Enveloping a day - persona visual mapping

The following article describes a Persona Method through Visual Clues (PMVC) in a learning setting performed in the course of Interface Design I, degree of Design, School of Arts, University of Evora, Portugal, in the academic year of 2021/22. The study follows a descriptive case methodology. The purposed PMVC concerns the project’s early stage and reveals how a mosaic assemblage of visual clues allows an itinerary on cohesive information acquisition in guiding the design project. The proposed PMVC allowed students to valorize life contexts when projecting a persona, enabling a strong focus on consumers and work contexts. Although working in fictionalized settings, the PMVC triggers the reasoning on the complexity of the contexts, deploying information that will deliver more reality into Personas

Social Infrastructure and the Preservation of Physical Capital: Equilibria and Transitional Dynamics

We study the mechanisms according to which social infrastructure influences the preser- vation of physical capital and, consequently, economic growth. The model considers that social infrastructure is a specific type of human capital, which acts in order to preserve already existing physical capital, by, e.g., reducing the incentive for rent seeking or cor- ruption. Using an innovative methodology in economics, the Gröbner bases, we study the equilibrium of our model and conclude for the existence of two feasible steady-states or of unicity according to different combinations of parameters, highlighting a trade-off between consumption and production on one hand and social infrastructure and physical capital accumulation, on the other. We also present sufficient conditions for saddle-path stabil- ity. Finally, we describe transitional dynamics and calculate welfare effects from which we show that strengthening social infrastructure increases welfare

Fucoidan immobilized at the surface of a fibrous mesh presents toxic effects over melanoma cells, but not over non-cancer skin cells

The use of fucoidan, a marine-origin bioactive polymer, is herein proposed as a component of an innovative and effective strategy against melanoma, one of the most aggressive skin cancers. First, fucoidan antitumor activity, in its soluble form, was assessed presenting increased cytotoxicity over melanoma cells when compared to human dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes. After this antitumor activity validation and trying to develop a more targeted and local strategy aiming to diminish the cytotoxic effects over noncancer cells, fucoidan was immobilized at the surface of an electrospun nanofiber mesh (NFM_Fu), envisioning the development of a therapeutic patch. The maximum immobilization concentration was 1.2 mg mLâ 1, determined by the Toluidine Blue Assay and confirmed by XPS. Furthermore, NFM_Fu is more hydrophilic than NFM, presenting a contact angle of 36°, lower than the 121° of the control condition. NFM_Fu was able to reduce human melanoma cell viability by 50% without affecting human dermal fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Taken together, these results set the basis for a valuable approach for melanoma treatment.This work was developed under the scope of the Structured Projects for R&D&I NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000021 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000023 supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020),under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement. The authors would like also to thank NORTE 2020 for financing the Ph.D.scholarship of C.O.“Norte-08-5369-000037”and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for the Investigator Grant of A.M. (IF/00376/2014). Dr. Luísa Rodrigues is acknowledged by the XPS analysis

Finite element analysis of pectus carinatum surgical correction via a minimally invasive approach

Pectus carinatum (PC) is a chest deformity caused by a disproportionate growth of the costal cartilages compared to the bony thoracic skeleton, pulling the sternum towards, which leads to its protrusion. There has been a growing interest on using the 'reversed Nuss' technique as a minimally invasive procedure for PC surgical correction. A corrective bar is introduced between the skin and the thoracic cage and positioned on top of the sternum highest protrusion area for continuous pressure. Then, it is fixed to the ribs and kept implanted for about 2-3 years. The purpose of this work was to (a) assess the stresses distribution on the thoracic cage that arise from the procedure, and (b) investigate the impact of different positioning of the corrective bar along the sternum. The higher stresses were generated on the 4th, 5th and 6th ribs backend, supporting the hypothesis of pectus deformities correction-induced scoliosis. The different bar positioning originated different stresses on the ribs' backend. The bar position that led to lower stresses generated on the ribs backend was the one that also led to the smallest sternum displacement. However, this may be preferred, as the risk of induced scoliosis is lowered.This work was financially supported by the Potuguese Foundation for Science and Techrnology (FCT) under the R&D project PTDC/SAU-BEB/103368/2008 and the fellowship SFRH/BPD/46851/2008

# 96. Recobrimento de recessão associada a Festão de McCall através da técnica VISTA

Introdução: A recessão gengival é uma das mais comuns manifestações de doença periodontal e para além de aumentar a sensibilidade dentária, e a incidência de cáries radiculares também provoca discrepâncias na margem gengival o que se traduz num problema estético cada vez mais valorizado. Apesar das muitas técnicas atualmente aceites para o recobrimentos das recessões o enxerto de tecido conjuntivo parece ser a mais abrangente, com mais sucesso e previsibilidade principalmente no que diz respeito a zonas estéticas pois para além de aumentar a espessura de tecido gengival consegue uma cor muito semelhante à da região receptora o que muitas vezes não se consegue com o enxerto gengival livre. Com os avanços efectuados na técnica VISTA consegue‐se um recobrimento sem danos da papila ou do tecido do sulco o que se traduz em resultados mais previsíveis e com pós‐operatórios e resultados estéticos melhorados. Caso clínico: B.S, sexo feminino, 22 anos, fumador, IP inicial 25.8%; diagnosticada com gengivite leve com uma recessão de 2 mm associada a festão de McCall no dente 22 que esteticamente preocupava a paciente. Procedeu‐se à fase higiénica e avaliou‐se a possível etiologia da recessão concluindo‐se que provavelmente se deveria ao facto do trajeto de lateralidade ser feito quase exclusivamente naquele dente, procedeu‐se à eliminação da interferência e avaliou‐se a evolução durante aproximadamente 1 ano. Uma vez que a recessão não desapareceu e que a paciente se apresentava descontente com a estética do seu sorriso planeou‐se a cirurgia periodontal recorrendo a enxerto conjuntivo do tecido do palato segundo a técnica VISTA com uma única incisão localizada no fundo do vestíbulo e sutura suspensa. Repetiu‐se a fase higiénica 24 h antes da cirurgia, a sutura foi removida após 8 dias e repetiu‐se o controlo 8 dias após a remoção da sutura, e 3 meses após a intervenção. Discussão e conclusões: As recessões gengivais são muito comuns na população adulta e idosa contudo também surgem em pacientes jovens e estes apresentam maiores preocupações com as implicações estéticas destas lesões e exigem soluções menos invasivas e com maior previsibilidade. A paciente foi extremamente colaborante, o pós‐operatório foi favorável e os resultados foram muito bons logo ao primeiro controlo, tendo a paciente ficado satisfeita com o resultado final no controlo a 3 meses.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Conhecimento, Responsabilidade, Visão e Futuro: bases programáticas da Lista F para o 3.º mandato do Conselho Geral da Universidade de Évora 2016-20

O presente documento inclui o programa de acção e os elementos de campanha da Lista F, candidata ao 3.º mandato do Conselho Geral da Universidade de Évora (2016-20)

Portuguese Football Federation consensus statement 2020: nutrition and performance in football

Nutrition is an undeniable part of promoting health and performance among football (soccer) players. Nevertheless, nutritional strategies adopted in elite football can vary significantly depending on culture, habit and practical constraints and might not always be supported by scientific evidence. Therefore, a group of 28 Portuguese experts on sports nutrition, sports science and sports medicine sought to discuss current practices in the elite football landscape and review the existing evidence on nutritional strategies to be applied when supporting football players. Starting from understanding football's physical and physiological demands, five different moments were identified: preparing to play, match-day, recovery after matches, between matches and during injury or rehabilitation periods. When applicable, specificities of nutritional support to young athletes and female players were also addressed. The result is a set of practical recommendations that gathered consensus among involved experts, highlighting carbohydrates periodisation, hydration and conscious use of dietary supplements.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterizing partial AZFc deletions of the Y chromosome with amplicon-specific sequence markers

BACKGROUND: The AZFc region of the human Y chromosome is a highly recombinogenic locus containing multi-copy male fertility genes located in repeated DNA blocks (amplicons). These AZFc gene families exhibit slight sequence variations between copies which are considered to have functional relevance. Yet, partial AZFc deletions yield phenotypes ranging from normospermia to azoospermia, thwarting definite conclusions on their real impact on fertility. RESULTS: The amplicon content of partial AZFc deletion products was characterized with novel amplicon-specific sequence markers. Data indicate that partial AZFc deletions are a male infertility risk [odds ratio: 5.6 (95% CI: 1.6–30.1)] and although high diversity of partial deletion products and sequence conversion profiles were recorded, the AZFc marker profiles detected in fertile men were also observed in infertile men. Additionally, the assessment of rearrangement recurrence by Y-lineage analysis indicated that while partial AZFc deletions occurred in highly diverse samples, haplotype diversity was minimal in fertile men sharing identical marker profiles. CONCLUSION: Although partial AZFc deletion products are highly heterogeneous in terms of amplicon content, this plasticity is not sufficient to account for the observed phenotypical variance. The lack of causative association between the deletion of specific gene copies and infertility suggests that AZFc gene content might be part of a multifactorial network, with Y-lineage evolution emerging as a possible phenotype modulator