Transformation of Medicago truncatula with the arginine decarboxylase gene to modify polyamine metabolism toward water deficit resistance

Dissertation submitted to obtain a Ph.D. (Doutoramento) degree in Biology at the Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica da Universidade Nova de LisboaThe main purpose of this thesis was to introduce and express in the model legume Medicago truncatula the arginine decarboxylase encoding gene (Adc) from Avena sativa, that codes for a key enzyme of the polyamine biosynthetic pathway, to modify polyamine metabolism aiming to alter the plant responses to water deficit. Water deficit is the major abiotic stress that severely limits crop yields and controls the distribution of vegetation over the earth's surface. Due to their capacity to grow on nitrogen-poor soils, legumes are important candidates for improving saline soil fertility and helping to reintroduce agriculture to dehydrated lands. Efforts in developing legume crops with better drought/water deficit resistance through conventional breeding have been restricted, mainly because of underprovided understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying stress resistance and to the lack of sufficient polymorphism for drought resistancerelated traits. The alternative process of generating transgenic cultivars requires success in the transformation method and proper incorporation of stress resistance into plants. Further evaluation of the transgenic plants under stress conditions and understanding the physiological effect of the inserted genes at the whole plant level are also essential for the success of this technology. Towards the usefulness of developing a model system, Medicago truncatula has become increasingly relevant in latest years due to significant progress at the genetic and genomic levels in this specie.(...

Adopting the Euro: a synthetic control approach

We investigate whether joining the European Monetary Union and losing the ability to set monetary policy affected the economic growth of 12 Eurozone countries. We use the synthetic control approach to create a counterfactual scenario for how each Eurozone country would have evolved without adopting the Euro. We let this matching algorithm determine which combination of other developed economies best resembles the pre-Euro path of twelve Eurozone economies. Our estimates suggest that there were some mild losers (France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal) and a clear winner (Ireland). Nevertheless, a GDP decomposition analysis suggests that the drivers of the economic gains and losses are heterogeneous

Adopting the Euro: a synthetic control approach

We investigate whether joining the European Monetary Union and losing the ability to set monetary policy affected the economic growth of Eurozone countries. We use the synthetic control approach to create a counterfactual scenario for how each Eurozone country would have evolved without adopting the Euro. We let this matching algorithm determine which combination of other developed economies best resembles the pre-Euro path of twelve Eurozone economies. Our estimates suggest that there were some mild losers (France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal) and a clear winner (Ireland). Nevertheless, a gross domestic product decomposition suggests that the drivers of the economic gains and losses are heterogeneous. In particular, our results show that for the majority of Eurozone countries, Euro spurred government consumption and deterred investment and private consumption. The common currency also stimulated trade for most cases but only Germany and Ireland bear positive net trade benefits

Adopting the Euro: a synthetic control approach

We investigate whether joining the European Monetary Union and losing the ability to set monetary policy affected the economic growth of 12 Eurozone countries. We use the synthetic control approach to create a counterfactual scenario for how each Eurozone country would have evolved without adopting the Euro. We let this matching algorithm determine which combination of other developed economies best resembles the pre-Euro path of twelve Eurozone economies. Our estimates suggest that there were some mild losers (France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal) and a clear winner (Ireland). Nevertheless, a GDP decomposition analysis suggests that the drivers of the economic gains and losses are heterogeneous

How government spending shapes the Eurozone economy

The question of how fiscal policy affects the Eurozone economy has received substantial attention over the last decade. Drawing on a new study, Ricardo Duque Gabriel, Mathias Klein and Ana Sofia Pessoa use a novel regional dataset to estimate the effect of fiscal stimulus on factors such as private investment, productivity, consumption and real wages

Prospects for the Production of Recombinant Therapeutic Proteins and Peptides in Plants: Special Focus on Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory (ACEI) Peptides

Molecular pharming is a cost-effective, scalable, and safe system to produce high-quality and biologically active recombinant therapeutic proteins. Thus, plants are emerging alternative platform for the production of pharmaceutically relevant proteins such as vaccines, antibodies, antibody derivatives, and some serum-derived proteins. Additionally, plants have also been used to produce bioactive and immunogenic peptides. The efficacy, selectivity, specificity, and low toxicity make them particularly well-suited therapeutic agents for various indications, for instance, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, immunological disorders, and cancer. In the broad range of known bioactive peptides, angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory (ACEI) peptides derived from food proteins have attracted particular attention for their ability to prevent hypertension. So far, several ACEI peptides have been identified in food proteins, mainly in milk, eggs, and plants. The industrial production of ACEI peptides is based on enzymatic proteolysis of whole food proteins, which leads to the release of small bioactive peptides with ACE-inhibitory activity. The problems associated to such procedures, namely, cost and loss of functional properties, have demonstrated the need to develop more straightforward methods to produce ACEI peptides. One viable hypothesis, discussed in this chapter, is to genetically engineer crop plants to produce and deliver antihypertensive peptides

Adopting the Euro: a synthetic control approach

We investigate whether joining the European Monetary Union and losing the ability to set monetary policy affected the economic growth of 12 Eurozone countries. We use the synthetic control approach to create a counterfactual scenario for how each Eurozone country would have evolved without adopting the Euro. We let this matching algorithm determine which combination of other developed economies best resembles the pre-Euro path of twelve Eurozone economies. Our estimates suggest that there were some mild losers (France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal) and a clear winner (Ireland). Nevertheless, a GDP decomposition analysis suggests that the drivers of the economic gains and losses are heterogeneous

As medidas de apoio à Covid-19 nas agências de viagens

O impacto económico que o surto de Covid-19 teve no setor do turismo, a incerteza da sua duração e o agravamento dos seus efeitos nas empresas, justificaram a criação de várias medidas de apoio à manutenção do emprego e à mitigação de situações de crise nas empresas. Este estudo procura identificar os apoios que o Governo português disponibilizou às agências de viagens, analisar aqueles que foram mais adotados e estudar os principais efeitos da pandemia Covid-19 neste segmento turístico. A recolha de informação foi feita através do método de inquérito por questionário, recorrendo-se a escalas previamente testadas na literatura. O inquérito online foi realizado entre os meses de abril e agosto de 2021 e foram obtidos 68 questionários válidos. É possível constatar que as agências de viagens se viram obrigadas a adaptar às exigências impostas pela imprevisibilidade e agravamento da pandemia Covid-19. Os resultados mostram que as principais medidas adotadas foram o layoff, o programa apoiar, a linha de apoio à tesouraria para micro e pequenas empresas do turismo Covid-19 e a linha de apoio à economia Covid-19: agências de viagens e operadores turísticos. As agências de viagens classificam os apoios disponibilizados pelo Governo português como insuficientes e apontam outras ajudas que deviam ser fornecidas pelo Estado. Conclui-se ainda que, neste período de pandemia, as agências aproveitaram para implementar medidas de segurança e apostar em ações de formação para o desenvolvimento e atualização de competências dos seus colaboradores.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INOVAÇÃO E SUSTENTABILIDADE NA ILHA DO PORTO SANTO, MADEIRA

Destinos mais sustentáveis e inovadores conseguem alcançar uma imagem diferenciadora dos demais, captando um mercado que cada vez mais valoriza as questões relativas à sustentabilidade ambiental, económica e social. Baseado num estudo de caso na ilha do Porto Santo, no arquipélago da Madeira, o propósito deste trabalho é apresentar e discutir as implicações de projetos e ações desenvolvidas no território, que visam a inovação e sustentabilidade desejada. Este trabalho usa uma metodologia de estudo de caso, que combina a análise bibliográfica e documental e uma entrevista semiestruturada, feita a um stakeholder com influência na administração pública local. O estudo traz implicações sobretudo ao nível da gestão do destino, destacando a importância dos projetos que já foram implementados na ilha e as suas consequências.Projeto Finaciao por Fundos Nacionais da FCT, I.P., no âmbito dos projetos UIDB/05583/2020, UIDB/05507/2020 e UIDP/00681/2020. Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, CISED, Ci&DEI e CERNAS - IPV.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Crises in tourism: travel agencies' perceptions of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis

A indústria do turismo é extremamente vulnerável a inúmeras crises, como desastres naturais, terrorismo, epidemias e pandemias. Os destinos turísticos e as próprias empresas devem de estar bem preparados para combater uma crise e desenvolver estratégias de recuperação. O presente trabalho identifica, a partir das perceções das agências de viagens e turismo, as dimensões do impacto da crise pandémica Covid-19. É desenvolvido um instrumento de avaliação das várias dimensões relacionadas com o impacto da pandemia. O método escolhido foi o inquérito por questionário, que foi enviado por email a 318 agências de viagens da região Centro de Portugal, localizadas nos distritos que integram este território: Aveiro, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Leiria, Guarda e Viseu. Os resultados mostram que o impacto da crise Covid-19 pode medir-se através de seis dimensões: psicológica, carreira, contabilística, económica, procura e trabalho em rede. Assim, o impacto da Covid-19 deixa de ser entendido como um conceito geral e passa a ser percebido como um conjunto de seis fatores específicos. O desenvolvimento de um instrumento de avaliação das várias dimensões do impacto da crise pandémica Covid-19 permitirá a estas empresas orientar a sua estratégia e desenvolver as ferramentas necessárias para combater crises e diminuir os seus danos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio