Human Capital and Spatial Heterogeneity in the Iberian Countries’ Regional Growth and Convergence

Human capital is believed to be an important conditioning factor in explaining the convergence and the speed of convergence of regional economies, although it is usually excluded from the estimated models due to a lack of consistent data. In contrast this paper, using a newly constructed series on human capital at the NUTS III level for Portugal, evaluates the role of human capital on the speed of convergence using a spatial econometric methodology, for a sample of Iberian NUTS III regions over the period 1991-2006. This is the first study to consider human capital effects at the NUTS III level and the results show convergence, both absolute and conditional, occurs mainly in the peripheral group of regions, while human capital plays a positive role only in the club of the richest regions, in contrast with an insignificant effect in the periphery. There is also evidence of important regional spillovers between the regions and evidence of the importance of EU regional policy in enhancing the convergence of the NUTS III regions.Regional growth, beta-convergence, Human Capital, Spatial Effects

Regional Growth and Convergence: The Role of Human Capital in the Portuguese Regions

Potentially one of the most important determinants of regional economic growth and convergence is human capital, although due to a lack of data this factor is frequently omitted from econometric studies. In contrast, this paper constructs three measures of human capital at the NUTS III regional level for Portugal for the period 1991-2008 and then includes these variables in regional growth regressions. The results show that both secondary and higher levels of education have a significant positive effect on regional growth rates which may be regarded as supportive of Portuguese education policy, which over the last three decades has attempted to raise the regional human capital by locating higher education institutions across the country.Human capital, Regional convergence, GMM

«“Ler” o poema é simplesmente dobrar e desdobrar» [“To read” the poem is simply to fold and unfold]: artist’s books by António Aragão

Este artigo é um curto catalogue raisonné dos livros de artista de António Aragão. Trata exclusivamente dos livros de Aragão que classifico como livros de artista: livros concebidos como objectos artísticos, cujo conteúdo é consubstancial ao formato e que colocam em primeiro plano o livro como meio artístico. Analiso apenas os livros de que Aragão é o único autor, e os dois números da revista Poesia Experimental.This essay is a short catalogue raisonné of artist’s books by António Aragão. It deals exclusively with those of Aragão’s books I classify as artist’s books: books conceived as art objects, the content being consubstantial to the format, in ways that foreground the book as a medium. The analysis is only on the books authored by Aragão alone, and Poesia Experimental 1 and 2

Grand Prix race teams : mundo virtual multiutilizador de corridas de automóveis

Grand Prix é um mundo virtual em ambiente 3D multiutilizador de corridas de automóveis. Criado inicialmente para demonstrar as potencialidades destas tecnologias aos estudantes de Informática e motivar a realização de projectos e investigação em realidade virtual, foi concebido em VRML/X3D, é visualizado num navegador Internet (browser) e está disponível on-line, via Web. A acção passa-se numa pista de corridas de automóveis com 3.7 km onde os visitantes escolhem um carro e se desafiam uns aos outros ou aos 2 carros robot sempre disponíveis para qualquer desafio.Grand Prix is a 3D Multi-user Car Racing World. Initially created to demonstrate the technology’s potential to students and motivate investigation on virtual reality, conceived in VRML/X3D and navigated trough a browser (+plug-in) is available on-line, via Web. The action takes place is a race track with 3.7 km where visitors pick cars and challenge one another, participating in races, or against the 2 robot cars always ready for a defy.peerreviewe

"The scientometric evolution of the "network society": mapping and tracing the influence of a concept

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Statistics and Information Management, specialization in Information Analysis and ManagementThe “Network Society” is an analytical concept developed by the sociologist Manuel Castells. The author applies this term to describe a new form of social organisation, global and dynamic, which was emerging in the end of the 20th century. The Network Society is underpinned by microelectronics, driven by software and based on flows of information. Castells explains its influence at many levels, namely in communication and the economy. Since its introduction in the 1990s, it has framed much of academic research and policy-relevant worldviews when it comes to define and understand the contemporary digital ways. By 2021, the world has become more digitally dependent than ever and the connectivity between different societal realms achieves an increasing relevance. This work inquiries how Castells’ concept of Network Society was received by academic communities. The main goals are to uncover how it has evolved in terms of meaning and appropriation. Considering the multifaceted nature of this concept, we investigate a possible theoretical road which might have led to its emergence. Afterwards, a peer-reviewed paper analysis is applied and bibliometric evidence is used to map the field structure of academic work related to the Network Society. We aim at unpacking a specific concept and pursue its evolution. We embrace a rather different approach from those commonly undertaken in bibliometric research, which refer to the study of authors or disciplines. We find that two moments can be distinguished in what concerns the use of the string “Network Society” as an indicator. From 2000 to 2009, three communities are identified in terms of intellectual structure: one dedicated to the Social Sciences in general, another one to studies of power, control, and surveillance, and finally one devoted to Geography. From 2010 to 2020, a change in discourse happens, a greater focus on digital and decision-making matters takes shape and a branch dedicated to the online sphere comes into prominence. The 2000s display a stronger impact in terms of citations, whereas the “take-off” in production itself takes place in the 2010s. The Network Society moves in a multidisciplinary panorama but Sociology and Communication disciplines remain at the core research areas. Castells assumes a central position in this body of literature but authorship is heterogeneous and fragmented, i.e., the term is almost exclusively appropriated by researchers without strong links outside their closed circles. The most impactful papers are related to governance and policy-making. The concept seems to be portrayed as a tool for analysing global but also local and specific issues

The role of human capital in the Iberian countries' growth and convergence

This thesis examines the role of human capital in the growth and convergence of the Iberian countries. Using a newly computed series for human capital at the NUTS III level for the Portuguese regions, the comparison between Portugal and Spain suggests a positive role for human capital proxied by the average years of schooling in both Iberian countries regional growth, which supports the hypothesis that higher levels of education improved the regions‟ ability to adopt new technology; although the levels of education indicate that secondary schooling is important for technology adoption in Portugal, but not in Spain, and its effect is higher than that of tertiary education. Using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), two convergence clubs are identified within the Iberia Peninsula (Core and Periphery), but convergence occurs mainly in the Periphery group and education plays a positive and significant role only in the Core club

«“Ler” o poema é simplesmente dobrar e desdobrar» [“To read” the poem is simply to fold and unfold]: artist’s books by António Aragão

Este artigo é um curto catalogue raisonné dos livros de artista de António Aragão. Trata exclusivamente dos livros de Aragão que classifico como livros de artista: livros concebidos como objectos artísticos, cujo conteúdo é consubstancial ao formato e que colocam em primeiro plano o livro como meio artístico. Analiso apenas os livros de que Aragão é o único autor, e os dois números da revista Poesia Experimental.This essay is a short catalogue raisonné of artist’s books by António Aragão. It deals exclusively with those of Aragão’s books I classify as artist’s books: books conceived as art objects, the content being consubstantial to the format, in ways that foreground the book as a medium. The analysis is only on the books authored by Aragão alone, and Poesia Experimental 1 and 2

Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) in ischemic stroke: functional validation of conditioned plasma in human cells

Stroke is the first cause of death and disability in Portugal and the second worldwide. The available therapeutic approaches to stroke treatment, thrombolysis, and mechanical thrombectomy promote blood reperfusion but do not directly target the brain parenchyma. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is a specific sub-type of conditioning that triggers our endogenous mechanisms of defense through the application of a stimulus, below the damage threshold, such as ischemia. In this particular case, a non-vital organ (arm) is submitted to 4 cycles of 5 minutes ischemia followed by 5 minutes reperfusion, the RIC procedure, which may stimulate protective signaling to remote target organs (such as the brain). In this light, our objective was to understand the humoral mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of this procedure, in particular whether and how RIC-conditioned plasma affected neuroinflammation, neuronal function, and blood-brain barrier integrity. We found that RIC-derived plasma promoted significant anti-inflammatory results since it limits reactive oxygen species generation when human HMC3 microglial cells are challenged with LPS and ATP inflammatory treatment. Therefore, indicating that one of the possible ways for RIC-induced protection occurs via inhibition of ROS production. Additionally, RIC-conditioned plasma also exhibited neuroprotective properties, by increasing synaptophysin expression, a marker for neuronal activity. These results reinforce the protective role of the RIC procedure. Lastly, slight BBB protective effects were also observed after treating the human brain microvasculature endothelial cells hCMEC/D3 cell line with RIC-derived plasma. However, these results should be further validated. All in all, besides demonstrating the possible beneficial effects of the RIC procedure, this work also showed a novel way to study these effects, which can be a stepping stone for future studies and the possible clinical application of this novel therapy.Os acidentes vasculares cerebrais (AVC’s) correspondem à primeira causa de morte e incapacidade em Portugal e a segunda em todo o mundo. As abordagens terapêuticas disponíveis para o tratamento de AVC’s, a trombólise e a trombectomia mecânica promovem a reperfusão, mas não atingem o tecido cerebral. O condicionamento isquémico remoto (RIC) é um subtipo de condicionamento, que ativa os nossos mecanismos endógenos de defesa através da aplicação de um estímulo, abaixo do limiar de dano, tal como a isquemia. Neste caso em particular, um órgão não-vital (braço) é submetido a 4 ciclos de 5 min de isquemia, seguidos de 5 min de reperfusão, o procedimento RIC, que pode estimular a sinalização de carácter protetor para um órgão alvo remoto (tal como o cérebro). Neste contexto, o nosso objetivo foi perceber os mecanismos humorais subjacentes a este procedimento, em particular, se e como o plasma condicionado pelo RIC afeta a neuro-inflamação, a função neuronal e a integridade da barreira hematoencefálica Nós observámos que o plasma derivado do RIC promoveu resultados anti-inflamatórios significativos, uma vez que limitou a produção de espécies reativas de oxigénio (ROS) quando a linha celular de microglia humana, HMC3, foi submetida a tratamento inflamatório com LPS e ATP. Indicando, assim, que uma das possíveis formas de proteção associada ao RIC poderá ocorrer através da inibição de geração de ROS. Adicionalmente, o plasma condicionado também exibiu propriedades neuroprotetoras, através do aumento da expressão de sinaptofisina, um marcador de atividade neuronal. Estes resultados reforçam o papel protetor do RIC. Por fim, também foram observados ligeiros efeitos protetores da barreira após tratar as células endoteliais, hCMEC/D3, com plasma condicionado. Contudo, estes resultados devem ser validados. Em suma, para além de este trabalho demonstrar os possíveis benefícios do RIC, também mostrou uma nova forma de estudar estes efeitos, o que pode constituir um avanço para futuros estudos e as possíveis aplicações desta terapia inovadora

Contribution of EQA to improve Preanalytical practices by systematic verification of Laboratory Services

International literature describes the preanalytical phase as the most susceptible to errors due to the numerous non automated activities it involves Most EQA organizers offer preanalytical schemes to participants. There are basically three types of surveys procedures registration, samples circulation and errors registration The Portuguese EQA Programme ( provides these type of schemes for 13 years, using as a guide the ISO 15189 2012 In order to improve the evaluation of the preanalytical phase, PNAEQ recently launched two other preanalytical EQA schemes, mystery client and presential audits in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The aim of the mystery client survey is to verify whether the information provided to the patient is constant regardless the day and time or if it is dependent on the collaborator. The aim of the presential audit survey is to give the participants a tool to verify if the procedures performed daily are in accordance with laboratorial good practices recommendations. Conclusions: Results from Mystery Client surveys demonstrate the need for written procedures and harmonization of practices for all collaborators, as more than a third of the responses differed in date/time and operator in a global view. In the Presential Audit surveys we highlight as critical points the results regarding questions 3 5 and 6 as they point to specific problems that occurred during the blood collection procedure, such as operator and patient safety, as well as the quality of the sample collected, suggesting the need to review legal and normative issues and to train collaborators. Participants who use systematically these two methodologies are monitoring some of the requirements of ISO 15189:2012, namely 4. 1.2.6, 4.3, 4.4.1, 4.14, 5.4.2 (both), 5.4.4.2 (mystery client) and 5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.2.5, 5.3.2.5, 5.3.2.7, 5.4.4 (presential audit), contributing to release reliable results for medical decisions. For the future, we will extend the questions and items in evaluation in these two surveys to Microbiology area and continuing to offer training in Preanalytical matters.N/

Fármacos que atuam modulando a ação da vasopressina

Projeto de Pós-Graduação/Dissertação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências FarmacêuticasA vasopressina, também é designada por hormona antidiurética (ADH), a nível renal aumenta a permeabilidade das células dos túbulos à água, aumentando assim a sua reabsorção. Permite aumentar a concentração de sais na urina e diminuir o seu volume. Designa-se vasopressina, tendo em conta que promove a vasoconstrição arteriolar, aumentando a resistência periférica e consequentemente a pressão arterial. Em situações normais, a concentração de vasopressina circulante está bem abaixo do nível necessário para promover o efeito vasoconstritor. Existem alguns fármacos no mercado que permitem modular a ação da vasopressina. Tendo em conta que esta possui três tipos de recetores diferentes, V1a, V1b e V2, existem fármacos que atuam como agonistas e outros que atuam como antagonistas, podendo estes ainda ser seletivos ou não seletivos. Dos agonistas existentes em Portugal destacam-se a desmopressina e a terlipressina. Dos antagonistas que existem a nível hospitalar, podemos referir o conivaptan e o tolvaptan, sendo que apenas o tolvaptan foi aprovado em Portugal. O tolvaptan é um antagonista seletivo do recetor V2 da vasopressina, sendo que o conivaptan é um antagonista não competitivo não seletivo dos recetores V1a e V2. A desmopressina é um antidiurético usado essencialmente no tratamento da diabetes insípidus e enurese noturna. A terlipressina é indicada no tratamento de hemorragias digestivas por rotura das varizes esofágicas. O conivaptan e o tolvaptan são usados no tratamento da hiponatremia hipervolémica e euvolémica. O tolvaptan é usado como terapia crónica de várias doenças que envolvem a retenção de líquidos, tais como, problemas renais, cardíacos ou hepáticos e doenças de tiroide. Neste trabalho serão ainda abordados fármacos que ainda estão em fase de ensaios clínicos, tais como, o Lixivaptan, o Mozavaptan e o Satavaptan que são antagonistas seletivos do recetor V2. Provavelmente, alguns destes serão lançados no mercado pois são muito promissores. Quer os fármacos agonistas quer os fármacos antagonistas da vasopressina desenvolvidos demonstram ter um potencial enorme no tratamento de diversas patologias, pelo que é uma mais valia o seu estudo mais aprofundado assim como o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos. Vasopressin is also called antidiuretic hormone (ADH). It is named ADH because, once in the kidneys, it increases the cellular permeability of the renal tubules to water, increasing its reabsorption. It allows increasing the concentration of urine and decreasing its volume. It is also named vasopressin, since it promotes arteriolar vasoconstriction, by increasing the peripheral resistance and, therefore, the blood pressure. Under normal circumstances, the concentration of vasopressin in the blood is well below the necessary level to promote vasoconstriction. There are some drugs in the market that allow modulating the action of vasopressin. Since it has three different types of receptors, V1a, V1b and V2, there are drugs that act as agonists and others that act as antagonists, and the latter can be either selective or non-selective. Desmopressin and terlipressin are among the existing agonists in the Portuguese market. Out of the antagonists existing at a hospital level, conivaptan and tolvaptan can be mentioned, but these haven’t been approved in Portugal. Tolvaptan is a V2-receptor selective antagonist of vasopressin, and conivaptan is a non-selective antagonist. Desmopressin is an antidiuretic primarily used in the treatment of diabetes insipidus and Nocturnal Enuresis. Terlipressin is indicated for the treatment of digestive bleeding due to the rupture of esophageal varices Conivaptan and tolvaptan are used for the treatment of hypervolaemic or euvolaemic hyponatremia. The tolvaptan is used as chronic therapy of several diseases related to the fluid retention such as kidney disease, heart or liver, and thyroid diseases and in the treatment of hyponatremia. In this work, we will also refer drugs that are still in the clinical trial stages, such as Lixivaptan, Mozavaptan and Satavaptan, which are V2 receptor selective antagonists. Probably, some of these drugs will be marketed, as they are very promising. Both the agonist and the antagonists drugs of vasopressin developed have shown a huge potential in the treatment of several pathologies. Therefore, it is an added value to study them further, but also to develop new drugs