СУХИЕ СТРОИТЕЛЬНЫЕ СМЕСИ НА ОСНОВЕ ПРИРОДНОЙ ГИДРАВЛИЧЕСКОЙ ИЗВЕСТИ (NHL 3.5) С ДОБАВКОЙ РЕЗИНОВОЙ КРОШКИ, ПОЛУЧЕННОЙ ИЗ ОТРАБОТАННЫХ ПОКРЫШЕК (in Russian)

The use of wastes and industrial by-products as building materials is an important issue in order to decrease costs with waste management and the embodied energy of building products. In this study scrap tire rubber was used as additional aggregate of mortars based on natural hydraulic lime NHL 3.5 and natural sand. Different particle size fractions and proportions of scrap tire rubber were used: a mix obtained directly from industry and separated fine, medium and coarse fractions; 0 %, 18 %, 36 % and 54 % of the weight of binder, corresponding to 2.5 %, 5 % and 7.5 % of the weight of sand. As mortars based on NHL specifications became stricter with the current version of EN 459–1:2015, the influence of the rubber’s additions on the mortars’ fresh state, mechanical and physical performance is presented in this work: flow table consistency, water retention, dynamic elasticity modulus, flexural and compressive strength, open porosity and bulk density, capillary absorption, drying and thermal conductivity are studied. The use of the rubber mix coming from the waste tire industry seems advantageous and may open possibilities for use as raw material by the mortars industry.Secil Argamassa

Development of biological tools that assay temperature inside pneumococcal bacteria

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a significant Gram-positive bacterial pathogen known for the global impact caused by the ability of its clinical strains to resist antibiotics and to cause disease. The understanding of how bacteria regulate protein expression can be improved through the design of synthetic RNA thermoswitches capable of distinguishing the temperature range found within an infected human host. However, achieving precise gene expression control is a complex task that requires an accurate prediction of the behavior of a particular RNA-based thermoswitch and a deep understanding of bacterial regulatory mechanisms and RNA thermodynamics. This work aimed to adapt a reported thermodynamic model to design pneumococcal thermoswitches. To determine the optimal aligned spacing in S. pneumoniae, which is required for the modeling process, several pneumococcal mutant strains were constructed carrying the gene encoding the reporter iCitrine protein with a variable spacing sequence between the ribosome binding site and the start codon. In addition, quantification of the fluorescence signal detected in each pneumococcal cell was facilitated by the development of an automated segmentation process that streamlined the analysis of many microscopy images. Despite ongoing work to determine the optimal spacing in S. pneumoniae, it was observed that maximum iCitrine expression can be achieved with a particular set of spacers. Moreover, it was confirmed that translation of fluorescent proteins can be influenced by the mRNA secondary structures present at the 5’ end of the transcribed molecules.Streptococcus pneumoniae é uma bactéria patogénica Gram-positiva com um grande impacto a nível global devido à capacidade que as suas estirpes clínicas possuem de adquirir resistência a antibióticos e de causar doença. A compreensão de como as bactérias regulam a expressão de proteínas pode ser aprofundada através do desenho de thermoswitches de RNA sintéticos capazes de distinguir temperaturas dentro do intervalo encontrado num hospedeiro humano infetado. No entanto, o efetivo controlo da expressão genética de forma precisa é uma tarefa complexa que requer uma previsão do comportamento de um thermoswitch de RNA de um modo preciso e aplicando uma compreensão profunda dos mecanismos de regulação em bactérias e da termodinâmica de RNA. Este trabalho teve como objetivo adaptar um já reportado modelo termodinâmico para fazer o desenho de thermoswitches para pneumococo. Para determinar o espaçamento alinhado ótimo em S. pneumoniae, foram construídas várias estirpes de pneumococo com o gene que codifica a proteína repórter iCitrine e que possuíam uma sequência de espaçamento, entre o local de ligação do ribossoma e o codão de iniciação, que variava em tamanho e sequência. Adicionalmente, a quantificação do sinal de fluorescência em cada célula de pneumococo foi facilitada pelo desenvolvimento de um processo automatizado de segmentação que permitiu a análise de um grande número de imagens de microscopia. Apesar da determinação do espaçamento ótimo em S. pneumoniae ser uma tarefa que ainda está em progresso, foi possível observar que a expressão de iCitrine é maximizada com sequências de espaçamento específicas. Foi também possível confirmar que a tradução de proteínas fluorescentes pode ser influenciada por estruturas secundárias de RNA mensageiro presentes na extremidade 5’ das moléculas transcrita

NHL 3.5 mortars with scrap tire rubber

The use of wastes and industrial by-products as building materials is an important issue in order to decrease costs with waste management and the embodied energy of building products. Scrap tire rubber has been studied as aggregate for cementitious materials. Natural hydraulic limes are natural binders with particular characteristics of both air and hydraulic binders. Their specifications became stricter with the last version of EN 459-1:2010. In this study scrap tire rubber was used as additional aggregate of mortars, based on NHL3.5 and natural sand. Different particle size fractions and proportions of scrap tire rubber were used: a mix obtained almost directly from industry (only after sieving for preparation of particle sizes similar to mortar aggregate) and separated fine, medium and coarse fractions; 0%, 18%, 36% and 54% weight of binder, corresponding to 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% weight of sand. The influence of the rubbers´ additions on the mortars´ fresh state, mechanical and physical performance is presented, namely by flow table consistency, water retention, fresh bulk density, dynamic elasticity modulus, flexural and compressive strength, open porosity and bulk density, capillary absorption, drying and thermal conductivity. The use of the rubber mix coming from the waste tire industry seems advantageous and may open possibilities for use as raw material by the mortars industry

Digital Image Sensor Integration in the Scope of EyeFundusScope: a Retinal Imaging System for Mobile Diabetic Retinopathy Assessment

Diabetic Retinopathy is a pathology, asymptomatic in early stages, that is a consequence of diabetes mellitus, a disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Specifically on people with Diabetic Retinopathy, long periods of hyperglycemia lead to the creation of very fragile blood vessels in the retina, or to the suppression of old ones, leading to problems like hemorrhages or exudates, that may cause blindness. Diabetic Retinopathy can be diagnosed with several devices, but these are mainly too expensive and non-portable, not allowing the screening of a great part of the population. This way, EyeFundusScope was created, being a smartphone based, non-mydriatic, handheld and low-cost Embedded Retinal Imaging System. Image quality depends on the system’s optical alignment and it should provide fundus images with a wide field-of-view. A communication protocol for streaming video and capturing still fundus images, from an UVC-Compliant Camera was developed, after a careful examination of the types of cameras that could be integrated in the system. Such cameras can be placed meticulously in the compact optical system, and suppress issues related to the different specifications of smartphone cameras, that often vary according to the manufacturers. An approach for low level control of high resolution and low cost camera modules was also evaluated. With the system developed, the user can select Internal Fixation Point Actuators, that are extremely important for this diagnosis, since they allow a fixed target for the patient to fixate on, reducing image aberrations due to its eye movement and providing wider field-of-view images. In the future, the UVC-Compliant Camera and Internal Fixation Points Actuators should be integrated on the current prototype, providing an accurate Diabetic Retinopathy screening tool which can enhance the early treatment of the pathology to a greater percentage of the population

TV Streaming Services in Portugal: Understanding the drivers that lead to the purchase of online services, instead of consuming Pay-Tv or pirated sites

The cable TV industry has been suffering in the last decade with the growth and transformation of new and disruptive technologies. With the emergence and development of TV streaming platforms, people have been changing the way they consume and have access to information and entertainment. Factors such as the development of broadband internet and the creation of alternatives to the television screen (such as computers, tablets, and smartphones), have been increasingly creating television consumption alternatives for consumers, without cable TV being the main and only way of consuming television content. With one subscription and internet access, we can watch various and diverse content, which can be seen wherever, whenever, and however, we want. These factors have been leading people to change their TV consumption habits, as they now have access to more flexible ways of watching their favorite programs. Through these streaming platforms, it is possible to have access to complete or even exclusive content, which allows the consumer to define what he wants to watch and in what timeline, without having to be limited to cable TV schedules. The fact that nowadays it is possible to access streaming platforms via any mobile device also gives more freedom in accessing content from all around the world. This study aims to understand what are the factors that are leading consumers to pay a premium price for TV streaming services instead of watching Pay-Tv or pirated sites.Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligenc

A conceptual framework to implement gamification on online courses of computer programming learning: implementation

Piteira, M., Costa, C. J., & Aparicio, M. (2017). A conceptual framework to implement gamification on online courses of computer programming learning: implementation . In 10th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI2017) (pp. 7022-7031). (ICERI2015 Proceedings). IATED Academy.On the last years, gamification has studient in variuous contexts, such as marketing, health, sports and education. According to literature, gamification integrates "elements of game design in non-game context", with the objective of increasing users' engagement in certain activities. Therefore gamification integration on information systems should follow a formal and clear design process. However, these gamification design processes for specific contexts are not still defined. Thus, based on a literature review the authors proposed in a previously conducted study a framework for the implementation of gamification in online courses of computer programming learning. The framework is composed of the following dimensions: target audience, general goals, learning outcomes, topics, contents, gamification, cognitive absorption, flow, and personality. In the scope of this paper, authors present and describe the implementation of the conceptual framework. In order to achieve the objective, an online course of fundamentals of programming was designed and implemented, based on the previously proposed framework having then been launched a questionnaire to the students who attended the online course. The student's attitudes towards game elements have been identified.authorsversionpublishe

Macanese identity: what future?

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring the influential factors of continuance intention to use mobile apps : extending the expectation confirmation model

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceThe use of mobile applications (Apps) has been growing in the world of technology, a phenomenon related to the increasing number of smartphone users. With a huge mobile Apps market, few studies have been made on what makes individuals continue to use a mobile App or stop using it. This study aims to uncover the factors that underlie the continuance intention to use mobile Apps, addressing two theoretical models: Expectation confirmation model (ECM) and the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). A total of 304 valid questionnaires were collected by survey to test the theoretical framework proposal, using structural equation modelling (SEM). Our findings indicate that the most important drivers of continuance intention of mobile Apps are respectively; satisfaction, habit, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy

A influência da cronofotografia na obra de Marcel Duchamp

Marcel Duchamp foi dos artistas mais controversos do séc. XX que se interessou pelas ciências e experimentou a arte. Fez com que as barreiras entre as várias disciplinas da arte caíssem e obrigou o mundo da arte a repensar toda a estrutura da obra de arte, desde o processo criativo até à função. Desde a arte conceptual, passando pela 4ª dimensão, à fotografia e até ao caso particular da cronofotografia, a figura singular que foi Marcel Duchamp assume-se como um fio condutor dada a sua polivalência. A fotografia, que veio alterar o campo das artes visuais, e em particular a cronofotografia, contribuiu para a alteração da percepção de Duchamp e levou-o à execução de obras de referência. “Pontos de Vista” pretende ser um vestígio das relações abordando as questões da percepção do tempo, da duração de determinadas acções e ainda as formas de movimento que estas produzem no espaço chamado cidade; Marcel Duchamp was one of the most controversial artists of the 20th century, interested in science, he experimented the art. He broke down the barriers between the different categories of art and forced the art world to rethink the work of art as a whole, from the creative process to functional aspects. With his myriad talents, this singular figure exerted an immense influence on the art world, from conceptual art to the fourth dimension, to photography, including chronophotography. Photography, especially chronophotography, changed the field of the visual arts, and contributed towards the alteration of Duchamp's perception, leading to the production of his major works. “Pontos de Vista” is intended to be a remnant of relations and addressing issues of perception of time, the duration of certain actions and the motion of the forms that they produce in the space called city