Controlo de qualidade e inspe����o visual por imagem: defini����o de uma aplica����o para registo de altera����es e avalia����o de desempenho

Disserta����o de mestrado em Engenharia e Gest��o da Qualidade

Development of procedures for the design, optimization and manufacturing of customized orthopaedic and trauma implants: Geometrical/anatomical modelling from 3D medical imaging

Tese de Doutoramento (Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Biom��dica)

Avalia����o de vigas de madeira de Castanho tendo por base a classifica����o visual e ensaios n��o destrutivos

Disserta����o de mestrado Internacional em Sustentabilidade do Ambiente Constru��do

Development and characterization of lipid-based nanosystems for controlled release of bioactive compounds

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Qu��mica e Biol��gica.

Ancestry of the Brazilian TP53 c.1010G>A (p.Arg337His, R337H) founder mutation : clues from haplotyping of short tandem repeats on Chromosome 17p

Rare germline mutations in TP53 (17p13.1) cause a highly penetrant predisposition to a specific spectrum of early cancers, defining the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS). A germline mutation at codon 337 (p.Arg337His, c1010G>A) is found in about 0.3% of the population of Southern Brazil. This mutation is associated with partially penetrant LFS traits and is found in the germline of patients with early cancers of the LFS spectrum unselected for familial his- tory. To characterize the extended haplotypes carrying the mutation, we have genotyped 9 short tandem repeats on chromosome 17p in 12 trios of Brazilian p.Arg337His carriers. Results confirm that all share a common ancestor haplotype of Caucasian/Portuguese-Ibe- ric origin, distant in about 72���84 generations (2000 years assuming a 25 years intergenera- tional distance) and thus pre-dating European migration to Brazil. So far, the founder p. Arg337His haplotype has not been detected outside Brazil, with the exception of two resi- dents of Portugal, one of them of Brazilian origin. On the other hand, increased meiotic recombination in p.Arg337His carriers may account for higher than expected haplotype diversity. Further studies comparing haplotypes in populations of Brazil and of other areas of Portuguese migration are needed to understand the historical context of this mutation in Brazil.

Impact of TGF-��1 -509C/T and 869T/C polymorphisms on glioma risk and patient prognosis

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-��) plays an important role in carcinogenesis. Two polymorphisms in the TGF-��1 gene (-509C/T and 869T/C) were described to influence susceptibility to gastric and breast cancers. The 869T/C polymorphism was also associated with overall survival in breast cancer patients. In the present study, we investigated the relevance of these TGF-��1 polymorphism in glioma risk and prognosis. A case-control study that included 114 glioma patients and 138 cancer-free controls was performed. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to calculate odds ratio (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CI). The influence of TGF-��1 -509C/T and 869T/C polymorphisms on glioma patient survival was evaluated by a Cox regression model adjusted for patients' age and sex and represented in Kaplan-Meier curves. Our results demonstrated that TGF-��1 gene polymorphisms -509C/T and 869T/C are not significantly associated with glioma risk. Survival analyses showed that the homozygous -509TT genotype associates with longer overall survival of glioblastoma (GBM) patients when compared with patients carrying CC + CT genotypes (OR, 2.41; 95 % CI, 1.06-5.50; p = 0.036). In addition, the homozygous 869CC genotype is associated with increased overall survival of GBM patients when compared with 869TT + TC genotypes (OR, 2.62; 95 % CI, 1.11-6.17; p = 0.027). In conclusion, this study suggests that TGF-��1 -509C/T and 869T/C polymorphisms are not significantly associated with risk for developing gliomas but may be relevant prognostic biomarkers in GBM patients.

Rheological characterization of EVA and HDPE polymer modified bitumens under large deformation at 20 �� C

Large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) coupled with Fourier transform rheology (FTR) was used for the first time to characterize the large deformation behavior of selected bituminous binders at 20 C. Two polymer modified bitumens (PMB) containing recycled EVA and HDPE and two unmodified bitumens were tested with LAOS-FTR. The LAOS-FTR response of all binders was compared at same frequency, at same Deborah number (by tuning the frequency to the relaxation time of each binder) and at same phase shift angle d (by tuning the frequency to the one corresponding to d = 50 in the SAOS response of each sample). In all the approaches, LAOS-FTR results allowed to differentiate between all the nonlinear mechanical characteristics of the tested binders. All binders show LAOS-FTR patterns reminiscent from colloidal dispersions and emulsions. EVA PMB was less prone to strain-induced microstructural changes when compared to HDPE PMB which showed larger values of nonlinear FTR parameters for the range of shear strains tested in LAOS.

Promo����o da motiva����o e da autonomia com recurso ��s tecnologias de informa����o e comunica����o em alunos normovisuais e em alunos com defici��ncia visual

Relat��rio de est��gio de mestrado em Ensino de Inform��tica

High performance screen printable lithium-ion battery cathode ink based on C-LiFePO4

Lithium-ion battery cathodes have been fabricated by screen-printing through the development of CLiFePO4 inks. It is shown that shear thinning polymer solutions in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) with Newtonian viscosity above 0.4 Pa s are the best binders for formulating a cathode paste with satisfactory film forming properties. The paste shows an elasticity of the order of 500 Pa and, after shear yielding, shows an apparent viscosity of the order of 3 Pa s for shear rates corresponding to those used during screen-printing. The screen-printed cathode produced with a thickness of 26 mm shows a homogeneous distribution of the active material, conductive additive and polymer binder. The total resistance and diffusion coefficient of the cathode are 450 V and 2.5 10 16cm2 s 1, respectively. The developed cathodes show an initial discharge capacity of 48.2 mAh g 1 at 5C and a discharge value of 39.8 mAh g 1 after 50 cycles. The capacity retention of 83% represents 23% of the theoretical value (charge and/or discharge process in twenty minutes), demonstrating the good performance of the battery. Thus, the developed C-LiFePO4 based inks allow to fabricate screen-printed cathodes suitable for printed lithium-ion batteries

Conflito e trauma: XVI Col��quio de Outono

It has been the main concern of CEHUM, as a Research Centre within the Humanities which operates in an inter and transdisciplinary structure to listen attentively to the ���noise of the world��� and attempt a global interpretation of the signs of the times issuing from the world around us, as vibrant echoes of many social and cultural pressing issues. Every year each new Col��quio de Outono attempts to give evidence of that concern through the topic chosen for debate, ample enough and challenging enough to trigger a lively multidisciplinary dialogue amongst the diff erent research groups that compose this centre, the participants and our invited guest speakers. Throughout the three days of this 16th Col��quio de Outono we had the privilege to debate the propositions of a vast number of national and international specialists in the manifold fi elds of inquiry here represented, engaging keynote speakers, project advisors, members of research teams and external researchers attached to the various research projects currently running in CEHUM, in the fi elds of literature, linguistics, philosophy, ethics, visual arts, cultural studies, music and performance. Each specifi c fi eld of studies was however never seen isolated, but always embodied in a geo-cultural context and within the scope of a wide variety of critical debates and current theories of knowledge, as a signal of our understanding of the Humanities as a rich and plural territory which engages us all, scholars, researchers, students.

Inclus��o de alunos com necessidades educativas especiais na escola regular: perce����es de professores do ensino prim��rio na Regi��o Acad��mica IV - Angola

Disserta����o de mestrado em Educa����o Especial (��rea de especializa����o em Dificuldades de Aprendizagem Espec��ficas)

A comunica����o online: a p��gina Web como o BIO Empresarial: estrat��gias de comunica����o visual e web design

Disserta����o de mestrado em Ci��ncias da Comunica����o (��rea de especializa����o em Audiovisuais e Multim��dia)

Antibacterial Ag/a-C nanocomposite coatings: The influence of nano-galvanic a-C and Ag couples on Ag ionization rates

Biofilm formation has been pointed as a major concern in different industrial applications, namely on biomedical implants and surgical instruments, which has prompted the development of new strategies for production of efficient antimicrobial surfaces. In this work, nano ��galvanic couples were created to enhance the antibacterial properties of silver, by embedding it into amorphous carbon (a-C) matrix. The developed Ag/a-C nanocomposite coatings, deposited by magnetron sputtering, revealed an outstanding antibacterial activity against S.epidermidis, promoting a total reduction in biofilm formation with no bacteria counts in all dilution. The open circuit potential (OCP) tests in 0.9% NaCl confirmed that a-C shows a positive \OCP\ value, in contrast to Ag coating, thus enhancing the ionization of biocidal Ag+ due to the nano-galvanic couple activation. This result was confirmed by the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), which revealed a higher Ag ionization rate in the nanocomposite coating in comparison with the Ag coating. The surface of Ag/a-C and Ag coatings immersed in 0.9% NaCl were monitored by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) over a period of 24 hours, being found that the Ag ionization determined by ICP-OES was accompanied by an Ag nanoparticles coalescence and agglomeration in Ag/a-C coating.

Azulejaria portuguesa e a valoriza����o do patrim��nio: interpreta����o de fontes patrimoniais iconogr��ficas por alunos do 1�� e 2�� ciclo do ensino b��sico

Relat��rio de est��gio de mestrado em Ensino do 1.�� e 2.�� Ciclo do Ensino B��sico

Mecanismos de Fotopercepci��n No-Visual y Control Circadiano en la Retina Interna de Vertebrados en Condiciones Fisiol��gicas y en un Modelo Animal de Ceguera. Mechanisms of Non-visual Perception and Circadian Control in the Vertebrate Inner Retina under Physiological Conditions and in Animal Model of Blindness.

La retina juega un rol esencial en el funcionamiento del sistema circadiano de los vertebrados al ser la encargada de sensar las condiciones de iluminaci��n ambiental que ajustan el reloj interno con el fotoper��odo exterior a trav��s de un circuito no-visual. Este circuito es independiente de la v��a de formaci��n de im��genes e involucra a las c��lulas ganglionares retinianas (CGRs) que proyectan a varias estructuras no-visuales del cerebro; esta v��a es la encargada de regular el reflejo pupilar, la sincronizaci��n de los ritmos diarios de actividad, el sue��o y la supresi��n de melatonina pineal. La retina contiene adem��s un reloj aut��nomo que genera ritmos diarios autosostenidos en distintas funciones bioqu��micas y fisiol��gicas, que le confiere la capacidad de predecir el tiempo y anticiparse en su fisiolog��a a los cambios lum��nicos a lo largo del ciclo d��a-noche. Este laboratorio ha demostrado por 1ra vez que las CGRs de pollo poseen osciladores end��genos que generan variaciones diarias en la bios��ntesis de fosfol��pidos (Guido et al, J Neurochem. 2001; Garbarino et al., J Neurosci Res. 2004a) y de la hormona melatonina con niveles m��ximos durante el d��a (Garbarino et al., J Biol Chem 2004b). A��n m��s, cultivos primarios de CGRs responden a la luz a trav��s de una cascada bioqu��mica de fototransducci��n similar a la de invertebrados y que involucra la activaci��n de la enzima fosfolipasa C (PLC) (Contin et al., FASEB J 2006). Estos cultivos fueron obtenidos a estadios embrionarios muy tempranos en d��nde solo las CGRs son postmit��ticas y mayoritariamente maduras. A estos estadios, los cultivos expresan marcadores de especificaci��n de c��lulas ganglionares (pax6, brn3), la proteina Gq y los fotopigmentos melanopsina y criptocromos con gran homolog��a con marcadores descriptos para fotorreceptores rabdom��ricos de invertebrados (Contin et al, 2006). Recientemente comenzamos a investigar la percepci��n de luz en pollos GUCY1*, un modelo de ceguera, en animales que carecen de c��lulas fotorreceptoras-conos y bastones-funcionales. Resultados preliminares indicar��an que la retina interna, y potencialmente las CGRs de estos animales conservar��an la capacidad de responder a la luz regulando el reflejo pupilar y sincronizando los ritmos diarios de alimentaci��n. La convergencia de osciladores y fotopigmentos en la poblaci��n de CGRs podr��a contribuir al control temporal de la fisiolog��a del organismo y regulaci��n de funciones no-visuales. Son objetivos de este proyecto: a) Investigar el rol de las CGRs en el sistema circadiano estudiando: i- su habilidad para sintetizar melatonina y, su regulaci��n por luz y dopamina; ii- su capacidad fotorreceptora intr��nseca, investigando la presencia de fotopigmentos y componentes de la cascada de fototransducci��n fundamentalmente la v��a de los fosfoinos��tidos y la activaci��n de PLC, mediante ensayos moleculares, bioqu��micos y farmacol��gicos; b) Extender estos estudios a cultivos primarios de CGRs inmunopurificadas midiendo la respuesta a la luz sobre la s��ntesis de melatonina, y los niveles de los mensajeros 2rios Ca2+ y AMP c��clico, la inducci��n de genes tempranos y la regulaci��n de la actividad NAT, enzima clave en la s��ntesis de melatonina; y c) Investigar la percepci��n de luz en pollos GUCY1*(ciegos), sobre distintas funciones no-visuales tales como el reflejo pupilar, la sincronizaci��n de los ritmos diarios de alimentaci��n, la s��ntesis de melatonina y la expresi��n g��nica en animales expuestos a estimulaci��n lum��nica de distintas intensidades y longitudes de onda. Estos estudios permitir��n construir el espectro de acci��n de la respuesta a la luz en los pollos ciegos a fin de identificar el/los fotopigmentos intervinientes en este fen��meno. Este proyecto profundizar�� el conocimiento sobre la capacidad fotorreceptora-no visual de la retina interna y particularmente de las CGRs, de la naturaleza de la cascada bioqu��mica que opera en las mismas y de los mecanismos de regeneraci��n del crom��foro utilizado.