Anatomical and energy characteristics of charcoal made from five species

Charcoal is an important energy raw material and its properties are influenced by the wood's anatomical and chemical composition and the production process. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anatomical characteristics, calorific power and volatiles and ash content of carbonized wood from Byrsonima spicata, Calophyllum brasiliense, Cecropia sciadophylla, Cochlospermum orinocense and Schefflera morototoni. The calorific power varied from 26,878 to 31,117 kJ kg-1; the content of volatile materials ranged from 20.9 to 31.7%; ash content ranged from 0.1 to 3.8%; and carbon content varied from 68.2 to 75.3%. Anatomical structures of charcoal can be used for species identification. The studied species are not indicated for charcoal production because the levels of ash and volatile compounds are higher than those recommended for charcoal produced for household use. In addition, the calorific power and level of carbon content are insufficient for use in the steel industry.

Effect of argon ion energy on the performance of silicon nitridemultilayer permeation barriers grown by hot-wire CVD on polymers

One of the authors (S.M.) acknowledges Direction des Relations Extérieures of Ecole Polytechnique for financial support.

Measurement of transverse energy-energy correlations in multi-jet events in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV using the ATLAS detector and determination of the strong coupling constant αs(mZ)

High transverse momentum jets produced in pp collisions at a centre of mass energy of 7 TeV are used to measure the transverse energy--energy correlation function and its associated azimuthal asymmetry. The data were recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in the year 2011 and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 158 pb−1. The selection criteria demand the average transverse momentum of the two leading jets in an event to be larger than 250 GeV. The data at detector level are well described by Monte Carlo event generators. They are unfolded to the particle level and compared with theoretical calculations at next-to-leading-order accuracy. The agreement between data and theory is good and provides a precision test of perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics at large momentum transfers. From this comparison, the strong coupling constant given at the Z boson mass is determined to be αs(mZ)=0.1173±0.0010 (exp.) +0.0065−0.0026 (theo.).

Search for metastable heavy charged particles with large ionisation energy loss in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV using the ATLAS experiment

Many extensions of the Standard Model predict the existence of charged heavy long-lived particles, such as R-hadrons or charginos. These particles, if produced at the Large Hadron Collider, should be moving non-relativistically and are therefore identifiable through the measurement of an anomalously large specific energy loss in the ATLAS pixel detector. Measuring heavy long-lived particles through their track parameters in the vicinity of the interaction vertex provides sensitivity to metastable particles with lifetimes from 0.6 ns to 30 ns. A search for such particles with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is presented, based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.4 fb−1 of pp collisions at s√ = 8 TeV. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background expectation is observed, and lifetime-dependent upper limits on R-hadrons and chargino production are set. Gluino R-hadrons with 10 ns lifetime and masses up to 1185 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level, and so are charginos with 15 ns lifetime and masses up to 482 GeV.

Optimization of magnetoelectric composites based on electroactive polymers for energy harvesting and sensor application

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia de Materiais.

Biomaterials for cartilage tissue engineering under mechanical stimulus

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências (Especialidade de Física)

A novel hanging spherical drop system for the generation of cellular spheroids and high throughput combinatorial drug screening

We propose a novel hanging spherical drop system for anchoring arrays of droplets of cell suspension based on the use of biomimetic superhydrophobic flat substrates, with controlled positional adhesion and minimum contact with a solid substrate. By facing down the platform, it was possible to generate independent spheroid bodies in a high throughput manner, in order to mimic in vivo tumour models on the lab-on-chip scale. To validate this system for drug screening purposes, the toxicity of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin in cell spheroids was tested and compared to cells in 2D culture. The advantages presented by this platform, such as feasibility of the system and the ability to control the size uniformity of the spheroid, emphasize its potential to be used as a new low cost toolbox for high-throughput drug screening and in cell or tissue engineering.

Current Challenges in Modeling Cellular Metabolism

Mathematical and computational models play an essential role in understanding the cellular metabolism. They are used as platforms to integrate current knowledge on a biological system and to systematically test and predict the effect of manipulations to such systems. The recent advances in genome sequencing techniques have facilitated the reconstruction of genome-scale metabolic networks for a wide variety of organisms from microbes to human cells. These models have been successfully used in multiple biotechnological applications. Despite these advancements, modeling cellular metabolism still presents many challenges. The aim of this Research Topic is not only to expose and consolidate the state-of-the-art in metabolic modeling approaches, but also to push this frontier beyond the current edge through the introduction of innovative solutions. The articles presented in this e-book address some of the main challenges in the field, including the integration of different modeling formalisms, the integration of heterogeneous data sources into metabolic models, explicit representation of other biological processes during phenotype simulation, and standardization efforts in the representation of metabolic models and simulation results.

Searching for therapeutic strategies in a mouse modelo of Machado-Joseph disease: targeting proteostases

Tese de Doutoramento em Ciências da Saúde

Closed hybrid hierarchical reservoirs based on the deconstruction of the cellular native microenvironment

The stem cell niche organization and dynamics provide valuable cues for the development of mimetic environments that could have potential to stimulate the regenerative process. We propose the use of biodegradable biomaterials to produce closed miniaturised structures able to encapsulate different cell types or bioactive molecules. In particular, capsules are fabricated using the so-called layer-by-layer technology, where the consecutive (nano-sized) layers are well stabilized by electrostatic interactions or other weak forces. Using alginate-based spherical templates containing cells or other elements (e.g. proteins, magnetic nanoparticles, microparticles) it is possible to produce liquefied capsules that may entrap the entire cargo under mild conditions. The inclusion of liquefied micropcapsules may be used to produce hierarchical compartmentalised systems for the delivery of bioactive agents. The presence of solid microparticles inside such capsules offers adequate surface area for adherent cell attachment increasing the biological performance of these hierarchical systems, while maintain both permeability and injectability. We demonstrated that the encapsulation of distinct cell types (including mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial cells) enhances the osteogenic capability of this system, that could be useful in bone tissue engineering applications.

Glucose addiction in cancer therapy : advances and drawbacks

Glucose addiction in cancer therapy: advances and drawbacks.

Energy production from lipids by novel anaerobes

[Excerpt] Anaerobic microbial diversity encloses a very high potential that can be used for biotechnological applications. This potential is still largely unexplored, since the majority of the microorganisms in Nature are unknown or poorly characterized. This work is focused on the study of novel anaerobic microorganisms that participate in the metabolism of lipids, long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and glycerol, with the main goal of producing valuable energy-rich organic compounds. For that, conventional anaerobic culturing procedures were combined with continuous bioreactors operation and allied to microbial ecology approaches. Two main examples of the work performed will be presented. (...)

Chemical functionalization in bionanoparticles

Dissertação de mestrado em Biofísica e Bionanossistemas