Design and development of a microfluidic platform for use with colorimetric gold nanoprobe assays

Due to the importance and wide applications of the DNA analysis, there is a need to make genetic analysis more available and more affordable. As such, the aim of this PhD thesis is to optimize a colorimetric DNA biosensor based on gold nanoprobes developed in CEMOP by reducing its price and the needed volume of solution without compromising the device sensitivity and reliability, towards the point of care use. Firstly, the price of the biosensor was decreased by replacing the silicon photodetector by a low cost, solution processed TiO2 photodetector. To further reduce the photodetector price, a novel fabrication method was developed: a cost-effective inkjet printing technology that enabled to increase TiO2 surface area. Secondly, the DNA biosensor was optimized by means of microfluidics that offer advantages of miniaturization, much lower sample/reagents consumption, enhanced system performance and functionality by integrating different components. In the developed microfluidic platform, the optical path length was extended by detecting along the channel and the light was transmitted by optical fibres enabling to guide the light very close to the analysed solution. Microfluidic chip of high aspect ratio (~13), smooth and nearly vertical sidewalls was fabricated in PDMS using a SU-8 mould for patterning. The platform coupled to the gold nanoprobe assay enabled detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using 3 8l on DNA solution, i.e. 20 times less than in the previous state-of-the-art. Subsequently, the bio-microfluidic platform was optimized in terms of cost, electrical signal processing and sensitivity to colour variation, yielding 160% improvement of colorimetric AuNPs analysis. Planar microlenses were incorporated to converge light into the sample and then to the output fibre core increasing 6 times the signal-to-losses ratio. The optimized platform enabled detection of single nucleotide polymorphism related with obesity risk (FTO) using target DNA concentration below the limit of detection of the conventionally used microplate reader (i.e. 15 ng/μl) with 10 times lower solution volume (3 μl). The combination of the unique optical properties of gold nanoprobes with microfluidic platform resulted in sensitive and accurate sensor for single nucleotide polymorphism detection operating using small volumes of solutions and without the need for substrate functionalization or sophisticated instrumentation. Simultaneously, to enable on chip reagents mixing, a PDMS micromixer was developed and optimized for the highest efficiency, low pressure drop and short mixing length. The optimized device shows 80% of mixing efficiency at Re = 0.1 in 2.5 mm long mixer with the pressure drop of 6 Pa, satisfying requirements for the application in the microfluidic platform for DNA analysis.

Business concept design of an innovative product: Partnership between Nmusic and Rovio Entertainment Ltd.

Field Lab in Entrepreneurial Innovative Ventures

Rehabilitation of renders of old buildings in Portugal: survey, supporting methodology proposal and case study

The main purpose of the research is to present a proposal for a methodology to support the rehabilitation project of renders of old buildings in Portugal. To achieve the objective it was considered essential to define the main types of participants and aspects to integrate the proposal. The research methodology consists in an inquiry presented to professional participants in rehabilitation, a market study of materials and products available in Portugal, the design of a methodology proposal and its application to a case study. The inquiry sample totals 24 answers from the targeted professionals. A sequence of relevant supporting procedures consists in the proposal, which aims to provide a supporting methodology to decide and project in this context and also to be tested with its application to the building. This proposal was applied to an old building with load-bearing stone masonry walls and air-lime based renders. It was concluded that the assessment of the building and external renderings’ condition, its diagnosis and of the supporting walls, the definition of intervention, the specification of materials to be used and performance requirements to comply, and also plans for conservation and periodic maintenance, are crucial. From the inquiry, compatibility between materials and complementary roles and points of view of different types of participants in rehabilitation must be highlighted. A proposal for a methodology to support the project could provide useful guidance particularly for architects and construction engineers, and improve the understanding of direct participants on site, therefore contributing for the correct implementation of intervention.

The quest for growth in the German organic food retail market: Historical trends, current strategies, and future outlook

This paper aims to provide strategies for the organic supermarket chain “Alnatura” to shape the demand and its market share of the organic food & beverage (F&B) market in Germany within the next five years. Through the historic evolution and the current market assessment of Germany, compared to a benchmark country (US), as well as prospective trends in Germany, reasons and opportunities for market growth are evaluated. In addition, an industry attractiveness, competitor and company analysis is executed. Based on those findings and a conducted survey, suggestions to adjust Alnatura´s current business strategies are deduced and finally examined on its risk and feasibility.

The impact of online promotional efforts on customer acquisitiom and retention at continente.pt

Continente Online (COL) is the market leader of online grocery retailing in Portugal. Aiming at sustaining this position, it has been focusing its promotional efforts in acquiring and retaining customers. This report intakes an extensive study on the impact of COL’s exclusive promotional efforts (free delivery offers and ten percent discounts on loyalty card) on customer acquisition and retention, as well as, a cost analysis on these offers. Two econometric models were developed and the results were interesting. It was concluded that free delivery offers have a significant impact both in terms of customer acquisition and retention, having also a lower cost in comparison with ten percent on loyalty card discounts.

