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- PFAS biodegradation by Labrys portucalensis F11: identification of metabolites of PFOS, 6:2 FTS, and 5:3 FTCA by target and non-target analysisPublication . Wijayahena, Mindula K.; Moreira, Irina S.; Castro, Paula M. L.; Aga, Diana S.Introduction Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly fluorinated synthetic chemicals with a wide variety of uses1,2. The carbon- fluorine bonds exhibit very high bond dissociation energies: around 536 kJ/mol, making PFAS generally resistant to degradation, which has led to their classification as “forever chemicals”3. Strategies to enhance the biodegradation of these compounds are of great interest, such as identifying bacterial species that may be used for bioaugmentation. Labrys portucalensis F11 is an aerobic bacterium that has been isolated in Portugal and can degrade fluorinated pharmaceuticals, fluorobenzene, and fluoxetine4,5. This F11 strain has the ability to cleave C-F bonds in these fluorinated organic compounds and was therefore tested for its ability to degrade perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), 6:2-fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS), and 5:3-fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (5:3 FTCA). Objectives: To determine whether the F11 bacteria strain can degrade PFOS, 6:2 FTS, and 5:3 FTCA; To identify biodegradation products by non-targeted analysis. Conclusions: Labrys portucalensis F11 strain degraded PFOS, 6:2 FTS, and 5:3 FTCA. Shorter-chain PFAS, from C7 to C3 were formed as metabolites. Non-target analysis facilitated the identification of the unsaturated and hydrogenated C8 compounds. IMS separation exhibited the separation of isomers of PFOS as well as defluorinated PFOS isomers including isomers of H-PFOS and isomers of unsaturated PFOS.
- Infringing AI: liability for AI-generated outputs under international, EU, and UK copyright lawPublication . Rosati, EleonoraThe analysis of liability aspects facing Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’)-generated outputs under copyright and related rights has been overlooked compared to other issues connected to the development and use of AI. This study fills this gap by exploring pertinent questions under international, EU and UK law. Specifically, the study tackles actionable reproduction, allocation of liability, and availability of defences. The analysis ultimately shows that, while it is clear that each case will need to be decided on its own merits, the generative AI output phase raises several profiles of liability under copyright law. If the goal of policymakers and relevant stakeholders is to ensure the balanced and sustainable development of AI, then the issues related to the generation and dissemination of AI outputs need to be given ample attention and a greater role in the debate than what has been the case so far, whether it is in the context of risk assessment and compliance, licensing initiatives, or in contentious scenarios.
- O al-muhajiroun e a sua rede: a ascensão de uma organização terrorista transnacionalPublication . Gonçalves, Francisco Jorge Albuquerque Pinto e Costa
- Consumer sensory profiling and liking of bolognese-type sauces: how do insect and plant foods really fare against red meat?Publication . Costa, A. I. de Almeida; Monteiro, M. J. P.; Maya, C.; Rocha, C.; Faria, B. F.; Lima, R. C.; Cunha, L. M.; Roos, N.Meeting global targets for healthier and more sustainable diets calls for a substantial reduction of meat consumption in Western nations, especially red and processed meat. This requires a transition to the large-scale production, marketing, and adoption of alternative proteins. The current state of development of new plant- and insect-based foods holds good promise, but optimizing their sensory quality to the point where they can satisfactorily replace everyday meat-eating experiences remains a challenge, demanding a more consumer-oriented approach. This study investigated how Portuguese adults (N = 130, 18-40 years old, 50% female, regular meat eaters) perceived the sensory characteristics of seven Bolognese-style pasta sauces - made with 100% red meat (beef and pork), plant (soya beans or peas) or edible insect (house cricket or yellow mealworm larvae) protein - and how this affected their hedonic preferences for these products. Expectedly, the meat-based sauce was generally the most appreciated. Still, consumers liked all products slightly to moderately apart from mealworm mince. Sensory-mediated disgust affected the evaluations of some insect- and plant-based sauces, while others benefitted from formulations that enhanced savouriness and the prototypical attributes of a tomato pasta sauce. Moreover, the disconfirmation of positive sensory-affective judgements of 'meatiness' induced by mince-like texture cues penalized liking. High inter-individual variation in evaluations was observed. Distinct preferences for spiciness, for instance, moderated the effects of meat substitution on product liking, with over half of participants appreciating a mild or a spicy plant-based option more than the typical beef Bolognese. Sociodemographics, Beef Consumption, Healthy Eating Consciousness and Food Disgust Sensitivity were all important predictors of patterns of product liking, pointing out that the type of protein selected is just one of the many factors driving the acceptance of meat substitutes by consumers that can be leveraged by the food industry.
- Nurse managers' ethical problems in hospital settings: an analysis from the macinttyrian perspectivePublication . Cunha, Simone Graziele Silva; Deodato, Sérgio; Ramos, Flávia Regina Souza; Caram, Carolina da Silva; Brito, Maria José MenezesObjective: to understand hospital nurse managers’ ethical problems from the perspective of Macintyre’s virtue ethics. Method: qualitative research of the single case study type, encompassed by Alasdair Macintyre’s theoretical framework of virtue ethics. Sixteen nurses in management positions participated in the study for a minimum period of six months. The setting was a university hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Data were collected between August and October 2021, through individual interviews with a semi-structured script and document analysis, analyzed using Bardin’s content analysis. Two categories of ethical problems emerged from the thematic analysis linked to violations of care values: internal goods; and linked to breaking norms, patterns of behavior and interpersonal relationships: external goods. Results: the ethical problem is present in care, in relationships and in the institution. When referring to the profession’s internal assets, ethical problems are characterized as a violation of care values: denial of assistance, negligent and reckless actions or violation of the rights of professionals, patients, staff and institutions. When referring to external goods, such problems are linked to interruption of norms, inappropriate actions and behaviors or ethical conduct questioned and disrespected by professionals. Conclusion: nurse managers understand ethical problems as circumstances that generate opposition to actions considered correct and that go against what is proper to nurses and against their duty, negatively affecting professionals, patient care, the institution and the public service.
- Revolution & cinemaPublication . Ribas, Daniel; Crespo, NunoIn this volume we gathered the contributions of various researchers that aim to address the relationship between cinema and revolution. The book opens with a conversation between Ros Gray, specialist in militant filmmaking, particularly in relation to liberation struggles and revolutionary movements in Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso, and June Givanni, film curator, archivist, international consultant around Pan-African cinema and founding director of the June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive (JGPACA). This volume also gathers contributions by: Aldones Silva on the work of the Brazilian visual artist Marcela Cantuária; Eduardo Prado Cardoso and his reading of the film Malunguinho directed by Felipe Peres Calheiros; Isabel Capeloa Gil on colonial memories of Portuguese cinema; João Oliveira Duarte and the relationship between present, future and past in Fiona Tan’s work Facing Forward; Matthew Mason and the tension between Marxism and post-modernism via Jean-Luc Godard’s La Chinoise; and Riccardo Uras on the absence of debate on Italy’s colonial past and its myths, through the analysis of Adwa: An African Victory by Haile Gerima, and Blood Is Not Fresh Water by Theo Eshetu.
- Insight into the efficiency of microalgae’ lipidic extracts as photosensitizers for Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy against Staphylococcus aureusPublication . Mendonça, Inês; Silva, Daniela; Conde, Tiago; Maurício, Tatiana; Cardoso, Helena; Pereira, Hugo; Bartolomeu, Maria; Vieira, Cátia; Domingues, M. Rosário; Almeida, AdelaideAntibacterial resistance causes around 1.27 million deaths annually around the globe and has been recognized as a top 3 priority health threat. Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) is considered a promising alternative to conventional antibiotic treatments. Algal lipid extracts have shown antibacterial effects when used as photosensitizers (PSs) in aPDT. In this work we assessed the photodynamic efficiency of lipidic extracts of microalgae belonging to different phyla (Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanobacteria, Haptophyta, Ochrophyta and Rhodophyta). All the extracts (at 1 mg mL−1) demonstrated a reduction of Staphylococcus aureus >3 log10 (CFU mL−1), exhibiting bactericidal activity. Bacillariophyta and Haptophyta extracts were the top-performing phyla against S. aureus, achieving a reduction >6 log10 (CFU mL−1) with light doses of 60 J cm−2 (Bacillariophyta) and 90 J cm−2 (Haptophyta). The photodynamic properties of the Bacillariophyta Phaeodactylum tricornutum and the Haptophyta Tisochrysis lutea, the best effective microalgae lipid extracts, were also assessed at lower concentrations (75 μg mL−1, 7.5 μg mL−1, and 3.75 μg mL−1), reaching, in general, inactivation rates higher than those obtained with the widely used PSs, such as Methylene Blue and Chlorine e6, at lower concentration and light dose. The presence of chlorophyll c, which can absorb a greater amount of energy than chlorophylls a and b; rich content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and fucoxanthin, which can also produce ROS, e.g. singlet oxygen (1O2), when photo-energized; a lack of photoprotective carotenoids such as β-carotene, and low content of tocopherol, were associated with the algal extracts with higher antimicrobial activity against S. aureus. The bactericidal activity exhibited by the extracts seems to result from the photooxidation of microalgae PUFAs by the 1O2 and/or other ROS produced by irradiated chlorophylls/carotenoids, which eventually led to bacterial lipid peroxidation and cell death, but further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis. These results revealed the potential of an unexplored source of natural photosensitizers (microalgae lipid extracts) that can be used as PSs in aPDT as an alternative to conventional antibiotic treatments, and even to conventional PSs, to combat antibacterial resistance.
- America’s 2024 election and Europe’s Middle East dilemmaPublication . Lukacs, Nils; Lozovan, Corina
- Effects of microencapsulated phenethyl isothiocyanate on gastrointestinal cancer cells and pathogenic bacteriaPublication . Abrantes, Rafaela; Ramos, Cátia C.; Coscueta, Ezequiel R.; Costa, João; Gomes, Joana; Gomes, Catarina; Reis, Celso A.; Pintado, Maria ManuelaGastrointestinal cancers remain a global health burden, demanding more effective prevention and treatments. Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), a compound derived from cruciferous vegetables, stands out as a promising nutraceutical agent due to its chemopreventive and therapeutic properties. However, its therapeutic translation remains limited mainly due to its poor water solubility and rapid metabolism. Herein, we encapsulated PEITC into biocompatible chitosan-based microparticles with an extra virgin olive oil core to improve its bioavailability and stability. Pure PEITC's biocompatibility and microencapsulated PEITC's stability and antibacterial activity were evaluated. The antibacterial activity analysis showed microencapsulated PEITC as a promising antibacterial agent against gastrointestinal pathogenic bacteria (two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative). The impact of both pure and microencapsulated PEITC was assessed on gastrointestinal cancer cells (MKN45 gastric cancer and SW48 colon cancer cell lines). PEITC exhibited threshold or hormetic dose-dependent toxicity in colon fibroblasts and decreased gastric cancer cells' migration capacity, enhanced upon encapsulation into microparticles. In addition, microencapsulated PEITC induced downregulation of phosphorylated AKT, FAK, and ERK1/2 proteins, disrupting motility signaling pathways and tubulin expression. These findings suggest that the delivery of PEITC via chitosan-based microparticles holds promise as a nutraceutical delivery strategy against gastrointestinal disorders that predispose to cancer.
- Bleached hair as standard template to insight the performance of commercial hair repair productsPublication . Martins, Eva; Castro, Pedro; Ribeiro, Alessandra B.; Pereira, Carla F.; Casanova, Francisca; Vilarinho, Rui; Moreira, Joaquim; Ramos, Óscar L.The increasing demand for effective hair care products has highlighted the necessity for rigorous claims substantiation methods, particularly for products that target specific hair types. This is essential because the effectiveness of a product can vary significantly based on the hair’s condition and characteristics. A well-defined bleaching protocol is crucial for creating a standardized method to assess product efficacy, especially for products designed to repair damaged hair. The objective of this study was to create a practical bleaching protocol that mimics real-world consumer experiences, ensuring that hair samples exhibit sufficient damage for testing. This approach allows for a reliable assessment of how well various products can repair hair. The protocol serves as a framework for evaluating hair properties and the specific effects of each product on hair structure. Color, brightness, lightness, morphology, and topography were primarily used to understand the big differences in the hair fiber when treated with two repair benchmark products, K18® and Olaplex®, in relation to the Bleached hair. The devised bleaching protocol proved to be a fitting framework for assessing the properties of hair and the unique characteristics of each tested product within the hair fiber. This protocol offers valuable insights and tools for substantiating consumer claims, with morphological and mechanical methods serving as indispensable tools for recognizing and validating claims related to hair. The addition of K18® and Olaplex® demonstrated an increase in hair brightness (Y) and lightness (L* and a*) in relation to the Bleached samples, which were considered relevant characteristics for consumers. Olaplex®’s water-based nature creates a visible inner sheet, effectively filling empty spaces and improving the disulfide linkage network. This enhancement was corroborated by the increased number of disulfide bonds and evident changes in the FTIR profile. In contrast, K18®, owing to the lipophilic nature of its constituents, resulted in the formation of an external layer above the fiber. The composition of each of the products had a discrete impact on the fiber distribution, which was an outcome relevant to the determination of spreadability by consumers.