| 1. |
- Fernandes, Isabel, et al.
(författare)
-
Salt Stress Tolerance in Casuarina glauca : Insights from the Branchlets Transcriptome
- 2022
-
Ingår i: PLANTS. - : MDPI AG. - 2223-7747. ; 11:21
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change and the accelerated rate of population growth are imposing a progressive degradation of natural ecosystems worldwide. In this context, the use of pioneer trees represents a powerful approach to reverse the situation. Among others, N2-fixing actinorhizal trees constitute important elements of plant communities and have been successfully used in land reclamation at a global scale. In this study, we have analyzed the transcriptome of the photosynthetic organs of Casuarina glauca (branchlets) to unravel the molecular mechanisms underlying salt stress tolerance. For that, C. glauca plants supplied either with chemical nitrogen (KNO3+) or nodulated by Frankia (NOD+) were exposed to a gradient of salt concentrations (200, 400, and 600 mM NaCl) and RNA-Seq was performed. An average of ca. 25 million clean reads was obtained for each group of plants, corresponding to 86,202 unigenes. The patterns of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) clearly separate two groups: (i) control- and 200 mM NaCl-treated plants, and (ii) 400 and 600 mM NaCl-treated plants. Additionally, although the number of total transcripts was relatively high in both plant groups, the percentage of significant DEGs was very low, ranging from 6 (200 mM NaCl/NOD+) to 314 (600 mM NaCl/KNO3+), mostly involving down-regulation. The vast majority of up-regulated genes was related to regulatory processes, reinforcing the hypothesis that some ecotypes of C. glauca have a strong stress-responsive system with an extensive set of constitutive defense mechanisms, complemented by a tight mechanism of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. The results suggest that the robustness of the stress response system in C. glauca is regulated by a limited number of genes that tightly regulate detoxification and protein/enzyme stability, highlighting the complexity of the molecular interactions leading to salinity tolerance in this species.
|
|
| 2. |
- Coelho, Teresa, et al.
(författare)
-
Eplontersen for Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis with Polyneuropathy
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 0098-7484 .- 1538-3598. ; 330:15, s. 1448-1458
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Importance: Transthyretin gene silencing is an emerging treatment strategy for hereditary transthyretin (ATTRv) amyloidosis.Objective: To evaluate eplontersen, an investigational ligand-conjugated antisense oligonucleotide, in ATTRv polyneuropathy.Design, Setting, and Participants: NEURO-TTRansform was an open-label, single-group, phase 3 trial conducted at 40 sites across 15 countries (December 2019-April 2023) in 168 adults with Coutinho stage 1 or 2 ATTRv polyneuropathy, Neuropathy Impairment Score 10-130, and a documented TTR variant. Patients treated with placebo from NEURO-TTR (NCT01737398; March 2013-November 2017), an inotersen trial with similar eligibility criteria and end points, served as a historical placebo ("placebo") group.Interventions: Subcutaneous eplontersen (45 mg every 4 weeks; n = 144); a small reference group received subcutaneous inotersen (300 mg weekly; n = 24); subcutaneous placebo weekly (in NEURO-TTR; n = 60).Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary efficacy end points at week 65/66 were changes from baseline in serum transthyretin concentration, modified Neuropathy Impairment Score +7 (mNIS+7) composite score (scoring range, -22.3 to 346.3; higher scores indicate poorer function), and Norfolk Quality of Life Questionnaire-Diabetic Neuropathy (Norfolk QoL-DN) total score (scoring range, -4 to 136; higher scores indicate poorer quality of life). Analyses of efficacy end points were based on a mixed-effects model with repeated measures adjusted by propensity score weights.Results: Among 144 eplontersen-treated patients (mean age, 53.0 years; 69% male), 136 (94.4%) completed week-66 follow-up; among 60 placebo patients (mean age, 59.5 years; 68% male), 52 (86.7%) completed week-66 follow-up. At week 65, adjusted mean percentage reduction in serum transthyretin was -81.7% with eplontersen and -11.2% with placebo (difference, -70.4% [95% CI, -75.2% to -65.7%]; P <.001). Adjusted mean change from baseline to week 66 was lower (better) with eplontersen vs placebo for mNIS+7 composite score (0.3 vs 25.1; difference, -24.8 [95% CI, -31.0 to -18.6; P <.001) and for Norfolk QoL-DN (-5.5 vs 14.2; difference, -19.7 [95% CI, -25.6 to -13.8]; P <.001). Adverse events by week 66 that led to study drug discontinuation occurred in 6 patients (4%) in the eplontersen group vs 2 (3%) in the placebo group. Through week 66, there were 2 deaths in the eplontersen group consistent with known disease-related sequelae (cardiac arrhythmia; intracerebral hemorrhage); there were no deaths in the placebo group.Conclusions and Relevance: In patients with ATTRv polyneuropathy, the eplontersen treatment group demonstrated changes consistent with significantly lowered serum transthyretin concentration, less neuropathy impairment, and better quality of life compared with a historical placebo.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04136184; EU Clinical Trials Register: EudraCT 2019-001698-10.
|
|
| 3. |
- Drissi, Nidal, et al.
