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Using newer vaccine platforms which have been effective against malaria in rodent models, we tested five immunization regimens against Plasmodium knowlesi in rhesus monkeys. All vaccines included the same four P. knowlesi antigens: the pre-erythrocytic antigens CSP, SSP2, and erythrocytic antigens AMA1, MSP1. We used four vaccine platforms for prime or boost vaccinations: plasmids (DNA), alphavirus replicons (VRP), attenuated adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad), or attenuated poxvirus (Pox). These four platforms combined to produce five different prime/boost vaccine regimens: Pox alone, VRP/Pox, VRP/Ad, Ad/Pox, and DNA/Pox. Five rhesus monkeys were immunized with each regimen, and five Control monkeys received a mock vaccination. The time to complete vaccinations was 420 days. All monkeys were challenged twice with 100 P. knowlesi sporozoites given IV. The first challenge was given 12 days after the last vaccination, and the monkeys receiving the DNA/Pox vaccine were the best protected, with 3/5 monkeys sterilely protected and 1/5 monkeys that self-cured its parasitemia. There was no protection in monkeys that received Pox malaria vaccine alone without previous priming. The second sporozoite challenge was given 4 months after the first. All 4 monkeys that were protected in the first challenge developed malaria in the second challenge. DNA, VRP and Ad5 vaccines all primed monkeys for strong immune responses after the Pox boost. We discuss the high level but short duration of protection in this experiment and the possible benefits of the long interval between prime and boost.

BACKGROUND: We have previously described a four antigen malaria vaccine consisting of DNA plasmids boosted by recombinant poxviruses which protects a high percentage of rhesus monkeys against Plasmodium knowlesi (Pk) malaria. This is a multi-stage vaccine that includes two pre-erythrocytic antigens, PkCSP and PkSSP2(TRAP), and two erythrocytic antigens, PkAMA-1 and PkMSP-1(42kD). The present study reports three further experiments where we investigate the effects of DNA dose, timing, and formulation. We also compare vaccines utilizing only the pre-erythrocytic antigens with the four antigen vaccine. METHODOLOGY: In three experiments, rhesus monkeys were immunized with malaria vaccines using DNA plasmid injections followed by boosting with poxvirus vaccine. A variety of parameters were tested, including formulation of DNA on poly-lactic co-glycolide (PLG) particles, varying the number of DNA injections and the amount of DNA, varying the interval between the last DNA injection to the poxvirus boost from 7 to 21 weeks, and using vaccines with from one to four malaria antigens. Monkeys were challenged with Pk sporozoites given i.v. 2 to 4 weeks after the poxvirus injection, and parasitemia was measured by daily Giemsa stained blood films. Immune responses in venous blood samples taken after each vaccine injection were measured by ELIspot production of interferon-gamma, and by ELISA. CONCLUSIONS: 1) the number of DNA injections, the formulation of the DNA plasmids, and the interval between the last DNA injection and the poxvirus injection are critical to vaccine efficacy. However, the total dose used for DNA priming is not as important; 2) the blood stage antigens PkAMA-1 and PkMSP-1 were able to protect against high parasitemias as part of a genetic vaccine where antigen folding is not well defined; 3) immunization with PkSSP2 DNA inhibited immune responses to PkCSP DNA even when vaccinations were given into separate legs; and 4) in a counter-intuitive result, higher interferon-gamma ELIspot responses to the PkCSP antigen correlated with earlier appearance of parasites in the blood, despite the fact that PkCSP vaccines had a protective effect.

To address metadata with researchers it is important to use models that include familiar domain concepts. In the Social Sciences, the DDI is a well-accepted source of such domain concepts. To create FAIR data and metadata, we need to establish a compact set of DDI elements that fit the requirements in projects and are likely to be adopted by researchers inexperienced with metadata creation. Over time, we have engaged in interviews and data description sessions with research groups in the Social Sciences, identifying a manageable DDI subset. A recent Clinical Psychology project, TOGETHER, dealing with risk assessment for hereditary cancer, considered the inclusion of a DDI subset for the production of metadata that are timely and interoperable with data publication initiatives in the same domain. Taking a DDI subset identified by the data curators, we make a preliminary assessment of its use as a realistic effort on the part of researchers, taking into consideration the metadata created in two data description sessions, the effort involved, and overall metadata quality. A follow-up questionnaire was used to assess the perspectives of researchers regarding data description.

In order to promote sound management of research data the European Commission, under the Horizon 2020 framework program, is promoting the adoption of a Data Management Plan (DMP) in research projects. Despite the value of a DMP to make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) through time, the development and implementation of DMPs is not yet a common practice in health research. Raising the awareness of researchers in small projects to the benefits of early adoption of a DMP is, therefore, a motivator for others to follow suit. In this paper we describe an approach to engage researchers in the writing of a DMP, in an ongoing project, FrailSurvey, in which researchers are collecting data through a mobile application for self-assessment of fragility. The case study is supported by interviews, a metadata creation session, as well as the validation of recommendations by researchers. With the outline of our process we also outline tools and services that supported the development of the DMP in this small project, particularly since there were no institutional services available to researchers

This study investigated the similarities between Echinodorus macrophyllus and Echinodorus grandiflorus, plant species that are traditionally used in Brazil to treat rheumatism and arthritis, whose anti-inflammatory effects are supported by scientific evidence. The contents of cis- and trans-aconitic acid, homoorientin, chicoric acid, swertisin, caffeoyl-feruloyl-tartaric acid, and di-feruloyl-tartaric acid were quantified by UPLC-DAD in various hydroethanolic extracts from the leaves, whereas their anti-oxidant activity and their effect on TNF release by LPS-stimulated THP-1 cells were assessed to evaluate potential anti-inflammatory effects. The 50% and 70% ethanol extracts showed higher concentrations of the analyzed markers in two commercial samples and a cultivated specimen of E. macrophyllus, as well as in a commercial lot of E. grandiflorus. However, distinguishing between the species based on marker concentrations was not feasible. The 50% and 70% ethanol extracts also exhibited higher biological activity, yet they did not allow differentiation between the species, indicating similar chemical composition and biological effects. Principal component analysis highlighted comparable chemical composition and biological activity among the commercial samples of E. macrophyllus, while successfully distinguishing the cultivated specimen from the commercial lots. In summary, no differences were observed between the two species in terms of the evaluated chemical markers and biological activities.

Resumo O artigo propõe-se descrever e debater as propriedades constitutivas do campo social e económico das indústrias criativas. Situado nos interstícios entre a produção de bens e serviços e os universos simbólicos, o campo das indústrias criativas repercute um aproveitamento económico massivo das potencialidades derivadas da produção simbólica propriamente dita. Como se discutirá no artigo, daqui deriva um efeito replicador de criatividade a outros sectores da atividade económica, com benefícios multiplicadores no plano do crescimento económico, da criação de emprego e da própria integração económica internacional, mais especificamente com sua inserção nas redes de comércio internacional. A análise de dados nacionais e internacionais procura definir os traços macroeconómicos evidenciados anteriormente, complementada por uma discussão analítica final acerca de algumas das propriedades socioeconómicas deste sector.

AbstractIntroduction Atrial fibrillation (AF) is one of the major causes of stroke and cardiovascular morbidity in the world [1]. Oral anticoagulation (OAC) with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) or non-VKA oral anticoagulants (NOACs) reduces the risk of such events in AF patients [1–3]. Our aim was to evaluate if AF patients were correctly hypocoagulated and the prevalence of acute ischaemic stroke (IS) and acute transient ischaemic attack (TIA) among these patients.Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken in a Portuguese hospital in Beja in the last three months. Patients (aged 18 years or older) with previous history of AF admitted to internal medicine ward were included. Data was extracted from medical charts, which included sociodemographic and clinical variables. To assess if patients were correctly medicated or in need for OAC, we calculated CHA2DS2-VASc (if

AbstractIntroduction Elderly patients pose challenge in clinical practice. Multimorbidity, polypharmacy, and potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) are a reality among these patients, and can increase the risk of adverse drugs reactions [1]. However, data on the prevalence of PIMs with risk of Major Adverse Cardio- and Cerebrovascular Events (MACCE) in secondary care is scarce. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of such PIMs in a Portuguese hospital and to identify the most common pharmacotherapeutic groups involved.Materials and methods A cross-sectional study was undertaken in a Portuguese hospital in Beja in the last three months. Patients aged 65 or older with previous cardiovascular disease (considered as ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke, transient ischaemic attack, and heart failure), and with at least three home medications were included. Data was extracted from medical charts, which included sociodemographic, clinical, and pharmacotherapeutic variables. PIMs with risk of MACCE were identified using a current systematic review. The prevalence of PIMs was defined as the number of elderly patients with medications included in the PIM-list among all the patients included. The informed consent of the subjects and acceptance of the study protocol by a local ethics committee has been obtained. Data analysis was performed using univariate statistics (IBM SPSS v.20.0).Results A total of 322 elderly patients were included, where 50.9% (n = 164) were female with a mean age of 78.8 ± 10.8 years old. Almost half of the sample presented previous history of cerebrovascular events (47.8%, n = 154), followed by heart failure (41.9%, n = 135). Patients presented an average of 3.9 ± 2.3 comorbidities per patient and 75.2% (n = 242) experienced polypharmacy (defined as the patient taking 5 or more drugs). Each patient was taking a mean of 6.9 ± 3.6 drugs. Thirty nine percent (n = 125) of the patients were using PIMs with cardio- and cerebrovascular adverse events, and 23.2% (n = 29) of them presented MACCE risk. The most common pharmacotherapeutic group was Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) (51.7%, n = 15), followed by calcium channel blockers (17.2%, n = 5).Discussion and conclusions Data suggest that almost 40% of the patients were using PIMs with cardio- and cerebrovascular risk and had previous history of cardiovascular diseases. This may suggest that at discharge and during transitions of care, patients would benefit from a medication review.

Abstract Although Brazil is a megadiverse country and thus a conservation priority, no study has yet quantified conservation gaps in the Brazilian protected areas (PAs) using extensive empirical data. Here, we evaluate the degree of biodiversity protection and knowledge within all the Brazilian PAs through a gap analysis of vertebrate, arthropod and angiosperm occurrences and phylogenetic data. Our results show that the knowledge on biodiversity in most Brazilian PAs remain scant as 71% of PAs have less than 0.01 species records per km2. Almost 55% of Brazilian species and about 40% of evolutionary lineages are not found in PAs, while most species have less than 30% of their geographic distribution within PAs. Moreover, the current PA network fails to protect the majority of endemic species. Most importantly, these results are similar for all taxonomic groups analysed here. The methods and results of our countrywide assessment are suggested to help design further inventories in order to map and secure the key biodiversity of the Brazilian PAs. In addition, our study illustrates the most common biodiversity knowledge shortfalls in the tropics.

Analogous to the technological developments, research data is being produced at a higher rate than ever, making research data management a current scientific issue. In this context researchers are encouraged not only to disclose, but also actively manage their data, including data description, so others can benefit from it. Controlled vocabularies, ontologies and metadata schemas are examples of tools that can support researchers to communicate their work. This paper consists in an overview on how metadata can be a useful asset to improve data sharing between researchers, given the biodiversity domain as an example to illustrate this scenario. Being aware that institutions usually struggle to keep up with the demands of a fast-paced, multi-domain research environment it is arguable that researchers, if provided with tools that best fit their requirements, should play a central role in the research data management workflow.

This paper proposes a near to real-time local market to provide reactive power to the transmission system operator (TSO), using the resources connected to a distribution grid managed by a distribution system operator (DSO). The TSO publishes a requested reactive power profile at the TSO-DSO interface for each time-interval of the next delivery period, so that market agents (managing resources of the distribution grid) can prepare and send their bids accordingly. DSO resources are the first to be mobilized, and the remaining residual reactive power is supplied by the reactive power flexibility offered in the local reactive market. Complex bids (with non-curtailability conditions) are supported to provide flexible ways of bidding fewer flexible assets (such as capacitor banks). An alternating current (AC) optimal power flow (OPF) is used to clear the bids by maximizing the social welfare to supply the TSO required reactive power profile, subject to the DSO grid constraints. A rolling window mechanism allows a continuous dispatching of reactive power, and the possibility of adapting assigned schedules to real time constraints. A simplified TSO-DSO cost assignment of the flexible reactive power used is proposed to share for settlement purposes.

Research datasets include all kinds of objects, from web pages to sensor data, and originate in every domain. Concerns with data generated in large projects and well-funded research areas are centered on their exploration and analysis. For data in the long tail, the main issues are still how to get data visible, satisfactorily described, preserved, and searchable. Our work aims to promote data publication in research institutions, considering that researchers are the core stakeholders and need straightforward workflows, and that multi-disciplinary tools can be designed and adapted to specific areas with a reasonable effort. For small groups with interesting datasets but not much time or funding for data curation, we have to focus on engaging researchers in the process of preparing data for publication, while providing them with measurable outputs. In larger groups, solutions have to be customized to satisfy the requirements of more specific research contexts. We describe our experience at the University of Porto in two lines of enquiry. For the work with long-tail groups we propose general-purpose tools for data description and the interface to multi-disciplinary data repositories. For areas with larger projects and more specific requirements, namely wind infrastructure, sensor data from concrete structures and marine data, we define specialized workflows. In both cases, we present a preliminary evaluation of results and an estimate of the kind of effort required to keep the proposed infrastructures running. The tools available to researchers can be decisive for their commitment. We focus on data preparation, namely on dataset organization and metadata creation. For groups in the long tail, we propose Dendro, an open-source research data management platform, and explore automatic metadata creation with LabTablet, an electronic laboratory notebook. For groups demanding a domain-specific approach, our analysis has resulted in the development of models and applications to organize the data and support some of their use cases. Overall, we have adopted ontologies for metadata modeling, keeping in sight metadata dissemination as Linked Open Data.

No Outono de 2003, a redacção da revista Comunicação e Sociedade enviou a um conjunto de pessoas ligadas directa ou indirectamente ao jornalismo o convite para que participassem neste número da revista, através de um depoimento curto, centrado na seguinte questão: “Tendo em conta o quadro sociocultural em que os jornalistas exercem a profissão, quais os aspectos que julga serem centrais e quais os secundários, a considerar na respectiva formação?”. Publicam-se a seguir os depoimentos recebidos...

É apresentada uma relação de Orchidaceae para a Reserva Ecológica do Guará, pequena unidade de conservação com 194 ha, localizada no Distrito Federal, na região central do Brasil. São registrados 44 gêneros, 100 espécies e cinco táxons subespecíficos. Os grupos mais bem representados são o gênero Habenaria (32 táxons), a subtribo Spiranthinae (seis gêneros e 14 táxons) e o gênero Cyrtopodium (sete espécies). Do total de táxons da Reserva, 80 (76%) são terrestres e 22 (21%) são epifíticos. Nas fitofisionomias florestais ocorrem 42 táxons, distribuídos segundo um gradiente vertical de umidade e luminosidade. Nas fitofisionomias campestres ocorrem 63 táxons, distribuídos segundo um gradiente horizontal de umidade que vai do campo limpo inundável ao campo sujo seco e cerrado. O campo limpo inundável e o campo limpo estacionalmente úmido, com 42 táxons, são as fitofisionomias com o maior número de táxons. Para todo o bioma cerrado, a Reserva Ecológica do Guará, embora com área pequena, representa a localidade conhecida com maior número de táxons de Orchidaceae. Considerando o conhecimento atual, a Reserva Ecológica do Guará rivaliza ou mesmo sobrepuja, em número de táxons, outras áreas consideradas ricas em diversidade para a família e pertencentes a outros biomas.A floristic survey of the Orchidaceae of the Reserva Ecológica do Guará, a small conservation unit with 194 ha located in the Distrito Federal, central Brazil, is presented. Forty four genera, 100 species, and five subspecific taxa are recorded for the Reserve. The most representative groups are the genus Habenaria (32 taxa), subtribe Spiranthinae (six genera and 14 taxa) and the genus Cyrtopodium (seven species). Of these, 80 (76%) are terrestrials, while 22 (21%) are epiphytic. Forty two taxa occur in forest physiognomies, where they are distributed according to vertical gradient of light and humidity. In grassland physiognomies occur 63 taxa, distributed according horizontal gradient of humidity, ranging from the campo limpo inundável (flooded grassland) to the campo sujo seco (dry shrub) and cerrado. The campo limpo inundável and campo úmido (humid grassland), with 42 taxa, are the physiognomies with the highest number of species. The Reserva Ecológica do Guará, though its small area, is the locality in the cerrado biome with the highest number of orchid taxa. Considering the current knowledge, the Reserva Ecológica do Guará rivals or exceeds in number of taxa other orchid-rich areas in other Brazilian biomes.

A Serra da Canastra está localizada no sudoeste de Minas Gerais e situa-se dentro do domínio do Cerrado. Os estudos florísticos na região começaram na década de 1990, mas ainda estão incompletos e Orchidaceae é uma das famílias que não foram estudadas. Neste trabalho é apresentado um inventário do gênero Habenaria na Serra da Canastra. Foram registradas 28 espécies para a região, sendo que H. canastrensis e H. pseudoculicina são endêmicas restritas a área de estudo. A Serra da Canastra, com 30% do total de espécies registradas para Minas Gerais é uma das cinco unidades de conservação com maior diversidade do gênero no estado. Ocorrem na área de estudo principalmente espécies de ampla distribuição, bem como algumas espécies típicas do planalto central e outras típicas do Espinhaço, mas nenhuma espécie típica dos campos de altitude do domínio da Mata Atlântica.