Publications by authors named "M J B C Girao"

Actinomycetota are unrivalled producers of bioactive natural products, with strains living in association with macroalgae representing a prolific-yet largely unexplored-source of specialised chemicals. In this work, we have investigated the bioactive potential of Actinomycetota from macroalgae through culture-dependent and -independent approaches. A bioprospecting pipeline was applied to a collection of 380 actinobacterial strains, recovered from two macroalgae species collected in the Portuguese northern shore-Codium tomentosum and Chondrus crispus-in order to explore their ability to produce antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer and lipid-reducing compounds.

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Objective: The aim of the study was to provide a golden opportunity to access sexual function in women who act as leaders in companies through the use of an instrument validated for this purpose (the Female Sexual Function Index). The number of women in leadership positions has been gradually increasing, which shows the need for women to prepare themselves to reorganize the different aspects of life, including social, family, and personal factors as well as sexuality.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving female executives employed in private companies who answered the Female Sexual Function Index.

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Lichens are symbiotic organisms with unique secondary metabolism. Various metabolites from lichens have shown antimicrobial activity. Nevertheless, very few studies have investigated the antimicrobial potential of the volatile compounds they produce.

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Background And Objectives: Sickle cell trait (SCT) persons are significant donors, and discarding these blood units reduces their supplies, mainly in the third-world countries. This work focused on 12 metabolites associated with the red blood cell (RBC) storage lesion and 23 amino acids in the supernatants of packed RBC units from SCT and reference (non-SCT) donors stored in the same conditions.

Materials And Methods: All samples of RBC concentrates were collected and separated from the storage of Colsan (Beneficient Association of Blood Collection), where they were routinely processed and separated as packed RBC units and stored in the refrigerator (2°-6°C).

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Article Synopsis
  • Two novel actinomycetal strains, CC-R113 and CC-R104, were isolated from macroalgae in northern Portugal, displaying significant genetic characteristics that suggest they are new species.
  • Genetic analysis revealed strain CC-R113, with a genome size of 7.27 Mb, is closely related to existing strains with high sequence similarity, while strain CC-R104, with a 5.34 Mb genome, is more distantly related to its closest known relatives.
  • Both strains thrive at pH 7.0, 28°C, and low salinity, and they exhibit unique chemotaxonomic features, leading to the proposal of their classification as novel species.
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