Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2024-03-19"
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- Firecheckin: automatização e gestão de operacionais e veículos num teatro de operaçõesPublication . Alves, José António Bacelar Glória; Oliveira, José Valente deAtualmente, nos incêndios urbanos, os operacionais dos Bombeiros ao entrarem num edifício, usam um dispositivo que é denominado como Alarme Pessoal de Segurança (APS). É um sistema pessoal autónomo de alerta e segurança, que deteta a paragem de movimentos corporais e ativa um alarme automaticamente. Para os incêndios florestais, por experiência própria, também devia ser implementado um sistema de monitorização, localização e orientação de cada operacional, ficando alerta sobre o estado de cada bombeiro, ativando um alerta em determinadas condições. Também é necessário informatizar toda a operacionalização de colocação de veículos e operacionais num combate a incêndios, disponibilizando um mapa numa página web, com os elementos em tempo real.
- The new aquatic fauna of southern Portugal and their potential as economic resources: a collaborative merge between science and societyPublication . Encarnação, João Pedro da Silva; Teodósio, Maria Alexandra Anica; Morais, Pedro Miguel Coutinho Victorino BorgesBiological invasions are among the most challenging ecological and conservation riddles of our times, but still need to be faced with more pragmatism. Promote prevention, eradicate what can be eradicated, control and manage through time what is financially feasible, and innovate when it comes to deal with commercially valuable invasive species. This thesis aimed at merging traditional science with contributions from society, through citizen science, to track the spread, abundance, and putative impacts of non-indigenous marine species in south Portugal, but also evaluate the opportunities and constraints of integrating invasive species in the blue economy. During this four-year period, 8 non-indigenous species with invasive characteristics and 33 neonative species of subtropical origins were studied. Special attention was given to the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 because its invasiveness nature became evident during the development of this thesis. Thus, an in-depth study of its impacts on the food web was made, which disclosed their predatory behaviour upon fundamental prey of the Guadiana estuary food web, including native fish, bivalves, and other crustaceans. The citizen science campaign named New Marine Species of the Algarve (NEMA – Novas Espécies Marinhas do Algarve) has been a huge success and relied on the contributions of 260+ citizen scientists, 700+ validated records, belonging to 50+ marine species. Additionally, the commercial value of the Atlantic blue crab and weakfish Cynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) was evaluated in both sides of the Atlantic. A SWOT analysis evidenced that introducing widely distributed marine invasive species into the blue economy, if properly planned, can become an opportunity to support ecosystem and native resources management but also boost economic development in the less developed regions of Portugal, as are the areas surrounding the Guadiana River basin.
- Characterization of the role of H2S in neuronal differentiation in Trisomy 21Publication . Marques, Vera; Araújo, Inês; Simão, SóniaDown syndrome (DS) is caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 and is one of the most prevalent aneuploidies compatible with life. The characteristics of DS include congenital heart defects, craniofacial abnormalities, gastrointestinal anomalies, leukemia, seizures, early onset of Alzheimer´s disease, and cognitive impairment among others. Disturbances in the neurological signal processing during critical stages of neurogenesis can affect proliferation, migration, and differentiation of stem cells which may be responsible for the mental impairment of these individuals. These features are important to understanding how DS's brain development is affected. The gene coding for cystathionine-beta-synthase (CBS) is present in chromosome 21 with an extra copy in individuals with DS. CBS is one of the enzymes responsible for the cellular production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This is a ubiquitous small gaseous signaling molecule that plays an important role in many physiological processes. However, the contribution of H2S to the abnormal neurodevelopment of DS individuals has not been addressed and is currently under investigation under the Araújo lab. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the contribution of H2S in DS fibroblasts prior to reprogramming these cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) to be used in the future as a human cellular model to address the role of H2S in neuronal differentiation in DS. To accomplish this objective, fibroblasts collected from Down Syndrome patients and healthy donors were obtained and H2S production was assessed by time-lapse imaging using a fluorescent probe selective for H2S. The fibroblasts were afterward reprogrammed into iPS cells. The levels of intracellular H2S were higher in the DS cell line when compared to the healthy donor cell line. iPS cells from the DS individuals and the healthy donor fibroblasts were reprogrammed with success and both cell lines expressed the main pluripotency markers Sox2, Nanog, and Oct4 observed by immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry analysis. The data obtained in this work and the iPS lines developed will allow in the future the establishment of an important cellular model to study how H2S affects neurodevelopment in DS.