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Aquaculture reliance on fishmeal protein has become a bottleneck due to long-term sustainability concerns and increasing costs. Given its abundance and nutrient-rich profile, the green macroalga Ulva rigida is a promising alternative protein source. However, the bioaccessibility of its proteins is hindered by an embedding matrix of ulvan, a gel-forming polysaccharide. Saccharification of the alga crude fiber followed by microbial fermentation improves protein bioaccessibility and leads to products of higher protein content and quality. Also, upon fermentation, the nutritional and bioactive properties of these feed ingredients are enhanced, since microorganisms synthesize vitamins, new proteins, and essential amino acids. The carbohydrate fraction of Ulva rigida was hydrolyzed into a sugar-rich syrup and subsequently used as a substrate in microbial fermentations. Three types of fermentation were tested, namely, with a consortium of four lactic acid bacteria (LAB), with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and with a co-culture of lactobacilli and yeast. A functional analysis of lyophilized whole-fermentation broths revealed that the yeast-fermented products had stronger antioxidant properties when compared to the LAB-fermented products. The protein bioaccessibility in the fermented products was 11- to 12-fold higher than that of the raw alga. These findings highlight the potential of utilizing S. cerevisiae and lactobacilli starter cultures in seaweed fermentation to produce Ulva-based feed ingredients.

Artificial intelligence has yielded remarkably promising results in several medical fields, namely those with a strong imaging component. Gynecology relies heavily on imaging since it offers useful visual data on the female reproductive system, leading to a deeper understanding of pathophysiological concepts. The applicability of artificial intelligence technologies has not been as noticeable in gynecologic imaging as in other medical fields so far. However, due to growing interest in this area, some studies have been performed with exciting results. From urogynecology to oncology, artificial intelligence algorithms, particularly machine learning and deep learning, have shown huge potential to revolutionize the overall healthcare experience for women’s reproductive health. In this review, we aim to establish the current status of AI in gynecology, the upcoming developments in this area, and discuss the challenges facing its clinical implementation, namely the technological and ethical concerns for technology development, implementation, and accountability.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) are the most recently approved drug class for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). Although they are largely well-tolerated, their intake has been associated with euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in some rare cases. We report the case of a 70-year-old male with type 2 diabetes and no history of DKA, who started therapy with empagliflozin one day before presenting with acute pancreatitis and laboratory findings consistent with euglycemic DKA. SGLT2i can induce euglycemic DKA from the first dose. Given the atypical presentation, a high degree of clinical suspicion is required to recognize this complication.

Artificial intelligence has yielded remarkably promising results in several medical fields, namely those with a strong imaging component. Gynecology relies heavily on imaging since it offers useful visual data on the female reproductive system, leading to a deeper understanding of pathophysiological concepts. The applicability of artificial intelligence technologies has not been as noticeable in gynecologic imaging as in other medical fields so far. However, due to growing interest in this area, some studies have been performed with exciting results. From urogynecology to oncology, artificial intelligence algorithms, particularly machine learning and deep learning, have shown huge potential to revolutionize the overall healthcare experience for women’s reproductive health. In this review, we aim to establish the current status of AI in gynecology, the upcoming developments in this area, and discuss the challenges facing its clinical implementation, namely the technological and ethical concerns for technology development, implementation, and accountability.

O presente artigo apresenta uma análise da relação bidirecional entre o cidadão e as plataformas digitais disponíveis para o mesmo, no âmbito da administração pública portuguesa. No período compreendido entre 2006 até ao ano atual, a administração pública portuguesa na sua natureza central e local produziu e implementou distintos programas de modernização tendo em vista a simplificação de processos de negócio e a abertura da administração ao cidadão. O plano analítico desta abordagem consistiu na seleção de conceitos repetidamente abordados nos respetivos programas para a consequente leitura dos mesmos de acordo com conceitos preconizados pelas teorias do informacionalismo e da comunicação. Após o esforço de modernização da administração pública importa, agora, aferir as principais transformações operadas no cidadão, enquanto sujeito, através das plenas potencialidades da sociedade em rede ao serviço de uma plena sociedade de informação. Estas transformações poderão ser visíveis em distintas dimensões da socialidade do cidadão, nomeadamente no seu próprio comportamento informacional no que concerne à relação de exigência que estabelece, hoje,com os serviços públicos que funcionem em plataformas digitais. Essa mesma exigência determinará futuras estratégias de desenho e desenvolvimento de serviços públicos que para além da mera natureza tecnológica terão de assumir uma natureza social sistémica e capaz de permitir o desencadear de processos auto-organizativos. O universo em estudo no presente artigo tem as suas fronteiras delimitadas por conceitos como a sociedade da informação, o processo comunicacional e a sociedade em rede perante o cidadão consumidor e cocriador (prosumer) de uma organização de natureza pública.

O presente estudo tem como principal objetivo perceber quais as potencialidades das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação na dinamização das Bibliotecas Escolares, nos contextos da Educação Pré-Escolar e 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico. Para contextualizar teoricamente a temática da dissertação procedeu-se à realização da revisão da literatura sobre a Sociedade da Informação e a escola do séc. XXI, bem como o papel das Bibliotecas Escolares nas escolas, face à sociedade atual – Sociedade da Informação/conhecimento, tendo como enfoque as Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação. Pretendeu-se igualmente refletir sobre as funções inerentes ao cargo de Professor Bibliotecário e analisar os documentos orientadores da Rede de Bibliotecas Escolares. Para responder a algumas questões colocadas inicialmente foi realizado um estudo de caso, tendo como método de recolha de dados um inquérito por questionário, aplicado a Educadores e Professores do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, do Agrupamento de Escolas de Arouca.As Bibliotecas Escolares prestam serviços comunitários e estão inseridas nas comunidades em constante transformação, devendo atualizar-se em função dos seus objetivos para encontrar novos públicos e caminhos de acesso à informação. Para tal, é essencial uma mudança de paradigma no que diz respeito à utilização das Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação, nomeadamente em relação à integração efetiva das tecnologias digitais nas escolas, cabendo ao Professor Bibliotecário um papel promotor da literacia digital, nos contextos escolares onde se integra.

Exonic variants that cause abnormal mRNA splicing have been reported in human disease. However, this phenomenon is relatively unstudied in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a complex genetic cardiac disease with more than 1500 pathogenic mutations identified in over 14 genes. The lack of suitable models to study the causal mechanism of HCM-associated variants poses a drawback to the understanding of the molecular basis underlying this disease. The recent emergence of CRISPR/Cas9 and hiPSCs technologies are an exciting approach to generate disease models that better recapitulate the characteristics of the human heart.Three gene-edited clones harbouring the MYBPC3 c.1090G>A variant were generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. This variant is predicted to disrupt the recognition of the donor splice-site and lead to the skipping of exon 12. However, throughout the gene-editing process and due to long time in culture, these cells lost expression of pluripotency markers and could not be differentiated into cardiomyocytes to perform further experiments.In parallel, a patient-derived HCM cell line (Xutl, p.I1250fs) and Gibco and TCLab control lines were differentiated into cardiomyocytes using a 2D protocol. The hiPSCs-CMs obtained expressed high levels of fetal sarcomeric-genes TNNT2 and TTN isoforms, when compared to the adult human heart. Morphologically, they also displayed characteristics that are compatible to those of embryonic cardiomyocytes. Therefore, these hiPSCs-CMs have an immature phenotype and could not fully recapitulate the characteristics of adult cardiomyocytes. For disease-modelling purposes, mature hiPSCs-CMs that are comparable to those found in the adult heart are required and 3D differentiation protocols are some of the approaches being implemented.Even though optimization of the gene-editing and cardiac differentiation protocols is essential for the success of subsequent experiments, the work performed in this thesis provided important advances in the development of improved cellular models to study complex genetic diseases, such as HCM.

