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Publications

Publications by Daniel Marques Vasconcelos

2020

Osteoclasts degrade fibrinogen scaffolds and induce mesenchymal stem/stromal osteogenic differentiation

Authors
Almeida, AR; Bessa Goncalves, M; Vasconcelos, DM; Barbosa, MA; Santos, SG;

Publication
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART A

Abstract
Fibrinogen (Fg) is a pro-inflammatory protein with pro-healing properties. Previous work showed that fibrinogen 3D scaffolds (Fg-3D) promote bone regeneration, but the cellular players were not identified. Osteoclasts are bone resorbing cells that promote bone remodeling in close crosstalk with osteoblasts. Herein, the capacity of osteoclasts differentiated on Fg-3D to degrade the scaffolds and promote osteoblast differentiation was evaluated in vitro. Fg-3D scaffolds were prepared by freeze-drying and osteoclasts were differentiated from primary human peripheral blood monocytes. Results obtained showed osteoclasts expressing the enzymes cathepsin K and tartrate resistant acid phosphatase colonizing Fg-3D scaffolds. Osteoclasts were able to significantly degrade Fg-3D, reducing the scaffold's area, and increasing D-dimer concentration, a Fg degradation product, in their culture media. Osteoclast conditioned media from the first week of differentiation promoted significantly stronger human primary mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) osteogenic differentiation, evaluated by alkaline phosphatase activity. Moreover, week 1 osteoclast conditioned media promoted earlier MSC osteogenic differentiation, than chemical osteogenesis inductors. TGF-beta 1 was found increased in osteoclast conditioned media from week 1, when compared to week 3 of differentiation. Taken together, our results suggest that osteoclasts are able to differentiate and degrade Fg-3D, producing factors like TGF-beta 1 that promote MSC osteogenic differentiation.

2020

Pneuma: Entrepreneurial science in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic - a tale of industrialisation and international cooperation

Authors
Mendonça J.M.; Cruz N.; Vasconcelos D.; Sá-Couto C.; Moreira A.P.; Costa P.; Mendonça H.; Pereira A.; Naimi Z.; Miranda V.;

Publication
Journal of Innovation Management

Abstract
When the COVID-19 pandemic hits Portugal in early March 2020, medical doctors, engineers and researchers, with the encouragement of the Northern Region Health Administration, teamed up to develop and build, locally and in a short time, a ventilator that might eventually be used in extreme emergency situations in the hospitals of northern Portugal. This letter tells you the story of Pneuma, a low-cost emergency ventilator designed and built under harsh isolation constraints, that gave birth to derivative designs in Brazil and Morocco, has been industrialized with 200 units being produced, and is now looking forward to the certification as a medical device that will possibly support a go-tomarket launch. Open intellectual property (IP), multi disciplinarity teamwork, fast prototyping and product engineering have shortened to a few months an otherwise quite longer idea-to-product route, clearly demonstrating that when scientific and engineering knowledge hold hands great challenges can be successfully faced.

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