(Board)ing Schools: Rudyard Kipling’s young heroes

Rudyard Kipling’s young male characters, namely Stalky (Stalky & Co. ) and Harvey Cheyne Junior (Captains Courageous), whom he portrays with noticeable admiration, exhibit, on the one hand, circumspection, stoicism, leadership, and stalkiness, on the other hand, the absence of scruples in manipulating those acting in loco parentis to achieve their desired ends. This article aims to examine how these characters can shed light on one another, allowing for a better comprehension of them both. Furthermore, it will explore how the religious archetype of the trinity permeates Stalky & Co.’s composition of characters, and how muscular Christianity shapes Captains Courageous. Stalky and Harvey thrive in a masculine world, access to which requires leaving women behind, substituting them with brotherhoods or identification with the father. The perfect man, Kipling postulates, is the resourceful and courageous rule-bending Christian who is able to keep women and natives in a state of obedience.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização da função do gene mob2 de Drosophila melanogaster

Dissertação de mest., Ciências Biomédicas, Departamento de Ciências Biomédicas e Medicina, Univ. do Algarve, 2011O correcto funcionamento do ciclo de divisão celular é essencial para a correcta transmissão do material genético da célula mãe para as células filhas, durante várias gerações, assegurando a continuidade da vida e a evolução das espécies. E, quando este processo é comprometido podem surgir várias complicações que geram o aparecimento de doenças como o cancro. Nas leveduras, S. cerevisae e S. pombe, foi demonstrado que os genes da família Mob desempenham um papel fundamental da saída de mitose, citocinese e polaridade das células. Assim sendo, como este genes estão conservados nos eucariotas, é possível que na Drosophila melanogaster, a família Mob também desempenhe funções essenciais no ciclo celular. Para determinar a função do gene Mob2 de Drosophila, realizou-se a análise do fenótipo dos mutantes Mob2 e tentou-se determinar a localização da proteína Mob2 ao longo das várias fases da mitose. Em conclusão, verificou-se que a proteína Mob2 parece estar localizada nos cinetocoros e que parece estar envolvida na formação do fuso e progressão do ciclo celular

Rectification, amplification and switching capabilities for energy harvesting systems: power management circuit for piezoelectric energy harvester

Dissertação de mestrado em Biomedical EngineeringA new energy mechanism needs to be addressed to overcome the battery dependency, and consequently extend Wireless Sensor Nodes (WSN) lifetime effectively. Energy Harvesting is a promising technology that can fulfill that premise. This work consists of the realization of circuit components employable in a management system for a piezoelectric-based energy harvester, with low power consumption and high efficiency. The implementation of energy harvesting systems is necessary to power-up front-end applications without any battery. The input power and voltage levels generated by the piezoelectric transducer are relatively low, especially in small-scale systems, as such extra care has to be taken in power consumption and efficiency of the circuits. The main contribution of this work is a system capable of amplifying, rectifying and switching the unstable signal from an energy harvester source. The circuit components are designed based on 0.13 Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. An analog switch, capable of driving the harvesting circuit at a frequency between 1 and 1 , with proper temperature behaviour, is designed and verified. An OFF resistance of 520.6 Ω and isolation of −111.24 , grant excellent isolation to the circuit. The designed voltage amplifier is capable of amplifying a minor signal with a gain of 42.56 , while requiring low power consumption. The output signal is satisfactorily amplified with a reduced offset voltage of 8 . A new architecture of a two-stage active rectifier is proposed. The power conversion efficiency is 40.4%, with a voltage efficiency of up to 90%. Low power consumption of 17.7 is achieved by the rectifier, with the embedded comparator consuming 113.9 . The outcomes validate the circuit’s power demands, which can be used for other similar applications in biomedical, industrial, and commercial fields.Para combater a dependência dos dispositivos eletrónicos relativamente ás baterias é necessário um novo sistema energético, que permita prolongar o tempo de vida útil dos mesmos. Energy Harvesting é uma tecnologia promissora utilizada para alimentar dispositivos sem bateria. Este trabalho consiste na realização de componentes empregáveis num circuito global para extrair energia a partir ds vibrações de um piezoelétricos com baixo consumo de energia e alta eficiência. Os níveis de potência e voltagem gerados pelo transdutor piezoelétrico são relativamente baixos, especialmente em sistemas de pequena escala, por isso requerem cuidado extra relativamente ao consumo de energia e eficiência dos circuitos. A principal contribuição deste trabalho é um sistema apropriado para amplificar, retificar e alternar o sinal instável proveniente de uma fonte de energy harvesting. Os componentes do sistema são implementados com base na tecnologia CMOS com 0.13 . Um interruptor analógico capaz de modelar a frequência do sinal entre 1 e 1 e estável perante variações de temperatura, é implementado. O circuito tem um excelente isolamento de −111.24 , devido a uma resistência OFF de 520.6 Ω. O amplificador implementado é apto a amplificar um pequeno sinal com um ganho de 42.56 e baixo consumo. O sinal de saída é satisfatoriamente amplificado com uma voltagem de offset de 8 . Um retificador ativo de dois estágios com uma nova arquitetura é proposto. A eficiência de conversão de energia atinge os 40.4%, com uma eficiência de voltagem até 90%. O retificador consome pouca energia, apenas 17.7 , incorporando um comparador de 113.9 . Os resultados validam as exigências energéticas do circuito, que pode ser usado para outras aplicações similares no campo biomédico, industrial e comercial

