Ana Marques

Family businesses (FBs) represent an important working context of the country's private business sector. The estimated weight of this segment of companies in the national economy (between 70% and 80% of SMEs, including also large-sized listed companies) places them at the forefront as agents of wealth creation, employment and territorial cohesion and social. Nonetheless, there is a significant lack of knowledge about the business configurations of family businesses. Nevertheless, its heterogeneity - in terms of size, activity sector, degree of professionalization of government and human resources models - contributes to its complexity as a work context and rises daily challenges for those who work there, but also for their leaders and owners.The data presented are part of the "Roadmap for Portuguese family enterprises" (2016-2018), financed by NORTE 2020 / FEDER and are based on a questionnaire survey applied to several segments of family businesses in the North region...

Recently, a handful of intergenic long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to compete with mRNAs for binding to miRNAs and to contribute to development and disease. Beyond these reports, little is yet known of the extent and functional consequences of miRNA-mediated regulation of mRNA levels by lncRNAs. To gain further insights into lncRNA-mRNA miRNA-mediated crosstalk, we re-analyzed transcriptome-wide changes induced by the targeted knockdown of over 100 lncRNA transcripts in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). We predicted that on average almost one fifth of the transcript level changes induced by lncRNAs are dependent on miRNAs that are highly abundant in mESCs. We validated these findings experimentally by temporally profiling transcriptome-wide changes in gene expression following the loss of miRNA biogenesis in mESCs. Following the depletion of miRNAs, we found that over 50% of lncRNAs and their miRNA-dependent mRNA targets were up-regulated coordinately, consistent with...

Prompt diagnosis of abnormally shaped wave forms in ECG signal is an important component in the early diagnosis of cardiac arrhythmias, improving the quality of life of patients. Meanwhile, detection models for Premature Ventricular Contractions (PVC) are widely investigated, a less studied problem is data analysis and visualization. In this paper, we propose an approach for PVC detection and data

Why protein-coding genes express transcripts with longer 3'untranslated regions (3'UTRs) in the brain rather than in other tissues remains poorly understood. Given the established role of 3'UTRs in post-transcriptional regulation of transcript abundance and their recently highlighted contributions to miRNA-mediated cross-talk between mRNAs, we hypothesized that 3'UTR lengthening enhances coordinated expression between functionally-related genes in the brain. To test this hypothesis, we annotated 3'UTRs of human brain-expressed genes and found that transcripts encoding ion channels or transporters are specifically enriched among those genes expressing their longest 3'UTR extension in this tissue. These 3'UTR extensions have high density of response elements predicted for those miRNAs that are specifically expressed in the human frontal cortex (FC). Importantly, these miRNA response elements are more frequently shared among ion channel/transporter-encoding mRNAs than expected by chance. This indicates that miRNA-mediated cross-talk accounts, at least in part, for the observed coordinated expression of ion channel/transporter genes in the adult human brain. We conclude that extension of these genes' 3'UTRs enhances the miRNA-mediated cross-talk among their transcripts which post-transcriptionally regulates their mRNAs' relative levels.

Herbaspirillum bacteria are best known as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria but have also been recovered from clinical samples. Here, biochemical tests, matrix-assisted laser deionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, adherence, and cytotoxicity to eukaryotic cells were used to compare clinical and environmental isolates of Herbaspirillum spp. Discrete biochemical differences were observed between human and environmental strains. All strains adhered to HeLa cells at low densities, and cytotoxic effects were discrete, supporting the view that Herbaspirillum bacteria are opportunists with low virulence potential.

What causes the tissue-specific pathology of diseases resulting from mutations in housekeeping genes? Specifically, in spinocerebellar ataxia type 7 (SCA7), a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG-repeat expansion in ATXN7 (which encodes an essential component of the mammalian transcription coactivation complex, STAGA), the factors underlying the characteristic progressive cerebellar and retinal degeneration in patients were unknown. We found that STAGA is required for the transcription initiation of miR-124, which in turn mediates the post-transcriptional cross-talk between lnc-SCA7, a conserved long noncoding RNA, and ATXN7 mRNA. In SCA7, mutations in ATXN7 disrupt these regulatory interactions and result in a neuron-specific increase in ATXN7 expression. Strikingly, in mice this increase is most prominent in the SCA7 disease-relevant tissues, namely the retina and cerebellum. Our results illustrate how noncoding RNA-mediated feedback regulation of a ubiquitously expressed housekeeping gene may contribute to specific neurodegeneration.

Recent developments in professional practice in organizations of the Third Sector in Portugal show a significant pressure regarding the adoption of management models which are close to the logic of the New Public Management (NPM). Our basic hypothesis will consider to what extent these trends of transformation in the governance models, based on increased flexibility of working relationships, fostering both professional instability and control, are articulated with the requirements of trust, initiative and improvisation of professional practice. Based on main results gathered on ongoing project "SARTPROknowledge, Autonomy and Reflexivity: Professional work in the Third Sector" (PTDC/CS-SOC/098459/2008), this presentation is structured from the relevant analytical parameters in understanding the inter-professional changes and of the occupational structure and the result of the increasing heterogeneity of professional degrees in nearby areas, particularly in Social Sciences and Humanities. We will resort to structured interview data obtained of empirical work (interviews conducted to 63 professionals working in organizations of the Third Sector). Therefore, We will focus on: 1) organizational contexts of professional development (location, size, type of services, socio-demographic profile), 2) processes of domination/ rationalization in the daily professional work (increasing wage, stepping up the pace of work, variability of the organizational contexts of action, including teamwork and different composition), 3) non-linearity and homogeneity of processes of professionalization (vs. technicality. responsibility and management of teams, autonomy vs. fulfilling of goals and bureaucraticadministrative control).

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a neurosurgical technique that has now been available for some 25 years. It is used in the treatment of various motor disorders, e.g. Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor and dystonia, and neuropsychiatric illnesses, e.g. obsessive-compulsive disorder and Tourette syndrome. The surgical targets of DBS include the thalamic ventralis intermedius nucleus (Vim), the globus pallidus internus (GPi) and more recently the subthalamic nucleus (STN), currently considered as the reference target in the treatment of PD. In the last ten years, most studies in PD patients have described a rapid and marked weight gain in the months following DBS of the STN. This weight gain sometimes induces obesity and can have metabolic repercussions. The physiopathological mechanisms responsible for the weight gain are multifactorial (changes in energy metabolism and eating behaviour, reduction of motor complications, etc.). This review reports current knowledge concerning weight changes in patients treated by DBS with different surgical targets. It also describes the mechanisms responsible for weight gain and the health outcome for the patients.