Systematics, functional morphology and distribution of a bivalve (Apachecorbula muriatica gen. et sp. nov.) from the rim of the ‘Valdivia Deep’ brine pool in the Red Sea

The deep brine pools of the Red Sea comprise extreme, inhospitable habitats yet house microbial communities that potentially may fuel adjacent fauna. We here describe a novel bivalve from a deep-sea (1525 m) brine pool in the Red Sea, where conditions of high salinity, lowered pH, partial anoxia and high temperatures are prevalent. Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) footage showed that the bivalves were present in a narrow (20 cm) band along the rim of the brine pool, suggesting that it is not only tolerant of such extreme conditions but is also limited to them. The bivalve is a member of the Corbulidae and named Apachecorbula muriatica gen. et sp. nov. The shell is atypical of the family in being modioliform and thin. The semi-infaunal habit is seen in ROV images and reflected in the anatomy by the lack of siphons. The ctenidia are large and typical of a suspension feeding bivalve, but the absence of guard cilia and the greatly reduced labial palps suggest that it is non-selective as a response to low food availability. It is proposed that the low body mass observed is a consequence of the extreme habitat and low food availability. It is postulated that the observed morphology of Apachecorbula is a result of paedomorphosis driven by the effects of the extreme environment on growth but is in part mitigated by the absence of high predation pressures.

Materiais de isolamento térmico de edifícios. Para além da energia operacional

The use of thermal insulation materials for the achievement of energy efficient buildings intended, in most cases, the fulfilment of the required heating and cooling needs of the operational phase. The main goal of this paper is â by using exploratory methodology, namely literature review â identify more sustainable insulating materials and, concomitantly, exposing the paradoxical effect of other insulation materials with high Global Warming Potential (GWP) highlighting the role of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Ecodesign and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) tools for the framing, comparison and selection of materials. As a main conclusion, it is noticed the lack of environmental information from the producers which, together with acquisition prices that do not internalize Life Cycle Costs (LCC), has led to the use of insulation materials with high carbon footprint and to the "isolation paradox" as well.

Inkjet printing technology for flexible pressure sensors

Tese de Doutoramento Ciência e Engenharia de Polímeros e Compósitos.

Biochemical and physical surface functionalization of polycaprolactone as a key mediator of osteogenic differentiation and vascularized tissue morphogenesis

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia de Tecidos, Medicina Regenerativa e Células Estaminais.

An alternative educational indicator for classifying secondary schools in Portugal

The purpose of this paper aims at carrying out a study in the area of Statistics for classifying Portuguese Secondary Schools (both mainland and islands: “Azores” and “Madeira”), taking into account the results achieved by their students in both national examinations and internal assessment. The main according consists of identifying groups of schools with different performance levels by considering the sub-national public and private education systems’ as well as their respective geographic location. For this, we developed an alternative educational indicator for the so-called Secondary Education indicator rankings released since 2001 by the Portuguese media.

A vegetação na envolvente exterior dos edifícios: impactos, condicionantes e estratégias de intervenção ecoeficientes

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Arquitectura

Aplicação de celulases e xilanases na reciclagem de fibras de papel

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Química e Biológica (área de conhecimento em Engenharia Enzimática e das Fermentações)

Transferência de Energia sem fios para carregamento de baterias

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores

Cheese whey: a cost-effective alternative for hyaluronic acid production by Streptococcus zooepidemicus

This study focuses on the optimization of cheese whey formulated media for the production of hyaluronic acid HA by Streptococcus zooepidemicus. Culture media containing whey (W; 2.1 g/L) or whey hydrolysate (WH; 2.4 g/L) gave the highest HA productions. Both W and WH produced high yields on protein consumed, suggesting cheese whey is a good nitrogen source for S. zooepidemicus production of HA. Polysaccharide concentrations of 4.0 g/L and 3.2 g/L were produced in W and WH in a further scale-up to 5 L bioreactors, confirming the suitability of the low-cost nitrogen source. Cheese whey culture media provided high molecular weight (> 3000 kDa) HA products. This study revealed replacing the commercial peptone by the low-cost alternative could reduce HA production costs by up to a 70%compared to synthetic media.

Mesenchymal stem cells culture on poly(vinylidene fluoride) piezoelectric microspheres

Dissertação de mestrado em Biofísica e Bionanossistemas

Sistemas solares e arquitetura: uma relação holística

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Arquitectura

Regulation of human mesenchymal stem cell osteogenesis by specific surface density of fibronectin: a gradient study

 The success of synthetic bone implants requires good interface between the material and the host tissue. To study the biological relevance of fi bronectin (FN) density on the osteogenic commitment of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMMSCs), human FN was adsorbed in a linear density gradient on the surface of PCL. The evolution of the osteogenic markers alkaline phosphatase and collagen 1 alpha 1 was monitored by immunohistochemistry, and the cytoskeletal organization and the cell-derived FN were assessed. The functional analysis of the gradient revealed that the lower FN-density elicited stronger osteogenic expression and higher cytoskeleton spreading, hallmarks of the stem cell commitment to the osteoblastic lineage. The identifi cation of the optimal FN density regime for the osteogenic commitment of hBM-MSCs presents a simple and versatile strategy to signifi cantly enhance the surface properties of polycaprolactone as a paradigm for other synthetic polymers intended for bone-related applications.

Highly functional and biodegradable nanofibrous scaffolds combined with stem cells for bone and cartilage tissue engineering

Among the various possible embodiements of Advanced Therapies and in particular of Tissue Engineering the use of temporary scaffolds to regenerate tissue defects is one of the key issues. The scaffolds should be specifically designed to create environments that promote tissue development and not merely to support the maintenance of communities of cells. To achieve that goal, highly functional scaffolds may combine specific morphologies and surface chemistry with the local release of bioactive agents. Many biomaterials have been proposed to produce scaffolds aiming the regeneration of a wealth of human tissues. We have a particular interest in developing systems based in nanofibrous biodegradable polymers1,2. Those demanding applications require a combination of mechanical properties, processability, cell-friendly surfaces and tunable biodegradability that need to be tailored for the specific application envisioned. Those biomaterials are usually processed by different routes into devices with wide range of morphologies such as biodegradable fibers and meshes, films or particles and adaptable to different biomedical applications. In our approach, we combine the temporary scaffolds populated with therapeutically relevant communities of cells to generate a hybrid implant. For that we have explored different sources of adult and also embryonic stem cells. We are exploring the use of adult MSCs3, namely obtained from the bone marrow for the development autologous-based therapies. We also develop strategies based in extra-embryonic tissues, such as amniotic fluid (AF) and the perivascular region of the umbilical cord4 (Whartonâ s Jelly, WJ). Those tissues offer many advantages over both embryonic and other adult stem cell sourcess. These tissues are frequently discarded at parturition and its extracorporeal nature facilitates tissue donation by the patients. The comparatively large volume of tissue and ease of physical manipulation facilitates the isolation of larger numbers of stem cells. The fetal stem cells appear to have more pronounced immunomodulatory properties than adult MSCs. This allogeneic escape mechanism may be of therapeutic value, because the transplantation of readily available allogeneic human MSCs would be preferable as opposed to the required expansion stage (involving both time and logistic effort) of autologous cells. Topics to be covered: This talk will review our latest developments of nanostructured-based biomaterials and scaffolds in combination with stem cells for bone and cartilage tissue engineering.

Sustainability assessment of envelope wall solutions using MAXergy methodology

Projeto de investigação integrado de International Master in Sustainable Built Environment

Estudo de revestimentos ativos para o isolamento térmico de edifícios

Dissertação de mestrado em Sustentabilidade do Ambiente Construído