Social commerce adoption and the pandemic impact

Mestrado em Gestão de Sistemas de InformaçãoO aumento da popularidade das redes sociais e a utilização do Comércio Eletrónico deram origem a um novo modelo de negócios denominado Social Commerce (SC). SC envolve o uso de tecnologias Web 2.0 que possibilitam a interação dos utilizadores, facilitando a venda e compra online de produtos e serviços. A necessidade de entender o comportamento dos utilizadores do Social Commerce tem vindo a ser sugerida por autores académicos na área dos Sistemas de Informação (SI). Além disso, tendo em consideração que a pandemia COVID-19 afetou o comportamento online dos consumidores, torna-se importante analisar seu papel na intenção e uso efetivo de uma tecnologia. Para tal, a segunda versão da Teoria Unificada de Aceitação e Uso de Tecnologia (UTAUT2) foi adaptada a fim de determinar quais fatores impactam a intenção e uso do Social Commerce. Neste contexto, construtos adicionais foram identificados, tendo em consideração o contexto pandémico atual. Foi realizada uma análise quantitativa, a partir de dados recolhidos de uma amostra de 209 inquiridos. O software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences e a abordagem Partial Least Squares (PLS) foram utilizadas para avaliar o modelo conceptual. Os resultados deste estudo revelaram que os construtos Hábito, Motivação Hedónica, Expectativa de Desempenho e Construtos do Social Commerce são significativos na formação da intenção comportamental e uso do SC. Também a pandemia revelou ter impacto na frequência de utilização do SC, sendo o construto Falta de Alternativas Percebida, um determinante na intenção de uso desta tecnologia.The increased popularity of social networking sites and the establishment of Electronic Commerce has given rise to a new business model entitled Social Commerce (SC). SC involves using Web 2.0 social media technologies that support users' interactions, facilitating the online selling and acquisition of products and services. SC is increasingly attracting the attention of academic researchers within the Information Systems (IS) field, being implicit a need to understand SC users' behavior. Additionally, since the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted consumers online behavior, it becomes important to analyze its role in the intention and usage of a technology. To investigate this aspect, the second version of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) was extended in order to determinate which factors impact Behavioral Intention and Use of Social Commerce. For that, additional determinants in Social Commerce acceptance and adoption were identified, taking in consideration the COVID-19 pandemic context. A quantitative approach was conducted, based on data collected from a sample of 209 respondents and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Partial Least Squares (PLS) path modeling were used to assess the model. The study results showed that Habit, Hedonic Motivation, Performance Expectancy, Social Commerce Constructs are significant in the formation of Behavioral Intention and Use of SC. This study findings also revealed that the pandemic had impacted the frequency of use of SC, being the Perceived Lack of Alternatives a determinant in the intention to use SC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of PNA-DNA Field-Effect Transistor-based biosensors

The high demand for devices with higher sensitivity as well cost-efficiency has put tremendous pressure on the biosensors field. The numerous advantages of Field effect transistors (FETs) such as small size, fast response, label free response, and possibility of on-chip integration of biosensor arrays with a future prospect of low-cost mass production, make their development highly desirable. An elec-trochemical deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) biosensor using a synthesized ferrocene-based DNA interca-lator as a redox marker was investigated. A peptide nucleic acid (PNA) was employed as a capture probe and co-immobilized on electrodes with 6-mecarpto-hexanol (MCH) to control the surface density of the probe, and hybridized with complementary DNA. After hybridization, a ferrocene-based intercalator was introduced to bind with the PNA-DNA duplex and change the surface potential. Biologically sen-sitive field-effect transistor (BioFET) was used to monitor the DNA recognition. As confirmation, elec-trochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was also used to characterize the different modification steps. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was employed to evaluate the electrochemical signal of the intercalator, related to its interaction with the PNA-DNA duplex. An optimization of the PNA probe surface density was also tried, with the density being controlled by the MCH ratio in solution. Hybridi-zation of PNA-DNA with a PNA/MCH ratio of 1:29 was obtained in BioFET and EIS, the employed intercalator showed to have poor stability, both in application in BioFET as in DPV. Different ratios were tried and the use of different electrodes was also exploit

Membrane permeability and aquaporin involvement in oxidative stress and cancer

Tese de doutoramento, Farmácia (Bioquímica), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2019Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of small transmembrane proteins present in all types of organisms and involved in the selective transport of water and small solutes such as glycerol in response to osmotic or solute gradients. So far, 13 isoforms were identified in humans and can be divided in three different groups according with their selectivity and sequence homology. AQPs were reported to be important in a wide range of physiological functions, such as water and energy homeostasis, exocrine fluid secretion and epidermal hydration. Dysfunction and/or abnormal expression of AQPs have been associated with several chronic diseases including epilepsy, cerebral edema, glaucoma, obesity, and cancer. In cancer, several isoforms were found overexpressed and three of them (AQP3, AQP8 and AQP9) can also transport H2O2. This small molecule can be toxic, but at lower concentration can act as second messenger in signaling pathways responsible for cancer cell migration and proliferation. Considering the importance of the AQPs in the initiation, promotion and progression of cancer, we first evaluated the effect of lipid peroxidation on the activity of a yeast aquaporin (AQY1), using a Saccharomyces cerevisiae oxidative stress model. In addition, we investigated the ability of mammalian AQPs to transport H2O2 using a S. cerevisiae heterologous expression model. In this case, the yeast strain used was previously deleted of endogenous aquaporins and transformed with mammalian AQPs, allowing to distinguish the function of each individually cloned isoform. It was identified AQPs with promising results and their function was validated in mammalian cell lines. On the other hand, the expression level of AQP1, AQP3 and AQP5 was evaluated in cancer cells after treatment with H2O2 to assess their gene regulation under conditions of oxidative stress. Finally, the expression level of AQP1, AQP3 and AQP5 was evaluated in several pancreatic biopsies in order to determine potential biomarkers for diagnostic and prognostic. The results obtained and described during this work showed that increased levels of membrane PUFAs triggered AQY1 expression, and its activity is impaired by HNE. Also, our data revealed the ability of AQP5, that is found overexpressed in tumors, as a H2O2 channel that can affect redox signaling. In addition, novel regulatory mechanism at mRNA level was detected in breast and colon cancer cells that may be involved in carcinogenesis. Finally, we show that AQP1, AQP3 and AQP5 can be used as biomarkers for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma prognostic and diagnostic. These results open a new perspective to assess the underlying molecular mechanisms of AQPs in signaling pathways associated with cancer and the possible interplay with cell oxidative stress response.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), PD/BD/106085/201

Equity research - Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Mestrado Bolonha em FinançasThe Equity Research Report that ensues contains a valuation on Hyatt Hotels Corporation (“HYATT”) and follows the format proposed by the CFA Institute. Only public information available on August 19th, 2021, was considered; therefore, any information made available after was not reflected. HYATT was chosen due to its focus on high-end segments, which would be interesting to analyse in the post-pandemic context. HYATT is a worldwide hospitality company that operates in all five continents with a portfolio that currently comprises more than 980 hotels. A leader in its industry, it displayed values of Total Revenues of $2.1Bn, Total Assets of$9.129Bn and a market capitalization of $7.061Bn in 2020YE. HYATT has a HOLD recommendation, presenting a 2022YE PT of$77.07/share, which translates into an 11.12% upside potential compared to its August 19th, 2021 closing price of $69.36/share, with high risk. This was computed through the WACC method, but other methods were performed to complement the analysis, namely the Adjusted Present Value (APV), the Flow to Equity, the Dividend-Discount Model (DDM) and the Relative Valuation through Peer’s multiples. The company’s shares are undervalued at present mainly due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the world economy, which led to the rise of uncertainty and pessimistic expectations, causing downward pressure on both the demand and supply sides of the hotel industry. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed on WACC, long-term sustainable growth rate, RevPAR and number of rooms, which were considered risks to the PT.O projeto que se segue contém uma avaliação do Hyatt Hotels Corporation (“HYATT”) e respeita o formato proposto pelo CFA Institute. Apenas informação pública disponível a 19 de agosto de 2021 foi considerada, como tal informação apresentada após essa data não foi refletida. HYATT foi escolhido uma vez que se foca no segmento de luxo, algo que seria interessante analisar num contexto de pós-pandemia. HYAT é uma empresa hoteleira multinacional, que opera em todos os cinco continentes com um portfólio que reúne mais de 980 hotéis. Uma líder na sua indústria, apresentou valores de receitas na ordem dos$2.1 mil milhões, um total de ativos de $9.129 mil milhões e uma capitalização bolsista de$7.061 mil milhões. HYATT tem uma recomendação de investimento de MANTER, apresentando valores para o Preço Alvo de finais de 2022 de $77.07/ação, correspondendo a uma valorização potencial de 11.12$69.36/ação do dia 19 de agosto de 2021, com risco elevado. Tal foi calculado através do modelo WACC, mas outros modelos foram utilizados para complementar a análise, nomeadamente os modelos Adjusted Present Value (APV), o Dividend-Discount Model (DDM) e uma avaliação através dos múltiplos de empresas equiparáveis ao HYATT. As ações da empresa estão presentemente subvalorizadas maioritariamente devido aos desafios provocados pela pandemia do COVID-19 na economia mundial, o que levou ao aumento da incerteza e das expectativas pessimistas, provocando uma pressão negativa na procura e na oferta da indústria hoteleira. Adicionalmente, uma análise de sensibilidade foi realizada ao WACC, à taxa de crescimento de longo prazo, RevPAR e número de quartos, que foram considerados como riscos ao Preço Alvo.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Trends of fiscal centralization: Portuguese local government reform

The crisis of the sovereign debt forced Portuguese government to reach out for joint financial help form the IMF (International Monetary Fund), EU (European Union) and ECB (European Central Bank). In the financial agreement terms, IMF/EU/ECB stressed the need of a major redefinition of the local government organization. Nowadays, Portuguese local government is structured in 308 municipalities and 4259 parishes both with elected officials and administrative, financial and patrimonial autonomy. So, Portuguese government was asked to present a consolidation plan to reorganize local entities enhancing service delivery, improve efficiency and reduce cost. The main argument used is that excessive territorial and fiscal fragmentation undermines efficiency. This research seeks to measure the impact of territorial and fiscal fragmentation in local government spending. We begin by looking into Tiebout’s (1956) argument that an optimal level of local expenditures can be defined based on a consumer-voter preference towards public goods and taxation. Then we counterpoin with the opposite argument, used by international agencies, that, bought territorial and fiscal, centralization can produce economies of scale, reduce overlaps, control free riders and promote better accountability (Hendrick et al. 2011) The main objective of the paper is to test the competitive hypothesis that fragmentation/centralization induces higher spending in local government. To test this hypothesis we use a quantitative approach collecting primary financial data assembled from all Portuguese local government. We defined as a dependent variable, the amount of money transferred to parishes in each local government. Then, we use administrative fragmentation index in local government as indicators to measure territorial and population level of fragmentation. With the results of the paper, we hope to contribute to some clarification in the literature about fragmentation and federalist strategies to improve financial sustainability

Discurso Feminino: Sujeito, História e Imaginário em Eleodora e Memórias de Marta

IX Congresso Brasileiro de Hispanistas realizado nos dias 22 a 25 agosto 2016A pesquisa em questão se caracteriza, inicialmente, por resgatar do esquecimento os escritos das autoras Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera (Peru) e de Júlia Lopes de Almeida (Brasil). Tentamos entender como as mulheres representadas nas obras ficcionais Eleodora (Carbonera) e Memórias de Marta (Almeida), foram configuradas pelas escritoras. As personagens foram mulheres comuns, vítimas do sistema patriarcal; porém, estas não se deixaram dominar, reagiram como puderam para alcançar um pouco de autonomia em suas vidas. A partir da leitura de autores e críticos que tratam a questão das mulheres aliada à leitura dos romances mencionados, surgiu o interesse em empreender uma pesquisa que contemplasse não somente a análise das obras, mas também a tentativa de fazer um trabalho de divulgação e de resgate dos escritos dessas autoras. A correlação que a literatura tem com a história tem suscitado diversas discussões sobre os acontecimentos inerentes às comunidades sociais. E, baseado na concepção de cada momento histórico é que se torna possível impulsionar de diferentes maneiras uma enunciação em favor de um texto não só ficcional, mas também de textos que contemplem na escritura um pouco do momento histórico. As narrativas produzidas sobre a relação entre os gêneros são capazes de gerar uma enunciação ficcional capaz de levar a uma nova visão de mulher. Também são capazes de conduzir a uma posição crítica sobre a história e a um olhar renovado sobre a questão, sem deixar de ressaltar as peculiaridades identitárias das mulheres e, muitas vezes, também edificando a própria identidade. Sob o domínio patriarcal, o conhecimento feminino sempre foi tido como menos importante no ambiente cultural e na literatura, sendo a mulher excluída do processo de criação. A partir do que foi mencionado anteriormente o tema proposto nos leva a fazer uma análise das obras Eleodora e Memórias de Marta das autoras Mercedes Cabello e Lopes de Almeida, respectivamente. As perspectivas de ambas as autoras nos auxiliaram em reflexões sobre a escritura de autoria feminina; e, para analisar as obras escolhidas consideraremos estudos pertinentes anterioresUNILA­-UNIOEST