High-level corporate political connections and firm´s value : evidence from Portugal

The aim of this study is to test whether in the Portuguese framework the appointment of former politicians to a top management or board firm position is linked to a change in firm’s value. If firm’s performance is affected, it will be capitalized into equity prices, and we may expect it to be due to the investor’s anticipation of future political benefits, such as: easier access to debt financing; lower taxes; power to influence the laws under which the firm operates; possibility of winning government contracts, and stronger market power. This Business-Government interface has never been studied in the context of the Portuguese economy. Thus, to address this issue, this study uses an original hand-collected data set based on 46 firms that exchange in the Euronext Lisbon, and based on the composition of the Portuguese Constitutional Governments from January, 1980 to April, 2012. The results suggest that, in average, the appointment of a politically connected executive leads to a negative impact on firm’s value which is noticeable by the significant and negative abnormal stock returns. The results further suggest that, regardless of the political party to which an executive is linked, his appointment is also recognized by investors as a damaging strategy for the business. The only exceptions are the appointments where the number of former politicians linked to each party is balanced. Moreover, the results reveal that investors tend to alleviate the negative impact of a political appointment when they know which position those executives will occupy as well as the level in the corporate governance hierarchy to which each position corresponds. However, we should stress that these conclusions are limited by the small sample of political appointments – only 23% of our appointments are related with the nomination of politically connected executives. Moreover, our lack of capacity to control for potential leakage of information prior to the day of the appointment can be undermining more accurate results

Development of monoclonal antibodies against prM of Dengue virus 4

Introduction: dengue is a most common mosquito-borne viral disease in the Americas and tropical countries. Objective: in this work, mice were hyperimmunized   with DENV 4 antigen to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs).  Methodology: DENV 4 (GenBank KC806069) was inoculated in C6/36 cell monolayers cultivated in Leibovitz’s 15 medium supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum and incubated at 28 C. The virus stock was submitted to concentration and ultracentrifugation and stored at -80 C until use (VC DENV 4). Balb/c mice were injected intraperitoneally with 50μg of DENV-4 and successive intraperitoneal injections of 25 μg of VC DENV 4 with Freund’s incomplete adjuvant were performed. The spleen cells were fused to SP2/0 myeloma cells with PEG 1540 and distributed in 96-well microplates with Iscove’s modified medium with Hipoxantina–Aminopterina–Timidina. Hybridoma screening by indirect ELISA showed positive results for six mAbs, and their characterization was performed by Western blotting and Indirect Immunofluorescence (IFI) techniques. Results: the six mAbs showed strong recognition of prM (24/29 kDa), and minor reaction to E protein (66 kDa), E/E protein dimer (105 kDa), and NS1 (49 kDa) protein in two mAbs. The use of mAbs anti-prM as a diagnostic tool using IFI has been demonstrated to detect DENV-4 antigen in infected cells or tissues. Conclusion: DENV 4 generate mAbs with strong reactivity to prM with potential use to confirm the presence of DENV 4 antigen in tissues or infected cells

Evaluation of phosphorus recovery potential from liquid effluents through struvite precipitation

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia Química apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaA escassez do fósforo (P) surge como um problema em destaque no século XXI. No entanto, as alterações no seu ciclo têm levado à acumulação nas águas, o que provoca o fenómeno de eutrofização. Assim, para minimizar o impacto negativo do fósforo e sendo este um macronutriente fundamental é importante recuperá-lo. Neste contexto, este trabalho tem como objetivo caracterizar efluentes de diversas zonas das Estações de Tratamento de Águas Residuais (ETAR) a fim de avaliar a viabilidade de recuperação de P por precipitação química através da formação de estruvite. Adicionalmente, o processo de precipitação de estruvite (NH4MgPO4•6H2O) foi estudado, numa primeira fase, com recurso a soluções sintéticas, e no final foram avaliados efluentes reais.A caracterização das amostras revelou que os níveis de P são bastante variáveis entre as três ETAR consideradas. No entanto, em todos os casos, a concentração de P total e dissolvido é superior nas amostras retiradas antes da digestão anaeróbia, diminuindo no efluente depois da digestão anaeróbia e a menor concentração é encontrada nas águas do processo de desidratação.Relativamente aos ensaios preliminares de precipitação, o pH 9 (controlado ao longo do tempo) demonstrou ser o mais favorável à formação de estruvite (FE) e recuperação de fósforo (RP). A reação de formação de estruvite é rápida, atingindo-se o estado estacionário entre 30 a 60 min. A temperatura tem influência no processo, verificando-se uma RP média de 81,9% a 21ºC, enquanto a 40ºC apenas se atingiu 73,3%. Uma vez que o pH e razão Mg:P foram os fatores que mostraram ter mais influência no processo, foi feita a sua otimização através de um desenho de experiências. As condições ótimas obtidas foram pH 10,5 e razão Mg:P de 2, com RP de 98,3% e FE de 123,5%. Contudo, nestas condições as fases cristalinas formadas foram o óxido de fósforo de magnésio (53,9%), catite (35,5%) e de fosfato de amónia (10,5%), não sendo identificada estruvite. Para obter como única fase a estruvite, as condições mais favoráveis foram pH 9,5 e razão Mg:P de 2, sendo estas as escolhidas como condições ótimas no trabalho subsequente. Por fim, as condições ótimas foram testadas no efluente real, onde se obteve uma RP de 98,0% e uma FE de 58,7%. Pela análise de XRD verificou-se que o sólido obtido continha estruvite em baixa quantidade (4,5%), catite (15,9%) e um derivado da estruvite designado de potassium sodium ammonium magnesium phosphate hydrate (79,6%). Este último composto é considerado uma mistura de estruvite-K e estruvite-Na, que são compostos de interesse na recuperação de P nas águas residuais, pois a coexistência destes compostos permite maior eficiência na recuperação de P.The shortage of phosphorus (P) is a major problem in the 21st century. The P cycle changes have led to its accumulation in the waters, causing the eutrophication phenomenon. Thus, to minimize the negative impact of phosphorus, which is a vital macronutrient, it is crucial to consider its recovery. In this context, this work aims to characterize effluents from different points in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to evaluate the feasibility of P recovery by chemical precipitation through the formation of struvite. The struvite precipitation process (NH4MgPO4•6H2O) was studied, in the first phase, using synthetic solutions, and at the end, real effluents were evaluated.The characterization of the samples revealed that the levels of P are quite variable among the three WWTPs considered. However, in all cases, the concentration of total and dissolved P is higher in the samples without anaerobic digestion, decreasing in the effluent with anaerobic digestion, and the lowest concentration is found in the water from the dewatering process.Regarding the preliminary precipitation tests, pH 9 (controlled over time) proved to be the most favorable for the formation of struvite (EF) and phosphorus recovery (RP). The reaction of struvite formation is fast, reaching the steady-state in 30 to 60 min. Also, the temperature influences the process, with an average RP of 81.9% at 21ºC, while at 40ºC was only 73.3%. A design of experiments was conducted to optimize the factors with the most influence on the process (pH and Mg:P ratio). The optimal conditions were pH 10.5 and Mg:P ratio of 2, with RP of 98.3% and EF of 123.5%. However, under these conditions, the crystalline phases formed were magnesium phosphorus oxide (53.9%), cattiite (35.5%), and ammonium phosphate (10.5%), while struvite was not identified. The most favorable conditions to obtain struvite as a single crystalline phase were pH 9.5 and Mg:P ratio of 2, which were chosen as optimal conditions in the subsequent work.Finally, the optimal conditions were tested in the real effluent, where an RP of 98.0% and an EF of 58.7% were obtained. The XRD analysis showed that the solid obtained had struvite in low amounts (4.5%), cattiite (15.9%), and a struvite derived called potassium sodium ammonium magnesium phosphate hydrate (79.6%). The latter compound is considered a mixture of struvite-K and struvite-Na. The coexistence of these compounds allows greater efficiency in P recovery, which is of great interest in P recovery in wastewater

Soft but not so: paradoxos num sistema de gestão de vendas na perspetiva dos seus agentes

Procurou-se compreender os sistemas de vendas, explorando os fatores que determinam a sua efetividade. O trabalho alicerçou-se na evolução de um paradigma de hard selling para um de soft selling, onde a performance de comportamento é determinante da performance de resultados de quem vende. Considerando-se que o pessoal de vendas tem um papel decisivo na promoção dos interesses da empresa (resultados, imagem, sustentabilidade) e na articulação desta com o exterior e com o mercado, assumimos que a compreensão da performance dos/as vendedores/as mais do que causada por défices pessoais, deverá encontrar explicação na forma como a empresa gere o seu sistema de vendas. Consideraram-se elementos chave desta gestão como a formação ministrada, a animação da força de vendas, as estruturas de comunicação entre chefias e profissionais de terreno, o planeamento da atividade e supervisão e as estratégias de controlo e avaliação. Tratou-se de um estudo qualitativo sobre um grupo de vendedores/as e gestor de uma empresa nacional prestadora de serviços de telecomunicações, concretamente a venda de serviço de televisão por cabo e satélite, internet e telefone. Concluíu-se que, muito embora advogada a abordagem soft selling por parte da gestão, o que se verifica é o estímulo para o hard selling, pela imposição de metas difíceis de alcançar. Há um paradoxo entre teoria e prática, existem expetativas de que a orientação deverá ser para o/a cliente mas na prática o que prevalece é o resultado. Assim se validou a hipótese central deste estudo: a gestão dos/as vendedores/as tem um papel decisivo sobre as atitudes, comportamentos e performance dos mesmos, mais do que a tendência a individualizar as causas das suas performances

