Invited Members: 

• Maria Berezovska ( President of NE2B2 )

• Dr. Nuno Matela ( Member of the IBEB Coordination, FCIENCIAS.ID )

• Dr. Nuno Araújo ( President of the Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences )

Head injuries in abusive situations are a major cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Their causes are much debated and include various forms of violence (e.g., blunt force impact, shaking, compression). Victims may show subdural and retinal haemorrhages and various degrees of encephalopathy, often with absent or inconsistent history, and with co-injuries indicative of abuse, such as fractures and bruises. Signs of direct impact to the head are often lacking. It is unclear if impactless violent shaking may cause intracranial injuries, not the least because literature seems conflicting at first sight. Part I of this lecture, by Loeve, treats the state of art and our latest experiments, and is based on our series of literature reviews and volunteers studies with instrumented dolls. This will shed light on how various biomechanical studies on infant head injury by shaking trauma (IHI-ST) can be so seemingly contradictive. Results were put in a 7-Step description of the kinematical chain of events of IHI-ST with motion, velocities and accelerations being transferred from the torso of an infant being shaken, via the neck to the skull and the internal anatomy, eventually resulting in injury. Our findings suggest that various studies, often-cited in scientific literature and court, on shaking and the relations between kinematics and injury made some understandable, but unfortunate simplifications. Hence, potentially harmful aspects of shaking kinematics were overlooked or ignored up to now. Furthermore, accelerations and velocities have often been compared to injury thresholds that are only valid in very different scenarios and hence should not be used. Therefore, we have been, are and will be conducting experiments and modelling studies to further understand the biomechanics of shaking-inflicted infant injury.

In this lecture, Pedro Delgado will present their academic journey, exploring how biomechanics and neurophysiology have been applied to enhance both rehabilitation and sports performance. From early work on ACL tear rehabilitation to analyzing free kick performance in youth football players, and currently studying the brain activity of academy football players during cognitive tasks with the goal of uncovering correlations between cognitive functions and player performance, the lecture will highlight how these experiences have shaped their approach to improving athletic performance. 

3BAtwin is an EU Twinning Project coordinated by Raquel Conceição which aims to capacitate FCiências.ID and Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (CIÊNCIAS- ULisboa) with the various specific/fine knowledge and tools which will allow to accelerate Medical Microwave Imaging (MMWI) from the research bench to the patient bedside. The overarching objective of 3BAtwin is for FC.ID+CIÊNCIAS to gain excellence capacity in all sub-fields related to MMWI research, and become strong competitors in translating their unique breast and axillary region device to the hospital, which will be possible by further establishing a solid collaboration with project partners: University of Galway (GALWAY) in Ireland, and Politecnico di Torino (POLITO) in Italy. In this presentation we will overview the project and show its research and training opportunities for students and researchers.

Deciphering the complexities of zebrafish-orienting behaviour in conflicting environments requires understanding how neuronal dynamics prioritise information. This is a central challenge in neuroscience research, as computations may involve interactions between multiple brain areas, making them difficult to trace. Due to their transparent larvae, well- established neuroanatomy, and susceptibility to genetic manipulation, the zebrafish is an ideal model for dissecting the neural circuits that drive complex be haviours. Despite these advantages, the neural mechanisms underlying stimulus selection in zebrafish remain poorly investigated.

This lecture aims to help fill that knowledge gap by establishing an integrative account of how environmental cues are prioritised and to direct behavioural responses by zebrafish. In addition, this work has broad implications for neurobiology research, elucidating fundamental principles governing sensory perception and decision-making across vertebrates.