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Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the online version, at doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.09.088., The global demand of prebiotics such as xylooligosaccharides (XOS) has been growing over the years, motivating the search for different production processes with increased efficiency. In this study, a cloned Bacillus subtilis 3610, containing the xylanase gene xyn2 of Trichoderma reesei coupled with an endogenous secretion tag, was selected for XOS production through direct fermentation of beechwood xylan. A mixture of XOS with a degree of polymerization ranging from 4-6 was obtained, presenting high stability after a static in vitro digestion (98.5±0.2%). The maximum production yield expressed as total XOS per amount of xylan (306±4mg/g) was achieved after 8h of fermentation operating under one-time impulse fed-batch. The optimal conditions found were pH 6.0 and 42.5°C, using 2.5g/L of initial concentration of xylan increased up to 5.0g/L at 3h. Xylopentaose was the major oligosaccharide produced, representing 47% of the total production yield., CA, SCS, ACP, EC and LRR acknowledge their grants (PD/BD/ 105870/2014, SFRH/BPD/88584/2012, SFRH/BPD/ 101181/2014, SFRH/BPD/70589/2010 and SFRH/BSAB/142873/2018) from Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The study received financial support from FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit; COMPETE 2020 (POCI-010145-FEDER-006684); QOPNA research Unit (FCT UID/QUI/00062/ 2013), through national founds and where applicable co-financed by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement; the Project MultiBiorefinery (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016403); the Project FoSynBio (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029549) and Lignozymes (POCI-01-0145FEDER-029773). The authors also acknowledge BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Resumo: Introdução: Devido à inadequada resposta aos corticóides inalatórios, os pacientes com asma de difícil controlo (ADC) são submetidos a corticóides orais ou uso de omalizumabe. Embora sejam necessários para o tratamento desses pacientes, há uma relação significativa entre o uso de esteróides e fraqueza muscular periférica e respiratória, resultando em implicações como a perda da qualidade de vida e função pulmonar comprometida. No entanto, não se sabe se estes pacientes sofrem alterações neurofisiológicas devido ao efeito da droga. Objetivo: Investigar as características neurofisiológicas e funcionais de pacientes com ADC, para melhor compreensão da doença. Método: Foi realizado um estudo transversal em 3 grupos de pacientes: ADCC (que fazem uso de corticóide por via oral); ADCO (que fazem uso do Omalizumab) e GC (controlo saudável da mesma idade). A avaliação foi composta pela prova da marcha dos 6 minutos, teste senta-levanta, equilíbrio estático com a plataforma de pressão, reflexos monossimpáticos (patelar e aquileu) e a força do quadríceps do membro inferior dominante. Resultados: Embora os resultados em relação aos aspetos neurofisiológicos mostrem não haver diferença estatisticamente significativa entre os grupos controlo e com ADC, deve ser observado que o grupo com ADC, apresentou importante redução da capacidade funcional, quando comparado ao grupo controlo (diminuição da força muscular (p

It has been already shown that delivering tDCS that are spaced by an interval alters its impact on motor plasticity. These effects can be explained, based on metaplasticity in which a previous modification of activity in a neuronal network can change the effects of subsequent interventions in the same network. But to date there is limited data assessing metaplasticity effects in cognitive functioning., This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with two individual grants (SFRH/BPD/86041/2012 and SFRH/BPD/86027/2012).