| 1. |
- Castanheira, Diogo Dias, et al.
(författare)
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Lpx1p links glucose-induced calcium signaling and plasma membrane H+-ATPase activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells
- 2018
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Ingår i: FEMS Yeast Research. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1567-1356 .- 1567-1364. ; 18:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In yeast, as in other eukaryotes, calcium plays an essential role in signaling transduction to regulate different processes. Many pieces of evidence suggest that glucose-induced activation of plasma membrane H+-ATPase, essential for yeast physiology, is related to calcium signaling. Until now, no protein that could be regulated by calcium in this context has been identified. Lpx1p, a serine-protease that is also involved in the glucose-induced activation of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase, could be a candidate to respond to intracellular calcium signaling involved in this process. In this work, by using different approaches, we obtained many pieces of evidence suggesting that the requirement of calcium signaling for activation of the plasma membrane H+-ATPase is due to its requirement for activation of Lpx1p. According to the current model, activation of Lpx1p would cause hydrolysis of an acetylated tubulin that maintains the plasma membrane H+-ATPase in an inactive state. Therefore, after its activation, Lpx1p would hydrolyze the acetylated tubulin making the plasma membrane H+-ATPase accessible for phosphorylation by at least one protein kinase.
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| 2. |
- Santos, Pedro P., et al.
(författare)
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Centralized Training with Hybrid Execution in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
- 2024
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Ingår i: AAMAS 2024 - Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems. - : International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS). ; , s. 2453-2455
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We introduce hybrid execution in multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), a new paradigm in which agents aim to successfully complete cooperative tasks with arbitrary communication levels at execution time by taking advantage of information-sharing among the agents. Under hybrid execution, the communication level can range from a setting in which no communication is allowed between agents (fully decentralized), to a setting featuring full communication (fully centralized), but the agents do not know beforehand which communication level they will encounter at execution time. To formalize our setting, we define a new class of multi-agent partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) that we name hybrid-POMDPs, which explicitly model a communication process between the agents.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Bastos, Vasco, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing affective valence and activation in resistance training with the feeling scale and the felt arousal scale : a systematic review
- 2023
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 18:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Evidence suggests affective responses to exercise can influence exercise adherence. However, there is a limited understanding of how and when to measure core affect in resistance training. As such, the objective of this systematic review was to analyze how the Feeling Scale and/or the Felt Arousal Scale have been used in resistance training to assess core affect. Focus was given to the contextual feasibility, timing, and frequency of assessment. A search in PubMed, SPORTDiscus, and PsycINFO databases was conducted (last search date July, 2022) with the purpose of including experimental and non-experimental studies, utilizing the Feeling Scale and/or the Felt Arousal Scale in resistance training, and focused on apparently healthy individuals of any age. Twenty-seven studies (N = 718 participants) published between 2009-2022 were qualitatively analyzed. Both scales appeared to be able to detect core affect within a wide array of intensities, ages, and equipment. As for the timing and frequency of measurement, no apparent standardization was evident. The use of the Feeling Scale, the Felt Arousal Scale, or both, to measure core affect appears to be feasible in resistance training practices. However, a lack of methodological background raises concerns regarding the quality of previous studies' assessments and comparisons of results across studies.
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| 5. |
- Beeton, Michael L., et al.
(författare)
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Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections, 11 countries in Europe and Israel, 2011 to 2016
- 2020
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Ingår i: Eurosurveillance. - : EUR CENTRE DIS PREVENTION & CONTROL. - 1025-496X .- 1560-7917. ; 25:2, s. 39-51
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a leading cause of community-acquired pneumonia, with large epidemics previously described to occur every 4 to 7 years.Aim: To better understand the diagnostic methods used to detect M. pneumoniae; to better understand M. pneumoniae testing and surveillance in use; to identify epidemics; to determine detection number per age group, age demographics for positive detections, concurrence of epidemics and annual peaks across geographical areas; and to determine the effect of geographical location on the timing of epidemics.Methods: A questionnaire was sent in May 2016 to Mycoplasma experts with national or regional responsibility within the ESCMID Study Group for Mycoplasma and Chlamydia Infections in 17 countries across Europe and Israel, retrospectively requesting details on M. pneumoniae-positive samples from January 2011 to April 2016. The Moving Epidemic Method was used to determine epidemic periods and effect of country latitude across the countries for the five periods under investigation.Results: Representatives from 12 countries provided data on M. pneumoniae infections, accounting for 95,666 positive samples. Two laboratories initiated routine macrolide resistance testing since 2013. Between 2011 and 2016, three epidemics were identified: 2011/12, 2014/15 and 2015/16. The distribution of patient ages for M. pneumoniae-positive samples showed three patterns. During epidemic years, an association between country latitude and calendar week when epidemic periods began was noted.Conclusions: An association between epidemics and latitude was observed. Differences were noted in the age distribution of positive cases and detection methods used and practice. A lack of macrolide resistance monitoring was noted.
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| 6. |
- Diogo, Ivan Jefferson Sampaio, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of topography and climate on Neotropical mountain forests structure in the semiarid region
- 2020
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Ingår i: Applied Vegetation Science. - : Wiley. - 1402-2001 .- 1654-109X.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- QuestionWe aimed to analyze how the topography, temperature and rainfall influence the floristic distribution in three different topographic areas and their surrounding vegetation. We addressed three main questions: (i) How is the distribution of species among the topographic areas? (ii) Which abiotic variable is driving this distribution? and (iii) What is the difference among the mountain forests and between mountain forests and the Caatinga vegetation?LocationThe Maranguape mountain forest were divided into three topographic categories: windward (600–800 m, WMA), leeward (600–800 m, LMA) and top (above 800 m, TMA). We also considered another six areas of mountain forests and four Caatinga areas in Ceará State.MethodsWe calculated different structural parameters and the floristic diversity of each category. A Principal Correspondence Analysis was performed to analyze the indirect ordination of forest sites by species abundance. A Canonical Correspondence Analysis was conducted to evaluate which variables were driving species distribution. We used non‐metric multidimensional scaling distance and the average linkage method to investigate the similarity among mountain forests and Caatinga.ResultsA total of 1,536 individuals belonging to 144 tree species distributed in 44 families and 93 genera were recorded. Myrtaceae, Fabaceae and Rubiaceae were the most species‐rich families. Myrcia splendens had the highest importance value followed by Guapira nitida and Mollinedia ovata. The leeward slope showed the highest richness and diversity index, whereas the windward showed the highest density and the top showed the highest basal area. The ordination indicated a greater similarity between TMA and WMA than LMA.ConclusionOur results suggest that temperature, precipitation and slope angle are the abiotic factors driving species distribution in Maranguape. Those mountains are heavily anthropized and continuously explored, therefore these outcomes will be useful for conservation and restoration purposes in the poorly known semiarid region of Northeast Brazil.
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| 7. |
- Engelmann, Pamela de Medeiros, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental monitoring of water resources around a municipal landfill of the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0944-1344 .- 1614-7499. ; 24:26, s. 21398-21411
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Brazil, landfills are commonly used as a method for the final disposal of waste that is compliant with the legislation. This technique, however, presents a risk to surface water and groundwater resources, owing to the leakage of metals, anions, and organic compounds. The geochemical monitoring of water resources is therefore extremely important, since the leachate can compromise the quality and use of surface water and groundwater close to landfills. In this paper, the results of analyses of metals, anions, ammonia, and physicochemical parameters were used to identify possible contamination of surface water and groundwater in a landfill area. A statistical multivariate approach was used. The values found for alkali metals, nitrate, and chloride indicate contamination in the regional groundwater and, moreover, surface waters also show variation when compared to the other background points, mainly for ammonia. Thus, the results of this study evidence the landfill leachate influence on the quality of groundwater and surface water in the study area.
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| 8. |
- Graça, Juliana Santos, et al.
(författare)
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On the importance of controlling film architecture in detecting prostate specific antigen
- 2018
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Ingår i: Applied Surface Science. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-4332 .- 1873-5584. ; 434, s. 1175-1182
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Immunosensors made with nanostructured films are promising for detecting cancer biomarkers, even at early stages of the disease, but this requires control of film architecture to preserve the biological activity of immobilized antibodies. In this study, we used electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to detect Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) with immunosensors produced with layer-by-layer (LbL) films containing anti-PSA antibodies in two distinct film architectures. The antibodies were either adsorbed from solutions in which they were free, or from solutions where they were incorporated into liposomes of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl glycerol (DPPG). Incorporation into DPPG liposomes was confirmed with surface plasmon resonance experiments, while the importance of electrostatic interactions on the electrical response was highlighted using the Finite Difference Time-Domain Method (FDTD). The sensitivity of both architectures was sufficient to detect the threshold value to diagnose prostate cancer (ca. 4 ng mL−1). In contrast to expectation, the sensor with the antibodies incorporated into DPPG liposomes had lower sensitivity, though the range of concentrations amenable to detection increased, according to the fitting of the EIS data using the Langmuir-Freundlich adsorption model. The performance of the two film architectures was compared qualitatively by plotting the data with a multidimensional projection technique, which constitutes a generic approach for optimizing immunosensors and other types of sensors.
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| 9. |
- Marote, Ana, et al.
(författare)
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Cellular Aging Secretes : a Comparison of Bone-Marrow-Derived and Induced Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Secretome Over Long-Term Culture
- 2023
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Ingår i: Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2629-3269 .- 2629-3277. ; 19:1, s. 248-263
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) hold promising therapeutic potential in several clinical applications, mainly due to their paracrine activity. The implementation of future secretome-based therapeutic strategies requires the use of easily accessible MSCs sources that provide high numbers of cells with homogenous characteristics. MSCs obtained from induced pluripotent stem cells (iMSCs) have been put forward as an advantageous alternative to the gold-standard tissue sources, such as bone marrow (BM-MSCs). In this study, we aimed at comparing the secretome of BM-MSCs and iMSCs over long-term culture. For that, we performed a broad characterization of both sources regarding their identity, proteomic secretome analysis, as well as replicative senescence and associated phenotypes, including its effects on MSCs secretome composition and immunomodulatory action. Our results evidence a rejuvenated phenotype of iMSCs, which is translated into a superior proliferative capacity before the induction of replicative senescence. Despite this significant difference between iMSCs and BM-MSCs proliferation, both untargeted and targeted proteomic analysis revealed a similar secretome composition for both sources in pre-senescent and senescent states. These results suggest that shifting from the use of BM-MSCs to a more advantageous source, like iMSCs, may yield similar therapeutic effects as identified over the past years for this gold-standard MSC source. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].
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