A identidade profissional do formador. Lógicas e formas de construção

Pretende-se com este projeto descodificar como se constroem as identidades profissionais dos formadores que se encontram a desenvolver a sua atividade presentemente. Esta investigação terá uma componente teórica assente no enquadramento das políticas públicas de formação profissional, a construção das identidades sociais e profissionais, seguindo os conceitos estruturantes de Berger, Luckmann e Dubar. Deste modo, procurar-se-á compreender o processo através do qual se constrói a identidade profissional do formador identificando as suas expetativas, as configurações das atividades utilizadas e os seus impactos bem como os efeitos e consequências que essas atividades irão ter no seu desenvolvimento profissional; The professional identity of the trainer. Logic and forms of construction Abstract: With this project, we intend to decode how are built the professional identities of trainers who are developing their activities at the moment. This research will have a theoretical framework based on the public policy of vocational training, the construction of social and professional identities, following the structuring concepts of Berger, Luckmann and Dubar. Thus, we seek to understand the process through which it is built the professional identity of the trainer, identifying their expectations, the settings of the used activities and their impacts as well as the effects and consequences that these activities will have on their professional development

A Socio-Economic Portrait of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceThe present study aims to deepen the knowledge in the Autonomous Region of the Azores' sub-regional areas. By applying Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis to a set of essential variables of this region's census data, one can study the relation between those sub-regions and the chosen variables at the municipality level. This type of analysis is useful in the sense that by characterizing a sub-region, one can withdraw the significant influencers of its socio-economic outcomes. Moreover, due to its natural dispersion, being able to group the subregions or municipalities by similarity might be a pivotal factor to apply the right governmental policies to each group by playing an important decision-making criterium for territorial planning and economic development

The case of phenytoin and fosphenytoin

In brain-targeted drug delivery, the intranasal route can be a good alternative to parenteral administration. In addition to being associated with a greater comfort for the patient, intranasal drug delivery can reduce systemic drug distribution, resulting in an increased safety, and can allow direct drug transport to the brain, resulting in an increased therapeutic efficacy. For example, benzodiazepines administration for the treatment of acute epileptic episodes has been proven to be at least as effective as their intravenous administration. Nevertheless, their solubilization requires substantial amounts of organic solvents, which can cause lacrimation and nose and throat irritation. Additionally, benzodiazepines can cause somnolence, deleterious cognitive effects and dependence/tolerance. Phenytoin is also an antiepileptic drug, being non-inferior in efficacy, while not having these adverse effects. Although its systemic administration can cause other adverse events (such as cardiovascular complications or liver toxicity), its intranasal administration could increase its safety and even efficacy compared to other non-invasive routes in the treatment of status epilepticus. Yet, phenytoin has low aqueous solubility, being difficult to formulate at a high strength. However, its hydrophilic prodrug, fosphenytoin, has high water solubility. Hence, aqueous liquid water-based formulations of fosphenytoin for intranasal administration were developed. Pharmacokinetic results in mice showed that a fosphenytoin formulation containing hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and albumin prolonged drug concentration in the brain, also producing a high absolute drug bioavailability. The study demonstrated that phosphate ester prodrugs (such as fosphenytoin) can be an efficient strategy to increase the intranasal bioavailability of low solubility drugs (such as phenytoin). In addition, we hypothesized that if there was phenytoin in the formulation, in the active and diffusible form, brain drug delivery could be increased and/or made faster. Thus, nano and microemulsions containing phenytoin (internalized in the oil droplets) and fosphenytoin (solubilized in the aqueous phase) in combination were developed. A microemulsion having good characteristics (reasonably homogeneous, with small droplet size and physically stable for at least 1 week) was selected for pharmacokinetic evaluation in mice. In addition to the intranasal administration of this selected microemulsion, containing both phenytoin and fosphenytoin, a second microemulsion was also administered intranasally, having an identical composition but without phenytoin (with fosphenytoin only), for comparison purposes. Despite the existence of a small amount of phenytoin in the formulation not inducing accelerated brain drug delivery, it led to prolonged and increased drug levels. Moreover, the intranasal administration of the microemulsion containing both drugs led to a maximum brain concentration that was similar to that obtained with the intravenous fosphenytoin solution, also leading to prolonged drug retention. The microemulsion containing both drugs also had a higher bioavailability than any of the intranasally administered formulations containing fosphenytoin only (microemulsion without phenytoin, and simple fosphenytoin formulations). Furthermore, both microemulsions (the one containing both drugs and the one containing fosphenytoin only) led to higher drug concentrations at initial time points than those obtained with the simple intranasal fosphenytoin solution, which suggests that the microemulsion had a drug permeation enhancement effect. Thus, in general this work allowed to prove that the use of phosphate ester prodrugs can be an effective strategy in increasing the intranasal bioavailability of low solubility drugs, albumin is a good strategy to prolong brain targeting, the existence of a small amount of active drug (in addition to the prodrug), in an emulsified form, can increase drug levels at longer time points, and the use of microemulsions can increase brain drug delivery at shorter time points.Na entrega de fármacos ao cérebro a via intranasal pode ser uma boa alternativa à administração parentérica. Para além de estar associada a um maior conforto para o doente, a via intranasal pode também reduzir a distribuição sistémica de fármaco, resultando num aumento da segurança, e possibilitar o transporte direto do mesmo para o cérebro, resultando num aumento da eficácia terapêutica. A administração de benzodiazepinas para o controlo de crises epiléticas foi já comprovada como sendo pelo menos tão eficaz como a sua administração intravenosa. No entanto, a sua solubilização requer elevadas quantidades de solventes orgânicos, o que pode causar lacrimejo e irritação no nariz e garganta. Adicionalmente, as benzodiazepinas podem causar sonolência, distúrbios cognitivos, dependência e tolerância. A fenitoína é também um fármaco antiepilético, não sendo inferior em eficácia e não apresentando os mesmos efeitos adversos das benzodiazepinas. A sua administração sistémica pode causar outros efeitos adversos (por exemplo a nível do sistema cardiovascular ou hepático), no entanto a sua administração intranasal poderá aumentar a sua segurança e, potencialmente, a eficácia no tratamento do status epilepticus comparativamente a outras vias não invasivas. No entanto a fenitoína é um fármaco com baixa solubilidade aquosa, o que faz com que seja difícil de formular em dosagem elevada. Porém, o seu pró-fármaco hidrofílico, a fosfenitoína, tem uma solubilidade aquosa elevada. Assim, foram desenvolvidas formulações líquidas aquosas de fosfenitoína para administração intranasal. Os resultados de estudos farmacocinéticos em murganhos mostraram que uma formulação de fosfenitoína contendo hidroxipropilmetilcelulose e albumina prolongou a concentração de fármaco no cérebro, originando uma elevada biodisponibilidade absoluta da fenitoína. Neste estudo foi demonstrado que os pró-fármacos ésteres de fosfato (como a fosfenitoína) podem ser uma estratégia eficaz e segura no aumento da biodisponibilidade intranasal de fármacos pouco solúveis (como a fenitoína). Adicionalmente, colocou-se a hipótese de que a presença de fenitoína na formulação, na forma ativa e pronta a difundir através das barreiras biológicas, pudesse aumentar a rapidez com que o fármaco chegava ao cérebro, e/ou a eficácia com que o fazia. Assim, foram desenvolvidas nano e microemulsões contendo fenitoína (internalizada nas gotículas oleosas) e fosfenitoína (solubilizada na fase aquosa) em combinação. Foi selecionada uma microemulsão com boas características (razoavelmente homogénea, com tamanho de gotícula pequeno e fisicamente estável durante pelo menos uma semana) para seguir para estudos farmacocinéticos em animais. Para além da administração intranasal da microemulsão selecionada, contendo fenitoína e fosfenitoína, foi também administrada pela via intranasal uma microemulsão de composição idêntica mas sem fenitoína (só com fosfenitoína), por forma a perceber-se se a existência de uma pequena quantidade de fenitoína na forma ativa e permeável (e não apenas fosfenitoína) é necessária para obter níveis mais elevados ou acelerar a entrega de fármaco ao cérebro. Os resultados sugeriram que, apesar da existência de uma pequena quantidade de fenitoína na formulação não ter tornado a entrega de fármaco ao cérebro mais rápida, levou a um prolongamento e aumento dos níveis de fármaco. Adicionalmente, a administração intranasal da microemulsão contendo ambos os compostos (fenitoína e fosfenitoína) levou a uma concentração máxima no cérebro semelhante àquela obtida mediante administração intravenosa de fosfenitoína, levando também a um prolongamento da retenção de fármaco. A microemulsão contendo ambos os compostos teve também uma maior eficácia que qualquer outra formulação administrada pela via intranasal contendo apenas fosfenitoína (microemulsão sem fenitoína mas com fosfenitoína, e formulações simples de fosfenitoína). Para além disso, ambas as microemulsões (contendo ambos os fármacos ou apenas fosfenitoína) deram origem a concentrações superiores às obtidas com a solução de fosfenitoína intranasal, o que sugere que os excipientes que faziam parte da composição destas formulações (nomeadamente os agentes tensioativos) tiveram um efeito de aumento da permeação de fármaco. Assim, em geral, este trabalho permitiu provar que o uso de pró-fármacos ésteres de fosfato pode ser uma estratégia eficaz no aumento da biodisponibilidade intranasal de fármacos pouco solúveis, que a albumina é uma boa estratégia de direcionamento cerebral, que a existência de uma pequena quantidade de fármaco ativo (em adição ao pró-fármaco), em emulsão, aumenta os níveis de fármaco a tempos mais longos, e que o uso de microemulsões aumenta a concentração de fármaco no cérebro a tempos curtos

The impact of blockchain technology on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing management by financial institutions

Money laundering and financing of terrorism are serious criminal offences that contribute to the parallel economy and harm the overall society wellbeing, as they generate further crime. The ever-evolving technological field makes it so that ML/FT schemes are becoming increasingly complex and dynamic, hindering the efforts conducted by regulators and authorities to suppress these events. Financial institutions, being an attractive vehicle for this type of criminal offences, also play an important role in fighting ML/FT. Hence, financial entities must ensure adequate controls and procedures to comply with the prevailing AML/CFT legislation. Blockchain technology first arose in the context of cryptocurrencies. However, its inherent characteristics and flexibility make it suitable for numerous areas, including the financial services industry. The goal of this dissertation is to assess the overall impact of the adoption of blockchain based solutions by financial institutions in compliance with AML/CFT legal requirements, particularly when the use case directly affects the AML/CFT process. Moreover, a comprehensive academic research was conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of both topics beforehand. Due to the lack of quantitative data available, literature review alongside with practical know-how were the basis used to reach the conclusions. The results show that the impact of the adoption of blockchain based solutions by financial institutions on AML/CFT management is positive in the context of private or hybrid networks. Public blockchains, on the other hand, are not compliant with AML/CFT standards. Nonetheless, legislation on the matter is required and each use case must be addressed independently.O branqueamento de capitais e financiamento do terrorismo são atos criminosos graves que contribuem para a economia paralela e prejudicam o bem-estar da sociedade. A evolução constante do ramo tecnológico, faz com que os crimes de BC/FT se tornem cada vez mais complexos e dinâmicos, dificultando os esforços conduzidos pelos reguladores e autoridades competentes. As instituições financeiras, veículos atrativos para este tipo de crimes, também desempenham um papel fundamental no combate ao BC/FT. Assim, estas devem dispor de controlos adequados, de forma a assegurar o cumprimento com os requisitos legais. A tecnologia blockchain surgiu no contexto das criptomoedas. No entanto, as propriedades e flexibilidade de que dispõe, permitem que esta seja utilizada nas mais diversas áreas, incluindo na indústria dos serviços financeiros. O objetivo desta dissertação passa por avaliar o impacto da adoção de soluções tecnológicas baseadas na blockchain por parte das instituições financeiras no cumprimento dos requisitos legais em termos de PBC/FT, especialmente em cenários que afetem diretamente o referido processo. Devido à escassez de dados quantitativos relevantes, as conclusões foram geradas com base em revisão literária sobre ambos os tópicos, juntamente com conhecimentos práticos. Os resultados mostram que o impacto da adoção de soluções tecnológicas baseadas na blockchain por parte das instituições financeiras na gestão do PBC/FT é positivo no contexto de redes privadas ou híbridas. Por outro lado, as redes públicas não cumprem com os requisitos legais de PBC/FT. Não obstante, é necessária a produção de legislação específica e cada caso particular deverá ser analisado individualmente

HLA-DR in Cytotoxic T lymphocytes predicts breast cancer patients' response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy

Prediction of breast cancer response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NACT) is an urgent need to promptly direct non-responder patients to alternative therapies. Infiltrating T lymphocytes, namely cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) have been appointed as predictors of response. However, cancer cells have the ability to dampen CTLs' activity and thus, the prognostic value of the CTLs, per se, is debatable. Here, we disclose that more than the occurrence of CTLs, it is their activation state, revealed by HLA-DR expression, that can accurately predict response to NACT. Flow cytometry analysis of breast cancer biopsies showed that the frequency of CTLs and other lymphocytes were similar regardless disease stage and between NACT responders and non-responders. However, only breast cancer patients without axillary lymph node metastasis and NACT responders have HLA-DRhi CTLs. Interestingly, HLA-DR levels in tumor CTLs is correlated with HLA-DR levels in systemic CTLs. These HLA-DR+ CTLs produce IFN-γ and Granzyme B, enlightening their effector and probable anti-tumor activity profile. Moreover, the level of HLA-DR in CTLs is negatively correlated with the level of HLA-DR in T regulatory lymphocytes and with immunosuppressive and pro-tumor molecules in the tumor microenvironment. Hence, HLA-DR levels in CTLs is a highly sensitive and specific potential predictive factor of NACT-response, which can be assessed in blood to guide therapeutic decisions.Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia: PD/BD/114023/2015; PTDC/BBB-BMD/4497/2014. Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancroinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Design and power consumption analysis of a NB-IoT End device for monitoring applications

As the number of connected things increases at a very fast pace, the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem expands and nowadays covers a vast number of application domains, providing a large portfolio of solutions that are based on an evolving system, from the physical sensors (end devices) to the Cloud. When designing battery-powered end devices, previous research has identified several challenges such as wireless connectivity, battery lifetime, embedded intelligence, security and privacy concerns, and costs (modem unit, communication link and maintenance, among others). This paper focuses on the design and development of battery-powered IoT devices in which NarrowBand Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is used to provide seamless wireless connection, reduce power consumption, enhance communication coverage and minimize maintenance costs. The paper describes a typical use case where an Arm Cortex -M0+ and its low-power modes are exploited in order to design a low-power end device. Two different approaches, bare-metal and freeRTOS, for implementing the end device firmware are compared. Additionally, performance tests prove that increasing the clock frequency of the processor does not bring any advantage to this kind of applications. ® ®This work has been supported by NORTE-06-3559-FSE 000018, integrated in the invitation NORTE-59-2018-41, aiming the Hiring of Highly Qualified Human Resources, co financed by the Regional Operational Programme of the North 2020, thematic area of Competitiveness and Employment, through the European Social Fund (ESF). This work has been supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. The authors would like to thank the support team of NOS Comunicações for providing the NB-IoT connection and server service, and for technical support throughout the installation

Carbon Monoxide modulation of neuronal differentiation

Several evidences support carbon monoxide (CO) for modulating cellular differentiation, in particular for neuronal cells. First, there are some reported studies documenting the biogenesis of mitochondria during spontaneous cell differentiation and it was demonstrated that CO promotes mitochondrial biogenesis. Secondly, ROS are signalling molecules in CO-induced pathways and are also key-players in neuronal differentiation. Third, CO has been described as anti-proliferative molecule in different cell types, namely smooth muscle, cancer and T cells, which can be involved in the balance between differentiation and proliferation that occurs during neurogenesis. Therefore, CO presents a strong potential for modulating neuronal differentiation, opening windows for the development of novel cell therapy strategies for neurological disorders.(...