University of Coimbra

About: University of Coimbra is a education organization based out in Coimbra, Portugal. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 14318 authors who have published 43067 publications receiving 994733 citations. The organization is also known as: UC & Universidade dos Estudos Gerais.

Substance P promotes wound healing in diabetes by modulating inflammation and macrophage phenotype.

Abstract: Diabetic foot ulceration is a major complication of diabetes Substance P (SP) is involved in wound healing, but its effect in diabetic skin wounds is unclear We examined the effect of exogenous SP delivery on diabetic mouse and rabbit wounds We also studied the impact of deficiency in SP or its receptor, neurokinin-1 receptor, on wound healing in mouse models SP treatment improved wound healing in mice and rabbits, whereas the absence of SP or its receptor impaired wound progression in mice Moreover, SP bioavailability in diabetic skin was reduced as SP gene expression was decreased, whereas the gene expression and protein levels of the enzyme that degrades SP, neutral endopeptidase, were increased Diabetes and SP deficiency were associated with absence of an acute inflammatory response important for wound healing progression and instead revealed a persistent inflammation throughout the healing process SP treatment induced an acute inflammatory response, which enabled the progression to the proliferative phase and modulated macrophage activation toward the M2 phenotype that promotes wound healing In conclusion, SP treatment reverses the chronic proinflammatory state in diabetic skin and promotes healing of diabetic wounds

Antibody-secreting plasma cells persist for decades in human intestine

Abstract: Plasma cells (PCs) produce antibodies that mediate immunity after infection or vaccination. In contrast to PCs in the bone marrow, PCs in the gut have been considered short lived. In this study, we studied PC dynamics in the human small intestine by cell-turnover analysis in organ transplants and by retrospective cell birth dating measuring carbon-14 in genomic DNA. We identified three distinct PC subsets: a CD19+ PC subset was dynamically exchanged, whereas of two CD19- PC subsets, CD45+ PCs exhibited little and CD45- PCs no replacement and had a median age of 11 and 22 yr, respectively. Accumulation of CD45- PCs during ageing and the presence of rotavirus-specific clones entirely within the CD19- PC subsets support selection and maintenance of protective PCs for life in human intestine.

Search for supersymmetry at √s= 13 TeV in final states with jets and two same-sign leptons or three leptons with the ATLAS detector

Abstract: A search for strongly produced supersymmetric particles is conducted using signatures involving multiple energetic jets and either two isolated leptons (e or μ) with the same electric charge or at ...

The Heterogeneous State and Legal Pluralism in Mozambique

Abstract: This article analyzes some of the most salient features of the state and the legal system in Mozambique. I propose the concept of the heterogeneous state to highlight the breakdown of the modern equation between the unity of the state, on the one hand, and the unity of its legal and administrative operation, on the other. The centrality of legal pluralism is analyzed in light of an empirical research focused on community courts and traditional authorities. I use the concept of legal hybridization with the purpose of showing the porosity of the boundaries of the different legal orders and cultures in Mozambique and the deep cross-fertilizations or cross-contaminations among them. Special attention is given to the multicultural plurality resulting from the interaction between modern law and traditional law, the latter conceived here as an alternative modernity.