Revealing fungal activity in the presence of ionic liquids

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Biochemistry

Specification of software architecture reconfiguration

In the past years, Software Architecture has attracted increased attention by academia and industry as the unifying concept to structure the design of complex systems. One particular research area deals with the possibility of reconfiguring architectures to adapt the systems they describe to new requirements. Reconfiguration amounts to adding and removing components and connections, and may have to occur without stopping the execution of the system being reconfigured. This work contributes to the formal description of such a process. Taking as a premise that a single formalism hardly ever satisfies all requirements in every situation, we present three approaches, each one with its own assumptions about the systems it can be applied to and with different advantages and disadvantages. Each approach is based on work of other researchers and has the aesthetic concern of changing as little as possible the original formalism, keeping its spirit. The first approach shows how a given reconfiguration can be specified in the same manner as the system it is applied to and in a way to be efficiently executed. The second approach explores the Chemical Abstract Machine, a formalism for rewriting multisets of terms, to describe architectures, computations, and reconfigurations in a uniform way. The last approach uses a UNITY-like parallel programming design language to describe computations, represents architectures by diagrams in the sense of Category Theory, and specifies reconfigurations by graph transformation rules.

The First WORKS Conference on Transformation of Work in a Global Knowledge Economy

The relationship between the changes of the global economy and individual working conditions formed the background of the first WORKS conference ���The transformation of work in a global knowledge economy: towards a conceptual framework���, held in Chania, Greece from 21st ��� 22nd September, 2006 and attended by around 50 European researchers. Experts from academia and trade unions from all over the world were invited to give insights into their field of research, contributing to one of the main topics of the conference: (i) globalisation and organisational restructuring, (ii) workers��� organisation, the quality of working life and the gender dimension and (iii) global experiences and recommendations.

AQUILINO RIBEIRO AND THE MODERNISTS - PORTRAITS OF THE FIRST PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC

Portuguese version:

Identification of mating type genes in the bipolar basidiomycetous yeast rhodosporidium toruloides: first insight into the MAT Locus structure of the sporidiobolales

Eukaryotic Cell, Vol.7, N��6

A first analysis of the atmospheric measurements from TANSO/GOSAT

Disserta����o apresentada na Faculdade de Ci��ncias e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obten����o do grau em Mestre em Engenharia F��sica

The Deinotherium (Proboscidea, Mammalia): an abnormal tusk from Lisbon, the Miocene record in Portugal and the first appearance datum. Evidence from Lisbon, Portugal

An exceptionally favourable stratigraphic and chronologic context concerning the Miocene series in Lisbon allows us to stress that there are two successive data as far as the Proboscideans' immigration into western Europe is concerned: firstly, that of Gomphotheres, and later that of Deinotheres. The study of a Langhian (in age) tusk has shown that Deinotherinm havaricum was still present then. The time span of this species could be accurately recognized. A discussion on the genus Deinotherium is presented, as well as its occurrence in Portugal and on its ecologic meaning.

A new dinosaur tracksite in the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal

A new Lower Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) dinosaur tracksite at the Olhos de ��gua beach is described. It is the first vertebrate fossil finding ever found in the concerned unit, and yielded 128 tracks in 17 trackways within an area of ca. 80 square metres. Three tridactyl footprint morphotypes have been recognized: - Type I ("Iguanodontipus-like") - trackways D, F, K, J and P; - Type 2 (large theropod), although larger in size, typically from a Grallator-like theropod footprint, i.e , A, B, G, H and 0 trackways; - Type 3 (medium size theropod); M is the only track of this type. There are other, poorly preserved, unidentified trackways. The theropod, swinging trackway B was produced by an animal that was limping. The theropod track M starts eastwards but drastically changes westwards, speeding up at the same time; this dinosaur decided to turn around and run in the opposite direction. This site shows three main trackway directions: to the South, to the East, and westwards. Except for the trackway 0, large theropods A, B, G and H walked southwards. Perpendicularly to the se, ornithopods, small theropods and unidentified trackmakers walked towards East (5) and West (7). The segregation oftrackmakers and directions, with large theropod traekways southwards and other dinosaurs' west or eastwards, may mean that large theropods patrolled a walkway area to an important resource, most probably water, often frequented by ornithopods and smaller theropods. There is no evidence of social behavior or gregarism: footprints' overposition shows that the large, southwards walking theropods passed on different occasions. Three trackway sequences can be established by chronologic order.

Estabiliza����o din��mica em patologia degenerativa da coluna lombar: estado da arte e contributo pessoal

Resumo Este trabalho encontra-se dividido em tr��s cap��tulos distintos. No primeiro, �� caracterizada a doen��a degenerativa lombar, demorando-se o autor na descri����o pormenorizada das altera����es anat��micas, biomec��nicas, e bioqu��micas inerentes �� sua ocorr��ncia. Segue-se a descri����o da evolu����o das diferentes formas de terap��utica, enumerando as que de forma cl��ssica mais frequentemente s��o utilizadas (cir��rgicas e n��o cir��rgicas). No segundo cap��tulo, s��o referidos os mais recentes avan��os tecnol��gicos nesta ��rea, mencionando, nas suas vertentes biomec��nicas, cl��nicas e terap��uticas, as particularidades das estabiliza����es din��micas interespinhosas e pediculares, bem como da artroplastia de disco. Ap��s esta longa introdu����o, inicia-se o terceiro cap��tulo no qual se apresenta um estudo prospectivo da avalia����o cl��nica, funcional, imagiol��gica e da varia����o da densidade mineral ��ssea vertebral em 20 doentes com patologia degenerativa, tratados com sistemas de estabiliza����o din��mica semi-r��gida interespinhosa, e seguidos durante dois anos. Do estudo realizado conclui-se que os sistemas referidos s��o eficazes cl��nica e funcionalmente no tratamento de doentes com doen��a degenerativa lombar. Mais ainda, estes instrumentais proporcionam um aumento da altura do disco confirmado na incid��ncia radiogr��fica de perfil no n��vel instrumentado. Constat��mos ainda que a densidade mineral ��ssea vertebral dos doentes intervencionados, avaliada com sistema DXA, n��o demonstra diferen��as com signific��ncia estat��stica ao longo do tempo, omparativamente �� determinada em id��ntica popula����o mas sem qualquer patologia lombar. Acresce que se obteve uma correla����o entre a funcionalidade f��sica e a BMD radial, com signific��ncia estat��stica crescente nas duas medi����es realizadas. Abstract This study is divided in three different chapters. In the first one the author describes the anatomical, biomechanical and biochemical changes that go along with degenerative lumbar spine disease. The therapeutically possibilities are mentioned, mainly with the classic fusion and decompression as well as the non surgical options. Then, in the second chapter, the author describes, from the biomechanical, clinical and therapeutically point of view, the new techniques of dynamic stabilization, interspinous and pedicular systems, as well as disc replacement. After this introduction, in the third chapter a prospective clinical, functional, imagiologic and vertebral bone mineral density variation study is presented. Twenty patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease are selected, and operated with a semi rigid interspinous system device, and followed for a two year period. The author concludes that the interspinous semi rigid systems were clinically and functionally effective in lumbar degenerative patients. It was also founded that the disc height at the implant segment level increased after surgery. Bone density was assessed with a DXA system device. As far as vertebral bone density is concerned, the author found no differences what so ever inside the group during the study, or to an identical control group without any lumbar pathology. The correlation study between the BMD and physical function showed that there was only significant statistically data in radial BMD measurement, and this happened with growing correlation from year 2006 to 2007.

Crystallographic studies on molybdopterin-dependent enzymes

Disserta����o para obten����o do Grau de Doutor em Bioqu��mica, Especialidade Bioqu��mica Estrutural

In Portugal (1912): Aubrey Bell's depiction of Portuguese society under the First Republic

Disserta����o apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necess��rios �� obten����o do grau de Mestre em L��nguas, Culturas e Literaturas Modernas

Constraint-based verification of imperative programs

work presented in the context of the European Master���s program in Computational Logic, as the partial requirement for obtaining Master of Science degree in Computational Logic

���Upselling,��� a Peculiar Financial Practice : An Anthropological Contribution to the Deconstruction of a Case Study

Trabalho de Projecto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necess��rios �� obten����o do grau de Mestre em Antropologia dos Direitos Humanos e Movimentos Sociais.

Territorial Strategic Planning as a support instrument for Regional and Local Development : a comparative analysis between Lisbon and Barcelona metropolitan areas - a first approach

Trabalho de Projecto apresentado para cumprimento dos requisitos necess��rios �� obten����o do grau de Mestre em Metropoliza����o, Planeamento Estrat��gico e Sustentabilidade.