Top Recent and Outstanding Portuguese Scientific and Technological Achievements

I am here celebrating Portugal, for today 10th of June 2015, is Portugal Day. And for those who think we dont mean science youre so wrong. We are clever, we have always been astute and quite ingenious under very difficult economical conditions. From Braamcamp (inventor of the brick in 1853 - top image) to Patricio Vieira da Silva (inventor of the anticonvulsant Eslicarbazepine acetate in 2014), the world has gained from the Portuguese ingenuity and creativity. Check hereby our recent top contributions to the world of science and technology and vote/comment on the one you believe is the most impressive achievement for such a small nation as the Portuguese Republic:

ENDOSCOPY, 1965, by Fernando Alves Martins

Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an endoscope, an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike most other medical imaging devices, endoscopes are inserted directly into the organ. 

BIGGUN – CHILD & ACCIDENT PROOF ROTATING PERCUSSION HANDGUN, 2004, by Fernando Lopes

RPH – BIGGUN - The first Less-Than-Lethal (LTL) weapon concept to be demonstrably created in Portugal and in the XXI Century, with the main purposes of saving Human Lives. It brings various defence and safety mechanisms, which combines a high level of defence and effective protection by virtue of its unique characteristics with the advantage of providing greater safety, in order to go some way towards reducing the high firearms accident rate among adults and children. Considered the “World’s Safest Weapon”. 

PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION, UNDER SUBCRITICAL CONDITIONS OF MONOLITHIC XEROGELS AND AEROGELS OF SILICA/LATEX HIBRIFS, MODIFIED WITH AKOXYSILANE GROUPS (SPACE SHUTTLE SHIELDS - AEROGEL ), 2006, by Instituto Superior Tecnico

The invention relates to a process for the preparation of monolithic xerogels and aerogels of silica/latex hybrids under subcritical conditions. In the two-stage synthesis of these alcogels in the presence of an acid-base catalyst, the hydrolysis and polycondensation of a silicon alkoxide are carried out in an organic medium containing excess water. A latex consisting of polybutyl methacrylate and polybutyl acrylate, modified with alkoxysilane groups, is first synthesized and then incorporated in the mixture either in the first stage in order to effect its co-hydrolysis with the silicon alkoxide, or in the second stage to effect its cocondensation with the previously hydrolysed colloidal silica. The resulting alcogels are aged, washed, and dried under subcritical conditions. 

ESLICARBAZEPINE ACETATE AND METHODS OF USE, 2014, by Patricio Soares da Silva

New applications of eslicarbazepine and eslicarbazepine acetate in the treatment of intractable conditions, selected from epilepsy, central and peripheric nervous system disorders, affective disorders, schizoaffective disorders, bipolar disorders, attention disorders, anxiety disorders, neurophatic pain and neuropathic pain-related disorders, sensorimotor disorders, vestibular disorders, and nervous function alterations in degenerative and post-ischemic diseases. 

The Multibanco System

Portugals Multibanco System is a sophisticated system of Automatic Teller Machines (ATM). SIBS (Sociedade Interbancária de Serviços SA), the company behind Multibanco, launched the network in September 1985 with the installation of 12 machines in Lisbon and Oporto. Over 11,000 machines are now available throughout Portugal, in banks, supermarkets, shopping malls, stations, museums and airports.

• The SIBS website has information about the Multibanco services, useful information and news in English: Click here

Prepaid Mobile Phone

A prepaid mobile phone (also commonly referred to as pay-as-you-go, pay-as-you-talk, pay and go, prepaid wireless, prepay or, if soon disposed of burner phone) is a mobile phone for which credit is purchased in advance of service use. The purchased credit is used to pay for mobile phone services at the point the service is accessed or consumed. If there is no available credit then access to the requested service is denied by the mobile phone network. Users are able to top up their credit at any time using a variety of payment mechanisms. The first European PAYG deployment was in Portugal in 1995 when Portuguese operator TMN deployed a PAYG solution called MIMO.

All-on-four dental method

Developed in the 1990s by famed dentist, inventor and businessman Paulo Maló, in collaboration with a Swiss prosthetics company called Nobel Biocare, the All-on-Four procedure quickly came to be recognized as one of the biggest breakthroughs in modern dentistry. Because the arches are replaced all at once – anchored to the jaw using four titanium screws – the procedure is faster, less invasive and less expensive than the alternative of replacing each and every tooth with its own dental implant.

Via Verde

Via Verde (literally "Green Lane") is an electronic toll collection system used in Portugal since 1991. It is available at all toll roads and bridges in the country since 1995. Toll roads and bridges are operated by multiple operators, the main being Brisa - Auto-estradas de Portugal. Upon passing in a non-stop lane at a toll, a DSRC tag attached to the vehicles windshield transmits its identifier and the toll amount is debited directly from the clients bank account. If an exception is detected (the tag is invalid (or non-existent) or the vehicles class (as detected by the lane sensors) does not correspond to the class encoded in the tag, amongst others) the vehicle is photographed and, if there is indication of fraud, a legal procedure is initiated.

See you back in July. Go on and read other posts while  The Toxicologist Today is on holidays. Cheers!

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Baby feet

This is just a very quick post to say that I absolutely adore baby feet. They are utterly amazing wonderful tiny little things.

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Great science news from a recent past Part III

Some more great science news from a recent past. Today I opted to go straight to a few theories I always had present in my mind, but never had the time to develop my personal study on. Thus, these articles published last year really helped me understand and even strengthen my own theories on many different subjects. Subjects such as:

The real function of the human appendix - because in a world where energy can never be wasted without good purpose, having such a useless appendix could never be possible. It actually serves a purpose in the development of a normal foetus (production of biogenic amines and peptide hormones) and in young adults (it is involved in immune functions like maturation of B lymphocytes and production of IgA antibodies). The fact that the appendix does not exist in domestic animals made research abandon some good theories on the actual role of it. 

Pressure or Pleasure for producing better science - This is always common days to Science, the typical battle between two different Schools of Thought: those who think pressure works better on people and those who think happiness/pleasure is the fuel to better working days. Overall this article reveals what everyone knows but delivers it in a really light and smart way. 1) Not everyone can be happy as people are people and that wont change, 2) unhappy members tend to bring down the rest of the crew (but bear in mind that their unhappiness reveals existing issues in your group - dont just discard the people and keep the problems), 3) Finding good arrangements and mentoring people towards harmony is always better than just letting them go, but when pride is excessive there is no other way, 4) Meeting half way should be the general attitude.

A virus is melting sea stars - Ill repeat that, a virus is melting sea stars (the Pandas of the seas for their loveliness). Even sea stars are not protected from crazy viral infections that do nasty things to organisms. When a virus is capable of melting sea stars one has to put a lot of stuff to perspective. This incredible article from November 2014 describes how these densoviruses (mimiviruses, phycodnaviruses, parvoviruses, etc) degrade sea stars flesh rapidly leaving just slime and ossicles to tell the story. A story told only after a lengthy DNA and RNA characterisation.

Image kindly taken from Political Blindspot - scientists finally find the function of the human appendix, [http://politicalblindspot.com/scientists-finally-discover-the-function-of-the-human-appendix/], las visted on the 20th of January 2015.

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Great science news from a recent past Part II

The first post of this series was published yesterday. If you feel youve missed on great science revelations that took place in 2014, by all means, go back and check! Today I continue posting some interesting news from pundits everywhere. Caffeine, workforce frustration and salt-propelled vehicles are the articles needing your uttermost attention.

Can we overdose on caffeine? The caffeineinformer posted on the myths and true facts that involve caffeine. Facts like the half-life of caffeine being of 4 to 6 hours or people nowadays starting to show signs of caffeine intoxication. Facts like caffeine withdrawal listed by physicians as a mental disorder.  Solutions? Rutacleanse (Rutaecarpine) to detoxify the body of caffeine, or just reading this interesting article.

Workforce demotivation is a reality - we all know it but it appears that in this time and age everyone is too busy to think plain things. Solutions mostly lie on plain Occams razor attitude, but we think our brains are for complicating rather than simplifying. This incredible article by Dina Gerdeman says it all; an article I found in Harvard Business Schools website and that should be printed and sent to all HR departments in the civilised world. It is so incredibly good I cannot resume it in just a sentence; but I must say that it actually reveals something I have always been against all my life - individual rewards in a company. YES, they lead to a drop in motivation and productivity. I am a navy seal in terms of corporative thinking, we rise together, we sink together. No man should be left behind but worked with.

Saltwater-powered car approved by EU - I actually offered my nephew a toy car of the sort (see image in the bottom). It comes in a million pieces and I think that frustrated him and his father (who is not that science-driven). But to know that the real one (see image on top) is a low-cost, environmentally-friendly car that creates no emissions and might be available in the future... thats great news. Experts say it will cost around a million quid, though :S

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Great science news from a recent past Part I

2014 was proficient in great science. News of developments in areas such as cancer research, infectious diseases and technological advances were popping up in the media everyday. Our busy lives dont really leave us any time to follow some of the great things that were achieved. If some of these never hit you, The Toxicologist Today is here to help you with some of the great articles and developments that really need your special attention this 2015!

Bacterial identification virtual lab - The world will know about the growing industry of serious games. Teaching will take a turn when serious games come to the equation for they are the future. In the meanwhile, check how Howard Hughes Medical Institute is teaching their website visitors to  familiarise with the science and techniques used to identify different types of bacteria based on their DNA sequences.

The winnower - an open access online science publishing platform that employs open-post publication peer review. This is gonna make Ben Goldacre feel that his words are actually causing waves of transformation. Thanks to Joshua Nicholson and Reinhard Stindl there is a growing movement towards transparency from start to finish in science communication, as they so well put. 

Crest toothpaste embeds plastic in our gums - Some countries have got the common sense to initiate a battle against polyethylene in our toothpaste. Particles of everlasting plastic that will live "forever" only breaking into other smaller particles. Inert but not invisible, and merely for decorative purposes. They are there to accumulate in places like the little channels in our gums, embedded within the sulcus under the gumline. Companies have gone mad, definitely! Check this great article by Trish Walraven and Erika Feltham.

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Recent update during Ramadhan

It has been few moths since the last update of our aquaponic system. Recently, my brother has emailed me few pictures of our system. They are look great, however I think the system can be improved more.

Overall view of the system.


Happy fish. I hope so.


The Ulam Raja.


The Pegaga.


I dont know what this plant called. We call it Sayur Ginseng if Im not mistaken.

Until the next update, see you :)

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More preserving with one working hotplate

Last night Damo and I decided we should sort out the second bucket of plums. The morning saw us fill the 5 tray dehydrator with plums, most of which are ready just the last few still in the machine. Then once it cooled down last night we tried to tackle the rest. With a pot big enough to only fit 5 jars we still had a good few dozen left (plus todays bucket worth). You will notice that there is only one pot on the stove, this is because there is only one working hotplate on the stove. Makes thing difficult and we could only cook one thing at a time and it all just took forever.

But last night we made Plum Chutney it was getting rather late so I did not reduce it enough creating more of a sauce, but it is still yummy and I think will work well in a chicken stir fry. Do wish we had some smaller jars for it though so I could have preserved in one meal quantities. Recipe below.

We also made some plum and apple sauce. Now this one tastes like store apple sauce but with a background flavour and tang of the plums. It is really super nice. Once again tiredness kicked in and we created a chunky sauce as neither of us could be bother to blend it or push through a sieve. We can always do that when we use it if we want. Recipe below. We ended up with about 550g apple and same of plum and used 800g sugar and about 350ml of water. I also threw in a 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid (I am just a little terrified of poisoning the family right now). I did cook for less time so it didnt reduce too much as I wanted more of a sauce than a jam, I had trouble finding a simple plum and apple sauce recipe.

Plum Chutney

Recipe Ingredients
900g / 2lb plums
1 large onion
200g / 7oz raisins or sultanas (optional)
450g / 1lb brown sugar
570ml / 1pint malt or cider vinegar
1 thumb / 3cm ginger
1 Tblsp cinnamon
1 Tsp nutmeg
8 cloves
2 tsp salt

Mise-en-Place:
Sterilize the jars and lids with hot water and a kitchen sanitizer spray
(Or the old school method is to wash the jars then heat to 100°C - 120°C for 10 minutes in the oven)
Cut the plums into quarters (or if very large into eighths)
Slice the onion
Weigh the sugar and measure the vinegar
Roughly chop the ginger, measure the remaining spices

Cooking Method:
Place all the ingredients into a saucepan
Rapidly boil until thick (about 30-45 minutes)
Stir from time to time to ensure that the chutney doesnt stick or start to burn.
To test if the chutney is thick enough rapidly draw a ladle across the bottom of the pan, if you can clearly (yet briefly) see the pans base before the chutney flushes back into place the chutney is done.
If not continue to thicken the chutney by boiling.
Check the seasoning, remove and discard the cloves and sliced ginger.
Pour hot, but not boiling, water into the preserving jars (this is to heat the glass so that it doesnt crack when you add the hot chutney)
Remove the water then pour the plum chutney into jars.
Seal and label.

Adjust:
Its quite difficult to get a real taste of a chutneys flavours while it is still hot. Once the chutney has cooled the flavours will develop and the longer you age the chutney, again the greater the flavours will develop. However if a chutney tastes quite bland when hot, this is an indication that the final product will also be quite flavourless.
Too bland: Add more spices / or salt
Too thin: Continue to heat the chutney until it thickens
Too thick: Add a little water

Chef Tip:
If you dont have a funnel roll up a non-stick baking mat into a cone, then use this to easily pour the chutney from pot to preserving jar.

http://cooking4chumps.com/Chutney%20Plum%20Recipe.html

Homemade Plum and Apple Jam

ingredients

yield 2.5kg (approx)

750 g plums
3 1/2 cups (750 g) apples (peeled and cored)
450 ml water
1.5 kg sugar

method

1. Wash the plums and put into a preserving pan with the apples and the water.

2. Cook the fruit slowly until the skins of the plums are softened.

3. Add the sugar, stir over low heat until dissolved, bring to the boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached.

4. Remove the stones as they rise to the surface (a stone basket clipped to the side of the pan is useful for holding the stones, and allows any liquid to drip back into the pan).

5. Alternatively, the plums may be stoned before cooking.

6. Remove from the heat, skim, pot, cover, and label.

Cooking time 45 minutes (approx)
http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-032o55.html

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Big boy bike

Isnt he just the most clever little being ever? Yes I am biased but what mother wouldnt be watching her 3.5yr old riding a big boy bike WITHOUT training wheels. He was so brave I am so proud of him.

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Great science news from a recent past Part IV

The saga of great science news published/broadcasted in 2014 continues. Not all is good as you would expect. For example, chocolate is on a downfall and there isnt much we can do about it. If the human kind has managed to avoid so many conflicts these last few decades is because chocolate was here to protect us against the ups and downs of the endocrine system of manic politiciens. Before you start panicking yourself, take a peek at the good news also...!

People are eating way too much chocolate for God sake! This is the overall idea transmitted by Mars, Inc and Barry Callebaut, the worlds biggest chocolate-makers. Farms are producing less cocoa than what is in demand and the scenario only tends to get worse. In 2014 humans ate 70 thousand metric tons more cocoa than produced, but predictions reinstate that by 2020 we will have achieved a 14-fold increase! Reasons why? Us being all dopamine fiends, dry weather in Africa (like if it ever changed since I was born and put my eyes on the TV news), profitable farming being disrespected and profitless worldwide, the Chinese sweet teeth!!!!! The solution might come from research in Central Africa, but judge it by yourself by visiting this article by Roberto Ferdman published in the Washington Post last November 2014.

Gene therapy for bacteria could help solve consequences of the stupidity surrounding over-usage of broad-spectrum antibiotics. The idea is to develop such therapy that certain strains will almost act like PCR primers by producing sequence-specific antimicrobial effects. Its all part of a new trendy area of research that makes use of phage-based delivery techniques known to give bacteria resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, such as ampicillin, for example.Take a look at this genuinely excellent post by Tim Sandle published in the Pharmaceutical Microbiology blog.

Opinions of hundred of UK scientists on what makes high-quality research delivered the word "rigorous/(extremely thorough and careful)", something that is difficult to attain in this modern academic-research world where time is money, ever more. Symptoms of a scientific career cancer that reveals what I have been saying from the start of this blog and before - Academia nowadays promotes unbearable competitive academic research, no job security and intolerable pressure. Most of my younger colleagues dont want to see it, thus suffering in an Ostridge-Blues kind of syndrome; the older ones are just too embedded in the system that dont even want to face it anymore. And all crashes violently with the "postdoctoral years". A discussion so important and intense that links to yet another impressive quality article on the "Shaping the future of research". This is a must-read. What do you want?, its a Nature article from December 2014.

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