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Infections with certain types of papillomavirus, such as the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16), are associated with the development of preneoplastic lesions and cancers of the anogenital, and head and neck regions. Cytinus hypocistis (L.) L. extracts are composed of substances presenting antiproliferative, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, which might be promising as new therapeuticcompounds. This study analysed the influence of topical application of an extract obtained from C. hypocistis (CH) on K14-HPV16 and FVB/n mice to evaluate its therapeutic and toxicological properties. To achieve the study goals,30 female mice, 33–37 weeks old, were divided into six groups (n=5/group): I (HPV+CH3.1); II (HPV+CH6.2); III (HPV+CH12.4); IV (FVB/n+CH12.4); V (HPV+control) and VI (FVB/n+-control). CH was applied topically to both ears for 28 days. After this period, all animals were sacrificed for samples collection. Skin lesions were classified histologically. Toxicological parameters included haematological and biochemical blood markers, and hepatic oxidative stress analysis. Transgenic animals showed a decrease in mean body weight regardless of the concentration of extract applied. The extract had no influence on physiological parameters, organ weight, or biochemical and oxidative stress parameters. Histology demonstrated the presence of proliferative epithelial lesions in the skin and oral mucosa of K14-HPV16 mice, with no association with the application of this extract. Overall, the application of CH extract had no influence on the skin lesions and was well tolerated by the animals in these concentrations.

In the context of global warming and the energy crisis, emissions to the atmosphere of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) should be reduced, and biomethane from landfill biogas should be recycled. For this, there is a need for affordable technologies to capture carbon dioxide, such as adsorption of biogas on activated carbon produced from industrial wastes. Here we converted glycerol, a largely available by-product from biodiesel production, into activated carbon with the first use of potassium acetate as an activating agent. We studied adsorption of CO2 and CH4 on activated carbon. The results show that activated carbon adsorb CO2 up to 20% activated carbon weight at 250 kPa, and 9% at atmospheric pressure. This is explained by high specific surface areas up to 1115 m2g−1. Moreover, selectivity values up to 10.6 are observed for the separation of CO2/CH4. We also found that the equivalent CO2 emissions from activated carbon synthesis are easily neutralized by their use, even in a small biogas production unit.

O presente artigo tem como propósito decifrar os dissolutos caminhos de Erika e a madrugada, o quarto e derradeiro conto do livro As quatro estações, de David Mourão-Ferreira. Nesta obra quaternária em que cada um dos contos sugere representar uma fase do ano, da vida e do amor, a personagem Erika incorpora o inverno, o ocaso, um ponto final a recompor-se enquanto se prepara para o começo de uma nova fase. Navegando entre a multiplicidade de leituras que as obras literárias despertam nos leitores comuns (e incomuns), este artigo ousa descortinar os murmúrios de um conto encontrado dentro das quatro paredes do quarto de Erika, alumiado pela luz da noite e a fitar a janela aberta para a cidade e para as madrugadas davidianas da feminilidade, da finitude dos amantes e do tempo que se adianta irrecorrível.

A análise do português falado na aldeia raiana de Avelanoso, concelho de Vimioso, revela similaridades entre as peculiaridades do falar das gentes desta localidade e o mirandês. Com base em estudos sobre a língua mirandesa, sobretudo no de Barros Ferreira (2001) acerca da situação e delimitação linguística do mirandês, e numa abordagem metodológica qualitativa fundada em entrevistas recolhidas na referida aldeia, o objetivo deste trabalho é compreender de que modo os traços característicos e distintivos do mirandês se podem também encontrar no falar das gentes de Avelanoso. No seio das variedades regionais da língua portuguesa, considera-se falar como um registo que convive apenas com as manifestações orais, composto por traços pouco diferenciados, mas com cambiantes próprios dentro da estrutura regional em que está inserido, sendo de uso circunscrito a pequenas delimitações geográficas (Cunha & Cintra, 2002). Esta pesquisa analisa as particularidades do falar desta comunidade do Nordeste Trasmontano através da preservação, reflexão e reconstrução da memória no contexto da história oral (Bosi, 2003). As conclusões indicam que as particularidades linguísticas do português desta aldeia coincidem em grande número com os traços distintivos da língua mirandesa. De acordo com os resultados, as afinidades e os vestígios descortinados, este estudo defende que efetivamente se falou mirandês em Avelanoso e que o português falado nesta aldeia continua a expressar essa contiguidade sociolinguística que ainda se pode verificar na atualidade, apesar das profundas mudanças sociais, económicas e linguísticas.

Biodiesel is produced by the transesterification of animal fats and vegetable oils, producing a large amount of glycerol as a by-product. The crude glycerol cannot be used in the food or pharmaceutical industries. It is crucial to transform glycerol into value-added products with applications in different areas to biodiesel be economically viable. One of the possible applications is its use as a precursor for the synthesis of carbon materials. The glycerol-based carbon materials have distinct properties due to the presence of sulfonic acid groups on the material surface, making them efficient catalysts. Additionally, the glycerol-based activated carbon materials show promising results concerning the adsorption of gases and liquid pollutants and recently as capacitors. Despite their potential, currently, little research has been carried out on the synthesis and application of those materials. This review summarized the preparation and application of carbon materials from glycerol, intending to show the potential of these materials.

The implementation of a PBL pedagogical experiment intended to understand how 2nd year students of engineering programs of Aeronautics and Materials Sciences applied mathematical contents to problem solving, specifically as regards geometrical modelling of an object and calculating its volume and centre of mass resorting to triple integrals. A qualitative methodology was used, this being a study whose importance consisted in a pedagogical experiment, which drove students to problematization, research and interdisciplinarity. At the end, we can conclude that this experiment has contributed to fostering the motivation and efficiency of significant learning of calculus contents. Students considered they were stimulated to use contents taught in class, deeming it an excellent initiative, which led them to escape the usual format of teaching and proved to be quite effective in grasping and applying knowledge, an initiative that should be maintained. They also stated they had acquired tools that could help them to overcome future difficulties and that their awareness level regarding application of theory to practice increased. The construction of a quantitative evaluation rubric, which is applied, is also presented, and resulted in an 81% grade for the undertaken activity.

Due to the high potential of multi-band transmission (MBT) systems as a short- to medium-term solution to the ever-increasing demand for fibre capacity, one of the recent areas of research concerns the development of fast but still accurate models to estimate the quality of transmission (QoT) in these systems, since this capability will be paramount for efficient and cost-effective network planning and operation. However, accurately evaluating the QoT of MBT systems with moderate computational complexity is challenging, mainly because the stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) becomes a major transmission impairment. Although several models have been proposed in the literature, to the best of the authors' knowledge, there is a lack of a comprehensive comparison of the advantages and main limitations of the available methodologies. Therefore, this work analyses the computational time and accuracy of several QoT estimation methods suitable for MBT systems (closed-form ISRS-GN and FWM models), focusing on transmission systems comprising a total transmission bandwidth of up to 20 THz, which comprises not only the C- and L-band but also a part of the complete S-band. We also propose a modification to the FWM model to take into account the SRS effect in the calculation of the nonlinear interference (referred to as enhanced FWM - eFWM model). We show that the closed-form ISRS-GN model is the model showing the best trade-off between computational complexity (speed) and accuracy for launch powers per channel up to 4 dBm in a system with 10 spans and with span lengths varying from 50 km to 100 km. However, this method shows GSNR estimation errors as high as 1.5 dB for higher launch powers. Similar conclusions were drawn when using the models to optimize the launch powers in the reference Italian backbone network, i.e., using the closed-form ISRS-GN model leads to more accurate optimized launch powers. However, in this case, the impact on the network-wide average channel capacity of using the launch power optimized using the different approaches is negligible.

This work aimed to understand how lifelong exercise training promotes the remodelling of the immune system and prostate signalome in a rat model of PCa. Fifty-five male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: control sedentary, control exercised, induced PCa sedentary and induced PCa exercised. Exercised animals were trained in a treadmill for 53 weeks. Pca induction consisted on the sequential administration of flutamide, N-methyl-N-nitrosourea and testosterone propionate implants. Serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) were not different among groups. Peripheral levels of γδ T cells were higher in Pca exercised group than in the PCa sedentary group (p

Ao longo dos últimos anos o ensino de Português no ensino superior da China tem registado um crescimento considerável em termos de instituições, professores e estudantes. Apesar desta realidade, a tarefa de quantificar os elementos pertencentes a esta área de estudos enfrenta algumas dificuldades devido a razões logísticas relacionadas com a dimensão do território e do número de instituições do ensino superior chinês. Através de uma pesquisa documental e exploratória este estudo tem como principal objetivo sistematizar e efetuar uma leitura dos números que dão a conhecer a situação do Português no ensino superior chinês. As principais conclusões permitem verificar: um grande aumento do número de estudantes e professores em relação a números divulgados em estudos anteriores; a categorização dos professores por nacionalidades; o rácio professor-aluno; a distribuição dos alunos segundo o tipo de cursos que frequentam; e vários outros dados comparativos entre a China continental e Macau. Palavras-chave: Português; China; ensino superior; dados quantitativos; análise exploratória.

Supply Chain Management is in constant evolution, and Supply Chain Resilience (SCR) appears as a recent offspring result of changes in how companies do business. Research efforts on the topic have led to a focus on the basic concepts of SCR, leaving a relevant research gap on the modelling and quantification of the SCR behaviour. In fact, there is not yet a consensus on SCR metrics or on how to quantify SCR. Most SCR models fail to incorporate relevant characteristics of the supply chain’s performance, as are the impacts perceived by downstream customers. This work addresses such gaps, and a new resilient SC metric is proposed, which is incorporated into a developed optimisation model, where economic and responsiveness objectives are maximised when designing and planning resilient SC considering all SC entities. The model is applied to a case study that shows that decision-makers should avoid adopting universal strategies when managing their SC and instead should define the best plan for their SC operation. The impacts perceived by downstream customers are analysed. Moreover, it can be concluded that there is a correlation between the SC performance and the new SCR metric, easing the process of designing and planning the SC when resilience concerns are at stake.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and nitric oxide (NO) are especially known as toxic and polluting gases, yet they are also endogenously produced and play key roles in numerous biological processes. These two opposing aspects of the gases highlight the need for new types of materials to be developed in addition to the most common materials such as activated carbons and zeolites. Herein, a new imine-linked polymer organic framework was obtained using the inexpensive and easy-to-access reagents isophthalaldehyde and 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine in good yield (64%) through the simple and catalyst-free Schiff-base reaction. The polymeric material has microporosity, an ABET surface area of 51 m2/g, and temperature stability up to 300 °C. The obtained 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine imine-linked polymer organic material has a higher capacity to adsorb NO (1.6 mmol/g) than H2S (0.97 mmol/g). Release studies in aqueous solution showed that H2S has a faster release (3 h) from the material than NO, for which a steady release was observed for at least 5 h. This result is the first evaluation of the possibility of an imine-linked polymer organic framework being used in the therapeutic release of NO or H2S.

Aneurysm of the pulmonary artery is a rare condition in animals, and to our knowledge it has never been reported in association with pulmonary neoplasia. This report describes a case of an adult female sheep of the “Churra Galega Bragançana” breed with an aneurysm of the pulmonary artery associated with lung cancer (ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma). This work was supported by the projects UIDB/CVT/00772/2020 and LA/P/0059/2020 funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Precise oral dosing in rodents is usually achieved by intragastric gavage. If performed incorrectly due to technical difficulties, inexperience, or animal resistance, oral gavage may have animal welfare implications such as esophageal and gastric rupture and aspiration. The stress that is induced by this procedure can also lead to confounding results. In several animal models, drug vehicles must be sugar-free, deliver drugs in a specific formulation, and sometimes supply water. Gelatin has all of these properties. The current study aimed to evaluate the use of gelatin vehicles with different sensory features as an alternative to oral gavage. We investigated the time taken by 2 different inbred mouse strains, FVB/N and C57BL/6J, to ingest sugar-free gelatin pellets of varying flavors. Results showed that FVB/N mice took more time to eat the unflavored, strawberry and diet-flavored gelatin pellets than did C57BL/6J mice. Both strains showed low preference for lemon flavor, with the same ingestion times after the second day. This study showed that the C57BL/6J mice are more likely to eat gelatin than are FVB/N mice, and that the 2 strains of mice show a lower preference for lemon flavoring as compared with other flavors. This method of voluntarily oral administration offers an alternative to gavage for studies that use oral dosing studies.

The rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animals is being fuelled by the widespread use of veterinary antimicrobials. China is the largest global consumer of veterinary antimicrobials, and improving AMR surveillance strategies in this region could help prioritize intervention and preserve antimicrobial efficacy. Here we mapped AMR rates in pigs, chickens and cattle in China using 446 surveys of event-based surveillance between 2000 and 2019 for foodborne bacteria, in combination with geospatial models to identify locations where conducting new surveys could have the highest benefits. Using maps of uncertainty, we show that eastern China currently has the highest AMR rates, and southwestern and northeastern China would benefit the most from additional surveillance efforts. Instead of distributing new surveys evenly across administrative divisions, using geographically targeted surveillance could reduce AMR prediction uncertainty by two-fold. In a context of competing disease control priorities, our findings present a feasible option for optimizing surveillance efforts—and slowing the spread of AMR., Nature Food, 2 (8), ISSN:2662-1355

Os fatores motivacionais desempenham um papel determinante no sucesso da aprendizagem da língua estrangeira por parte dos estudantes e são essenciais também para que os professores possam compreender melhor e dar uma resposta mais eficiente às necessidades de aprendizagem dos alunos. Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar a influência de alguns fatores motivacionais que envolvem o percurso dos estudantes chineses na aprendizagem de português. Para este fim, foi ouvida a voz dos estudantes de Português da Universidade de Sun Yat-sen, situada na província chinesa de Cantão, com recurso a questionários e entrevistas. Os resultados revelam o predomínio da motivação instrumental na decisão de estudar português, além da influência que os fatores externos (meio social, família, etc.), a figura do professor, as questões de personalidade e o tipo de conteúdos abordados nas aulas possuem na relação dos estudantes com a aprendizagem de português.

Pode-se observar que, na atualidade, os estudantes apresentam dificuldades quanto às condições especificas para desenvolver seus estudos, o tempo e o espaço são condições preocupantes na educação, e isso se dá por fatores socioeconômicos de onde suas famílias se originam. Assim, é necessário desenvolver ferramentas pedagógicas que venham fundamentar um aprimoramento educacional tendo como vista uma melhor qualificação tanto profissional quanto educacional. Nesse contexto, a educação a distância é de fundamental importância para proporcionar aos estudantes uma nova metodologia de educação, como alternativa à educação presencia tradicional, pois vai desenvolver um novo papel e criar uma nova rotina de estudo vindo ao encontro de seus objetivos e adaptável ao seu estilo de vida, em geral, a maioria dos estudantes não gosta ou não desenvolveu o hábito de estudar por essa metodologia tradicional, mas afinal, isso acontece por quais os motivos? Diante desta indagação, esta dissertação teve por objetivo analisar a relevância do Ensino a Distância para o desenvolvimento e a qualificação do aluno. Para isso, realizamos uma pesquisa através de questionário com professores, e pedagoga, juntamente com 25 alunos do segundo ano do Ensino Médio da Escola Estadual Presidente Castelo Branco, de Manaus-AM, Brasil.

O presente relatório de estágio foi o resultado de uma parceria entre a Universidade de Aveiro e a empresa MAKE-IT Product R&D. Esta parceria proporcionou um contacto próximo com a realidade industrial possibilitando desta forma a colaboração no desenvolvimento de um produto tecnológico, e a aquisição de experiência e conhecimento nas diferentes fases de desenvolvimento de um produto, desde a sua fase de ideação até à fase de produção em série. O projeto de estágio teve como tema principal o projeto Klugit Energy. Trata-se de uma start-up portuguesa que tem como premissa desafiar as famílias na luta contra as alterações climáticas e despertar a preocupação em poupar, renovar e armazenar energia. Com este projeto pretendeu-se desenvolver uma tomada inteligente que permite a poupança de energia no processo de aquecimento de água em contexto doméstico e que funciona com um sensor instalado no termoacumulador. O sensor realiza a leitura da temperatura da água, otimizando a energia de forma automática e ajustando-se às rotinas e hábitos do utilizador. O sistema integra ainda uma aplicação móvel que regista em tempo real os consumos e permite ao utilizador interagir com os indicadores de poupança. O percurso de estágio dividiu-se em 3 fases: inicialmente realizou-se uma investigação sobre a temática, analisou-se a concorrência e definiram-se os requisitos, o público-alvo e projetaram-se os primeiros esboços conceptuais. A segunda fase iniciou-se com o desenvolvimento da embalagem do produto com o desafio de criar uma embalagem sustentável, atraente e que proporcionasse uma experiência de unboxing diferenciadora. Neste trabalho criou-se uma embalagem física, todos os grafismos e comunicação, até à preparação da mesma para produção de pequenas séries. A terceira fase iniciou-se com a análise das entrevistas aos utilizadores que experimentaram as unidades piloto e desenvolveu-se o redesign do produto e a preparação do mesmo para a produção em série. Para a fase da industrialização do produto identificaram-se possíveis fornecedores de moldes e matéria-prima, sendo que um dos requisitos principais apontados pelo cliente era a seleção de uma matéria-prima reciclada proveniente dos oceanos. A matéria-prima selecionada teria que garantir as normas de segurança impostas a equipamentos de uso doméstico de baixa tensão e consequentemente assegurar a propriedade auto-extinguível do material. O estágio curricular realizado na MAKE-IT permitiu pôr em prática os conhecimentos e competências adquiridos durante o MEDP. This internship report is the result of a partnership between Aveiro University and the company MAKE-IT Product R&D. This partnership allowed a close contact with the reality of the industrial world, providing the collaboration in the development of a technological product, and the acquisition of experience and know-how in the different phases of the development of a product, from its ideation to mass production. The internship project had as its main theme the Klugit energy project. This is a Portuguese start-up that at its core aims to challenge families to join the fight against global warming and instill the need to save, renew and store energy. With that in mind, a smart plug that promotes energy saving in the process of water heating in a domestic context was developed, to work with a sensor installed in the water heater. This sensor performs a reading of the water temperature, automatically optimizing the energy and adjusting to the user’s habits and routines. The system also integrates an app that registers the consumption in real time and allows the user to interact with the savings indicators. The course of the internship was divided in 3 phases: initially an investigation of the theme was carried out, the competition was assessed, and the requirements and target audience were defined; finally, the first conceptual drafts were projected. The second phase started with the development of the product’s packaging with the challenge to create a package that was sustainable, appealing and that would provide a unique unboxing experience. In this phase a physical package was created, from all the graphics and communication to its preparation for the production of small series. The third phase began with the analysis of the interviews to the users who tried the pilot units, after which the redesign of the product was carried out, to prepare it for mass production. For the phase of the industrialization of the product, possible mold and raw material suppliers were identified, with one of the main requirements being pointed by the client the selection of ocean recycled raw material. The raw material selected would have to comply with the safety norms imposed on low tension domestic appliances and consequently ensure the fireproof property of the material. The curricular internship carried out at MAKE-IT allowed to put to practice the knowledge and skills acquired during the MEPD. Mestrado em Engenharia e Design de Produto

Multiband (MB) optical fiber transmission systems can unlock additional capacity in existing optical fiber infrastructures, enabling them to keep up with the increase in traffic demand while postponing costly optical fiber deployments. However, due to the worse transmission characteristics of MB systems than C-band-only transmission, the network’s overall spectral efficiency decreases when increasing the transmission bandwidth. The extent of this performance degradation is paramount to determining the commercial viability of deploying MB systems. By estimating the generalized signal-to-noise ratio using the GNPy library, this work analyzes the impact of using counterpropagating Raman amplification to improve the performance of an S + C + L -band transmission system comprising a total bandwidth of 15.5 THz. Raman amplification is proposed to mitigate the worse system performance resulting from the stimulated Raman scattering effect and the worse noise figure of the S-band optical amplifier. We show that the optimized deployment of a counterpropagating Raman pump makes it possible not only to improve but also to equalize the network-wide optical performance of the S + C + L -band transmission system, which potentially reduces the complexity of routing and wavelength assignment algorithms. The capacity, spectral efficiency, and number of feasible lightpaths of the S + C + L -band system are compared with C- and C + L -band systems with and without Raman amplification on two reference networks. Results show that the spectral efficiency of the S + C + L -band system with Raman amplification is similar to the C-band-only system without Raman amplification. These results provide evidence that this strategy can be effectively used to compensate for the worse transmission characteristics of MB systems, the higher noise figure of the S-band optical amplifier, the SRS effect, and the additional losses from the band demultiplexer and coupler required at every amplification stage to separate the transmission bands. Overall, the simulation results highlight that a single optical fiber can approximately carry the same data when using a 15.5 THz transmission band (and Raman amplification) as three parallel fibers using C-band-only transmission (without Raman amplification).

Tilia platyphyllos Scop. is a popular broad-leaved tree, native to Central and Southern Europe. Hydroethanolic extracts rich in phenolic compounds obtained from T. platyphyllos Scop. have shown in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. The aim of this work was to evaluate the therapeutic properties of a hydroethanolic extract obtained from T. platyphyllos in HPV16-transgenic mice. The animals were divided into eight groups according to their sex and phenotype. Four groups of female: HPV+ exposed to linden (HPV linden; n = 6), HPV+ (HPV water; n = 4), HPV- exposed to linden (WT linden; n = 5) and HPV- (WT water; n = 4) and four groups of male: HPV+ exposed to linden (HPV linden; n = 5), HPV+ (HPV water; n = 5), HPV- exposed to linden (WT linden; n = 5) and HPV- (WT water; n = 7). The linden (Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) extract was orally administered at a dose of 4.5 mg/10 mL per animal (dissolved in water) and changed daily for 33 days. The hydroethanolic extract of T. platyphyllos consisted of protocatechuic acid and (-)-epicatechin as the most abundant phenolic acid and flavonoid, respectively, and was found to be stable during the studied period. In two male groups a significant positive weight gain was observed but without association with the linden extract. Histological, biochemical, and oxidative stress analyses for the evaluation of kidney and liver damage support the hypothesis that the linden extract is safe and well-tolerated under the present experimental conditions. Skin histopathology does not demonstrate the chemopreventive effect of the linden extract against HPV16-induced lesions. The linden extract has revealed a favourable toxicological profile; however, additional studies are required to determine the chemopreventive potential of the linden extract. This journal is This work was supported by the project IBERPHENOL, project number 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_E; Interact R&D project, operation number NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017, National Funds by FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UIDB/04033/2020 (CITAB), and project UIDB/ CVT/00772/2020 (CECAV) and the post-graduation grant SFRH/ BD/136747/2018 and 2020.04789.BD; the authors are also grateful to FCT, Portugal and FEDER under programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and L. Barros acknowledges the national funding by FCT, P. I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract. The authors would like to thank Cantinho das Aromáticas organic farmers from Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal) for providing the samples. This work was financially supported by: Base Funding - UIDB/00511/2020 of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – LEPABE - funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion