Abstract Background Cathepsin D (CatD) is a lysosomal proteolytic enzyme expressed in almost all tissues and organs. This protease is a multifunctional enzyme responsible for essential biological processes such as cell cycle regulation, differentiation, migration, tissue remodeling, neuronal growth, ovulation, and apoptosis. The overexpression and hypersecretion of CatD have been correlated with cancer aggressiveness and tumor progression, stimulating cancer cell proliferation, fibroblast growth, and angiogenesis. In addition, some studies report its participation in neurodegenerative diseases and inflammatory processes. In this regard, the search for new inhibitors from natural products could be an alternative against the harmful effects of this enzyme. Methods An investigation was carried out to analyze CatD interaction with snake venom toxins in an attempt to find inhibitory molecules. Interestingly, human CatD shows the ability to bind strongly to snake venom phospholipases A2 (svPLA2), forming a stable muti-enzymatic complex that maintains the catalytic activity of both CatD and PLA2. In addition, this complex remains active even under exposure to the specific inhibitor pepstatin A. Furthermore, the complex formation between CatD and svPLA2 was evidenced by surface plasmon resonance (SPR), two-dimensional electrophoresis, enzymatic assays, and extensive molecular docking and dynamics techniques. Conclusion The present study suggests the versatility of human CatD and svPLA2, showing that these enzymes can form a fully functional new enzymatic complex.

ABSTRACT. The study of promoters has become essential to elucidate genetic regulation and allow new genetic transformation strategies through plant biotechnology. The challenge is to discover and validate promoters that can regulate gene transcription spatially and/or temporally. The goal of this work was to validate genes associated with tissue-specific promoters of bananas obtained from in silico sequences and selected from the DATAMusa databank. Gene expression was quantified using RT-qPCR from different tissues: leaves, flowers, roots, unripe pulp, ripe pulp, unripe peels, and ripe peels of two different genetic groups: Prata-Anã (PA; group AAB) and Grand Naine (GN; group AAA). After the analysis of the expression of genes associated with the promoters, normalization was performed with the most stable reference genes (TUB and L2) selected using the RefFinder tool. It was determined that five genes were specific or expressed to a greater extent in some tissues than others. The EMB-23 gene was highly expressed in ripe pulp and flowers of GN, EMB-26 in the ripe pulp of GN, EMB-27 in flowers of GN, EMB-28 in roots of PA and ripe pulp and roots of GN, and EMB-31 in roots and flowers of GN and PA, and unripe pulp of GN. The in silico analysis was efficient in the identification of spatial/time-specific genes, thereby decreasing analysis time and cost, making future genetic transformation studies focusing on the application of these tissue-specific promoters possible.

RESUMO Recentemente, tem-se visto o aprofundamento do ensino de probabilidades e estatística no ensino básico, e importa investigar se o conhecimento dos futuros professores é adequado para ensinar esses temas. Participaram do estudo 53 estudantes do 2.º ano do curso de Licenciatura em Educação Básica de uma universidade de Portugal, tendo-lhes sido pedido para resolverem várias questões de probabilidades, sendo aqui estudada apenas aquela que se refere à dimensão didática do conhecimento do futuro professor, quando estabelecem tarefas de probabilidades adequadas para alunos dos primeiros anos. Em termos de resultados obtidos, verificou-se que a maioria dos futuros professores apresentou tarefas nada adequadas ao nível cognitivo dos alunos a quem se destinavam, sendo, em geral, demasiado difíceis e sem fazerem referência à incerteza. As tarefas são muito semelhantes às aprendizagens que os próprios futuros professores realizaram no âmbito do tema de probabilidades.

ABSTRACT Recently we have witnessed the deepening of the teaching of Probability and Statistics in basic education, where it is important to investigate if the knowledge of prospective teachers is adequate to teach these subjects. 53 students, who were attending the 2nd year of the Bachelor's Degree in Basic Education at a university in Portugal, were asked to solve various questions on probability. We study only the one that refers to the didactic dimension of the prospective teacher's knowledge, when they establish tasks of probability suitable for students of the primary education. In the results obtained, it was found that the majority of participants presented inappropriate tasks to the cognitive level of the students for whom they were intended, and they were generally too difficult and without reference to uncertainty. The tasks were very similar to the learning that the prospective teachers themselves have done under the topic of probability in their previous training.

RESUMEN En la actualidad asistimos a una profundización de la Estadística y la Probabilidad en la enseñanza básica, donde interesa investigar si el conocimiento de los futuros profesores es adecuado para enseñar estos temas. Participaron en el estudio 53 estudiantes de 2.º año de la Licenciatura en Educación Básica de una universidad de Portugal, a los que se pidió que resolvieran varias cuestiones sobre probabilidad. En este trabajo analizamos solo la cuestión que se refiere a la dimensión didáctica del conocimiento del futuro profesor, cuando establecen tareas de probabilidad adecuadas a alumnos de los primeros años de enseñanza básica. En cuanto a los resultados obtenidos, la mayoría de futuros profesores presentaron tareas nada adecuadas al nivel cognitivo de los alumnos a los que estaban destinados, siendo, en general, demasiado difíciles y sin referencia a la incertidumbre. Las tareas son muy semejantes a los aprendizajes que los propios futuros profesores recibieron en el tema de probabilidad.

Neste artigo, analisamos a leitura e a interpretação de dados prontos coletados por alunos para desenvolverem projetos de modelagem. Consideramos dados prontos as informações coletadas na Internet, como um gráfico ou uma fórmula, sem maiores explicações de como foram geradas. Com isso, repensamos o mosaico de pesquisas do GPIMEM, grupo de pesquisa ao qual pertencemos e que desenvolve pesquisas sobre modelagem e informática há cerca de vinte anos. Na análise, privilegiamos a apresentação oral e o relatório escrito de um grupo de alunas do Curso de Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Os dados prontos sugerem uma nova faceta na relação entre tecnologias digitais e modelagem: eles parecem ser tratados de maneira idêntica a dados empíricos usualmente coletados em outros trabalhos de modelagem encontrados na literatura. Assim, o mosaico de pesquisas sobre o tema ganha novas dimensões na medida em que a Internet parece modificar a própria noção do que são dados.

In this paper, we analyze the reading and the interpretation of "ready data". We consider ready-data the information collected from the Internet, such as graphs or a mathematical formulas, without explanation of how they were generated. With this idea in mind, we re-think the mosaic of the research carried out by our research group, GPIMEM. This group has been conducting research on modeling and informatics for about 20 years. In the analysis, we focused on oral and written reports of a group of students from the Biological Science course at the State University of São Paulo (UNESP). The ready-data suggest a new facet in the relationship between digital technologies and modeling: they seem to be treated by students identically to the way they treat "empirical data" usually collected in other modeling projects, found in the literature. The mosaic of research about this theme acquires new dimensions since the Internet seems to modify the very notion of what data are.