Structural transformation and specialization patterns in the product space: assessing China and India

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Quantification and characterization of the phenolic compounds of kenaf leaves

Dissertation for the Master Degree in Technology and Food Security

Development of suberin films driven by an ionic liquid-based depolymerisation process

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Chemistry

Creating greater value for biomass residues

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Engineering Sciences and Technology

Teleoperation of a service robot using a mobile device

Teleoperation is a concept born with the rapid evolution of technology, with an intuitive meaning "operate at a distance." The first teleoperation system was created in the mid 1950s, which were handled chemicals. Remote controlled systems are present nowadays in various types of applications. This dissertation presents the development of a mobile application to perform the teleoperation of a mobile service robot. The application integrates a distributed surveillance (the result of a research project QREN) and led to the development of a communication interface between the robot (the result of another QREN project) and the vigilance system. It was necessary to specify a communication protocol between the two systems, which was implemented over a communication framework 0MQ (Zero Message Queue). For the testing, three prototype applications were developed before to perform the test on the robot.

Bioremediation and CO2 scavenging using molybdenum-containing enzymes

Carbon dioxide valorization, will not only help to relieve the greenhouse effect but might also allow us to transform it in value-added chemicals that will help overcoming the energy crisis. To accomplish this goal, more research that focus on sequestering CO2 and endeavors through a carbon-neutral or carbon-negative strategy is needed in order to handle with the dwindling fossil fuel supplies and their environmental impact. Formate dehydrogenases are a promising means of turning CO2 into a biofuel that will allow for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and for a significant change to the economic paramount. The main objective of this work was to assess whether a NAD+-independent molybdenum-containing formate dehydrogenase is able to catalyze the reduction of CO2 to formate. To achieve this, a molybdenum-containing formate dehydrogenase was isolated from the sulfate reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774. Growth conditions were found that allowed for a greater cellular mass recovery and formate dehydrogenase expression. After growth trials, kinetic assays for formate oxidation and CO2 reduction were performed and kinetic parameters determined. For the formate oxidation reaction, a KM of 49 μM and a turnover constant of 146 s-1 were determined. These kinetic parameters are in agreement with those determined by Mota, et al. (2011). Finally, we found that this molybdenum-containing enzyme was able to catalyze the reduction of CO2 to formate with a turnover constant of 4.6 s-1 and a KM of 13 μM. For the first time a NAD+-independent molybdenum-containing formate dehydrogenase was found to catalyze CO2 reduction, allowing its use as a biocatalyst in energetically efficient CO2 fixation processes that can be directed towards bioremediation or as an alternative and renewable energy source. Characterizing these enzymes may lead to the development of more efficient synthetic catalysts, make them readily available and more suited for practical applications.

The establishment mode choice of German multinational enterprises in Brazil: A comparative approach

We examine the drivers behind the establishment mode choice of German multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the sectors of Automotive, Chemicals and Mechanical Engineering in Brazil for the years 1993-2013 using a novel sample of primary data obtained directly from German MNEs. Based on prevalent theories found in the literature, we test the most common hypotheses on our sample. Firms with high R&D activities and firms with prior market knowledge in Brazil in from of previous sales offices are more likely to enter Brazil by a Greenfield investment. We also show that it is the specific private ownership of the German so-called hidden champions that drive those specific SMEs to enter Brazil by Greenfield, a sneaking suspicion that has been made before. Finally, we show that the establishment mode choice between Brazil and the USA only deviates to a low extent, with German MNEs preferring to enter Brazil by Greenfield and the USA by M&A. Thereby, we provide valuable insights for future research in this field.

Optimal design and operation of compact simulated moving bed processes for enantioseparations

Simulated moving bed (SMB) chromatography is attracting more and more attention since it is a powerful technique for complex separation tasks. Nowadays, more than 60% of preparative SMB units are installed in the pharmaceutical and in the food in- dustry [SDI, Preparative and Process Liquid Chromatography: The Future of Process Separations, International Strategic Directions, Los Angeles, USA, 2002. http://www. strategicdirections.com]. Chromatography is the method of choice in these ¯elds, be- cause often pharmaceuticals and ¯ne-chemicals have physico-chemical properties which di®er little from those of the by-products, and they may be thermally instable. In these cases, standard separation techniques as distillation and extraction are not applicable. The noteworthiness of preparative chromatography, particulary SMB process, as a sep- aration and puri¯cation process in the above mentioned industries has been increasing, due to its °exibility, energy e±ciency and higher product purity performance. Consequently, a new SMB paradigm is requested by the large number of potential small- scale applications of the SMB technology, which exploits the °exibility and versatility of the technology. In this new SMB paradigm, a number of possibilities for improving SMB performance through variation of parameters during a switching interval, are pushing the trend toward the use of units with smaller number of columns because less stationary phase is used and the setup is more economical. This is especially important for the phar- maceutical industry, where SMBs are seen as multipurpose units that can be applied to di®erent separations in all stages of the drug-development cycle. In order to reduce the experimental e®ort and accordingly the coast associated with the development of separation processes, simulation models are intensively used. One impor- tant aspect in this context refers to the determination of the adsorption isotherms in SMB chromatography, where separations are usually carried out under strongly nonlinear conditions in order to achieve higher productivities. The accurate determination of the competitive adsorption equilibrium of the enantiomeric species is thus of fundamental importance to allow computer-assisted optimization or process scale-up. Two major SMB operating problems are apparent at production scale: the assessment of product quality and the maintenance of long-term stable and controlled operation. Constraints regarding product purity, dictated by pharmaceutical and food regulatory organizations, have drastically increased the demand for product quality control. The strict imposed regulations are increasing the need for developing optically pure drugs.(...)

Effects of medical therapy, alcohol, smoking, and endocrine disruptors on male infertility

Infertility affects up to 15% of the sexually active population, and in 50% of cases, a male factor is involved, either as a primary problem or in combination with a problem in the female partner. Because many commonly encountered drugs and medications can have a detrimental effect on male fertility, the medical evaluation should include a discussion regarding the use of recreational and illicit drugs, medications, and other substances that may impair fertility. With the knowledge of which drugs and medications may be detrimental to fertility, it may be possible to modify medication regimens or convince a patient to modify habits to decrease adverse effects on fertility and improve the chances of achieving a successful pregnancy. Concern is growing that male sexual development and reproduction have changed for the worse over the past 30 to 50 years. Although some reports find no changes, others suggest that sperm counts appear to be decreasing and that the incidence of developmental abnormalities such as hypospadias and cryptorchidism appears to be increasing, as is the incidence of testicular cancer. These concerns center around the possibility that our environment is contaminated with chemicals - both natural and synthetic - that can interact with the endocrine system.

Fuel switching

The present Master dissertation is a project whose main objective is to identify value creation opportunities through fuel switching in the Portuguese industry, services, agriculture and fishing sectors. Fuel switching opportunities are characterized by type of fuel transition, type of technology transition, economy subsectors prone to have fuel switching and value created through fuel shift. Results suggest tomato concentrate, dairy, beer manufacturing and sugar refining subsectors is where prevalence of fuel oil steam boilers is high, for such cases conversion to natural gas steam boilers should result in operations having a ratio of NPV over CAPEX larger than ten and a payback period just under one year. Results further suggest food, beverages, textile, chemicals and wood subsectors currently operate between ten and twenty cogeneration Diesel engines that can be either modified to operate with natural gas or replaced by new natural gas cogeneration systems. Financial modeling indicates that both options have great value creation potential. The current analysis aims to be used by natural gas suppliers and energy project promoters to identify new potential deals as well as by heavy energy consumers to mitigate their energy related costs.

Prevention in underground construction with sequential excavation method

This paper aims to describe the Sequential Excavation Method, used for excava-tion in underground works, as well as the related risks and preventive measures. This method has characteristics that differentiate it from other tunnelling techniques: it uses a larger number of workers and equipment; it has a high concurrency of tasks with various workers and equip-ment quite exposed to hazards; and it uses many potentially aggressive chemicals. Firstly, it is given a broad overview of this issue. Afterwards, it will be presented the results of a survey to a sample of experienced technicians, aimed at gauging the relevance of a set of guidelines relat-ing to the design and work phases, applicable to the domestic market and prepared following technical visits to works abroad.

Estudo do trabalho numa empresa de produção de pneus e implementação de ferramentas Lean

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industrial

Algorithms and tools for in silico design of cell factories

PhD thesis in Bioengineering

Improvement of in silico strain engineering methods in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

PhD thesis in Bioengineering

A cost study of common surface finish systems for steel structures

This paper presents part of a study aimed at finding a suitable, yet cost-effective, surface finish for a steel structure subject to the car washing environment and corrosive chemicals. The initial, life cycle and average equivalent annual (AEAC) costs for surface finishing methods were calculated for a steel structure using the LCCC algorithm developed by American Galvanizers Association (AGA). The cost study consisted of 45 common surface finish systems including: hot-dip galvanization (HDG), metallization, acrylic, alkyd and epoxy as well as duplex coatings such as epoxy zinc and inorganic zinc (IOZ). The results show that initial, life cycle and AEAC costs for hot dip galvanization are the lowest among all the other methods, followed by coal tar epoxy painting. The annual average cost of HDG for this structure was estimated about €0.22/m2, while the other cost-effective alternatives were: IOZ, polyurea, epoxy waterborne and IOZ/epoxy duplex coating.