Importance of wine awards for producers and consumers

The aim of this thesis is to understand better the importance given to wine awards both by producers and consumers. From the producers’ side, the lists of the Top 100 wines from the Wine Spectator and the Wine Enthusiast were gathered and a scale was designed to evaluate the importance each producer on the list gave to the award on the respective website. Furthermore, the study presents some descriptive statistics regarding the average importance depending on the country of origin, grape variety, price, classification on the list and repeated presence on it or not. The study concludes that producers in some countries give more importance to these awards than in other. Similar differences were detected among producers of different grape varieties. In addition to this, the cheaper the wine, and the better the classification, the more likely it is that its producer will give importance to the award. As for the repeated presence, further studies are required. Moreover, from the consumers’ side, an online survey was conducted amongst potential consumers in Portugal, to understand their willingness to try new wines. The study aims at identifying what are the most important aspects when choosing wine and what role awards play in the decision, based on knowledge and image. From the results observed, people choose the medal or award that has a bigger visual impact. Lastly, the survey also let us understand that Portuguese consumers do not perceive local awards to be less relevant than the international ones.O objectivo desta tese é perceber melhor a importância que os prémios na indústria dos vinhos têm, tanto para o produtor como para o consumidor. Do lado do produtor, obtiveram-se as listas dos 100 melhores vinhos do Wine Spectator e do Wine Enthusiast e definiu-se uma escala com a qual se avaliou a importância que cada produtor na lista deu ao prémio no respectivo site. Para complementar isto, apresentam-se algumas estatísticas descritivas relacionadas com a forma como essa importância varia com o país de origem, a casta, o preço, a posição na lista ou o facto de ser a segunda presença consecutiva. O estudo conclui que os produtores de alguns países, bem como os produtores de determinadas castas, dão mais importância a estes prémios do que outros. Para além disso, quanto mais barato o vinho, ou melhor a classificação, maior a probabilidade que o produtor dê importância ao prémio. Em relação às presenças consecutivas não foi possível obter conclusões. Em relação aos consumidores, foi feito um inquérito para perceber a sua disponibilidade para experimentar novos vinhos. O estudo tem como objectivo identificar quais os aspectos mais importantes na compra de um vinho e qual o papel que os prémios representam nessa escolha, baseando-se no conhecimento prévio e na imagem. Os resultados indicam que os consumidores escolhem a medalha que chama mais a atenção. Por último, o inquérito indica que os consumidores Portugueses não consideram os prémios nacionais menos relevantes que os internacionais

Residential Sector Energy Consumption at the Spotlight: From Data to Knowledge

Energy consumption is at the core of economic development, but its severe impacts on resources depletion and climate change have justified a call for its general reduction across all economic activities. Lowering households’ energy demand is a key factor to achieve carbon dioxide emission reductions as it has an important energy-saving potential. Households in the European Union (EU28) countries have a significant weight (25%) in the total final energy consumption. However, a wide range of variation is observed within the residential sector from 7.6 to 37.4 GJ per capita/annum, with the lowest consumption indicator observed in Southern EU countries. Energy consumption in the residential sector is a complex issue, explained by a combination of different factors. To pinpoint how to reduce energy consumption effectively while deliver energy services, we need to look not just at technology, but also to the factors that drive how and in what extent people consume energy, including the way they interact with technology (i.e., energy efficiency). The main objective of this research is to understand the differences in energy consumption arising from different socio-demographic, technologic, behavioral and economic characteristics of residential households. This research brings to the spotlight the needs and benefits of looking deeper into residential sector energy consumption in a southern European country. Portugal and the municipality of Évora, in particular, were selected as case studies. Residential sector consumption is a moving target, which increase the complexity of adequate policies and instruments that have to address the bottleneck between increase demand for e.g. climatization due to current lack of thermal comfort and to comply with objectives of increased energy efficiency which ultimately intend to reduce energy consumption. This calls for different levels of knowledge to feed multiscale policies. This dissertation expands the understanding of energy consumption patterns at households, consumers’ role in energy consumption profiles, indoor thermal comfort, and the levels of satisfaction from energy services demand. In a country potentially highly impacted by climate change, with low levels of income and significant lower energy consumption per capita compared to the EU28 average, looking into these issues gains even more importance. The work combines detailed analysis at different spatial (national, city and consumers level) and time scales (hour to annual) taking advantage of diverse methods and datasets including smart meters’ data, door to door surveys and energy simulation and optimization modelling. The results identify (i) ten distinct residential sector consumer groups (e.g., under fuel poverty); (ii) daily and annual consumption patterns (W, U and flat); (iii) major energy consumption determinants such as the physical characteristics of dwellings, particularly the year of construction and floor area; climatization equipment ownership and use, and occupants’ profiles (mainly number and monthly income). It is (iv) recognized that inhabitants try to actively control space heating, but without achieving indoor thermal comfort levels. The results also show (v) that technology can overweight the impact of practices and lifestyle changes for some end-uses as space heating and lighting. Nevertheless, important focus should be given to the evolution in the future of uncertain parameters related with consumer behavior, especially those on climatization, related to thermal comfort and equipment’s use. Furthermore, the research work presents a (vi) bottom-up methodology to project detailed energy end-uses demand, and (vii) an integrated framework for city energy planning. This work sets the ground for the definition of tailor-made policy recommendations for targeted consumer groups (e.g., vulnerable consumers) and climatization behavior/practices to reduce peak demand, social support policies, energy efficiency instruments and measures, renewable energy sources integration, and energy systems planning

