Lumbar Sciatic Pain Clinical Pathways

Internship Report presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Science and Advanced Analytics, specialization in Business AnalyticsTo provide a better experience to the clients, insurance companies are beginning to identify clinical pathways (clinical overlooks) of different non-oncological pathologies to deliver a better experience to their clients and reduce costs, by already knowing what needs to be done before, during and after a surgery, which may lead to time and money savings. This report presents a proposed approach to the lumbar sciatic pain pathology clients from the company where this internship was held. This internship had a duration of 12 months. The creation of clinical pathways for the lumbar sciatic pain aims to help stakeholders to take a step back and see what diagnosis bring patients to the need of a surgery, which procedures are done before and after the surgery, and the main surgical procedures in this pathology. Additionally, the costs are measured, and the main providers for each procedure are analysed, in order to provide a better experience to the clients, indicating what lies ahead, where they should go to get the best treatment, and how much they will pay. This approach was composed by a series of phases, such as business understanding, data understanding, cleaning and preparation, and modelling. There were biweekly and monthly meetings with health professionals and doctors to adjust some information that would be useful for the mentioned phases. In addition, a Predictive Model to identify which clients usually go through a lumbar sciatic surgery was built based on historical medical data, so that when clients come with specific diagnosis or already had certain pre-surgery procedures, identified in the main project of this internship, it is possible to be prepared for what will soon happen. The most important results obtained from this approach were the main pre- and post-surgery procedures, the principal surgeries performed, the costs of each procedure and of the main pathways (pre-, day, and post-surgery), which medical providers give the best results, and the types of clients that usually suffer from lumbar sciatic pain pathology

Continente online: starting a one to one marketing program

Classificação: M31: Marketing L81: Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-commerceThe purpose of this thesis was to answer Sonae’s MC, one of the biggest Portuguese retail companies, challenge to solve some of the identified problems at its online retail store – Continente Online, namely the low retention rate and the inexistence of a differentiated communication with its customers. At the time this thesis was written, there was a huge lack of customer’s information. As a consequence, the company did not have any clue about customer’s characteristics, being, thus, impossible to segment and target them in a differentiated way, i.e., Mass Marketing was the strategy followed until then. To answer the identified problems, this thesis sought to launch the basis for a correct one-to-one marketing strategy, resorting to the framework developed by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers. This framework is constituted by 4 different stages: (1) identify the customers; (2) differentiate them; (3) interact; (4) and finally, adapt company’s mechanisms based on the information collected in the previous steps - customization. Hence, in a first moment a brief analysis of Continente Online’s current situation was developed, namely how they positioned themselves in the market and the environment under which the company operated. Bearing this knowledge in mind, the framework was designed and the next steps necessary for a correct and effective implementation were defined.O desenvolvimento desta tese partiu de uma proposta da Sonae MC, uma das maiores empresas de retalho Portuguesas, com o intuito de dar resposta a alguns problemas que a mesma tinha identificado na sua loja online – Continente Online, nomeadamente a baixa taxa de retenção e a existência de uma comunicação indiferenciada com os seus clientes. Existia um total desconhecimento dos clientes, não sendo, consequentemente, possível a comunicação com os mesmos de forma diferenciada, isto é, apenas se praticava Mass Marketing. Tentando dar uma resposta aos problemas identificados, pretende-se com esta tese criar as bases para a futura implementação de uma estratégia de marketing “one-to-one”, recorrendo-se à metodologia desenvolvida por Don Peppers e Martha Rogers. Esta metodologia consiste em 4 fases: (1) identificar os clientes; (2) diferenciar os mesmos; (3) interagir com estes; (4) e finalmente, adaptar as respostas da empresa com base na informação recolhida nos passos anteriores - customização. Assim sendo, num primeiro momento realizou-se a análise da situação atual do Continente Online, a forma como o mesmo se posicionava no mercado, bem como o contexto em que o mesmo desenvolve a sua atividade. Com este conhecimento foi então desenvolvida a metodologia e definidos quais os próximos passos que a empresa deverá seguir para uma correta e efetiva implementação da mesma

O sítio da Ponte da Azambuja 2 (Portel, Évora) e a emergência dos recintos de fossos no SW peninsular nos finais do 4º milénio A.N.E.

Tese de doutoramento, Arqueologia, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, 2015O estudo da Pré-história recente no atual território português assistiu, a partir dos finais da década de 1990, a uma “verdadeira revolução empírica” (Valera, 2008: 112) na qual se encontra a temática dos recintos de fossos, cujo boom na sua identificação, associada às problemáticas subjacentes, a isolaram como unidade de estudo específica datada de entre finais do 4.º e todo o 3.º milénio a.n.e. “Quais os motivos que levaram as sociedades dos finais do 4.º milénio a.n.e. a construírem recintos de fossos no SW Peninsular?” foi a questão de partida que alicerçou a presente dissertação. A construção de uma resposta coerente ao problema colocado passou pela implementação de um questionário prévio e análise de dados empíricos obtidos no sítio da Ponte da Azambuja 2 (Portel, Évora). Após a revisão da literatura, esta dissertação centrou-se neste sítio arqueológico, efetuando-se: a caracterização das condições de implantação; a descrição da intervenção arqueológica e a leitura interpretativa da estratigrafia e das estruturas identificadas; a análise da cultura material, adotando um perspetiva que visa não só o enquadramento tipológico dos artefactos mas também a tecnologia da sua execução; a discussão dos processos de formação do registo arqueológico e das inferências sociais daí resultantes; a reconstrução paleoambiental e consequentes estratégias de subsistência, providenciando o cenário da ação destes grupos. A partir da comparação com outros dez recintos coevos conclui-se que o surgimento deste novo paradigma de apropriação do espaço estará relacionado com fenómenos de agregação social, impulsionados por um aumento demográfico (deduzido pelo megalitismo funerário), que consequentemente necessita de modos de produção mais eficazes e eficientes. As condições paleoclimáticas associadas aos movimentos populacionais em curso desde os períodos antecedentes, originaram um novo modelo de organização territorial, regulador de uma sociedade mais complexa do que é tradicionalmente assumido

Combination of electrochemical and ion-exchange methods in metal separation

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Química. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto, Department of Power Engineering. Vysoká Skola Chemicko-Technologická V Praze, Praga. 200

Electric cars impact in the economic growth and the CO2 : case of European Union

Mestrado em EconomiaEsta dissertação apresenta uma análise do impacto dos veículos elétricos tanto no crescimento económico, como nas emissões de dióxido de carbono na União Europeia. Realizou-se um micro painel, com dados anuais de 2008 a 2016, em que se estimaram dois modelos utilizando o modelo Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL). O primeiro modelo, com 26 países, tem como variável dependente as emissões de dióxido de carbono, e no segundo, com 24 países, a variável dependente é o produto interno bruto, utilizada como proxy para o crescimento económico. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que investir em carros elétricos, no longo prazo, é benéfico para a União Europeia, ambientalmente e economicamente. Ao aumentar a frota de veículos elétricos, há uma melhoria na qualidade do ar, e o PIB aumenta.This dissertation presents an analysis of the impacts of electric vehicles in economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union. It was executed a micro panel with annual data from 2008 to 2016, and two models were estimated using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model. The first one with 26 countries, where the dependent variable is the carbon dioxide emissions, and the second one, with 24 countries, the dependent variable is the gross domestic product, as a proxy for economic growth. The findings in this study suggest that investing in electric vehicles, in the long run, is beneficial to the European Union, economically and environmentally. Increasing the fleet of EVs, improves the quality of air, and increases the GDP.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Species identification of Mycosphaerella leaf blotch disease (MLD) on Eucalyptus globulus in Portugal

“Mycosphaerella leaf disease” é causada por espécies de Mycosphaerella e vários anamorfos. Em Portugal, esta doença foi largamente ignorada até 1998 quando foram verificados sérios estragos em plantações comerciais de Eucalyptus globulus. O objetivo deste trabalho foi dar uma contribuição ao levantamento inicial de “Mycosphaerella leaf disease", clarificando a composição do complexo Mycosphaerella. É apresentada (Capítulo 1) uma panorâmica da situação mundial e uma lista detalhada das espécies detetadas em Portugal. As espécies foram identificadas com base em métodos moleculares (Capítulo 2) e na sua morfologia (Capítulo 3). Adicionalmente, ao objetivo inicial desta tese, foi estabelecida uma primeira avaliação da suscetibilidade de clones e famílias de eucaliptos em condições experimentais. /ABSTRACT - Mycosphaerella leaf disease is caused by species of Mycosphaerella and several anamorphic form genera that have been associated to Mycosphaerella. ln Portugal, this disease was largely ignored until 1998 when serious damage on commercial plantations of Eucalyptus globulus was reported. The aim of this work was to give a contribution to initial survey of Mycosphaerella leaf disease, clarifying the composition of Mycosphaerella complex. An overview of worldwide situation and a detail list of species reported in Portugal is presented (Chapter 1). Species were identified based on molecular methods (Chapter 2) and on their morphology (Chapter 3). Additionally, of the initial aims of this thesis, a first evaluation of clones and families eucalypts susceptibility in experimental conditions was established

Studies on the eucalyptus leaf disease complex in Portugal

Native from south eastern Australia, Eucalyptus globulus is the main species in eucalypts plantations in Portugal. The most serious foliar disease in eucalypt plantations is linked to Mycosphaerella senso lato, which affects young trees in the juvenile phase foliage causing leaf necrosis. This disease results in reduced growth rate of the host and lower wood volume, thus causing significant productivity losses. The most common name for this disease was Mycosphaerella Leaf Disease that became inappropriate when most of the pathogens on eucalypts were re-distributed into several genera. The term "Eucalyptus Leaf Disease Complex" is now more appropriate. The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate the Eucalyptus Leaf Disease Complex in Portugal, focusing on species diversity, taxonomy and the role played by each species in the disease complex on Eucalyptus globulus. Literature on the Eucalyptus Leaf Disease Complex was reviewed and the species were distributed into several genera. A survey based on symptomatic leaves collected from several Eucalyptus globulus plantations and characterized by morphological and molecular tools provided an overview of species incidence and of the most frequent species in the disease complex. The present work reveals additional species of Mycosphaerella senso lato associated with eucalypt plantations in Portugal. Thus, five new records of Teratosphaeria and phylogenetically related species were added to the Iberian Peninsula, namely, Neodevriesia hilliana, for the first time on Myrtaceae; Quasiteratosphaeria mexicana, Teratosphaericola pseudoafricana, Teratosphaeria pluritubularis and Teratosphaeria lusitanica, a new species. Furthermore, new anamorphic structures were found and two new combinations were made. Regarding other genera, some species were observed for the first time, such as Cladosporium cladosporioides, Fusicladium eucalypti, Mycosphaerella madeirae, in the mainland. In addition to leave diseases, Teratosphaeria gauchensis was found causing a severe stem and trunk canker on Eucalyptus globulus. The aggressiveness of several species was compared to evaluate each species individually in the complex, permitting to distinguish different behaviours, from primary to secondary pathogens. Cladosporium cladosporioides, M. communis and M. lateralis, appeared to be more aggressive than Teratosphaeria nubilosa. In fact, contrary to the prevailing views on this disease complex, Teratosphaeria nubilosa is not the only species responsible for the disease, which clearly involves a complex of species acting together