LCA implementation in the selection of thermal enhanced mortars for energetic rehabilitation of school buildings

The first aim of the present work is to assess the environmental impact of specific rendering mortars able to be applied in the vertical opaque envelopes of an existing school building from the 80's built in Portugal, to reduce condensation effects and heat transfer. Ordinary cement and hydraulic lime mortars where compared to cork added and EPS added mortars. Energy performance and energy audit of the building was estimated and compared to the original behaviour of the school building. LCA variant called cradle to gate was used to compare the environmental impacts of building thermal rehabilitation and its effect on the energy consumption for heating and operational energy (OE), for different mortars service life. The simulation made in the school show that ordinary cement or hydraulic lime mortars, leads to much higher global warming potential, where CO2 emissions are more than 3 tonnes per building intervention. The use of mortars with cork addition, leads to a reduction of CO2 emission up to 30% and 20% reduction in embodied energy (EE), when compared to traditional mortars. Cork mortars present smaller EE than EPS mortars. Results shows that it is possible to slightly reduce OE by using materials with lower EE value

3rd International Congress on Sustainable Construction and Eco-Efficient Solutions

Producción CientíficaOne of the main climate trigger are CO2 emissions. In the field of architecture and construction, one of the most harmful materials is the cement due to its employment and its polluting power (about 5 and 8% of the worldwide CO2 emissions). Thus, the search of an alternative material is essential. This paper shows the possibility of using eco-efficient mortars as structural materials, in order to guarantee both safety and environment preservation in the strengthening / refurbishment / retrofitting of structures. In those mortars, the binder can be substituted by organic or inorganic materials (e.g. fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, rice husk ash, palm oil fuel ash). From this strategy, the waste reduction is promoted, as wastes are immobilised without polluting the environment essential. Thus, it is encouraged the re-use of architecture which is an essential factor to get a more sustainable habitat. The obtained results allow setting a guide that makes easier the selection of eco-efficient mortars (guaranteeing both structural safety and environment preservation) to the agents involved in processes of structural works.Uno de los principales detonantes del cambio climático son las emisiones de CO2. En el ámbito de la arquitectura y la construcción, uno de los materiales más perjudiciales en relación a su uso y su poder contaminante es el cemento (entre el 5 y 8% de las emisiones de CO2 en el mundo son generadas por éste). Por tanto, es fundamental buscar alternativas a su uso. Esta investigación muestra la posibilidad del uso de morteros eco-eficientes como materiales estructurales que garanticen tanto la seguridad de la construcción como la preservación del medioambiente en intervenciones de refuerzo/ rehabilitación/consolidación estructural. En estos morteros, el conglomerante o bien es un material distinto al cemento o se realiza la sustitución de parte de éste por materiales orgánicos o inorgánicos como cenizas volantes, residuos de altos hornos, cáscaras de arroz, cenizas de aceite de palma, entre otros, con lo que también se propiciaría la reducción de residuos que pasarían a inmovilizarse sin contaminar la naturaleza. Así, se fomenta el reciclaje de la arquitectura, siendo éste un factor clave para un hábitat sostenible. Los resultados obtenidos permiten establecer una guía que facilite a los agentes implicados en las actuaciones de intervención estructural la selección de morteros eco-eficientes óptimos, tanto para garantizar la seguridad como para preservar el medioambiente

Relatório de estágio profissionalizante em pediatria

Mestrado Integrado em MedicinaMaster Degree in Medicin

Visualising COVID-19 Research

The world has seen in 2020 an unprecedented global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, a new strain of coronavirus, causing the COVID-19 pandemic, and radically changing our lives and work conditions. Many scientists are working tirelessly to find a treatment and a possible vaccine. Furthermore, governments, scientific institutions and companies are acting quickly to make resources available, including funds and the opening of large-volume data repositories, to accelerate innovation and discovery aimed at solving this pandemic. In this paper, we develop a novel automated theme-based visualisation method, combining advanced data modelling of large corpora, information mapping and trend analysis, to provide a top-down and bottom-up browsing and search interface for quick discovery of topics and research resources. We apply this method on two recently released publications datasets (Dimensions' COVID-19 dataset and the Allen Institute for AI's CORD-19). The results reveal intriguing information including increased efforts in topics such as social distancing; cross-domain initiatives (e.g. mental health and education); evolving research in medical topics; and the unfolding trajectory of the virus in different territories through publications. The results also demonstrate the need to quickly and automatically enable search and browsing of large corpora. We believe our methodology will improve future large volume visualisation and discovery systems but also hope our visualisation interfaces will currently aid scientists, researchers, and the general public to tackle the numerous issues in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.Comment: 11 pages. 10 figures. Preprint paper made available here prior to submission. Update: special characters correcte

Ruthenium-cyclopentadienyl bipyridine-biotin based compounds: Synthesis and biological effect

Prospective anticancer metallodrugs should consider target-specific components in their design in order to overcome the limitations of the current chemotherapeutics. The inclusion of vitamins, which receptors are overexpressed in many cancer cell lines, has proven to be a valid strategy. Therefore, in this paper we report the synthesis and characterization of a set of new compounds [Ru(eta(5)-C5H5)(P(C6H4R)(3))(4,4'-R'-2,2'-bpy)](+) (R = F and R' = H, 3; R = F and R' = biotin, 4; R = OCH3 and R' = H, 5; R = OCH3 and R' = biotin, 6), inspired by the exceptional good results recently obtained for the analogue bearing a triphenylphosphane ligand. The precursors for these syntheses were also described following modified literature procedures, [Ru(eta(5)-C5H3)(P(C6H4R)(3))(2)Cl], where R is -F (1) or -OCH3 (2). The structure of all compounds is fully supported by spectroscopic and analytical techniques and by X-ray diffraction studies for compounds 2, 3, and 5. All cationic compounds are cytotoxic in the two breast cancer cell lines tested, MCF7 and MDA-MB-231, and much better than cisplatin under the same experimental conditions. The cytotoxicity of the biotinylated compounds seems to be related with the Ru uptake by the cells expressing biotin receptors, indicating a potential mediated uptake. Indeed, a biotin-avidin study confirmed that the attachment of biotin to the organometallic fragment still allows biotin recognition by the protein. Therefore, the biotinylated compounds might be potent anticancer drugs as they show cytotoxic effect in breast cancer cells at low dose dependent on the compounds' uptake, induce cell death by apoptosis and inhibit the colony formation of cancer cells causing also less severe side effects in zebrafish.This work was financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundacao para a Crencia e Tecnologia, FCT) within the scope of Projects UID/QUI/00100/2019 and PTDC/QUI-QIN/28662/2017. This work was supported by the strategic program UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569) funded by national funds through the FCT I.P. and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020 -Programa Operacional Competitividade e Intemacionalizacao (POCI). A.V. acknowledges the Investigator FCT2013 Initiative for the Project IF/01302/2013 and CEEC-IND/01974/2017 (acknowledging FCT, as well as POPH and FSE, the European Social Fund). L.C.-R, A.R.B. and A.P. thank FCT for their Ph.D. Grants (SFRH/BD/100515/2014, SFRH/BD/139271/2018, and SFRH/BD/139412/2018, respectively). L.C.-R also acknowledges Fulbright Research Grant 2017/2018 with the support of FCT. Brittany Karas acknowledges NJAES-RutgersNJ01201 and NIEHS Training Grant T32-ES 007148 and B.T.B. and C.D. acknowledge NIH-NIEHS P30 ES005022. K.R.C. acknowledges NJAES Project 01202 (W2045) and NIH ES005022

Bio-stabilising earthen houses with tannins from locally available resources

This study presents the first-ever comparative evaluation of traditional biostabilisation practices for housing employed in Northern Ghana. Such a comparative evaluation is crucial in understanding and addressing the increased risk of flooding in the region due to a combination of climate change and land use changes. Given the environmental conditions and material availability that shape construction techniques in this area, it is imperative to assess the effectiveness of these practices in mitigating flood risks. The investigation focuses on readily available resources from the Wa and Tamale regions, specifically dawadawa (D), beini (B), and rice husk (R). These biostabilisers were subjected to rigorous testing to assess their efficacy. Earth mortar samples were created using sieved plain local soil (P) with or without the addition of rice husk, which is a local practice, and dawadawa and beini solutions were tested as a water replacement (+wD or +wB, added during material manufacture) or as a surface cover (+coverD or +coverB). The effects are examined in terms of microstructure modifications detected through tannins type and presence, SEM/EDS, water absorption via capillary uptake, and compressive and flexural strength for two different types of application: embedded in the mixture or covering the surface. Overall, solutions containing dawadawa were superior to those containing beini for the tested soil. Both coverD and +coverB decreased the water absorption capacity of the earth mortars and provided almost complete protection for 15 minutes. After three days, all mortars mixed with the dawadawa or beini solutions (P+wD, PR+wD and PR+wB) displayed lower absorption than the P material. Condensed tannins were identified in dawadawa, but only small precipitation in beini and no precipitation in the rice husk. This indicates that dawadawa has a greater degree of polymerisation (compared to rice and beini), developing a polymerisation tannin-iron complex in contact with oxygen from the air, which explains the macrostructure results. SEM/EDS results indicated polymeric condensed tannins and hydrolysable tannins and that complex accumulation and subsequent oxidation are the main reasons for improving water resistance. The laboratory tests, therefore, support the traditional methods of using dawadawa, beini, and, to a lesser extent, rice husk to improve the resilience of earthen houses and structures to water damage and can be used to encourage agro-industry in Northern Ghana to preserve and promote dawadawa and beini resources

Another Chapter in the History of the European Invasion by the Western Conifer Seed Bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis: The Iberian Peninsula

The Western conifer seed bug, Leptoglossus occidentalis, is native to North America and has already been considered a significant pest in several European countries since its first observation in Italy in 1999. In Spain and Portugal, it was recorded for the first time in 2003 and 2010, respectively, and its impact on Stone Pine (Pinus pinea) is of major concern. Before developing control measures for this insect pest, it is paramount to clarify its spatiotemporal dynamics of invasion. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to (a) characterise the genetic structure and diversity and (b) invasion pathways of L. occidentalis populations in the Iberian Peninsula. To do so, specimens of L. occidentalis were collected at fourteen sites widely distributed within the Iberian Peninsula. We used mtDNA sequences of Cytochrome b and eleven microsatellite markers to characterise the genetic diversity and the population structure in the Iberian Peninsula. Our genetic results combined with the observational dates strongly support a stratified expansion of L. occidentalis invasion in the Iberian Peninsula proceeding from multiple introductions, including at least one in Barcelona, one in Valencia, and one in the west coast or in the Southeastern region.Ana Farinha received support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia I.P. (FCT-MCES) through a PhD scholarship (PD/BD/52403/2013). Manuela Branco is supported by the Forest Research Centre (CEF) (UIDB/00239/2020) and the Laboratory for Sustainable Land Use and Ecosystem Services—TERRA (LA/P/0092/2020) funded by FCT, Portugal. European Project H2020 “Adaptive breeding for productive, sustainable and resilient forests under climate change” (B4EST; grant agreement No. 773383). Cost action FP1203: European Non-Wood Forest Products Network (NWFPs), European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)

PHACTR1 genetic variability is not critical in small vessel ischemic disease patients and PcomA recruitment in C57BL/6J mice

Recently, several genome-wide association studies identified PHACTR1 as key locus for five diverse vascular disorders: coronary artery disease, migraine, fibromuscular dysplasia, cervical artery dissection and hypertension. Although these represent significant risk factors or comorbidities for ischemic stroke, PHACTR1 role in brain small vessel ischemic disease and ischemic stroke most important survival mechanism, such as the recruitment of brain collateral arteries like posterior communicating arteries (PcomAs), remains unknown. Therefore, we applied exome and genome sequencing in a multi-ethnic cohort of 180 early-onset independent familial and apparently sporadic brain small vessel ischemic disease and CADASIL-like Caucasian patients from US, Portugal, Finland, Serbia and Turkey and in 2 C57BL/6J stroke mouse models (bilateral common carotid artery stenosis [BCCAS] and middle cerebral artery occlusion [MCAO]), characterized by different degrees of PcomAs patency. We report 3 very rare coding variants in the small vessel ischemic disease-CADASIL-like cohort (p.Glu198Gln, p.Arg204Gly, p.Val251Leu) and a stop-gain mutation (p.Gln273*) in one MCAO mouse. These coding variants do not cluster in PHACTR1 known pathogenic domains and are not likely to play a critical role in small vessel ischemic disease or brain collateral circulation. We also exclude the possibility that copy number variants (CNVs) or a variant enrichment in Phactr1 may be associated with PcomA recruitment in BCCAS mice or linked to diverse vascular traits (cerebral blood flow pre-surgery, PcomA size, leptomeningeal microcollateral length and junction density during brain hypoperfusion) in C57BL/6J mice, respectively. Genetic variability in PHACTR1 is not likely to be a common susceptibility factor influencing small vessel ischemic disease in patients and PcomA recruitment in C57BL/6J mice. Nonetheless, rare variants in PHACTR1 RPEL domains may influence the stroke outcome and are worth investigating in a larger cohort of small vessel ischemic disease patients, different ischemic stroke subtypes and with functional studies

Dynamic behaviour of bio-based and recycled materials for indoor environmental comfort

UK construction industry contributes 120 Mt of waste every year. Bio-based building materials may be a solution for this problem, as they combine re-use and recycling abilities together with hygroscopic characteristics, leading to buildings energy savings. For the first time, the dynamic response to hygrothermal changes of bio-based materials is examined in terms of Moisture Buffering Value (MBV), dry/wet thermal conductivity, microstructure, density and latent heat through daily cycles. It is shown that MBV is a useful tool for characterisation but needs to be combined with the shape of the change in mass of the final hygrothermal cycle. Mastering this is required to obtain significant improved indoor environment quality in buildings. Ten samples of bio-based insulation materials and one thermoplastic recycled polymer were analysed (wool, hemp, saw mill residue, wood, straw, cork and polyethylene terephthalate). Saw and wool are the most promising, as materials exhibit dynamic response to hygrothermal changes. Only half the amount of samples revealed equivalent efficient moisture transfer to be able to desorb the adsorbed quantity of water. Latent heat of vaporisation and condensation tests led to the conclusion that samples of wool and saw mill residue can qualify as bio-based materials for ‘green’ panels