Atingir os tetos de redução de emissão de forma custo-eficaz

The topic of emission reduction has been a big concern in Europe as, although the emissions of pollutants have been decreasing, air pollution remains a problem. The present work aims to bridge the existing gap on the literature, finding spatially distributed solutions that achieve the emissions targets imposed by the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NEC) for 2030, using Portugal as a case study. The main objective of this dissertation is to find technologies that can achieve Portugal's NEC in a cost-effective way. For this purpose the identification of the most crucial sector activity categories regarding the emissions and the identification of the cheapest technologies that will enable the achievement of the targets, through the GAINS model database in activity level, emissions and costs by technology was performed, as well as the identification of the areas of Portugal for which those measures should be applied to achieve the target in a cost-effective way through the EESIP-Air model application, using spatially distributed emission data taken from EMEP. This work provides essential information to support and define an integrated strategy to fulfil NEC. Results show that the areas of Portugal with the highest levels of pollutant emissions are the west coast, with an incidence in the urban areas of Porto and Lisbon and, concerning NH3, also the areas of Alentejo and Trás-os-Montes (agricultural areas). NOx is the pollutant for which CLE2030 simulations are closer to the ceiling due to the measures related to the transport sector (European emission standards) so that, the extra effort to be done is not as relevant as for the other pollutants - NH3, SO2, NMVOC and PM2.5. Scenario OPT2030 led to the best solutions to achieve the NEC targets (43 kt/year for NH3, 95 kt/year for NOx, 27 kt/year for PM2.5, 30 kt/year for SO2 and 132 kt/year for VOC), allowing the reduction of the emission in 14% (NH3), 25% (NOx), 45% (PM2.5), 35% (SO2), and 21% (NMVOC) comparing with the scenario CLE2015. The costs obtained for each scenario are: 543 m€/year (CLE2015), 509 m€/year (CLE2030) and 518 m€/year (OPT2030). OPT2030 implies an increase in 2% relative to the cost for scenario CLE2030, however it represents the minimum required to achieve the NEC targets.O tema da redução de emissões tem sido uma grande preocupação na Europa pois, embora as emissões de poluentes tenham diminuído, a poluição do ar continua a constituir um problema. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo preencher a lacuna existente na literatura, encontrando soluções espacialmente distribuídas que atinjam as metas de emissões impostas pela Diretiva Tetos de Emissão Nacional (TEN) para 2030, usando Portugal como estudo de caso. O principal objetivo desta dissertação é encontrar tecnologias que permitam atingir os tetos para Portugal ao mais baixo custo. Para esse fim, foram identificadas as categorias de atividades mais relevantes de cada setor em relação às emissões e as tecnologias mais baratas que permitirão o alcance das metas, recorrendo à base de dados do modelo GAINS sobre nível de atividade, emissões e custos por tecnologia. Foram também identificadas as áreas de Portugal para as quais essas medidas devem ser aplicadas de forma a atingir os objetivos de forma económica através da utilização do modelo EESIP-Air, usando dados de emissões espacialmente distribuídos retirados do EMEP. As áreas de Portugal com emissões de poluentes mais elevadas são a costa oeste, com incidência nas áreas urbanas do Porto e Lisboa e, no que diz respeito ao NH3, também as áreas do Alentejo e Trás-os-Montes (áreas agrícolas). O NOx é o poluente para o qual as simulações do cenário CLE2030 estão mais próximas do teto devido às medidas adotadas no setor de transportes (normas europeias de emissão), de modo que o esforço extra a ser feito não é tão relevante quanto para outros poluentes NH3, SO2, NMVOC e PM2.5. O cenário OPT2030 apresentou as melhores soluções para atingir os TEN (43 kt / ano para NH3, 95 kt / ano para NOx, 27 kt / ano para PM2,5, 30 kt / ano para SO2 e 132 kt / ano para VOC), permitindo a redução da emissão em 14% (NH3), 25% (NOx), 45% (PM2,5), 35% (SO2) e 21% (NMVOC) em comparação com o cenário CLE2015. Os custos obtidos para cada cenário são: 543 m€ / ano (CLE2015), 509 m€ / ano (CLE2030) e 518 m€ / ano (OPT2030). O OPT2030 implica um aumento de 2% em relação ao custo do cenário CLE2030, no entanto, o mínimo necessário para atingir os TEN. Este trabalho fornece informações essenciais para apoiar e definir uma estratégia integrada para atingir os TEN.Mestrado em Engenharia do Ambient

