Repositório RCAAP

Population density data on depleted and endangered wildlife species are essential to assure their effective management and, ultimately, conservation. The European wildcat is an elusive and threatened species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, with fragmented populations and living in low densities. We fitted spatial capture–recapture models on camera-trap data, to provide the first estimate of wildcat density for Portugal and assess the most influential drivers determining it. The study was implemented in Montesinho Natural Park (NE Portugal), where we identified nine individuals, over a total effort of 3,477 trap-nights. The mean density estimate was 0.032 ± 0.012 wildcat/km2 , and density tended to increase with distance to humanized areas, often linked to lower human disturbance and domestic cat presence, with forest and herbaceous vegetation cover and with European rabbit abundance. Although, this density estimate is within the range of values estimated for protected areas elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula, our estimates are low at the European level. When put in context, our results highlight that European wildcats may be living in low population densities across the Iberian Mediterranean biogeographic region. No phenotypic domestic or hybrid cats were detected, suggesting potentially low admixture rates between the two species, although genetic sampling would be required to corroborate this assertion. We provide evidence that Montesinho Natural Park may be a suitable area to host a healthy wildcat population, and thus be an important protected area in this species' conservation context.

Esta Newsletter (NL) resulta de uma parceria entre o Instituto de Saúde Baseada na Evidência e a Cochrane Portugal, e tem como objectivo disponibilizar informação sobre áreas interessantes para a prática clínica, com base na melhor evidência científica. São incluídos estudos relevantes, criticamente avaliados pela sua validade, importância dos resultados e aplicabilidade prática, resumidos numa óptica de suporte à decisão. É dada prioridade a estudos de causalidade incluindo-se ainda, quando justificado, estudos qualitativos e metodológicos, assim como revisões científicas. O conteúdo da NL é da exclusiva responsabilidade do(s) seu(s) autor(es).

Metabolic programming controls immune cell lineages and functions, but little is known about γδ T cell metabolism. Here, we found that γδ T cell subsets making either interferon-γ (IFN-γ) or interleukin (IL)-17 have intrinsically distinct metabolic requirements. Whereas IFN-γ+ γδ T cells were almost exclusively dependent on glycolysis, IL-17+ γδ T cells strongly engaged oxidative metabolism, with increased mitochondrial mass and activity. These distinct metabolic signatures were surprisingly imprinted early during thymic development and were stably maintained in the periphery and within tumors. Moreover, pro-tumoral IL-17+ γδ T cells selectively showed high lipid uptake and intracellular lipid storage and were expanded in obesity and in tumors of obese mice. Conversely, glucose supplementation enhanced the antitumor functions of IFN-γ+ γδ T cells and reduced tumor growth upon adoptive transfer. These findings have important implications for the differentiation of effector γδ T cells and their manipulation in cancer immunotherapy.

Objective: To investigate the cutaneous silent period (CSP) by measuring its onset latency, duration and amount signal suppression in patients with motor neuron disease (MND) grouped according to the intensity of upper motor neuron involvement (UMN), and to test the effect of contralateral hand contraction. Methods: Painful stimulation was applied at the V finger, and contraction recorded from the abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle (baseline condition). Afterwards, CSP was studied during strong contralateral ADM contraction (test condition). 10-15 consecutive traces were recorded for each condition, signals were rectified, averaged, and analyzed offline. Results: 46 patients were investigated, 15 with progressive muscular atrophy (PMA), 16 with typical amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), 15 with primary lateral sclerosis/predominant UMN-ALS (PLS+UMN-ALS), and 28 controls. In the baseline condition, all MND groups showed delayed onset latencies (p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the CSP duration. Suppression was lower in the PLS + UMN-ALS group (p = 0.004). In the control group, contralateral contraction did not change CSP, but onset latency shortened significantly in the PMA group. Conclusions: CSP onset latency is delayed in all investigated groups of MND, including in PMA, indicating subclinical UMN involvement. Changes in CSP can indicate UMN lesion in MND. Significance: CSP should be explored to identify UMN involvement in MND.

Twenty years ago, in the middle 1990s, a pending debate in the RNA cell biology field concerned the nuclear organization of pre-mRNA splicing. Localization studies using antibodies to detect proteins of the spliceosome and oligonucleotide probes that hybridized with the spliceosomal small nuclear RNAs had revealed that practically all building blocks of the splicing machinery were not uniformly distributed in the nucleus but rather appeared concentrated in defined regions. These regions were termed “nuclear speckles” or “splicing domains” due to the local enrichment in splicing factors. Whether or not pre-mRNA splicing occurred within these domains remained controversial.

Eimeria vermiformis is a tissue specific, intracellular protozoan that infects the murine small intestinal epithelia, which has been widely used as a coccidian model to study mucosal immunology. This mouse infection model is valuable to investigate the mechanisms of host protection against primary and secondary infection in the small intestine. Here, we describe the generation of an E. vermiformis stock solution, preparation of sporulated E. vermiformis to infect mice and determination of oocysts burden. This protocol should help to establish a highly reproducible natural infection challenge model to study immunity in the small intestine. The information obtained from using this mouse model can reveal fundamental mechanisms of interaction between the pathogen and the immune response, e.g., provided by intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) at the basolateral site of epithelial cells but also a variety of other immune cell populations present in the gut.

Previous results indicated that miR-146b-5p is downregulated by TAL1, a transcription factor critical for early hematopoiesis that is frequently overexpressed in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) where it has an oncogenic role. Here, we confirmed that miR-146b-5p expression is lower in TAL1-positive patient samples than in other T-ALL cases. Furthermore, leukemia T-cells display decreased levels of miR-146b-5p as compared to normal T-cells, thymocytes and other hematopoietic progenitors. MiR-146b-5p silencing enhances the in vitro migration and invasion of T-ALL cells, associated with increased levels of filamentous actin and chemokinesis. In vivo, miR-146b overexpression in a TAL1-positive cell line extends mouse survival in a xenotransplant model of human T-ALL. In contrast, knockdown of miR-146b-5p results in leukemia acceleration and decreased mouse overall survival, paralleled by faster tumor infiltration of the central nervous system. Our results suggest that miR-146b-5p is a functionally relevant microRNA gene in the context of T-ALL, whose negative regulation by TAL1 and possibly other oncogenes contributes to disease progression by modulating leukemia cell motility and disease aggressiveness.

DNA replication ensures accurate duplication of the original genetic information present in a cell in order for it to be properly transmitted to daughter cells. However, replication can be perturbed, for instance in rapidly dividing cancer cells, in a process referred to as replication stress (RS). Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) is an essential component of the ATR-dependent DNA damageresponse pathway that protect cells from RS by preventing replication fork collapse and activating homologous DNA repair. The ATR-CHK1 pathway is triggered upon exposure of single-stranded DNA that arises with the stalling of replication forks, and it is required to reset proper origin firing, and to promote fork stability and checkpoint activation, delaying mitosis until replication is completed and thereby avoiding mitotic catastrophe.

Ultrasound (US) is a physical property, designated as such when the oscillating sound pressure is above the upper limit of the human hearing rate (20 kHz), and has been explored in many areas of the human activity, from military life to medicine. Medical ultrasonography is able to capture size and structure of internal organs, tendons, muscle and nerves, it does not involve the use of ionizing radiation, and in addition is rapid and costs are relatively low. In neuromuscular disorders, US was first used as a treatment option for pain.

Murid γ-herpesvirus-4 (MuHV-4) promotes polyclonal B cell activation and establishes latency in memory B cells via unclear mechanisms. We aimed at exploring whether B cell receptor specificity plays a role in B cell susceptibility to viral latency and how this is related to B cell activation. We first observed that MuHV-4-specific B cells represent a minority of the latent population, and to better understand the influence of the virus on non-MuHV-4 specific B cells we used the SWHEL mouse model, which produce hen egg lysozyme (HEL)-specific B cells. By tracking HEL+ and HEL- B cells, we showed that in vivo latency was restricted to HEL- B cells while the two populations were equally sensitive to the virus in vitro. Moreover, MuHV-4 induced two waves of B cell activation. While the first wave was characterized by a general B cell activation, as shown by HEL+ and HEL- B cells expansion and upregulation of CD69 expression, the second wave was restricted to the HEL- population, which acquired germinal center (GC) and plasma cell phenotypes. Antigenic stimulation of HEL+ B cells led to the development of HEL+ GC B cells where latent infection remained undetectable, indicating that MuHV-4 does not benefit from acute B cell responses to establish latency in non-virus specific B cells but relies on other mechanisms of the humoral response. These data support a model in which the establishment of latency in B cells by γ-herpesviruses is not stochastic in terms of BCR specificity and is tightly linked to the formation of GCs.

Aim: In this narrative review we aimed to describe how stroke affects emotions and update the readers on the emotional disturbances that occur after stroke. Methods: We searched Medline from 1.1.2013 to 1.7.2019, personal files and references of selected publications. All retrieved systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials were included. Other references were selected by relevance. Summary of review: The emotional response includes a reactive behavior with arousal, somatic, motivational and motor components, and a distinctive cognitive and subjective affective experience. Emotional category responses and experiences after stroke can show dissociations between the behavioral response and the cognitive and affective experiences. Emotional disturbances that often occur after stroke include fear, anger, emotional indifference, lack of understanding of other emotions, and lack of control of emotional expression. Emotional disturbances limit social reintegration of the persons with stroke and are a source of caregiver burnout. The evidence to support the management of the majority of emotional disorders in stroke survivors is currently weak and of low or very low methodologic quality. An exception are the disorders of emotional expression control where antidepressants can have a strong beneficial effect, by reducing the number and duration of the uncontrollable episodes of crying or laughing. Conclusion: Our current knowledge of the emotional disorders that occurs in acute stroke patients and in stroke survivors is heterogeneous and limited. Joint efforts of different research approaches, methodologies and disciplines will improve our current understanding on emotional disorder after stroke and indicate rational pathways to manage them.

Em 2018, a Sociedade Portuguesa de Antropologia e Etnologia (SPAE) celebrou o seu centenário. Nessa altura fui curadora, juntamente com Vítor Oliveira Jorge (arqueólogo, professor aposentado e presidente da SPAE), da exposição A Sociedade Portuguesa de Antropologia e Etnologia, 1918-2018: 100 anos ao serviço da ciência, que decorreu, entre 19 de Novembro de 2018 e 11 de Janeiro de 2019, na Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto (FLUP). Essa ocasião permitiu-me reflectir sobre a contribuição da SPAE para a institucionalização académica da antropologia e o seu papel público como espaço para a difusão do conhecimento, debate e troca de ideias. Como se tratava de dar conta de 100 anos de actividade, foi feita uma selecção de alguns dos seus aspectos principais, ou que mais se destacaram, tal como farei neste texto.

Este ensaio retoma os itinerários planeados e percorridos pelo cientista social brasileiro Gilberto Freyre no império colonial português, entre outubro de 1951 e janeiro de 1952. No decorrer da viagem, Freyre apresentou o conceito de luso-tropicalismo, que o regime do Estado Novo português viria a reutilizar para fins político-ideológicos, interna e externamente, nos anos seguintes, com o acordo ou tolerância da Oposição democrática, e que continuou a ecoar na sociedade portuguesa, após o fim da ditadura e do colonialismo, até aos nossos dias1. Da visita resultaram dois livros: Um Brasileiro em terras portuguesas e Aventura e rotina (ambos de 1953). O primeiro, como o subtítulo esclarece, pretende ser uma «introdução a uma possível luso-tropicologia », acompanhada de conferências e discursos proferidos durante o percurso. O segundo é uma espécie de diário da viagem realizada «à procura das constantes portuguesas de carácter e acção»

Quando, há mais de dez anos atrás, comecei a interessar-me pelo estudo das relações entre Portugal e o Brasil deparei com uma espécie de vazio historiográfico no período que separa o entorno da independência brasileira e os anos 20 já do século XX. E, no entanto, quanto mais lia e investigava sobre o tema, mais me apercebia o quanto das reconfigurações da ideia imperial portuguesa se mantiveram sustentadas em paradigmas herdados do decomposto império luso-brasileiro, não só através da tradição, mas também da imaginação. Na minha pesquisa de doutoramento, que culminou na tese Espelho Fraterno: o Brasil e o republicanismo português na transição para o século XX (2013) que tive a honra de ver premiada com o prémio Vítor de Sá, concentrei-me na dimensão republicana dessa imaginação imperial e consequentemente foquei-me sobretudo nas duas décadas que medeiam os adventos das repúblicas brasileira e portuguesa, 1889 e 1910, respetivamente.

O tropicalismo arranca em 1967, através do corpo: a música de Caetano Veloso e Gilberto Gil, os vestíveis de Hélio Oiticica, as propostas teatrais de José Celso Martinez Corrêa e os cenários de Hélio Eichbauer. Hoje as coisas são um pouco mais complexas. Em tempo de redes sociais, os aspirantes ao poder fazem uso da sua imediatez para suscitarem reações epidérmicas, superficiais, populistas e de grande instantaneidade. A boçalidade triunfa nas caixas de comentários, e com mais alguns perfis falsificados podem manipular-se plebiscitos, movimentos secessionistas, ou, e também censurar-se exposições de arte. Nesta variação do fascismo, a epiderme eletrificada das redes sociais estrutura-se como uma poderosa arena onde se aparenta uma falsa democracia. Talvez a arte continue a ser um reduto para reflexão, mas vemos que a censura se manifesta hoje de modo talvez mais eficaz, silenciando artistas e professores, através da pressão mediatizada, da emoção do momento. Para isto é necessária a atenção consciente da arte, dos artistas, e também dos arte-educadores: enfrenta-se uma massa cada vez mais informe, alienada e despojada de reflexão para além do imediato.

Working paper on the Quality of the European News Ecology.

The Tn antigen (GalNAc-α-1-O-Thr/Ser) is a well-known tumor-associated carbohydrate determinant. The use of glycopeptides that incorporate this structure has become a significant and promising niche of research owing to their potential use as anticancer vaccines. Herein, the conformational preferences of a glycopeptide with an unnatural Tn antigen, characterized by a threonine decorated with an sp2-iminosugar-type α-GalNAc mimic, have been studied both in solution, by combining NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, and in the solid state bound to an anti-mucin-1 (MUC1) antibody, by X-ray crystallography. The Tn surrogate can mimic the main conformer sampled by the natural antigen in solution and exhibits high affinity towards anti-MUC1 antibodies. Encouraged by these data, a cancer vaccine candidate based on this unnatural glycopeptide and conjugated to the carrier protein Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) has been prepared and tested in mice. Significantly, the experiments in vivo have proved that this vaccine elicits higher levels of specific anti-MUC1 IgG antibodies than the analog that bears the natural Tn antigen and that the elicited antibodies recognize human breast cancer cells with high selectivity. Altogether, we compile evidence to confirm that the presentation of the antigen, both in solution and in the bound state, plays a critical role in the efficacy of the designed cancer vaccines. Moreover, the outcomes derived from this vaccine prove that there is room for exploring further adjustments at the carbohydrate level that could contribute to designing more efficient cancer vaccines.

No summary/description provided

Complex organisms are associations of different cells that coexist and collaborate creating a living consortium, the holobiont. The relationships between the holobiont members are essential for proper homeostasis of the organisms, and they are founded on the establishment of complex inter-connections between all the cells. Non-coding RNAs are regulatory molecules that can also act as communication signals between cells, being involved in either homeostasis or dysbiosis of the holobionts. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells can transmit signals via non-coding RNAs while using specific extracellular conveyors that travel to the target cell and can be translated into a regulatory response by dedicated molecular machinery. Within holobionts, non-coding RNA regulatory signaling is involved in symbiotic and pathogenic relationships among the cells. This review analyzes current knowledge regarding the role of non-coding RNAs in cell-to-cell communication, with a special focus on the signaling between cells in multi-organism consortia.

Galectin-3 binding protein (LGALS3BP or 90 K) is a secreted glycoprotein found in human body fluids. Deregulated levels were observed in cancer and infection and its study in neurological diseases is more recent. Here, we have investigated 90 K from human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, n = 35) and other neurological diseases (n = 23). CSF was fractionated by ultrafiltration/size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and eluted fractions were analysed by complementary techniques including immunoblotting, electron microscopy and nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. A fraction of 90 K appeared as nanoparticles of irregular shape with heterogeneous dimensions of 15-60 nm that co-eluted with extracellular vesicles in SEC. Median levels of 90 K quantified by ELISA were not different between ALS patients (215.8 ng/ml) and controls (213.3 ng/ml) in contrast with the benchmark biomarker for ALS phosphoneurofilament heavy chain (1750 and 345 pg/ml, respectively). A multiregression model supported age is the only independent predictor of 90 K level in both groups (p < 0.05). Significant correlation was found between 90 K levels and age for the ALS group (r = 0.366, p = 0.031) and for all subjects (r = 0.392, p = 0.003). In conclusion, this study unveils the presence of 90 K-containing nanoparticles in human CSF and opens novel perspectives to further investigate 90 K as potential aging marker.