Confrontos. A vontade de retrato em Mónica Ortuzar

Desde 2007 que Mónica Ortuzar se toma a si mesma como tema da sua obra plástica: primeiro no desenho, depois na aguarela e na pintura a óleo, em séries de imagens que somam atualmente cerca de quatro centenas de autorrepresentações. Sempre em pequenos ou médios formatos e partindo do seu reflexo no espelho. Sempre em função de um desenho inicial que serve de encaixe às formas das cabeças e dos rostos. Ao mesmo tempo que demonstra uma atenção permanente ao fora de si, num voluntário exercitar de confrontos em que o mundo e os outros servem de primeiro reflexo: Ortuzar constrói cada um dos seus autorretratos como um jogo de referências justapostas e de recíprocos espelhamentos com os que a cruzam, anonimamente, nas estações, nas zonas comerciais das grandes cidades, no caminho para o atelier ou no próprio espaço das suas exposições, situando assim a representação retratística numa zona ambígua entre a esfera pública e a privada. Nas suas imagens, inscreve-se uma relação forte entre a pintura e o(s) sujeito(s), uma relação em que a presença do sujeito-artista se oferece continuamente em estado de diálogo e em que a pintura devém, nesse passo, crítica da própria subjetividade e dos seus meios em pintura.

Bone turnover markers for early detection of fracture healing disturbances: A review of the scientific literature

Imaging techniques are the standard method for assessment of fracture healing processes. However, these methods are perhaps not entirely reliable for early detection of complications, the most frequent of these being delayed union and non-union. A prompt diagnosis of such disorders could prevent prolonged patient distress and disability. Efforts should be directed towards the development of new technologies for improving accuracy in diagnosing complications following bone fractures. The variation in the levels of bone turnover markers (BTMs) have been assessed with regard to there ability to predict impaired fracture healing at an early stage, nevertheless the conclusions of some studies are not consensual. In this article the authors have revised the potential of BTMs as early predictors of prognosis in adult patients presenting traumatic bone fractures but who did not suffer from osteopenia or postmenopausal osteoporosis. The available information from the different studies performed in this field was systematized in order to highlight the most promising BTMs for the assessment of fracture healing outcome.

Fatores de sucesso e dificuldades das spin-offs empresariais: o caso das agências de mediação de seguros

Dissertação de mestrado em Marketing e Estratégia

Exploring the use of HPFRC and GFRP grids for the production of manhole covers

Corrosion of the steel reinforced concrete elements is one of the common pathologies that limits the long-term performance of urban infrastructures. This problem causes the loss of structural serviceability by decreasing the concrete-steel bond strength and reducing the cross section of the reinforcements. The present study introduces a new system for developing free-corrosion resistance prefabricated manhole covers for applications in the aggressive environments, i.e. wastewater collector systems, sewer systems, stormwater systems, etc. Fibre reinforced cement composites were applied in this system in order to suppress the corrodible steel mesh and maintain the structural ductility as well. Application of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) system is adopted as the additional solution for increasing the load carrying capacity of these elements without concerns about corrosion. The effectiveness of the applied strategy in developing the manhole covers in terms of load carrying capacity and failure mode is evaluated in this research. Furthermore, this paper discusses a FEM-based simulation, aiming to address the possibility of calibrating the constitutive model parameters related to fracture modes I and II.

Lightweight adjustable partition system: evaluation of resistance to horizontal loads and functional failure from impacts

This paper presents and discusses the results of the serviciability and use condition tests carried on an innovative solution for partitions, designated AdjustMembrane developed within a research project. The proposed system is a modular non-loadbearing wall, tensioned between the pavements and ceiling slabs, which are used as anchoring elements. It allows several advantages, related with the weight reduction to achieve a good sustainable performance, such as the reduction of construction costs, energy, and materials, and it is easy to recycle and to reuse, allowing self-construction. Apart from a general presentation of the partition technology, this paper presents and discusses the results of experimental tests carried out. From the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that the solution fulfils the requirements for this typology of wall in terms of resistance to horizontal loads induced by soft and hard body impacts.

Os efeitos do ambiente térmico: avaliação subjetiva e numérica

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Foreword [Occupational Safety and Hygiene III]

[Excerpt] This book is the third edition of this series of publications that are entitled “Occupational Safety and Hygiene”. The main contributions for this book were, once again, the works previously submitted and approved to be presented at the annual Symposium of the Portuguese Society of Occupational Safety and Hygiene (SPOSHO), which is celebrating its 11th edition in 2015. The SHO2015—International Symposium on Occupational Safety and Hygiene, similarly to the past seven years, was held in the School of Engineering at University of Minho in Guimarães, Portugal.

Occupational Safety and Hygiene SHO2015 - Proceedings book

Occupational Safety and Hygiene SHO2015 - Proceedings book

Estudo de materiais fibrosos para aplicação em modelos cerebrais

Neste trabalho, multifilamentos ocos de polipropileno foram estudados com o objetivo de construir um fantoma cerebral adequado à validação e controlo de qualidade de uma modalidade de imagem clínica inovadora: High-Definition Fiber Tractography. Foram investigadas e discutidas a análise à secção transversal e a redução da área de multifilamentos ocos de polipropileno, através de estiramento. De acordo com os resultados experimentais, a dimensão da secção transversal dos multifilamentos é proporcional à massa linear dos mesmos, existindo uma irregularidade, relativamente, à forma deste tipo de materiais.

Assessing the application of polypropylene multifilament yarns in brain phantoms

The currently available clinical imaging methods do not provide highly detailed information about location and severity of axonal injury or the expected recovery time of patients with traumatic brain injury [1]. High-Definition Fiber Tractography (HDFT) is a novel imaging modality that allows visualizing and quantifying, directly, the degree of axons damage, predicting functional deficits due to traumatic axonal injury and loss of cortical projections. This imaging modality is based on diffusion technology [2]. The inexistence of a phantom able to mimic properly the human brain hinders the possibility of testing, calibrating and validating these medical imaging techniques. Most research done in this area fails in key points, such as the size limit reproduced of the brain fibers and the quick and easy reproducibility of phantoms [3]. For that reason, it is necessary to develop similar structures matching the micron scale of axon tubes. Flexible textiles can play an important role since they allow producing controlled packing densities and crossing structures that match closely the human crossing patterns of the brain. To build a brain phantom, several parameters must be taken into account in what concerns to the materials selection, like hydrophobicity, density and fiber diameter, since these factors influence directly the values of fractional anisotropy. Fiber cross-section shape is other important parameter. Earlier studies showed that synthetic fibrous materials are a good choice for building a brain phantom [4]. The present work is integrated in a broader project that aims to develop a brain phantom made by fibrous materials to validate and calibrate HDFT. Due to the similarity between thousands of hollow multifilaments in a fibrous arrangement, like a yarn, and the axons, low twist polypropylene multifilament yarns were selected for this development. In this sense, extruded hollow filaments were analysed in scanning electron microscope to characterize their main dimensions and shape. In order to approximate the dimensional scale to human axons, five types of polypropylene yarns with different linear density (denier) were used, aiming to understand the effect of linear density on the filament inner and outer areas. Moreover, in order to achieve the required dimensions, the polypropylene filaments cross-section was diminished in a drawing stage of a filament extrusion line. Subsequently, tensile tests were performed to characterize the mechanical behaviour of hollow filaments and to evaluate the differences between stretched and non-stretched filaments. In general, an increase of the linear density causes the increase in the size of the filament cross section. With the increase of structure orientation of filaments, induced by stretching, breaking tenacity increases and elongation at break decreases. The production of hollow fibers, with the required characteristics, is one of the key steps to create a brain phantom that properly mimics the human brain that may be used for the validation and calibration of HDFT, an imaging approach that is expected to contribute significantly to the areas of brain related research.

Estudo das propriedades físicas fundamentais de filmes finos intermetálicos do tipo Ti-Me (Me = Al, Au) na funcionalização de elétrodos - sensores para dispositivos biomédicos

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia de Materiais

Interação multimodal de dispositivos robóticos em ambiente simulado

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

Monocarboxylate transport inhibition potentiates the cytotoxic effect of 5-fluorouracil in colorectal cancer cells

Cancer cells rely mostly on glycolysis to meet their energetic demands, producing large amounts of lactate that are extruded to the tumour microenvironment by monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). The role of MCTs in the survival of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells is scarce and poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to better understand this issue and exploit these transporters as novel therapeutic targets alone or in combination with the CRC classical chemotherapeutic drug 5-Fluorouracil. For that purpose, we characterized the effects of MCT activity inhibition in normal and CRC derived cell lines and assessed the effect of MCT inhibition in combination with 5-FU. Here, we demonstrated that MCT inhibition using CHC (a-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid), DIDS (4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid) and quercetin decreased cell viability, disrupted the glycolytic phenotype, inhibited proliferation and enhanced cell death in CRC cells. These results were confirmed by specific inhibition of MCT1/4 by RNA interference. Notably, we showed that 5-FU cytotoxicity was potentiated by lactate transport inhibition in CRC cells, either by activity inhibition or expression silencing. These findings provide novel evidence for the pivotal role of MCTs in CRC maintenance and survival, as well as for the use of these transporters as potential new therapeutic targets in combination with CRC conventional therapy.