3D Lung Nodule Classification in Computed Tomography Images

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. One of the reasons is the absence of symptoms at an early stage, which means that it is only discovered at a later stage, where the treatment is more difficult [1]. Furthermore, when making a diagnosis, frequently done by reading computed tomographies (CT's), it is regularly allied with errors. One of the reasons is the variation of the opinion of the doctors regarding the diagnosis of the same nodule [2,3].The use of CADx, Computer-Aided Diagnosis, systems can be a great help for this problem by assisting doctors in diagnosis with a second opinion. Although its efficiency has already been proven [4], it often ends up not being used because doctors can not understand the "how and why" of CADx diagnostic results, and ultimately do not trust the system [5]. To increase the radiologists' confidence in the CADx system it is proposed that along with the results of malignancy prediction, there are also results with evidence that explains those malignancy results.There are some visible features in lung nodules that are correlated with malignancy. Since humans are able to visually identify these characteristics and correlate them with nodule malignancy, one way to present those evidence is to make predictions of those characteristics. To have these predictions it is proposed to use deep learning approaches. Convolutional neural networks had shown to outperform the state of the art results in medical image analysis [6]. To predict the characteristics and malignancy in CADx system, the architecture HSCNN, a deep hierarchical semantic convolutional neural network, proposed by Shen et al. [7], will be used.The Lung Image Database Consortium image collection (LIDC-IDRI) public dataset is frequently used as input for lung cancer CADx systems. The LIDC-IDRI consists of thoracic CT scans, presenting a lot of data's quantity and variability. In most of the nodules, this dataset has doctor's evaluations for 9 different characteristics. A recurrent problem in those evaluations is the subjectivity of the doctors' interpretation in what each characteristic is. In some characteristics, it can result in a great divergence in evaluations regarding the same nodule, which makes the inclusion of those evaluations as an input in CADx systems not useful as it could be. To reduce this subjectivity, it is proposed the creation of a metric that makes the characteristics classification more objective. For this, it is planned bibliographic and LIDC-IDRI dataset reviews. With that, taking into account this new metric, validated after by doctors from Hospital de São João, will be made a reclassification in LIDC-IDRI dataset. This way it could be possible to use as input all the relevant characteristics. The principal objective of this dissertation is to develop a lung nodule CADx system methodology which promotes the confidence of specialists in its use. This will be made classifying lung nodules according to relevant characteristics to diagnosis and malignancy. The reclassified LIDC-IDRI dataset will be used as an input for CADx system and the architecture used for predicting the characteristics and malignancy results will be the HSCNN. To measure the classification evaluation will be used sensitivity, sensibility, and area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC), curve. The proposed solution may be used for improving a CADx system, LNDetector, currently in development by the Center for Biomedical Engineering Research (C-BER) group from INESC-TEC in which this work will be developed.[1] - S. Sone M. Hasegawa and S. Takashima. Growth rate of small lung cancels detected on mass ct screening. Tire British Journal of Radiology, pages 1252-1259[2] - D. J. Bell S. E. Marley P. Guo H. Mann M. L. Scott L. H. Schwartz D. C. Ghiorghiu B. Zhao, Y. Tan. Exploring intra-and inter-reader variability in uni-dimensional, bi-dimensional, and volumetric measurements of solid tumors on ct scans reconstructed at different slice intervals. European journal of radiology 82, page 959-968, 2013[3] - H.T Winer-Muram. The solitary pulmonary nodule 1. Radiology, 239, pages 39-49, 2006.[4] - R. Yan J. Lee L. C. Chu C. T. Lin A. Hussien J. Rathmell B. Thomas C. Chen et al. P. Huang, S. Park. Added value of computer-aided ct image features for early lung cancer diagnosis with small pulmonary nodules: A matched case-control study. Radiology 286, page 286-295, 2017[5] - W Jorritsma, Fokie Cnossen, and Peter Van Ooijen. Improving the radiologist-cad interaction: Designing for appropriate trust. Clinical Radiology, 70, 10 2014.[6] - Tom Brosch, Youngjin Yoo, David Li, Anthony Traboulsee, and Roger Tam. Modeling the variability in brain morphology and lesion distribution in multiple sclerosis by deep learning. Volume 17, 09 2014.[7] - Simon Aberle Deni A. T. Bui Alex Hsu Willliam Shen, Shiwen X. Han. An interpretable deep hierarchical semantic convolutional neural network for lung nodule malignancy classification. june 201

Temporal control principles in cell cycle regulation

Cell division is characterized by a sequence of events by which a cell gives rise to two daughter cells. In order to maintain the integrity of the genome, cell growth, chromosome duplication and chromosome segregation must be coordinated in a manner that ensures the faithful transmission of hereditary information from one generation to the next. Mis- segregation of chromosomes, chromosomal abnormalities and de-regulation of cell division timing are well known hallmarks of cancer. Even though the molecular machinery that drives cell division is the same in all tissues cell cycle duration in mammalian cells varies for different cell types: embryonic cells divide faster than differentiated cells, for example. In addition, classical experiments have highlighted a high level of variability in cell cycle duration even within the same cell type. Understanding temporal control of cell division and, in particular, how the same cell cycle regulators control differences in cell cycle length is a fundamental question in cell and developmental biology. To address this question, a multidisciplinary approach combining live cell imaging of human cells and mathematical modelling was used. It was found that duration of mitosis is strictly dependent on feedback regulation networks that control mitotic entry. Positive feedback within these networks ensures that mitosis is short and temporally insulated from upstream cell cycle events. Modulation of regulatory feedbacks was also found to allow fine-tuning of cell division frequency, showing once more the importance of feedback control in temporal regulation of cell division. The work presented in this thesis suggests that understanding cell cycle dynamics at a single cell level provides a powerful way to derive control principles in cell cycle regulation. Moreover, combining experimental approaches with computational analysis allows a quantitative understanding of temporal control in cell division at a single cell level. This is likely to lead to transformative insights into cell cycle in health and disease states.Open Acces

Estudo da libertação de lisozima usando implantes lipídicos como sistemas de veiculação

Orientação: Marisa Helena Fonseca NicolaiO sector da biotecnologia tem apresentado um avanço considerável conduzindo a um aumento do número de fármacos peptídicos e proteicos, encontrando-se muito em franco desenvolvimento. A administração oral pode ser problemática para alguns fármacos, de tal modo que, é necessário considerar outras alternativas eficazes e a pele é um candidato promissor. Consequentemente, a administração transdérmica de fármacos tem sido alvo de pesquisas e desenvolvimentos. Os implantes lipídicos são sistemas promissores para o tratamento de diversas patologias, uma vez que, permitem uma libertação controlada do fármaco ao longo do tempo e são vantajosos em relação a outras vias de administração, de modo que, em muito casos não necessitam de administrações constantes. Por conseguinte, os implantes lipídicos foram usados com o objectivo de estudar a libertação de uma proteína – a lisozima.The biotechnology sector has shown considerable progress leading to an increase in the number of peptide and protein drugs, lying very rapidly developing. Oral administration can be problematic for some drugs, so that it is necessary to consider other effective alternatives and skin is a promising candidate. Consequently, transdermal drug delivery has been the subject of research and development. The lipid implants are a promising systems for the treatment of various disorders since they allow a controlled release of the drug over time and are advantageous over other routes of administration, so that in many cases does not require constant administration. Therefore, lipid implants were used in order to study the release of a protein - lysozyme

How does sustainability affect consumer choices in the fashion industry?

The fashion industry being one of the most polluting industries in the world, only means that it is an industry with an immense potential for change. Consumers are central and are closely intertwined with how companies act. This research reflects consumer perspectives and practices towards the topic of sustainability implemented in the fashion industry. The relevance of sustainability in the fashion industry and the key role of consumers in its implementation is undeniable and confirmed by consumers in a representation of general awareness and concern, despite not always being translated into actual practices. The qualitative research methodology followed by a set of interviews conducted to consumers, revealed that the great majority is implementing a variety of practices when making their buying choices towards fashion items. Barriers such as lack of education, information, knowledge and transparency were identified, and this aspect where shared by consumers as a lacking motivation for them to adopt more conscious decisions. Companies should educate consumers in a general perspective and focus on the group of consumers that are not implementing sustainability in the fashion industry in their buying choices, as they represent the potential for the future.A indústria da moda é uma das mais poluentes do mundo, o que significa que é uma indústria com um imenso potencial de mudança. O consumidor é o motor que motiva as empresas a agir de determinada forma. Esta investigação reflete as perspetivas e práticas dos consumidores em relação ao tema de sustentabilidade implementada na indústria da moda. A relevância da sustentabilidade na indústria da moda e o papel fundamental dos consumidores na sua implementação é inegável e confirmada pelos consumidores numa representação de consciência e preocupação geral, contudo nem sempre efetivamente traduzido em práticas. As entrevistas realizadas com consumidores revelaram que a grande maioria está a implementar uma variedade de práticas ao fazer as suas escolhas de compra em artigos de moda. Falta de educação sobre o tema, falta de informação, conhecimento e transparência, foram identificadas como barreiras e dificuldades para aqueles que querem implementar sustentabilidade nos seus hábitos de consumo. Estes aspetos foram também identificados como fatores que influenciam a falta de motivação para que decisões mais conscientes nesta matéria sejam tomadas. Numa perspetiva geral, as empresas devem educar os consumidores e devem ter em especial atenção os consumidores que ainda não estão a implementar sustentabilidade nas suas escolhas pois estes representam um grande potencial para evoluções futuras

Caracterização de Puccinia hemerocallidis causadora do primeiro surto de ferrugem de lírio-de-um-dia na Europa

Daylily (Hemerocallis spp.) is an ornamental plant widely used in gardens. Daylily rust, caused by the fungus Puccinia hemerocallidis, has disseminated through all continents only in the 21th century, except in Europe, where it has been considered a quarantine disease by the European Plant Protection Organisation. In Portugal, since November 2015, typical rust symptoms were observed in daylily plants in gardens in Lisbon, Alentejo, Algarve and Madeira, attaining high prevalence, incidence and severity. The causal agent was identified as P. hemerocallidis and the Koch’s postulates were fulfilled. Phylogenetic data suggest that this fungus may have been introduced from North America. Using flow cytometry, the genome size of the P. hemerocallidis populations present in Portugal was estimated to be 345 Mbp (0.3533 pg DNA/1C). For such analysis Rhamnus alaternus was validated as a DNA standard, exhibiting a nuclear content of 0.680 pg DNA/2C. The identification of this disease in diverse locations in Portugal represents a threat to European breeding and nursery industries, since there are the appropriate conditions for inoculum maintenance and propagation from Portugal to the rest of Europeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enhancement of sewage sludge bioconversion to methane by addition of exhausted coffea biowaste liquid fraction

Original PaperAnaerobic co-digestion of organic rich wastes and wastewater sludge has become an attractive economic possibility for water utilities as it enhances biogas production. The suitability of the organic rich waste depends on its biodegradability as well as on its synergetic effect on the anaerobic digestion process. The feasibility of sewage sludge (SS) treatment via co-digestion was studied in a semi-continuous mode at mesophilic conditions (36 ± 1 °C), with a hydraulic retention time of 17 days and an average organic loading rate of 0.94 ± 0.05 gVS Lreactor day− 1, using the liquid fraction of pre-treated exhausted coffee biowaste (LECB) as a co-substrate. An anaerobic co-digestion trial (T1) was performed using as feeding mixture 80% SS and 20% LECB (v:v) and compared against a reference scenario of mono-digestion of SS (T0). The stability along assays was ensured by monitoring the digestate characteristics (pH, electrical conductivity, total alkalinity and ammonia content) and the specific energy-loading rate (SELR). Along the operation time of T1, methane yield and VS removal were significantly higher in comparison to mono-digestion of SS. Results showed that the addition of the co-substrate had a positive effect on specific methane production (3 times higher) and methane content (12% higher), indicating this is a feasible strategy towards self-sufficient wastewater treatment plantsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A literature overview of luxury fashion consumers- behavior on sustainability and using perceptual mapping as a marketing tool

Environmental sustainability is a current widespread concern of many consumers and businesses. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze if consumers give value to environmental sustainability in their luxury fashion purchases. Additionally, this research explores consumers’ current knowledge on the sustainability efforts in this industry, mainly of known brands such as Gucci, Versace, Brunello Cucinelli, Dolce & Gabbana and Stella McCartney. To do so, methodologies such as perceptual mapping, conjoint and cluster analyzes were performed. Our main findings indicate an active want from consumers of more sustainable luxury fashion items, particularly those made out of eco-friendly materia