Monitoring degradation patterns of sandstone monuments after consolidation treatments

Trabalho apresentado em International conference: construction, energy, environment & sustainability, 12-15 outubro, Coimbra, PortugalN/

Simplified immobilisation method for histidine-tagged enzymes in poly(methyl methacrylate) microfluidic devices

Article in press. Kulsharova, G., New BIOTECHNOLOGY (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbt.2017.12.004Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microfluidic devices have become promising platforms for a wide range of applications. Here we report a simple method for immobilising histidine-tagged enzymes suitable for PMMA microfluidic devices. The 1-step-immobilisation described is based on the affinity of the His-tag/Ni-NTA interaction and does not require prior amination of the PMMA surface, unlike many existing protocols. We compared it with a 3-step immobilisation protocol involving amination of PMMA and linking NTA via a glutaraldehyde cross-linker. These methods were applied to immobilise transketolase (TK) in PMMA microfluidic devices. Binding efficiency studies showed that about 15% of the supplied TK was bound using the 1-step method and about 26% of the enzyme was bound by the 3-step method. However, the TK-catalysed reaction producing l-erythrulose performed in microfluidic devices showed that specific activity of TK in the device utilising the 1-step immobilisation method was approximately 30% higher than that of its counterpart. Reusability of the microfluidic device produced via the 1-step method was tested for three cycles of enzymatic reaction and at least 85% of the initial productivity was maintained. The device could be operated for up to 40 h in a continuous flow and on average 70% of the initial productivity was maintained. The simplified immobilisation method required fewer chemicals and less time for preparation of the immobilised microfluidic device compared to the 3-step method while achieving higher specific enzyme activity. The method represents a promising approach for the development of immobilised enzymatic microfluidic devices and could potentially be applied to combine protein purification with immobilisation.Peer reviewe

Animation of BPMN business processes models

BPM in the business world is currently supported by tools that facilitate the design, implementation, execution, monitoring and optimization of business processes. These so called Business Process Management Suites usually have animation capabilities associated to process simulation. However, animation capabilities vary depending on the tool and the better these are, the higher is the animation preparation effort. This problem is more evident when generic simulation tools are compared with BPM specific ones, which use BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) as the modeling notation and have more limited animation capabilities. This dissertation presents a proposal to endow the BPMN with animation capabilities which respects all the elements presentation rules established in the notation specification. This proposal was designed based upon the data collected through the application of the animation capabilities evaluation taxonomy also proposed here in this dissertation. A prototype was built on top of an open-source tool in order to implement our animation proposal and was used to animate the service request process model using real execution data from an IT Service management tool used at ISCTE-IUL.A gestão de processos de negócio no mundo empresarial é actualmente suportada por ferramentas computacionais, que facilitam o seu desenho, implementação, execução, monitorização e optimização. Essas ferramentas, vulgarmente designadas de Business Process Management Suites, possuem usualmente mecanismos de animação aliados à simulação de processos. Contudo, as capacidades de animação diferem consoante a ferramenta, sendo que quanto melhores são estas capacidades, maior é o tempo investido na preparação da animação. Este problema torna-se mais evidente quando são comparadas ferramentas de simulação mais genéricas com ferramentas dedicadas à gestão de processos de negócio, que usam BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) como notação de modelação, em que as animações se tornam mais limitadas. Esta dissertação apresenta uma proposta de animação para a notação BPMN que respeita as regras de apresentação dos elementos da notação estabelecidas na especificação da mesma. Esta proposta foi desenhada com base nos resultados recolhidos através da aplicação de uma taxonomia também aqui proposta para a avaliação das capacidades de animação de ferramentas de simulação de processos de negócio, onde se reflecte o estado da arte no campo da animação de processos. A proposta de animação foi implementada num protótipo, que assenta sobre uma ferramenta open-source seleccionada a partir de requisitos definidos e apresentados na dissertação. Por fim, o protótipo foi usado para animar um modelo do processo de requisição de serviços usando, para isso, dados de execução reais recolhidos da ferramenta de gestão de serviços de TI utilizado no ISCTE-IUL

Effect of salt crystallization ageing on the compressive behavior of sandstone blocks in historical buildings

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prediction of stress-strain curves based on hydric non-destructive tests on sandstones

This research received no external funding.The study of the mechanical behavior of building stones is traditionally supported by destructive compression tests carried out on representative specimens. However, in order to respect the monuments' integrity, the study of the mechanical behavior of stones can be based mostly on physical properties obtained from non-destructive tests (NDT). For this study, a simple and cheap NDT-water absorption under low pressure-was used to carry out fast surveys and to predict the most important design parameters of loadbearing masonry, among which are the compressive strength, strain at failure, and even elastic modulus on monument blocks. The paper presents the results of the experimental work conducted to obtain the physical properties and stress-strain curves of the sandstones tested. Supported by these results, it was possible to correlate the various parameters and develop an analytical model that predicts the stress-strain curve of the sandstones based on water absorption under low pressure tests. A good agreement is observed between the analytical model and the experimental tests.publishersversionpublishe

Conservation of sandstone monuments: a new approach in consolidation treatments

Trabalho apresentado no 40th IAHS World Congress on Housing, 16-19 dezembro de 2014, Funchal, Madeira, PortugalN/

Durability assessment of consolidation effect on sandstone monuments

Trabalho apresentado no 41th IAHS World Congress, 13-16 de setembro de 2016, Albufeira, Portuga

Transparency of Government and War Against Corruption

[extract] The transparency of government activities is one of the most effective tools in preventing and combating corruption. Various events in different parts of the globe, indicate the need for effective measures in order to control and make transparent the services provided by the Government. Some places, like Italy, for example, had the best success in the fight against corruption, using legal measures. In Brazil, due to its lack of transparency, by means of various clandestine relations between governmental and private institutions, generated several illicit activities and a corrupt system that never had seen before. Therefore, it is clear that the actions of all sectors of the Government must be more transparent and visible, not only to satisfy the population, but also to prevent malfeasance and reprehensible conducts