| 11. |
- Apostolopoulou, E., et al.
(author)
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Radical social innovations and the spatialities of grassroots activism: navigating pathways for tackling inequality and reinventing the commons
- 2022
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In: Journal of Political Ecology. - 1073-0451. ; 29, s. 143-188
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this article, by drawing on empirical evidence from twelve case studies from nine countries from across the Global South and North, we ask how radical grassroots social innovations that are part of social movements and struggles can offer pathways for tackling socio-spatial and socio-environmental inequality and for reinventing the commons. We define radical grassroots social innovations as a set of practices initiated by formal or informal community-led initiatives or/and social movements which aim to generate novel, democratic, socially, spatially and environmentally just solutions to address social needs that are otherwise ignored or marginalised To address our research questions, we draw on the work of Cindi Katz to explore how grassroots innovations relate to practices of resilience, reworking and resistance. We identify possibilities and limitations as well as patterns of spatial practices and pathways of re-scaling and radical praxis, uncovering broadly-shared resemblances across different places. Through this analysis we aim to make a twofold contribution to political ecology and human geography scholarship on grassroots radical activism, social innovation and the spatialities of resistance. First, to reveal the connections between social-environmental struggles, emerging grassroots innovations and broader structural factors that cause, enable or limit them. Second, to explore how grassroots radical innovations stemming from place-based community struggles can relate to resistance practices that would not only successfully oppose inequality and the withering of the commons in the short-term, but would also open long-term pathways to alternative modes of social organization, and a new commons, based on social needs and social rights that are currently unaddressed.
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| 12. |
- Costa, J., et al.
(author)
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Intragenic Recombination Has a Critical Role on the Evolution of Legionella pneumophila Virulence-Related Effector sidJ
- 2014
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In: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 9:10
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- SidJ is a Dot/Icm effector involved in the trafficking or retention of ER-derived vesicles to Legionella pneumophila vacuoles whose mutation causes an observable growth defect, both in macrophage and amoeba hosts. Given the crucial role of this effector in L. pneumophila virulence we investigated the mechanisms shaping its molecular evolution. The alignment of SidJ sequences revealed several alleles with amino acid variations that may influence the protein properties. The identification of HGT events and the detection of balancing selection operating on sidJ evolution emerge as a clear result. Evidence suggests that intragenic recombination is an important strategy in the evolutionary adaptive process playing an active role on sidJ genetic plasticity. This pattern of evolution is in accordance with the life style of L. pneumophila as a broad host-range pathogen by preventing host-specialization and contributing to the resilience of the species.
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| 13. |
- Legouis, D., et al.
(author)
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Altered proximal tubular cell glucose metabolism during acute kidney injury is associated with mortality
- 2020
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In: Nature Metabolism. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2522-5812. ; 2:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Acute kidney injury (AKI) is strongly associated with mortality, independently of its cause. The kidney contributes to up to 40% of systemic glucose production by gluconeogenesis during fasting and under stress conditions. Whether kidney gluconeogenesis is impaired during AKI and how this might influence systemic metabolism remain unknown. Here we show that glucose production and lactate clearance are impaired during human and experimental AKI by using renal arteriovenous catheterization in patients, lactate tolerance testing in mice and glucose isotope labelling in rats. Single-cell transcriptomics reveal that gluconeogenesis is impaired in proximal tubule cells during AKI. In a retrospective cohort of critically ill patients, we demonstrate that altered glucose metabolism during AKI is a major determinant of systemic glucose and lactate levels and is strongly associated with mortality. Thiamine supplementation increases lactate clearance without modifying renal function in mice with AKI, enhances glucose production by renal tubular cells ex vivo and is associated with reduced mortality and improvement of the metabolic pattern in a retrospective cohort of critically ill patients with AKI. This study highlights an unappreciated systemic role of renal glucose and lactate metabolism under stress conditions, delineates general mechanisms of AKI-associated mortality and introduces a potential intervention targeting metabolism for a highly prevalent clinical condition with limited therapeutic options.
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| 14. |
- Pinheiro, T., et al.
(author)
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The influence of corneocyte structure on the interpretation of permeation profiles of nanoparticles across skin
- 2007
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In: Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research. Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-583X. ; 260:1, s. 119-123
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The permeability of skin to nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) used in sunscreens as a reflector of the UV wavelengths of sunlight, was examined using nuclear microscopy techniques. Special attention was given to the permeation characteristics of these nanoparticles across the outer layers of skin, the stratum corneum, in healthy and psoriatic skin condition. Aspects that may influence the interpretation of results such as sample preparation difficulties and skin condition were focused. Sample preparation can damage the integrity of the corneocyte layers inducing unwanted artefacts that may bias the evaluation of results. Irradiation conditions may also introduce distortions in the labile structures of human skin. Skin condition, such as loss of corneocyte cohesion occurring in psoriasis also influence the permeation profile of the nanoparticles. Weighing and accounting for these features in the examination of skin by nuclear microscopy is crucial to accurately assess the TiO2 nanoparticles permeation depth. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 15. |
- Pliatsikas, C, et al.
(author)
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Working memory in older adults declines with age, but is modulated by sex and education
- 2019
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In: Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006). - : SAGE Publications. - 1747-0226 .- 1747-0218. ; 72:6, s. 1308-1327
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Working memory (WM), which underlies the temporary storage and manipulation of information, is critical for multiple aspects of cognition and everyday life. Nevertheless, research examining WM specifically in older adults remains limited, despite the global rapid increase in human life expectancy. We examined WM in a large sample ( N = 754) of healthy older adults (aged 58-89) in a non-Western population (Chinese speakers) in Taiwan, on a digit n-back task. We tested not only the influence of age itself and of load (1-back vs. 2-back) but also the effects of both sex and education, which have been shown to modulate WM abilities. Mixed-effects regression revealed that, within older adulthood, age negatively impacted WM abilities (with linear, not nonlinear, effects), as did load (worse performance at 2-back). In contrast, education level was positively associated with WM. Moreover, both age and education interacted with sex. With increasing age, males showed a steeper WM decline than females; with increasing education, females showed greater WM gains than males. Together with other findings, the evidence suggests that age, sex, and education all impact WM in older adults, but interact in particular ways. The results have both basic research and translational implications and are consistent with particular benefits from increased education for women.
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| 16. |
- Verissimo, Ana, et al.
(author)
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Nuclear microscopy: A tool for and percutaneous absorption imaging elemental distribution in vivo
- 2007
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In: Microscopy Research and Technique. - : Wiley. - 1059-910X .- 1097-0029. ; 70:4, s. 302-309
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nuclear microscopy is a technique based on a focused beam of accelerated particles that has the ability of imaging the morphology of the tissue in vivo and of producing the correspondent elemental maps, whether in major, minor, or trace concentrations. These characteristics constitute a strong advantage in studying the morphology of human skin, its elemental distributions and the permeation mechanisms of chemical compounds. In this study, nuclear microscopy techniques such as scanning transmission ion microscopy and particle induced X-ray emission were applied simultaneously, to cryopreserved human skin samples with the purpose of obtaining high-resolution images of cells and tissue morphology. In addition, quantitative elemental profiling and mapping of phosphorus, calcium, chlorine, and potassium in skin cross-sections were obtained. This procedure accurately distinguishes the epidermal strata and dermis by overlapping in real time the elemental information with density images obtained from the transmitted beam. A validation procedure for elemental distributions in human skin based on differential density of epidermal strata and dermis was established. As demonstrated, this procedure can be used in future studies as a tool for the in vivo examination of trans-epidermal and -dermal delivery of products. .
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