Metodologia de conceção e desenvolvimento da plataforma U-Tracer

Este capítulo apresenta a metodologia adotada para o processo de concetualização e desenvolvimento da plataforma U-TRACERÒ, que seguiu os princípios de investigação e desenvolvimento, tendo envolvido participantes em todas as fases de concetualização. Os instrumentos de recolha de dados são apresentados detalhadamente. É igualmente descrita a metodologia para a seleção dos participantes, e apresentados os participantes do estudo

Comparação de tipologias e plataformas de visualização da informação

Existe um número crescente de instrumentos que permitem a stakeholders do ES aceder a dados comparáveis sobre as IES. Os rankings constituem instrumentos que possibilitam a comparação de instituições, de acordo com indicadores específicos de cada ranking, há mais de dez anos, e mais recentemente na Europa surgiram as denominadas ferramentas de transparência que incluem rankings e instrumentos de classificação de instituições, com o objetivo de dar visibilidade à diversidade deste setor. Igualmente recente é a adoção que estes instrumentos estão a fazer da visualização de informação para comunicar os dados, permitindo aos seus utilizadores interagir com a informação e costumizar os resultados aos quais querem aceder. Neste capítulo faz-se uma descrição breve destes instrumentos, indicadores e origem dos dados. Igualmente se dá o destaque, através da descrição, de alguns instrumentos que adotam soluções de visualização de informação

U-TRACER: uma ferramenta de visualização da informação sobre o uso das Tecnologias da Comunicação no Ensino Superior Público Português

U-TRACER é uma ferramenta que tem como objetivo dar visibilidade aos dados recolhidos no projeto TRACER, dados que dizem respeito ao uso das Tecnologias da Comunicação nas Instituições de Ensino Superior Público Português. Os dados foram recolhidos junto das instituições através de um questionário online. A divulgação dos dados é feita através da U-TRACER que adota soluções de visualização de informação, permitindo a interação com filtros de informação para a geração de gráficos de acordo com os interesses do utilizador. A ferramenta é composta por duas áreas principais, o Backoffice (BO) que serve para recolha dos dados, e a área do Frontoffice (FO) que dá visibilidade aos dados recolhidos em BO. A conceptualização do FO foi feita em conjunto com profissionais do ensino superior através de sessões de focus group, testes à eficácia de leitura dos gráficos e testes de usabilidade ao protótipo. Destes testes resultaram a proposta de interação através de filtros de informação e representação gráfica a adotar, incluindo recomendações de melhoria ao BO e FO. Os participantes que testaram a U-TRACER indicaram estar globalmente satisfeitos. Contudo, as melhorias sugeridas estão a ser implementadas. O número limitado de ferramentas de visualização de informações sobre os dados que representam instituições de ensino superior justifica o interesse da U-TRACER que vem juntar-se a outros projetos pioneiros U-MAP e U-Multirank, que igualmente envolvem a recolha e validação dos dados diretamente com as instituições de ES, e a divulgação dos mesmos através de uma plataforma web de visualização de informação.U-TRACER is a tool aiming to give visibility to the data collected within project TRACER, data concerning the use of Communication Technologies in Portuguese Public Higher Education Institutions. Data was provided by institutions and its teachers, through two online questionnaires. The dissemination of the data is done through U-TRACER tool which adopts information visualization solutions, allowing interaction with the information in order to generate graphical results according to the interests of the users. The tool consists of two main areas, the Backoffice (BO) prepared to collect data, and the Frontoffice area (FO) which gives visibility to data collected in BO. The conceptualization of the FO was developed with the participation of higher education professionals in focus groups, testing the reading effectiveness of the graphs and the usability testing of the U-Tracer prototype. These tests resulted in the proposal of interaction features and visual displays, including recommendations for the improvement to the BO and FO. Participants who tested the U- TRACER reported being overall satisfied with the tool, however suggesting improvements which are to be implemented. The limited number of information visualization tools that display information about higher education institutions, justifies the interest of the U-TRACER which joins other pioneering projects such as U-MAP and U-Multirank that also involve collection and representation of data provided by HE institutions, making them public and accessible through an information visualization web platform.U-TRACER es una herramienta que tiene como objetivo tornar visibles los datos recogidos en el proyecto TRACER, estos datos integran información sobre el uso de las tecnologías de Comunicación en instituciones de educación superior (ES) público portugués. Los datos fueron recogidos con la colaboración de instituciones a través de una encuesta online. La divulgación de los datos es hecha a través de U-TRACER, que utiliza soluciones de visualización de información, permitiendo la interacción con filtros de información para la generación de gráficos de acuerdo con los intereses de los usuarios. La herramienta está compuesta por dos partes principales, el Backoffice (BO) que sirve para la recolecta de datos, y el Frontoffice (FO), que da visibilidad a los datos recogidos en la BO. La conceptualización de la FO fue hecha en colaboración con profesionales universitarios a través de sesiones de focus group, pruebas de facilidad de lectura y pruebas de usabilidad utilizando prototipos. A partir de estos resultados se obtuvieron propuestas de interacción usando filtros de información y representaciones gráficas, incluyendo mejorías de BO y el FO. Los participantes que probaron el U-TRACER indicaron estar globalmente satisfechos, e igualmente las mejorías sugeridas por los primeros usuarios están a ser implementadas. El número limitado de herramientas de visualización de información sobre los datos que representan las instituciones de educación superior, justifica el objetivo de U-TRACER, el cual viene a sumarse con otros proyectos pioneros como U-MAP y Multirank, que igualmente envuelve la adquisición y validación de los datos directamente con las instituciones de ES, y la divulgación de los mismos através de una plataforma web de visualización de información

