLF: dynamic late fusion of CBIR systems using online learning with relevance feedback. Multimed Tools Appl 2022; 82:11619-11661. [PMID: 36035324 PMCID: PMC9391217 DOI: 10.1007/s11042-022-13119-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
One of the main challenges in CBIR systems is to choose discriminative and compact features, among dozens, to represent the images under comparison. Over the years, a great effort has been made to combine multiple features, mainly using early, late, and hierarchical fusion techniques. Unveiling the perfect combination of features is highly domain-specific and dependent on the type of image. Thus, the process of designing a CBIR system for new datasets or domains involves a huge experimentation overhead, leading to multiple fine-tuned CBIR systems. It would be desirable to dynamically find the best combination of CBIR systems without needing to go through such extensive experimentation and without requiring previous domain knowledge. In this paper, we propose ExpertosLF, a model-agnostic interpretable late fusion technique based on online learning with expert advice, which dynamically combines CBIR systems without knowing a priori which ones are the best for a given domain. At each query, ExpertosLF takes advantage of user's feedback to determine each CBIR contribution in the ensemble for the following queries. ExpertosLF produces an interpretable ensemble that is independent of the dataset and domain. Moreover, ExpertosLF is designed to be modular, and scalable. Experiments on 13 benchmark datasets from the Biomedical, Real, and Sketch domains revealed that: (i) ExpertosLF surpasses the performance of state of the art late-fusion techniques; (ii) it successfully and quickly converges to the performance of the best CBIR sets across domains without any previous domain knowledge (in most cases, fewer than 25 queries need to receive human feedback).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Soraia M. Alarcão
- LASIGE, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Vânia Mendonça
- INESC-ID, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Carolina Maruta
- Laboratório de Estudos de Linguagem, Centro de Estudos Egas Moniz, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Manuel J. Fonseca
- LASIGE, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Soares S, Santos AC, Fraga S. Adverse childhood experiences, bullying, inflammation and BMI in 10-year-old children: The biological embodiment. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0273329. [PMID: 35984781 PMCID: PMC9390893 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to adversity during the first years of life might already be biologically embedded well before adult life. Thus, the impact of different stressful experiences needs to be explored. This study aims to examine if the association between being victimized (adverse childhood experiences—ACEs and bullying) and (hs-) C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is explained by the influence of adversity on the body mass index (BMI) of the child. We included children from the Portuguese birth cohort Generation XXI (n = 3712) that at 10 years of age completed a questionnaire on the exposure to ACEs and bullying victimization, assessed by an adaptation from the original ACEs study and an adaptation of The Bully Scale Survey, respectively. Following an overnight fast, a venous blood sample was collected by trained nurses and hs-CRP was assayed in fresh blood samples. Weight and height were measured with the child in underwear and bare feet. Weight was measured to the nearest one-tenth of a kilogram with the use of a digital scale (Tanita), and height was measured to the nearest one-tenth of a centimetre with the use of a wall stadiometer (seca®). BMI was calculated as the value of weight (kg) over squared height (m), and computed as an age- and sex-specific BMI standard deviation (SD) score (z-score), according to the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards (5–19 years). Regression coefficients and respective 95% Confidence Interval [β(95%CI)] were computed using path analysis. We observed that ACEs had a positive total effect on hs-CRP at the age of 10 years (β = 0.06; 95%CI: -0.02; 0.15). A direct effect (β = 0.02; 95%CI: -0.01; 0.06) accounted for 66.1% of the association between ACEs and hs-CRP. A positive total effect of bullying victimization on hs-CRP (β = 0.20; 95%CI: 0.06; 0.34) was observed. A direct effect (β = 0.08; 95%CI: -0.05; 0.21) accounted for 40.0% of the association, while an indirect effect through BMI (β = 0.12; 95%CI: 0.06; 0.18) explained 60.0% of the pathway between bullying victimization and hs-CRP. Results suggest that there might be different mechanisms involved in the biological embedding of childhood experiences. BMI seems to explain a great part of the association between exposure to bullying victimization and hs-CRP at 10 years of age. Further research is still needed to better understand the mechanisms explaining the emergence and persistence of health poorer outcomes later in life for victims of abuse.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Soares
- EPIUnit—Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Taipas, Porto, Portugal
- Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Rua das Taipas, Porto, Portugal
- Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| | - Ana Cristina Santos
- EPIUnit—Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Taipas, Porto, Portugal
- Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Rua das Taipas, Porto, Portugal
- Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sílvia Fraga
- EPIUnit—Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Rua das Taipas, Porto, Portugal
- Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Rua das Taipas, Porto, Portugal
- Departamento de Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses e Educação Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Mukherjee D, Ferreira NGC, Saha NC. Effects of 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol on Clarias batrachus: a biomarkers approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2022; 29:47011-47024. [PMID: 35175533 PMCID: PMC9232441 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-19213-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
2,4,6-Trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) is a common waste among the resulting chlorophenols generated in the production of common products classified as an extremely toxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic and highly persistent xenobiotic in the environment. To evaluate the impact of 2,4,6-TCP in aquatic systems, the catfish species Clarias batrachus has been selected to test its toxicity due to its high market value and consumption in India. Here is presented the impact of this compound on different physiological parameters of fish: haematological parameters (haemoglobin, total erythrocyte count, total leucocyte count and mean corpuscular haemoglobin), biochemical parameters (total serum protein and total serum glucose), growth and reproductive parameters (condition factor, hepatosomatic index, maturity index, specific growth rate, growth hormone, 17β-estradiol and testosterone), exposed to two concentrations of 2,4,6-TCP (0.5 mg/L and 1 mg/L - 1/10th and 1/20th of the LC50) for a period of 15, 30 and 45 days. The results showed that C. batrachus even when exposed to the lower concentration (0.5 mg/L) for the shortest time (15 days) negatively impacted the organism in all the assessed parameters. This was highlighted by the Integrated Biomarker Response index (IBR), showing worse scores for the treatments (up to 20 × worse than the control). This work highlights the importance of continued research on the impact of 2,4,6-TCP, on an important commercial, supported by the high environmental persistence of this compound that can reach the same range of tested concentrations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dip Mukherjee
- Department of Zoology, S.B.S. Government College, Hili, Mera Aptair, Balurghat, Dakshin Dinajpur-733126, West Bengal, India
| | - Nuno G C Ferreira
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK.
- CIIMAR, Terminal de Cruzeiros de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos S/N, 4450-208, Matosinhos, Portugal.
| | - Nimai Chandra Saha
- The University of Burdwan, Fishery and Ecotoxicology Research Laboratory, Vice Chancellor's Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Burdwan, Purba Barddhaman, West Bengal, India
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Vieira V, Ferreira J, Rocha M. A pipeline for the reconstruction and evaluation of context-specific human metabolic models at a large-scale. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009294. [PMID: 35749559 PMCID: PMC9278738 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Constraint-based (CB) metabolic models provide a mathematical framework and scaffold for in silico cell metabolism analysis and manipulation. In the past decade, significant efforts have been done to model human metabolism, enabled by the increased availability of multi-omics datasets and curated genome-scale reconstructions, as well as the development of several algorithms for context-specific model (CSM) reconstruction. Although CSM reconstruction has revealed insights on the deregulated metabolism of several pathologies, the process of reconstructing representative models of human tissues still lacks benchmarks and appropriate integrated software frameworks, since many tools required for this process are still disperse across various software platforms, some of which are proprietary. In this work, we address this challenge by assembling a scalable CSM reconstruction pipeline capable of integrating transcriptomics data in CB models. We combined omics preprocessing methods inspired by previous efforts with in-house implementations of existing CSM algorithms and new model refinement and validation routines, all implemented in the Troppo Python-based open-source framework. The pipeline was validated with multi-omics datasets from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE), also including reference fluxomics measurements for the MCF7 cell line. We reconstructed over 6000 models based on the Human-GEM template model for 733 cell lines featured in the CCLE, using MCF7 models as reference to find the best parameter combinations. These reference models outperform earlier studies using the same template by comparing gene essentiality and fluxomics experiments. We also analysed the heterogeneity of breast cancer cell lines, identifying key changes in metabolism related to cancer aggressiveness. Despite the many challenges in CB modelling, we demonstrate using our pipeline that combining transcriptomics data in metabolic models can be used to investigate key metabolic shifts. Significant limitations were found on these models ability for reliable quantitative flux prediction, thus motivating further work in genome-wide phenotype prediction. Genome-scale models of human metabolism are promising tools capable of contextualising large omics datasets within a framework that enables analysis and manipulation of metabolic phenotypes. Despite various successes in applying these methods to provide mechanistic hypotheses for deregulated metabolism in disease, there is no standardized workflow to extract these models using existing methods and the tools required to do so are mostly implemented using proprietary software. We have assembled a generic pipeline to extract and validate context-specific metabolic models using multi-omics datasets and implemented it using the troppo framework. We first validate our pipeline using MCF7 cell line models and assess their ability to predict lethal gene knockouts as well as flux activity using multi-omics data. We also demonstrate how this approach can be generalized for large-scale transcriptomics datasets and used to generate insights on the metabolic heterogeneity of cancer and relevant features for other data mining approaches. The pipeline is available as part of an open-source framework that is generic for a variety of applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vítor Vieira
- Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Jorge Ferreira
- Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Miguel Rocha
- Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
- LABBELS - Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Metabolomics emerged as an important tool to gain insights on how the body responds to therapeutic interventions. Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review of the available data on metabolomics profiles that characterize patients submitted to different bariatric surgery procedures, which could be useful to predict clinical outcomes including weight loss and type 2 diabetes remission. For that, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses - PRISMA guidelines were followed. Data from forty-seven original study reports addressing metabolomics profiles induced by bariatric surgery that met eligibility criteria were compiled and summarized. Amino acids, lipids, energy-related and gut microbiota-related were the metabolite classes most influenced by bariatric surgery. Among these, higher pre-operative levels of specific lipids including phospholipids, long-chain fatty acids and bile acids were associated with post-operative T2D remission. As conclusion, metabolite profiling could become a useful tool to predict long term response to different bariatric surgery procedures, allowing more personalized interventions and improved healthcare resources allocation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matilde Vaz
- Endocrine & Metabolic Research, Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sofia S Pereira
- Endocrine & Metabolic Research, Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Mariana P Monteiro
- Endocrine & Metabolic Research, Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Mateus O, Estraviz-López D. A new theropod dinosaur from the early cretaceous (Barremian) of Cabo Espichel, Portugal: Implications for spinosaurid evolution. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262614. [PMID: 35171930 PMCID: PMC8849621 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Spinosaurids are some of the most enigmatic Mesozoic theropod dinosaurs due to their unique adaptations to aquatic environments and their relative scarcity. Their taxonomy has proven to be especially problematic. Recent discoveries from Western Europe in general, specifically Iberia, provide some of the best specimens for the understanding of their phylogeny, leading to the description of the spinosaurid Vallibonavenatrix cani and the recognition of the Iberian dinosaur Camarillasaurus cirugedae as one of them. Portuguese associated spinosaurid remains (ML1190) from the Papo Seco Formation (early Barremian) were previously assigned to Baryonyx walkeri but new material recovered in 2020 along with new phylogenetic analyses suggests a different phylogenetic placement, making their revision necessary. Here we show that these remains are not attributable to Baryonyx walkeri, but to a new genus and species, Iberospinus natarioi, gen. et sp. nov. The new taxon is characterized by the presence of a single Meckelian foramen in the Meckelian sulcus, a straight profile of the ventral surface of the dentary and a distal thickening of the acromion process of the pubis between other characters. Iberospinus natarioi is recovered as a sister taxon of the clade formed by Baryonyx and Suchomimus, and outside Spinosaurinae when Vallibonaventrix cani is excluded from the analysis. The description of this taxon reinforces Iberia as a hotspot for spinosaur biodiversity, with several endemic taxa for the region. As expected for the clade, the dentary displays a highly vascularized neurovascular network. The morphometric analysis of parts of the skeleton (pedal phalanx and caudal vertebrae, among others) shows an intermediate condition between basal tetanurans and spinosaurines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Octávio Mateus
- GEOBIOTEC, Department of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
| | - Darío Estraviz-López
- GEOBIOTEC, Department of Earth Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Caparica, Portugal
- Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zózimo R, Pina e Cunha M, Rego A. Becoming a Fraternal Organization: Insights from the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti. J Bus Ethics 2022; 183:383-399. [PMID: 35250127 PMCID: PMC8882442 DOI: 10.1007/s10551-022-05052-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We uncover fundamental dimensions of the process through which organizations embed the practice of fraternity through embarking on an organizational journey in the direction of the common good. Building on the latest encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, about fraternal and social friendship, we offer insight into the understanding of what it means to become a fraternal organization and reflect on the key ethical and paradoxical challenges for organizations aiming at collectively contributing to the common good. We add to previous work by characterizing this journey as a process involving unique ethical challenges that emerge from the paradoxes associated with this process and how this might change the nature of the relationships between organizations and others within the organizational landscape.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Arménio Rego
- Católica Porto Business School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, Portugal
- Business Research Unit, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ferreira JP, Duarte-Mendes P, Teixeira AM, Silva FM. Effects of combined training on metabolic profile, lung function, stress and quality of life in sedentary adults: A study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263455. [PMID: 35113957 PMCID: PMC8812960 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Both physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are considered modifiable risk factors for chronic diseases and all-cause mortality. Adult office-workers spend most of their working day in sedentary behaviors, so they are particularly at high risk of developed chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders like diabetes mellitus, …). It seems important to promote behavioral changes that could prevent or delay metabolic disease development. Evidence supports the use of exercise programs, however, to date there are several knowledge gaps and inconsistencies in the literature regarding the effects of Combined Training (i.e., aerobic plus resistance training) in sedentary healthy adults. This paper outlines an RCT designed to evaluate the effects of a 16-week combined training program on biochemical and immune markers of metabolic disease, lung function, salivary stress hormones and subjective quality of life (primary outcomes), as well as on body composition and physical fitness (secondary outcomes) in sedentary middle-aged office-workers. Furthermore, we aimed to assess the associations between the changes promoted by the exercise program and the different variables studied.
Methods and design
This is a single-blinded two-arm RCT with parallel groups. A minimum of healthy 40 office-workers aged 40–64 years will be recruited to engage in a 16-week intervention study. After baseline assessments, participants will be randomized to one of the two groups: (1) combined training group or (2) control group. Baseline assessments will be repeated after 8 weeks of intervention (mid-testing) and upon completion of the intervention (post-testing).
Discussion
This RCT involves a multi-disciplinary approach and seems to be a relevant contribution to understanding the potential role of combined training in improving the metabolic profile, lung function, stress, and quality of life in adults. The results can provide important insights for clinical recommendations and for the optimization of strategies to prevent metabolic disorders in adults with sedentary jobs.
Trial registration
This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (registration number: NCT04868240; date of registration April 30, 2021).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- José Pedro Ferreira
- Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF, UID/PTD/04213/2019), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Pedro Duarte-Mendes
- Department of Sports and Well-Being, Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal
- Sport, Health & Exercise Research Unit (SHERU), Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal
| | - Ana M. Teixeira
- Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF, UID/PTD/04213/2019), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Fernanda M. Silva
- Research Unit for Sport and Physical Activity (CIDAF, UID/PTD/04213/2019), Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Carvalho SB, Gomes RA, Pfenninger A, Fischer M, Strotbek M, Isidro IA, Tugçu N, Gomes-Alves P. Multi attribute method implementation using a High Resolution Mass Spectrometry platform: From sample preparation to batch analysis. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262711. [PMID: 35085302 PMCID: PMC8794205 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Quality control of biopharmaceuticals such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has been evolving and becoming more challenging as the requirements of the regulatory agencies increase due to the demanding complexity of products under evaluation. Mass Spectrometry (MS)-based methods such as the multi-attribute method (MAM) are being explored to achieve a deeper understanding of the attributes critical for the safety, efficacy, and quality of these products. MAM uses high mass accuracy/high-resolution MS data that enables the direct and simultaneous monitoring of relevant product quality attributes (PQAs, in particular, chemical modifications) in a single workflow, replacing several orthogonal methods, reducing time and costs associated with these assays. Here we describe a MAM implementation process using a QTOF high resolution platform. Method implementation was accomplished using NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) mAb reference material and an in-process mAb sample. PQAs as glycosylation profiles, methionine oxidation, tryptophan dioxidation, asparagine deamidation, pyro-Glu at N-terminal and glycation were monitored. Focusing on applications that require batch analysis and high-throughput, sample preparation and LC-MS parameters troubleshooting are discussed. This MAM workflow was successfully explored as reference analytical tool for comprehensive characterization of a downstream processing (DSP) polishing platform and for a comparability study following technology transfer between different laboratories.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sofia B. Carvalho
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnologica, Oeiras, Portugal
- ITQB-NOVA, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Ricardo A. Gomes
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnologica, Oeiras, Portugal
- ITQB-NOVA, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Anja Pfenninger
- Sanofi R&D, Biologics Development, Industriepark Höchst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Martina Fischer
- Sanofi R&D, Biologics Development, Industriepark Höchst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Michaela Strotbek
- Sanofi R&D, Biologics Development, Industriepark Höchst, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Inês A. Isidro
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnologica, Oeiras, Portugal
- ITQB-NOVA, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Nihal Tugçu
- Mammalian Platform, Global CMC Development, Sanofi, Framingham, MA, United States of America
| | - Patrícia Gomes-Alves
- iBET, Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnologica, Oeiras, Portugal
- ITQB-NOVA, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Pereira AM, de Lurdes Nunes Enes Dapkevicius M, Borba AES. Alternative pathways for hydrogen sink originated from the ruminal fermentation of carbohydrates: Which microorganisms are involved in lowering methane emission? Anim Microbiome 2022; 4:5. [PMID: 34991722 PMCID: PMC8734291 DOI: 10.1186/s42523-021-00153-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Agriculture is responsible for a great share of the anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases that, by warming the earth, threaten its biodiversity. Among greenhouse gas emissions, enteric CH4 from livestock is an important target to slow down climate changes. The CH4 is originated from rumen fermentation and its concentration is affected by several factors, including genetics and nutrition. Ruminants have an extraordinary symbiosis with microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and protozoa) that ferment otherwise indigestible carbohydrates, from which they obtain energy to grow and continue actively producing, among other products, volatile fatty acids, CO2 and H2. Detrimental ruminal accumulation of H2 is avoided by methanogenesis carried out by Archaea methanogens. Importantly, methanogenesis is not the only H2 sink pathway. In fact, other bacteria can reduce substrates using metabolic hydrogen formed during carbohydrate fermentation, namely propionate production and reductive acetogenesis, thus lowering the CH4 produced. Although the complexity of rumen poses challenges to mitigate CH4 production, the emergence of sequencing techniques that allow the study of microbial communities, gene expression, and metabolome are largely contributing to unravel pathways and key players in the rumen. Indeed, it is now recognized that in vivo emissions of CH4 are correlated to microbial communities, and particularly with the abundance of methanogens, several bacterial groups, and their genes. The goal of CH4 mitigation is to work in favor of the natural processes, without compromising rumen function, animal health, and productivity. Notwithstanding, the major challenge continues to be the feasibility and affordability of the proposed solutions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Margarida Pereira
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e do Ambiente, Instituto de Investigação em Tecnologias Agrárias e do Ambiente (IITAA), Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Angra do Heroísmo, rua Capitão João d’Ávila, 9700-042 Açores Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
| | - Maria de Lurdes Nunes Enes Dapkevicius
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e do Ambiente, Instituto de Investigação em Tecnologias Agrárias e do Ambiente (IITAA), Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Angra do Heroísmo, rua Capitão João d’Ávila, 9700-042 Açores Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
| | - Alfredo E. S. Borba
- Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e do Ambiente, Instituto de Investigação em Tecnologias Agrárias e do Ambiente (IITAA), Universidade dos Açores, Campus de Angra do Heroísmo, rua Capitão João d’Ávila, 9700-042 Açores Angra do Heroísmo, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Simões LMFR, Tavares NAR, Ferreira-Pêgo C. Plant-Based Diet and IGF-1 Modulation on HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: A Lifestyle Medicine Nutrition Approach in Oncology. Am J Lifestyle Med 2022; 16:36-45. [PMID: 35185425 PMCID: PMC8848116 DOI: 10.1177/15598276211023048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women worldwide, where nutritional intervention should be part of a multidisciplinary lifestyle approach in oncology, promoting therapeutic success. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), along with estrogen, can promote the development of neoplastic cells in breast tissue. Cancers that develop under IGF-1 stimulation are often resistant to therapy. This case report describes a 47-year-old woman, body mass index 27.4 kg/m2, with HER2-positive breast cancer, as well as elevated blood glucose, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Soon after her breast cancer diagnosis, she transitioned from a Western pattern diet (WPD) to a predominantly whole-food, plant-based diet (PWFPBD) for 1035 days, followed by 232 days of PWFPBD plus night fasting for 16 hours per day. IGF-1 decreased 22.38%, glycemia and total cholesterol decreased by -55.06% and -36.00% at the end of the first intervention and went up by 6.25%, and 3.87%, respectively, at the end of the second intervention. A PWFPBD, with or without 16-hour overnight fasting, seems to modulate plasma levels of IGF-1 on a 47-year-old woman diagnosed with breast cancer, type HER2-positive. Future research, should explore the physiologic and pathophysiological mechanisms and clarify whether this dietary strategy, may be clinically useful in preventing HER2-positive breast cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laurinda M. F. R. Simões
- School of Sciences and Health Technologies, Universidade Lusófona de Humanidades e Tecnologias, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Nelson A. R. Tavares
- CBIOS-University Lusófona’s Research Center for Biosciences and Health Technologies, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Cíntia Ferreira-Pêgo
- CBIOS-University Lusófona’s Research Center for Biosciences and Health Technologies, Lisbon, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Ramalhete C, Gonçalves BMF, Barbosa F, Duarte N, Ferreira MJU. Momordica balsamina: phytochemistry and pharmacological potential of a gifted species. Phytochem Rev 2022; 21:617-646. [PMID: 35153639 PMCID: PMC8821832 DOI: 10.1007/s11101-022-09802-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Momordica balsamina L. (Cucurbitaceae), frequently named balsam apple, southern balsam pear or African pumpkin, is a vegetable with high nutritional value, being mostly used as food in sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been largely used in traditional medicine to treat several diseases, such as malaria fevers and diabetes. As a member of the Cucurbitaceae family, the main constituents are cucurbitane-type triterpenoids, with different oxidation patterns, named cucurbitacins. This review aims at summarizing our contribution to the phytochemical study of M. balsamina and the evaluation of the isolated cucurbitacins and derivatives as multidrug resistance reversers in cancer cells and bacteria. In this way, the selective antiproliferative activity against multidrug resistant cancer cells of cucurbitacins obtained from M. balsamina, their ability as P-glycoprotein inhibitors in cancer cells overexpressing this ABC transporter, as well as efflux pump inhibitors in resistant bacteria strains are reviewed. Moreover, the in vitro antimalarial activity of cucurbitacins and acyl derivatives against the blood and liver-stages of Plasmodium strains, and the in vivo activity of selected compounds is also reviewed. Besides our work, edible and medicinal uses, and other studies mainly reporting the biological activities of M. balsamina extracts, such as antidiabetic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties are also addressed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cátia Ramalhete
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
- ATLÂNTICA – Instituto Universitário, Fábrica da Pólvora de Barcarena, Barcarena, Oeiras, 2730-036 Portugal
| | - Bruno M. F. Gonçalves
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Filipa Barbosa
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Noélia Duarte
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Maria-José U. Ferreira
- Research Institute for Medicines and Pharmaceutical Sciences (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Gouveia M, Sorčan T, Zemljič-Jokhadar Š, Travasso RDM, Liović M. A mathematical model for the dependence of keratin aggregate formation on the quantity of mutant keratin expressed in EGFP-K14 R125P keratinocytes. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261227. [PMID: 34962936 PMCID: PMC8714116 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined keratin aggregate formation and the possible mechanisms involved. With this aim, we observed the effect that different ratios between mutant and wild-type keratins expressed in cultured keratinocytes may have on aggregate formation in vitro, as well as how keratin aggregate formation affects the mechanical properties of cells at the cell cortex. To this end we prepared clones with expression rates as close as possible to 25%, 50% and 100% of the EGFP-K14 proteins (either WT or R125P and V270M mutants). Our results showed that only in the case of the 25% EGFP-K14 R125P mutant significant differences could be seen. Namely, we observed in this case the largest accumulation of keratin aggregates and a significant reduction in cell stiffness. To gain insight into the possible mechanisms behind this observation, we extended our previous mathematical model of keratin dynamics by implementing a more complex reaction network that considers the coexistence of wild-type and mutant keratins in the cell. The new model, consisting of a set of coupled, non-linear, ordinary differential equations, allowed us to draw conclusions regarding the relative amounts of intermediate filaments and aggregates in cells, and suggested that aggregate formation by asymmetric binding between wild-type and mutant keratins could explain the data obtained on cells grown in culture.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcos Gouveia
- Department of Physics, CFisUC, Center of Physics of the University of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- * E-mail: (MG); (RDMT); (ML)
| | | | - Špela Zemljič-Jokhadar
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biophysics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Rui D. M. Travasso
- Department of Physics, CFisUC, Center of Physics of the University of Coimbra, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- * E-mail: (MG); (RDMT); (ML)
| | - Mirjana Liović
- Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center for Molecular Biology, Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- * E-mail: (MG); (RDMT); (ML)
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Matos M, McEwan K, Kanovský M, Halamová J, Steindl SR, Ferreira N, Linharelhos M, Rijo D, Asano K, Vilas SP, Márquez MG, Gregório S, Brito-Pons G, Lucena-Santos P, Oliveira MDS, de Souza EL, Llobenes L, Gumiy N, Costa MI, Habib N, Hakem R, Khrad H, Alzahrani A, Cheli S, Petrocchi N, Tholouli E, Issari P, Simos G, Lunding-Gregersen V, Elklit A, Kolts R, Kelly AC, Bortolon C, Delamillieure P, Paucsik M, Wahl JE, Zieba M, Zatorski M, Komendziński T, Zhang S, Basran J, Kagialis A, Kirby J, Gilbert P. The role of social connection on the experience of COVID-19 related post-traumatic growth and stress. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261384. [PMID: 34910779 PMCID: PMC8673633 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Historically social connection has been an important way through which humans have coped with large-scale threatening events. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns have deprived people of major sources of social support and coping, with others representing threats. Hence, a major stressor during the pandemic has been a sense of social disconnection and loneliness. This study explores how people's experience of compassion and feeling socially safe and connected, in contrast to feeling socially disconnected, lonely and fearful of compassion, effects the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth and post-traumatic stress. METHODS Adult participants from the general population (N = 4057) across 21 countries worldwide, completed self-report measures of social connection (compassion for self, from others, for others; social safeness), social disconnection (fears of compassion for self, from others, for others; loneliness), perceived threat of COVID-19, post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. RESULTS Perceived threat of COVID-19 predicted increased post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress. Social connection (compassion and social safeness) predicted higher post-traumatic growth and traumatic stress, whereas social disconnection (fears of compassion and loneliness) predicted increased traumatic symptoms only. Social connection heightened the impact of perceived threat of COVID-19 on post-traumatic growth, while social disconnection weakened this impact. Social disconnection magnified the impact of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on traumatic stress. These effects were consistent across all countries. CONCLUSIONS Social connection is key to how people adapt and cope with the worldwide COVID-19 crisis and may facilitate post-traumatic growth in the context of the threat experienced during the pandemic. In contrast, social disconnection increases vulnerability to develop post-traumatic stress in this threatening context. Public health and Government organizations could implement interventions to foster compassion and feelings of social safeness and reduce experiences of social disconnection, thus promoting growth, resilience and mental wellbeing during and following the pandemic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcela Matos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kirsten McEwan
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Kanovský
- Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Institute of Social Anthropology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Júlia Halamová
- Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Institute of Applied Psychology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Stanley R. Steindl
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Nuno Ferreira
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Mariana Linharelhos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniel Rijo
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Kenichi Asano
- Department of Psychological Counseling, Faculty of Psychology, Mejiro University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sara P. Vilas
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Margarita G. Márquez
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sónia Gregório
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Behavior, Emotions, and Health Research Group, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gonzalo Brito-Pons
- Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Paola Lucena-Santos
- University of Coimbra, Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Margareth da Silva Oliveira
- Evaluation and Treatment in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies—Research Group (GAAPCC), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | - Noor Habib
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reham Hakem
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hussain Khrad
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmad Alzahrani
- Neuroscience Department, Section of Psychiatry and Psychology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH&RC), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Simone Cheli
- School of Human Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Nicola Petrocchi
- Department of Economics and Social Sciences, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy
| | - Elli Tholouli
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Philia Issari
- Center for Qualitative Research in Psychology and Psychosocial Well-being, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Gregoris Simos
- Department of Educational and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Ask Elklit
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Russell Kolts
- Department of Psychology, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA, United States of America
| | - Allison C. Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
| | - Catherine Bortolon
- Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
- Centre Hospitalier Alpes Isère, C3R - Réhabilitation psychosociale et remédiation cognitive, Grenoble, France
| | - Pascal Delamillieure
- CHU de Caen, Service de Psychiatrie Adulte, Caen, France
- UNICAEN, ISTS, GIP Cyceron, University of Normandy, Caen, France
| | - Marine Paucsik
- Laboratoire Inter-universitaire de Psychologie: Personnalité, Cognition et Changement Social, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble, France
| | - Julia E. Wahl
- The Mind Institute Poland, Warsaw, Poland
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw & Poznań, Poland
| | - Mariusz Zieba
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw & Poznań, Poland
| | - Mateusz Zatorski
- SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw & Poznań, Poland
| | - Tomasz Komendziński
- Department of Cognitive Science, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torún, Poland
- Neurocognitive Laboratory, Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torún, Poland
| | - Shuge Zhang
- School of Human Sciences, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Jaskaran Basran
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
| | - Antonios Kagialis
- Department of Social Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - James Kirby
- Compassionate Mind Research Group, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Paul Gilbert
- Centre for Compassion Research and Training, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Vonk FJ, Bittenbinder MA, Kerkkamp HMI, Grashof DGB, Archer JP, Afonso S, Richardson MK, Kool J, van der Meijden A. A non-lethal method for studying scorpion venom gland transcriptomes, with a review of potentially suitable taxa to which it can be applied. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258712. [PMID: 34793470 PMCID: PMC8601437 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Scorpion venoms are mixtures of proteins, peptides and small molecular compounds with high specificity for ion channels and are therefore considered to be promising candidates in the venoms-to-drugs pipeline. Transcriptomes are important tools for studying the composition and expression of scorpion venom. Unfortunately, studying the venom gland transcriptome traditionally requires sacrificing the animal and therefore is always a single snapshot in time. This paper describes a new way of generating a scorpion venom gland transcriptome without sacrificing the animal, thereby allowing the study of the transcriptome at various time points within a single individual. By comparing these venom-derived transcriptomes to the traditional whole-telson transcriptomes we show that the relative expression levels of the major toxin classes are similar. We further performed a multi-day extraction using our proposed method to show the possibility of doing a multiple time point transcriptome analysis. This allows for the study of patterns of toxin gene activation over time a single individual, and allows assessment of the effects of diet, season and other factors that are known or likely to influence intraindividual venom composition. We discuss the gland characteristics that may allow this method to be successful in scorpions and provide a review of other venomous taxa to which this method may potentially be successfully applied.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Freek J. Vonk
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Sciences, Division of BioAnalytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Animal Science and Health Cluster, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Mátyás A. Bittenbinder
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Faculty of Sciences, Division of BioAnalytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Harald M. I. Kerkkamp
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Animal Science and Health Cluster, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - John P. Archer
- CIBIO-InBIO, Biopolis, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Sandra Afonso
- CIBIO-InBIO, Biopolis, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Michael K. Richardson
- Animal Science and Health Cluster, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen Kool
- Faculty of Sciences, Division of BioAnalytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | |
Collapse
|
16
|
de Sousa ML, Peixoto MM, Cruz S. The association of social skills and behaviour problems with bullying engagement in Portuguese adolescents: From aggression to victimization behaviors. Curr Psychol 2021; 42:1-14. [PMID: 34803339 PMCID: PMC8591318 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-02491-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
This study examines sex differences regarding social skills, behavior problems and bullying engagement, and the association of social skills and behavior problems with bullying engagement, in adolescents. Participants were 447 Portuguese adolescents (252 girls and 195 boys) aged between 12 and 19-years-old. Social skills and behavior problems were assessed using the self-report version of Social Skills Improvement System - Rating Scales. Bullying engagement was assessed using the Scale of Interpersonal Behavior at School. Girls scored higher on social skills and reported more internalizing and fewer externalizing problems than boys, whereas boys reported more aggressive verbal behaviors than girls. Adolescents exhibiting fewer social skills and more internalizing and externalizing problems engage more frequently in bullying aggressive behaviors. In addition, adolescents presenting more internalizing and externalizing problems are more often victimized by bullies. Furthermore, boys more frequently engage in bullying aggressive and victimization behaviors, whereas younger adolescents with more social skills tend to engage less frequently in bullying aggressive behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Lopes de Sousa
- Psychology for Positive Development Research Center, Lusíada University – North, Porto, Rua de Moçambique n° 21 e 71, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria Manuela Peixoto
- Psychology for Positive Development Research Center, Lusíada University – North, Porto, Rua de Moçambique n° 21 e 71, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal
| | - Sara Cruz
- Psychology for Positive Development Research Center, Lusíada University – North, Porto, Rua de Moçambique n° 21 e 71, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Patrício P, Araújo NAM. Inheritances, social classes, and wealth distribution. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0259002. [PMID: 34705873 PMCID: PMC8550378 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We consider a simple theoretical model to investigate the impact of inheritances on the wealth distribution. Wealth is described as a finite resource, which remains constant over different generations and is divided equally among offspring. All other sources of wealth are neglected. We consider different societies characterized by a different offspring probability distribution. We find that, if the population remains constant, the society reaches a stationary wealth distribution. We show that inequality emerges every time the number of children per family is not always the same. For realistic offspring distributions from developed countries, the model predicts a Gini coefficient of G ≈ 0.3. If we divide the society into wealth classes and set the probability of getting married to depend on the distance between classes, the stationary wealth distribution crosses over from an exponential to a power-law regime as the number of wealth classes and the level of class distinction increase.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Patrício
- Departamento de Física, ISEL - Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa, Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- Centro de Física Teórica e Computacional, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| | - Nuno A. M. Araújo
- Centro de Física Teórica e Computacional, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Ávila L, Ferreira LMDF, Amorim M. What is different about social enterprises’ operational practices and capabilities? Oper Manag Res 2021. [PMCID: PMC8453028 DOI: 10.1007/s12063-021-00213-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to identify the main practices and capabilities developed by social enterprises and to explore the relationship between the dual organizational identity of social enterprises and their operational capabilities. A multiple case-study research is conducted comprising five cases representative of the diversity of social enterprise models. The results suggest that the operations strategy in social enterprises is influenced by their dual organizational identity and entails some operational practices and capabilities beyond those traditionally reported in manufacturing companies. They adopt a greater diversity of practices aimed at improvement and cooperation capabilities and their specificities lead to the development of the mobilization of resources capability and the openness capability. Social enterprises with a high social identity show greater evidence of the development of these operational capabilities. This study contributes to the literature on operations strategy by identifying a set of operational practices and capabilities developed by social enterprises and exploring how they are influenced by their dual organizational identity. It responds to the claims that suggest that studying social enterprises would be a fertile ground to advance theoretical and empirical research in the field of service operations. Developing knowledge on the operations management of social enterprises provides valuable insights into improving the performance of such organizations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Liliana Ávila
- Research Unit On Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP) and Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, 3810-193 Portugal
| | - Luís Miguel D. F. Ferreira
- University of Coimbra, CEMMPRE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, R. Luis Reis Dos Santos 290, Coimbra, 3030-194 Portugal
| | - Marlene Amorim
- Research Unit On Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP) and Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, 3810-193 Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Jorge S, Capelo JL, LaFramboise W, Satturwar S, Korentzelos D, Bastacky S, Quiroga-Garza G, Dhir R, Wiśniewski JR, Lodeiro C, Santos HM. Absolute quantitative proteomics using the total protein approach to identify novel clinical immunohistochemical markers in renal neoplasms. BMC Med 2021; 19:196. [PMID: 34482820 PMCID: PMC8420025 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-021-02071-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Renal neoplasms encompass a variety of malignant and benign tumors, including many with shared characteristics. The diagnosis of these renal neoplasms remains challenging with currently available tools. In this work, we demonstrate the total protein approach (TPA) based on high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) as a tool to improve the accuracy of renal neoplasm diagnosis. METHODS Frozen tissue biopsies of human renal tissues [clear cell renal cell carcinoma (n = 7), papillary renal cell carcinoma (n = 5), chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (n = 5), and renal oncocytoma (n = 5)] were collected for proteome analysis. Normal adjacent renal tissue (NAT, n = 5) was used as a control. Proteins were extracted and digested using trypsin, and the digested proteomes were analyzed by label-free high-resolution MS (nanoLC-ESI-HR-MS/MS). Quantitative analysis was performed by comparison between protein abundances of tumors and NAT specimens, and the label-free and standard-free TPA was used to obtain absolute protein concentrations. RESULTS A total of 205 differentially expressed proteins with the potential to distinguish the renal neoplasms were found. Of these proteins, a TPA-based panel of 24, including known and new biomarkers, was selected as the best candidates to differentiate the neoplasms. As proof of concept, the diagnostic potential of PLIN2, TUBB3, LAMP1, and HK1 was validated using semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry with a total of 128 samples assessed on tissue micro-arrays. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate the utility of combining high-resolution MS and the TPA as potential new diagnostic tool in the pathology of renal neoplasms. A similar TPA approach may be implemented in any cancer study with solid biopsies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susana Jorge
- BIOSCOPE Group, LAQV-REQUIMTE, Chemistry Department, NOVA School of Science and Technology, FCT NOVA, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
- PROTEOMASS Scientific Society, Madan Park, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
| | - José L Capelo
- BIOSCOPE Group, LAQV-REQUIMTE, Chemistry Department, NOVA School of Science and Technology, FCT NOVA, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
- PROTEOMASS Scientific Society, Madan Park, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
| | - William LaFramboise
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Swati Satturwar
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Dimitrios Korentzelos
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sheldon Bastacky
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | | | - Rajiv Dhir
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jacek R Wiśniewski
- Biochemical Proteomics Group, Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Carlos Lodeiro
- BIOSCOPE Group, LAQV-REQUIMTE, Chemistry Department, NOVA School of Science and Technology, FCT NOVA, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
- PROTEOMASS Scientific Society, Madan Park, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal
| | - Hugo M Santos
- BIOSCOPE Group, LAQV-REQUIMTE, Chemistry Department, NOVA School of Science and Technology, FCT NOVA, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal.
- PROTEOMASS Scientific Society, Madan Park, 2829-516, Caparica, Portugal.
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Rebelo JS, Domingues CPF, Monteiro F, Nogueira T, Dionisio F. Bacterial persistence is essential for susceptible cell survival in indirect resistance, mainly for lower cell densities. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246500. [PMID: 34473689 PMCID: PMC8412311 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Antibiotic-susceptible bacteria may survive bactericidal antibiotics if other co-inhabiting bacteria detoxify the medium through antibiotic degradation or modification, a phenomenon denominated as indirect resistance. However, it is unclear how susceptible cells survive while the medium is still toxic. One explanation relies on the speed of detoxification, and another, non-exclusive explanation, relies on persistence, a state of bacterial dormancy where cells with low metabolic activity and growth rates are phenotypically tolerant to antibiotics and other cytotoxic substances. Here we simulated the fate of susceptible cells in laboratory experiments in the context of indirect resistance to understand whether persistence is necessary to explain the survival of susceptible cells. Depending on the strain and experimental conditions, the decay of persister populations may follow an exponential or a power-law distribution. Therefore, we studied the impact of both distributions in the simulations. Moreover, we studied the impact of considering that persister cells have a mechanism to sense the presence of a toxic substance–a mechanism that would enable cells to leave the dormant state when the medium becomes nontoxic. The simulations show that surviving susceptible cells under indirect resistance may originate both from persister and non-persister populations if the density of detoxifying cells is high. However, persistence was necessary when the initial density of detoxifying cells was low, although persister cells remained in that dormancy state for just a few hours. Finally, the results of our simulations are consistent both with exponential and power-law decay of the persistence population. Whether indirect resistance involves persistence should impact antibiotic treatments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- João S. Rebelo
- cE3c –Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Célia P. F. Domingues
- cE3c –Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- INIAV, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, I.P., Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Francisca Monteiro
- cE3c –Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Teresa Nogueira
- cE3c –Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- INIAV, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, I.P., Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Francisco Dionisio
- cE3c –Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Costa R, Costa Lima SA, Gameiro P, Reis S. On the Development of a Cutaneous Flavonoid Delivery System: Advances and Limitations. Antioxidants (Basel) 2021; 10:1376. [PMID: 34573007 PMCID: PMC8472229 DOI: 10.3390/antiox10091376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Flavonoids are one of the vital classes of natural polyphenolic compounds abundantly found in plants. Due to their wide range of therapeutic properties, which include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, photoprotective, and depigmentation effects, flavonoids have been demonstrated to be promising agents in the treatment of several skin disorders. However, their lipophilic nature and poor water solubility invariably lead to limited oral bioavailability. In addition, they are rapidly degraded and metabolized in the human body, hindering their potential contribution to the prevention and treatment of many disorders. Thus, to overcome these challenges, several cutaneous delivery systems have been extensively studied. Topical drug delivery besides offering an alternative administration route also ensures a sustained release of the active compound at the desired site of action. Incorporation into lipid or polymer-based nanoparticles appears to be a highly effective approach for cutaneous delivery of flavonoids with good encapsulation potential and reduced toxicity. This review focuses on currently available formulations used to administer either topically or systemically different classes of flavonoids in the skin, highlighting their potential application as therapeutic and preventive agents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Costa
- LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; (R.C.); (S.A.C.L.)
- LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Sofia A. Costa Lima
- LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; (R.C.); (S.A.C.L.)
| | - Paula Gameiro
- LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal;
| | - Salette Reis
- LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; (R.C.); (S.A.C.L.)
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Rapanta C, Botturi L, Goodyear P, Guàrdia L, Koole M. Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education. Postdigit Sci Educ 2021. [PMCID: PMC8349973 DOI: 10.1007/s42438-021-00249-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for rethinking assumptions about education in general and higher education in particular. In the light of the general crisis the pandemic caused, especially when it comes to the so-called emergency remote teaching (ERT), educators from all grades and contexts experienced the necessity of rethinking their roles, the ways of supporting the students’ learning tasks and the image of students as self-organising learners, active citizens and autonomous social agents. In our first Postdigital Science and Education paper, we sought to distil and share some expert advice for campus-based university teachers to adapt to online teaching and learning. In this sequel paper, we ask ourselves: Now that campus-based university teachers have experienced the unplanned and forced version of Online Learning and Teaching (OLT), how can this experience help bridge the gap between online and in-person teaching in the following years? The four experts, also co-authors of this paper, interviewed aligning towards an emphasis on pedagogisation rather than digitalisation of higher education, with strategic decision-making being in the heart of post-pandemic practices. Our literature review of papers published in the last year and analysis of the expert answers reveal that the ‘forced’ experience of teaching with digital technologies as part of ERT can gradually give place to a harmonious integration of physical and digital tools and methods for the sake of more active, flexible and meaningful learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Luca Botturi
- University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Locarno, Switzerland
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
23
|
Alenquer M, Ferreira F, Lousa D, Valério M, Medina-Lopes M, Bergman ML, Gonçalves J, Demengeot J, Leite RB, Lilue J, Ning Z, Penha-Gonçalves C, Soares H, Soares CM, Amorim MJ. Signatures in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein conferring escape to neutralizing antibodies. PLoS Pathog 2021; 17:e1009772. [PMID: 34352039 PMCID: PMC8341613 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding SARS-CoV-2 evolution and host immunity is critical to control COVID-19 pandemics. At the core is an arms-race between SARS-CoV-2 antibody and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) recognition, a function of the viral protein spike. Mutations in spike impacting antibody and/or ACE2 binding are appearing worldwide, imposing the need to monitor SARS-CoV2 evolution and dynamics in the population. Determining signatures in SARS-CoV-2 that render the virus resistant to neutralizing antibodies is critical. We engineered 25 spike-pseudotyped lentiviruses containing individual and combined mutations in the spike protein, including all defining mutations in the variants of concern, to identify the effect of single and synergic amino acid substitutions in promoting immune escape. We confirmed that E484K evades antibody neutralization elicited by infection or vaccination, a capacity augmented when complemented by K417N and N501Y mutations. In silico analysis provided an explanation for E484K immune evasion. E484 frequently engages in interactions with antibodies but not with ACE2. Importantly, we identified a novel amino acid of concern, S494, which shares a similar pattern. Using the already circulating mutation S494P, we found that it reduces antibody neutralization of convalescent and post-immunization sera, particularly when combined with E484K and with mutations able to increase binding to ACE2, such as N501Y. Our analysis of synergic mutations provides a signature for hotspots for immune evasion and for targets of therapies, vaccines and diagnostics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Alenquer
- Cell Biology of Viral Infection Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Filipe Ferreira
- Cell Biology of Viral Infection Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Diana Lousa
- ITQB NOVA, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Mariana Valério
- ITQB NOVA, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Mónica Medina-Lopes
- Cell Biology of Viral Infection Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Oeiras, Portugal
| | | | - Juliana Gonçalves
- CEDOC NOVA, Centro de Estudos de Doenças Crónicas, Nova Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Jocelyne Demengeot
- Lymphocyte Physiology Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Ricardo B. Leite
- Genomics Unit, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Jingtao Lilue
- Bioinformatics Unit, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Zemin Ning
- The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute; Hinxton, United Kingdom
| | | | - Helena Soares
- CEDOC NOVA, Centro de Estudos de Doenças Crónicas, Nova Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Cláudio M. Soares
- ITQB NOVA, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa; Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Maria João Amorim
- Cell Biology of Viral Infection Lab, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência; Oeiras, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Martins A, Scotto M, Deus R, Monteiro A, Gouveia S. Association between respiratory hospital admissions and air quality in Portugal: A count time series approach. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0253455. [PMID: 34242247 PMCID: PMC8270143 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Although regulatory improvements for air quality in the European Union have been made, air pollution is still a pressing problem and, its impact on health, both mortality and morbidity, is a topic of intense research nowadays. The main goal of this work is to assess the impact of the exposure to air pollutants on the number of daily hospital admissions due to respiratory causes in 58 spatial locations of Portugal mainland, during the period 2005-2017. To this end, INteger Generalised AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (INGARCH)-based models are extensively used. This family of models has proven to be very useful in the analysis of serially dependent count data. Such models include information on the past history of the time series, as well as the effect of external covariates. In particular, daily hospitalisation counts, air quality and temperature data are endowed within INGARCH models of optimal orders, where the automatic inclusion of the most significant covariates is carried out through a new block-forward procedure. The INGARCH approach is adequate to model the outcome variable (respiratory hospital admissions) and the covariates, which advocates for the use of count time series approaches in this setting. Results show that the past history of the count process carries very relevant information and that temperature is the most determinant covariate, among the analysed, for daily hospital respiratory admissions. It is important to stress that, despite the small variability explained by air quality, all models include on average, approximately two air pollutants covariates besides temperature. Further analysis shows that the one-step-ahead forecasts distributions are well separated into two clusters: one cluster includes locations exclusively in the Lisbon area (exhibiting higher number of one-step-ahead hospital admissions forecasts), while the other contains the remaining locations. This results highlights that special attention must be given to air quality in Lisbon metropolitan area in order to decrease the number of hospital admissions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Martins
- Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro (IEETA) and Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (DETI), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Manuel Scotto
- Center for Computational and Stochastic Mathematics (CEMAT), Department of Mathematics, IST, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Deus
- Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, I.P. (IPMA, I.P.), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Alexandra Monteiro
- CESAM, Department of Environment and Planning, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Sónia Gouveia
- Institute of Electronics and Informatics Engineering of Aveiro (IEETA) and Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (DETI), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- Center for R&D in Mathematics and Applications (CIDMA), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Branquinho L, Ferraz R, Travassos B, Marinho DA, Marques MC. Effects of Different Recovery Times on Internal and External Load During Small-Sided Games in Soccer. Sports Health 2021; 13:324-331. [PMID: 33622118 PMCID: PMC8645317 DOI: 10.1177/1941738121995469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ability to maintain a high intensity of exercise over several repetitions depends on recovery from previous exercises. This study aimed to identify the effects of different recovery times on internal and external load during small-sided soccer games. HYPOTHESIS An increase in recovery time will increase the external training load and decrease the internal exercise load, which will result in a greater physical impact of the exercise. STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level 2. METHODS Twenty male semiprofessional soccer players participated in the present study. They performed the same exercise (5-a-side game format) continuously (1 × 18 minutes) and repeatedly/fractionated (3 × 6 minutes) with different recovery times (30 seconds, 1 minute, 1.5 minutes, and 2 minutes). Their internal load (ie, average heart rate (HR) and maximum HR) and external load (ie, total distance, maximum speed, and ratio meters) were measured using an HR band and an inertial device equipped with a global positioning system, respectively. RESULTS The manipulation of recovery times induced differences in the internal and external load. For the same total duration, the external and internal load indicators exhibited higher values during the fractionated method, particularly with short recovery periods. CONCLUSION The application of small-sided soccer games with different recovery times induced varying responses in training load. To maintain high physical performance and high training load, the fractional method with short recovery periods (ie, 30 seconds) should be used. In contrast, to carefully manage players' efforts and decrease response to training load, continuous or fractional methods with longer recovery periods (ie, 1-2 minutes) should be used. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The proper prescription of recovery time between exercises facilitates enhanced training efficiency and optimized performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luis Branquinho
- Department of Sports Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Ferraz
- Department of Sports Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
- Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, CIDESD, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - Bruno Travassos
- Department of Sports Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
- Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, CIDESD, Covilhã, Portugal
- Portugal Football School, Portugal Football Federation (FPF), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Daniel A. Marinho
- Department of Sports Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
- Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, CIDESD, Covilhã, Portugal
| | - Mário C. Marques
- Department of Sports Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
- Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development, CIDESD, Covilhã, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Abstract
BACKGROUND The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin have been repeatedly implicated in social decision making by enhancing social salience and, generally, cooperation. The iterated and sequential version of the prisoner's dilemma (PD) game is a social dilemma paradigm eliciting strategies of cooperation versus competition. AIMS We aimed to characterise the role of PD players' sex, game partner type (computer vs. human) and oxytocin or vasopressin inhalation on the player's strategy preference. METHODS Participants (153 men; 151 women) were randomised to intranasal 24 IU oxytocin, 20 IU vasopressin or placebo, double-blind, and played the PD. We examined main and interactive effects of sex, drug and partner type on strategy preference. RESULTS We found a pervasive preference for a tit-for-tat strategy (i.e. general sensitivity to the partner's choices) over unconditional cooperation, particularly when against a human rather than a computer partner. Oxytocin doubled this sensitivity in women (i.e. the preference for tit-for-tat over unconditional cooperation strategies) when playing against computers, which suggests a tendency to anthropomorphise them, and doubled women's unconditional cooperation preference when playing against humans. Vasopressin doubled sensitivity to the partner's previous choices (i.e. for tit-for-tat over unconditional cooperation) across sexes and partner types. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that women may be more sensitive to oxytocin's social effects of anthropomorphism of non-humans and of unconditional cooperation with humans, which may be consistent with evolutionary pressures for maternal care, and that vasopressin, irrespective of sex and partner type, may be generally sensitising humans to others' behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Leonor Neto
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Marília Antunes
- Centro de Estatística e Aplicações e Departamento de Estatística e Investigação Operacional, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Manuel Lopes
- INESC-ID, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Duarte Ferreira
- Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - James Rilling
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
| | - Diana Prata
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social (CIS-IUL), Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisbon, Portugal
- Diana Prata, Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciência, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Martins J, Magalhães C, Rocha M, Osório NS. Machine Learning-Enhanced T Cell Neoepitope Discovery for Immunotherapy Design. Cancer Inform 2019; 18:1176935119852081. [PMID: 31205413 PMCID: PMC6535895 DOI: 10.1177/1176935119852081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Immune responses mediated by T cells are aimed at specific peptides, designated T cell epitopes, that are recognized when bound to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules. The HLA genes are remarkably polymorphic in the human population allowing a broad and fine-tuned capacity to bind a wide array of peptide sequences. Polymorphisms might generate neoepitopes by impacting the HLA-peptide interaction and potentially alter the level and type of generated T cell responses. Multiple algorithms and tools based on machine learning (ML) have been implemented and are able to predict HLA-peptide binding affinity with considerable accuracy. Challenges in this field include the availability of adequate epitope datasets for training and benchmarking and the development of fully integrated pipelines going from next-generation sequencing to neoepitope prediction and quality analysis metrics. Effectively predicting neoepitopes from in silico data is a demanding task that has been facilitated by ML and will be of great value for the future of personalized immunotherapies against cancer and other diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joana Martins
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Carlos Magalhães
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Miguel Rocha
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Nuno S Osório
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|