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Publications

Publications by CITE

2020

Osteoclasts degrade fibrinogen scaffolds and induce mesenchymal stem/stromal osteogenic differentiation

Authors
Almeida, AR; Bessa Goncalves, M; Vasconcelos, DM; Barbosa, MA; Santos, SG;

Publication
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL MATERIALS RESEARCH PART A

Abstract
Fibrinogen (Fg) is a pro-inflammatory protein with pro-healing properties. Previous work showed that fibrinogen 3D scaffolds (Fg-3D) promote bone regeneration, but the cellular players were not identified. Osteoclasts are bone resorbing cells that promote bone remodeling in close crosstalk with osteoblasts. Herein, the capacity of osteoclasts differentiated on Fg-3D to degrade the scaffolds and promote osteoblast differentiation was evaluated in vitro. Fg-3D scaffolds were prepared by freeze-drying and osteoclasts were differentiated from primary human peripheral blood monocytes. Results obtained showed osteoclasts expressing the enzymes cathepsin K and tartrate resistant acid phosphatase colonizing Fg-3D scaffolds. Osteoclasts were able to significantly degrade Fg-3D, reducing the scaffold's area, and increasing D-dimer concentration, a Fg degradation product, in their culture media. Osteoclast conditioned media from the first week of differentiation promoted significantly stronger human primary mesenchymal stem/stromal cell (MSC) osteogenic differentiation, evaluated by alkaline phosphatase activity. Moreover, week 1 osteoclast conditioned media promoted earlier MSC osteogenic differentiation, than chemical osteogenesis inductors. TGF-beta 1 was found increased in osteoclast conditioned media from week 1, when compared to week 3 of differentiation. Taken together, our results suggest that osteoclasts are able to differentiate and degrade Fg-3D, producing factors like TGF-beta 1 that promote MSC osteogenic differentiation.

2020

Pneuma: Entrepreneurial science in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic - a tale of industrialisation and international cooperation

Authors
Mendonça J.M.; Cruz N.; Vasconcelos D.; Sá-Couto C.; Moreira A.P.; Costa P.; Mendonça H.; Pereira A.; Naimi Z.; Miranda V.;

Publication
Journal of Innovation Management

Abstract
When the COVID-19 pandemic hits Portugal in early March 2020, medical doctors, engineers and researchers, with the encouragement of the Northern Region Health Administration, teamed up to develop and build, locally and in a short time, a ventilator that might eventually be used in extreme emergency situations in the hospitals of northern Portugal. This letter tells you the story of Pneuma, a low-cost emergency ventilator designed and built under harsh isolation constraints, that gave birth to derivative designs in Brazil and Morocco, has been industrialized with 200 units being produced, and is now looking forward to the certification as a medical device that will possibly support a go-tomarket launch. Open intellectual property (IP), multi disciplinarity teamwork, fast prototyping and product engineering have shortened to a few months an otherwise quite longer idea-to-product route, clearly demonstrating that when scientific and engineering knowledge hold hands great challenges can be successfully faced.

2020

Museus : boas práticas para o desenvolvimento sustentável

Authors
Oliveira, ME;

Publication
Ensaios e práticas em museologia 09

Abstract
Today's museums assume an increasing dynamism with the society. This new reality requires the continuous process of readjusting its activities. In this context, it is possible to see that the subject of Sustainable Development and Museums is becoming more and more present. However, to recognize, contribute or even know what to do in the face of this new challenge, a set of interdisciplinary actions is needed in the search for models, processes and modes of operation that can contribute to this new paradigm. In the face of this challenge, an initial study is presented that aims to draw attention to the need to measure the real contribution of Museums to Sustainable Development and suggests the continuity of the research with the organization of a methodological process that intends to select indicators to measure the levels of Museums' sustainability and, based on these results, recommends the elaboration of a Good Practices guide for Museums in Portugal.

2020

Complementary Monopolies with asymmetric information

Authors
Laussel, D; Resende, J;

Publication
ECONOMIC THEORY

Abstract
We investigate how asymmetric information on final demand affects strategic interaction between a downstream monopolist and a set of upstream monopolists, who independently produce complementary inputs. We study an intrinsic private common agency game in which each supplieriindependently proposes a pricing schedule contract to the assembler, specifying the supplier's payment as a function of the assembler's purchase of inputi. We provide a necessary and sufficient equilibrium condition. A lot of equilibria satisfy this condition but there is a unique Pareto-undominated Nash equilibrium from the suppliers' point of view. In this equilibrium, there are unavoidable efficiency losses due to excessively low sales of the good. However, suppliers may be able to limit these distortions by implicitly coordinating on an equilibrium with a rigid (positive) output in bad demand circumstances.

2020

Quality and price personalization under customer recognition: A dynamic monopoly model with contrasting equilibria

Authors
Laussel, D; Van Long, N; Resende, J;

Publication
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC DYNAMICS & CONTROL

Abstract
We present a model of market hyper-segmentation, where a monopolist acquires within a short time all information about the preferences of consumers who purchase its vertically differentiated products. The firm offers a new price/quality schedule after each commitment period. Lower consumer types may have an incentive to delay their purchases until next period to obtain a better introductory offer. The monopolist counters this incentive by offering higher informational rents. Considering the dynamic game played by the monopolist and its customers, we find that there is always a Markov perfect equilibrium (MPE) in which the firm immediately sells the good to all customers, offering the Mussa-Rosen static equilibrium schedule to first time customers (and getting full commitment profits). However, if the commitment period between two offers is long enough, there is another MPE with gradual market expansion. Contrary to the Coasian result for a durable-good monopoly, we find that in both equilibria the profit of the monopolist increases (and the aggregate consumers surplus decreases) as the interval of commitment shrinks. The model yields policy implications for regulations on collection and storage of customers information.

2020

The curse of knowledge: having access to customer information can reduce monopoly profits

Authors
Laussel, D; Long, NV; Resende, J;

Publication
RAND JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS

Abstract
We show that a monopolist's profit is higher if he refrains from collecting coarse information on his customers, sticking to constant uniform pricing rather than recognizing customers' segments through their purchase history. In the Markov perfect equilibrium with coarse information collection, after each commitment period, a new introductory price is offered to attract new customers, creating a new market segment for price discrimination. Eventually, the whole market is covered. Shortening the commitment period results in lower profits. These results sharply differ from the ones obtained when the firm can uncover the exact willingness-to-pay of each previous customer.

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