Fakes in art

Tese de doutoramento, Estudos de Literatura e de Cultura (Teoria da Literatura), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2013Knowing a work of art is fake influences one’s opinion about it. Moreover, it has important effects on the lives of people who are interested in art. These claims will be made in articulation with the following: judgements about art are not much different from judgements about actions that are unrelated to art. Art forgery is not a special case within the judgement of actions and intentions. Opinions about works of art, particularly about the intention to deceive, are moral descriptions.Saber que uma obra de arte é falsa influencia a nossa opinião acerca dessa obra e tem consequências importantes na vida das pessoas que se interessam por arte. Defender-se-á também que opiniões sobre arte não são muito diferentes de opiniões a respeito de acções que nada têm a ver com arte. As falsificações em arte não constituem um caso especial da avaliação de acções e intenções. Opiniões sobre obras de arte, particularmente sobre a intenção de enganar, são descrições morais.Fundação Calouste Gulbenkia

Antioxidant properties of proanthocyanidins of Uncaria tomentosa bark decoction: a mechanism for anti-inflammatory activity

Decoctions prepared from the bark of Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) are widely used in the traditional Peruvian medicine for the treatment of several diseases, in particular as a potent anti-inflammatory agent. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to determine if the well-known anti-inflammatory activity of cat's claw decoction was related with its reactivity with the oxidant species generated in the inflammatory process and to establish a relationship between such antioxidant ability and its phenolic composition.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TH7-4F0850T-4/1/3219343cbe74d7f0377521c42991f33

Antioxidant properties of proanthocyanidins of Uncaria tomentosa bark decoction: a mechanism for anti-inflammatory activity

Decoctions prepared from the bark of Uncaria tomentosa (cat's claw) are widely used in the traditional Peruvian medicine for the treatment of several diseases, in particular as a potent anti-inflammatory agent. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to determine if the well-known anti-inflammatory activity of cat's claw decoction was related with its reactivity with the oxidant species generated in the inflammatory process and to establish a relationship between such antioxidant ability and its phenolic composition.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TH7-4F0850T-4/1/3219343cbe74d7f0377521c42991f33

Ecological, anatomical and physiological traits of benthic macroinvertebrates : their use on the health characterization of freshwater ecosystems

After some studies made in Northern Portuguese freshwater ecosystems using the benthic macroinvertebrate communities for water quality evaluation, it has been possible to see that only the analysis of some characteristics allowed to distinguish different levels of environmental disturbance. The studies of some characteristics of the macroinvertebrates and the comparison with the results of the physico-chemical parameters analysed show that the more disturbed the ecosystems had, the lower dissolved oxygen concentration and organisms with greater independence from this concentration. The objective of this work is to define groups of organisms, attending to some of their characteristics that are related to getting oxygen. The groups were defined through bibliographic information and from direct observation of their behaviour. The ability of these groups to distinguish different types of ecosystems was analysed by comparison of the obtained results on their distribution in a group of sampling sites located along gradients of contamination, with the results obtained by the calculation of biological indices, descriptive metric analyses of the community, and the water chemical quality. After this study, it is possible to say that the results obtained with the use of respiratory groups can be more informative than that obtained with the analysis of the physico-chemical parameters or other biological parameters.Tras diversos estudios efectuados en ecosistemas acuáticos del Norte de Portugal usando las comunidades de macroinvertebrados para evaluar la calidad del agua ha sido posible verificar que solo el estudio de algunas características permitía diferenciar niveles de perturbación ambiental. El estudio de algunas características de los macroinvertebrados y la comparación con los resultados de los parámetros físico-químicos analizados ha mostrado que cuanto más perturbados eran los sistemas, menor era la concentración de oxigeno disuelto y más independientes de su concentración los organismos presentes. El objetivo de este trabajo es definir grupos de organismos, atendiendo a algunas de sus características relacionadas con la obtención de oxigeno. Los grupos fueran definidos a través de información de bibliografía y de la observación directa de su comportamiento. La capacidad de los grupos para distinguir los diferentes tipos de ecosistemas fue analizada través la comparación de los resultados obtenidos de su distribución en un conjunto de puntos de muestreo ubicados a lo largo de gradientes de contaminación con resultados obtenidos por el cálculo de índices biológicos, análisis métricos descriptivos de la comunidad y de la calidad química del agua. Al final de este estudio es posible decir que los resultados obtenidos con los grupos respiratorios pueden ser más informativos que los obtenidos con el análisis de los parámetros físico y químicos o con otros parámetros biológico

Perceções de professores do ensino secundário em Portugal sobre o papel da disciplina de biologia e do Gabinete de Apoio aos Alunos na Educação em Sexualidade

A educação em sexualidade (ES) em Portugal, por se tratar de uma área de formação pessoal e social, exige a adopção de um currículo aberto e flexível com a participação ativa dos/as alunos/as. Por essa razão, a ES tem vindo a ser integrada no currículo escolar nomeadamente na disciplina de Biologia e Gabinete de Apoio ao Aluno/a (GAA). Neste sentido, foi desenvolvida uma investigação em escolas portuguesas que, entre outros objetivos, pretendeu: i) caracterizar as concepções de professores/as do GAA e professores/as de Biologia, do Ensino Secundário, sobre o papel da disciplina de Biologia e do GAA na ES dos/as jovens; ii) descrever a forma como concebem o GAA como uma estrutura de suporte na ES. Recorreu-se a uma metodologia qualitativa, exploratória e descritiva, em que a recolha dos dados foi feita através de entrevistas semiestruturadas a professores/as responsáveis pelo GAA (n=6) e professores/asde Biologia (n=6). A maior parte dos/as entrevistados/as atribuiu à Biologia e ao GAA um papel importante na ES no Ensino Secundário, que entenderam como uma área transversal e interdisciplinar onde se ajudam os/as jovens a construir projetos de vida saudáveis. Na sua perspetiva, o programa de Biologia permite o conhecimento da dimensão biológica da sexualidade, daí a importância da sua articulação com o GAA. O GAA foi considerado como uma estrutura de suporte à ES, porque além de colaborar nos projetos de ES deverá ser um serviço social, onde o/a professor/a age como conselheiro/a e encaminha o/a aluno/a para outras instituições.Estes resultados têm implicações a nível da formação de professores/as, da articulação entre as áreas curriculares disciplinares e o GAA e da (re) estruturação dos GAA em função dos normativos legais.Instituto de Educação, Centro de Investigação em Educação (CIEd

Caracterización de la microbiota de queso Serpa y selección de cepas nativas con aptitud probiótica

El queso Serpa, una Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP), es un queso maturado de leche cruda de oveja producido en el sur de Portugal (Alentejo), en un área geográfica de producción establecida en el Decreto Reglamentario Nº 39/87. A pesar de ser un queso muy apreciado e importante en la economía local, no existen datos consistentes sobre la comunidad microbiana indígena involucrada. La presencia de esta microflora es esencial para la calidad final, la seguridad y la autenticidad del producto. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo estudiar las poblaciones microbianas dominantes que actúan durante la elaboración del queso. Esto se realizó mediante una combinación de cultivo convencional y técnicas moleculares, para establecer las cepas más influyentes. Las cepas identificadas y representativas se caracterizaron en términos de su potencial bioactivo. La cantidad total de bacterias mesófilas al final de la maduración fue de 8,5 log ufc/g, siendo las bacterias del ácido láctico el grupo microbiano predominante, seguido de las enterobacterias y las levaduras. “Lactobacillus paracasei/casei” fue la principal especie entre las primeras y “Hafnia alvei” entre las enterobacterias, mientras que “Debaryomyces hansenii” y “Kluyveromyces marxianus” predominaron entre las levaduras. Los resultados obtenidos por secuenciación de alto rendimiento revelan el género “Lactococcus”, seguido de los géneros “Leuconostoc” y “Lactobacillus”. Teniendo en cuenta las características probióticas estudiadas se seleccionaron tres cepas, “Lb. brevis” C1Lb21, “Lb. plantarum” G1Lb5 y “Lb. pentosus” G4Lb7 porque su seguridad, mostraban buena tolerancia a las condiciones del tracto gastrointestinal (GIT) y la capacidad de colonizar el intestino.Serpa cheese, a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), is a ripened raw ewes milk cheese produced in the south of Portugal (Alentejo), in a geographical area of production established in the Regulatory Decree Nº 39/87. Despite being a highly appreciated cheese and having great importance in the local economy, there is no consistent data, achieved by the use of molecular methods, about the indigenous microbial community involved. The presence of this microflora is essential to the final quality, security and authenticity of the product. Thus, this work aimed to study the dominant microbial populations that act during cheese making. This was done through a combination of conventional cultivation and molecular techniques, in order to establish the most influential strains. The identified and representative strains were characterized in terms of their bioactive potential. The total amount of mesophilic bacteria at the end of ripening was, on average, 8.5 log cfu/g, with lactic acid bacteria being the predominant microbial group, followed by Enterobacteria and yeasts. “Lactobacillus paracasei/casei” were the main species among the former and “Hafnia alvei” among the Enterobacteria, while “Debaryomyces hansenii” and “Kluyveromyces marxianus” predominated among yeasts. The results obtained by high-throughput sequencing reveal the “Lactococcus” genus, followed by the “Leuconostoc” and “Lactobacillus” genres. Considering the probiotic characteristics studied three potential probiotic strains (PPS) namely, “Lb. brevis”, “Lb. plantarum”, “Lb. pentosus” were selected as they were safe, showed good tolerance to stress conditions found in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the ability to colonize the intestine.Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural de Portugal; Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural (FEDER), a través del acuerdo de asociación Portugal 2020-PDR: proyecto “SerpaFlora - Valorización de la flora nativa del queso Serpa” (PDR2020-101-031017

Radiation damage in flexible TFTs and organic detectors

In this thesis was investigated the radiation hardness of the building blocks of a future flexible X-ray sensor system. The characterized building blocks for the pixel addressing and signal amplification electronics are high mobility semiconducting oxide transistors (HMSO-TFTs) and organic transistors (OTFTs), whereas the photonic detection system is based on organic semiconducting single crystals (OSSCs). TFT parameters such as mobility, threshold voltage and subthreshold slope were measured as function of cumulative X-ray dose. Instead for OSSCs conductivity and X-ray sensitivity were analysed after various radiation steps. The results show that ionizing radiation does not lead to degradation in HMSO-TFTs. Instead OTFTs show instability in mobility which is reduced up to 73% for doses of 1 kGy. OSSC demonstrate stable detector properties for the tested total dose range. As conclusion, HMSO-TFTs and OSSCs can be readily employed in the X-ray detector system allowing operation for total doses exceeding 1 kGy of ionizing radiation

Eco-physiological characterization of the macroinverterbate communities of an urban stream (Rio Tinto, Portugal)

The Water Framework Directive ( DQA-2000/60/EC ) establishes as its main objective the achievement of a good ecological quality of all inland surface waters and groundwater by 2015 , and introduces the concept of " ecological status " of an ecosystem , which includes the study of a wide range of parameters and factors for determining the " health " system ". This work, carried out within a project which main objective is the rehabilitation of a small watercourse in high degree of ecological degradation, aims to make the study of benthic macroinvertebrate communities and some parameters related to the ecological state of Rio Tinto (Douro watershed) in order to determine the main sources of pollution and to propose measures for its rehabilitation. This study compare results (metrics and functional structure) of samples of the benthic macroinvertebrate communities collected at 10 sampling sites along the river in 2013/14 and values of some hydro-morphological, physical and chemical parameters. The results indicate that it is a water course which presents a high degree of degradation due to problems with artificiality of the channel and receipt of domestic and industrial effluents.LIPORN/

Linguagem comum: um ensaio sobre clichés

Tese de mestrado, Teoria da Literatura, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Letras, 2004Esta tese centra-se na discussão da dualidade da relação que mantemos com os clichés. Por um lado, tendemos a considerá-los exemplos de banalidade e obstáculos à originalidade. Por outro lado, não hesitamos em usá-los quando asseguram a legibilidade dos nossos enunciados e comportamentos. Defender-seá que muito frequentemente a rejeição de clichés corresponde à rejeição da linguagem corrente e que a única alternativa, a existir, seria uma linguagem privada. O resultado só poderia ser o isolamento e a incomunicabilidade, i.e. presumivelmente o contrário daquilo que desejam os que afirmam que a linguagem comum é demasiado restritiva para os seus propósitos. Para além disso, a nossa falta de imunidade aos clichés e o facto de as pessoas se citarem serão apresentados como fazendo parte de pertencer a uma comunidade, cujos membros fazem coisas parecidas, e não como uma limitação. Na base do meu argumento está o conto de Alberto Moravia “Um Jogo”, que pode ser lido como uma parábola sobre clichés.ABSTRACT: This dissertation focuses on the discussion of the twofold way we relate to clichés. On the one hand, we tend to view them as an instance of banality and as an obstacle to originality. On the other hand, we use them unhesitatingly when they assure the legibility of our utterances and behaviour. It will be argued that most frequently the rejection of clichés equates with the rejection of everyday language and that the only alternative, assuming it could exist, would be a private language. The result could only be isolation and incommunicability, i.e. presumably the opposite of what those who claim that ordinary language is too restrictive for their purposes wish. Moreover, our lack of immunity to clichés and the fact that people quote each other will be presented as part of belonging to a certain community, whose members do similar things, and not as a liability. The basis of my argument is Alberto Moravia’s short story “Un Gioco”, which can be read as a parable on clichés