All the Sites: Fragments of a Close Landscape

All The Sites (Todos Os Sítios) is an exercise of critical reflection on the contemporary landscape. It brings together a set of photographs, which constitute its body of visual documents, and a written argument that aims to inform the intentions and paradigms of the photographs. This article organizes this reflection through two moments: the first concerns the definition of the term site, based on a perception of the landscape as a cultural construction, an expression coined by WJT Mitchell, and the second, through the work of three photographers – Eugène Atget, Walker Evans and Guido Guidi, seeks to situate the visual paradigms of photographs of All the Sites and the discourse that is inherent to them

Merging traditional livelihood activities with new employment opportunities brought by ecotourism to Iona national park, Angola: rethinking social sustainability

Ecotourism activities and investment projects have been consistently increasing worldwide over the last few decades. In this process, ecotourism has contributed to fight poverty, to create local employment opportunities and to promote nature conservation. However, there are also plenty examples of nature-base tourism destinations where ecotourism principles have been distorted and negative impacts are on the rise. Therefore, studies that provide a deep understanding of the roots and consequences of those both positive and negative impacts are needed to achieve new higher tourism quality standards, to foster a sound local development and to promote an integrated and sustainable national growth. To obtain information useful to contribute specific recommendations aimed at linking tourism employers and job seekers, we have conducted a survey addressing locals’ demographic characteristics and their engagement in traditional livelihood activities. Data gathered from 202 respondents showed that in the largest villages traditional livelihood activities, excepting pastoralism, tend to have little expression while the same activities seem to play a key role in some small communities. Striking differences were found between nomadic or semi-nomadic people and people who have been assimilated into the western civilization and also have more sedentary life styles. Using this information and taking in consideration some new employment opportunities brought nature-based tourism to the Iona National Park, we have identified specific demographic profiles more suited for part-time and full-time jobs

Cross-border cooperation (CBC) in Southern Europe-An iberian case study. The eurocity Elvas-Badajoz

The experiences of cross-border cooperation (CBC), undertaken not only in Europe but throughout the world, have enabled areas to gain greater importance in recent decades at an international level, showing potential for integrative functions and joint development as exemplified by several CBC projects. The present paper assesses the impact of CBC projects by analyzing a protocol established in 2013 between the cities of Elvas and Badajoz, which induced the creation of the Eurocity Elvas-Badajoz. The paper kicks off with a critical review on territorial factors for success in CBC areas, considering the analysis of several case studies throughout Europe. The lessons learned, taken from the analyzed case studies, and the identified territorial success factors were used as assessment points for the investigation of the target study area, the Eurocity Elvas-Badajoz. The investigation explores public participation perceptions towards the identification of what changes with respect to standards of life with the CBC project, providing the current state of affairs and identifying where to place efforts in order to reach sustainable development for the region. While being a transition area, it presents several opportunities for growth. These opportunities have not yet been object of analysis and debate with respect to lasting, sustainable successful growth. The present research enables the identification of several territorial factors for success in the study area, such as the connectivity/movement between cities and strong political commitment. From the identified critical factors, it was possible to highlight the importance of public transportation as a priority for achieving success in this CBC project.National Funds - FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology [UID/SOC/04020/2013

Functional genomic characterisation of animal models of AD: relevance to human dementia

The onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterised by increasing intracellular aggregation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) in the neocortex. Despite recent success in identifying genetic risk factors for AD, the transcriptional and epigenomic mechanisms involved in disease progression are not fully understood. The main aim of this project was to evaluate transcriptional and epigenomic differences associated with the development of tau and amyloid pathology. To achieve this, I used transgenic mice harbouring human tau (rTg4510) and amyloid precursor protein (J20) mutations. I profiled transcriptional and epigenomic variation in brains from rTg4510 and J20 mice, collected at four time points carefully selected to span from early to late stages of neuropathology in each model. I identified robust gene expression and methylomic changes in both models, including genes associated with familial AD from genetic studies of human patients, and genes annotated to both common and rare variants identified in genome-wide association and exome-sequencing studies of late-onset sporadic AD. I quantified neuropathological burden across multiple brain regions in the same individual mice, identifying genomic changes paralleling the development of tau pathology in rTg4510 mice and amyloid pathology in J20 mice. Furthermore, I compared gene co-expression networks identified in my rTg4510 and J20 samples to those identified in AD human brains, finding considerable overlap with disease-associated co-expression modules (or clusters of genes) identified in the human cortex. In summary, this project represents the most systematic analysis of transcriptional and methylomic variation in mouse models of tau and amyloid pathology, providing further support for an immune-response component in the accumulation of AD-associated neuropathology, and highlighting novel molecular pathways involved in AD progression

Relation between some socio economic indicators and the security factor – the case of Algarve

The paper discusses the implications of the security factor in the regional development in Algarve region. Considering the goal of sustainable development and growth, some variables related to criminality at regional level have been observed and compared to the national values. The obtained data bases was applied in a methodological essay to search for significant statistical correlations between criminal registers and a set of so-cial and economic indicators, namely: unemployment, internal regional product at mp and cp, regional added value, population density, entered legalised citizens and visiting foreign citizens. This study, developed at regional level, reports an observation period from 1995 and is based on the bibliographic support kindly supplied by the Cabinet of Legislative Politics and Planning in Ministry of Justice. The results show an inexistence of statistical correlation’s between the regional unem-ployment rates and the criminal registers. Positive correlations were found for follow-ing indicators: internal regional internal product, regional added value (in what con-cerns crimes against the State and the crimes foreseen in Sundry Legislation). Also the population density reacted positively to the tests of correlation with the group of crimes against the State. The same occurrence was found in the registers of foreign legalized citizens. When the association between the registers of visitors was considered, the cor-relation appeared on the crimes against the State and the crimes foreseen in Sundry Legislation. Despite the Algarve region being classified, for its visitors, as “safe tourist destina-tion”, these associations disclosed some concern about the impact of this type of crime in the regional development logic’s to Algarve region, essentially for its tourist pre-ponderance and localisation as peripheral region in the UE. Keywords: Regional Development, Internal Security, Criminal Records GPLP-MJ, Correlations; Social and economic pointers;

Towards the characterization of plasmatocyte heterogeneity in Drosophila melanogaster

Tese de mestrado, Biologia (Biologia Evolutiva e do Desenvolvimento), 2009, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de CiênciasResumo alargado em português disponível no documentoInsect innate immune system can be partitioned into humoral and cellular defense mechanisms. However, both branches of immune system are interconnected, acting in a synergistic way. The study of these interconnections is an important step to comprehend the immune response as an integrated system. In Drosophila genus 95% of 'blood cells' (hemocytes) are plasmatocytes. These cells participate in numerous processes during development and immune response. Throughout embryogenesis and pupal stage plasmatocytes play an important role in tissue remodeling, phagocytizing dead cells and synthesizing extracellular matrix. During an immune response they are responsible for production of antimicrobial peptides, phagocytosis and aggregation of pathogens. In addition, it is possible to find two other types of hemocytes in Drosophila's hemolymph, crystal cells and lamellocytes, both with very specialized functions in immune response. Crystal cells constitute 5% of hemocytes in Drosophila and lamellocytes are only found in larvae upon infection with large pathogens, such as wasp eggs. Classification of these three hemocyte types is based on morphological and biochemical criteria. However, some new studies have begun to characterize RNA and protein expression in Drosophila's hemocyte classes. Here, we want to go further in the genetic characterization of plasmatocytes with the purpose off asking if there are different subpopulations of plasmatocytes performing different functions during immune response. For this propose we used flow cytometry technique to analyze gene expression in Drosophila larvae plasmatocytes. Our results show that two out of the five GAL4 lines analyzed drive expression of GFP in subpopulations of Drosophila larval plasmatocytes. This observation indicates that plasmatocytes do not form a homogeneous population of cells in Drosophila's larvae hemolymph. We then used Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) to sort and perform in vitro experiments with hemese positive and hemese negative plasmatocytes independently. In vitro analysis confirmed that both subpopulations correspond to previous plasmatocyte descriptions. We hypothesized that one of these two different subpopulations of plasmatocytes is responsible for modulation of melanization, an immune response of insects. However, the results obtained in our specific in vitro setting did not support this hypothesis but further work is needed to ascertain this matter in a definitive way

The importance of cash holdings for acquiring companies in mergers and acquisitions

Dissertação de mestrado em FinançasCash holdings can be an important vehicle for firms to undertake value increasing investment opportunities, but also a source of agency costs. Using a sample of Mergers and Acquisitions of bidders from several countries: Germany, France, UK and US, between 1990 and 2015, I find a positive relation between excess cash and M&A activity. The results also suggest that smaller firms, with higher investment opportunities and riskier cash-flows tend to hold more cash. Additionally, I do not find any short-term significant stock market reaction to cash-rich bidder acquisitions, despite abnormal declines in post-merger operating performance. Finally, cash-rich firms use their cash rather than stock to finance these investment decisions.O nível de caixa de uma empresa pode ser um veículo importante para conseguir financiar oportunidades de investimento de valor acrescentado, mas também pode representar uma fonte de custos de agência. Utilizando uma amostra de Fusões e Aquisições em vários países: Alemanha, França, Reino Unido e EUA, entre 1990 e 2015, encontro uma relação positiva entre o excesso de caixa e a atividade de investimento. Os resultados também sugerem que as empresas de menor dimensão, com maiores oportunidades de investimento e fluxos de caixa com maior nível de risco, tendem a reter mais dinheiro. Além disso, não encontro qualquer reação do mercado de ações, a curto prazo, a aquisições de licitantes ricos em caixa, apesar de encontrar posteriores declínios no desempenho operacional do adquirente. Finalmente, as empresas ricas em dinheiro utilizam o mesmo em vez de ações para financiar essas decisões de investimento

Design of a testing device for an anatomical part of the ascending aorta

Aortic aneurysms are life-threatening pathologies that cause thousands of deaths worldwide. The current main clinical criteria for surgical intervention is aortic diameter, although a large percentage of patients with dissection or rupture has a normal diameter. Computation methods have been adopted to model the biomechanical behaviour of biological tissue in view of adding in the diagnosis of this pathology. Furthermore, experimental testing on aneurismatic aortic tissue has been performed to validate these models. The objective of this study is to integrate com- putational mechanical methods into an innovative experimental test with a specifically designed device where material parameters are obtained by inverse methods assisted by Digital Image Correlation (DIC). Axiomatic Design (AD) is taken into consideration to develop the testing device in a clear, methodical, and efficient way. A case study is analysed, and a patient-specific 3D geometry of an Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm (ATAA) is obtained by segmenting Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) images. A methodology is presented by attribut- ing a hyperelastic constitutive model to the geometry and executing Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Future work should rely on real experimental tests where Finite Element Model Up- dating (FEMU) should be adopted to fit the constitutive model more accurately to the actual specimen material.O aneurisma da aorta é uma patologia de risco que provoca milhares de mortes mundialmente. O critério atual para intervenção cirúrgica é o diâmetro da aorta, no entanto, uma grande percentagem de pacientes com dissecção ou rutura da aorta apresenta um diâmetro normal. Métodos computacionais têm sido adotados para modelar o comportamento biomecânico de tecido biológico e auxiliar no diagnóstico desta patologia. Testes experimentais nestes tecidos são executados para validar os modelos. O objetivo deste estudo é um contributo para uma plataforma digital integrando métodos computacionais para o desenvolvimento de um mecan- ismo de ensaio experimental, cuja identificação de parâmetros material deve ser auxiliada pela técnica de correlação digital de imagem 3D. Esta abordagem segue um desenvolvimento de pro- duto orientado por simulação numérica, em que a análise computacional é totalmente integrada como parte do projeto mecânico. Teoria Axiomática de Projeto é tida em consideração para desenvolver o dispositivo de uma forma clara, metódica e eficiente. Um caso de estudo é anal- isado e uma geometria da peça anatómica 3D, específica de um paciente, é obtida através da segmentação de imagens de uma angiotomografia. Uma metodologia é apresentada atribuindo um modelo constitutivo hiperelástico ao material e executando análise de elementos finitos. Como trabalho futuro a identificação dos parametros constitutivos deve ser obtida com recurso a métodos inversos avançados baseados em campos de deformação obtidos por correlação digital de imagem

A CYBERCULTURE STUDY: K-POP AND THE NEW MEDIA - BTS AND TWITTER

This paper intends to describe, analyze, and reflect on the presence of K-Pop in the cybernetic environment, as a cultural and artistic manifestation of the XXI century, as well as to study and evaluate the participation of the band BTS (and its fan community) in the social network Twitter, looking for an understanding of its identity and contribution to the cyberculture universe. The importance of “Korean Pop” for the global music industry is, in present times, an undeniable fact, because of the success of several artists and groups of Korean heritage and/or managed by labels from South Korea that have been occupying the top places in charts previously dominated by Anglo-Saxon performers. The band Bangtan Sonyeondan, known worldwide as BTS, formed by Big Hit Entertainment in 2010, is pointed by the critics and specialists as one of the most successful and mediatic groups of the last years. The comparisons between the Beatlemania from the 60s and the behaviour of its fan base (self-proclaimed Army) are quite common. In this context, we intend to study this cultural phenomenon as a new form of culture and interaction between artists and admirers, using social media and new socialization techniques created and adapted to cyberspace. Article visualizations

Hematopoiesis in the Drosophila larva: beyond the lymph gland

All coelomate animals possess a population of cells that do not make part of an organ and instead freely flow inside the body cavity. These cells, termed hemocytes (in invertebrates) or blood cells (in vertebrates), are involved in varied functions including immune response, clearance of apoptotic cells and distribution of nutrient and gases (Grigorian & Hartenstein 2013).(...)Fundação Para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT