Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2025-03-05"
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- Forced convection and the coffee cupPublication . Ferreira, João Paulo M.Different heat transfer mechanisms are often presented to students only in an expositive way, lacking experimental demonstrations. Using the common situation of the cooling of a coffee cup, a series of practical activities are here proposed that require simple, accessible, and inexpensive equipment. Emphasis is placed on the effect of forced convection, vs free convection. The implications of these in relation to other heat transfer mechanisms, specifically radiation and evaporation, are studied. Quantitative analyses are possible, enabling to estimate values of heat transfer coefficients. These are compared with predictive correlations of dimensionless numbers, arriving at very good agreements.
- The hidden cost : the environmental impact of artificial intelligence: assessing the effectiveness of the EU AI Act and the need for additional regulatory measures : to what extent does the EU AI Act contribute to the mitigation of AI’s environmental impact, and what supplementary regulatory measures are necessary?Publication . Siebenrock, Helena Agnes; Pereira, Clara MartinsThe rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (‘AI’) has brought significant benefits across various sectors, yet it also poses substantial environmental challenges. This thesis, undertaken as part of the combined LL.M. Law in a Digital Economy and MA in Transnational Law program at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, explores the environmental impact of AI and conducts an analysis of the effectiveness of the EU AI Act in addressing these challenges. The thesis proposes two primary regulatory measures: imposing stricter regulations on compute, i.e. the infrastructure underlying AI technologies, to address sustainability of hardware, resources and infrastructure in general; and implementing environmental harm-specific provisions through additions to the EU AI Act. This two-pronged approach aims to target regulation at component-level and system-level. Stricter component-level regulation would ultimately feed in to greater sustainability of AI and general computing, and therefore, provide positive benefits to other resource-intensive computing, such as blockchain. By examining the relevant competition, innovation and environmental protection interests, this thesis aims to provide a balanced regulatory approach for mitigating AI’s environmental footprint.
- Deciphering respiratory viral infections by harnessing organ-on-chip technology to explore the gut-lung axisPublication . Koceva, Hristina; Amiratashani, Mona; Akbarimoghaddam, Parastoo; Hoffmann, Bianca; Zhurgenbayeva, Gaukhar; Gresnigt, Mark S.; Marcelino, Vanessa Rossetto; Eggeling, Christian; Figge, Marc Thilo; Amorim, Maria-João; Mosig, Alexander S.The lung microbiome has recently gained attention for potentially affecting respiratory viral infections, including influenza A virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2. We will discuss the complexities of the lung microenvironment in the context of viral infections and the use of organ-on-chip (OoC) models in replicating the respiratory tract milieu to aid in understanding the role of temporary microbial colonization. Leveraging the innovative capabilities of OoC, particularly through integrating gut and lung models, opens new avenues to understand the mechanisms linking inter-organ crosstalk and respiratory infections. We will discuss technical aspects of OoC lung models, ranging from the selection of cell substrates for extracellular matrix mimicry, mechanical strain, breathing mechanisms and air–liquid interface to the integration of immune cells and use of microscopy tools for algorithm-based image analysis and systems biology to study viral infection in vitro. OoC offers exciting new options to study viral infections across host species and to investigate human cellular physiology at a personalized level. This review bridges the gap between complex biological phenomena and the technical prowess of OoC models, providing a comprehensive roadmap for researchers in the field.