REAP, a project for PET and can

In a moment of change, with an impulse from the pandemic that hit the world, the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals has become a clear necessity towards a more sustainable world, with less inequalities and a basis for the upbringing of future generations. SDG Goal 12 Sustainable Consumption and Production, 13 - Climate Action - and 14 - Life below water - are clearly linked to plastic and metal consumption and production. Also, Goal 10 - Reduced inequalities - plays its paper in this field. Not only does plastic and metal production, consumption and use need to be reformed, but also producers need to bridge inequalities and reuse, recycle and introduce circular economies in their own countries, not inducing mass imposition of waste in poorer economies. With this in mind, at the University of Aveiro, the REAP Project (Recycling of PET and Aluminium Packages) is being implemented, together with a Norwegian partner, with vast experience in the plastic waste sector. This project will help create the idea of PET and aluminium impact from a tax on these packages inside campi walls and a tax return after adequate deposition. Tracking these numbers and promoting research in the area of PET and aluminium reuse are a further input towards the implementation of SDGs.The paper will explain the project, its goals and ambitions.Keyword: PET, Can, SDG Goals, circular econom

Essays on Migration and Agricultural Development

The economic consequences of international migration have spurred vigorous debates among policy makers. There also are discussions within the economics literature, with labor economists disagreeing on whether immigration is beneficial for host economies and development economists having dissenting views about the impact of emigration and remittances on source countries. In this dissertation I make a contribution to both academic debates. The two empirical studies in the dissertation are motivated by a core result of the Hecksher-Olin theory which states that open economies can absorb factor supply shocks by adapting their technology and output mix, thereby attenuating the effects of the shocks on factor prices. I investigate if local agricultural economies adapted their crop and technology mix in response to migration-induced changes in the availability of factors. In order to identify the causal effects of migration-induced shocks on agriculture, an empirical strategy that combines regional-level fixed effects with instrumental variables is used. The instruments are constructed exploiting within-country variation in the historic location choices of migrants as well as arguably exogenous national shocks to migration. In the second chapter I investigate the question in the context of a migrant sending economy, the Philippines, and derive causal province-level estimates of the effects of emigration and remittance flows on measures of the size of agriculture and the use of capital-intensive farming practices. I also estimate the effects on the adoption of risk-coping mechanisms since remittances may play an insurance role. I provide evidence that remittances have transformed farming practices, increasing the degree of specialization, the production of high value commercial crops and the adoption of mechanized farming. These effects seem to be driven by an increase in the availability of working capital and the provision of insurance. In contrast, I find no evidence that emigration has an impact on farming practices, something that can be explained by the absence of hiring constraints and the existence of a highly elastic labor supply. Overall, the findings suggest that, to the extent that agricultural production in most developing countries is limited by insurance and capital constraints and not by labor shortages, remittances can be a source of insurance and investment finance that fosters agricultural development. The third chapter is a study of adjustments to immigration-induced changes in labor supply in a host economy, written in collaboration with Jeanne Lafortune and Jose Tessada. In contrast to the Philippines' study, we find an impact of early 20th century labor supply shocks on agricultural practices in the United States, something that can be explained by the fact that the US, as opposed to the Philippines, is a land-abundant country. We find that an immigration-induced increase in farm labor led to changes in crop choice and in several measures of production organization such as farm size, tenancy and use of tractors and animal traction. We also study effects on input mix and land and capital productivity which, according to a simple theoretical framework, will provide insights about the wage effects of immigration. Overall, our results suggest that even though the US agricultural sector adapted to an increase in labor supply through output and technological adjustments, such adjustments were insufficient to mitigate the wage effects of immigration

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The role of extracellular vesiclesin multiple myeloma

Abstract: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy of clonal antibody-secreting plasma-cells(PC). MM diagnosis and risk stratification rely on tumoral assessment via bone marrow (BM) biopsy, which is an invasive procedure prone to sample bias. Liquid biopsies, such as extracellular vesicles (EV) in peripheral blood(PB), hold promise as new minimallyinvasive tools. Real-world studies analyzing patient-derived EV proteome are rare. Here, we characterizePB and BMEV protein content from acohort of 102monoclonal gammopathiespatients routinely followed in theclinic. A total of 223 PB and 111BM samples were included.We investigated whether EV protein and particle concentrationcould predict MM patient prognosisandfoundthat high EVprotein/particle (EVc> 0.6 μg/108particles) levelis related to poorer survival and immune dysfunction.These results were supportedat protein level by mass spectrometry.We report a set of PB EV-proteins (PDIA3, C4BPA, BTN1A1, APRIL, PSMB8 and PDE8B) with new biomarker potential for myeloma patientoutcomes. High proteomic expression similarity between PB and BM matched pairs were found, suggestingthe use of circulating EV as a personalized counterpart of BM EV proteome. Overall, we found that EV protein content couldberelated to patient outcomes, suchassurvival,immune dysfunction,andpossiblyspecific treatment response.Resumo: O mieloma múltiplo (MM) é uma doença hematológica maligna dos plasmócitos(PC), células produtoras de anticorpos. O diagnóstico e a estratificação de risco no MM dependem da avaliação das células tumorais na medula óssea (BM)por biópsia osteomedular, um procedimento invasivo e propenso a viés de amostragem. As biópsias líquidas, como por exemplo as vesículas extracelulares (EV) no sangue periférico(PB), são ferramentas diagnósticas minimamente invasivas promissoras. Estudos clínicos com dados de vida real em doentes com MMainda são escassos. Neste trabalho apresentamos a caracterizaçãode EVno PB e na BMnuma coorte de102doentescom gamapatias monoclonais, durante oacompanhamento habitual dasuadoença na prática clínica.No total foram incluídas223 amostras de PB e 111 de BM.Identificamos queacarga proteica (proteína/partículasou EVc) destas vesiculas pode predizer o prognóstico dos doentes com MM. Descobrimos queumnível alto de EVc(> 0,6 μg/108partículas)está relacionado com umasobrevivênciainferiore disfunção imunológicanos doentes com MM.Estes resultados foram confirmadosa nível proteicopor espectrometria de massa.Neste trabalhoidentificamos um conjunto de proteínasem EV no PB (PDIA3, C4BPA, BTN1A1, APRIL, PSMB8 e PDE8B) comopotenciais novos biomarcadores em doentescom MM. Encontrou-se ainda uma elevada similaridade na expressão proteica entre amostras dePB e BM, sugerindo o uso de EV no PB como contraparte personalizada doproteoma das EV naBM.Concluímosque o conteúdoproteico das EV está relacionado com os resultados clínicos dosdoentescom MM, incluindo sobrevivência, disfunção imunológica e possivelmentede resposta a determinados tratamentos

PROCSIM: an energy community simulator to develop and evaluate load balancing schemes

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of the present millennium. The energy sector is the biggest contributor to this problem with approximately 25% of the global emissions. In order to mitigate this problem, one of the main solutions concerns to the use of energy from renewable sources. It is important to begin taking better advantage of the renewable resources more effectively and more often. In this sense, it is very important to develop mechanisms to balance the demand and supply, with the goal of minimizing, as much as possible, the use of energy from non renewable sources. For this reason, Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) started to emerge. They allow the sharing of the resources, contributing to a better management of them. However, these are not problem free. There are two main challenges that need to be solved: avoid a bad management of the renewable resources, hence avoiding the need to acquire energy from outside the community, and guarantee a fair distribution of the resources. In this regard, many researchers are focusing their attentions in load shifting approaches (adapt the appliances running time to better balance the load). Nevertheless, most of them use implicit approaches through the use of incentives (such as tariffs and dynamic pricing), which can be considered unfair approaches since richer people tend to benefit (which is not supposed, because ideally all community members should benefit the same). Based on this, in this work it is suggested an explicit load shifting approach based on the distribution of the timeslots, using the Multiple Knapsack combinatorial optimization problem. Although there are some literature which demonstrate the applicability of Knapsack in a variety of real world problems, the same does not happen in the energy field. Furthermore, since a large quantity of data is required to test and evaluate multiple scenarios in this load balancing scheme, and taking in consideration that only two energy community datasets were found on the literature, in this thesis it is also proposed an energy community simulator that allows to create different Energy Community (EC) datasets and evaluate the impact of the optimization, considering only Photovoltaics (PV) production (other types of renewable sources as well as batteries are not considered). Finally, in order to evaluate the impact of the developed load balancing strategy, the developed sim ulator was used in three different experiments: variation in bin size, variation in community size and variation in flexibility. The results were positive and showed that this strategy can provide a better man agement of the PV resources once it increased the PV use, decreased the PV waste and also decreased the use of energy from the grid.As alterações climáticas são um dos maiores desafios do presente milénio. O sector da energia é o que mais contribui para este problema com aproximadamente 25% das emissões globais. A fim de mitigar este problema, uma grande solução está relacionada com a utilização de energia proveniente de recursos renováveis. É importante começar a tirar um melhor partido das fontes reno váveis de forma mais eficaz e mais frequente. Neste sentido, é muito importante o desenvolvimento de mecanismos para equilibrar a procura e a oferta, com o objectivo de minimizar, tanto quanto possível, a utilização de energia proveniente de fontes não renováveis. Por esta razão, RECs começaram a surgir. Elas permitem a partilha dos recursos, contribuindo para uma melhor gestão dos mesmos. No entanto, elas não estão isentas de problemas. Dois dos desafios mais importantes a resolver são: evitar uma má gestão dos recursos renováveis, evitando assim a necessidade de adquirir energia de fora da comunidade, e garantir uma distribuição justa dos recursos. A este respeito, muitos investigadores estão a concentrar as atenções em abordagens load shifting (adaptar o tempo de funcionamento dos aparelhos para melhor equilibrar a carga). No entanto, a maioria deles utiliza abordagens implícitas através do uso de incentivos (tais como tarifas e preços dinâmicos), o que pode ser considerado injusto, uma vez que as pessoas mais ricas serão beneficiadas (o que não é suposto, pois idealmente todos os membros da comunidade devem beneficiar o mesmo). Com base nisto, neste trabalho é sugerida uma abordagem explícita de load shifting baseada na distribuição de timeslots, utilizando o problema de otimização combinatorial Multiple Knapsack. Embora haja alguma literatura que demonstra a aplicabilidade do Knapsack numa variedade de problemas do mundo real, o mesmo não acontece no campo da energia. Além disso, uma vez que é necessária uma grande quantidade de dados para testar e avaliar múlti plos cenários neste esquema de load balancing, e tendo em consideração que apenas dois datasets de comunidades energéticas foram encontrados na literatura, nesta tese é também proposto um simulador de comunidades energéticas que permite criar diferentes datasets de EC e avaliar o impacto da opti mização, considerando apenas a produção fotovoltaica (não são considerados outros tipos de fontes renováveis, bem como baterias). Finalmente, com o intuito de avaliar o impacto da estratégia de load balancing desenvolvida, o simu lador desenvolvido foi utilizado em três experiências diferentes: variação no tamanho do bin, variação no tamanho da comunidade e variação na flexibilidade. Os resultados foram positivos e mostraram que esta estratégia pode proporcionar uma melhor gestão dos recursos do PV uma vez que aumenta a utilização do PV, diminui o desperdício do PV e também diminui a utilização de energia da rede

Bayesian phylogenetic modelling of lateral gene transfers

PhD ThesisPhylogenetic trees represent the evolutionary relationships between a set of species. Inferring these trees from data is particularly challenging sometimes since the transfer of genetic material can occur not only from parents to their o spring but also between organisms via lateral gene transfers (LGTs). Thus, the presence of LGTs means that genes in a genome can each have di erent evolutionary histories, represented by di erent gene trees. A few statistical approaches have been introduced to explore non-vertical evolution through collections of Markov-dependent gene trees. In 2005 Suchard described a Bayesian hierarchical model for joint inference of gene trees and an underlying species tree, where a layer in the model linked gene trees to the species tree via a sequence of unknown lateral gene transfers. In his model LGT was modeled via a random walk in the tree space derived from the subtree prune and regraft (SPR) operator on unrooted trees. However, the use of SPR moves to represent LGT in an unrooted tree is problematic, since the transference of DNA between two organisms implies the contemporaneity of both organisms and therefore it can allow unrealistic LGTs. This thesis describes a related hierarchical Bayesian phylogenetic model for reconstructing phylogenetic trees which imposes a temporal constraint on LGTs, namely that they can only occur between species which exist concurrently. This is achieved by taking into account possible time orderings of divergence events in trees, without explicitly modelling divergence times. An extended version of the SPR operator is introduced as a more adequate mechanism to represent the LGT e ect in a tree. The extended SPR operation respects the time ordering. It additionaly di ers from regular SPR as it maintains a 1-to-1 correspondence between points on the species tree and points on each gene tree. Each point on a gene tree represents the existence of a population containing that gene at some point in time. Hierarchical phylogenetic models were used in the reconstruction of each gene tree from its corresponding gene alignment, enabling the pooling of information across genes. In addition to Suchard's approach, we assume variation in the rate of evolution between di erent sites. The species tree is assumed to be xed. A Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm was developed to t the model in a Bayesian framework. A novel MCMC proposal mechanism for jointly proposing the gene tree topology and branch lengths, LGT distance and LGT history has been developed as well as a novel graphical tool to represent LGT history, the LGT Biplot. Our model was applied to simulated and experimental datasets. More speci cally we analysed LGT/reassortment presence in the evolution of 2009 Swine-Origin In uenza Type A virus. Future improvements of our model and algorithm should include joint inference of the species tree, improving the computational e ciency of the MCMC algorithm and better consideration of other factors that can cause discordance of gene trees and species trees such as gene loss

Eliminação da hepatite C em Portugal: um mito urbano?

© 2020 Sociedade Portuguesa de Gastrenterologia Published by S. Karger AG, Basel. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (http://www.karger.com/Services/OpenAccessLicense). Usage and distribution for commercial purposes as well as any distribution of modified material requires written permissionThe burden of hepatitis C virus infection remains very high despite huge progress in the cure of the infection. The high prevalence of hepatitis C, especially in vulnerable groups and particularly drug users, may compromise the achievement of the 2030 WHO targets with a 90% reduction in new infections and a 65% reduction in mortality. Therapy with the latest pangenotypic direct-acting antivirals provides cure rates in the order of 97% with short-term oral treatment (8-12 weeks) and with an excellent safety and tolerability profile. Curing the infection causes significant health gains derived from preventing complications from cirrhosis, especially hepatocellular carcinoma, and from liver transplantation. Elimination of hepatitis seems feasible with the implementation of a massive therapy program, focusing particularly on vulnerable populations, through micro-elimination strategies, and in the general population with age-based screening. The reduction of the virus reservoir (humans are the only reservoir) is a determining factor in eradicating the virus.O peso relativo da infecção pelo vírus da hepatite C permanece muito elevado apesar dos enormes progressos verificados na cura da infecção. A elevada prevalência da hepatite C, sobretudo nos nos grupos vulneráveis e em particular nos utilizadores de drogas, pode comprometer o atingimento das metas da WHO para 2030 com redução de 90% de novas infecções e redução de mortalidade em 65%. A terapêutica com os antivíricos de acção directa mais recentes, pangenotípicos, proporciona taxas de cura da ordem dos 97% com tratamento oral de curta duração (8–12 semanas), e com excelente perfil de segurança e to­lerabilidade. A curada infecção ocasiona significativos ganhos em saúde derivados da prevenção das complicações da cirrose, sobretudo do carcinoma hepatocelular, e do transplante hepático. A eliminação da hepatite parece exequível com a aplicação de um programa de massificação da terapêutica, incidindo particularmente nas populações vulneráveis, através de estratégias de microeliminação, e na população geral com rastreio baseado na idade. A redução do reservatório do vírus (o homem é o único reservatório), é determinante para a sua eliminação.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FRUGIVOROUS- BIRDS AND THEIR HABITATS IN FRAGMENTED FOREST AREAS NEAR TO VILLAVICENCIO CITY, VILLAVICENCIO, META, COLOMBIA.

The degradation of the Llanos foothill ecosystems is one of the biggest ecological problems in the areas surrounding the city of Villavicencio, Meta. The generation of fragments produces new conditions for the establishment of bird guilds. This study was carried out during 2017 - 2018 in areas of the campus Loma Linda at the Santo Tomas University. It was evaluated whether the forest interior, forest border and grassland areas constitute habitats that support the establishment of frugivorous birds. The key factors that affect the richness, diversity and abundance of bird species were identified, from which recommendations were made for the establishment of conservation measures. The richness of birds and their abundance was positively correlated with intermediate values of plant richness and diversity and with the presence and coverage of species of palms and lianas. The abundance and diversity of frugivorous birds were higher in border areas and lower in grasslands and forest interiors. Apparently the diversity of the habitat in border areas of fragmented lands increases the diversity of frugivorous birds through an increase in the abundance values. Artificial enrichment is recommended with different tree, shrubs and palms species planted in the edge and interior areas of the forest, and the maintenance of remaining trees and shrubs in the areas of shrub grasslands.Keywords: fragmentation, frugivorous-birds, diversity, natural regeneration

Development of an app as an activist force for Alzheimer's and dementia caregivers

Dissertação de Mestrado em Design, com a especialização em Design de Comunicação, apresentada na Faculdade de Arquitetura da Universidade de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre.A doença de Alzheimer – uma das variantes doenças de Demência – está a aumentar exponencialmente devido ao envelhecimento populacional. A tendência demográfica de envelhecimento na Europa apresenta riscos e suscita a procura de soluções que retirem o melhor partido possível das tecnologias disponíveis. Portugal enfrenta uma série de desafios em matéria de qualidade de vida da sua população, dado que o cuidado dos idosos com demência é um problema que envolve a sua família. De facto, é patente a falta de recursos para cuidar de pessoas que vivem com a doença de Alzheimer. Escasseiam os centros de dia para acolher em segurança o número crescente de idosos com aquele diagnóstico. De acordo com as estimativas da Alzheimer Europe, estima-se que existem cerca de 153 000 casos de pessoas com Demência em Portugal, número que poderá triplicar em 2040. Esta investigação centra-se em métodos de avaliação para determinar se a tecnologia de reconhecimento facial contribui para o desenvolvimento de medidas preventivas de incidentes de deambulação em pessoas portadoras da doença de Alzheimer. Estas ocorrências exigem dos familiares cuidadores um envolvimento permanente, o que inevitavelmente afeta as suas vidas. Para responder às questões de investigação recorreu-se à revisão da teoria, análise e crítica de casos de estudo, entrevistas semiestruturadas, classificação de categorias e subcategorias de aplicação através do método de service blueprinting(fase não intervencionista) e à pesquisa prática, que apresenta e discute os resultados dos testes de usabilidade e da criação de personas que representam os diversos perfis de potenciais utilizadores da aplicação desenvolvida para smartphone (fase intervencionista). O naming proposto – NOSCO – radica numa palavra do grego antigo, que significa “conhecer”, e permite relacioná-lo com outros termos que foram importantes para o desenvolvimento da identidade visual da aplicação: memória, afetos, mobilização de várias vontades para ajudar o portador da doença de Alzheimer. A aplicação destina-se a smartphone e encontra-se, ainda, em fase de desenvolvimento. Os testes de usabilidade com um protótipo funcional forneceram indicadores que confirmam o potencial da aplicação para minimizar o impacto dos acidentes de deambulação, proporcionar um ambiente mais seguro para os doentes e familiares cuidadores, dar maior visibilidade social à doença de Alzheimer e facilitar a inclusão social dos idosos com esta patologia.ABSTRACT: Alzheimer’s disease – one of the forms of Dementia disease – is increasing exponentially due to the ageing of the human body. The current demographic trend in Europe for the aging population presents risks and generates a search for updated solutions. Portugal faces a number of challenges in the quality of life of its populations since the care of the elderly with dementia is a problem that involves their family. In fact, there is a lack of resources to care for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Day care centres are scarce and fail to give continuous care to the growing number of elderly people with that diagnosis. According to Alzheimer Europe, there are an estimated 153,000 cases of people with dementia in Portugal, which could triple by 2040. This research focuses on assessment methods to determine whether facial recognition technology contributes for the development of preventive measures in wandering incidents that occur in people living with Alzheimer’s disease. These occurrences require family caregivers to be permanently involved, which will inevitably affect their lives. In order to answer the research questions, the author made use of the literature review, analysis and critique of a collection on empirical case studies, semi-structured interviews, classification of categories and subcategories of the mobile application through the use of a service blueprinting method (non-interventionist phase). As well as the elaboration of the practical research which presents and discusses the results of usability tests and the creation of personas that represent the various of potential user profiles of the application developed for smartphone (interventionist phase). The proposed naming – NOSCO – is based upon a word from ancient Greek, which means “to know”, and allows to relate it with other terms that were important for the development of the visual identity of the mobile application: memory, affections, mobilization of various wills to help the person living with Alzheimer’s disease. The application is intended for smartphones and is still under development. Usability tests with a functional prototype provided indicators that confirm the potential of the application to minimize the impact of wandering incidents, provide a safer environment for both patients and family caregivers, provide greater social visibility to Alzheimer’s disease, and facilitate social inclusion of the elderly with this pathology.N/

Caracterização do adobe em construções existentes na região de Aveiro

O adobe em Portugal encontra-se sobretudo em construções antigas da região de Aveiro. A reabilitação ou reforço destas construções, algumas delas com reconhecido interesse histórico-arquitectónico, tem vindo a ser negligenciada. Desta inoperância generalizada resultou o estado actual de dano estrutural pronunciado e, em muitos casos, o limiar da ruína, no qual se encontram a maioria das construções existentes e que deixa antever, a breve prazo, a entrada em colapso de muitas destas. Neste contexto, torna-se urgente, e absolutamente necessário, avançar com recursos financeiros e humanos na reabilitação e reforço deste importante legado. Uma grande dificuldade para os técnicos que trabalham na reabilitação deste tipo de construções reside na falta de conhecimento acerca do comportamento mecânico do adobe e das paredes de adobe. Neste sentido, a fim de caracterizar o comportamento estrutural daquelas construções, foram investigadas as características mecânicas do adobe. Pretendeu-se com este estudo caracterizar o comportamento mecânico de blocos de adobe representativos da construção na região de Aveiro. Para tal, foram recolhidas amostras de adobe de construções seleccionadas, muros e casas. Os provetes cilíndricos extraídos destas foram ensaiados à compressão simples e à compressão diametral, obtendo-se a sua resistência à compressão e à tracção, respectivamente. Tendo em conta que os blocos de adobe eram feitos fundamentalmente com solos arenosos de natureza bastante argilosa, uma caracterização básica da sua composição foi ainda efectuada, pela análise granulométrica por peneiração seca dos seus constituintes. A deterioração destes materiais deve-se geralmente à acção da água. Assim, a determinação da absorção de água, bem como a capacidade de secagem do adobe e do reboco é essencial. Este artigo descreve os ensaios realizados e apresenta os resultados obtidos, discutindo-os