Noble metal nanoparticles applications in cancer

Nanotechnology has prompted new and improved materials for biomedical applications with particular emphasis in therapy and diagnostics. Special interest has been directed at providing enhanced molecular therapeutics for cancer, where conventional approaches do not effectively differentiate between cancerous and normal cells; that is, they lack specificity. This normally causes systemic toxicity and severe and adverse side effects with concomitant loss of quality of life. Because of their small size, nanoparticles can readily interact with biomolecules both at surface and inside cells, yielding better signals and target specificity for diagnostics and therapeutics. This way, a variety of nanoparticles with the possibility of diversified modification with biomolecules have been investigated for biomedical applications including their use in highly sensitive imaging assays, thermal ablation, and radiotherapy enhancement as well as drug and gene delivery and silencing. Here, we review the available noble metal nanoparticles for cancer therapy, with particular focus on those already being translated into clinical settings.publishersversionpublishe

An overview of high‐entropy alloys as biomaterials

This work was partially funded by national funds through the FCT-Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the scope of the project UIDB/50025/2020-2023.High‐entropy alloys (HEAs) have been around since 2004. The breakthroughs in this field led to several potential applications of these alloys as refractory, structural, functional, and biomedical materials. In this work, a short overview on the concept of high‐entropy alloys is provided, as well as the theoretical design approach. The special focus of this review concerns one novel class of these alloys: biomedical high‐entropy alloys. Here, a literature review on the potential high‐entropy alloys for biomedical applications is presented. The characteristics that are required for these alloys to be used in biomedical‐oriented applications, namely their mechanical and biocompatibility properties, are discussed and compared to commercially available Ti6Al4V. Different processing routes are also discussed.publishersversionpublishe

Elections and fact-checking in Portugal: the case of the 2019 and 2022 legislative elections

Fact-checking is a relatively recent journalistic genre in Portugal that has been growing in recent years, alternately viewed as a journalism reform movement or criticized as inefficient and idealistic. Our study is a comparative analysis of the output of the Portuguese fact-checkers Observador and Polígrafo in the 2019–2022 elections to determine whether their coverage is politically biased. Performing a quantitative content analysis of all fact-checking articles on national politics (n = 265) published during the campaign for the parliamentary elections, our results show that fact-checking activity has increased in the last elections. These data may indicate that fact-checking agencies have increased their capacity and resources, but may also suggest a greater presence of subjectivity and deception in Portuguese political discourse. The focus of Portuguese fact-checkers is statements produced during political debates (70%), while social media verification is disregarded. Our most significant finding is the lack of evidence of partisan or political bias in the selection of the assessed statements. Both fact-checkers do not show a tendency to check statements that are more or less anti- or pro-government and/or statements that are ideologically favorable to the left wing or the right wing. Therefore, our findings confirm the high level of professionalism and impartiality of Portuguese fact-checkers evidenced in other studies, and demonstrate that the Portuguese citizen’s skepticism toward the practice has no foundation

Elecciones y fact-checking en Portugal: el caso de las legislativas de 2019 y 2022

[ES] El fact-checking es un género periodístico relativamente reciente en Portugal, que ha estado creciendo en los últimos años, alternativamente visto como un movimiento de reforma del periodismo, o criticado como ineficiente e idealista. Nuestro estudio es un análisis comparativo de la producción de los fact-checkers portugueses Observador y Polígrafo en las elecciones de 2019-2022 en Portugal, para determinar si su cobertura tiene sesgos políticos. Realizando un análisis de contenido cuantitativo de todos los artículos de verificación de hechos sobre política nacional (n = 265) publicados durante la campaña para las elecciones parlamentarias, nuestros resultados muestran que la actividad de verificación de hechos ha aumentado en las últimas elecciones. Estos datos pueden indicar que las agencias de verificación de hechos han aumentado su capacidad y recursos, pero también pueden sugerir una mayor presencia de subjetividad y engaño en el discurso político portugués. El enfoque de los verificadores de hechos portugueses son las declaraciones producidas durante los debates políticos (70%), mientras que la verificación de las redes sociales no se tiene en cuenta. Nuestro hallazgo más significativo es la falta de evidencia de sesgo partidista o político en la selección de las declaraciones evaluadas. Ambos verificadores de hechos no muestran una tendencia a verificar declaraciones más o menos anti o pro-gubernamentales y/o declaraciones ideologicamente favorables a la izquierda o la derecha. Por lo tanto, nuestros hallazgos confirman el alto nivel de profesionalismo e imparcialidad de los verificadores de hechos portugueses que otros estudios han evidenciado, lo que demuestra que el escepticismo de los ciudadanos portugueses hacia la práctica no tiene fundamento.[EN] Fact-checking is a relatively recent journalistic genre in Portugal that has been growing in recent years, alternately viewed as a journalism reform movement or criticized as inefficient and idealistic. Our study is a comparative analysis of the output of the Portuguese fact-checkers Observador and Polígrafo in the 2019–2022 elections to determine whether their coverage is politically biased. Performing a quantitative content analysis of all fact-checking articles on national politics (n = 265) published during the campaign for the parliamentary elections, our results show that fact-checking activity has increased in the last elections. These data may indicate that fact-checking agencies have increased their capacity and resources, but may also suggest a greater presence of subjectivity and deception in Portuguese political discourse. The focus of Portuguese fact-checkers is statements produced during political debates (70%), while social media verification is disregarded. Our most significant finding is the lack of evidence of partisan or political bias in the selection of the assessed statements. Both fact-checkers do not show a tendency to check statements that are more or less anti- or pro-government and/or statements that are ideologically favorable to the left wing or the right wing. Therefore, our findings confirm the high level of professionalism and impartiality of Portuguese fact-checkers evidenced in other studies, and demonstrate that the Portuguese citizen’s skepticism toward the practice has no foundation

Efeito dos processos biológicos na estabilidade de taludes em areia argilosa

A presente dissertação insere-se na análise da estabilidade de taludes sob o efeito dos processos biológicos. Os processos através dos quais a biologia pode modificar as propriedades dos solos com interesse para a Engenharia Civil dependem do tipo de organismos envolvidos, nomeadamente, raízes de plantas, insetos e invertebrados e microrganismos. O efeito da atividade biológica sobre o comportamento de um solo argiloso tem interesse em algumas situações geotécnicas que envolvam problemas de estabilidade de taludes, tais como taludes naturais, diques e barragens de rejeitados. A consideração do solo como um ecossistema vivo oferece ainda o potencial de soluções inovadoras e sustentáveis para problemas geotécnicos. Este é um novo paradigma para muitos na engenharia geotécnica. Perceber o potencial desse paradigma requer uma abordagem multidisciplinar que abraça a biologia e a geoquímica para desenvolver técnicas de melhoramento dos terrenos. Neste contexto, a presente dissertação pretende contribuir para melhorar o conhecimento sobre o comportamento dos solos contendo biopolímero e demonstrar a sua importância para a análise do comportamento das infraestruturas geotécnicas, em particular na estabilidade de talude em areia argilosa. Para concretizar este objetivo, foram considerados diferentes métodos experimentais para a caracterização laboratorial do comportamento do material em condições saturadas. O estudo baseou-se em observações por MEV e em ensaios Fall Cone, Vane Test e edométricos de permeabilidade. O presente estudo evidencia o efeito do biopolímero na estrutura do solo, promovendo a agregação das partículas mais finas, e o consequente aumento da permeabilidade e da resistência ao corte em condições não drenadas, demonstrando assim a importância da consideração deste processo biogeoquímico na análise da estabilidade de taludes.The present work is on the slope stability analysis, with scope in the study of the behavior of slopes when subjected to the effect of the biological processes. The processes through which biology can modify soil properties of interest to Civil Engineering depend on the type of organisms involved, namely, plant roots, insects and invertebrates, and microorganisms. The effect of the biological activity on the behavior of a clayey soil is important in some geotechnical situations that involve slope stability problems, such as natural slopes, dikes and mine tailings storage facilities. Considering the soil as a living ecosystem still offers the potential of innovative and sustainable solutions to geotechnical problems. This is a new paradigm for many in geotechnical engineering. Realizing the potential of this paradigm requires a multidisciplinary approach that embraces biology and geochemistry to develop ground improvement techniques. In this context, the present work intends to contribute to improve the knowledge about the behavior of soils incorporating a biopolymer and to demonstrate its importance for the analysis of the behavior of geotechnical infrastructures, in particular slope stability in clayey sand. To achieve the proposed objective, different laboratory experimental methods were considered for the characterization of the behavior of the material under saturated conditions. The study was based on Scanning Electron Microscopy and Fall Cone, Vane Test and Oedometric permeability tests. The present study evidences the effect of the biopolymer on the soil structure, promoting the aggregation of the finer particles, and the consequent increase of the permeability and the shear strength in undrained conditions, thus demonstrating the importance of the consideration of this biogeochemical process in the slope stability analysis

Caracterização dos compostos orgânicos libertados após a confecção e uso de próteses acrílicas removíveis: estudo in vitro

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre no Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde Egas MonizObjectivos: Identificação e quantificação de monómeros residuais (MMA) libertados em saliva artificial, presentes em blocos de acrílico com distintas áreas superficiais, caracterizando o seu decaimento por unidade de tempo. Materiais e Métodos: 30 blocos de resina acrílica ProBase® Hot foram seleccionados por conveniência e divididos em 3 grupos de estudo de diferentes áreas superficiais: GA (n=10) 2 cm x 2 cm x 2 mm; GB (n=10) 2 cm x 2 cm x 4 mm; GC (n=10) 2 cm x 2 cm x 8 mm (largura x comprimento x espessura respectivamente) (n=10). O seu armazenamento deu-se em saliva artificial, a 37º C +/- 1º C, e foram analisadas amostras às 24 h, 48 h e 72 h por HPLC. Utilizaram-se medidas estatísticas, tomando como referência, para a rejeição das hipóteses nulas, um nível de significância de 5% (p ≤ 0,05). Resultados: Os valores médios de concentração de MMA às 24 h do GA (0,0094 ± 0.0033 μg mL-1), GB (0,0150 ± 0,0026 μg mL-1) e GC (0,0240 ± 0,0057 μg mL-1) foram estatisticamente significativos: GA e GB (p = 0,015), GA e GC (p < 0,001), GB e GC (p < 0,001). Os valores médios de concentração de MMA no GC às 24 h (0,0228 ± 0,0052 μg mL-1), 48 h (0,0063 ± 0,0031 μg mL-1) e 72 h (0,0011 ± 0,0007 μg mL-1) foram também estatisticamente significativos: 24 h e 48 h (p < 0,001), 24 h e 72 h (p < 0,001), 48 h e 72 h (p = 0,001). Os valores médios de concentração de MMA foram significativamente diferentes do valor de referência da norma ISO 1567-1999 (p < 0,001). Conclusões: Os monómeros residuais MMA foram identificados e quantificados na saliva artificial. Verificou-se um decaimento (por unidade de tempo) da concentração dos monómeros na saliva artificial, nos diferentes grupos de estudo