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The general objective of this project is to develop an acoustic biosensor platform to study protein-DNA binding and its application to the study of DNA transcription factors. An impedance analysis methodology enables the calculation of the acoustic energy dissipation per unit mass observed upon DNA binding, providing quantitative information on the size and shape of the tethered molecules. The rationale...
Design and testing drug delivery systems using biodegradable and biocompatible colloidal carriers made of functionalized gold nanoparticles are the vectors of this project. The systems will be tested in therapy strategies for cancer. The main objective is to develop nanoparticles that increase radiation absorption in diseased areas and minimize damage to normal surrounding tissues. Such enhancement...
Immunisation against H. pylori is an attractive option for antibiotic resistance and reinfection situations. Strain genetic heterogeneity, and low immunogenicity of protein antigens and DNA alone are nonetheless obstacles to this approach. We developed multigenic H. pylori DNA-nanoparticle and protein-nanoparticle vaccines based on pathogenic relevance. Six antigens were chosen for the vaccine construction:...
Aiming to create heterostructures with intact liposomes, layer-by-layer (LbL) films of dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl glycerol (DPPG) liposomes alternated with the polyelectrolyte poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) were characterized in situ using quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The QCM data analysis allows to infer that DPPG adsorbed amount is dependent of the number of bilayers already adsorbed, increasing...
Many of the diseases affecting the cardiovascular system include a variety of disorders and conditions that are related in part to the haemodynamics, as well as genetic predisposition and biochemistry amongst others. With respect to the haemodynamics, the commonly sought factors are near-wall mechanical properties including wall shear stress (and derived parameters) and transport phenomena, such as...
The purpose for this work was to analyze the structural effects of the implantation of contemporary patellofemoral prosthesis on femur cancellous bone. In fact, studies on the state of strain/stress on patellofemoral arthroplasty are still very limited. The influence of the geometry and rigidity of the bone-implant interface is discussed, applying the Finite Element Method. One of the major reasons...
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is a ring-substituted amphetamine derivative. It is associated with euphoric states, however, it may also cause death. Its actions are caused by alterations on extracellular monoamine neurotrans-mitters. In the present study, we resorted to electroretinography to assess the acute and long term effects on the retina of MDMA administration. Its effects on glial...
The purpose of this work is the development and the validation of an accurate computer program for modeling of the thermal, the respiratory and the cardiovascular responses of a live or dead person exposed to any kind of environment while wearing different kinds of clothing and at rest or doing a moderate or intensive activity. The range of possible utilization is extensive, e.g., the optimization...
The aim of this work is to determine the optimal location for the hepatic resection. Initially, a hepatic segmentation method based in region growing was implemented from CT images with and without contrast. This algorithm was evaluated comparing its contours with the manual contours drawn by two physicians. The identification of the hepatic vessels is a fundamental step for surgical planning. The...
A simulation of a hybrid multi-scale phase-field model which describes the dynamics of the interface that divides the new capillaries and the stroma was performed. Four equations model the behaviour of proliferating endothelial cells (ECs) in response to a gradient of a pro-angiogenic factor (T), leading to the growth and time evolution of a tree of vascular vessels from sprouts emerging from the...
The generation of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells will potentially allow increasing the probability of success of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and others in the future. The following experimental work is focused on the analysis of the influence of different culture conditions, either using feeder layers or feeder-free coating substrates, such as the composition of the respective culture...
Local pulse-wave velocity (PWV) is recognized as the simplest and most reproducible process of non-invasively assessing the vascular marker of arterial stiffness that allowing the risk of cardiovascular diseases to be determinate. Devices currently available for local PWV measurement have not yet been generalized to clinical practice since they require high technical expertise and most of them are...
The exact mechanism by which anesthetics induce membrane-mediated modifications that lead to loss of sensation is still an open question. Since lipid rafts are membrane microdomains that have been associated with cell signaling pathways, as well as specific interaction with drugs, they may contribute to that mechanism. The interactions of a canonical liposomal lipid raft model, as well as of a model...
The aim of this work is to provide a Panoptic™ ophthalmoscope with digital data acquisition. In fact, most ophthalmoscopes used in daily clinical practice do not contain the data recording ability. Therefore, the main advantages of a digital ophthalmoscope are, among others, better quality data sharing, the possibility of exam's reassessment and improved medical teaching. Once the challenge was presented...
This work presents the ASBGo Smart Walker, developed at Minho University with the Adaptive System Behavior Group. It includes the conceptual design, implementation and validation of a Smart Walker with a new interface approach integrated. It was addressed the assembly of the ASBGo with the required electronics, as well as the implementation of the interface based on a joystick. This sensor is intended...
Three optical probes based on different photo-diodes: lateral effect (LEP), planar (PPD) and avalanche (APD) photodiodes, were developed to measure the arterial pressure waveform and access clinically relevant information. The pressure wave propagates through the arterial tree and is measured in the peripheral arteries. The probes were evaluated in dedicated test setups and in vivo, at the carotid...
An overview of the multiscale/multiframe (MS/MF) 3D reconstruction scheme for Positron Emission Tomograph is presented. Nowadays, in clinical applications the image is reconstructed using a single scale or grid, i.e., the dimensions of the reconstructed volume or the projection space binning do not change during the reconstruction process. MS/MF introduces the concept of time frame to the multiscale...
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world, arising their early prediction as a key aspect. The analysis of pulse wave propagation characteristics, such as velocity and morphology, can give important data about arterial stiffness, a parameter with growing significance in cardiovascular events prediction. In this paper it is presented a new optical fibre sensor to assess the...
This paper envisages showing the potential of innovative non-invasive techniques based on affordable and easily operated instrumentation as well as user-friendly computer aided algorithms in the screening of cardiovascular (CV) diseases. These techniques are based on the assumption that arterial stiffness is currently an important predicator of the CV diseases development and can be assessed by analyzing...
The interaction and communication skills are essential to live in society. However, individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a gap in these abilities which affects their daily life. Previous studies suggest that children with ASD demonstrate some positive behaviors in presence of a robotic platform. This study intends to evaluate the effect of a robotic platform on children with ASD,...
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