Skill composition and regional entrepreneurship: a comparative study between Germany and Portugal

The question whether agglomeration externalities arise either from specialization or diversification of economic activity has since long been a major topic in the analysis of factors determining economic growth. In this paper we analyze whether a more specialized or a more diverse skill composition of labor in regions affects the level of new firm entries in general as well as in technology- and knowledge-intensive subsectors. We compare Germany and Portugal which exhibit, though EU member states, different institutional infrastructures for entrepreneurship. Based on a harmonized dataset, our results indicate that the skill composition has different effects on firm entry in the two countries. More specifically, for Portugal the specialization of skills has a positive effect on the level on new firm entry in all sectors. In contrast to this, our results for Germany reveal exactly the opposite effect. These results suggest that both specialization and diversity theories hold, and that the effect thus may depend on other more local and regional factors. --Entrepreneurship,skill composition,regional analysis,comparative study

Skill composition and regional entrepreneurship : a comparative study between Germany and Portugal

The question whether agglomeration externalities arise either from specialization or diversification of economic activity has since long been a major topic in the analysis of factors determining economic growth. In this paper we analyze whether a more specialized or a more diverse skill composition of labor in regions affects the level of new firm entries in general as well as in technology- and knowledge-intensive subsectors. We compare Germany and Portugal which exhibit, though EU member states, different institutional infrastructures for entrepreneurship. Based on a harmonized dataset, our results indicate that the skill composition has different effects on firm entry in the two countries. More specifically, for Portugal the specialization of skills has a positive effect on the level on new firm entry in all sectors. In contrast to this, our results for Germany reveal exactly the opposite effect. These results suggest that both specialization and diversity theories hold, and that the effect thus may depend on other more local and regional factors

What do children think about older persons?: Developmental pattern of explicit and implicit ageism across childhood

The general aim of this work was to explore the development of ageism along childhood. The current literature presents mixed findings regarding children’s attitudes towards older persons, which have been attributed to the lack of uniformity of the measures used. In this regard, firstly, a literature review was carried out with a focus on the available measures to assess ageism in children (Chapter 2). Results showed that in studies using explicit measures positive attitudes regarding older persons are found, especially in older children. Conversely, in studies using implicit measures, results revealed more ageism. Based on these findings, two studies were conducted in Chapter 3 revealing that implicit and explicit ageism follow different developmental trends along childhood: in Study 1, preschoolers already revealed both implicit and explicit bias against older persons; in Study 2, while first and fourth graders revealed implicit ageism, fourth graders expressed less explicit bias than first graders. Based on these findings and in order to explore the specific content of ageing stereotypes held by children at different developmental stages, two qualitative studies – using interviews and the Human Figure Drawing method - were developed. Results proved to be aligned with the developmental pattern of ageism found in Chapter 3: while fourth graders expressed more positive attitudes regarding older persons and their future ageing self than first graders, a different pattern was found by means of drawings by older children revealing subtle ageism. These results are discussed given their implications to theory and intervention in this domain.Esta tese visou explorar o desenvolvimento do idadismo ao longo da infância. A literatura acerca do idadismo na infância apresenta resultados contraditórios os quais têm sido atribuídos à diversidade de medidas utilizadas. Nesse sentido, desenvolveu-se uma revisão de literatura acerca das medidas disponíveis (Capítulo 2). Os resultados demonstraram que, nos estudos que utilizaram medidas explícitas foram encontradas atitudes mais positivas em relação às pessoas idosas. Por outro lado, os estudos que utilizaram medidas implícitas revelaram mais idadismo. Com base nestes resultados, desenvolveram-se dois estudos no Capítulo 3, os quais revelaram que o idadismo implícito e explícito apresentam diferentes padrões de desenvolvimento ao longo da infância: no estudo 1, crianças em idade pré-escolar demonstraram idadismo implícito e explíctio; no estudo 2, enquanto que as crianças do 1º e 4º ano demonstraram idadismo implícito, as crianças do 4º ano demonstraram menos idadismo explícito do que as do 1º ano. Com base nestes resultados e no sentido de explorar o conteúdo específico dos estereótipos de envelhecimento adquiridos pelas crianças em diferentes fases de desenvolvimento, foram desenvolvidos dois estudos qualitativos com base em entrevistas e Desenho da Figura Humana. Os resultados destes estudos qualitativos vão de encontro ao padrão de desenvolvimento de idadismo identificado no Capítulo 3: enquanto que as crianças do 4º ano expressaram atitudes mais positivas relativamente às pessoas idosas e ao seu processo de envelhecimento, um padrão diferente foi identificado quando a medida do desenho foi aplicada, com as crianças mais velhas a revelarem idadismo subtil. Estes resultados são discutidos à luz das suas implicações teóricas e para a intervenção neste domínio

Anticancer activity of lichen substances: a systematic review

Os líquenes são fonte de uma grande variedade de metabolitos secundários, frequentemente exclusivos desta associação, com actividades biológicas importantes como a antibiótica, anti-inflamatória, antioxidante e anticancerígena, entre outras. A evidência científica demonstra que os efeitos anticancerígenos dos líquenes se produzem através da inibição da iniciação, crescimento e invasão de vários tipos de células cancerígenas in vitro e in vivo. Foi efectuada uma revisão sistemática da actividade anticancerígena e dos mecanismos de acção de extractos e respectivas substâncias isoladas de líquenes. Os termos “lichen”, “tumo(u)r” e “cancer” foram utilizados para pesquisar artigos científicos no PubMed e Web of Science publicados até dezembro de 2018. De um total de 368 artigos pesquisados, 142 cumpriram os critérios de inclusão e exclusão estabelecidos. O ácido úsnico foi a substância liquénica isolada mais vezes e citada em 40 artigos. A espécie de líquene mais utilizada, citada em 9 artigos, foi Evernia prunastri (L.) Nyl. Os extractos e substâncias liquénicas têm a capacidade de interferir com todas as propriedades biológicas das células cancerígenas que conduzem ao desenvolvimento de tumores, da seguinte forma: indução da inibição do ciclo celular, inibição das vias de sinalização do crescimento celular, activação da imunidade antitumoral, bloqueio da imortalidade replicativa por inibição da actividade da telomerase, inibição da inflamação, inibição da invasão e metástase, bloqueio da angiogénese, supressão da instabilidade do genoma, induzindo morte celular por apoptose, autofagia e necrose, e modulação do metabolismo energético. Muitas substâncias liquénicas revelaram-se eficazes contra muitos tipos de linhas celulares cancerígenas, quer isoladas quer em combinação com outros agentes anticancerígenos, e constituem por isso bons candidatos ao desenvolvimento de fármacos anticancerígenos.Lichens are a source of a great variety of unique secondary metabolites with important biological activities, including antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer, among others. A large body of research has demonstrated anticancer effects of lichens by inhibition of initiation, growth and invasion of several cancer cell types in vitro and in vivo. We performed a systematic review of the anticancer activity and mechanisms of action of lichen extracts and substances isolated from lichens. The search terms “lichen”, “tumo(u)r” and “cancer” were used to retrieve articles in PubMed and Web of Science published until December 2018. From a total of 368 articles surveyed, 142 met the established inclusion and exclusion criteria. The most commonly isolated lichen substance was usnic acid, cited in 40 research articles. The species more frequently used was Evernia prunastri (L.) Nyl., cited in 9 research articles. Lichen extracts and isolated lichen substances are able to interfere with all currently recognized biological capabilities necessary for tumour growth and progression. They do so by inducing cell cycle arrest, inhibiting growth factor signalling, activating anti-tumour immunity, disabling replicative immortality by inhibiting telomerase activity, inhibiting tumour-promoting inflammation, inhibiting invasion and metastasis, blocking angiogenesis, supressing genome instability, inducing apoptotic, autophagic and necrotic cell death, and modulating energy metabolism. Many lichen substances have proved effective against many types of cancer cell lines, either isolated or in combination with other anticancer agents, and are therefore suitable candidates for anticancer drug development

Development of small-scale fluidised bed bioreactor for 3D cell culture

Three-dimensional cell culture has gained significant importance by producing physiologically relevant in vitro models with complex cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. However, current constructs lack vasculature, efficient mass transport and tend to reproduce static or short-term conditions. The work presented aimed to design a benchtop fluidised bed bioreactor (sFBB) for hydrogel encapsulated cells to generate perfusion for homogenous diffusion of nutrients and, host substantial biomass for long-term evolution of tissue-like structures and “per cell” performance analysis. The sFBB induced consistent fluidisation of hydrogel spheres while maintaining their shape and integrity. Moreover, this system expanded into a multiple parallel units’ setup with equivalent performances enabling simultaneous comparisons. Long term culture of alginate encapsulated hepatoblastoma cells under dynamic environment led to proliferation of highly viable cell spheroids with a 2-fold increase in cellular density over static (27.3 vs 13.4 million cells/mL beads). Upregulation of hepatic phenotype markers (transcription factor C/EBP-α and drug-metabolism CYP3A4) was observed from an early stage in dynamic culture. This environment also affected ERK1/2 signalling pathway, progressively reducing its activation while increasing it in static conditions. Furthermore, culture of primary human mesenchymal stem cells was evaluated. Cell proliferation was not observed but continuous perfusion sustained their viability and undifferentiated phenotype, enabling differentiation into chondrogenic and adipogenic lineages after de-encapsulation. These biological readouts validated the sFBB as a robust dynamic platform and the prototype design was optimised using computer-aided design and computational fluid dynamics, followed by experimental tests. This thesis proved that dynamic environment promoted by fluidisation sustains biomass viability in long-term cell culture and leads 3D cell constructs with physiologically relevant phenotype. Therefore, this bioreactor would constitute a simple and versatile tool to generate in vitro tissue models and test their response to different agents, potentially increasing the complexity of the system by modifying the scaffold or co-culturing relevant cell types

Touching the cornerstone: An illustrative example of the effects of stigma and discrimination on vaccine-hesitant parents

Objectives The concept of vaccine hesitancy encompasses multiple views on the subject. However, there has been an increasing polarization of the discourse on vaccine hesitancy leading to the stigmatization of those parents who expressed doubts or concerns regarding vaccination practices. The present study aimed to explore the drivers and consequences of polarized discourses on vaccination in the Portuguese context. This paper is part of a broader study which aims to gain a deeper understanding about the phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy at the European level. Study design A qualitative research design was used. Methods The sample was comprised of thirty-one Portuguese vaccine hesitant parents who were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews was performed which allowed us to identify key themes. Results The results showed that the labelling of vaccine-hesitant parents as ‘anti-vaxxers’ along with social media play a crucial role in promoting the polarization of vaccine-related attitudes. The stigmatization of vaccine hesitant parents has a disruptive impact on their social network leading them to search for online platforms where they can exchange vaccines-related information without being discriminated. Conclusions The stigma and discrimination experienced by vaccine-hesitant parents stimulated that hesitancy becomes more entrenched. Therefore, pluralism should be used to tailor vaccination promotion campaigns to different targets, promoting its reach and efficacy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Technology and Innovation Unit of the National Institute of Health: A sequencing and bioinformatics core facility specializing in public health genomics

The National Institute of Health (INSA) has a long tradition in investigating the molecular etiology of genetic and complex diseases. These activities greatly benefit from centralized sequencing services provided by the Technology and Innovation Unit (UTI). Its mission is to perform sequencing and genotyping assays in the framework of research, diagnosis and epidemiological surveillance, as well as to implement data analysis pipelines for the study of human gene variants. The equipment portfolio includes a NextSeq 550, a MiSeq, two 3500 AB Genetic Analyzers, a Fragment Analyzer and a 7500 Real-time PCR system. UTI provides results for average of 36.000 sequencing/fragment samples per year. The team has already performed >300 small genome, amplicon, gene panel (including clinical exome), 16S rRNA gene and RNA/microRNA next-generation sequencing assays for INSA and for several Universities in the scope of scientific collaborations. Technical procedures are conducted under a quality control system that includes external quality assessment for next-generation sequencing/Sanger sequencing and ISO 15189 accreditation for Sanger sequencing. UTI plays a key role in public health genomics, providing state-of-the-art equipment, centralized resources, technical expertise and short response times.This work was supported by Centre for Toxicogenomics and Human Health - UID/BIM/00009/2019 - and GenomePT project – POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Entrepreneurial backgrounds, human capital and start-up success

We examine whether founders backgrounds influence new firm survival in the early years after start-up. We develop hypotheses linking founders back-grounds to pre-entry capabilities associated with entrepreneurial human capital, highlighting the cases of spin-offs and habitual entrepreneurs. The subject of unemployment-driven entrepreneurship is also explored. We find that specific human capital more frequently found in spin-off founders plays a key role in enhancing survival chances, while more general forms of human capital may help inexperienced entrepreneurs overcome the barrier posed by the critical early years after start-up

Valuing CTT : a 495 year old company competing in the 21st Century Postal Market : equity valuation : CTT – Correios de Portugal, SA

The goal of a thesis in the field of Firm Valuation are, firstly, to draw valid assumptions applicable to previously studied methods that best fit the valuation of a chosen company in order to find an accurate price for its stock. Upon making so, it is also expected a comparison between the results found and the ones published by a leading investment bank, also, of one’s choice. The differences as well as similarities between methodologies and values found shall be assessed, discussed and justified. The company chosen for the latter purposes is CTT, a 495 year old company facing the new landscape of the postal market: as traditional mail becomes obsolete, Express and Parcels as well as Financial Services are boosting industry’s revenues. An analysis to past performance seems to have prepared CTT for “a change in the game”, for the company continues to yield strong EBITDA margins motivated by the cost control efficiency aligned with network optimization. The proposed price target is 10.67€ which intentions to reflect the (i) electronic substitution effect, (ii) the Portuguese economic evolution and (iii) CTT’s own internal initiatives which aim to take advantage of the latter two. Moreover it is worth referring the free-float of 100%, which guarantees high levels of liquidity in the stock market, enabling share price to growth even further

O contributo da expressão musical nos primeiros anos da Educação Básica

Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico (Relatório de Estágio).Este relatório de estágio refere-se a ambos os estágios pedagógicos efetuados, ao longo do ano letivo de 2011/2012, no âmbito da educação Pré-Escolar e do ensino do 1º Ciclo do Ensino Básico. Como tal, este documento pretende contribuir para a descrição e reflexão do meu desempenho em ambos os estágios, neste momento de formação inicial, tendo em conta a temática escolhida e a análise documental enquadradora. A questão inicial, que serviu como ponto de partida para a realização deste mesmo documento, envolveu saber qual a contribuição da expressão/educação musical para o desenvolvimento e a aprendizagem das crianças na Educação Básica, tomando como referência quer a própria capacidade expressiva da criança quer as demais competências da expressão musical e de outras áreas curriculares. A escolha desta temática advém de uma curiosidade pessoal, querendo verificar o porquê da área musical não ser tão desenvolvida na educação de infância e no ensino do 1.º ciclo como as consideradas principais áreas, designadamente, as áreas do português e da matemática. Deste modo, para haver uma melhor compreensão acerca deste assunto, foram recolhidas informações, através da conversa exploratória efetuada com a educadora e professora cooperantes e com as crianças do grupo e turma do estágio. Para reforçar e enquadrar estas opiniões realizei um grande aprofundamento temático através da análise documental. Por fim, foi-me possível verificar que a expressão/educação musical é uma área rica para o desenvolvimento integral da criança embora a sua implementação nas salas de atividades/aulas não seja, normalmente, efetivada. Esta situação mostra que há uma certa falta de (in)formação, por parte dos educadores/professores no que diz respeito à área da expressão/educação musical e às suas potencialidades para ser integrada com as restantes áreas curriculares. Ao abordar atividades que promoviam a expressão/educação musical nas escolas de estágio, tentei perceber o porquê da neglicência desta área nas salas de atividades/aulas e assumi o compromisso de, através da minha prática, dar um “passo” em direção à mudança de práticas para a escola de hoje. Assim sendo, este relatório de estágio é um meio para “olhar” o contexto onde a minha prática pedagógica foi desenvolvida, permitindo, ao mesmo tempo analisar, refletir e apreciar o meu desempenho enquanto educadora/professora em fase de desenvolvimento e aprendizagem profissional.ABSTRACT: This internship report refers to both teaching practices accomplished during the school year of 2011/2012, in the context of Preschool and the 1st Cycle of Basic Education. As such, this document aims to contribute a description and a complete reflection of my performance in both stages, in this moment of initial training. This abstract takes into account the theme chosen and the framed document analysis. The initial question, which was used as a starting point for the realization of this document, engages the understanding of the contributions involving the music expression/education for the development and learning of children in Basic Education, with reference to both the expressive power of own child and additional powers evolving music education and other curriculum areas. Choosing this theme comes from a personal curiosity, in wanting to know why this musical area is not as developed in the early childhood education and the 1st Cycle of Basic Education as those considered the key areas, namely the areas of Portuguese language and mathematics. In this case, to have a better understanding about this issue, information was collected through exploratory conversations with the cooperative teachers and the children from the internship. To reinforce and frame these views, I did a great stepping through the analysis of thematic documents. Finally, I was able to verify that the study of music expression/education is an integral part of the development of the child, although its implementation in the classrooms does not reflect such. This demonstrates the lack of (in)formation provided to educators and teachers in regard to this musical area and its potential to be integrated with the other curriculum areas. Through activities that promoted music expression/education in the schools of my internship, I tried to understand why this area is neglected within the classrooms, and made a commitment, through my practice, to take a "step" towards a change of the practices in schools of nowadays. Therefore, this internship report is an approach to “looking” the context in which my teaching practice was developed, allowing, at the same time, to analyze, reflect and enjoy my performance as an educator/teacher under development and professional learning