M2* - mobility to anywhere, an IoT aggregation service platform

This work addresses the problem of the creation of a central integrated platform to collect and manipulate mobility data and sensor data towards the creation of useful information for users in their mobility process. This is an academic work towards a framework for mobility process, where that manipulate can create useful information for users, public transportation operators and authorities, energy and water real time consumption.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

INFLUENCE OF CELL WALL CALCIUM CONTENT IN FRUIT FIRMNESS DURING THE RIPENING OF PLUMS (PRUNUS DOMESTICA L.).

‘Rainha Claudia Verde’ is a regional cultivar of Prunus domestica L. well adapted to a specific region in the south of Portugal. In order to understand the postharvest behavior of this cultivar produced in different orchards, cell wall poly-saccharides and cell wall calcium fruit content were studied during ripening in two consecutive years. During harvest period pectic fractions soluble in water, carbonate and KOH were prepared from alcohol-insoluble residue (AIR) of plums. Galacturonic and neutral sugars contents were measured during fruit ripening and fruit firmness was also evaluated. The calcium fruit level was determined in the AIR during harvest season as well as in dry matter. Fruit firmness was significantly higher in the second year and was probably related with calcium fruit content and pectic polysaccharides. There was a significant difference in calcium fruit content between orchards, and this might influence the overall fruit texture during the postharvest period. During fruit ripening water soluble pectic polysaccharides did not change significantly, which corresponded with the small decrease in tissue firmness. The occurrence in the supernatant of the cellulosic residue of highly branched polysaccharides might be the consequence of matrix material associated with microfibrilar phase. Depolymerization of the hemicellulosic fraction was not evident during plum ripening. The loss of fruit firmness is a consequence of many cellular events which are influenced by external factors. The knowledge of calcium content in the cell wall and the pectic poly¬saccharides could be of great importance to local farmers to predict fruit texture

Proof of Concept (PoC) 1.0—Implementing a bioshading system design method

Nature provides a remarkable database of possible adaptation strategies that can be implemented in biomimetic design of shading systems. However, at this moment, successful design methods are conditioned to a limited knowledge and ability to emulate nature’s strategies to meet corresponding functional needs. The implementation of biomimetic processes has some major challenges: (1) the search and selection among several databases of appropriate strategies adopted by nature; (2) difficulties in reading, interpreting and translating at different scales; (3) connection problems between concepts and material premises. The selection of nature models is a very common situation among architectural projects. Proof of Concept (PoC) 1.0 was the first experience of application of the Bioshading System Design Method (BSDM). BSDM is a problem-based method that guides its users since the initial architectural challenge definition, improving users’ capabilities to interpret and translate nature strategies into architecture design, until its final state of creation, it’s physical condition. This experience enabled us to validate and evolve initial decisions, based on users experience and evaluation. At the end, PoC 1.0 revealed to be a fundamental step into the final version of BSDM.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

KINE[SIS]TEM’17 From Nature to Architectural Matter International Conference

With nature as a starting point, KINESISTEM’17 was the first International Conference held in Portugal aiming to share and debate research and design work related to the integration of natural geometries, mechanics and systems fundamentals applied to the scale, function and aesthetics of architecture. Four prominent guest keynote speakers set the pace of the conference: Manuel Kretzer, Alex Haw, Bob Sheil and Alberto Estévez. Gathering academics, students and designers, a significant set of research and practice works was presented and the interplay between diverse scientific fields was also a strong feature at the conference, with attendants coming from areas such as architecture, design, electronics, mechanics, computer science, biology and sociology. This report summarizes the KINE[SIS]TEM’17–From Nature to Architectural Matter International Conference hosted by ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa in June 19th–20th, 2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

From natur(e) to architectural matter: responsive shading system

From the mid XX century, we have seen an increasing interest in exploring a building capacity of changing, of dynamically and automatically responding to the internal and external environments and to different patterns of use. These ideas found its basis on reciprocal relationships between users, spaces and environment. This means that these three factors have direct consequences on each other, affecting reactions, sensations, configuration and even behaviour. The main idea behind this theory is not new; what has changed are the means through which those relationships interact – technology and materials science (Kolarevic, 2014).info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Responsiveness based material - [a] passive shading control system

During the last decades Architecture has been looking to its basic principles, finding in nature a natural and obvious inspiration. Materials and environment have been playing an important and essential role in this process. Recovering the ideals of the 1950’s intellectually movement Performative Turn, performance-oriented design finds its fundaments on the understanding that architecture unfold their performative capacity by absorbing the complexity conditions and processes. Following this premise, architecture and environment are simultaneously set at a spatial, material and temporal level. The following article has the goal to describe a methodology to find the material and environmental driven parameters to be considered in the design and construction of a passive shading system. This research aims to develop a universal parametric definition, based on cork material and environmental essential and determinant driven parameters that could enable us to design a totally personalized passive shading system to any location and time.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Signalling pathways in pollen germination and tube growth

Summary. Signalling is an integral component in the establishment and maintenance of cellular identity. In plants, tip-growing cells represent an ideal system to investigate signal transduction mechanisms, and among these, pollen tubes (PTs) are one of the favourite models. Many signalling pathways have been identified during germination and tip growth, namely, Ca2+, calmodulin, phosphoinositides, protein kinases, cyclic AMP, and GTPases. These constitute a large and complex web of signalling networks that intersect at various levels such as the control of vesicle targeting and fusion and the physical state of the actin cytoskeleton. Here we discuss some of the most recent advances made in PT signal transduction cascades and their implications for our future research. For reasons of space, emphasis was given to signalling mechanisms that control PT reorientation, so naturally many other relevant works have not been cited

Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados e Tempo de Internamento dos Doentes com Acidente Vascular Cerebral 2010-2011

INTRODUCTION: The National Post Hospital Care Project was created to provide a continuity of care after hospitalization or to functionally dependent people. Currently there is a great difficulty in the integration of patients. The objective of this paper is to compare the impact of the referral to the Project versus being discharged home, in the length of stay of stroke patients between 2010 and 2011. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of patients admitted to the Neurology Infirmary A and Stroke Unit of Coimbra's University Hospital, in 2010 and 2011. The cases analyzed were 1 209, featuring demographic data, length of stay, Rankin Score (mRS) and destination after discharge. The data was analyzed comparing the two years concerning the length of stay of stroke patients referred to the Project and those discharged home, given the their Rankin Score. RESULTS: In 2011, the number patients referred to the National Post Hospital Care Project was higher, 23.5% compared to 21.4%. The length of stay for the same Rankin Score of the patients referred to National Post Hospital Care Project, remained higher than those discharged home: for a Rankin Score of 1: 11, versus 26 days for the Project; Rankin Score 2: 13, versus 29 days for the project; Rankin Score 3: 13, versus 23 days for the Project; Rankin Score 4: 17, to 33 days for the Project, Rankin Score 5: 27, versus 39 days to the Project. After comparison between the length of stay of patient discharged of and those referred to the National Post Hospital Care Project, it was estimated that the referral represented an hospitalization excess of 1 718 days in 2010 and 1 198 days in 2011

Patterns of Parental Reactions to Their Children’s Negative Emotions: A Cluster Analysis with a Clinical Sample

Parents' emotion socialization practices are an important source of influence in the development of children's emotional competencies This study examined parental reactions to child negative emotions in a clinical sample using a cluster analysis approach and explored the associations between clusters of parents' reactions and children's and parents' adjustment. The sample comprised 80 parents of Portuguese children (aged 3-13 years) attending a child and adolescent psychiatry unit. Measures to assess parental reactions to children's negative emotions, parents' psychopathological symptoms, parents' emotion dysregulation, and children's adjustment were administered to parents. Model-based cluster analysis resulted in three clusters: low unsupportive, high supportive, and inconsistent reactions clusters. These clusters differed significantly in terms of parents' psychopathological symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and children's adjustment. A pattern characterized by high supportive reactions to the child's emotions was associated with higher levels of children's adjustment. On the other hand, an inconsistent reactions pattern was associated with the worst indicators of children's adjustment and parental emotion dysregulation. These results suggest the importance of supporting parents of children with emotional and behavioural problems so that they can be more responsive to their children's emotional manifestations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio