How market power affects the behaviour of a pumped storage hydro unit in the day-ahead electricity market?

The integration of large amounts of wind energy in power systems raises important operation issues such as the balance between power demand and generation. The pumped storage hydro (PSH) units are seen as one solution for this issue, avoiding the need for wind power curtailments. However, the behavior of a PSH unit might differ considerably when it operates in a liberalized market with some degree of market power. In this regard, a new approach for the optimal daily scheduling of a PSH unit in the day-ahead electricity market was developed and presented in this paper, in which the market power is modeled by a residual inverse demand function with a variable elasticity. The results obtained show that increasing degrees of market power of the PSH unit correspond to decreasing levels of storage and, therefore, the capacity to integrate wind power is considerably reduced under these circumstances

Is the electric vehicle a solution for the wind power integration in the portuguese power system?

The integration of Plug-in electric vehicles in the transportation sector has a great potential to reduce oil dependency, the GHG emissions and to contribute for the integration of renewable sources into the electricity generation mix. Portugal has a high share of wind energy, and curtailment may occur, especially during the off-peak hours with high levels of hydro generation. In this context, the electric vehicles, seen as a distributed storage system, can help to reduce the potential wind curtailments and, therefore, increase the integration of wind power into the power system. In order to assess the energy and environmental benefits of this integration, a methodology based on a unit commitment and economic dispatch is adapted and implemented. From this methodology, the thermal generation costs, the CO2 emissions and the potential wind generation curtailment are computed. Simulation results show that a 10% penetration of electric vehicles in the Portuguese fleet would increase electrical load by 3% and reduce wind curtailment by only 26%. This results from the fact that the additional generation required to supply the electric vehicles is mostly thermal. The computed CO2 emissions of the EV are 92 g CO2/kWh which become closer to those of some new ICE engines

Virtual screening of a library of natural compounds against COX-2 protein

The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in treating inflammatory diseases has been widespread, especially in treating rheumatoid arthritis. NSAIDs act mainly by promoting the inhibition of cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2), inducing significant anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activity. However, recent data show that prolonged use of NSAIDs can lead to cardiovascular side effects. Thus, the present work aims to identify COX-2 inhibitors alternatives from natural sources, specifically mushrooms, as an alternative to conventional inhibitorsThe authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to the CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020); to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program for financial support to the project 100% Figo (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-064977). S. Heleno and M. Carocho thank FCT for their individual employment program–contract (CEECIND/ 00831/2018, CEECIND/03040/2017), and L.Barros also thanks to the national funding by FCT through the institutional scientificemployment program–contract for her contract. C. Shirashi thank the project 100% Figos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implications of nanoparticles functionalization in supramolecular magnetogels for drug delivery

In this work, dehydropeptide gels were loaded with citrate- or lipid-stabilized nanoparticles to evaluate the effect over doxorubicin release. Particularly, the lipid-stabilized nanoparticles co-assembled with the hydrogel fibres forming lipid-fibre interface domains.Portugal2020, Compete2020, FEDER. SFRH/BD/144017/2019. PTDC/QUI-QFI/28020/2017. UIDB/04650/202

Supramolecular magnetolipogels: a co-assembly strategy for on-demand drug release

In this work, magnetic liposomes, both solid and aqueous, were loaded with a model drug and combined with dehydropeptide-based hydrogels. The encapsulated drug distributed between hydrogel fibres and magnetoliposomes lipid bilayer, which was demonstrated to be independent of the magnetoliposome’s nanoarchitecture, resulting in an attenuated drug release from the magnetolipogels compared to hydrogels.UIDB/00686/2020. UIDB/04650/2020. SFRH/BD/144017/201

Dehydropeptide-based plasmonic lipogels as bionanosystems for controlled drug release

In this work, silica-coated gold nanoparticles and liposomes (storage units) were combined with dehydropeptide-based hydrogels as a proof-of-concept to afford peptide-based NIR light-responsive lipogels. Several liposomes compositions were assessed to study its influence on the final assembly properties. Gold nanospheres were used to assess the preparation method that enabled a closer proximity of the nanoparticles to the liposomes.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (PID2020-113704RB-I00), Xunta de Galicia (Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia - Accreditation 2019-2022 ED431G 2019/06 and IN607A 2018/5), and European Union-ERDF (Interreg V-A - Spain-Portugal 0245_IBEROS_1_E, 0712_ACUINANO_1_E, and 0624_2IQBIONEURO_6_E, and Interreg Atlantic Area NANOCULTURE 1.102.531)

Tuning peptide-based hydrogels: co-assembly with composites driving the highway to technological applications

Self-assembled peptide-based gels provide several advantages for technological applications. Recently, the co-assembly of gelators has been a strategy to modulate and tune gel properties and even implement stimuli-responsiveness. However, it still comprises limitations regarding the required library of compounds and outcoming properties. Hence, efforts have been made to combine peptide-based gels and (in)organic composites (e.g., magnetic nanoparticles, metal nanoparticles, liposomes, graphene, silica, clay, titanium dioxide, cadmium sulfide) to endow stimuli-responsive materials and achieve suitable properties in several fields ranging from optoelectronics to biomedical. Herein, we discuss the recent developments with composite peptide-based gels including the fabrication, tunability of gels' properties, and challenges on (bio)technological applications.This work was funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding of CF-UM-UP (UIDB/04650/2020) and CQUM (UIDB/00686/2020), and by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España (PID2020-113704RB-I00 and PID2020-119242RB-I00), Xunta de Galicia (Centro Singular de Investigación de Galicia—Accreditation 2019-2022 ED431G 2019/06 and IN607A 2018/5 and project ED431C 2020-06), and European Union (EU-ERDF Interreg V-A—Spain-Portugal 0245_IBEROS_1_E, 0712_ACUINANO_1_E, and 0624_2IQBIONEURO_6_E, and Interreg Atlantic Area NANOCULTURE 1.102.531), and the European Union H2020-MSCA-RISE-2019 PEPSA-MATE 872233 project. S.R.S. Veloso acknowledges FCT for a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/144017/2019). Support from MAP-Fis Doctoral Programme is also acknowledged

AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE EM SERVIÇOS EM UMA LIVRARIA UTILIZANDO O INSTRUMENTO SERVQUAL

O setor de serviços é cada vez mais importante nos dias de hoje, tanto em países desenvolvidos quanto em economias emergentes. Um dos aspectos relevantes na operação dos serviços é a mensuração da qualidade dos serviços prestados. O instrumento SERVQUAL é um dos mais utilizados para mensuração da qualidade, sendo muito difundido no meio acadêmico e nas pesquisas sobre este tema. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho propõe a utilização desse instrumento para a avaliação da qualidade dos serviços prestados por uma empresa de comercialização de livros e papelaria localizada em uma universidade. Um questionário estruturado foi utilizado para a coleta de dados, cuja construção foi baseada nas dimensões da qualidade para serviços, avaliando a diferença entre a expectativa e desempenho. Os resultados da avaliação indicam que a qualidade dos serviços foi negativa, atribuída, principalmente, a atribuição pelos clientes de alta expectativa sobre os serviços prestados. O trabalho conclui que, embora o estudo tenha sido válido em nível exploratório, existe a necessidade de ajustes no instrumento para coleta dos dados e em uma análise estatística mais detalhada

Tribologial behavior of geopolymer mixtures including fly ash and various industrial wastes

The tribological behavior of fly ash based geopolymer mixtures incorporating different types of industrial waste has been investigated. Therefore, 5 different geopolymer mixtures were analyzed, with the intent to retrieve information about their Coefficient of Friction (COF) and degradation by weight loss, as a result of direct contact with a stainless steel pin. A result analysis revealed varying results across the different mixture.Projeto Geodesigninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Foreword

[Excerpt] This book is the forth book of the series of publications entitled “Occupational Safety and Hygiene”. The main contributions for this book were once more from the works that were previously submitted and approved to be presented at the annual symposium of the Portuguese Society of Occupational Safety and Hygiene (SPOSHO), which is celebrating its 12th edition in 2016. The SHO2016—International Symposium on Occupational Safety and Hygiene, similarly to the past eight years, was held in the School of Engineering at University of Minho in Guimarães, Portugal. [...](undefined