Validação e avaliação da plataforma U-TRACER

A avaliação e validação da plataforma U-TRACER® envolveram dois momentos de recolha de dados junto de participantes. A avaliação ao BO e FO da plataforma envolveu a realização de um teste de usabilidade por sete utilizadores finais. A eficácia e eficiência das tarefas executadas resultaram num conjunto alargado de propostas de melhorias a implementar na plataforma, e das quais cerca de metade foram posteriormente implementadas na versão final. Globalmente, o uso da plataforma foi categorizado como satisfatório pelos participantes do teste de usabilidade. A validação da U-TRACER® adotou uma outra metodologia, que consistiu em realizar entrevistas aos decisores institucionais, que providenciaram dados ao projeto TRACER sobre o uso das TC na perspetiva institucional, dados que alimentam a plataforma U-TRACER®. Através das entrevistas foi possível perceber quais as principais utilidades que estes decisores prevêem para a plataforma, as suas vantagens e algumas preocupações

Sutura Tricofítica: Vantagens e Indicações Cirúrgicas

In hair transplant surgery, the final cosmetic result of donor area has been a growing concern among hair transplant surgeons. In the follicular unit transplant, the closure technique of donor area has been improved in order to produce thin and virtually invisible scars even in males with short hair. Trichophytic closure is a special suture technique that allows hair to grow through the donor scar and make it less visible. This technique has been explored in the follicular unit transplant but is also very useful in treatment of imperfect old scars and closure of wounds in hair-bearing areas such as the scalp, eyebrows and beard. The authors describe this surgical technique, its advantages and applications in other dermatology surgeries.Na cirurgia de transplante de cabelo, a par da preocupação com o resultado final na área transplantada, o resultado cosmético da área dadora tem merecido a atenção crescente do cirurgião de transplante capilar. No transplante de unidade folicular a técnica de encerramento da área dadora tem evoluído no sentido de produzir cicatrizes progressivamente menos visíveis, mesmo em homens com cabelo curto. A sutura tricofítica é uma técnica que promove o crescimento de cabelo através da cicatriz final tornando-a menos visível. Esta técnica tem vindo a ser aperfeiçoada no transplante de unidade folicular mas tem também interesse no tratamento de cicatrizes e encerramento de feridas operatórias em outras áreas pilosas como o couro cabeludo, os supracílios e a barba. Os autores descrevem esta técnica cirúrgica, as suas vantagens e principais aplicações na cirurgia dermatológica

The implications of nitrogen on the fermentative growth extension of Saccharomyces cerevisiae by isoproturon

The peptone is used to provide nitrogen to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is an essential element for growth. In nature and in industrial musts, essential nutrients for yeast growth are available in complex and variable flux. Some of these compounds are herbicides, where some specific microorganisms are capable to mineralize or degrade into more basic and less harmful compounds to the environmental. The isoproturon (IPU), a phenylurea used as an herbicide, is a compound very difficult to degrade in soils and aquifers, reaching levels considered toxic by European legislation, contributing to both surface and ground water pollution, and it may be also involved in the triggering of serious illnesses. So, it’s urgent to discover biological models to contribute to degrade or eliminate phenylureas in situations of accidental or systematic contamination. The main target of this study was to evaluate the influence of nitrogen to extend the fermentative phase of S. cerevisiae by IPU, using the wild-type strain UE-ME3 deposited in the collection of Enology Laboratory of University of Évora, Portugal. Cells at mid-exponential phase were inoculated in presence of 100μM IPU in YEPD or YED medium and incubated during 72 h with orbital stirring, at 28 ºC. Samples from each treatment were used to obtain OD, cfu, dry weight and to prepare post-12000 g supernatant for determination of protein [1], glutathione (GSH,GSSG) [2] and malondialdehyde (MDA) [3] contents, and cell capacity to scavenge free radicals by the 2,2-diphenyl-1- picryl-hidrazil (DPPH) [4] method, as well as, enzyme activities catalase T (CAT T) [5], glutathione reductase (GR) [6], glutathione peroxidase (GPx) [7], glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) [8], alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) [9], malate dehydrogenase (MDH2) [10] and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) [11] by fluorescence and spectrophotometry. The post-12000 g pellet was also used for protein content and enzyme activity catalase A (CAT A) determination. The results show that yeast grown in presence of IPU in peptone starvation conditions (YED-IPU) exhibit at 72 h a differential growth profile, with cfu, OD, dry weight and level of protein lower than cells grown in YEPD-IPU. The same type of response was detected in terms of antioxidant power estimated by the GSH/GSSG ratio and ability to scavenge free radicals detected by DPPH, as well as the levels of enzyme activities CAT T, CAT A, GR and G6PD which appears much lower in yeast cells grown in YED-IPU medium. On the other hand, cells exposed to IPU in YEPD medium exhibited fermentative activities, ADH and LDH, higher than those detected in cells exposed to phenylurea in the restrictive nitrogen medium, YED-IPU. This set of results suggests that yeast grown in rich medium, YEPD-IPU, remained more fermentative than those grew up in restrictive YED-IPU medium. This interpretation maybe confirmed by higher levels of glutathione and MDA contents, as well as enzyme activities GPx and MDH2 detected in S. cerevisiae exposed to YEPD-IPU which started early the respiratory-fermentative transition. So, S. cerevisiae grown in the nitrogen starvation conditions may more easily recognize isoproturon as substrate and expand its fermentative phase

Induction of Saccharomyces cerevisiae UE-ME3 proliferation by isoproturon is independent of growth stage

The isoproturon (IPU), 3-(4-isopropylphenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea is an active component of several pesticides applied in autumn-winter crops which persist occasionally in the soil, aquifers and biological systems, at levels higher than established by directives of European Community. This phenylurea blocks photosynthesis, inhibiting chloroplasts electron chain at level of photosystem II. Therefore, the presence of IPU in the living cells can generate ROS and consequently cause slow but continuous damage to their cellular components which are increasingly described as important factors involved in the phenomenon of biological ageing and cell death. Cells exhibit defined antioxidant defences that are depleted throughout the life cycle involving the tripeptide glutathione (GSH) and antioxidants enzyme activities glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT T) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Under normal conditions, antioxidant defence mechanisms are capable of maintaining ROS at harmless levels, but prolonged exposure can eventually result in an inability to prevent cellular damages. In general, changes in the value of the GSH/GSSG ratio, GR, CAT T and ALP activities are early indicator of sensitivity to oxidative stress. On the other hand, MDA level is also used as marker of lipid peroxidation in different biological systems. The aim of this work was to determine the response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae UE-ME3, a wine wild-type strain belonging to the Enology laboratory collection of University of Évora, Portugal as biological model to assess IPU toxicity in eukaryotes. S. cerevisiae UE-ME3 (106 cells mL-1) at mid-exponential phase were inoculated in YEPD medium with 2% (w/v) glucose and allowed grown in a water bath, with orbital stirring, at 28ºC during 3 or 72h in the absence or presence of 5 and 100 µM IPU. At the end of the experiment, samples from each treatment were taken to obtain the post-12000 g supernatant, which were used for determination of GSH, GSSG and MDA contents by fluorimetric methods, and GR, CAT T and ALP enzymatic activities by spectrophotometry. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA one-way and Duncan-test. The results showed that S. cerevisiae grown until lag phase, mitotically more actives, have showed higher values in ALP activity, non-protein thiols, glutathione disulfide and MDA than yeast cells grown until stationary phase. Conversely, an inverse relationship was observed for the enzyme activities GR and CAT T as well as GSH levels and GSH/GSSG ratio. Thus, fermentative cells exhibited lower effectiveness in stabilizing the reducing environment mediated by antioxidant enzymes, fact that may be related with an increase for occurrence of cell damages. On the other hand, the IPU exposure caused a significant increase in the enzyme activities ALP, CAT T and GR without affect cell reducing environment in both growth periods and exposition levels. These results suggest that the IPU caused an increase of cell proliferation, assisted in part, by CAT T activity and glutathione cycle which have been more effective in S. cerevisiae exposed to IPU until stationary phase/respiratory, which may have determined a significant decrease in the levels of MDA. However, an opposite effect was detected in S. cerevisiae exposed to IPU until lag phase, response that pointed toward a significant increase of oxidative damages due a slow effectiveness antioxidant response of these cells

Environmental drivers of large-scale movements of baleen whales in the mid-North Atlantic Ocean

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Perez-Jorge, S., Tobena, M., Prieto, R., Vandeperre, F., Calmettes, B., Lehodey, P., & Silva, M. A. Environmental drivers of large-scale movements of baleen whales in the mid-North Atlantic Ocean. Diversity and Distributions, 00, (2020): 1-16, doi:10.1111/ddi.13038.Aim Understanding the environmental drivers of movement and habitat use of highly migratory marine species is crucial to implement appropriate management and conservation measures. However, this requires quantitative information on their spatial and temporal presence, which is limited in the high seas. Here, we aimed to gain insights of the essential habitats of three baleen whale species around the mid‐North Atlantic (NA) region, linking their large‐scale movements with information on oceanographic and biological processes. Location Mid‐NA Ocean. Methods We present the first study combining data from 31 satellite tracks of baleen whales (15, 10 and 6 from fin, blue and sei whales, respectively) from March to July (2008–2016) with data on remotely sensed oceanography and mid‐ and lower trophic level biomass derived from the spatial ecosystem and population dynamics model (SEAPODYM). A Bayesian switching state‐space model was applied to obtain regular tracks and correct for location errors, and pseudo‐absences were created through simulated positions using a correlated random walk model. Based on the tracks and pseudo‐absences, we applied generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to determine the probability of occurrence and predict monthly distributions. Results This study provides the most detailed research on the spatio‐temporal distribution of baleen whales in the mid‐NA, showing how dynamic biophysical processes determine their habitat preference. Movement patterns were mainly influenced by the interaction of temperature and the lower trophic level biomass; however, this relationship differed substantially among species. Best‐fit models suggest that movements of whales migrating towards more productive areas in northern latitudes were constrained by depth and eddy kinetic energy. Main conclusions These novel insights highlight the importance of integrating telemetry data with spatially explicit prey models to understand which factors shape the movement patterns of highly migratory species across large geographical scales. In addition, our outcomes could contribute to inform management of anthropogenic threats to baleen whales in sparsely surveyed region.We are very grateful to Cláudia Oliveira, Irma Cascão, Maria João Cruz, Miriam Romagosa and many volunteers, skilled skippers, crew and spotters that participated in the tagging fieldwork. This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Azores 2020 Operational Programme and Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (FRCT) through research projects FCT‐Exploratory project (IF/00943/2013/CP1199/CT0001), TRACE (PTDC/MAR/74071/2006) and MAPCET (M2.1.2/F/012/2011) co‐funded by FEDER, COMPETE, QREN, POPH, ESF, ERDF, Portuguese Ministry for Science and Education, and Proconvergencia Açores/EU Program. We also acknowledge funds provided by FCT to MARE, through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013. SPJ was supported by a postdoctoral grant (REF.GREENUP/001‐2016), MT by a DRCT doctoral grant (M3.1.a/F/028/2015), MAS by an FCT‐Investigator contract (IF/00943/2013), FV by an FCT Investigator contract (CEECIND/03469/2017) and RP by an FCT postdoctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/108007/2015). LMTL modelling work has been supported by the CMEMS Service Evolution GREENUP project, funded by Mercator Ocean. We are grateful to Elliott Hazen for offering guidance and advice, and to two anonymous referees whose comments greatly improved this work

Habitat preferences of baleen whales in a mid-latitude habitat

© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 141 (2017): 155-167, doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.07.015.Understanding the dynamics of baleen whale distribution is essential to predict how environmental changes can affect their ecology and, in turn, ecosystem functioning. Recent work showed that mid-latitude habitats along migratory routes may play an important role on the feeding ecology of baleen whales. This study aimed to investigate the function of a mid-latitude habitat for blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (B. physalus) and sei (B. borealis) whales occurring in sympatry during spring and summer months and to what extent their environmental niches overlap. We addressed those questions by developing environmental niche models (ENM) for each species and then making pairwise comparisons of niche overlap and relative habitat patch importance among the three species. ENMs were created using sightings from the Azorean Fisheries Observer Program from May to November, between 2004 and 2009, and a set of 18 predictor environmental variables. We then assessed monthly (April-July) overlap among ENMs using a modified Hellinger’s distance metric (I). Results show that the habitat niches of blue and fin whales are strongly influenced by primary productivity and sea surface temperature and are highly dynamic both spatially and temporally due to the oceanography of the region. Niche overlap analyses show that blue and fin whale environmental niches are similar and that the suitable habitats for the two species have high degree of spatial coincidence. These results in combination suggest that this habitat may function as a mid-latitude feeding ground to both species while conditions are adequate. The sei whale model, on the other hand, did not include variables considered to be proxies for prey distribution and little environmental niche overlap was found between this species and the other two. We argue that these results suggest that the region holds little importance as a foraging habitat for the sei whale.This work was supported by FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme - COMPETE, by national funds, through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, under project TRACE (PTDC/ MAR/74071/2006), and by regional funds, through DRCT/SRCTE, under project MAPCET (M2.1.2/ F/012/2011). We acknowledge funds provided by FCT to MARE, through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013. RP was supported by an FCT postdoctoral grant (SFRH_BPD_108007_2015); MT’s fellowship was supported by the FCT Exploratory project (IF/00943/2013); MAS has an FCT Investigador contract (IF/00943/2013).2018-08-0