Public funding of Higher Education: who gains, who loses?

This paper analyses the efects of public funding of higher education on the welfare of the diferent agents. It takes into account the hierarchical nature of the educational system and also the fact that parents always have the possibility to complement basic public education with private expenditures in individual tutoring. It is obtained that although public funding implies a larger access to higher education it is always the case that some of the agents that gain access lose in welfare terms. Moreover, it is shown that the marginal agent to access university would always prefer a pure private funding system. Thus, when studying the e¤ects of public funding of higher education, we can not identify gaining access to University with an increase in welfare. Finally, I consider a funding system where only those that send their o¤spring to university support the funding of higher education.higher education, public fundinghigher education, public funding. JEL codes: I22, I28

The Poverty of Linear Nations: Lessons from Taking an AK Model to the Data.

This paper takes an AK model to the PWT data. In the model, intratemporal and intertemporal shocks are reduced forms for different technologies, and determine the variation of the growth rate. Using the policy functions of the model we recover time series for the unobserved technology shock for a panel of countries. We can then evaluate both how well the model fits the data and what the contribution of the different shocks to the variation of growth rates is. We find that the data is largely inconsistent with the AK structure. However, we isolate what we believe are pervasive patterns in macroeconomic models: a negative correlation between intra and intertemporal shocks, and an ever increasing level of technology matched with ever cheaper consumption relative to investment.endogenous growth; technology shocks; investment shocks

More Lessons from Taking an AK Model to the Data.

We take an AK model to the PWT data. In the model both technology (intratemporal) and investment (intertemporal) shocks determine the variation of the growth rate. In earlier work we looked at singular models where we extracted only the technology shock using the policy functions from dynamic optimality. Here we recover time series for both shocks for a panel of countries and we isolate what we believe are pervasive patterns in macroeconomic models and postwar data: a negative correlation between intra and intertemporal shocks, and a somewhat lesser role for the intertemporal shock.endogenous growth; technology shocks; investment shocks

(Relative Price) Lessons from Taking an AK Model to the Data

Endogenous Growth, Technology Shocks, Investment Shocks.

Accumulation and elimination dynamics of the hydroxybenzoate saxitoxin analogues in mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to the toxic marine Dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is a severe food-borne illness, caused by the ingestion of seafood containing paralytic shellfish toxins (PST), which are naturally produced by marine dinoflagellates and accumulate in shellfish during algae blooms. Novel PST, designated as hydroxybenzoate analogues (also known as GC toxins), was relatively recently discovered in Gymnodinium catenatum strains worldwide. However, to date, there have been no studies examining their accumulation in shellfish. In this study, mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were exposed to G. catenatum for five days and then exposed to a non-toxic diet for 24 h, to investigate the toxin's accumulation/elimination dynamics. As determined by UHPLC-HILIC-MS/MS, the hydroxybenzoate analogues, GC1 to GC6, comprised 41% of the algae toxin profile and only 9% in mussels. Elimination of GC toxins after 24 h was not evident. This study highlights that a relevant fraction of PST in mussels are not routinely analysed in monitoring programs and that there is a need to better understand the toxicological potential of the hydroxybenzoate analogues, in order to properly address the risk of G. catenatum blooms.Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science - contract code DP402; Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia - PD/BD/113484/2015; FCT Investigator; Mar2020 - SNMB-INOV: Innovation for a more competitive shellfish sector, co-financed by the Operational Program Mar 2020, Portugal 2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Piloting VAKE (Values and Knowledge Education) in the Education for Practice of Nurses.

Imagine the following situation: You are a nurse for elderly people, going to the homes of your patients. A female patient tells you on our first visit after hospital discharge following a hip fracture surgery that she does not want to be at home, because she is not well enough to be alone and she needs therapy with oxygen in permanent basis until she recovers from a respiratory temporary infection situa¬tion. This kind of situations is the starting point for an educational sequence that ad-dresses both values (here: life, human dignity, respect, loneliness) and knowledge (different medical treatments, legal rules, etc.). The example shows how intensely interrelated the values and the facts are. Based on this example we introduce the constructivist didactical tool VaKE (Values and Knowledge Education) that permits to combine both issues, and present a pilot study using this method in the education of nurses.Tempus/LLAF; VAKEinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Soundbite nas cibernotícias das rádios: um estudo sobre a duração e função do áudio nos conteúdos jornalísticos na Internet

A atenção média do ouvinte tem vindo a diminuir sobretudo nas últimas décadas, calculando-se que nos dias de hoje um jovem tenha muito menos capacidade de concentração auditiva que os seus pais: menos de dois minutos em vez da média dos oito registados nos anos 60 (Meditsch, 1999). Este factor aliado ao consumo voraz, imediato e cada vez mais rápido da informação estará a condicionar os conteúdos jornalísticos sonoros? No caso dos sites das rádios o áudio das cibernotícias tende a torna-se cada vez mais curto dando lugar ao soundbite?O objectivo deste estudo é o de verificar se a denominada cultura do soundbite existe efectivamente nos áudios das notícias nos sites das rádios e se o áudio tem uma complementariedade informativa em relação ao texto. Nesse sentido, foram analisadas as cibernotícias em destaque nos sites da TSF, Rádio Renascença, RDP e RCP em períodos aleatórios durante três anos. O que se pode verificar é que as rádios não aderiram à cultura do soundbite nos conteúdos jornalísticos que publicam nos seus sites atribuindo ao áudio uma mais-valia informativa tal como acontece na notícia radiofónica

Systems epidemiology to devise new interventions for multi-host tuberculosis

Animal tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of livestock and wildlife mainly caused by Mycobacterium bovis and, in a minor extent, Mycobacterium caprae. In Portugal, animal TB is maintained in a multi-host system involving livestock and wild ungulates. The understanding of the processes driving transmission at this interface is key to inform control. In this work, M. caprae isolates (n=55) from Portugal were characterized by spoligotyping and MIRU-VNTR, supporting the clonal structure, co-infection and in vivo microevolution of this ecotype. M. bovis (n=948) from cattle, red deer and wild boar from TB hotspot regions were genotyped. Bayesian inference identified five ancestral populations and associated the most probable ancient M. bovis subpopulation with cattle and Beja, providing clues on the epidemics origin. A multinomial spatiotemporal probability model identified two significant TB clusters: one that persisted in 2004-2010 with Barrancos (Beja) at the centre, highlighting a significant higher risk associated to cattle; a second cluster, predominant in 2012-2016, holding the county Rosmaninhal (Castelo Branco) at the centre, for which wild boar contributed the most in relative risk. Whole-genome sequences (WGS) of 44 representative M. bovis distinguished five genetic clades and supported sustained transmission and multiple introductions in this multi-host system. Exploratory evolutionary analysis gave further support to pathogen transition between different hosts. Comparative genomics applied to M. bovis (n=70) representing the global clonal complex diversity predicted an open pan-genome and showed diversification of discrete subpopulations through core and accessory genomes. Consistent non-synonymous SNPs illustrated clade-specific virulence landscapes correlating with disease severity. Positive selection and weaker effects of recombination compared with mutation were evidenced as predominant evolutionary forces. Altogether, our results provide novel evidence on the population structure and evolution of M. caprae and M. bovis, delivering insights that could be used to inform adaptive TB control choices in different hosts and regions

Sensing of biorelevant molecules with metal-organic framework films

Uric acid plays a major role in medical applications since its abnormal concentration translates into a diagnostic tool for clinical disorders such as gout, hyperuricemia or the Lesch–Nyhan syndrome. Therefore, the development of purine sensors became significant and relies on the fabrication of thin films and/or membranes based on nanomaterials. Metal-organic frame-works are constituted by organic linkers and metal ions. These have shown some promising results as sensors that can be attributed to their crystallinity, high and permanent porosity, and the presence of several active sites. This work will focus on Fe-MOF-74, with a crystal structure consisting of hexagonal channels and highly reactive metal sites. Metal-organic frameworks are conventionally prepared by solvothermal/hydrothermal methods, obtained as microcrystalline powders. These indirect techniques become limited by the complexity in casting the material to the desired shape. Direct techniques have been used to overcome these limitations, namely, the electrochemical method. This work reports the cathodic deposition of Fe-MOF-74 for the electrochemical detection of uric acid. Herein, pro-ligands were synthesised and characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The electro-synthesised films were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Brunauer, Emmett and Teller surface area from N2 adsorption, scanning electron microscopy, particle-induced X-ray emission and Rutherford backscatter spectrometry. Finally, these films were applied to the electrochemical detection of uric acid and evaluated based on their limit of detection, sensitivity, and linear range.O ácido úrico desempenha um papel importante em aplicações medicinais, dado que a sua concentração anormal se traduz num diagnóstico de alterações clínicas, como a gota, hiperuricemia, ou a síndrome the Lesch-Nyhan. Posto isto, o desenvolvimento de sensores de purinas tornou-se significante, estando dependente do fabrico de filmes finos e/ou membranas baseados/as em nanomateriais. As redes metal-orgânicas são constituídas por ligandos orgânicos e iões metálicos. Estas têm vindo a apresentar resultados promissores enquanto sensores, atribuídos à sua elevada cristalinidade e porosidade, assim como à presença de vários sítios ativos. Este trabalho será focado na Fe-MOF-74, que apresenta uma estrutura cristalina constituída por canais hexagonais e centros metálicos altamente reativos. As redes metal-orgânicas são convencionalmente preparadas através de métodos solvotérmicos/hidrotérmicos, obtendo-as na forma de pó microcristalino. Estas técnicas indiretas tornam-se limitadas pela complexidade na moldagem dos materiais na forma desejada. As técnicas diretas têm vindo a colmatar estas limitações, nomeadamente, o método eletroquímico. Este trabalho reporta a deposição catódica da Fe-MOF-74 e derivados para a deteção eletroquímica de ácido úrico. Para tal, pró-ligandos foram sintetizados e caracterizados através de ressonância magnética nuclear, espetroscopia de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier e análise elementar. Os filmes eletrosintetisados foram caracterizados através de espetroscopia de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier, análise elementar, espetroscopia de força atómica, difração de raios-X, área superficial de Brunauer, Emmett and Teller obtida através da adsorção de N2, microscopia eletrónica de varrimento, emissão de raios-X induzida por partículas e espectrometria de retroespalhamento de Rutherford. Por fim, estes filmes foram aplicados na deteção eletroquímica de ácido úrico avaliados com base no limite de deteção , sensibilidade e gama linear