PERFURAÇÃO DUODENAL PARA O RETROPERITONEU POR PRÓTESE BILIAR

Migration of endoscopically placed biliary stents is a well-recognized complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Duodenal perforation by a biliary stent is an uncommon but hazardous complication associated with a high mortality rate. It can be either retroperitoneal, causing biloma, or intraperitoneal leading to biliary peritonitis. Duodenal perforation into the retroperitoneum presents itself as a non-specific condition. It requires an extremely high index of suspicion for its early diagnosis. A delayed diagnosis seriously aggravates the prognosis. We report a case of mortality secondary to a duodenal perforation into retroperitoneum by a biliary stent endoscopically placed with an atypical symptomatology.A migração de próteses biliares colocadas endoscopicamente é uma conhecida complicação associada à colangiopancreatografia retrógrada endoscópica. Embora rara, a perfuração duodenal por próteses biliares é uma complicação grave associada a elevada mortalidade. Esta pode ocorrer para o retroperitoneu, causando um biloma, ou intra-peritonealmente causando uma peritonite biliar. A perfuração duodenal para o retroperitoneum apresenta-se de forma inespecífica e requer um elevado índice de suspeição para o seu diagnóstico precoce, uma vez que o diagnóstico tardio agrava o prognóstico. Descrevemos um caso de mortalidade secundário a perfuração duodenal por uma prótese biliar colocada endoscopicamente, cuja forma de apresentação foi atípica

Towards the detection of deception in interactive multimedia environments

A classical application of biosignal analysis has been the psychophysiological detection of deception, also known as the polygraph test, which is currently a part of standard practices of law enforcement agencies and several other institutions worldwide. Although its validity is far from gathering consensus, the underlying psychophysiological principles are still an interesting add-on for more informal applications. In this paper we present an experimental off-the-person hardware setup, propose a set of feature extraction criteria and provide a comparison of two classification approaches, targeting the detection of deception in the context of a role-playing interactive multimedia environment. Our work is primarily targeted at recreational use in the context of a science exhibition, where the main goal is to present basic concepts related with knowledge discovery, biosignal analysis and psychophysiology in an educational way, using techniques that are simple enough to be understood by children of different ages. Nonetheless, this setting will also allow us to build a significant data corpus, annotated with ground-truth information, and collected with non-intrusive sensors, enabling more advanced research on the topic. Experimental results have shown interesting findings and provided useful guidelines for future work. Pattern Recognitio

Caso Natasha [exercício]

Questões de verdadeiro ou falso sobre gravidez na adolescência, DST e uso de drogas.1.0Ministério da SaúdeUNA-SUS/UFCSP

Caso Vera: saúde da mulher [exercício]

Palavras cruzadas sobre saúde da mulher.1.0Ministério da SaúdeUNA-SU

Protein-truncating variants in BSN are associated with severe adult-onset obesity, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease

Obesity is a major risk factor for many common diseases and has a substantial heritable component. To identify novel genetic determinants, we performed exome-sequence analyses for adult body mass index (BMI) in up to 587,027 individuals. We identified rare, loss-of-function variants in two genes (BSN and APBA1) with effects substantially larger than well-established obesity genes such as MC4R. In contrast to most other obesity-related genes, rare variants in BSN and APBA1 were not associated with normal variation in childhood adiposity. Furthermore, BSN protein-truncating variants (PTVs) magnified the influence of common genetic variants associated with BMI, with a common polygenic score exhibiting an effect twice as large in BSN PTV carriers than non-carriers. Finally, we explored the plasma proteomic signatures of BSN PTV carriers as well as the functional consequences of BSN deletion in human iPSC-derived hypothalamic neurons. Collectively, our findings implicate degenerative processes in synaptic function in the etiology of adult-onset obesity

Nonallele-specific Silencing of Mutant and Wild-type Huntingtin Demonstrates Therapeutic Efficacy in Huntington's Disease Mice

Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by mutant huntingtin (htt) protein, and there are currently no effective treatments. Recently, we and others demonstrated that silencing mutant htt via RNA interference (RNAi) provides therapeutic benefit in HD mice. We have since found that silencing wild-type htt in adult mouse striatum is tolerated for at least 4 months. However, given the role of htt in various cellular processes, it remains unknown whether nonallele-specific silencing of both wild-type and mutant htt is a viable therapeutic strategy for HD. Here, we tested whether cosilencing wild-type and mutant htt provides therapeutic benefit and is tolerable in HD mice. After treatment, HD mice showed significant reductions in wild-type and mutant htt, and demonstrated improved motor coordination and survival. We performed transcriptional profiling to evaluate the effects of reducing wild-type htt in adult mouse striatum. We identified gene expression changes that are concordant with previously described roles for htt in various cellular processes. Also, several abnormally expressed transcripts associated with early-stage HD were differentially expressed in our studies, but intriguingly, those involved in neuronal function changed in opposing directions. Together, these encouraging and surprising findings support further testing of nonallele-specific RNAi therapeutics for HD