To Publish or Not Publish – An Introspective

That is truly the question that today arises. The academic world is nowadays profoundly and, I dare say, perversely affected by the pressure to publish. It does not matter if you are a competent, knowledgeable, enthusiastic or even empathetic professor. I believe that these characteristics count almost for nothing. I constantly feel as in the academic world where I navigate, the only requirements are the number of papers we publish every year and the impact factor of the journals where they are published

Video Games Against the Male Gaze

Video games are a medium that creates content often based on male gaze, allowing heteronormative and patriarchal portrayals that limit the representation of social minorities. In this article, we will study how video games counter the male gaze through realistic, diverse, and in-depth portrayals of their main characters. The case studies will be the characters Chloe Price from Life is Strange: Before the Storm (2017) by Deck Nine, Ellie and Abby from The Last of Us Part II (2020) by Naughty Dog, and Billie Lurk from Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (2017) by Arkane Studios. These video games feature strong female main characters who go against social norms and represent a diversity of sexuality, bodies, and cultures. Through this article, we intend to understand how these video games, which belong to series for a mass audience, are a step towards a commonplace of acceptance, accessibility, and awareness. &nbsp

Teaching dystopia in dystopian realities: trauma-informed pedagogy and the dystopian novel after COVID-19

This project advocates for a trauma-informed approach when teaching dystopian literature, particularly those with plague or pandemic plots. To have a truly student-centered approach in the classroom, trauma-informed pedagogy is necessary for students not only to learn comfortably, but to actively be creative or retain information. Dystopian literature is assigned and consumed at pervasive rates; this popularity calls for additional attention to its teaching. The survey data presented in this project shows that 68 of 100 students had been assigned one or more dystopian texts through school years 2020 onwards, and 72 additionally were seeking out the dystopian genre on their own. This genre provides a unique platform for reflection and connection, often having directly related plot-points to current events; it therefore calls for special attention regarding pedagogical decisions. Exemplifying trauma-informed strategies in the form of usable lesson plans, this project provides trauma-informed lesson plans for the following texts: adrienne maree brown’s Grievers, Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven, Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker, and the album Land Animal by Bent Knee. These lesson plans explore dystopia using teaching practices such as content warnings, collaboration, and providing multiple access points for material. Using these strategies can work towards inclusivity and help students learn and participate during uncertain times. Envisioning oneself into the future can be a radical and healing act for young people, emphasizing those with marginalized identities. All classrooms can benefit from trauma-informed teaching as all students bring different lived experiences and perspectives to the learning space

Desenvolvimento de nanomicelas poliméricas contendo fármacos para diferenciação osteogénica de células estaminais

Mestrado em Bioquímica ClínicaAs doenças musculoesqueléticas afetam atualmente uma grande percentagem da população mundial sendo esperado que a sua prevalência venha a aumentar no futuro. De entre as abordagens terapêuticas atualmente aplicadas a nível clínico para as patologias ou danos ósseos, a utilização de terapias celulares baseadas em células estaminais mesenquimais humanas (hMSCs) surge como uma das mais promissoras devido à capacidade de diferenciação das hMSCs em células do tecido esquelético. No entanto, a diferenciação destas células em células osteoprogenitoras tem sido limitada pela relativa ineficácia e elevados custos das tecnologias de diferenciação. Para ultrapassar estas limitações, novas abordagens farmacológicas baseadas em compostos naturais como os flavonoides ou flavanonas têm sido exploradas para a diferenciação de hMSCs. A Naringina é uma flavanona natural, tipicamente presente em frutos do género Citrus que demonstrou bioatividade em várias patologias do osso e também capacidade de promover a diferenciação osteogénica de células estaminais. No entanto, este flavonoide hidrofóbico possui uma baixa biodisponibilidade e é metabolizado extensivamente, o que limita ao seu potencial terapêutico. Estas limitações podem ser colmatadas com o desenvolvimento de nanotransportadores especializados como as micelas poliméricas anfifílicas que alteram a farmacocinética/farmacodinâmica das flavanonas. Neste contexto, o trabalho de investigação apresentado nesta tese foca o desenvolvimento de micelas copoliméricas di-bloco para entrega controlada de Naringina a células osteoprogenitoras, com o objetivo de potenciar o efeito pro-osteogénico desta molécula natural. Inicialmente a síntese do copolímero anfifílico foi efetuada num passo através da reação de adição nucleofílica de Michael, entre o polímero hidrofílico metoxi-polietilenoglicol-maleimida (mPEG-MAL) e o polímero hidrofóbico poliácido láctido-tiol (PLA-SH). A caracterização do copolímero através de ressonância magnética nuclear de protão e de espectroscopia de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier em modo de atenuação total confirmaram a síntese do mPEG-MS-PLA. Através da utilização da técnica de nanoprecipitação o copolímero sintetizado formou micelas poliméricas monodispersas (70.69 ± 5.48 nm) e com uma elevada eficiência de encapsulação de Naringina (87.2 ± 4.6 %). A libertação controlada da Naringina encapsulada nas nanomicellas exibiu um perfil relativamente rápido a pH fisiológico (7.4) e acídico (5.5), atingindo 65 % de libertação às 24 h. As nanomicelas de mPEG-MS-PLA demonstraram também capacidade de internalização em pré-osteoblastos murinos (MC3T3-E1) e células mesenquimais estaminais derivadas do tecido adiposo humano (hASCs) tendo sido obtida uma correlação direta entre a dose e internalização. Para além destes resultados promissores, os estudos da avaliação da citotoxicidade da Naringina em forma livre ou encapsulada em nanomicelas revelou que em ambos os casos a viabilidade celular de hASCs foi mantida até 72 h. Posteriormente a bioatividade pro-osteogénica da Naringina na forma livre e formulada em nanomicelas foi investigada através da quantificação da fosfatase alcalina. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que a entrega controlada da Naringina promove a diferenciação osteogénica das hASCs e potenciou as suas propriedades pro-osteogénicas. No geral, os nanotransportadores micelares demonstraram ser um veículo promissor para a entrega controlada de Naringina a células reconhecidas pela sua difícil transfeção, estabelecendo-se assim como futuros candidatos para utilização em terapias osteogénicas com base em células estaminais.The incidence of musculoskeletal disorders is growing at an alarming rate and these diseases already affect a significant portion of the worldwide population. Among the therapeutic approaches currently employed in clinical settings for skeletal disorders or injuries, stem cell therapies exploring human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) represent one of the most promising strategies due to the differentiation capacity of hMSCs into skeletal tissue cells. However current differentiation strategies into osteoprogenitor cells is hindered by the lack of effective pharmaceutic options as well as high costs associated with their use. Therefore, in order to overcome these limitations, there has been a shift to developing new pharmacological approaches based on natural products such as flavonoids or flavanones. Naringin is a natural flavanone typically found in Citrus fruits with described bioactivity in several bone disorders and capable of promoting osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. However, this hydrophobic flavonoid possesses low bioavailability and is extensively metabolized in vivo, which can limit its therapeutic effect. Nevertheless, these limitations can be overcome by developing specialized nanocarriers such as amphiphilic polymer micelles that can alter the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile of entrapped flavanones. Considering this, the work here presented on this thesis focuses on the formulation of diblock copolymer micelles for controlled delivery of Naringin to osteoprogenitors, aiming to enhance the pro-osteogenic effect of this natural compound. Initially, the amphiphilic copolymer was synthesized in a one-pot Michael-type addition reaction between hydrophilic methoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-maleimide (mPEG-MAL) and hydrophobic thiolpoly( L-lactide) (PLA-SH) polymers. Copolymer characterization by proton nuclear magnetic resonance and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy supported the successful synthesis of the mPEG-MS-PLA copolymer. The resulting copolymer self-assembled into monodisperse polymeric micelles (70.69 ± 5.48 nm) with a high Naringin encapsulation efficiency (87.2 ± 4.6 %) via nanoprecipitation. Naringin controlled release from nanomicelles followed a relatively fast release profile at physiological (pH =7.4) and acidic (pH = 5.5) conditions, achieving up to 65 % of released drug within 24 h. Cellular uptake evaluation of nanomicelles in human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) and murine pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) revealed a direct correlation between micelle dose and uptake. Moreover, besides previous promising results, cytotoxicity profile of free Naringin or Naringin-loaded nanomicelles in both cell lines showed no significant decrease of cell viability up to 72 h. Afterwards, the pro-osteogenic activity of free drug and nanomicelle-delivered drug was investigated by alkaline phosphatase assays. The obtained results suggest that the controlled delivery of Naringin promotes the osteogenic differentiation of hASCs over free drug administration. Overall, the nanomicelles demonstrated suitable properties for delivering flavanones into hard to transfect hASCs and are envisioned to be used in the future for stem cellbased osteogenic therapies

Discovering the Douro Literary Landscape in “A Noiva De Caná” from António Cabral through Corpus Linguistics

UID/LIN/03213/2019In the context of literary landscapes, this paper aims to identify, characterize and map the landscapes lived by the main characters of the novel "A Noiva de Caná", by the poet and dramaturg of the Douro region, António Cabral. In this novel, the author leads us on a discursive journey attending the characters' life circuits, which involve spatiality, social interaction, cultural and religious values and living standards of the region, written in the third quarter of the 20th century. At the methodological and technical level, the novel was digitized, and the excerpts that allude to the landscape included on the Atlas Project of Literary Landscapes of Continental Portugal (IELT-FCSH and ICH-FL), important research support concerning the Douro’ territory and its mapping. This project based on the foundations of ecocriticism, a conceptual field within the framework of cultural studies, constructed on a strongly interdisciplinary matrix aimed at strengthening environmental awareness. Having a literary corpus of national and foreign writers, from the 19th century to the present day, the project displays current and former representations of the landscapes, which allows its reading in several times, a comparative analysis of landscapes of Portugal and an observation of the diachronic evolution of the territories. The corpus was analyzed using computational tools: Concapp, AntConc, and Lexico. Each of these tools allows complementary quantitative readings of the lexical units (wordlist, frequencies, concordances, collocates, etc.). Since the lexicon reflects the culture of a society, we will observe how the author (i) identifies the territorial marks (the natural elements, the types of occupation of the ground, the settlement, the types of houses, etc.) and, (ii) describes the symbols of the Douro culture (regionalisms that the characters use in dialogues, the description of religious ceremonies and traditional games, etc.), increasing our knowledge about this region and its people.publishersversionpublishe