The future of airline business models:

This research is titled “The Future of Airline Business Models: Which Will Win?” and it is part of the requirements for the award of a Masters in Management from NOVA BSE and another from Luiss Guido Carlo University. The purpose is to elaborate a complete market analysis of the European Air Transportation Industry in order to predict which Airlines, strategies and business models may be successful in the next years. First, an extensive literature review of the business model concept has been done. Then, a detailed overview of the main European Airlines and the strategies that they have been implementing so far has been developed. Finally, the research is illustrated with three case studies

Universal banks and corporate control: Evidence from the global syndicated loan market

We investigate the effects of bank control over borrower firms whether by representation on boards of directors or by the holding of shares through bank asset management divisions. Using a large sample of syndicated loans, we find that banks are more likely to act as lead arrangers in loans when they exert some control over the borrower firm. Bank-firm governance links are associated with higher loan spreads during the 2003-2006 credit boom, but lower spreads during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Additionally, these links mitigate credit rationing effects during the crisis. The results are robust to several methods to correct for the endogeneity of the bank- firm governance link. Our evidence, consistent with intertemporal smoothing of loan rates, suggests there are costs and benefits from banks’ involvement in firm governance.

Rehabilitation of renders of old buildings in Portugal: survey, supporting methodology proposal and case studies

The main purpose of the research is to present a proposal for a methodology to support the rehabilitation project of renders of old buildings. To achieve the objective it was considered essential to define the main types of participants and aspects to integrate the proposal. The research methodology consists in an inquiry presented to several professional participants in rehabilitation, a market study of materials and products available in Portugal, the design of a methodology proposal and its application to a case study. The inquiry sample totals 24 answers from the targeted professionals. A sequence of relevant supporting procedures consists in the proposal, which aims to provide a supporting methodology to decide and project in this context and also to be tested with its application to the building. This proposal was applied to an old building with load-bearing stone masonry walls and air-lime based renders. It was concluded that the assessment of the building and external renderings’ condition, its diagnosis and of the supporting walls, the definition of intervention, the specification of materials to be used and performance requirements to comply, and also plans for conservation and periodic maintenance, are crucial. From the inquiry, compatibility between materials and complementary roles and points of view of different types of participants in rehabilitation must be highlighted. A proposal for a methodology to support the project could provide useful guidance particularly for architects and construction engineers, and improve the understanding of direct participants on site, therefore contributing for the correct implementation of the intervention.

Econet wireless Zimbawe Limited: Building the future

In February 2015, when Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Limited, EWZL, the market leader of the telecommunications sector in Zimbabwe, published the financial results, the management team was worried about the shareholders’ reaction. With over 60% market share in its core business (the voice and SMS market), it has achieved remarkable results due to the great diversification strategy. However, the share price was continuously falling due to exogenous factors that were pressuring margins and threatening future sustainability of the company. EWZL was highly exposed to Zimbabwe’s specific risks and regulatory policies. This case explores both the business environment surrounding the company and the strategic decisions necessary to fight against the economic and political challenges. Students will step into Econet’s obstacles by analyzing the strategies and diagnosing the multiple risk factors affecting the profitability of the firm. Furthermore, they will have to compute the valuation of the firm, facing several challenges of a developing country.

A negociação no mercado a prazo do MIBEL

This master thesis has been developed during the internship in the Supervision Department of Supervision of the Intermediation and Market Structures of CMVM. My collaboration in such department was mainly focused on the derivatives market of the Iberian Electricity Market (MIBEL). MIBEL embodies two organized markets – the derivatives market in Portugal and the spot market in Spain The trading activity in the derivatives market of MIBEL is processed through the trading platform of the regulated market managed by OMIP, however, much of the negotiation is over-the-counter. The aim of this work is to describe the market from a legal and economic perspective and to analyse the evolution of the negotiation, namely the impact of OTC in the regulated market trading. To achieve this, I propose to analyse also MiFID and EMIR rules over derivative contracts and the role of central counterparties, as they both are important to the discussion. In parallel, we found that OTC transactions are considerably higher than those traded in the regulated market managed by OMIP, those findings can be justified by the contractual relationships based on trust already established between the partiesarties. Nevertheless, since 2011 this trend changed by an increase of the registered OTC. Thereafter, although the parties continued to trade bilaterally, these transactions were registered in a central counterparty in order to eliminate the inherent risks related to the OTC derivatives transactions. This change in the negotiation pattern may also be influenced by the mandatory reporting of transactions imposed by EMIR, that requires for some classes of derivatives the centralized clearing and for all other requires the implementation of risk mitigation techniques.

Firing and training costs and labour market segmentation

This dissertation consists of three essays on the labour market impact of firing and training costs. The modelling framework resorts to the search and matching literature. The first chapter introduces firing costs, both liner and non-linear, in a new Keynesian model, analysing business cycle effects for different wage rigidity degrees. The second chapter adds training costs in a model of a segmented labour market, accessing the interaction between these two features and the skill composition of the labour force. Finally, the third chapter analyses empirically some of the issues raised in the second chapter.

Proving a market for a startup befor scaling using the hypothesis-driven entrepreneurship process

The year is 2015 and the startup and tech business ecosphere has never seen more activity. In New York City alone, the tech startup industry is on track to amass $8 billion dollars in total funding – the highest in 7 years (CB Insights, 2015). According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship (2015), this figure represents just 20% of the total funding in the United States. Thanks to platforms that link entrepreneurs with investors, there are simply more funding opportunities than ever, and funding can be initiated in a variety of ways (angel investors, venture capital firms, crowdfunding). And yet, in spite of all this, according to Forbes Magazine (2015), nine of ten startups will fail. Because of the unpredictable nature of the modern tech industry, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly why 90% of startups fail – but the general consensus amongst top tech executives is that “startups make products that no one wants” (Fortune, 2014). In 2011, author Eric Ries wrote a book called The Lean Startup in attempts to solve this all-too-familiar problem. It was in this book where he developed the framework for The Hypothesis-Driven Entrepreneurship Process, an iterative process that aims at proving a market before actually launching a product. Ries discusses concepts such as the Minimum Variable Product, the smallest set of activities necessary to disprove a hypothesis (or business model characteristic). Ries encourages acting briefly and often: if you are to fail, then fail fast. In today’s fast-moving economy, an entrepreneur cannot afford to waste his own time, nor his customer’s time. The purpose of this thesis is to conduct an in-depth of analysis of Hypothesis-Driven Entrepreneurship Process, in order to test market viability of a reallife startup idea, ShowMeAround. This analysis will follow the scientific Lean Startup approach; for the purpose of developing a functional business model and business plan. The objective is to conclude with an investment-ready startup idea, backed by rigorous entrepreneurial study.

An agent-based model to assess the attractiveness of industrial estates

This article describes the main approaches adopted in a study focused on planning industrial estates on a sub-regional scale. The study was supported by an agent-based model, using firms as agents to assess the attractiveness of industrial estates. The simulation was made by the NetLogo toolkit and the environment represents a geographical space. Three scenarios and four hypotheses were used in the simulation to test the impact of different policies on the attractiveness of industrial estates. Policies were distinguished by the level of municipal coordination at which they were implemented and by the type of intervention. In the model, the attractiveness of industrial estates was based on the level of facilities, amenities, accessibility and on the price of land in each industrial estate. Firms are able to move and relocate whenever they find an attractive estate. The relocating firms were selected by their size, location and distance to an industrial estate. Results show that a coordinated policy among municipalities is the most efficient policy to promote advanced-qualified estates. In these scenarios, it was observed that more industrial estates became attractive, more firms were relocated and more vacant lots were occupied. Furthermore, the results also indicate that the promotion of widespread industrial estates with poor-quality infrastructures and amenities is an inefficient policy to attract firms.

Acabamentos funcionais têxteis aplicados por estamparia digital em substratos têxteis ativados por plasma

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Têxtil

Overcoming the supply inconsistencies of tidal current energy conversion devices

The adoption of a sustainable approach to meeting the energy needs of society has recently taken on a more central and urgent place in the minds of many people. There are many reasons for this including ecological, environmental and economic concerns. One particular area where a sustainable approach has become very relevant is in the production of electricity. The contribution of renewable sources to the energy mix supplying the electricity grid is nothing new, but the focus has begun to move away from the more conventional renewable sources such as wind and hydro. The necessity of exploring new and innovative sources of renewable energy is now seen as imperative as the older forms (i.e. hydro) reach the saturation point of their possible exploitation. One such innovative source of energy currently beginning to be utilised in this regard is tidal energy. The purpose of this thesis is to isolate one specific drawback to tidal energy, which could be considered a roadblock to this energy source being a major contributor to the Irish national grid. This drawback presents itself in the inconsistent nature in which a tidal device generates energy over the course of a 24 hour period. This inconsistency of supply can result in the cycling of conventional power plants in order to even out the supply, subsequently leading to additional costs. The thesis includes a review of literature relevant to the area of tidal and other marine energy sources with an emphasis on the state of the art devices currently in development or production. The research carried out included tidal data analysis and manipulation into a model of the power generating potential at specific sites. A solution is then proposed to the drawback of inconsistency of supply, which involves the positioning of various tidal generation installations at specifically selected locations around the Irish coast. The temporal shift achieved in the power supply profiles of the individual sites by locating the installations in the correct locations, successfully produced an overall power supply profile with the smoother curve and a consistent base load energy supply. Some limitations to the method employed were also outlined, and suggestions for further improvements to the method were made.