Although same-sex couples and their offspring have been legitimised in many European countries, heteronormativity is still embedded in institutions and practices, thereby continuing to affect the daily lives of LGBT individuals. Italy represents a clear example of the hegemonic power of heteronormativity because of the fierce opposition to recognising lesbian and gay parenthood among many parts of society. This paper focuses on the peculiarities of the Italian scenario with the aim of highlighting how heteronormativity works in contemporary neoliberal contexts. By drawing on queer and feminist perspectives, the article also analyses how LGBT equal rights demands can contribute, to some extent, to reinforcing heteronormativity. Implications concerning strategies for challenging the regime of normality and queering kinship are discussed. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
La idea de un género naturalizado como sexo e idealizado en la figura del héroe nacional, ha alimentado el imaginario cubano durante décadas, definiendo lealtades y deserciones. Este texto recurre a pesquisa bibliográfica, análisis de experiencias empíricas como un modo de colocar en diálogo diferentes historias de marginación de las disidencias de género en Cuba– las Unidades Militares de Apoyo a la Producción (UMAP), el éxodo del Mariel y la actual política trans. Nuestras reflexiones pretenden sumar al esfuerzo teórico-político de pensar otra ontología del género -como tránsito, como geografía -que permita imaginar políticas emancipadoras, teniendo en cuenta que las políticas cubanas fallan al comprender los tránsitos de género y consecuentemente, frenan estos procesos. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has been providing exciting technologies for the development of functional substitutes aimed to repair and regenerate damaged tissues and organs. Inspired by the hierarchical nature of bone, nanostructured biomaterials are gaining a singular attention for tissue engineering, owing their ability to promote cell adhesion and proliferation, and hence new bone growth, compared with conventional microsized materials. Of particular interest are nanocomposites involving biopolymeric matrices and bioactive nanosized fi llers. Biodegradability, high mechanical strength, and osteointegration and formation of ligamentous tissue are properties required for such materials. Biopolymers are advantageous due to their similarities with extracellular matrices, specifi c degradation rates, and good biological performance. By its turn, calcium phosphates possess favorable osteoconductivity, resorbability, and biocompatibility. Herein, an overview on the available natural polymer/calcium phosphate nanocomposite materials, their design, and properties is presented. Scaffolds, hydrogels, and fi bers as biomimetic strategies for tissue engineering, and processing methodologies are described. The specifi c biological properties of the nanocomposites, as well as their interaction with cells, including the use of bioactive molecules, are highlighted. Nanocomposites in vivo studies using animal models are also reviewed and discussed. ; The research leading to this work has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS, and from QREN (ON.2 - NORTE-01-0124-FEDER-000016) cofinanced by North Portugal Regional Operational Program (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund ...
This text is based on an appraisal of theoretical developments in queer feminisms and seeks to translate such concerns to a field of inquiry that we call queer feminist critical psychology. The text uses the concept of homonormativity as a specific apparatus of heteronormativity to tackle sexual politics and neoliberalism and applied to two interrelated domains: citizenship and the family. Such a perspective entails a critique of these notions in terms of the exclusionary assumptions they are based on and read as an example of the effects of homonormativity. Issues of representability are also discussed within this framework showing how these family and citizenship concepts are only intelligible within the scope of certain assumptions of gender, sexuality and political economy. The article also analyses issues of recognition of humanity that are always already derived from these norms. The construction of alternative forms of knowledge, specifically queer feminist critical psychology, implies taking into account these intersected spheres to produce knowledge that is situated and attentive to these norms, for the purposes of deconstruction.
Aroma composition was analyzed in grape musts from five Vitis vinifera red cultivars (Pedral, Sousón, Caíño Redondo, Espadeiro and Mencía) grown in Galicia (NW Spain) with the aim to know the potential profile of these varieties. All cultivars were collected from Coto Redondo Winery vineyard (A.O.C. Rías Baixas) and grown under the same conditions. All cultivars (with a total of 96 aroma compounds, 35 free volatile and 61 glycosidically bound compounds) were identified and quantified by GC-MS. The results showed that Caíño Redondo and Pedral had the highest concentrations of volatile compounds. The free fraction showed the highest concentration for all cultivars studied with the exception of Pedral. High concentrations of free C6-compounds and free alcohols were found for all red cultivars studied, especially for Caíño Redondo. Sousón and Mencía presented similar characteristics in the free fraction. Pedral showed an important contribution of glycosidically bound compounds. This cultivar showed the highest concentration of bound alcohols, terpenoids, volatile phenols, and C13-norisoprenoids. With terpenoids, higher levels were found in the bound fraction than in the free fraction. Regarding C13-norisoprenoids, Pedral also showed an important contribution of these varietal compounds. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed a good separation of the different grape cultivars, so they could be discriminated based on their potential volatile composition. The oenological potential of ancient and minority grape varieties from NW Spain, with the aim to provide genetic diversity, is illustrated with this work. ; This work was partially supported by the project 07MRU016403PR from the Galician government (Spain). The authors would like to thank to the Coto Redondo Winery from As Neves - Pontevedra (Galicia, Spain) especially Antonio Mendez. P. Canosa and M. Vilanova are grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Education and Conselleria de Innovacion e Industria from Xunta de Galicia for different financial ...
Educational institutions, as well as political, social and scientific discourses, have contributed towards discrimination and violence against people with non-normative sexual orientations. Acts of violence among peers (bullying) motivated by homophobia occur on a frequent basis in school contexts. This study aims to identify the patterns in which homophobic bullying (victim identified) takes place in Portuguese schools using Multiple Correspondence Analysis. This study involved the application of a questionnaire to people of both sexes before obtaining a total of 171 participants reporting themselves as victims of homophobic bullying in schools. Following the identification of eight indicators and the selection of two dimensions, while also structuring the axes in accordance with the representation space, four patterns of homophobic bullying could be identified: masculine violence, feminine violence, violence with less perceived impact, and violence with greater perceived impact. These different patterns have allowed us to learn about the different ways in which peer violence takes place in schools and its possible effects. Among the main study conclusions, it is highlighted how male participants were victims of violence at an earlier age than female participant victims. Another key finding is the complete lack of cases in which the aggressors were only female. Finally, a common conclusion to all participants, encapsulates how none of the victims reported the violence to their families for fear of losing family support by revealing a non-heterosexual orientation. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
Tissue engineering (TE) envisions the creation of functional substitutes for damaged tissues through integrated solutions, where medical, biological, and engineering principles are combined. Bone regeneration is one of the areas in which designing a model that mimics all tissue properties is still a challenge. The hierarchical structure and high vascularization of bone hampers a TE approach, especially in large bone defects. Nanotechnology can open up a new era for TE, allowing the creation of nanostructures that are comparable in size to those appearing in natural bone. Therefore, nanoengineered systems are now able to more closely mimic the structures observed in naturally occurring systems, and it is also possible to combine several approaches - such as drug delivery and cell labeling - within a single system. This review aims to cover the most recent developments on the use of different nanoparticles for bone TE, with emphasis on their application for scaffolds improvement; drug and gene delivery carriers, and labeling techniques. ; This study was funded by QREN (ON.2 - NORTE-01-0124-FEDER-000018), as well as the European Union's FP7 Programme under grant agreement number REGPOTCT2012-316331-POLARIS. Sılvia Vieira was awarded an FCT PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/102710/2014). The FCT distinction attributed to J.M.O. under the Investigator FCT program (IF/00423/2012 and IF/01285/2015) is also greatly acknowledged. ...
Hydrogels of spatially controlled physicochemical properties are appealing platforms for tissue engineering and drug delivery. In this study, core-shell silk fibroin (SF) hydrogels of spatially controlled conformation were developed. The core-shell structure in the hydrogels was formed by means of soaking the preformed (enzymatically crosslinked) random coil SF hydrogels in methanol. When increasing the methanol treatment time from 1 to 10 minutes, the thickness of the shell layer can be tuned from about 200 to around 850 µm as measured in wet status. After lyophilization of the rehydrated core-shell hydrogels, the shell layer displayed compact morphology and the core layer presented porous structure, when observed by scanning electron microscopy. The conformation of the hydrogels was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in wet status. The results revealed that the shell layer possessed dominant β-sheet conformation and the core layer maintained mainly random coil conformation. Enzymatic degradation data showed that the shell layers presented superior stability to the core layer. The mechanical analysis displayed that the compressive modulus of the core-shell hydrogels ranged from around 25 kPa to about 1.1 MPa by increasing the immersion time in methanol. When incorporated with albumin, the core-shell SF hydrogels demonstrated slower and more controllable release profiles compared with the non-treated hydrogel. These core-shell SF hydrogels of highly tuned properties are useful systems as drug delivery system and may be applied as cartilage substitute. ; This study was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) projects Tissue2Tissue (PTDC/CTM/105703/2008) and OsteoCart (PTDC/CTM-BPC/115977/2009), as well as the European Union's FP7 Programme under grant agreement no. REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS. Le-Ping Yan was awarded a FCT PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/ 64717/2009). The FCT distinctions attributed to J.M. Oliveira and A.L. Oliveira under the Investigador FCT program ...
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by synovial joint inflammation and cartilage and bone tissue destruction. Although there exist some treatment strategies for RA, they are not completely safe and effective. Therefore, it is important to develop and test new drugs for RA that specifically target inflamed/swollen joints and simultaneously attenuate other possible damages to healthy tissues. Nanotechnology can be a good alternative to consider when envisioning precise medication for treating RA. Through the use of nanoparticles, it is possible to increase bioavailability and bioactivity of therapeutics and enable selective targeting to damaged joints. Herein, recent studies using nanoparticles for the treatment of RA, namely with liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, dendrimers, and metallic nanoparticles, have been reviewed. These therapeutic strategies have shown great promise in improving the treatment over that by traditional drugs. The results of these studies confirm that feasibility of the use of nanoparticles is mainly due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, controlled release, and selective drug delivery to inflamed tissues in animal RA models. Therefore, it is possible to claim that nanotechnology will, in the near future, play a crucial role in advanced treatments and patient-specific therapies for human diseases such as RA. ; Financial support under the ARTICULATE project (No. QREN-13/SI/2011-23189). This study was also funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) project OsteoCart (No. PTDC/CTM-BPC/115977/2009), as well as the European Union's FP7 Programme under grant agreement no REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS. The FCT distinction attributed to J. M. O. under the Investigator FCT program (No. IF/00423/2012) is also greatly acknowledged. C. G. also wished to acknowledge FCT for supporting her research (No. SFRH/BPD/94277/2013) ...
White wine fining is important to stabilize wine colour by removing phenolic compounds. The choice of oenological products is important since consumers are concerned regarding food safety. Due to allergic reaction problems by some consumers, together with the restriction of EU legislation [1], non-allergenic fining agents are being developed in detriment of traditionally used. However, the impact these fining agents on wine phenolic and volatile compounds are not well known. This work aims to evaluate the impact of six fining agents (one traditionally used – potassium caseinate and five non-allergens) on wine phenolic and volatile compounds as well as on the sensory profile of a white wine from the Douro Region. All non-allergenic fining agents tested prevent the browning capacity. This could be related to the decrease in white wine colour observed. Sensory analysis indicated that only the wines treated with potassium caseinate and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone showed a significant decrease in colour attribute. ; Supported by FCT project UID/AGR/04033/2013, CQ-VR, FCT funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 – Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Additional thanks to the Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000038 (I&D INNOVINE&WINE – Innovation Platform of Vine & Wine).
The osteochondral tissue represents a complex structure composed of four interconnected structures, namely hyaline cartilage, a thin layer of calcified cartilage, subchondral bone, and cancellous bone. Due to the several difficulties associated with its repair and regeneration, researchers have developed several studies aiming to restore the native tissue, some of which had led to tissue-engineered commercial products. In this sense, this chapter discusses the good manufacturing practices, regulatory medical conditions and challenges on clinical translations that should be fulfilled regarding the safety and efficacy of the new commercialized products. Furthermore, we review the current osteochondral products that are currently being marketed and applied in the clinical setting, emphasizing the advantages and difficulties of each one. ; FROnTHERA (NORTE-01-0145- FEDER-000023), supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors would also like to acknowledge H2020-MSCA-RISE program, as this work is part of developments carried out in BAMOS project, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement N° 734156. The financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the program Investigador FCT 2012 and 2015 (IF/00423/2012 and IF/01285/2015) ...
Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with a disease burden estimated to increase in the coming decades. Disease heterogeneity and limited information on cancer biology and disease mechanisms are aspects that 2D cell cultures fail to address. We review the current "state-of-the-art" in 3D Tissue Engineering (TE) models developed for and used in cancer research. Scaffold-based TE models and microfluidics, are assessed for their potential to fill the gap between 2D models and clinical application. Recent advances in combining the principles of 3D TE models and microfluidics are discussed, with a special focus on biomaterials and the most promising chip-based 3D models. ; The authors would like to thank the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS, and QREN (ON.2 - NORTE-01-0124-FEDER-000016) co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Program (ON.2 - O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for providing financial support to this project. The FCT distinction attributed to J.M.O. under the Investigator FCT program (IF/00423/2012) Is also greatly ...
This review focuses on vascularization and strategies involved in its evaluation and modulation. Clinical issues associated with engineered tissues of an atomically relevant size that require a vascular network to supply their cells with nutrients and oxygen are analyzed in terms of vascular network formation within scaffolds, which can be produced from varying biomaterials, with the capability of connecting to the vasculature of the patient. Developing angiogenesis techniques and monitoring of angiogenesis development as well as how these methods can be further utilized to tailor vascularization within large tissue engineered constructs are also discussed. Finally, we offer a glimpse toward the future by providing an outlook for vascularization and associated emerging bioprinting concepts in tissue engineering applications. ; The authors acknowledge the financial support provided through the projects B-FABULUS (PTDC/BBB-ECT/2690/2014) and Fun4TE (PTDC/EMD-EMD/31367/2017), financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and cofinanced by European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI). This work was also partly supported by H2020-MSCA-RISE BAMOS project, funded from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 734156. S.V.L. acknowledges FCT for the PhD grant (SFRH/BD/143954/2019). The FCT distinction attributed to J.S.-C. (IF/00115/2015) under the Investigator FCT program is also greatly acknowledged.
White wine fining is important to stabilize wine colour by removing phenolic compounds. The choice of oenological products is important since consumers are concerned regarding food safety. Due to allergic reaction problems by some consumers, together with the restriction of EU legislation [1], non-allergenic fining agents are being developed in detriment of traditionally used. However, the impact these fining agents on wine phenolic and volatile compounds are not well known. This work aims to evaluate the impact of six fining agents (one traditionally used potassium caseinate and five non-allergens) on wine phenolic and volatile compounds as well as on the sensory profile of a white wine from the Douro Region. All non-allergenic fining agents tested prevent the browning capacity. This could be related to the decrease in white wine colour observed. Sensory analysis indicated that only the wines treated with potassium caseinate and polyvinylpolypyrrolidone showed a significant decrease in colour attribute. ; Supported by FCT project UID/AGR/04033/2013, CQ-VR, FCT funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 – Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Additional thanks to the Project NORTE-01-0145- FEDER-000038 (I&D INNOVINE&WINE – Innovation Platform of Vine & Wine). ...
Environmental issues are a critical factor for the today industry competitiveness. Indeed, the society and the individual consumers could set a common framework for companies' commitment and engagement regarding environment protection. Redesign the process, recover by-products or reuse effluents are some of the possible actions towards an eco-efficient strategy. Nevertheless, a point remains crucial in such mission: the ability to defend natural ecosystems from polluted wastewaters. For such purpose, a wastewater treatment plant that maximizes removal efficiency and minimizes investment and operation costs is a key factor. Brewery and winery are traditional industries with an important economic value in the agro-food sector. In 2003, the total beer production in the European Union (18 countries) was 344 x 105 m3, being recorded around 1800 breweries with 110 thousand employees. If Norway, Switzerland and Turkey are also included, those numbers rise up to 358 x 105 m3, 1839 units and 117 thousand, respectively. The excise revenue from beer industry in all these countries reaches over 8800 x 106 € (The Brewers of Europe, 2004). The worldwide wine production is 261 x 105 m3 (data from 2002), of which 69 % from Europe, 18 % from America, 5 % from Asia, 4 % from Africa and 4 % from Oceania. The worldwide wine consumption (2002) is 228 x 105 m3, distributed by Europe (68 %), America (20 %), Asia (7 %), Africa (3 %) and Oceania (2 %) (OIV, 2002). This chapter intends to present some key points on design and operation in wastewater treatment of brewery and winery industries. Therefore, an introduction of the industrial processes is first presented and then wastewater characteristics and treatment processes are discussed. Finally, the experience of a collaborative effort between University of Minho and two industrial companies, Unicer SA and ACPB (Adega Cooperativa de Ponte da Barca) is presented in order to address some practical problems of wastewater systems design and operation. Unicer SA and ACPB are very important ...
