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This work presents a new approach to the application of essential oils, exposure to the vapor phase, which can be considered a first approach for the development of a complementary or alternative form of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) treatment. VVC is a significant infection caused by Candida species and remains a common disease that affects millions of women every year. Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is one of the most prevalent vaginal infectious diseases. The increasing incidence of drug-resistant Candida strains and the limited therapeutic options make the discovery of effective alternative therapies fundamental. Essential oils (EOs) have been suggested as a promising alternative, and interestingly, vapor-phase essential oils (VP-EOs) present more advantages than their direct application. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the effect of oregano VP-EO (VP-OEO) on biofilms of antifungal-resistant vaginal isolates of Candida species (Candida albicans and Candida glabrata) and determine its mode of action. CFU, membrane integrity, and metabolic activity were evaluated. Furthermore, a reconstituted vaginal epithelium was used to mimic vaginal conditions and evaluate the effect of VP-OEO on Candida species infection, analyzed by DNA quantification, microscopy, and lactate dehydrogenase activity. The results revealed high VP-OEO antifungal activity. There was a significant reduction (\>4 log CFU) in Candida species biofilms. Furthermore, the results show that the mechanisms of action of VP-OEO are related to membrane integrity and metabolic activity. The epithelium model confirms the effectiveness of VP-OEO. This study suggests that VP-EO can be considered a first approach for the development of an alternative form of VVC treatment. IMPORTANCE This work presents a new approach to the application of essential oils, exposure to the vapor phase, which can be considered a first approach for the development of a complementary or alternative form of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) treatment. VVC is a significant infection caused by Candida species and remains a common disease that affects millions of women every year. The great difficulty in treating VVC and the extremely limited effective therapeutic options make the development of alternative treatments crucial. In this scope, this study aims to contribute to the development of effective, inexpensive, and nontoxic strategies for the prevention and treatment of this infectious disease, based on natural products. Moreover, this new approach has several advantages for women, such as lower costs, easy access, an easier mode of application, avoidance of skin contact, and, therefore, fewer negative impacts on womens health., This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of the UIDB/04469/2020 unit and grant 2020.05720.BD to L.F. Also, this study was supported by LABBELS-Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering, and Microelectromechanical Systems LA/P/0029/2020, and M.E.R. thanks the FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016-Norma Transitoria. S.C.-D.-O. acknowledges national funds through the FCT, IP, within the scope of the project RISE-LA/P/0053/2020., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Introduction : Vulvovaginal candidiasis is a disease that affects millions of women worldwide. Oral formulations, topical creams or ointments are the conventional dosage forms, with an increase in drug administration through vaginal via. The use of simulated biological fluids (e.g. vaginal fluid) in the evaluation of antifungal therapies may better mimic the real biological environments and therefore provide a better understanding of the behavior of the antifungal. Methods : The main objective of this work was to compare planktonic growth and biofilm formation of Candida species, on common growth medium, Sabouraud Dextrose Broth (SDB) and on vaginal simulation conditions, Simulated Vaginal Fluid (SVF), through the optical density determination, colony-forming units and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, under the same conditions this study also evaluated the ability of vapor phase of oregano and white thyme essential oils (VP-EOs), potential alternative treatment, to inhibit biofilm formation and to destroy mature biofilms of vaginal isolates, through the colony-forming units determination. Results : Candida isolates maintained the same biofilm formation capacity and morphology in both media (SVF and SDB). Furthermore, the results obtained in this work related with VP-EOs effect agree with results acquired, previously, with SDB. This means that the effect of VP-EOs is not affected by the SVF medium, and that this fluid allows the dissolution of the volatile and bioactive compounds. Conclusions : These results can predict the in vivo behaviour, suggesting a potential effective application of VP-EOs as prophylactic or therapeutic treatment for biofilm-related vulvovaginal candidiasis., This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit and grant ref 2020.05720.BD for Liliana Fernandes. Also, this study was supported by LABBELS — Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, LA/P/0029/2020 and Maria Elisa Rodrigues thanks FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016—Norma transitória, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The constant financial scandals and the recent world economic crises have intensified the debate on Audit Quality and the reliability of financial reporting in the capital markets. More robust banking supervision and efficient risk management contribute to better capital adequacy in banks and, consequently, promote financial stability in the banking sector. The present study aims to analyse the relationship between the Risk-Weighted Assets of several European banks and their respective market value, in order to identify the influence of audit quality on this practice. For this purpose, a sample of 94 banks from 22 European countries is used, covering the period from 2007 to 2020. The variables under analysis take the form of bank-specific, institutional, and macroeconomic variables. The results show that Risk-Weighted Assets, the size of banks, and Non-performing loans have a negative influence on the market value. On the other hand, Profitability and Audit Quality have a positive influence. Os constantes escândalos financeiros e as recentes crises económicas mundiais, têm vindo a pôr em causa a Qualidade de Auditoria e a confiabilidade do relato financeiro no mercado de capitais. Uma supervisão bancária mais robusta e uma eficiente gestão de risco contribuem para uma melhor adequação de capital nos bancos e, consequentemente, promovem a estabilidade financeira no setor bancário. O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar a relação entre o Risk-Weighted Assets de vários bancos Europeus e o seu respectivo valor de mercado, a fim de identificar a influência da qualidade da auditoria nesta relação. Para o efeito, é utilizada uma amostra de 94 bancos de 22 países europeus, entre o período de 2007 a 2020. As variáveis em análise assumem a forma de variáveis específicas do banco, institucionais e macroeconómicas. Os resultados demonstram que o Risk-Weighted Assets, a dimensão dos bancos e os empréstimos em incumprimento têm uma influência negativa no valor de mercado. Por outro lado, a rendibilidade e a qualidade de auditoria têm uma influência positiva.

Background: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a disease with high incidence, a huge impact on the quality of life and health of women, and which represents a great challenge to treat. The growing need to apply antifungal intensive therapies have contributed to an emergence of drug-resistant Candida strains. Thus, effective therapeutic options, to meet the antifungal-resistance challenge and to control high resilient biofilms, are urgently needed. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity of essentials oils (EOs) on drug-resistant Candida vaginal isolates. Method: Therefore, the antimicrobial effect of tea tree, niaouli, white thyme, and cajeput EOs on the planktonic growth of Candida isolates was initially evaluated by an agar disc diffusion method. Then, the vapor-phase effect of tea tree EO (VP-TTEO) on biofilm formation and on pre-formed biofilms was evaluated by crystal violet staining, XTT reduction assay, colony forming units’ enumeration, and scanning electron microscopy. Results: The results revealed high antifungal activity of EOs against drug-resistant Candida isolates. Additionally, the VP-TTEO showed a significant inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation of all tested isolates and was able to provoke an expressive reduction in mature Candida albicans biofilms. Conclusions: Overall, this study suggests that the VP-EO may be a promising solution that is able to prevent biofilm-related VVC caused by antifungal-resistant strains., This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit and grant ref 2020.05720.BD for Liliana Fernandes. Also, this study was supported by LABBELS—Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology, Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, LA/P/0029/2020 and Maria Elisa Rodrigues thanks FCT for funding through program DL 57/2016—Norma transitória., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) colonizes the intestine of young pigs causing severe diarrhoea and consequently bringing high producing costs. The rise of antibiotic selective pressure together with on-going limitation on their use demands news strategies to tackle this pathology. The pertinence of using phages to tackle this problematic is being explored, and in this work, the efficacy of a T4-like phage vB_EcoM_FJ1 (FJ1) in reducing the load of ETEC O9:H9 (Sta, F5/F41) was assessed. FJ1 has a 170,053 bp genome, and of the 270 coding sequences none corresponds to identified undesirable proteins, such as integrases or transposases. Envisaging the oral application to piglets, FJ1 was previously encapsulated on CaCO3/alginate. Assays were performed on 15-day cultures of the intestinal pig cell line IPEC-1 seeded in transwell inserts. Phage treatment occurred 2 hours after ETEC infection, when, in average, 5x105 CFU.cm-2 were adhered to cultured cells. Encapsulated phage provided reductions of, approximately, 2.3 Log CFU.cm-2 and 2.8 Log CFU.cm-2 on adhered bacteria, respectively 3 and 6 hours after administration. The repeated exposure of the host to FJ1 led to the emergence of phage-insensitive mutants, phenotype that brought fitness costs to the host strain: they were 70% more vulnerable to the pig complement system and less efficient in adhering to cultured cells (in about 90%). Overall, FJ1 is presented here as promising to fight against ETEC infections through oral administration to piglets., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Publication Number WO/2022/090568, An anti-biofilm formulation for use in the treatment of infections comprising: methyl ethyl ketone and an organic co-solvent or an essential oil, wherein the anti-biofilm formulation is a biofilm disruptor., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In a society increasingly dependent on science and technology, the need to equip our students with the most varied digital and communication skills is crucial. Active and collaborative learning among peers is essential for the acquisition of transversal skills. Communication is one of the main tools that the Engineer uses to reach his target audience. Science Communication in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CCBioTec) is a project on Innovation and Development of Teaching and Learning supported by Center IDEA-UMinho, a structure that emerges to promote and value Innovation and Development of Teaching and Learning at the University of Minho. CCBioTec is transversal to a set of Learning Units (LU) under the responsibility of the Department of Biological Engineering (DEB), including one LU of each year of the Integrated Masters in Biological Engineering and in Biomedical Engineering. The main goals of CCBioTEc are: to foster the awareness of the DEB educational community on the importance of science communication, as well as to develop science communication skills, through the production of short videos (pitches) displaying the explanation, in a simple and dynamic way, of complex concepts of Bioengineering and Biotechnology related with the curricula of each LU. CCBioTec started in the second semester of 2020/21, and it will go on in the 1st semester of 2021/22. The project was designed to be implemented according to the following steps: 1 - Technical and pedagogical training of teachers; 2 - Technical training of students involved in the project - Week CCBioTEC-2021; 3 - Development of materials for Science Communication in Bioengineering and Biotechnology; 4 - CCBioTec-2021 competition. In CCBioTec, teachers presenting himself as a mediator/facilitator of learning, boosting students development of transversal skills, collaborative work, decision making and the expression of ideas, together with the acquisition of knowledge foreseen in the curricular contents of the LU., (undefined), info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In a society increasingly dependent on science and technology, the need to equip our students with the most varied digital and communication skills is crucial. Active and collaborative learning among peers is essential for the acquisition of transversal skills. Communication is one of the main tools that the Engineer uses to reach his target audience. “Science Communication in Bioengineering and Biotechnology” (CCBioTec) is a project on Innovation and Development of Teaching and Learning supported by Center IDEA-UMinho, a structure that emerges to promote and value Innovation and Development of Teaching and Learning at the University of Minho. CCBioTec is transversal to a set of Learning Units (LU) under the responsibility of the Department of Biological Engineering (DEB), including one LU of each year of the Integrated Masters in Biological Engineering and in Biomedical Engineering. The main goals of CCBioTEc are: to foster the awareness of the DEB educational community on the importance of science communication, as well as to develop science communication skills, through the production of short videos (pitches) displaying the explanation, in a simple and dynamic way, of complex concepts of Bioengineering and Biotechnology related with the curricula of each LU. CCBioTec started in the second semester of 2020/21, and it will go on in the 1st semester of 2021/22. The project was designed to be implemented according to the following steps: 1 - Technical and pedagogical training of teachers; 2 - Technical training of students involved in the project - Week CCBioTEC-2021; 3 - Development of materials for “Science Communication in Bioengineering and Biotechnology”; 4 - “CCBioTec-2021” competition. In CCBioTec, teachers presenting himself as a mediator/facilitator of learning, boosting students’ development of transversal skills, collaborative work, decision making and the expression of ideas, together with the acquisition of knowledge foreseen in the curricular contents of the LU &nbsp

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. Submitted by Pilar Lago (mpilar@fa.utl.pt) on 2021-12-22T14:56:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 MarianaLoureiroHenriques.pdf: 102375412 bytes, checksum: 240527cf1d662db5f76a6da1da9c3d6c (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Pilar Lago (mpilar@fa.utl.pt) on 2021-12-22T14:57:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 MarianaLoureiroHenriques.pdf: 102375412 bytes, checksum: 240527cf1d662db5f76a6da1da9c3d6c (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2021-12-22T14:58:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarianaLoureiroHenriques.pdf: 102375412 bytes, checksum: 240527cf1d662db5f76a6da1da9c3d6c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021-01 N/A

International Patent, The present disclosure relates to the use of antisense oligomers in the treatment or therapy of Candida albicans infections. The present disclosure further describes the use of antisense oligomers in antisense therapy to inhibit the morphological transition of Candida albicans from yeast to filamentous form., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Project Work presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence The use of data mining as a way of solving problems from the widest range of areas with the main purpose of gaining competitive advantage is rising, specially in retail, an extremely competitive sector that requires an even bigger advantage. Additionally, food loss, beyond representing a huge waste of resources, can also be considered a major issue to the retail sector due to the financial losses originated from it. Thus, I proposed to help Pingo Doce, a well-known Portuguese retail company, to solve their food loss issue which, despite being the major cause of a huge drop in the company’s profits, has never been solved till this day. Therefore, this project focuses on the development of a classification algorithm that will allow to predict future significant losses in several fruits sold in certain Pingo Doce stores. To do so I applied a Decision Tree algorithm that, due to its representation in the form of if-then rules, will help to identify the main features that lead to a higher number of losses, namely the period of the year and the category to which each fruit belongs, among others. The dataset provided by the company contains variables that measure the quantity and value of sales, stocks, identified and unidentified losses, over a one-year period, and regarding 81 different fruits and 20 stores from all over the country. Additionally, I created new variables such as the criminality rate of the municipality and the climate class of each store, as well as the seasons and the day of the week in which each observation occurred. All these variables allowed me to create four different datasets that originated four different Classification Trees. The results show that, using a dataset with no information regarding stocks and sales, containing only variables that describe the characteristics of the stores, products and periods of time, as well as the value of product sold per unit of measurement, i.e. the price per unit of measurement of each fruit, it is possible to create a Decision Tree that reaches an accuracy of 74% and correctly predicts 82% of the observations that represent significant losses. The algorithm obtained allowed to identify the variables that are more prone to originate significant losses, namely: the day of the week, the fruit’s category, the season of the year, the position of that week in the respective month and the price at which the product is being sold.

The research investigates how female representations, in Brazilian soap operas, tensioned by hegemony and selective tradition, make the agendas of the feminist movement visible, from the 1960s to 2010. To answer this question, we analyze the soap operas Véu de Noiva (1969), Pecado Capital (1975), Coração Alado (1980), Explode Coração (1995), América (2005) and A Força do Querer (2017). The general objective is to analyze the relations between Brazilian soap operas and the feminist movement, through the representation of female characters, in six soap operas from the 1960s to 2010. Thus, we have as specific objectives: to map the elements of the historical and social context in each moment of the feminist movement in Brazil; verify how the production logics of the soap operas contribute to the representation of the themes through the characters; identify the feminist themes reinforced in the soap operas and recognize the elements used in the construction of the female characters of the soap operas. In order to achieve these objectives, we use the theoretical-methodological assumptions of the cultural studies, approach from which we develop the concepts such as cultural material, mediation, hegemony and tradition, and we also elaborate the cultural-media analysis, based on the cultural theory proposed by Raymond Williams (1979). Besides, we present a history of the feminist movement and its developments, mainly in the Brazilian context, based on Céli Pinto (2003, 2018), Maria Amélia Teles (2003, 2017) and Ilze Zirbel (2007). We also highlight the importance of soap operas in the Brazilian context, characterizing them as cultural products with a potential for articulating representations and also as a catalyst for debates on feminist themes, through Charlotte Brunsdon (1997), Ana Carolina Escosteguy (2003, 2019), Heloisa Buarque de Almeida (2002, 2003) and Clara Meirelles (2009). As a result, the visibility of the agenda in the soap operas is demonstrated through five themes: motherhood, violence against women, empowerment, labor market and sexual diversity, in addition to their consequences. In general, there is a representation through a white, little politicized, individualized and meritocratic feminism, which acts within conservative and traditional limits, reinforcing a double sexual morality. The soap operas and feminism have intense relationships and continuous exchanges, but when represented, it is a “well-behaved” movement, which little reflects the plurality of this struggle, giving voice to stable and conservative models of representations, with a guise of “new discourse”, “current” and “liberal”. Nonetheless, they are extremely important products when dealing with this theme, as they are popular and accessible to everyone, and as they dialogue with easy transit in different contexts. This is intensified in Brazil, due to its great relevance in the various cultural contexts. A presente pesquisa problematiza de que forma as representações femininas, nas telenovelas brasileiras, tensionadas pela hegemonia e tradição seletiva, visibilizam pautas do movimento feminista, ao longo das décadas de 1960 a 2010. Para responder tal indagação, analisamos as telenovelas Véu de Noiva (1969), Pecado Capital (1975), Coração Alado (1980), Explode Coração (1995), América (2005) e A Força do Querer (2017). O objetivo geral é o de analisar as relações existentes entre as telenovelas brasileiras e o movimento feminista, através da representação das personagens femininas, em seis telenovelas das décadas de 1960 a 2010. Assim, temos como objetivos específicos: mapear os elementos do contexto histórico e social vigentes em cada momento do movimento feminista no Brasil; verificar as lógicas de produção das telenovelas que contribuem para a representação das temáticas através das personagens femininas; identificar as temáticas feministas reforçadas nas telenovelas analisadas e reconhecer os elementos utilizados na construção das personagens femininas das telenovelas. Para isso, ancoramos nosso estudo nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos dos estudos culturais, eixo a partir do qual desenvolvemos as noções de materialismo cultural, mediação, hegemonia e tradição, bem como elaboramos a análise cultural-midiática, a partir da teoria cultural proposta por Raymond Williams (1979). Apresentamos, também, um histórico do movimento feminista e de seus desdobramentos, principalmente, no contexto brasileiro, tendo como base Céli Pinto (2003, 2018), Maria Amélia Teles (2003, 2017) e Ilze Zirbel (2007). Destacamos, ainda, a importância das telenovelas no contexto brasileiro, caracterizando-as como produtos culturais com potencial articulador de representações e ainda como catalisador de debates sobre temáticas feministas, através de Charlotte Brunsdon (1997), Ana Carolina Escosteguy (2003, 2019), Heloisa Buarque de Almeida (2002, 2003) e Clara Meirelles (2009). Como resultado, temos que a visibilização das pautas nas telenovelas se dá através de cinco eixos: maternidade, violência contra a mulher, empoderamento, mercado de trabalho e diversidade sexual e de gênero, além dos desdobramentos delas. Em linhas gerais, o que se tem é uma representação através de um feminismo branco, pouco politizado, individualizado, meritocrático, que age dentro de limites conservadores e tradicionais, reforçando uma dupla moral sexual. As telenovelas e o feminismo possuem relações intensas e trocas contínuas, mas quando representado, é um movimento “bem-comportado”, que pouco reflete a pluralidade desta luta, dando voz a modelos estáveis e conservadores de representações, com uma roupagem de “discurso novo”, “atual” e “liberal”. Ainda assim, elas são produtos extremamente importantes ao pautarem tal tema, na medida em que são populares, acessíveis a todos e que dialogam com trânsito facilitado em diversos meios. Isto se intensifica no Brasil, devido a grande relevância que possuem nos variados contextos culturais.

Tese de mestrado em Ciências Geofísicas (Meteorologia e Oceanografia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2020 Submitted by Cristina Manessiez (camanessiez@fc.ul.pt) on 2021-05-24T16:51:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ulfc126315_tm_Mariana_Henriques.pdf: 4646800 bytes, checksum: d183127feee4e2766085684c8a217412 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2021-05-24T16:52:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ulfc126315_tm_Mariana_Henriques.pdf: 4646800 bytes, checksum: d183127feee4e2766085684c8a217412 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020

Submitted by Maria Helena Ribeiro (helena.ribeiro@lisboa.ucp.pt) on 2020-03-03T15:54:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 152118364_MarianaGHenriques_DPDFA.pdf: 1353595 bytes, checksum: dd2bdf688edc31bc22c2d8fe4d904690 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Maria Helena Ribeiro (helena.ribeiro@lisboa.ucp.pt) on 2020-03-03T15:54:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 152118364_MarianaGHenriques_DPDFA.pdf: 1353595 bytes, checksum: dd2bdf688edc31bc22c2d8fe4d904690 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2020-03-03T15:54:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 152118364_MarianaGHenriques_DPDFA.pdf: 1353595 bytes, checksum: dd2bdf688edc31bc22c2d8fe4d904690 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020-01-29