147 documents found, page 1 of 15
Application of prodigiosin extracts in textile dyeing and novel printing proces...
Alves, Cátia Sofia Pereira; Soares-Castro, pedro; Fernandes, Rui Daniel Vilaça; Pereira, Adriana; Rodrigues, Rui; Fonseca, Ana Rita; Santos, Nuno C.The textile industry’s reliance on synthetic dyes contributes significantly to pollution, highlighting the need for sustainable alternatives like biopigments. This study investigates the production and application of the biopigment prodigiosin, which was produced by Pseudomonas putida with a yield of 1.85 g/L. Prodigiosin was prepared under acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions, resulting in varying protonat...
Wolbachia screening in Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens mosquitoes from Madeira ...
Fernandes, Rita; Melo, Tiago; Zé-Zé, Líbia; Freitas, Inês C.; Silva, Manuel; Dias, Eva; Santos, Nuno C.; Gouveia, Bruna; Seixas, Gonçalo; Osório, HugoMosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and West Nile virus pose serious public health risks. On Madeira Island, the presence of the mosquito species Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762) and Culex pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758) raises concerns about local transmission. In this study, we tested 100 Ae. aegypti and 40 Cx. pipiens mosquitoes collected exclusively in the municipality of Funchal, Madeira Island, to assess the pr...
Wolbachia Screening in Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens Mosquitoes from Madeira ...
Fernandes, Rita; Melo, Tiago; Marques Zé-Zé, Líbia Maria; Campos Freitas, Inês; Silva, Manuel; Dias, Eva; Santos, Nuno C.; Gouveia, Bruna R.Simple Summary: Mosquitoes can spread serious diseases like dengue and West Nile virus. On Madeira Island, two mosquito species—Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens—are present and may pose a risk to public health. Scientists are exploring new ways to control these mosquitoes using a natural bacterium called Wolbachia, which can reduce a mosquito’s ability to transmit viruses and even lower mosquito populations. How...
A small TAT-TrkB peptide prevents BDNF receptor cleavage and restores synaptic ...
Fonseca-Gomes, João; Costa-Coelho, Tiago; Ferreira-Manso, Mafalda; Inteiro-Oliveira, Sara; Vaz, Sandra H.; Alemãn-Serrano, NunoIn Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyloid β (Aβ)-triggered cleavage of TrkB-FL impairs brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling, thereby compromising neuronal survival, differentiation, and synaptic transmission and plasticity. Using cerebrospinal fluid and postmortem human brain samples, we show that TrkB-FL cleavage occurs from the early stages of the disease and increases as a function of pathology seve...
A mathematical model of fibrinogen-mediated erythrocyte-erythrocyte adhesion
Lopes, Catarina S.; Curty, Juliana; Carvalho, Filomena A.; Hernández-Machado, A.; Kinoshita, Koji; Santos, Nuno C.; Travasso, Rui D. M.Erythrocytes are deformable cells that undergo progressive biophysical and biochemical changes affecting the normal blood flow. Fibrinogen, one of the most abundant plasma proteins, is a primary determinant for changes in haemorheological properties, and a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the adhesion between human erythrocytes is measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM...
Edible alginate-based films with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity
Cerqueira, Miguel A.; Leite, Ana C. C. O.; Tomás, Ana L.; Reichel, Anna; Silva, Patrícia M.; Santos, Nuno C.; Michelin, Michele; Fuciños, PabloThe viability of SARS-CoV-2 on food surfaces and its propagation through the food chain has been discussed by several stakeholders, as it may represent a serious public health problem, bringing new challenges to the food system. This work shows for the first time that edible films can be used against SARS-CoV-2. Sodium alginate-based films containing gallic acid, geraniol, and green tea extract were evaluated i...
Edible alginate-based films with anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity
Cerqueira, Miguel A.; Leite, Ana Catarina C.O.; Tomás, Ana Luísa; Reichel, Anna; Silva, Patrícia M.; Santos, Nuno C.; Michelin, Michele; Fuciños, PabloThe viability of SARS-CoV-2 on food surfaces and its propagation through the food chain has been discussed by several stakeholders, as it may represent a serious public health problem, bringing new challenges to the food system. This work shows for the first time that edible films can be used against SARS-CoV-2. Sodium alginate-based films containing gallic acid, geraniol, and green tea extract were evaluated i...
Activity modulation of the Escherichia coli F1FO ATP synthase by a designed ant...
Makowski, Marcin; Almendro-Vedia, Víctor G.; Domingues, Marco; Franco, Octavio L.; López-Montero, Iván; Melo, Manuel N.; Santos, Nuno C.Most antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exert their microbicidal activity through membrane permeabilization. The designed AMP EcDBS1R4 has a cryptic mechanism of action involving the membrane hyperpolarization of Escherichia coli, suggesting that EcDBS1R4 may hinder processes involved in membrane potential dissipation. We show that EcDBS1R4 can sequester cardiolipin, a phospholipid that interacts with several respir...
A mathematical model of fibrinogen-mediated erythrocyte–erythrocyte adhesion
Lopes, Catarina S.; Curty, Juliana; Carvalho, Filomena Almeida; Hernández-Machado, A.; Kinoshita, Koji; Santos, Nuno C.; Travasso, Rui D. M.Erythrocytes are deformable cells that undergo progressive biophysical and biochemical changes affecting the normal blood flow. Fibrinogen, one of the most abundant plasma proteins, is a primary determinant for changes in haemorheological properties, and a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the adhesion between human erythrocytes is measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM...
Dengue virus capsid protein facilitates genome compaction and packaging
Boon, Priscilla L. S.; Silva Martins, Ana; Lim, Xin Ni; Enguita, Francisco J.; Santos, Nuno C.; Bond, Peter J.; Wan, Yue; Martins, Ivo C.Dengue virus (DENV) is a single-stranded (+)-sense RNA virus that infects humans and mosquitoes, posing a significant health risk in tropical and subtropical regions. Mature virions are composed of an icosahedral shell of envelope (E) and membrane (M) proteins circumscribing a lipid bilayer, which in turn contains a complex of the approximately 11 kb genomic RNA with capsid (C) proteins. Whereas the structure o...