Modelling and segmentation of the vocal tract during speech production by using deformable models in magnetic resonance images

The first and second authors would like to thank the support of the PhD grants with references SFRH/BD/28817/2006 and SFRH/PROTEC/49517/2009, respectively, from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnol ogia (FCT). This work was partially done in the scope of the project “Methodologies to Analyze Organs from Complex Medical Images – Applications to Fema le Pelvic Cavity”, wi th reference PTDC/EEA- CRO/103320/2008, financially supported by FCT.

Marine cyanobacteria compounds with anticancer properties: a review on the implication of apoptosis

Marine cyanobacteria have been considered a rich source of secondary metabolites with potential biotechnological applications, namely in the pharmacological field. Chemically diverse compounds were found to induce cytoxicity, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities. The potential of marine cyanobacteria as anticancer agents has however been the most explored and, besides cytotoxicity in tumor cell lines, several compounds have emerged as templates for the development of new anticancer drugs. The mechanisms implicated in the cytotoxicity of marine cyanobacteria compounds in tumor cell lines are still largely overlooked but several studies point to an implication in apoptosis. This association has been related to several apoptotic indicators such as cell cycle arrest, mitochondrial dysfunctions and oxidative damage, alterations in caspase cascade, alterations in specific proteins levels and alterations in the membrane sodium dynamics. In the present paper a compilation of the described marine cyanobacterial compounds with potential anticancer properties is presented and a review on the implication of apoptosis as the mechanism of cell death is discussed.

Analysis of tongue shape and motion in speech production using statistical modeling

The mechanisms of speech production are complex and have been raising attention from researchers of both medical and computer vision fields. In the speech production mechanism, the articulator’s study is a complex issue, since they have a high level of freedom along this process, namely the tongue, which instigates a problem in its control and observation. In this work it is automatically characterized the tongues shape during the articulation of the oral vowels of Portuguese European by using statistical modeling on MR-images. A point distribution model is built from a set of images collected during artificially sustained articulations of Portuguese European sounds, which can extract the main characteristics of the motion of the tongue. The model built in this work allows under standing more clearly the dynamic speech events involved during sustained articulations. The tongue shape model built can also be useful for speech rehabilitation purposes, specifically to recognize the compensatory movements of the articulators during speech production.

A flexibility reference model to achieve leagility in virtual organizations

The paper proposes a Flexibility Requirements Model and a Factory Templates Framework to support the dynamic Virtual Organization decision-makers in order to reach effective response to the emergent business opportunities ensuring profitability. Through the construction and analysis of the flexibility requirements model, the network managers can achieve and conceive better strategies to model and breed new dynamic VOs. This paper also presents the leagility concept as a new paradigm fit to equip the network management with a hybrid approach that better tackle the performance challenges imposed by the new and competitive business environments.

Visual programming of XSLT from examples

Vishnu is a tool for XSLT visual programming in Eclipse - a popular and extensible integrated development environment. Rather than writing the XSLT transformations, the programmer loads or edits two document instances, a source document and its corresponding target document, and pairs texts between then by drawing lines over the documents. This form of XSLT programming is intended for simple transformations between related document types, such as HTML formatting or conversion among similar formats. Complex XSLT programs involving, for instance, recursive templates or second order transformations are out of the scope of Vishnu. We present the architecture of Vishnu composed by a graphical editor and a programming engine. The editor is an Eclipse plug-in where the programmer loads and edits document examples and pairs their content using graphical primitives. The programming engine receives the data collected by the editor and produces an XSLT program. The design of the engine and the process of creation of an XSLT program from examples are also detailed. It starts with the generation of an initial transformation that maps source document to the target document. This transformation is fed to a rewrite process where each step produces a refined version of the transformation. Finally, the transformation is simplified before being presented to the programmer for further editing.

Backside-surface imprinting as a new strategy to generate specific plastic antibody materials

A backside protein-surface imprinting process is presented herein as a novel way to generate specific synthetic antibody materials. The template is covalently bonded to a carboxylated-PVC supporting film previously cast on gold, let to interact with charged monomers and surrounded next by another thick polymer. This polymer is then covalently attached to a transducing element and the backside of this structure (supporting film plus template) is removed as a regular “tape”. The new sensing layer is exposed after the full template removal, showing a high density of re-binding positions, as evidenced by SEM. To ensure that the templates have been efficiently removed, this re-binding layer was cleaned further with a proteolytic enzyme and solution washout. The final material was named MAPS, as in the back-side reading of SPAM, because it acts as a back-side imprinting of this recent approach. It was able to generate, for the first time, a specific response to a complex biomolecule from a synthetic material. Non-imprinted materials (NIMs) were also produced as blank and were used as a control of the imprinting process. All chemical modifications were followed by electrochemical techniques. This was done on a supporting film and transducing element of both MAPS and NIM. Only the MAPS-based device responded to oxLDL and the sensing layer was insensitive to other serum proteins, such as myoglobin and haemoglobin. Linear behaviour between log(C, μg mL−1) versus charged tranfer resistance (RCT, Ω) was observed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Calibrations made in Fetal Calf Serum (FCS) were linear from 2.5 to 12.5 μg mL−1 (RCT = 946.12 × log C + 1590.7) with an R-squared of 0.9966. Overall, these were promising results towards the design of materials acting close to the natural antibodies and applied to practical use of clinical interest.

Aplicação do modelo escoras e tirantes a vigas parede de acordo com o Eurocódigo 2:2010

O Modelo Escoras e Tirantes surgiu no início do Século XX quando Ritter e Mörsch estabeleceram a analogia entre uma treliça clássica e uma viga de betão armado. Desde então pesquisadores têm estudado esse modelo como método de dimensionamento. A partir dos anos 90 várias normas apresentaram a utilização do modelo escoras e tirantes como relevante no dimensionamento de elementos de betão armado. Os critérios de segurança do Modelo Escoras e Tirantes são neste trabalho explicados de acordo com o Eurocódigo 2:2010, e comparadas com as normas NBR 6118:2014 e ACI 318:2011. É unanime dizer que a utilização do método torna-se mais vantajosa para regiões de descontinuidade. Em todos os elementos de betão armado, o Método Escoras e Tirantes são representações dos campos de tensão idealizados por elementos comprimidos e tracionados. Para a definição destes elementos é proposto o processo de “caminho de carga” em que conhecidas as tensões elásticas e suas direções principais utilizando o Método dos Elementos Finitos o modelo das escoras e tirantes é de fácil concepção. É também possível a definição deste a partir de modelos padrão já concebidos para determinados tipos de elementos estruturais de betão armado. Para o elemento descontinuo viga-parede estudado foram apresentados cinco modelos de cálculo até otimizar a solução validando as tensões com o Método dos Elementos Finitos. Em todos os modelos foram analisadas a definição do Modelo Escoras e Tirantes, a resistência das escoras, dos tirantes e dos nós até chegar à solução construtiva da viga-parede. Concluiu-se que a definição do modelo é a chave do dimensionamento.