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- Occluding junctions as novel regulators of tissue mechanics during wound repairPublication . Carvalho, Lara; Patricio, Pedro; Ponte, Susana; Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp; Almeida, Luís; Nunes, André S.; Araujo, Nuno; Jacinto, AntonioIn epithelial tissues, cells tightly connect to each other through cell-cell junctions, but they also present the remarkable capacity of reorganizing themselves without compromising tissue integrity. Upon injury, simple epithelia efficiently resolve small lesions through the action of actin cytoskeleton contractile structures at the wound edge and cellular rearrangements. However, the underlying mechanisms and how they cooperate are still poorly understood. In this study, we combine live imaging and theoretical modeling to reveal a novel and indispensable role for occluding junctions (OJs) in this process. We demonstrate that OJ loss of function leads to defects in wound-closure dynamics: instead of contracting, wounds dramatically increase their area. OJ mutants exhibit phenotypes in cell shape, cellular rearrangements, and mechanical properties as well as in actin cytoskeleton dynamics at the wound edge. We propose that OJs are essential for wound closure by impacting on epithelial mechanics at the tissue level, which in turn is crucial for correct regulation of the cellular events occurring at the wound edge.
- When backscatter communication meets vehicular networks: boosting crosswalk awarenessPublication . Pereira, Felisberto; Sampaio, Hugo; Chaves, Ricardo; Correia, Ricardo; Luís, Miguel; Sargento, Susana; Jordão, Marina; Almeida, Luís; Senna, Carlos; Oliveira, Arnaldo S. R.; Carvalho, Nuno BorgesThe research of safety applications in vehicular networks has been a popular research topic in an effort to reduce the number of road victims. Advances on vehicular communications are facilitating information sharing through real time communications, critical for the development of driving assistance systems. However, the communication by itself is not enough to reach the most desired target as we need to know which safety-related information should be disseminated. In this work, we bring passive sensors and backscatter communication to the vehicular network world. The idea is to increase the driver (or vehicle) awareness regarding the presence of pedestrians in a crosswalk. Passive sensors and backscatter communication technologies are used for the pedestrians’ detection phase, while the vehicular network is used during the dissemination of the detection information to surrounding vehicles. The proposed solution was validated through end-to-end experimentation, with real hardware and in a real crosswalk with real pedestrians and vehicles, demonstrating its applicability.