Electrospun silk-elastin-like fiber mats for tissue engineering applications

Protein-based polymers are present in a wide variety of organisms fulfilling structural and mechanical roles. Advances in protein engineering and recombinant DNA technology allow the design and production of recombinant protein-based polymers (rPBPs) with an absolute control of its composition. Although the application of recombinant proteins as biomaterials is still an emerging technology, the possibilities are limitless and far superior to natural or synthetic materials, as the complexity of the structural design can be fully customized. In this work, we report the electrospinning of two new genetically engineered silk-elastin-like proteins (SELPs) consisting of alternate silk- and elastin-like blocks. Electrospinning was performed with formic acid and aqueous solutions at different concentrations without addition of further agents. The size and morphology of the electrospun structures was characterized by scanning electron microscopy showing to be dependent of concentration and solvent used. Treatment with air saturated with methanol was employed to stabilize the structure and promote water insolubility through a time-dependent conversion of random coils into β-sheets (FTIR). The resultant methanol-treated electrospun mats were characterized for swelling degree (570-720%), water vapour transmission rate (1083 g/m2/day) and mechanical properties (modulus of elasticity of ~126 MPa). Furthermore, the methanol-treated SELP fiber mats showed no cytotoxicity and were able to support adhesion and proliferation of normal human skin fibroblasts. Adhesion was characterized by a filopodia-mediated mechanism. These results demonstrate that SELP fiber mats can provide promising solutions for the development of novel biomaterials suitable for tissue engineering applications.

Fatigue Prediction on Fibrin Poly-ε-caprolactone Macroporous Scaffolds

Tissue engineering applications rely on scaffolds that during its service life, either for in-vivo or in vitro applications, are under mechanical solicitations. The variation of the mechanical condition of the scaffold is strongly relevant for cell culture and has been scarcely addressed. Fatigue life cycle of poly-ε-caprolactone, PCL, scaffolds with and without fibrin as filler of the pore structure were characterized both dry and immersed in liquid water. It is observed that the there is a strong increase from 100 to 500 in the number of loading cycles before collapse in the samples tested in immersed conditions due to the more uniform stress distributions within the samples, the fibrin loading playing a minor role in the mechanical performance of the scaffolds

O senior executive service (SES): especial referência ao perfil do top public service (TPS) em Portugal

Alguns dos países da OCDE (2002) enfrentam, hoje, problemas relacionados ao emprego público e à sua competitividade (recrutamento, retenção de pessoal, falta crítica de habilidades e competências, etc.). Em nível de recrutamento (OCDE, 2002), os países que já identificaram o problema são o Canadá, a Dinamarca e a Finlândia; a falta crítica de habilidades e de competências foi já identificada por: Itália, Coreia, Noruega, Polónia, Portugal1 , Espanha, Áustria e Alemanha. O desenho e a implementação de estratégias de recursos humanos nas organizações públicas desenrolam-se em ambiente altamente politizado (LACOVIELLO, 1996) e o processo de decisão está sujeito a influências que tomam proporções maiores pelas características particulares que apresentam e pelo conflito essencial que decorre das relações entre políticos e burocratas.

Effect of poling state and morphology of piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) membranes for skeletal muscle tissue engineering

This work reports on the influence of polarization and morphology of electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, on the biological response of myoblast cells. Non-poled, ‘‘poled +’’ and “poled-“ -PVDF were prepared in the form of films. Further, random and aligned electrospun -PVDF fiber mats were also prepared. It is demonstrated that negatively charged surfaces improve cell adhesion and proliferation and that the directional growth of the myoblast cells can be achieved by the cell culture on oriented fibers. Therefore, the potential application of electroative materials for muscle regeneration is demonstrated.

GUIsurfer: A Reverse Engineering Framework for User Interface Software

GUIsurfer: A Reverse Engineering Framework for User Interface Software

The GUISurfer tool: towards a language independent approach to reverse engineering GUI code

Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are critical components of today's software. Developers are dedicating a larger portion of code to implementing them. Given their increased importance, correctness of GUIs code is becoming essential. This paper describes the latest results in the development of GUISurfer, a tool to reverse engineer the GUI layer of interactive computing systems. The ultimate goal of the tool is to enable analysis of interactive system from source code.

Combining Formal Methods and Functional Strategies Regarding the Reverse Engineering of Interactive Applications

Abstract. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) make software easy to use by providing the user with visual controls. Therefore, correctness of GUI’s code is essential to the correct execution of the overall software. Models can help in the evaluation of interactive applications by allowing designers to concentrate on its more important aspects. This paper describes our approach to reverse engineer an abstract model of a user interface directly from the GUI’s legacy code. We also present results from a case study. These results are encouraging and give evidence that the goal of reverse engineering user interfaces can be met with more work on this technique.

Models for the Reverse Engineering of Java/Swing Applications

Abstract. Interest in design and development of graphical user interface (GUIs) is growing in the last few years. However, correctness of GUI's code is essential to the correct execution of the overall software. Models can help in the evaluation of interactive applications by allowing designers to concentrate on its more important aspects. This paper describes our approach to reverse engineering abstract GUI models directly from the Java/Swing code.

Broad and restricted scope of the concept of civil service: a multipolarização do conceito de publica nos modelos hibricos. A capacidade transformadora dos memorados de entendimento: Portugal e Irlanda

Analise do conceito de Função Publica, identificando, á partida, uma dicotomia conceptual, entre um modelo marcadamente continental(broad concept of civil service) e um modelo restrito(restricted scope of the concept of civil service), característico dos países anglo-saxónicos, aflorando a reforma da Administração Publica, na senda da New Public Management, como o caminho para a afirmação de modelos híbridos, com características de laboralização da Função Publica e de flexisegurança, que surgem como consequência da pulverização daquela dicotomia, revelando uma miscigenação entre os modelos iniciais e elementos externos, de acordo com as idiossincrasias de cada país. Posterior estudo de caso, versando sobre Portugal e a Irlanda , dois países que, são contrario do que a tradição anglo- saxónica da Irlanda faria adivinhar, partilham um conceito amplo de Função Publica(broad concept of Civil Service), apoiado num sistema de carreira(carrear sytem). Percorrerem, quase em simultâneo, o caminho de um regate económico-financeiro desenvolvido pelo Fundo Monetário Internacional, Banco Central Europeu e Comissão Europeia. Procurara investiga-se se o acordo firmado entre os dois países e a Troika, materializado nos respectivos Memorando de Entendimento e sucessivas revisões, no período compreendido entre 16 de Dezembro de 2010 e 31 de Dezembro de 2012, introduziu modificações nos respectivos modelos de Função Publica, designadamente forçando-os a uma aproximação do restricted scope of the concept of Civil Service e, com isso, projectando-os para a adopção de modelos híbridos.

An empirical assessment of customer satisfaction and quality of service: comparing SERVQUAL and SERVPERF

This paper assesses the validity and reliability of two instruments measuring quality of service, the SERVPERF and SERVQUAL scales, replicated in a novel cultural settings, a Portuguese energy company. To provide insights and strategies for managerial intervention, a relation between customers’ satisfaction and quality of service is established. The empirical study suggests a superior convergent and predictive validity of SERVPERF scale to measure quality of service in this settings when comparing to SERVQUAL. The main differences of this study with previous ones, are that this one resorts on a confirmatory factor analysis, the validation of the instruments is performed by using the same measures suggested by their creators and extends the line of research to a novel cultural settings, a Portuguese energy company. Concerning the relationship between service quality and customers’ satisfaction, all of the quality of service attributes correlate almost equally to the satisfaction ones, with a lower weight concerning tangibles.

Use of Performance Measurement in the Public Sector: the case of the police service

Many public organisations have been under great pressure in recent years to increase the efficiency and transparency of outputs, to rationalise the use of public resources, and to increase the quality of service delivery. In this context, public organisations were encouraged to introduce the New Public Management reforms with the goal of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the performance organisation through a new public management model. This new public management model is based on measurement by outputs and outcomes, a clear definition of responsibilities, the transparency and accountability of governmental activities, and on a greater value for citizens. What type of performance measurement systems are used in police services? Based on the literature, we see that multidimensional models, such as the Balanced Scorecard, are important in many public organisations, like municipalities, universities, and hospitals. Police services are characterised by complex, diverse objectives and stakeholders. Therefore, performance measurement of these public services calls for a specific analysis. Based on a nationwide survey of all police chiefs of the Portuguese police force, we find that employee performance measurement is the main form of measurement. Also, we propose a strategic map for the Portuguese police service.