Povoamento e paisagens no Vale Superior do Rio Terva, Boticas: projecto de investigação plurianual em arqueologia (PoPaTERVA 2013-2016): trabalhos arqueológicos no povoado das Batocas: relatório 2013-2014

O relatório que se apresenta respeita aos trabalhos arqueológicos desenvolvidos entre 2013 e 2014, inscritos no Projeto de Investigação Plurianual de Arqueologia (adiante PIPA) “Povoamento e Paisagens no Vale Superior do Rio Terva, Boticas – PoPaTERVA 2013-2016”, oportunamente aprovado pela Direção Geral do Património Cultural (DGPC: ofício n.º 2013/1 (169) CS: 875795 informação n.º 1704/DBC/2013). O projeto Povoamento e Paisagens no Vale Superior do Rio Terva, Boticas/ PoPaTERVA surge na sequência da conclusão do projeto de Conservação, Estudo, Valorização e Divulgação do Complexo Mineiro Antigo do Vale Superior do Rio Terva, Boticas, concebido em 2006 pela UAUM e executado entre 2010 e 2012 no âmbito de protocolo estabelecido com a Câmara Municipal de Boticas. Desta primeira ação de investigação resultou a classificação do Complexo Mineiro Antigo do Vale Superior do Rio Terva como Sítio de Interesse Público, promulgado pela Portaria n.º 386/2013 (DR, 2.º Série, n.º 115 de 18 de Junho de 2013 – ver Apêndice 7.1.2).

Povoamento e paisagens no Vale Superior do Rio Terva, Boticas: projecto de investigação plurianual em arqueologia (PoPaTERVA 2013-2016): trabalhos arqueológicos no Castro de Sapelos: relatório 2014

O presente relatório enquadra-se na execução do Projeto PoPaTERVA 2013-2016, um projeto PIPA aprovado pela DGPC em 2013 (oficio nº 06922, de 04-07-13. Ref. 2013/1 (169) CS 875795). Para o corrente ano de 2014 pretendemos dar continuidade às investigações decorrentes da implementação do projeto referido anteriormente, iniciando assim o estudo em pormenor do Castro de Sapelos. Os trabalhos arqueológicos foram iniciados a 1 de Julho e terminaram no mês de Dezembro, contaram com a participação de 4 jovens voluntários do programa municipal Boticas Mexe.

Generating timed trajectories foran autonomous robot

Tese de Doutoramento Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Electrónica e Computadores

Influence of glucose concentration on the structure and quantity of biofilms formed by Candida parapsilosis

Candida parapsilosis is nowadays an emerging opportunistic pathogen and its increasing incidence is part related to the capacity to produce biofilm. In addition, one of the most important C. parapsilosis pathogenic risk factors includes the organisms\textquoteright selective growth capabilities in hyper alimentation solutions. Thus, in this study, we investigated the role of glucose in C. parapsilosis biofilm modulation, by studying biofilm formation, matrix composition and structure. Moreover, the expression of biofilm-related genes (BCR1, FKS1 and OLE1) were analyzed in the presence of different glucose percentages. The results demonstrated the importance of glucose in the modulation of C. parapsilosis biofilm. The concentration of glucose had direct implications on the C. parapsilosis transition of yeast cells to pseudohyphae. Additionally, it was demonstrated that biofilm related genes BCR1, FKS1 and OLE1 are involved in biofilm modulation by glucose. The mechanism by which glucose enhances biofilm formation is not fully understood, however with this study we were able to demonstrate that C. parapsilosis respond to stress conditions caused by elevated levels of glucose by up-regulating genes related to biofilm formation (BCR1, FKS1 and OLE1).

Exploring female mice interstrain differences relevant for models of depression

Depression is an extremely heterogeneous disorder. Diverse molecular mechanisms have been suggested to underlie its etiology. To understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for this complex disorder, researchers have been using animal models extensively, namely mice from various genetic backgrounds and harboring distinct genetic modifications. The use of numerous mouse models has contributed to enrich our knowledge on depression. However, accumulating data also revealed that the intrinsic characteristics of each mouse strain might influence the experimental outcomes, which may justify some conflicting evidence reported in the literature. To further understand the impact of the genetic background, we performed a multimodal comparative study encompassing the most relevant parameters commonly addressed in depression, in three of the most widely used mouse strains: Balb/c, C57BL/6, and CD-1. Moreover, female mice were selected for this study taken into account the higher prevalence of depression in women and the fewer animal studies using this gender. Our results show that Balb/c mice have a more pronounced anxious-like behavior than CD-1 and C57BL/6 mice, whereas C57BL/6 animals present the strongest depressive-like trait. Furthermore, C57BL/6 mice display the highest rate of proliferating cells and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) expression levels in the hippocampus, while hippocampal dentate granular neurons of Balb/c mice show smaller dendritic lengths and fewer ramifications. Of notice, the expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNos) predict 39.5% of the depressive-like behavior index, which suggests a key role of hippocampal iNOS in depression. Overall, this study reveals important interstrain differences in several behavioral dimensions and molecular and cellular parameters that should be considered when preparing and analyzing experiments addressing depression using mouse models. It further contributes to the literature by revealing the predictive value of hippocampal iNos expression levels in depressive-like behavior, irrespectively of the mouse strain.

Lean Production e Ergonomia: o impacto de estratégias implementadas nas condições de trabalho numa indústria de componentes para automóveis

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia Humana