In this work, blends of starch and poly-$ε$-caprolactone (PCL) doped with different concentrations of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([BMIM]Ac) or 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM] Cl) were studied. The blends were characterized by mechanical analysis, infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS), evaluating the IL doping effect. The samples were subjected to supercritical carbon dioxide foaming and the morphology of the structures was assessed. DSC shows a single glass transition and melting endotherm for foamed and unfoamed samples, having no effect upon IL doping, and DRS shows increased molecular mobility for blends with higher IL concentrations, and some hindrance for lower ones. The conductivity for SPCL doped with 30{%} [BMIM] Cl, before and after foaming, is comparable to the conductivity of the IL but exhibits more stable conductivity values, opening doors for applications as self-supported conductive materials. © 2014 the Partner Organisations.

Some approaches have been developed in our group to investigate the role of novel ionic liquids as process and property modifiers of natural-based polymers. In our previous work, we proposed the use of ionic liquids as plasticizing agents for the creation of porous structures from a semi-crystalline natural-based polymer. The current work intended to complement the previous studies, evaluating the ability of ionic liquid (IL) to plasticize polymers such as blends of starch-poly-lactic acid (SPLA) and its effect on supercritical fluid foaming process (SCF) and providing more insights on the mechanisms involved. For this purpose, blends of starch with poly (lactic) acid, with different ratios of starch and poly-lactic acid of 50:50 and 30:70 were modified and processed using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([bmim]Cl). Supercritical fluid foaming was studied at different soaking times (1, 3 and 6h) using carbon dioxide at 20.0MPa and 40°C. The blends were characterized by different techniques, such as infra-red spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and compression and tensile mechanical analysis. The morphology of the foamed structures was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography. The results suggest that after 3h of soaking time an equilibrium state of carbon dioxide into the bulk samples is attained, yielding structures with 6{%} and 15{%} of porosity, for SPLA70 and SPLA50 respectively. The solubility of carbon dioxide within the matrices was studied for the same conditions and the results demonstrate a higher sorption degree in the samples doped with ionic liquid. Sorption and desorption diffusion coefficients of supercritical CO 2 in the SPLA matrix were determined for the raw polymer and for the SPLA doped with [bmim]Cl. It was found that the lower desorption diffusion coefficients are related with the higher porosity obtained by the foaming process. © 2013.

Marine biomaterials are a new emerging area of research with significant applications. Recently, researchers are dedicating considerable attention to marine-sponge biomaterials for various applications. We have focused on the potential of biosilica from Petrosia ficidormis for novel biomedical/industrial applications. A bioceramic structure from this sponge was obtained after calcination at 750 °C for 6 h in a furnace. The morphological characteristics of the three-dimensional architecture were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and microcomputed tomography, revealing a highly porous and interconnected structure. The skeleton of P. ficidormis is a siliceous matrix composed of SiO2, which does not present inherent bioactivity. Induction of bioactivity was attained by subjecting the bioceramics structure to an alkaline treatment (2M KOH) and acidic treatment (2M HCl) for 1 and 3 h. In vitro bioactivity of the bioceramics structure was evaluated in simulated body fluid (SBF), after 7 and 14 days. Observation of the structures by SEM, coupled with spectroscopic elemental analysis (EDS), has shown that the surface morphology presented a calcium-phosphate CaP coating, similar to hydroxyapatite (HA). The determination of the Ca/P ratio, together with the evaluation of the characteristic peaks of HA by infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, have proven the existence of HA. In vitro biological performance of the structures was evaluated using an osteoblast cell line, and the acidic treatment has shown to be the most effective treatment. Cells were seeded on bioceramics structures and their morphology; viability and growth were evaluated by SEM, MTS assay, and DNA quantification, respectively, demonstrating that cells are able to grow and colonize the bioceramic structures. © 2014 American Chemical Society.

© 2014 American Chemical Society. Engineering metabolically demanding tissues requires the supply of nutrients, oxygen, and removal of metabolic byproducts, as well as adequate mechanical properties. In this work, we propose the development of chitosan (CHIT)/alginate (ALG) freestanding membranes fabricated by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. CHIT/ALG membranes were cross-linked with genipin at a concentration of 1 mg·mL {\textless} sup {\textgreater} -1 {\textless} /sup {\textgreater} or 5 mg·mL {\textless} sup {\textgreater} -1 {\textless} /sup {\textgreater} . Mass transport properties of glucose and oxygen were evaluated on the freestanding membranes. The diffusion of glucose and oxygen decreases with increasing cross-linking concentration. Mechanical properties were also evaluated in physiological-simulated conditions. Increasing cross-linking density leads to an increase of storage modulus, Young modulus, and ultimate tensile strength, but to a decrease in the maximum hydrostatic pressure. The in vitro biological performance demonstrates that cross-linked films are more favorable for cell adhesion. This work demonstrates the versatility and feasibility of LbL assembly to generate nanostructured constructs with tunable permeability, mechanical, and biological properties.

Vermilion red, mercury sulphide ($\alpha$-HgS), was one of the most important reds in art and its use as a pigment dates back to Antiquity. In medieval Europe, it could be mined as cinnabar, or produced as vermilion by heating mercury with sulphur. This work aims to study the production of synthetic vermilion as a medieval pigment and to confirm which was the source (mineral or artificial) of the reds used in Portuguese medieval illuminations. The production of synthetic vermilion was based on the process described in the Judaeo-Portuguese medieval treatise "The book on how to make colours", using materials and technologies as close as possible to the medieval ones. The reaction mechanism was studied by following the heating process by X-ray diffraction, and it was possible to conclude that the transformation from black cubic $\beta$-HgS into red hexagonal $\alpha$-HgS is a solid-state phase transition, occurring at 235 C. This result is contrary to what published in technical art literature, in which this process is described as a sublimation. Moreover, Scanning Electron Microscopy evidenced a sinterization effect on the artificial vermilion, not found in medieval original samples nor in paints prepared with mineral cinnabar from Almadén (Spain). Red mercury sulphide, natural and synthetic, was then prepared as a parchment-glue paint and compared to proteinaceous red paints from 12th-13th century miniatures produced in important medieval monasteries, previously fully characterized by a multi-analytical approach ($μ$-Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence, $μ$-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Raman microscopy). A comparative Electron probe microanalysis of the red paints point to a mineral provenance for medieval vermilion found in Portuguese illuminations. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Paper electronics is a topic of great interest due the possibility of having low-cost, disposable and recyclable electronic devices. The final goal is to make paper itself an active part of such devices. In this work we present new approaches in the selection of tailored paper, aiming to use it simultaneously as substrate and dielectric in oxide based paper field effect transistors (FETs). From the work performed, it was observed that the gate leakage current in paper FETs can be reduced using a dense microfiber/nanofiber cellulose paper as the dielectric. Also, the stability of these devices against changes in relative humidity is improved. On other hand, if the pH of the microfiber/nanofiber cellulose pulp is modified by the addition of HCl, the saturation mobility of the devices increases up to 16 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), with an ION/IOFF ratio close to 10(5).

Anaerobic organisms have molecular systems to detoxify reactive oxygen species when transiently exposed to oxygen. One of these systems is superoxide reductase, which reduces O2 (.-) to H2 O2 without production of molecular oxygen. In order to complete the reduction of superoxide anion, superoxide reductase requires an electron, delivered by its redox partners, which in Desulfovibrio gigas are rubredoxin and/or desulforedoxin. In this work, we characterized the interaction of Desulfovibrio gigas superoxide reductase with both electron donors by using steady-state kinetics, 2D NMR titrations, and backbone relaxation measurements. The rubredoxin surface involved in the electron transfer complex with superoxide reductase comprises the solvent-exposed hydrophobic residues in the vicinity of its metal center (Cys9, Gly10, Cys42, Gly43, and Ala44), and a Kd of 3 muM at 59 mM ionic strength was estimated by NMR. The ionic strength dependence of superoxide-mediated rubredoxin oxidation by superoxide reductase has a maximum kapp of (37 +/- 12) min(-1) at 157 mM. Relative to the electron donor desulforedoxin, its complex with superoxide reductase was not detected by chemical shift perturbation, though this protein is able to transfer electrons to superoxide reductase with a maximum kapp of (31 +/- 7) min(-1) at an ionic strength of 57 mM. Competition experiments using steady-state kinetics and NMR spectroscopy (backbone relaxation measurements and use of a paramagnetic relaxation enhancement probe) with Fe-desulforedoxin in the presence of (15) N-Zn-rubredoxin showed that these two electron donors compete for the same site on the enzyme surface, as shown in the model structure of the complex generated by using restrained molecular docking calculations. These combined strategies indicate that the two small electron donors bind in different manners, with the desulforedoxin complex being a short lived electron transfer complex or more dynamic, with many equivalent kinetically competent orientations.

Os serviços Web são frequentemente suportados por sistemas com uma arquitetura em camadas, sendo utilizadas bases de dados relacionais para armazenamento dos dados. A replicação dos diversos componentes tem sido uma das formas utilizadas para obter melhorarias de escalabilidade destes serviços. Adicionalmente, a utilização de bases de dados em memória permite alcançar um desempenho mais elevado. No entanto é conhecida a fraca escalabilidade das bases de dados com o número de núcleos em máquinas multi-núcleo. Neste artigo propomos uma nova abordagem para lidar com este problema, intitulada MacroDDB. Utilizando uma solução de replicação hierárquica, a nossa proposta, replica a base da dados em vários nós, sendo que cada nó, por sua vez, executa um conjunto de réplicas da base de dados. Esta abordagem permite assim lidar com a falta de escalabilidade das bases de dados relacionais em máquinas multi-núcleo, o que por sua vez melhora a escalabilidade geral dos serviços.

Lipid-modified azurin (Laz) from Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a type 1 copper protein proposed to be the electron donor to several enzymes involved in the resistance mechanism to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Here we report the backbone and side-chain resonance assignment of Laz in the reduced form, which has been complete at 97 %. The predicted secondary structure indicates that this protein belongs to the azurin subfamily of type 1 copper proteins.

In order to gain insights into the interplay between Cu(I) and Cu(II) in sulfur-rich protein environments, the first preparation and characterization of copper-substituted forms of the wild-type rubredoxin (Rd) from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough are reported, as well as those of its variant C42A-Rd. The initial products appear to be tetrahedral Cu(I)(S-Cys)n species for the wild type (n=4) and the variant C42A (n=3, with an additional unidentified ligand). These species are unstable to aerial oxidation to products, whose properties are consistent with square planar Cu(II)(S-Cys)n species. These Cu(II) intermediates are susceptible to auto-reduction by ligand S-Cys to produce stable Cu(I) final products. The original Cu(I) center in the wild-type system can be regenerated by reduction, suggesting that the active site can accommodate Cu(I)(S-Cys)2 and Cys-S-S-Cys fragments in the final product. The absence of one S-Cys ligand prevents similar regeneration in the C42A-Rd system. These results emphasize the redox instability of Cu(II)-(S-Cys)n centers.

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