An assessment of environmental and toxicological risk to pesticide exposure based on a case-based approach to computing

Pesticide environmental fate and toxicity depends on its physical and chemical features, the soil composition, soil adsorption, as well as residues that may be found in different soil slots. Indeed, pesticide degradation in soil may be influenced by either biotic or abiotic factors. In addition, the toxicity of pesticides for living organisms depends on their adsorption, distribution, biotransformation, dissemination of metabolites together with interaction with cellular macromolecules and excretion. Biotransformation may result in the formation of less toxic and/or more toxic metabolites, while other processes determine the balance between toxic and a nontoxic upcoming. Aggregate exposure and risk assessment involve multiple pathways and routes, including the potential for pesticide residues in food and drinking water, in addition to residues from pesticide use in residential and non-occupational environments. Therefore, this work will focus on the development of a decision support system to assess the environmental and toxicological risk to pesticide exposure, built on top of a Logic Programming approach to Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, complemented with a Case Based attitude to computing. The proposed solution is unique in itself, once it caters for the explicit treatment of incomplete, unknown, or even self-contradictory information, either in terms of a qualitative or quantitative setting.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Uncovering literacy practices in the game total war: shogun 2 with a contract-agency model

This paper showcases how the Contract Agency Model can be used to uncover literacy practices in videogame’s own terms as a complement to existing, more ‘indirect’ games literacies, using as an example the videogame Total War: Shogun 2. The paper first situates the Contract Agency Model within approaches to videogames and within approaches to media literacy. The paper then identifies three interesting literacy practices in the videogame, which also exemplify the eight levels of abstraction of the Contract Agency Model. The paper concludes by discussing the model’s implications to media literacy and videogames, namely that videogames effect a second-order mutual signaling with their players – agency as a conversation of commitment to meaning – that is humanizing of those players, and that the model can uncover this as an implicit contract of bio-costs, as a ‘direct’ literacy of videogames, i.e. a literacy in videogames’ own terms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Videogame agency as a bio-costs contract

This paper presents a novel descriptive model for agency in videogames as communication. Literature pertaining to interactive works including videogames has identified the need to overcome dyadic perspectives of communication in such works. Research specifically to do with agency has called for agency to no longer be confused with freedom of action, for an integrated perspective of the player and the system, and for that relationship to be viewed as a conversation. The transactional model in this paper achieves this by proposing a nested hierarchy of levels of communication that operate as an implicit contract, negotiated between the system and the player, where the object of the transaction is bio-costs, effected through the signalling of the attainability of understandings. The paper describes research antecedents, a research agenda, the basis for the model, the model itself, examples of how the model can be used to describe videogame designs, and future research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Auto-conceito de competência: diferenças entre cursos de carácter geral e profissional no ensino secundário português

[Resumo] o Ensino Secundário Portugues oferece um vasto leque de modalidades de formação com objectivos distintos, estando a escolha por uma delas relacionada com as oportunidades sócio-económicas, interesses, projectos, aspirações/expectativas pessoais, escolares e/ou profissionais dos alunos, bem como com as percepções que estes formam acerca das suas próprias capacidades e competencias. Neste quadro, considerando o auto-conceito de competencia como a percepção acerca das capacidades para lidar de forma eficaz com o ambiente, nomeadamente do ponto de vista cognitivo, social e de criatividade, desenvolvemos um estudo diferencial com 403 alunos que frequentam duas vias/modalidades distintas do Ensino Secundário - Cursos de Carácter Geral e Cursos Profissionais -, utilizando a Escala de Auto-Conceito de Competencia de Raty e Snellman (1992), adaptada ao contexto portugues por Faria, Lima Santos e Bessa (1996). Os resultados mostram que o auto-conceito de competencia se diferencia em função do género, do nível de escolaridade e do nível sócio-económico, corroborando outros estudos portugueses. As diferenças em função da via/modalidade de ensino favorecem os alunos que frequentam Cursos de Carácter Geral, facto este que pode estar relacionado com os diferentes objectivos e actividades valorizados por cada via/modalidade, o que sugere a promoção de um desenvolvimento diferenciado da percepção de competencia pessoa

Ultrafine grained titanium for biomedical applications: An overview of performance

AbstractUltrafine grain sized titanium (UFG Ti) obtained by severe plastic deformation presents a bright potential for biomedical applications because it provides the strength of titanium alloys without toxic alloying elements, such as Al and V that, by dissolving away from the implant, may be harmful to human health. The most recent developments and challenges in this field are reviewed. UFG Ti mini-devices were implanted in rabbits and the removal torque was compared with that of conventional commercially pure (cp) grain sized Ti Grade 2 and Ti6Al4V alloy Grade 5. The osseointegration of the UFG Ti was slightly superior of that of cp Ti Grade 2. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the UFG Ti, with special emphasis on dental implant application are reviewed and some additional properties evaluated and presented

Model simplification of signal transduction pathway networks via a hybrid inference strategy

A full-scale mathematical model of cellular networks normally involves a large number of variables and parameters. How to effectively develop manageable and reliable models is crucial for effective computation, analysis and design of such systems. The aim of model simplification is to eliminate parts of a model that are unimportant for the properties of interest. In this work, a model reduction strategy via hybrid inference is proposed for signal pathway networks. It integrates multiple techniques including conservation analysis, local sensitivity analysis, principal component analysis and flux analysis to identify the reactions and variables that can be considered to be eliminated from the full-scale model. Using an I·B-NF-·B signalling pathway model as an example, simulation analysis demonstrates that the simplified model quantitatively predicts the dynamic behaviours of the network

Gla-rich protein (GRP) as an early and novel marker of vascular calcification and kidney dysfunction in diabetic patients with CKD: a pilot cross-sectional study

Vascular calcification (VC) is one of the strongest predictors of cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. New diagnostic/prognostic tools are required for early detection of VC allowing interventional strategies. Gla-rich protein (GRP) is a cardiovascular calcification inhibitor, whose clinical utility is here highlighted. The present study explores, for the first time, correlations between levels of GRP in serum with CKD developmental stage, mineral metabolism markers, VC and pulse pressure (PP), in a cohort of 80 diabetic patients with mild to moderate CKD (stages 2-4). Spearman's correlation analysis revealed a positive association of GRP serum levels with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and α-Klotho, while a negative correlation with phosphate (P), fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), vascular calcification score (VCS), PP, calcium (x) phosphate (CaxP) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Serum GRP levels were found to progressively decrease from stage 2 to stage 4 CKD. Multivariate analysis identified low levels of eGFR and GRP, and high levels of FGF-23 associated with both the VCS and PP. These results indicate an association between GRP, renal dysfunction and CKD-mineral and bone disorder. The relationship between low levels of GRP and vascular calcifications suggests a future, potential utility for GRP as an early marker of vascular damage in CKD.Portuguese Society of Nephrology (SPN) ; Portuguese national funds from FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology through the transitional provision DL57/2016/CP1361/CT0006 UIDB/04326/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Application of MALDI-TOF MS for requalification of a Candida clinical isolates culture collection

Microbial culture collections underpin biotechnology applications and are important resources for clinical microbiology by supplying reference strains and/or performing microbial identifications as a service. Proteomic profiles by MALDI-TOF MS have been used for Candida spp. identification in clinical laboratories and demonstrated to be a fast and reliable technique for the routine identification of pathogenic yeasts. The main aim of this study was to apply MALDI-TOF MS combined with classical phenotypic and molecular approaches to identify Candida clinical isolates preserved from 1 up to 52 years in a Brazilian culture collection and assess its value for the identification of yeasts preserved in this type of collections. Forty Candida spp. clinical isolates were identified by morphological and biochemical analyses. Identifications were also performed by the new proteomic approach based on MALDI-TOF MS. Results demonstrated 15% discordance when compared with morphological and biochemical analyses. Discordant isolates were analysed by ITS sequencing, which confirmed the MALDI-TOF MS identifications and these strains were renamed in the culture collection catalogue. In conclusion, proteomic profiles by MALDI-TOF MS represents a rapid and reliable method for identifying clinical Candida species preserved in culture collections and may present clear benefits when compared with the performance of existing daily routine methods applied at health centres and hospitals.Research leading to these results received partial funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Program (FP7, 2007-2013), Research Infrastructures Action, under grant agreement No. FP7-228310 (EMbaRC project). Thanks are also due to Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES, Brazil) for funding suppor

Low-cost technology for entomopathogenic nematode large-scale production

Entomopathogenic nematodes of the genera Steinemema and Heterorhabditis may provide a valuable alternative to chemical insecticides. The characteristics that make them excellent biopesticides include their wide host spectrum, the ability to search for and kill hosts rapidly, and their high virulence and reproductive rates. Furthermore, they are considered environmentally safe. The major constraint to overcome before the onset of commercialisation is their mass production. Entomopathogenic nematodes are currently mass-produced in vivo or in vitro, either in solid culture or in liquid cultivation. An overview of these mass production methods and an analysis of three different bioreactor designs are presented. The progress achieved in liquid culture due to an improvement on sexual contact between adults (better mixture of the solid phase), which results in higher yields (RF), as compared with those reported before, is demonstrated. This improvement in the area of bioreaction engineering allowed these biopesticides to become more competitive compared to chemical insecticides. However, further technological advances and biological studies towards a better understanding of physiology and genetics of the complex nematode-bacterium are still required.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Políticas de avaliação da qualidade na educação superior: trajetórias dos diplomados do ISPGAYA

Este artigo tem por base um levantamento de dados realizado no âmbito da monitorização permanente que o ISPGAYA efetua sobre os trajetos académicos e profissionais dos seus diplomados, um procedimento integrado no seu Sistema Interno da Qualidade, indo de encontro a exigências e referenciais de avaliação da A3ES. Recorre-se a um questionário construído para o efeito, intitulado: Questionário sobre as Trajetórias Académicas e Profissionais dos Diplomados do ISPGAYA (QTAPDI). Este levantamento participado por 120 alunos, oriundos de 7 licenciaturas diferentes, que concluíram as suas licenciaturas no período de 5 anos que se estende de 2015 a 2019. A análise quantitativa e descritiva conclui da adequação da oferta educativa da instituição, apontando também, alguns pontos reflexão a incluir na estratégia dessa oferta formativa, concretizadora de espectativas pessoais dos alunos, e indo de encontro às demandas do mercado de trabalho regional.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio