The end-Triassic extinction event (ETE), considered one of the ‘Big Five’ mass extinctions, marks a dividing line between early Mesozoic vertebrate assemblages, typically including abundant temnospondyls, basal synapsids and basal archosaurs, and ‘typical’ Mesozoic faunas dominated by dinosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodylomorphs, turtles and mammaliaforms.
Recent geochemical work has provided strong evidence that the ETE is synchronous with, and likely caused by, the emplacement of the Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP).
However, stratigraphic sections containing both terrestrial vertebrates and CAMP basalts are scarce, complicating attempts to examine terrestrial faunal changes during this extinction event. The Triassic–Jurassic Algarve Basin, southern Portugal, is an extensional rift basin

to-marginal marine red beds (the ‘Grés de Silves’ Group) interbedded with CAMP basalts.

bonebed from the interval ‘AB1’ of the Grés de Silves. Preliminary excavations yielded at least nine well-preserved temnospondyl individuals represented by partial to nearly complete skulls and disarticulated postcranial elements of juvenile to adult ages. Nearly all material appears to represent a single species of metoposaurid referable to the genus Metoposaurus, well known from the late Carnian–early Norian of Germany and Poland. A number of characters of the occiput and mandible suggest that the Algarve material may represent a new species. This new material provides new data on the diversity and paleogeographical distribution of the metoposaurids, a highly autapomorphic and peculiar group composed of large aquatic carnivores with a unique elongated but brevirostral skull. This taxon also provides

Horizon may be within or close to the late Carnian–early Norian. Additional bone-bearing horizons within the ‘Grés de Silves’ provide a rare opportunity to examine terrestrial faunal change in the lead-up to the ETE.

Although the Late Jurassic of Portugal has provided abundant dinosaur fossils, material from the Early Cretaceous is scarce. This paper reports new cranial and postcranial material of the theropod dinosaur Baryonyx walkeri found in the Barremian (Papo Seco Formation) of Portugal. This specimen, found at Praia das Aguncheiras, Cabo Espichel, consists of a partial dentary, isolated teeth, pedal ungual, two calcanea, presacral and caudal vertebrae, fragmentary pubis, scapula, and rib fragments. It represents the most complete spinosaurid yet discovered in the Iberian Peninsula and the most complete dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Portugal. This specimen is confidently identified as a member of Baryonychinae due to the presence of conical teeth with flutes and denticles in a dentary rosette. The specimen ML1190 shares the following characteristics with Baryonyx walkeri: enamel surface with small (nearly vertical) wrinkles, variable denticle size along the carinae, 6–7 denticles per mm, wrinkles forming a 45 degree angle near the carinae, and tooth root longer than crown. In addition, dubious taxa based on teeth morphology such as Suchosaurus cultridens (Owen, 1840–1845), and Suchosaurus girardi (Sauvage 1897–98; Antunes & Mateus 2003) are discussed, based on comparisons with well-known material such as Baryonyx walkeri Charig & Milner, 1986. Suchosaurus cultridens and S. girardi are considered as nomina dubia due to the lack of diagnostic apomorphies, but both specimens are referred to Baryonychinae incertae sedis.

A partial chelonian was collected from the Langenberg Formation quarry of Oker (near Goslar, Lower Saxony, Germany). The amniotes from this formation include other chelonians (possible Plesiochelyidae), the sauropod Europasaurus holgeri, theropods (Velociraptorinae), crocodylomorphs (Atoposauridae, Theriosuchus pusillus, Goniopholis simus, Machimosaurus hugii, Steneosaurus brevirostris) and pterosaurs (Dsungapteridae, ?Ornithocheiroidea, ?Ctenochasmatidae).

The reported specimen, DFMMh/FV 296, includes a skull part (articulated quadrate, squamosal, basisphenoid, and pterygoid), a disarticulated 40 cm long partial carapace, plastron, and one cervical vertebra.

The carapace bears fontanelles, trapezoidal suprapygal with straight edges, small last neurals

[....]
a plicated longitudinal pattern in the proximal end of the costals originating on the posterior side of the scute sulci and dissipating posteriorly, wide central opening in the plastron, xiphiplastra with little or no contact between each other, and both the hyo- and hypoplastron have digit-form buttress projections.

The specimen has a central plastra fontanelle, which is regarded as a feature of the clade including [....], Santanachelys, and Thalassemys. DFMMh/FV 296 differs from
[....]

edges and xiphiplastron participation in the central fontanelle is autapomorphic for the Thalassemys genus. A large central fontanelle with hyo and hypoplastron polygonal medial
[....]
contact between xiphiplastra and reduced size of the two last neural plates is shared between T. hugii and the Oker specimen. DFMMh/FV 296 differs from this species due to the presence of plastral projections. The different shape of the plastron (no polygonal-like margins or hyo- and hypoplastron projections) suggests that T. moseri [....]
ent genus. Therefore, we can assign this specimen to Thalassemys sp.

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In this work it is demonstrated that the characterization of c-type haem containing proteins by electrochemical techniques needs to be cautiously performed when using pyrolytic graphite electrodes. An altered form of the cytochromes, which has a redox potential 300 mV lower than that of the native state and displays peroxidatic activity, can be induced by interaction with the pyrolytic graphite electrode. Proper control experiments need to be performed, as altered conformations of the enzymes containing c-type haems can show activity towards the enzyme substrate. The work was focused on the study of the activation mechanism and catalytic activity of cytochrome c peroxidase from Paracoccus pantotrophus. The results could only be interpreted with the assignment of the observed non-turnover and catalytic signals to a non-native conformation state of the electron-transferring haem. The same phenomenon was detected for Met-His monohaem cytochromes (mitochondrial cytochrome c and Desulfovibrio vulgaris cytochrome c-553), as well as for the bis-His multihaem cytochrome c(3) from Desulfovibrio gigas, showing that this effect is independent of the axial coordination of the c-type haem protein. Thus, the interpretation of electrochemical signals of c-type (multi)haem proteins at pyrolytic graphite electrodes must be carefully performed, to avoid misassignment of the signals and incorrect interpretation of catalytic intermediates.

We are facing an era, where pressures on health costs are extremely high, and the reforms in health system are almost constant. But over time, one factor remains unchanged – Technology continues being the sustenance of health care. Manufacturers, clinicians, patients, diagnostic and therapeutic technicians, hospital managers, government leaders, among others, either in public or private sector, are increasingly demanding in the sustained seek for information that support its decisions. Those decisions are about different types of issues: if, or how the technology can be developed, whether a technology should or should not enter the market, whether to acquire and use certain technology, and so forth. Such demand is well implied in the growth and development of Health Technology Assessment (HTA). This specialised field is commonly understood according to the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA, 2003) as an multidisciplinary analysis and decisional field, which studies the implications of clinical, social, ethical and economic development, dissemination and use of health technologies, without neglecting its political analysis (Goodman, 2004). The political decisions made based on HTA reports should be based on scientific evidence, linking efforts between the technical, economic and political dimensions, resourcing to a participatory vision, so that we can translate the best possible decision (Novaes 2006). On the other hand, the success of these decisions depends critically on the skills of the researcher to convey wisdom and confidence in applying rules of argumentation (Grunwald, 2007). In this paper we analyse the technical and methodological aspects of HTA, seen as a tool for evaluating health procedures and techniques. And we analyse the needs for skills and qualifications development of the actors involved in this process.

This review focuses on the novel CuZ center of nitrous oxide reductase, an important enzyme owing to the environmental significance of the reaction it catalyzes, reduction of nitrous oxide, and the unusual nature of its catalytic center, named CuZ. The structure of the CuZ center, the unique tetranuclear copper center found in this enzyme, opened a novel area of research in metallobiochemistry. In the last decade, there has been progress in defining the structure of the CuZ center, characterizing the mechanism of nitrous oxide reduction, and identifying intermediates of this reaction. In addition, the determination of the structure of the CuZ center allowed a structural interpretation of the spectroscopic data, which was supported by theoretical calculations. The current knowledge of the structure, function, and spectroscopic characterization of the CuZ center is described here. We would like to stress that although many questions have been answered, the CuZ center remains a scientific challenge, with many hypotheses still being formed.

Identifying redox partners and the interaction surfaces is crucial for fully understanding electron flow in a respiratory chain. In this study, we focused on the interaction of nitrous oxide reductase (N(2)OR), which catalyzes the final step in bacterial denitrification, with its physiological electron donor, either a c-type cytochrome or a type 1 copper protein. The comparison between the interaction of N(2)OR from three different microorganisms, Pseudomonas nautica, Paracoccus denitrificans, and Achromobacter cycloclastes, with their physiological electron donors was performed through the analysis of the primary sequence alignment, electrostatic surface, and molecular docking simulations, using the bimolecular complex generation with global evaluation and ranking algorithm. The docking results were analyzed taking into account the experimental data, since the interaction is suggested to have either a hydrophobic nature, in the case of P. nautica N(2)OR, or an electrostatic nature, in the case of P. denitrificans N(2)OR and A. cycloclastes N(2)OR. A set of well-conserved residues on the N(2)OR surface were identified as being part of the electron transfer pathway from the redox partner to N(2)OR (Ala495, Asp519, Val524, His566 and Leu568 numbered according to the P. nautica N(2)OR sequence). Moreover, we built a model for Wolinella succinogenes N(2)OR, an enzyme that has an additional c-type-heme-containing domain. The structures of the N(2)OR domain and the c-type-heme-containing domain were modeled and the full-length structure was obtained by molecular docking simulation of these two domains. The orientation of the c-type-heme-containing domain relative to the N(2)OR domain is similar to that found in the other electron transfer complexes.

The deactivation reaction of the [CoCp(1,4-sigma-C(4)-[Ph](4))PPh(3)] catalyst for the cyclotrimerization of acetylenes has been kinetico-mechanistically studied under different temperature, pressure, and solvent conditions. The results indicate a dramatic change in mechanism from conventional to ionic liquid solvents due to the polarity of the medium.

The activation mechanism of Pseudomonas stutzeri cytochrome c peroxidase (CCP) was probed through the mediated electrochemical catalysis by its physiological electron donor, P. stutzeri cytochrome c-551. A comparative study was carried out, by performing assays with the enzyme in the resting oxidized state as well as in the mixed-valence activated form, using cyclic voltammetry and a pyrolytic graphite membrane electrode. In the presence of both the enzyme and hydrogen peroxide, the peak-like signal of cytochrome c-551 is converted into a sigmoidal wave form characteristic of an E(r)C'(i) catalytic mechanism. An intermolecular electron transfer rate constant of (4 +/- 1) x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1) was estimated for both forms of the enzyme, as well as a similar Michaelis-Menten constant. These results show that neither the intermolecular electron transfer nor the catalytic activity is kinetically controlled by the activation mechanism of CCP in the case of the P. stutzeri enzyme. Direct enzyme catalysis using protein film voltammetry was unsuccessful for the analysis of the activation mechanism, since P. stutzeri CCP undergoes an undesirable interaction with the pyrolytic graphite surface. This interaction, previously reported for the Paracoccus pantotrophus CCP, induces the formation of a non-native conformation state of the electron-transferring haem, which has a redox potential 200 mV lower than that of the native state and maintains peroxidatic activity.