Gene expression regulation and lineage evolution: the North and South tale of the hybrid polyploid Squalius alburnoides complex

The evolution of hybrid polyploid vertebrates, their viability and their perpetuation over evolutionary time have always been questions of great interest. However, little is known about the impact of hybridization and polyploidization on the regulatory networks that guarantee the appropriate quantitative and qualitative gene expression programme. The Squalius alburnoides complex of hybrid fish is an attractive system to address these questions, as it includes a wide variety of diploid and polyploid forms, and intricate systems of genetic exchange. Through the study of genome-specific allele expression of seven housekeeping and tissue-specific genes, we found that a gene copy silencing mechanism of dosage compensation exists throughout the distribution range of the complex. Here we show that the allele-specific patterns of silencing vary within the complex, according to the geographical origin and the type of genome involved in the hybridization process. In southern populations, triploids of S. alburnoides show an overall tendency for silencing the allele from the minority genome, while northern population polyploids exhibit preferential biallelic gene expression patterns, irrespective of genomic composition. The present findings further suggest that gene copy silencing and variable expression of specific allele combinations may be important processes in vertebrate polyploid evolution.

Implementação de WDM com 4 canais no espetro do visível

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia de Electrónica e Telecomunicações

Capillary bridging and long-range attractive forces in a mean-field approach

When a mixture is confined, one of the phases can condense out. This condensate, which is otherwise metastable in the bulk, is stabilized by the presence of surfaces. In a sphere-plane geometry, routinely used in atomic force microscope and surface force apparatus, it, can form a bridge connecting the surfaces. The pressure drop in the bridge gives rise to additional long-range attractive forces between them. By minimizing the free energy of a binary mixture we obtain the force-distance curves as well as the structural phase diagram of the configuration with the bridge. Numerical results predict a discontinuous transition between the states with and without the bridge and linear force-distance curves with hysteresis. We also show that similar phenomenon can be observed in a number of different systems, e.g., liquid crystals and polymer mixtures. (C). 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Tuneable micro- and nano-periodic structures in urethane/urea networks

Micro- and nano-patterned materials are of great importance for the design of new nanoscale electronic, optical and mechanical devices, ranging from sensors to displays. A prospective system that can support a designed functionality is elastomeric polyurethane thin films with nano- or micromodulated surface structures ("wrinkles"). These wrinkles can be induced on different lengthscales by mechanically stretching the films, without the need for any sophisticated lithographic techniques. In the present article we focus on the experimental control of the wrinkling process. A simple model for wrinkle formation is also discussed, and some preliminary results reported. Hierarchical assembly of these tunable structures paves the way for the development of a new class of materials with a wide range of applications, from electronics to biomedicine.

A arte/expressão plástica numa inter-relação com a matemática/geometria: Um projeto no jardim de infância

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Educação Artística, na Especialização de Artes Plásticas na Educação

Characterization of airborne particles generated from metal active gas welding process

This study is focused on the characterization of particles emitted in the metal active gas welding of carbon steel using mixture of Ar + CO2, and intends to analyze which are the main process parameters that influence the emission itself. It was found that the amount of emitted particles (measured by particle number and alveolar deposited surface area) are clearly dependent on the distance to the welding front and also on the main welding parameters, namely the current intensity and heat input in the welding process. The emission of airborne fine particles seems to increase with the current intensity as fume-formation rate does. When comparing the tested gas mixtures, higher emissions are observed for more oxidant mixtures, that is, mixtures with higher CO2 content, which result in higher arc stability. These mixtures originate higher concentrations of fine particles (as measured by number of particles by cm 3 of air) and higher values of alveolar deposited surface area of particles, thus resulting in a more severe worker's exposure.

A construção da versatilidade e da motivação nas aulas de Técnica de Dança Moderna com os alunos do 8º ano da Academia de Dança Contemporânea de Setúbal

Relatório Final de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Dança, com vista à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino de Dança.

Os processos cognitivos inerentes ao processo de ensino-aprendizagem no âmbito da disciplina de Técnica de Dança Clássica

Relatório Final de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Dança, com vista à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ensino da Dança.

Prática de ensino supervisionado no 1.º e 2.º ciclo do ensino básico: a comunicação (em) matemática em contexto de sala de aula

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Lisboa para obtenção de grau de mestre em Ensino do 1.º e 2.º ciclo do Ensino Básico

Does diaphragmatic breathing technique really improve its range of motion? An objective assessment

Purpose - To verify the results of a diaphragmatic breathing technique (DBT) on diaphragmatic range of motion in healthy subjects. Methods - A total of 51 healthy subjects (10 male; 41 female), mean age 20 years old and a body mass index (BMI) ranging from 15.6 to 34.9 kg/m2, were enrolled in this study. Diaphragmatic range of motion was assessed by M-mode ultrasound imaging. Measurements were made before and after the DBT implementation in a standard protocol, based on 3 seconds of inspiration starting from a maximum expiration. Differences between assessments were analyzed by descriptive statistics and t-test (p < 0.05). Results - Mean value range of motion before DBT was 55.3 ± 13.4 mm and after DBT was 63.8 ± 13.2 mm showing a significant improvement of 8.5 ± 14.7 mm (p < 0.001). A strong correlation between the slope and the range of motion was found (r = 0.71, p < 0.001). Conclusions - Based on ultrasound measurements, it has been proved that DBT really contributes to a higher diaphragmatic range of motion. Future studies are needed in order to understand the influence of protocol parameters (e.g. inspiration time). Clinical implications - In the contest of evidence-based practice in physiotherapy, it has been showed by objective measurements that DBT improves the diaphragm range of motion, translating into a more efficient ventilatory function and thus can be used in clinical setting. To our knowledge this is the first study to assess the effects of DBT on range of motion of diaphragm muscle with ultrasound imaging.

A importância da afetividade na relação pedagógica

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

How new online communication tools and the availability of content influence the audiences and the creative process

We live in a changing world. At an impressive speed, every day new technological resources appear. We increasingly use the Internet to obtain and share information, and new online communication tools are emerging. Each of them encompasses new potential and creates new audiences. In recent years, we witnessed the emergence of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other media platforms. They have provided us with an even greater interactivity between sender and receiver, as well as generated a new sense of community. At the same time we also see the availability of content like it never happened before. We are increasingly sharing texts, videos, photos, etc. This poster intends to explore the potential of using these new online communication tools in the cultural sphere to create new audiences, to develop of a new kind of community, to provide information as well as different ways of building organizations’ memory. The transience of performing arts is accompanied by the need to counter that transience by means of documentation. This desire to ‘save’ events reaches its expression with the information archive of the different production moments as well as the opportunity to record the event and present it through, for instance, digital platforms. In this poster we intend to answer the following questions: which online communication tools are being used to engage audiences in the cultural sphere (specifically between theater companies in Lisbon)? Is there a new relationship with the public? Are online communication tools creating a new kind of community? What changes are these tools introducing in the creative process? In what way the availability of content and its archive contribute to the organization memory? Among several references, we will approach the two-way communication model that James E. Grunig & Todd T. Hunt (1984) already presented and the concept of mass self-communication of Manuel Castells (2010). Castells also tells us that we have moved from traditional media to a system of communication networks. For Scott Kirsner (2010), we have entered an era of digital creativity, where artists have the tools to do what they imagined and the public no longer wants to just consume cultural goods, but instead to have a voice and participate. The creativity process is now depending on the public choice as they wander through the screen. It is the receiver who owns an object which can be exchanged. Virtual reality has encouraged the receiver to abandon its position of passive observer and to become a participant agent, which implies a challenge to organizations: inventing new forms of interfaces. Therefore, we intend to find new and effective online tools that can be used by cultural organizations; the best way to manage them; to show how organizations can create a community with the public and how the availability of online content and its archive can contribute to the organizations’ memory.

Emergência da escrita na educação infantil: de pequenino…de muito pequenino…

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

Domesticating portuguese television

This chapter discusses the role of television within Portuguese family life. In particular, it examines how the domestication of television within the home is influenced by the social context in which different types of families live. The research is framed around the theory of domestication and based on 50 semi-structured interviews.1 “Domestication” is the process by which the household and its surroundings (both private and the public), together with the moral and formal or objective economy, are related to each other and become mutually constitutive (Silverstone, Hirsch and Morley 1999). The metaphor of “domestication” originally comes from the taming of wild animals, but has been usefully applied to the “domestication” of information communication technology (ICT), including television, within the home. Silverstone et al. (1999) have developed a range of concepts to capture this process, of which the best known are: “appropriation”, “objectification”, “incorporation” and “conversion”. These categories describe how the entry of ICT into the home is managed; how artefacts are physically (and symbolically) placed within the home; how they are adapted into everyday routines; and how they are displayed to others (Haddon 2007, 26). These four key concepts will be used in this chapter to discuss the importance of television within Portugal as an example of a small country in which there has been little research using this particular theoretical approach. Most studies on Portuguese television have focused on televisual history or come from research into trends in television consumption. The domestication theory is a holistic framework, useful to explain the meaning of television in Portuguese homes in all the stages of its presence in daily life. This forms part of a larger international project entitled Digital Inclusion and Participation: Comparing the Trajectories of Digital Media Use by Majority and Disadvantage Groups in Portugal and in the USA (UT Austin/Portugal Program).