(författare)
-
A Systematic Literature Review on e-Mental Health Solutions to Assist Health Care Workers During COVID-19.
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Telemedicine journal and e-health. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc. - 1530-5627 .- 1556-3669. ; 27:6, s. 594-602
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: e-Mental health is an established field of exploiting information and communication technologies for mental health care. It offers different solutions and has shown effectiveness in managing many psychological issues. Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has critically influenced health care systems and health care workers (HCWs). HCWs are working under hard conditions, and are suffering from different psychological issues, including anxiety, stress, and depression. Consequently, there is an undeniable need of mental care interventions for HCWs. Under the circumstances caused by COVID-19, e-health interventions can be used as tools to assist HCWs with their mental health. These solutions can provide mental health care support remotely, respecting the recommended safety measures. Materials and Methods: This study aims to identify e-mental health interventions, reported in the literature, that are developed for HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA protocol by searching the following digital libraries: IEEE, ACM, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and PubMed. Results and Discussion: Eleven publications were selected. The identified e-mental health interventions consisted of social media platforms, e-learning content, online resources and mobile applications. Only 27% of the studies included empirical evaluation of the reported interventions, 55% listed challenges and limitations related to the adoption of the reported interventions. And 45% presented interventions developed specifically for HCWs in China. The overall feedback on the identified interventions was positive, yet a lack of empirical evaluation was identified, especially regarding qualitative evidence. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance and need for e-mental health solutions for HCWs.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
- Elsik, Christine G., et al.
(författare)
-
The Genome Sequence of Taurine Cattle : A Window to Ruminant Biology and Evolution
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 324:5926, s. 522-528
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To understand the biology and evolution of ruminants, the cattle genome was sequenced to about sevenfold coverage. The cattle genome contains a minimum of 22,000 genes, with a core set of 14,345 orthologs shared among seven mammalian species of which 1217 are absent or undetected in noneutherian (marsupial or monotreme) genomes. Cattle-specific evolutionary breakpoint regions in chromosomes have a higher density of segmental duplications, enrichment of repetitive elements, and species-specific variations in genes associated with lactation and immune responsiveness. Genes involved in metabolism are generally highly conserved, although five metabolic genes are deleted or extensively diverged from their human orthologs. The cattle genome sequence thus provides a resource for understanding mammalian evolution and accelerating livestock genetic improvement for milk and meat production.
|
|
| 6. |
- Gomes Marques, Inês, et al.
(författare)
-
Germination and seed traits in common alder (Alnus spp.) : the potential contribution of rear-edge populations to ecological restoration success
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Restoration Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1061-2971 .- 1526-100X. ; 30:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The degradation of riparian ecosystems occurring throughout the past decades has motivated efforts aimed at the restoration of these ecosystems. The success of active revegetation approaches to restoration requires appropriate selection of reproductive material, which in turn requires knowledge of seed traits and germination. Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn. (common alder) is a key riparian tree widely used in restoration projects, and has recently been classified as comprising three species: A. glutinosa; A. lusitanica Vít, Douda, & Mandák; and A. rohlenae Vít, Douda, & Mandák. To help guide restoration species selection, we assessed differences among populations of these species by (1) investigating seed weight, morphology, and germination success from a large population set and (2) modeling germination success in each species in relation to morphological traits and environmental conditions. Seeds were collected from 12 populations encompassing the latitudinal extremes of the species complex, and were then characterized and germinated. Ploidy levels and species were distinguished using cytometric analysis. Site-level climatic data and seed morphology data were used to model germination success for each species. All seed traits differed between populations and one morphological-trait (seed weight-to-area ratio) differed significantly between the three species. Germination modeling showed that the southwestern species, A. lusitanica, responded positively to high temperature extremes, suggesting tolerance to the climate changes projected for southern Europe. Populations of A. lusitanica located at the latitudinal rear edge of common alder's distribution appear to show establishment-facilitating adaptations, and therefore may contribute to ecological restoration efforts under a range of environmental conditions.
|
|
| 7. |
- Goncalves Fernandes Ferreira, Flavio Pedro, et al.
(författare)
-
Artificial eye for calibration of an eye-tracker, eye tracking calibration system and method thereof
- 2021
-
Patent (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Abstract(EN) An artificial eye for eye tracking calibration of an eye-tracker, comprising: an eye model comprising a foveal region; an optical position sensor arranged at the foveal region for transducing the position of a foveal light spot into a sensor position signal; a two-axis rotational pivoting support upon which the eye model is mounted; a two-axis actuator for rotating the eye model in said pivoting support; a feed-back electronic circuit, connected between the sensor and actuator, arranged to cause rotation of the eye model by said actuator such that the sensor position signal matches a reference position signal. The reference position signal may be adjustable to cause an off-set between the pupillary-axis of the eye model and a visual-axis defined by the reference position signal, in particular the reference position signal being adjustable by configuration of the feed-back electronic circuit.(FR) L'invention concerne un oeil artificiel pour l'étalonnage de suivi de l'oeil d'un oculomètre, comprenant : un modèle d'oeil comprenant une région fovéale ; un capteur de position optique disposé au niveau de la région fovéale pour convertir la position d'un point lumineux fovéal en un signal de position de capteur ; un support pivotant rotatif à deux axes sur lequel est monté le modèle oculaire ; un actionneur à deux axes pour faire tourner le modèle d'oeil dans ledit support pivotant ; un circuit électronique de rétroaction, connecté entre le capteur et l'actionneur, agencé pour provoquer la rotation du modèle d'oeil par ledit actionneur de telle sorte que le signal de position de capteur corresponde à un signal de position de référence. Le signal de position de référence peut être réglé pour provoquer un décalage entre l'axe pupillaire du modèle d'oeil et un axe visuel défini par le signal de position de référence, en particulier le signal de position de référence étant réglable par la configuration du circuit électronique de rétroaction.
|
|
| 8. |
- Graça, Inês, et al.
(författare)
-
Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Nodulated and Non-Nodulated Casuarina glauca Sieb. ex Spreng. Grown under Salinity Conditions Using Sequential Window Acquisition of All Theoretical Mass Spectra (SWATH-MS)
- 2020
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. - : MDPI AG. - 1661-6596 .- 1422-0067. ; 21:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Casuarina glauca displays high levels of salt tolerance, but very little is known about how this tree adapts to saline conditions. To understand the molecular basis of C. glauca response to salt stress, we have analyzed the proteome from branchlets of plants nodulated by nitrogen-fixing Frankia Thr bacteria (NOD+) and non-nodulated plants supplied with KNO3 (KNO3+), exposed to 0, 200, 400, and 600 mM NaCl. Proteins were identified by Short Gel, Long Gradient Liquid Chromatography coupled to Tandem Mass Spectrometry and quantified by Sequential Window Acquisition of All Theoretical Mass Spectra -Mass Spectrometry. 600 proteins were identified and 357 quantified. Differentially Expressed Proteins (DEPs) were multifunctional and mainly involved in Carbohydrate Metabolism, Cellular Processes, and Environmental Information Processing. The number of DEPs increased gradually with stress severity: (i) from 7 (200 mM NaCl) to 40 (600 mM NaCl) in KNO3+; and (ii) from 6 (200 mM NaCl) to 23 (600 mM NaCl) in NOD+. Protein-protein interaction analysis identified different interacting proteins involved in general metabolic pathways as well as in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites with different response networks related to salt stress. Salt tolerance in C. glauca is related to a moderate impact on the photosynthetic machinery (one of the first and most important stress targets) as well as to an enhancement of the antioxidant status that maintains cellular homeostasis.
|
|
| 9. |
- Leonardo, Diego A., et al.
(författare)
-
Orientational Ambiguity in Septin Coiled Coils and its Structural Basis
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Journal of Molecular Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-2836. ; 433:9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Septins are an example of subtle molecular recognition whereby different paralogues must correctly assemble into functional filaments important for essential cellular events such as cytokinesis. Most possess C-terminal domains capable of forming coiled coils which are believed to be involved in filament formation and bundling. Here, we report an integrated structural approach which aims to unravel their architectural diversity and in so doing provide direct structural information for the coiled-coil regions of five human septins. Unexpectedly, we encounter dimeric structures presenting both parallel and antiparallel arrangements which are in consonance with molecular modelling suggesting that both are energetically accessible. These sequences therefore code for two metastable states of different orientations which employ different but overlapping interfaces. The antiparallel structures present a mixed coiled-coil interface, one side of which is dominated by a continuous chain of core hydrophilic residues. This unusual type of coiled coil could be used to expand the toolkit currently available to the protein engineer for the design of previously unforeseen coiled-coil based assemblies. Within a physiological context, our data provide the first atomic details related to the assumption that the parallel orientation is likely formed between septin monomers from the same filament whilst antiparallelism may participate in the widely described interfilament cross bridges necessary for higher order structures and thereby septin function.
|
|
| 10. |
- Lima, Natercia, et al.
(författare)
-
Do students really understand the difference between simulation and remote labs?
- 2017
-
Ingår i: ACM International Conference Proceeding Series. - New York, NY, USA : Association for Computing Machinery. - 9781450353861
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Laboratory experiments play a crucial role in engineering education as they strongly contribute to the development of important skills for the professional practice. This paper addresses a students' understanding gap between simulations and remote labs. These two resources (and namely the remote laboratory VISIR - Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality) have been commonly used on several didactical implementations, along with other didactical resources in different Engineering degrees at the Federal University of Santa Catarina and Polytechnic of Porto School of Engineering. This work, developed in the scope of the VISIR+ Project, intends to evaluate students' perceptions considering simulation and remote lab results. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to better understand how deeply students realize the differences between these resources and their type of data. Preliminary results indicate that a considerable number of student's don't have a clear idea of these differences, even though sometimes they know their definition. Furthermore, this gap does not seem to differ much with the context (country, course, academic year, course content), students' final grades, teacher approach or implemented tasks. © 2017 Association for Computing Machinery.
|
|
