Novas dispersões aquosas com morfologia controlada para revestimentos

O objetivo desta dissertação foi o desenvolvimento de dispersões poliméricas acrílicas, passíveis de serem usadas como ligantes em esmaltes aquosos que sejam capazes de conferir características especiais como elevada resistência ao empilhamento e à nódoa, assim como reduzir o impacto no ambiente quer através da utilização de matérias-primas de fontes renováveis, quer pela substituição de esmaltes de base solvente por esmaltes de base aquosa. Depois de uma introdução em que se contextualiza o conhecimento e as práticas nas áreas de polimerização em emulsão e revestimentos decorativos, são descritos e discutidos os resultados das várias etapas de desenvolvimento efetuadas ao longo do qual foram exploradas diferentes vias: - Funcionalização de polímeros acrílicos procurando melhorar as propriedades de superfície através da introdução de monómeros com grupos funcionais amina, epóxido e acetoacetoxilo; - Formulação de dispersões poliméricas com partículas de morfologia heterogénea, otimizando-se as suas propriedades de superfície em função da variação da composição monomérica das diferentes fases, da partição entre as duas fases poliméricas e diferentes níveis de monómero funcional. Complementaram-se os resultados com seleções afinadas baseadas em ensaios delineados através de planeamento de experiências. - Modificação dos produtos obtidos para melhoria de propriedades de resistência à nódoa, através da adição de aditivos específicos; - Teste de emulsionantes com origem em fontes renováveis quer aniónicos, quer não-iónicos. Todas as dispersões aquosas foram caracterizadas de acordo com as suas características mais relevantes entre as quais a temperatura mínima de formação de filme, o tamanho médio de partícula e a formação de grumos. As formulações mais promissoras foram também caracterizadas por 1H - NMR, FTIR, DSC, STEM e AFM). Seguidamente com essas dispersões foram preparados esmaltes com as dispersões aquosas mais promissoras que foram caracterizados exaustivamente em termos de propriedades de relevo para a aplicação decorativa em madeira. Os objetivos principais do trabalho foram atingidos, tendo sido desenvolvido um produto com morfologia heterogénea que apresenta elevada resistência ao empilhamento e propriedades antinódoa aceitáveis capaz de substituir os esmaltes de base solvente. A sua produção foi validada através do fabrico industrial (scale-up) e introdução no mercado. Relativamente à utilização de matérias-primas de fontes renováveis, esta carece ainda de otimizações futuras.

Fine arts edutainment: the amateur painter

A new scheme for painterly rendering (NPR) has been developed. This scheme is based on visual perception, in particular themulti-scale line/edge representation in the visual cortex. The Amateur Painter (TAP) is the user interface on top of the rendering scheme. It allows to (semi)automatically create paintings from photographs, with different types of brush strokes and colour manipulations. In contrast to similar painting tools, TAP has a set of menus that reflects the procedure followed by a normal painter. In addition, menus and options have been designed such that they are very intuitive, avoiding a jungle of sub-menus with options from image processing that children and laymen do not understand. Our goal is to create a tool that is extremely easy to use, with the possibility that the user becomes interested in painting techniques, styles, and fine arts in general.

Feature Engineering in Fine-Grained Image Classification

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2013

Identifying a historic shoreline using fine-scale slope variation

Senior thesis written for Oceanography 445

A Reflective Encounter With the Fine Sand Area in a Nursery School Setting

This article draws on a model of reflection that involves creating meanings through repeated encounters with evocative objects. Responses to one such evocative object, a 20-second video clip of children playing in the fine sand area, illustrates the “turning toward” and then “turning away” from the object to engage with broader themes. Parten’s play types are used when analyzing children’s play in the fine sand area (the evocative object). The focus then turns away to themes of English as a second language, messy play, energies of childhood, and Foucault’s docile bodies. The intention was to integrate loosely formulated research aims relating to quality of the physical environment within the evolving life of the nursery setting to encourage a developing research orientation and reflective dis-position. This way of approaching practitioner research is well adapted to a longer-term engagement with enduring areas of interest, such as developing the potential of the physical environment.

Evaluation of solubility and partition properties of ampicillin-based ionic liquids

In order to overcome the problems associated with low water solubility, and consequently low bioavailability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), herein we explore a modular ionic liquid synthetic strategy for improved APIs. Ionic liquids containing l-ampicillin as active pharmaceutical ingredient anion were prepared using the methodology developed in our previous work, using organic cations selected from substituted ammonium, phosphonium, pyridinium and methylimidazolium salts, with the intent of enhancing the solubility and bioavailability of l-ampicillin forms. In order to evaluate important properties of the synthesized API-ILs, the water solubility at 25 °C and 37 °C (body temperature) as well as octanol–water partition coefficients (Kow's) and HDPC micelles partition at 25 °C were measured. Critical micelle concentrations (CMC's) in water at 25 °C and 37 °C of the pharmaceutical ionic liquids bearing cations with surfactant properties were also determined from ionic conductivity measurements.

Children’s Indoor Exposures to (Ultra)Fine Particles in an Urban Area: Comparison Between School and Home Environments

Due to their detrimental effects on human health, scientific interest in ultrafine particles (UFP), has been increasing but available information is far from comprehensive. Children, who represent one of the most susceptible subpopulation, spend the majority of time in schools and homes. Thus, the aim of this study is to (1) assess indoor levels of particle number concentrations (PNC) in ultrafine and fine (20–1000 nm) range at school and home environments and (2) compare indoor respective dose rates for 3- to 5-yr-old children. Indoor particle number concentrations in range of 20–1000 nm were consecutively measured during 56 d at two preschools (S1 and S2) and three homes (H1–H3) situated in Porto, Portugal. At both preschools different indoor microenvironments, such as classrooms and canteens, were evaluated. The results showed that total mean indoor PNC as determined for all indoor microenvironments were significantly higher at S1 than S2. At homes, indoor levels of PNC with means ranging between 1.09 × 104 and 1.24 × 104 particles/cm3 were 10–70% lower than total indoor means of preschools (1.32 × 104 to 1.84 × 104 particles/cm3). Nevertheless, estimated dose rates of particles were 1.3- to 2.1-fold higher at homes than preschools, mainly due to longer period of time spent at home. Daily activity patterns of 3- to 5-yr-old children significantly influenced overall dose rates of particles. Therefore, future studies focusing on health effects of airborne pollutants always need to account for children’s exposures in different microenvironments such as homes, schools, and transportation modes in order to obtain an accurate representation of children overall exposure.

Discovery and fine mapping of serum protein loci through transethnic meta-analysis.

Many disorders are associated with altered serum protein concentrations, including malnutrition, cancer, and cardiovascular, kidney, and inflammatory diseases. Although these protein concentrations are highly heritable, relatively little is known about their underlying genetic determinants. Through transethnic meta-analysis of European-ancestry and Japanese genome-wide association studies, we identified six loci at genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10(-8)) for serum albumin (HPN-SCN1B, GCKR-FNDC4, SERPINF2-WDR81, TNFRSF11A-ZCCHC2, FRMD5-WDR76, and RPS11-FCGRT, in up to 53,190 European-ancestry and 9,380 Japanese individuals) and three loci for total protein (TNFRS13B, 6q21.3, and ELL2, in up to 25,539 European-ancestry and 10,168 Japanese individuals). We observed little evidence of heterogeneity in allelic effects at these loci between groups of European and Japanese ancestry but obtained substantial improvements in the resolution of fine mapping of potential causal variants by leveraging transethnic differences in the distribution of linkage disequilibrium. We demonstrated a functional role for the most strongly associated serum albumin locus, HPN, for which Hpn knockout mice manifest low plasma albumin concentrations. Other loci associated with serum albumin harbor genes related to ribosome function, protein translation, and proteasomal degradation, whereas those associated with serum total protein include genes related to immune function. Our results highlight the advantages of transethnic meta-analysis for the discovery and fine mapping of complex trait loci and have provided initial insights into the underlying genetic architecture of serum protein concentrations and their association with human disease.

Use of fine-needle aspirate calcitonin to detect medullary thyroid carcinoma: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of calcitonin in washout fluids of thyroid nodule aspirate (FNA-calcitonin) has been reported as accurate to detect medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). The results from these studies have been promising and the most updated version of ATA guidelines quoted for the first time that "FNA findings that are inconclusive or suggestive of MTC should have calcitonin measured in the FNA washout fluid." Here we aimed to systematically review published data on this topic to provide more robust estimates. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A comprehensive computer literature search of the medical databases was conducted by searching for the terms "calcitonin" AND "washout." The search was updated until April 2015. RESULTS: Twelve relevant studies, published between 2007 and 2014, were found. Overall, 413 thyroid nodules or neck lymph nodes underwent FNA-calcitonin, 95 were MTC lesions and 93 (97.9%) of these were correctly detected by this measurement regardless of their cytologic report. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that the above ATA recommendation is well supported. Almost all MTC lesions are correctly detected by FNA-calcitonin and this technique should be used to avoid false negative or inconclusive results from cytology. The routine determination of serum calcitonin in patients undergoing FNA should improve the selection of patients at risk for MTC, guiding the use of FNA-calcitonin in the same FNA sample and providing useful information to the cytopathologist for the morphological assessment and the application of tailored ancillary tests.

S. Hierenymi commentariorum in Hieremiam prophetam libri V et VI, fine mutilus.

Seconde partie du ms. 397 de la bibliothèque de Lyon.

Gratiani decretum, cum glossis anonymi : initio distinctiones duae et in fine nonnulla desiderantur

Colbertinus

1.° Legendae Sanctorum : authore Jacobo de Voragine, Januensi, ordinis Praedicatorum. — 2.° Vita sancti Willelmi, Abbatis primi Fiscannensis. — 3.° Adsonis, Monachi, ad Gerbergam, Franciae Reginam, epistola de ortu et tempore Antichristi. — 4.° Syntagma de Sibylla, sive vaticinatio de mundi fine.

Bigotianus

Compendio di gesti del magnanimo et gloriosissimo Signore Sforza, inc[ipiente] dal tempo de la sua natiuità fine a la morte sua, compiliato in vulgare per Antonio Placentino nel anne MCCCCLVIII in Milano sotto lo Illustrissimo Signore Francesco Sforza Duca Duca quarto. (In fine: " Bartholomeus Gambagnola Cremonensis scripsit mandato Mag[nifi]ci domini Marchisini stanghe ducalis secretarii Die uigesimo septembris MCCCCLXXXX primo ". Membran. Con finissime miniature a f. 1 e 5. Il f. 4 è occupato da una mirabile miniatura rappresentante un guerriero a cavallo; sotto, leggesi: " Sfortia Atendolus italicorum ducum clarissimus ". Il suo ritratto è miniato anche a f. 5: nel margine inferiore della prima pagina è quello di Francesco Sforza. Nel corpo del testo molte lettere iniziali sono miniate).

Visconti. Saisi par Louis XII dans la bibliothèque des ducs de Milan à Pavie . N° 1466 du catalogue de 1544 et cote "Des vulgaires italiens pulpito 1°" de la Librairie royale de Blois ; — n° 2826 du catalogue de la Bibliothèque du roi à Paris à la fin du XVIe s.