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In a world where owning a car has more to it than just pure necessity, there are other factors that influence perceived effectiveness of Electric Vehicles and it is possible to establish a correlation strong enough to predict how the perceived effectiveness of each one of us towards this semi-recent technology will be affected. A questionnaire was used, and demographic data variables were cross analyzed to establish correlation between them. The study shows that demographics, especially age and education have indeed a correlation with the perceived effectiveness of the consumer, with the results being statistically significant, but correlation coefficient was below the threshold acceptable by the scientific community on these kinds of topics to represent influence between the variables. For future research, it is recommended to collect sample data from a wider generational population, which may help to more precisely identify how age affects environmental awareness and the perceived effectiveness of electric vehicles. No nosso mundo onde possuir um carro tem mais razões do que apenas aquela de necessidade, existirão outros fatores que influenciem a perceção da eficácia dos veículos elétricos e, caso assim o seja, será possível estabelecer uma correlação forte o suficiente para prever como a eficácia como cada um a perceciona relativamente a esta seminova tecnologia será afetada? Foi utilizado um questionário e as variáveis dos dados demográficos foram analisadas de forma cruzada para estabelecer correlação entre elas. O estudo mostra que os dados demográficos, especialmente os de idade e a escolaridade, têm de fato uma correlação com a perceção do consumidor, com resultados estatisticamente significativos, mas o coeficiente de correlação ficou abaixo do limite aceitável pela comunidade científica nesses tipos de tópicos para representar a influência entre as variáveis. Para pesquisas futuras, recomenda-se recolher dados de amostra de uma população geracional mais ampla, o que pode ajudar a identificar de maneira mais precisa como a idade afeta a consciência ambiental e a eficácia percebida dos veículos elétricos.

Journal of Statistics on Health Decision, vol. 4 n.º 1 (2022): Special Issue - Statistics on Health Decision Making: Real World Data

Not Published

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a well-studied mycotoxin that poses severe health risks. OTA is mainly produced by Aspergillus and Penicillium species associated with food spoilage and it is present in a wide diversity of food and feed products. Recent studies have reported the presence of OTA in food matrices where known OTA producers are not present1,2. For that reason, other species such as P. crustosum are now being considered. A recent study using comparative genomic analysis3 clarified the OTA biosynthetic gene cluster composition. In order to gain insight into the secondary metabolism of P. crustosum, this study aimed to sequence and explore the complete genome of strain MUM 16.125. This strain was isolated from cheese rind sample contaminated with OTA in which no known OTA producers were present1. The genome assembly comprises 199 contigs with a total length of 30.95 Mb and contains 10975 predicted protein-coding genes. In total, 109 gene clusters potentially related with secondary metabolism were identified, including putative gene clusters for penitrem, clavaric acid or naphthopyrones biosynthesis. Nevertheless, no evidence of an OTA biosynthetic gene cluster was found. A total of 83 complete and 49 partial protein sequences from published OTA biosynthetic genes from 11 Aspergillus and 3 Penicillium species were queried against the predicted P. crustosum proteins. Only 3 strong matches were found (to a short partial P. verrucosum PKS and 2 P. thymicola chloroperoxidases) but matches to complete key genes were absent. Considering these findings, it appears that strain MUM 16.125 lacks the most common genetic pathway to produce OTA, providing important information relevant to understand the role of P. crustosum as putative OTA producer. Nevertheless, the additional secondary metabolism gene clusters found (such as penitrem, clavaric acid or naphthopyrones) highlight the potential of this strain for metabolite production, including other mycotoxins or compounds with antioxidant, anticancer or antibiotic properties., This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of CEB (UID/BIO/04469/2019) and iBiMED (UIDB/04501/2020) units; and by CANCYL (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031849) and GenomePT (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184) projects, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

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The Genomics facility of iBiMED (iBiGEN), provides genomics services, including bioinformatics and statistical analysis to iBiMED researchers, and to external users. Since our start, in 2018, the bioinformatic lab have carried out 52 studies at a genomic scale, including de novo genome sequencing with variant detection (SNPs, indels, CNVs, LOH), whole exome or gene panel sequencing, RNA sequencing analysis (total RNA, mRNA, small RNA, LncRNA), as well as DNA microarrays for cohort genotyping in populational studies and gene expression assessment. During the COVID-19 pandemics, iBiGEN joined the national effort to monitor SARS-COV2 genomic variants and have analyzed 1121 samples through genome sequencing and variant detection. As part of iBiGEN, the Bioinformatics laboratory is equipped with 16 desktops (for resident and temporary users), one server and one cluster for storage and high-level processing. It gathers a team composed of one senior bioinformatician, one bioinformatic technician, two PostDocs and five PhD students. The data-analysis workflows implemented use open-source programs automatized with housemade scripts of several coding languages (bash, Python and R). The workflows are based on state-of-the-art methods and support different data types, formats, origins, and reference organisms. Not Published

A luz, de tão presente no quotidiano, é um fator, muitas vezes, negligenciado no estudo do bem-estar humano, tendo em conta a sua influência no desenrolar das funções de regulação das atividades corporais. Está demonstrado que a saúde física e psíquica do Homem é afetada pelos ciclos diários da luz (dependentes do ciclo diário solar), com grande influência no seu conforto e estado de espírito. Este Projeto pretende apresentar uma solução de iluminação para espaços fechados e sem janelas mimetizando a iluminação solar, desde a sua rotação até às cores. O objetivo principal passa por apresentar uma solução que resulta numa melhoria de qualidade de vida aos utilizadores de espaços em que não há uma perceção correta do decorrer do dia. Atualmente, existe a facilidade de produção de peças através de fabrico aditivo e impressoras 3D. Na solução proposta a obtenção / produção de componentes pode ficar a cargo do utilizador / consumidor, permitindo, também, a sua personalização. É um produto composto por um conjunto de componentes em que parte deles podem ser produzidos com recurso a impressoras 3D, de utilização geral (não industrial). O desenvolvimento deste Projeto é feito a partir de uma pesquisa sobre a influência – e características - da iluminação solar no Homem. Esta perceção, a par da aplicação de metodologias de desenvolvimento de produtos, é importante para atingir os objetivos propostos. Este Projeto é desenvolvido no âmbito do Mestrado em Engenharia e Design do Produto e surge da constatação de haver vários locais que não têm iluminação natural (direta), contribuindo para um menor bem-estar dos utilizadores desses espaços, o que os pode levar a reações com comportamentos nocivos, quer na componente social, quer na produtividade. Being part of everyday life, the influence of light is often neglected in the study of human well-being, as an issue to achieve a full integrated development and regulation of bodily activities. It has been shown that the physical and mental health of man is affected by the daily cycles of light (dependent on the daily solar cycle), with a great influence on his comfort and state of mind. This project intends to present a lighting solution for closed spaces, without windows, mimicking solar lighting, considering its rotation and colours. The main objective is to present a solution that improves the quality of life to users of spaces where there is no correct perception of the daylong. In current time, there is the facility to produce components through additive manufacturing and 3D printers. In the proposed solution, the production of components can be left to the user / consumer, also allowing their customization. It is a product made up of a set of components, part of which can be produced using common (non-industrial) 3D printers. The development of this project is based on research on the influence - and characteristics - of solar lighting in the human being. This perception, along with the application of product development methodologies, is important to achieve the proposed objectives. This project is developed within the scope of the Master in Engineering and Product Design and arises from the fact that there are several places with no access to natural (direct) light, contributing to less well-being of users of these spaces, which can lead to reactions with harmful behaviours, both as in social issues as in productivity. Mestrado em Engenharia e Design de Produto

Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) are subjected to a wide variety of post-transcriptional modifications to ensure their structural stability, correct folding, and efficient protein decoding. More specifically, modifications in the D- and T-loops of tRNAs are essential for tRNA stability. However, the biological role of the tRNA epitranscriptome in the generation of tRNA-derived small RNA fragments (tsRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, is still not totally understood. The 5-methyluridine (m5U) modification at position 54 of cytosolic tRNAs is one of the most common and conserved tRNA modifications among species. In mammals, this modification is catalyzed by the tRNA methyltransferase TRMT2A. To study the relevance of m5U54 for tRNA-derived small RNA formation, we have knockdown TRMT2A in human cells and found that m5U54 hypomodification resulted in ANG overexpression and tRNA cleavage near the anticodon, with accumulation of 5’tRNA-derived stress-induced RNAs (5’tiRNAs), in particular 5’tiRNA-GlyGCC and 5’tiRNA-GluCTC. Moreover, we found that exposure to oxidative stress induces TRMT2A downregulation, ANG overexpression and tsRNA generation. Our results establish a direct link between tRNA demethylation and ANG-dependent tRFs formation and propose the m5U54 as a tRNA cleavage protective mark. published

Additional file of High-throughput sequencing and analysis of the gill tissue transcriptome from the deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus