This paper analyses the studies made so far on the variability and reliability of recycled aggregate concrete. Since recycled aggregate concrete is seen by different agents of the construction industry as a variable material and no structural code has specifically been calibrated to its use, its role as a structural material is limited. Such calibration is hindered since specific research on the statistical and probabilistic data of recycled aggregate concrete properties is lacking.Investigations on the probabilistic knowledge of recycled aggregates and recycled aggregate concrete properties are discussed, and the studies made so far on the reliability of recycled aggregate concrete elements are summarised. Final remarks regarding the future prospects towards the consensual acceptance of recycled aggregate concrete structures are provided.

{We here describe an articulated partial skeleton of a small neosuchian crocodylomorph from the Lourinhã Formation (Late Jurassic, Portugal). The skeleton corresponds to the posterior region of the trunk and consists of dorsal, ventral and limb osteoderms, dorsal vertebrae, thoracic ribs and part of the left hindlimb. The paravertebral armour is composed of two rows of paired osteoderms with the lateral margins ventrally deflected and an anterior process for a ‘peg and groove’ articulation. We also compare its dermal armour with that of several Jurassic and Cretaceous neosuchian crocodylomorphs, establishing a detailed description of this type of osteoderms.These features are present in crocodylomorphs with a closed paravertebral armour bracing system. The exceptional 3D conservation of the specimen, and the performance of a micro-CT scan, allowed us to interpret the bracing system of this organism to assess if previous models were accurate. The characters observed in this specimen are congruent with Goniopholididae, a clade of large neosuchians abundant in most semi-aquatic ecosystems from the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Laurasia. However, its small size, contrasted with the sizes observed in goniopholidids, left indeterminate whether it could have been a dwarf or juvenile individual. Future histological analyses could shed light on this.}

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https://docentes.fct.unl.pt/lblm/files/sensorsactbchem-2019-285-445.pdf

Este projeto é delineado no contexto do Observatório de Literacia Oceânica – espaço de investigação transdisciplinar e transcultural. O seu objeto de estudo são diferentes comunidades costeiras urbanas, localizadas na área entre a Costa da Caparica e a Fonte da Telha. As comunidades piscatórias, situadas nessas áreas costeiras urbanas são social, económica, cultural e intelectualmente invisíveis. Numa perspetiva de educação intercultural e de inovação educativa, em ambientes tecnologicamente enriquecidos, que possibilitem a comunicação em rede, pretende-se desenvolver a co-construção de um museu virtual sobre as Artes da Pesca locais, sustentada em conceitos e conteúdos da disciplina de História. Pretende-se compreender de que forma se realizam as interações entre saber formal e informal, utilizando instrumentos e ambientes digitais, e como se poderá melhorar o desempenho das comunidades estudantis piscatórias. Os participantes neste projeto pertencem às comunidades piscatórias da área acima descrita e são estudantes de escolas da região da Caparica. Fazendo uso da etnografia crítica, num ambiente educacional formal e tecnologicamente enriquecido, pretende-se fomentar interações entre saberes formais e informais. A construção da plataforma digital e a construção e aplicação de instrumentos, resultando num museu virtual, servir-se-ão da metodologia Design-based Research.

This paper is a synthesis of an Educational Sciences’ doctoral thesis in Technology, Networks, and Multimedia in Education and Training. The thesis’ main goal was to conceive, propose, implement and compare the design of four teachers’ workshop in distance e-Learning, about the potential of tangible and virtual robotics for students with special educational needs. The study was divided into three distinct phases, distributed over three academic years, from 2013 to 2016. The methodology adopted was mixed and based on a Design-based Research model approach. The participants were 74 teachers teaching in Portugal and Brazil. The results indicated that virtual robotics workshops had the highest enrolment and the lowest withdrawal rate among the participants. Keywords: Educational robotics; Special Educational Needs; Inclusive education; Teachers’ training; Design-based Research.

It is supposed that the adhesively bonded structures would perform well during their lifetime, but the action of high temperatures may affect the initial integrity of the joints, as recognized by some researchers. Still, there are few studies proposing a model to locally predict the interfacial bond behaviour of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) bonded to a steel substrate when subjected to temperature changes. The influence of temperature on CFRP-to-steel bonded joints is, therefore, not very well understood yet and more studies are needed to better understand how these joints behave under such circumstances. The present work aims to contribute to the mitigation of the existing lack of knowledge on the performance of CFRP-to-steel bonded joints under high temperatures. Therefore, an experimental program was considered and specimens were tested at different temperatures: 20 °C, 35 °C, 50 °C, 65 °C, 80 °C, and 95 °C. To help the interpretation of the results, an analytical model is proposed to predict the load capacity of the CFRP-to-steel joints. The local bond-slip behaviour of the tested specimens is also analyzed and, based on a literature review, a temperature-dependent bond-slip model with a bi-linear shape is proposed and implemented into a commercial software based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Main conclusion: The phenylpropanoid pathway impacts the cork quality development. In cork of bad quality, the flavonoid route is favored, whereas in good quality, cork lignin and suberin production prevails. Cork oaks develop a thick cork tissue as a protective shield that results of the continuous activity of a secondary meristem, the cork cambium, or phellogen. Most studies applied to developmental processes do not consider the cell types from which the samples were extracted. Here, laser microdissection (LM) coupled with transcript profiling using RNA sequencing (454 pyrosequencing) was applied to phellogen cells of trees producing low- and good quality cork. Functional annotation and functional enrichment analyses showed that stress-related genes are enriched in samples extracted from trees producing good quality cork (GQC). This process is under tight transcriptional (transcription factors, kinases) regulation and also hormonal control involving ABA, ethylene, and auxins. The phellogen cells collected from trees producing bad quality cork (BQC) show a consistent up-regulation of genes belonging to the flavonoid pathway as a response to stress. They also display a different modulation of cell wall genes resulting into a thinner cork layer, i.e., less meristematic activity. Based on the analysis of the phenylpropanoid pathway regulating genes, in GQC, the synthesis of lignin and suberin is promoted, whereas in BQC, the same pathway favors the biosynthesis of free phenolic compounds. This study provided new insights of how cell-specific gene expression can determine tissue and organ morphology and physiology and identified robust candidate genes that can be used in breeding programs aiming at improving cork quality.

The effective stress transfer between the fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) and the steel substrate is crucial for the successful retrofit of existing steel structures with FRP composites. However, there are no standard tests for FRP-to-steel interfaces, wherefore different test configurations have been used in recent years to assess the bond behaviour in these interfaces. The present study shows that the choice of test configuration is highly important and leads to different transfer stresses between the FRP and steel composites and consequently, has a direct influence on the strength of the bonded joint. Therefore, it is important to understand the debonding process that occurs in each test and avoid misinterpretations, erroneous analyses and dangerous characterizations of the interfacial behaviour of these interfaces. The current study presents a new analytical approach for the prediction of the debonding of FRP-to-steel interfaces when double-lap pull or double-strap tests are used.

This study aims to understand the perceptions of lower and upper secondary age teachers of mathematics regarding the use of technology to teach functions. For that, a mixed methodology was adopted, and the perceptions of 129 teachers were collected through a questionnaire (quantitative section) and four teachers through an interview (qualitative section). The main conclusions point to similarities in teachers' perceptions, but also to some differences related to the level that they taught. Teachers show conviction about their knowledge on technology and about the potential of technology in what concerns their teaching and the students’ learning. However, they are not so clear about the best way to articulate technology and paper-and-pencil methods, nor about the use of technology in assessment.