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Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome (WFS), defined as severe adrenal insufficiency due to bilateral adrenal gland haemorrhagic necrosis, occurred in a 59-year-old woman. An underlying serogroup Y Neisseria meningitidis (NM) infection was diagnosed, with a rapid progression to purpura fulminans, disseminated intravascular coagulation and WFS. Intensive treatment including fluid resuscitation, broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, ventilatory support, platelet and factor replacement were administered. The meningococcaemia in the presence of WFS had a fulminant progression, leading to a fatal outcome within 24 hours of symptom onset. This case details the diagnosis and management challenges of the WFS, a rare complication of NM septicaemia, and describes the identification of a NM serogroup that is rare in Portugal in middle-aged patients.

This study aimed to assess the long-term stability of Class II malocclusion treatment with the Cantilever Bite Jumper (CBJ) after 13 years of follow-up.The treatment group comprised 10 Class II Division 1 malocclusion patients treated with the CBJ, followed by fixed appliances, analyzed at 3 stages: pretreatment (aged 11.56-14.32 years), posttreatment (aged 16.34-19.58 years), and long-term posttreatment (aged 29.04-32.33 years). The control group included 15 subjects with normal occlusion. Intragroup treatment changes comparison was performed with repeated measures and analysis of variance followed by Tukey tests. Intergroup comparisons regarding the long-term posttreatment changes were performed with t tests.No statistically significant relapse was observed during the follow-up period. Morever, the treated group presented a significantly smaller increase in lower anterior facial height and greater retrusion of the lower lip than the control group in the posttreatment period.Treatment with the CBJ, followed by fixed appliances, is a stable alternative for Class II Division 1 malocclusion correction. The dentoskeletal and soft-tissue changes obtained during treatment remained stable in the long-term posttreatment follow-up.

O assédio moral no trabalho assume cada vez mais destaque no contexto organizacional. Os atuais modelos de gestão, conduzem à emergência de novos riscos psicossociais. O contexto hospitalar é caraterizado por se tratar de um ambiente organizacional onde ocorrem com maior expressão, condutas de assédio moral perante os profissionais de enfermagem. A nível conceptual, o assédio moral carateriza-se por condutas dissimuladas, abusivas (gestos, palavras, comportamentos ou atitudes), de forma continuada no tempo, diligenciada por um superior hierárquico ou colega de trabalho, contra outros trabalhadores. Este tipo de comportamentos remete o fenómeno para algo sombrio, pouco claro e de difícil prova. O presente estudo tem o objetivo de conhecer a intensidade, duração, frequência e consequências na saúde, resultantes dos comportamentos de assédio moral no contexto hospitalar, em particular nos profissionais de enfermagem. A investigação empírica assentou numa metodologia qualitativa, através da realização de um conjunto de entrevistas a diversos intervenientes no processo de assédio moral no trabalho. Os resultados da investigação permitiram conhecer a existência de comportamentos de assédio moral nos profissionais de enfermagem. O agressor evidencia uma comunicação hostil e utiliza estratégias de desacreditar e humilhar a vítima. O estudo empírico possibilitou aferir que as atitudes de assédio moral duraram por um período de um a três anos e resultaram num dos casos identificados, em três baixas médicas e necessidade de medicação. Concluímos, que os comportamentos de assédio moral, obstaculizam a vida social, familiar e profissional dos enfermeiros. Moral harassment in the workplace is increasingly gaining emphasis in the organisational context. Current management models lead to the emergence of new psychosocial risks. The hospital context, notably, is identified as an organisational environment where mobbing, especially towards nursing professionals, is very present. Conceptually, mobbing is defined as abusive and covert demeanours (such as gestures, words, behaviours or attitudes) carried out by a hierarchical superior or a colleague against other workers over a period of time. This type of behaviour is often surreptitious, which makes mobbing difficult to corroborate. The purpose of this study is to analyse the intensity, duration and frequency of mobbing as well as its consequences in the health of nursing professionals exposed to it in a hospital context. The empirical investigation was based on a qualitative research method, namely through a series of interviews with various participants in the process of moral harassment in the workplace. The results of this investigation revealed the existence of mobbing amongst nursing professionals. The aggressor uses a hostile means of communication and employs strategies to discredit and humiliate his victim. According to this study, these moral harassment cases lasted for a period from one to three years, and, in one of the cases subject to analysis, resulted in three medical leaves and need for medication. In conclusion, mobbing, or moral harassment in the workplace, represents an obstacle in the social, family, and professional life of nurses.

Brazil is the second largest producer of biofuels in the word, after the USA. Biofuel production in the country was boosted in the 1970s by public policies such as Pro-Alcool (considered a successful policy to strengthen ethanol production). However, the competitive prices of fossil fuels and ethanol shortages due to high sugar prices have created market insecurity concerning investments in ethanol production and also in the supply side. Brazil produced 28.3 billion litres of ethanol and 3.8 billion litres of biodiesel in 2016. The production percentage increase in the last decade were 25% and 840% for ethanol and biodiesel, respectively, showing a stagnation in ethanol sector and technological advances and viability increase in biodiesel sector. To retake the expansion biofuel in Brazil, a governmental program, RenovaBio, was created to encourage private investments in the sector, including advances in second and third generation of biofuels, and also help the country meet decarbonization goals according to the Paris Agreement. Unlike Pro-Alcool, the program intends to push biofuels production without focusing on a specific type. Although it expects to retake the Brazilian expansion in biofuels, the real impact in the sector is still unclear. The goal of this article is to understand the sector in Brazil in the last decade and how RenovaBio could affect the first, second and third generation of biofuel production. The key concept of RenovaBio is to reduce the carbon emission and improve life-cycle performance of biofuels. The program provides an opportunity for the biofuel producer to commercialize decarbonization credits (CBIO) in the market. The CBIO is generated by the difference between fossil fuel CO2e emission (baseline) and its biofuel substitute. The higher this difference, the more CBIO could be issued and commercialized. Therefore, as cellulosic ethanol usually presents a smaller carbon footprint compared to first-generation ethanol, the viability of advanced biofuels could possibly increase. By these means, RenovaBio could lead to a reduction of ethanol prices and a real expansion of biofuel technology development and production in Brazil.

Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome (WFS), defined as severe adrenal insufficiency due to bilateral adrenal gland haemorrhagic necrosis, occurred in a 59-year-old woman. An underlying serogroup Y Neisseria meningitidis (NM) infection was diagnosed, with a rapid progression to purpura fulminans, disseminated intravascular coagulation and WFS. Intensive treatment including fluid resuscitation, broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, ventilatory support, platelet and factor replacement were administered. The meningococcaemia in the presence of WFS had a fulminant progression, leading to a fatal outcome within 24 hours of symptom onset. This case details the diagnosis and management challenges of the WFS, a rare complication of NM septicaemia, and describes the identification of a NM serogroup that is rare in Portugal in middle-aged patients.

One way to improve the energy and environmental efficiency of an ethanol production process is through product diversification, as well as the use of agricultural residues via thermochemical routes such as fast pyrolysis. Thus, this study assesses the integration of fast pyrolysis of sugarcane straw into the conventional ethanol production process. The fast pyrolysis process was modelled and simulated in the Aspen Plus® software, using the Lumped Reaction kinetic model. The heat integration procedure was performed using the Pinch analysis, utilising the simulation results and assuming different percentages of straw recovery from the field (25%, 50%, and 75%). The straw pyrolysis model was validated with experimental data from other authors of the literature. The assumed configuration presented itself as self-sufficient in energy terms. Among several evaluated cases, those where heat integration was applied showed a significant increase in surplus electricity (Case IV 30.6%, Case VI 34.8%, and Case VIII 46.4%) in comparison to the Base Case (Case I). Thus, heat integration promotes a rise in energy efficiency, as well as product diversification in ethanol production plants.

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Reynaldo Palacios Bereche Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Energia, Santo André, 2018. A produção de etanol no Brasil já é uma realidade, porém ainda existe espaço para redução de impactos ambientais e de custos de operação. Um dos assuntos mais discutidos no setor é sobre a destinação da palha da cana-de-açúcar, rejeito gerado na etapa agrícola. A pirólise rápida é uma rota termoquímica que tem como finalidade produzir o bio-óleo, a qual pode ser utilizada para valorização da palha. A diversificação dos produtos na usina e a integração térmica entre os processos podem reduzir os impactos ambientais no processo produtivo. Contudo, não existem estudos que mostrem os benefícios de se integrar uma planta de etanol a uma planta de pirólise. Com isso, esse trabalho avalia o potencial de produção de bio-óleo através da pirólise rápida da palha da cana-de-açúcar, realizando também uma análise energética do sistema em conjunto (processo de produção etanol e pirólise rápida da palha). Para isso foi simulada a planta de pirólise em AspenPlus® utilizando um modelo cinético denominado Lumped Reaction. Após a simulação foi realizada a integração térmica do processo de produção de etanol isolado e do processo de produção de etanol junto à planta de pirólise através do Método Pinch, a fim de verificar os impactos na redução da demanda térmica do sistema como um todo. O modelo proposto na simulação foi executado com êxito sendo que o rendimento de produção de bio-óleo apresentou um desvio de 0,9% do valor experimental de outros autores. O bio-óleo simulado apresentou PCS de 20,1 MJ/kg e umidade de 17,7 %(m/m), valores semelhantes a dados experimentais de outros autores. Com a integração térmica houve a redução de utilidades quentes em relação ao caso base (Caso I) de 36,7% para processo de etanol isolado (Caso II). Já para Caso IV, sistema da pirólise rápida integrada termicamente ao processo produtivo de etanol, houve uma redução de 49,1% em relação ao caso base. A integração térmica permitiu um aumento na produção de excedentes de eletricidade no sistema de cogeração quando turbinas de extração condensação são utilizadas. Com a redução do consumo de utilidade quentes houve um aumento na produção de energia elétrica excedente respectivamente de 16,6 kWh/ton de cana e 21,1 kWh/ton de cana para os Caso II e Caso IV em relação ao caso base. Com isso é possível afirmar que o reaproveitamento da palha de cana-de-açúcar através da pirólise rápida tem o potencial de produzir maiores excedentes de energia elétrica, quando a integração térmica é aplicada, além de diversificar os produtos em uma usina. The ethanol's production process in Brazil is already well established, but there is space to reduce the environmental impact and operation costs. One of the main topics in the area is the destination of the sugarcane straw, a residue generated in the agricultural stage. The rapid pyrolysis is a thermochemical route that uses biomass, such as the sugarcane straw, to produces bio-oil. Diversification of products and thermal integration are key concepts to reduce the environmental impact in processes. However, there is no studies that evaluate the benefits when the ethanol's production process is working integrated to the pyrolysis process. For this reason, this work presents an evaluation of the potential production of bio-oil using the fast pyrolysis of sugarcane straw. This study presents an energy and environmental analysis of the integration of pyrolysis with the ethanol's production process. In the first step the pyrolysis plant was simulated in AspenPlus® using the Lumped Reaction kinetic model. After this step was performed a thermal integration between the ethanol's process and the rapid pyrolysis of sugarcane straw using the Pinch point methodology. The model used to simulate the pyrolysis process was well implemented and the yield of bio-oil shows results very close to Pattiya et al. (2017) (an error of 0,9 %). The bio-oil simulated presented a HHV of 20.1 MJ/kg and humidity of 17.7 wt.%, values compatibles with experimental results in literature. After the thermal integration, it was observed a reduction in the hot utilities consumption for Case II (36.7%) and for Case IV (49.1%). This fact has a positive impact in the cogeneration system where the surplus electricity production increased (16.6 kWh/ton of cane for Case II and 21.1 kWh/ton of cane for Case IV). Thus, it is possible to affirm that fast pyrolysis of sugarcane straw has positive impacts in the ethanol's process.

Pigmented purpuric dermatosis is a chronic benign skin disorder of unknown aetiology. Although there are several other potential cofactors, drugs are the most frequent cause. This paper describes the case of a 71-year-old woman who was admitted in the emergency department with skin lesions on the lower extremities, characteristics of Schamberg’s disease. After a medical study and treatment, it was concluded that the lesions were caused by amlodipine administration. To the authors’ knowledge, only one previous case describing an association between this disease and amlodipine administration has been reported in the medical literature. LEARNING POINTS Schamberg’s disease is the most common form of pigmented purpuric dermatosis. The condition can be caused by amlodipine administration. This is a rare but benign skin disorder.

Grout injection is a widely used technique for consolidation of multi-leaves masonries, aimed at increasing the compactness and to create links between the internal and external leaves that will improve shear, flexural and compressive resistances. Grouts can be seen as mixtures of binder with water, admixtures and/or additives, which should present low viscosity and high penetrability. The definition of a grout composition should involve the knowledge of the injection capacity within a specific type of masonry and good physical and chemical compatibility with the original materials present in the historic structures. The flow of the grout through the masonry depends on the fresh grout properties, such as stability, water retention and rheological behaviour. Thus, the evaluation of the performance of the grout as function of a porous medium is firstly started by checking the intrinsic properties of the grout (namely rheological and stability) and then by controlling the injectability of masonry by injection tests on cylinders. Since it is difficult to reproduce a real masonry and to visualize what is happening inside the porous medium being injected, masonry samples were created by filling plexiglass cylinders with a fraction of limestone sands and crushed brick. These materials are sieved to obtain different grain size distributions to enable the simulation of different permeabilities and internal structures for the masonry. The lack of information about the performance of hydraulic lime based grouts as a function of the properties of the porous medium to be injected enhances the need of a detailed research on the subject.

Grouting is a current repair technique for consolidating and strengthening old masonry buildings. Grouts can be seen as mixtures of binder with water, admixtures and/or additives, which should present low viscosity and high penetrability. The grout specification involves the knowledge of the flow capacity within the masonry inner core and physic-chemical compatibility with the original materials. Nevertheless, the grout properties are affected by a large number of parameters, including binder type and composition, mixing procedure, type and dosage of admixture, environmental conditions such as temperature that may lead to different grout injection capacities, as reported by several authors. This paper deals with the effect of environmental temperature over superplasticized hydraulic lime-based grouts with partial replacement of lime by silica fume. Grout performance was analysed in fresh and hardened state by testing its rheological behaviour, injectability as well as its hydration reactions kinetics. In spite of the considerable amount of information that exists for cement based mixtures with superplasticizers, there is little information about the effects of superplasticizers when used in natural hydraulic lime mixtures proportioned with silica fume. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the behaviour that superplasticized hydraulic lime grouts present under different temperatures. The results showed that hydraulic lime grouts performance could be improved, regarding rheological parameters and strength capacity if they are properly design and a suitable processing temperature were ensured.

The injection of grouts inside multi-leaf stone masonries is a technique widely used for structural consolidation. To ensure an adequate flow of the grout inside the masonry, it is crucial to assure good fresh grout properties, such as good rheological behaviour. The scope of this paper is to provide preliminary indications and valuable data about the effects of specific hydraulic lime grout composition on their rheological behaviour with the purpose of a successful injection process. Through the use of rotational rheometer together with the Taguchi method, it was possible to study the influence of water/binder ratio, the type and dosage of superplasticizer and the partial replacement of hydraulic lime by silica fume, upon the grout rheological properties. The study leads to the conclusion that polycarboxylate-based superplasticizers present better performance from a rheological point of view than the naphthalene-based superplasticizer and that the water/binder ratio and superplasticizer dosage are the most determinant factors in the fresh grout rheological behaviour. On the other hand, silica fume dosage turned out to be the factor with the least contribution to improve the grout rheological behaviour compared to the other two factors reported in this study. The results summarised in this paper are part of a larger study and precede the analysis of the performance of those grouts when injected into different porous media that simulate old masonries.

One of the techniques of old masonry consolidation is the injection of grouts. For a successful injection it is necessary to ensure an adequate flow of the grout inside the porous media, for which it becomes essential to control the grout rheological behaviour and stability. This paper analyses the influence of grout mixing procedures on rheological behaviour, water retention and stability of hydraulic lime grouts with superplasticizer. This research has particular relevance due to lack of information about the use of superplasticizers in hydraulic lime grouts, compared to the amount of information that exists in the case of Portland cement based mixtures. The research showed that fresh grout behaviour can be improved using an appropriate mixing procedure, optimised with the Taguchi method.

The purpose of grout injection is to increase the compactness of the masonry and its injection optimization is a task of major importance for masonry consolidation. Fresh grout properties seem to be as important as the ones in the hardened state since grout consistency is an essential characteristic to allow the filling of voids. Since the grout rheological behaviour is associated with its fresh properties, they should be well understood and controlled so that the fluid may be pumped and flow correctly inside the porous media. This paper analyses some relevant rheological properties for natural hydraulic lime grouts, such as yield stress, plastic viscosity, consistency and power-law index. The study envisage to increase the understanding of the influence of environmental temperature and of the addition of fly ash in fresh grouts behaviour. An attempt was made to achieve an optimal grout composition by using the Taguchi method. The paper shows that fly ash is capable of substantially changing the grout rheological parameters, while the effect of temperature is negligible for the parameters tested.

The purpose of a grout injection technique applied in a multiple leaf wall is to increase the compactness and create links between the internal and external leaves. The correct grout selection should take into account many characteristics, in particular injectability and stability. This paper analyses the variations of some fresh grout properties that may affect injectability and stability—water retention, rheological behaviour and bleeding. The study has sought to increase the understanding of the influence of the mixing procedure in grout behaviour and how it may improve some essential injection characteristics. For this purpose, a natural hydraulic lime grout has been considered. The paper shows that there are differences in the grout behaviour when different mixing procedures are used and that fresh grout properties may be optimized if a proper mixing procedure is chosen.

International bibliography on conservation usually refers that mortars made with lime putty with long extinction periods behave better than others made with the current dry hydrated limes. In order to evaluate this assess, an experimental study of lime mortars was carried out, using dry hydrated lime and two lime putties. It becomes clear that the use of lime putties with long extinction periods in mortars allow better performances, particularly in applicability and resistance to sulphates.

The main sources of moisture on building facades are rain and condensation. Being moisture a prerequisite for the development of microbial growth it is of great interest to identify and analyse the factors responsible for these wetting mechanisms. The development of the microbial vegetation, in addition of being potentially damaging to the building envelope, creates a visual nuisance. This work aims to study the external environment conditions favourable for exterior surface condensation of buildings. The risk for occurrence of surface condensation depends mainly on the surface energy balance and on the moisture content of the ambient air. Because external surface temperature of buildings are very sensitive to convective and radiative exchanges, the investigation has been conducted analysing both convective and radiative heat transfer coefficients for a wide range of scenarios covering different climate sensitivities and building envelope qualities. The analysis has shown that convection and the moisture content of the air play a key role in the occurrence of surface condensations on building facades.

This paper proposes an advanced industrial controller prepared for hazardous industrial environments, namely natural gas odorisation. Its design and conception is focused on robustness and reliability, with high flexibility to allow local and remote monitoring and control. Instead of a centralized approach, where the computational load relies on a unique processor, we propose a distributed architecture, where the various control tasks are distributed among the existing microprocessors, like in a DCS system, but yet exhibiting a fast response time between inputs and outputs, like a PLC.

Dissertação de mestrado em Biofísica e Bionanossistemas, RNA interference (RNAi) has been found to be an important biological strategy for gene silencing. This pathway can be used as a gene therapy approach by using synthetic short interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules to promote the silencing of undesirable target genes. However, the delivery of nucleic acids into the cells is a very inefficient process due to several extracellular and intracellular barriers. Several physical, chemical and biological strategies have been developed to promote the delivery of nucleic acids into cells. Although viral vectors have been reported to be the most efficient nucleic acid delivery systems, they trigger the immune system and promote high levels of toxicity. Non-viral vectors, though not as efficient as their viral counterparts, appeared as a safer method for therapeutic gene delivery. In this field, cationic liposomes emerged as one of the most promising and widely used non-viral gene carriers. Recent studies from our group have established a novel liposomal formulation for siRNA delivery, based on the cationic lipid dioctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DODAB) and the helper lipid monoolein (MO). This liposome formulation has promoted efficient gene silencing in a human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line (H1299). In this project, we aimed to improve the silencing efficiency of DODAB:MO (2:1) liposomes, by promoting the co-encapsulation of siRNA with additional anionic components. Poly-L-glutamic acid (PG1 or PG2) or non-coding plasmid DNA (pDNA) were added to siRNA suspension and encapsulated within DODAB:MO (2:1) liposomes. The systems obtained were compared with lipoplexes containing only siRNA. Lipoplexes were characterized in order to understand the differences caused by addition of the anionic components. The results obtained during this project suggest that the addition of either pDNA or PG molecules to siRNA/DODAB:MO lipoplexes results in systems with similar physicochemical properties, namely size and surface charge. Nevertheless, some improvements in the siRNA encapsulation efficiency, cellular internalization and cytotoxicity were obtained when compared to siRNA lipoplexes. Additionally, lipoplexes co-encapsulating siRNA and pDNA or PG have promoted higher EGFP gene silencing efficiency, suggesting that co-encapsulation of siRNA with an additional anionic cargo can improve silencing efficiency of our liposomal formulation., Desde a sua descoberta, o RNA de interferência (RNAi) tornou-se uma estratégia biológica importante para o silenciamento de genes. Esta via pode ser usada como uma abordagem de terapia genética, utilizando short interfering RNA (siRNA) para promover o silenciamento de genes indesejáveis. No entanto, a entrega de siRNA em células é um processo muito ineficiente devido a várias barreiras extracelulares e intracelulares. Várias estratégias físicas, químicas e biológicas têm sido desenvolvidas para promover a transferência de ácidos nucleicos para as células. Vários estudos mostram que, vetores virais são sistemas de entrega eficazes, contudo, desencadeiam resposta imunitária e promovem níveis elevados de toxicidade. Os vetores não virais, embora não tão eficientes como os seus homólogos virais, aparecem como um método mais seguro para a entrega de siRNA. Neste campo, os lipossomas catiónicos tornaram-se num dos vetores não virais mais promissores e amplamente utilizados. Estudos recentes do nosso grupo estabeleceram uma nova formulação lipossomal para a entrega de siRNA, com base no lípido catiónico brometo de dioctadecildimetilamónio (DODAB) e o lípido adjuvante monooleína (MO). Esta formulação de lipossomas foi capaz de promover o silenciamento genético de forma eficiente numa linha celular humana de células não-pequenas de carcinoma pulmonar (H1299). Neste projeto, procuramos melhorar a eficiência de silenciamento de liposomas DODAB:MO (2:1), através da promoção da co-encapsulação de siRNA com componentes aniónicos adicionais. Poli-glutamato (PG1 ou PG2) ou DNA plasmídico não codificante (pDNA) foram adicionados à suspensão de siRNA e encapsulados em liposomas DODAB:MO (2:1), e os sistemas obtidos foram comparados com lipoplexos contendo apenas siRNA. Os lipoplexos foram caracterizados de modo a compreender as diferenças causadas pela adição dos componentes aniónicos. Os resultados obtidos durante este projeto sugerem que a adição de moléculas de pDNA ou PG a lipoplexos compostos por siRNA e lipossomas DODAB:MO (2:1) resulta em sistemas com propriedades físico-químicas semelhantes, mais especificamente, o tamanho (Zaverage) e a carga superficial (ζ-potential). No entanto, foram obtidos algumas melhorias na eficiência de encapsulação de siRNA, internalização celular e citotoxicidade destes sistemas, quando comparado com lipoplexos com apenas siRNA.Além disso, lipoplexos onde o siRNA é co-encapsulado com pDNA ou PG, promoveram maior eficiência de silenciamento do gene EGFP em linhas celulares 293T/GFP-puro, sugerindo que a co-encapsulação de siRNA com uma carga aniónica adicional pode melhorar a eficiência de silenciamento da nossa formulação lipossomal.

Grouting is currently a repair technique for consolidating and strengthening old masonry structures. Grouts can be seen as mixtures of binder with water, admixtures and/or additives, which should present low viscosity and high penetrability. The grout specification involves the knowledge of the flow capacity within the masonry inner core and physic-chemical compatibility with the original materials present in the historic structures. Nevertheless, the grout properties are affected by a large number of parameters, including binder type and composition, mixing procedure, admixture type and dosage, environmental conditions, like temperature that may lead to different grout injection capacities, as reported by other studies. This paper deals with the effect of environmental temperature over superplasticised hydraulic lime-based grouts with partial replacement of lime by silica fume. Grout performance was analysed in fresh and hardened state by testing its rheological and mechanical behaviour, as well as its hydration reactions kinetics. In spite of the considerable amount of information that exists for cement based mixtures with superplasticisers, there is little information about the effects of superplasticisers when used in natural hydraulic lime mixtures proportioned with silica fume. This study aims to contribute to better understand the behaviour that superplasticised hydraulic lime grouts present under different temperatures. The results showed that hydraulic lime grouts performance could be improved, regarding rheological parameters and strength capacity if they are properly design and a suitable processing temperature were ensured.

The goal of this research was to develop a methodology for grout composition optimization concerning specific applications. It could be developed for masonry consolidation or bonded prestressed tendon grout, pre-placed aggregate grout, among others. The grout development does not only depend on its intrinsic properties but also on the nature and features of the support. The purpose of a grout injection technique applied in a multiple leaf wall is to increase the compactness and create links between the internal and external leaves, which improve not only shear and flexural resistance but also the compressive strength. In practice, the variability of voids within masonries requires an ability to fine tune the rheological properties of the grout in order to optimally fill the voids. The methodology proposed here for testing grout injectability in a porous media like masonry is a logical tool to use in grout optimization. It shows that several grout parameters should be controlled for a successful injection. Concerning the support and its typology, the mortar between stones plays a fundamental role in the effectiveness of the intervention, due to its reduced porosity and composition. Besides that, earth and mortar, for example, can be present in the interior of masonry and make difficult, with their absorption, the injection. Thus, the water retention capacity of grout should be controlled to prevent that problem, as it was made in this work, using the optimized mixing procedure that takes into account that and other fresh grout properties. This study analyses some relevant grout properties such as yield stress, plastic viscosity, flowability and injectability for natural hydraulic lime based grouts in different porous media. The research shows that there are differences in the grout behaviour, especially in rheological properties, when different mixing procedures and/or grout composition (different water/binder or fly ash/binder ratios) are used and that fresh grout properties may be optimized for injection purpose.

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Leaves from variegated Tolmiea menziesii plants, previously found to be virus-infected, have severely lowered chlorophyll (Chl) levels. Yet, infected plants appeared to grow as rapidly in a greenhouse as green, uninfected control plants. On a Chl basis, the photosynthetic (PS) rate of variegated leaves significantly exceeded that of control leaves. The area-based PS rate of the variegated leaves was less than that of the controls at low light levels, but approached the latter's rate at higher intensity. Both types of leaves had similar CO2 compensation points and extents of oxygen inhibition of PS. The variegated leaves had an increased Chl a b ratio and a decreased content of light-harvesting Chi a + b protein. Leaf discs prepared from variegated leaves, when photosynthesizing with 14CO2, produced more labelled glycine and less sucrose than did control discs. The level of PS carbon reduction cycle intermediates was approximately equal in both disc types. We conclude that variegated leaves have a significantly lower amount of antenna Chl but not less reaction center Chl. The increase in labelled glycine in the variegated discs apparently results from viral demand for that metabolite in coat protein and nucleic acid synthesis. Withdrawal of glycine by the virus may be responsible for the lower Chl content of the infected leaves.