Innovation in “low-tech” industries: Portuguese footwear industry

ICEIM – International Conference in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Roma, 17-18 de setembro de 2015.

The mineralogy and chemistry of the German and Portuguese tiles used to face a historic building in the Amazon region and their natural susceptibility to tropical weathering

During the 19th century, the most prominent buildings of the city of Belém were faced entirely with tiles manufactured in Portugal and Germany, which now exhibit distinct degrees of degradation. The Pinho mansion is one of the most important of these buildings and was selected for the investigation of the action of the tropical Amazonian climate on the degradation of the tiles. To achieve this objective, the tiles were mapped for organic and inorganic degradation, and samples were collected for analysis. The minerals were determined by XRD, the chemical composition by classical wet methods and SEM/EDS, and the microorganisms under the microscope. The results show that the German and Portuguese tiles are quite different in their composition. While both ceramic bodies are composed of SiO2 and Al2O3, CaO was found only in the Portuguese tile. The low Na2O and K2O contents indicate the addition of materials to reduce the fusion temperature. SiO2 and PbO are the main constituents of the glaze, with CoO and FeO being added as pigment. The ceramic body of the German tiles is constituted of quartz, mullite, and cristobalite, in contrast with the Portuguese tiles, which are made of quartz, gehlenite, diopside, calcite, and feldspars. The glazes are XRD-amorphous. The chemical and mineralogical differences between the German and Portuguese tiles indicate that they were produced from different raw materials under distinct thermal processes. The most prominent weathering-related modifications are the thin layers (German tiles), oxidation stains, dark stains, the detachment of the tile (Portuguese tiles), loss of the glaze and powdering of the ceramic body (Portuguese tiles) through the establishment of Cyanophyta and Bacillariophyta.. The distinct degradation patterns of the tiles exposed to the tropical Amazon climate are a consequence of their distinct mineralogy and chemistry.

Impact of an educational hands-on project on the antimicrobial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties of plants on Portuguese students' awareness, knowledge, and competences

Promoting environmental and health education is crucial to allow students to make conscious decisions based on scientific criteria. The study is based on the outcomes of an Educational Project implemented with Portuguese students and consisted of several activities, exploring pre-existent Scientific Gardens at the School, aiming to investigate the antibacterial, antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties of plant extracts, with posterior incorporation in soaps and creams. A logo and a webpage were also created. The effectiveness of the project was assessed via the application of a questionnaire (pre- and post-test) and observations of the participants in terms of engagement and interaction with all individuals involved in the project. This project increased the knowledge about autochthonous plants and the potential medical properties of the corresponding plant extracts and increased the awareness about the correct design of scientific experiments and the importance of the use of experimental models of disease. The students regarded their experiences as exciting and valuable and believed that the project helped to improve their understanding and increase their interest in these subjects and in science in general. This study emphasizes the importance of raising students’ awareness on the valorization of autochthonous plants and exploitation of their medicinal properties.

The Portuguese language version of social phobia and Anxiety Inventory: analysis of items and internal consistency in a Brazilian sample of 1,014 undergraduate students

OBJECTIVE: Theoretical and empirical analysis of items and internal consistency of the Portuguese-language version of Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI-Portuguese). METHODS: Social phobia experts conducted a 45-item content analysis of the SPAI-Portuguese administered to a sample of 1,014 university students. Item discrimination was evaluated by Student's t test; interitem, mean and item-to-total correlations, by Pearson coefficient; reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: There was 100% agreement among experts concerning the 45 items. On the SPAI-Portuguese 43 items were discriminative (p < 0.05). A few inter-item correlations between both subscales were below 0.2. The mean inter-item correlations were: 0.41 on social phobia subscale; 0.32 on agoraphobia subscale and 0.32 on the SPAI-Portuguese. Item-to-total correlations were all higher then 0.3 (p < 0.001). Cronbach's alphas were: 0.95 on the SPAI-Portuguese; 0.96 on social phobia subscale; 0.85 on agoraphobia subscale. CONCLUSION: The 45-item content analysis revealed appropriateness concerning the underlying construct of the SPAI-Portuguese (social phobia, agoraphobia) with good discriminative capacity on 43 items. The mean inter-item correlations and reliability coefficients demonstrated the SPAI-Portuguese and subscales internal consistency and multidimensionality. No item was suppressed in the SPAI-Portuguese but the authors suggest that a shortened SPAI, in its different versions, could be an even more useful tool for research settings in social phobia.

Sistemas solares e arquitetura: uma relação holística

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Arquitectura

Graphene-based nanostructures: Plasmonics in the THz range

The properties of surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) in graphene are discussed and several possible ways of coupling electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz (THz) spectral range to this type of surface waves are described: (i) the attenuated total reflection (ATR) method employing a prism, (ii) graphene-based gratings or graphene monolayers with modulated conductivity, (iii) a metal stripe on top of the graphene layer, and (iv) a nanoparticle located above it. Potentially interesting for applications SPP effects, such as switching, modulation and polarization of THz radiation, as well as its enhanced absorption in graphene, are considered. The discussion also concerns the impact of the nonlinear properties of graphene, such as optical bistability.

Topography of aligned PNIPAm nanogels determines cell motility and cytoskeleton architecture

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Engenharia Clínica)

Preservation of vernacular schist masonry farm walls

This paper complements the information presented at the CIAV2013 on vernacular build- ings in northern Portugal, and addresses the topic of masonry walls in the rural areas of the northwestern Portuguese coastline. These walls are structural schist masonry constructions, built using ancient tech- niques and locally available resources. The result is a territory built for agricultural exploration, and a landscape imprinted with past social hierarchies and structures. Using the information gathered by the fieldwork study, the paper will present studies on masonry walls with different morphologies, construction materials and building techniques employed. The information presented aims to contribute to enlighten researchers and technicians about these building specificities, to increase the scarce available literature about schist’s potential as construction material, and to enhance the importance of the cultural value of this particular kind of heritage.

Text mining na análise de sentimentos em contextos de big data

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

Validity of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the bipolar spectrum diagnostic scale

OBJECTIVE: Bipolar spectrum disorders (BSDs) are prevalent and frequently unrecognized and undertreated. This report describes the development and validation of the Brazilian version of the bipolar spectrum diagnostic scale (B-BSDS), a screening instrument for bipolar disorders, in an adult psychiatric population. METHOD: 114 consecutive patients attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic completed the B-BSDS. A research psychiatrist, blind to the B-BSDS scores, interviewed patients by means of a modified version of the mood module of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV ("gold standard"). Subthreshold bipolar disorders were defined as recurrent hypomania without a major depressive episode or with fewer symptoms than those required for threshold hypomania. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the B-BSDS evaluated with Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.89 (95% CI; 0.86-0.91). On the basis of the modified SCID, 70 patients (61.4%) of the sample received a diagnosis of BSDs. A B-BSDS screening score of 16 or more items yielded: sensitivity of 0.79 (95% CI; 0.72-0.85), specificity of 0.77 (95% CI; 0.70-0.83), a positive predictive value of 0.85 (95% CI; 0.78-0.91) and a negative predictive value of 0.70 (95% CI; 0.63-0.75). CONCLUSION: The present data demonstrate that the B-BSDS is a valid instrument for the screening of BSDs.

Estratégia para a incorporação de impactes ambientais, sociais e económicos específicos num método de Avaliação da Sustentabilidade de Edifícios de Saúde (HBSA)

The healthcare project design requires a several number of concerns with the satisfaction and well‐being of the working team, patient and administrators, has a strong social responsibility and impact on the city. Due to various design requirements, these buildings are not designed and used in a sustainable way, because there are still no effective methods to support designers in this context. Consequently, they do not know what the best criteria to be followed and their managers are not aware of the measuresthatshould be adopted for efficient use. Furthermore, the aim of this study is to present a proposal for a Healthcare Building Sustainability Assessment (HBSA) method adapted for the Portuguese context and considering the work developed so far in the standardization bodies (CEN and ISO). For this, the chosen methodology is analysed and compared the most relevant building sustainability assessment tools in the context of healthcare buildings.  

Moradias sobredimensionadas dos anos 70‐90 na periferia de Braga: processo de transformação

According to the latest census (2011) covering the Portuguese housing stock, there is a considerable number of sub-occupied buildings and most of them were built before the first Portuguese Thermal Code (RCCTE). In view of the objectives of the European Union (20-20-20), it is necessary to contribute to the rehabilitation of existing buildings by promoting the densification of oversized houses, while complying with up-to-date comfort standards and codes. In this sense, this research is aimed to analyse this problem at the outskirts of Braga, by identifying the type-morphology of oversized buildings, assessing the degree of satisfaction and expectations of both owners and inhabitants and developing and testing a systematic design tool. Through the development of an intervention kit, wich systematizes and priorizes design strategies and solutions, the design team can have the necessary decision-making support tool to improve the spacial design of the building whilst considering energy efficency, sustainability and improvemente of interior environmental quality.

Tradição em continuidade: monitorização das estratégias bioclimáticas das Quintas no Nordeste Transmontano

In recent decades the vernacular architecture has been recognized as an important source of knowledge in the adaptation of construction to the climate and other specific local characteristics. However, the systematized information is still scarce to quantitatively understand the hydrothermal behaviour of bioclimatic strategies identified in previous surveys to this type of architecture. Using the farmsteads in the northeast region of Portugal as a case study, this article presents the results of hygrothermal monitoring carried out during the heating and cooling seasons. The data obtained enabled to verify and quantify the effective performance of the identified bioclimatic strategies, which are presented as opportunities for contemporary architecture.

Hand gesture recognition system based in computer vision and machine learning: Applications on human-machine interaction

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia de Eletrónica e de Computadores

Development of advanced cell/tissue culture systems, based on enhanced polymeric scaffolds and sophisticated bioreactors, for tissue engineering applications

Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Biomédica