The evolution of sexual reproduction is the core of flowering plants success in our planet. One of the main outstanding questions about how fertilization takes place is to show how the pollen tube is recruited and its growth supported into the female gametophyte. Though much research has been dedicated to pollen tube growth and fertilization, only some specific molecules have been shown to function as PT growth enhancers such as GABA in Arabidopsis and chemocyanin in Lilium longiflorum. To date, we still know very little of the intricate molecular network that controls pollen-pistil interactions and finally leads to the production of seeds in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. Throughout the distinctive sporophytic tissues that comprise the pathway followed by a pollen tube until it reaches the embryo sac, the presence of Arabinogalactan Proteins (AGPs) is remarkable, as it was detected by immunolocalization studies in several plant species. The main goal of this thesis was to seek further insights about the localization and function of specific AGPs along these tissues in Arabidopsis, based on the central hypothesis that AGPs are essential for pollen tube guidance, attraction and reception into the embryo sac. AGPs belong to the family of Hydroxyproline-Rich Glycoproteins (HRPGs), being highly glycosylated, and ubiquitous in land plants. These proteins have long been proposed to have important roles in distinct phases of the sexual plant reproductive process, due, not only to their differential patterns of spatial and temporal localization in the reproductive tissues, but also owing to their very peculiar molecular characteristics. Initially a first study using antibodies specific for AGPs sugar epitopes was made in a basal Angisoperm, Trithuria submersa. This work showed that AGPs could play a significant role in Trithuria reproduction, due to their specific presence in the pollen tube pathway. As a first approach to identify the AGPs involved in pollen tube attraction in the model species A. thaliana, we selected AGPs predicted to be specifically present in the pistil tissues, according to microarray data: AGP1, AGP9, AGP12, AGP15 and AGP23. Promoter analysis using multiple GFP fusions to a nuclear localization signal (NLS), GUS fusions, and in situ hybridization were the approaches utilized to confirm the AGP expression patterns. Promoter analysis allowed the detection of a specific and differential presence of these proteins along the pathway followed by the pollen tube during its journey to reach the egg and the central cell inside the embryo sac. AGP1 is expressed in the stigma, the style, the transmitting tract, and in the chalazal and funiculus tissues of the ovules. AGP9 is present along the vasculature of the reproductive tissues and AGP12 is expressed in the stigmatic cells, the chalazal and funiculus cells of the ovules, and the ovary septum. AGP15 is expressed in all pistil tissues, except in the transmitting tract, while AGP23 is pollen grain and pollen tube specific.

Esta investigação surge da identificação da procura de novas formas de comunicação por parte das Organizações Não Governamentais (ONG) portuguesas e internacionais e da parca oferta de estudos sobre esta relação. A necessidade de aumentar a visibilidade das ONG é consequência do seu vasto e crescente número, que leva à disputa de fundos. Neste contexto a plataforma web 2.0 e, em particular, as redes sociais e as acções de marketing viral permitem às ONG reduzir a preocupação com a dicotomia existente entre os investimentos que têm de gerar para atingirem os seus objectivos e as acções de comunicação que permitem gerar mais visibilidade e, consequentemente, mais fundos. Através de investimentos reduzidos as redes sociais e o marketing viral permitem chegar ao seu público-alvo de forma directa e activa, disponibilizando toda a informação necessária, incentivando o call to actione dinamizando a partilha da informação entre utilizadores.Esta investigação adoptou a metodologia de estudo de caso, estudando três organizações: a TESE, a Plataforma Portuguesa das Organizações Não Governamentais para o Desenvolvimento (ONGD) e a Amnistia Internacional Portugal. Com base em entrevistas e análise de documentação foi possível concluir sobre a aplicação do marketing viral e das redes sociais nas estratégias de comunicação das ONG, assim como sobre o potencial emergente destas mesmas acções.

Whole-genome analysis of the earliest-detected High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIV) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b detected in Hannah Point, Antarctica (January 2024) reveals close relatedness to strains that circulated in pinnipeds and seabirds along the Atlantic coast of South America during the second half of 2023.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.