1º Seminário Anual em Anestesiologia Veterinária

Para alunos do 4º ano e superiores, maioritariamente de discussão prática, focado na monitorização anestésica, protocolos anestésicos e anestesia por concentração alvo (TCI)

Content with less : a netnographic study on the slow fashion online community

The slow fashion movement is gaining prominence as consumers have become alerted to the fashion industry’s practices. In a fast-fashion dominated industry, slow fashion proposes a holistic outlook on fashion, considering garment’s movement throughout the supply chain. It advocates an ethically conscious and environmentally aware fashion, ensuring transparent production systems. The present dissertation aims to study the slow fashion online community resorting to netnography. Deviating from previous academic research focused on slow fashion definition, the present research uncovers slow fashion’s meaning to its advocates and common practices. Results demonstrate how slow fashion’s adoption is consensually perceived as a journey and identified its drivers and barriers. The slow movement weights circular fashion and anti-consumerism principles aiming for self-contentment with less. It contributes to current academic discussion on fashion brand’s trust, unveiling skeptical and defrauded consumers that resort to alternative means to evaluate corporations’ credibility. Mistrust in brands is aggravated by the inexistence of an organization nor government body which regulates fashion industry guidelines. Transparency was appointed to lessen the perceived deception greenwashing exerts on brand attitude and perceived company performance. Implications suggest a strategy focused on transparent communication and consumer education, namely on how to increase garments durability.O movimento slow fashion está a ganhar proeminência, uma vez que, os consumidores têm sido alertados para as práticas da indústria da moda. Sendo a indústria dominada por fast fashion, o movimento slow fashion propõe uma visão holística, considerando o movimento do item de vestuário pela cadeia de distribuição. O movimento defende uma moda eticamente consciente e sustentável que garanta sistemas de produção transparentes. A presente dissertação pretende estudar a comunidade online de slow fashion, recorrendo ao método de netnografia. Desviando-se de estudos anteriores, que se focaram na definição de slow fashion, a presente dissertação revela o significado de slow fashion para os consumidores, bem como práticas comuns. Resultados demonstram que a adoção de slow fashion é, consensualmente, encarada como uma jornada; revelando, ainda, motivações e barreiras. O movimento slow fashion combina princípios de moda circular e anti consumismo, visando a satisfação com menos. A dissertação contribui para a atual discussão académica, relativa à confiança em marcas de moda, revelando consumidores céticos e defraudados, que recorrem a meios alternativos para avaliarem a credibilidade das empresas. A desconfiança sentida por marcas de moda é agrava pela inexistência de organizações ou corpos governamentais que regulem diretrizes. Transparência foi apontada por reduzir a deceção causada pelo greenwashing relativamente à atitude face às marcas e desempenho empresarial. Implicações sugerem uma estratégia focada em comunicações transparentes e educação do consumidor, nomeadamente de como estender o ciclo de vida de peças de vestuário

Tell me what you study, and I’ll tell you what your risk profile is : evidence on financial, career and educational risk domains

The aim of this dissertation is to study the association between studying in business schools and students’ risk profiles, especially in the financial, career and educational risk domains. Based on Ding, Hartog and Sun’s (2010) survey to measure risk attitudes and using a sample divided into (i) people that study or have studied business or economics in the university (treated group) and (ii) those who have not studied business or economics, but that had considered taking a business or economics university degree (control group), I present results regarding financial literacy and its role in determining financial risk among business students. In addition to that, I also present results regarding career and educational risk and argue these are influenced by a business school organizational culture and competitiveness. I show that people who attend or have attended a business school are more likely to be more risk averse and more risk loving, i.e. less likely to be risk neutral, than non business students in the career domain, at a significance level of 1% and 10%, respectively. Moreover, I show that business and economics students are less likely to be risk averse in the financial domain at a 10% significance level. Finally, when introducing financial literacy as a moderator in the analysis, I demonstrate that a person that has both studied in a business school and has a high literacy level is more likely to be both risk averse or risk loving than a person that has not studied in a business school and/or has low literacy level, at a significance level of 1%. These results have several policy implications with regards to the functioning of financ ial markets, as well as to entrepreneurship and its importance to economic growth

Internationalization strategy of Quidgest to the Dominican Republic

The underlying project was carried out with the purpose of conducting an internationalization strategy of Quidgest to the Dominican Republic. Thus, an analysis of the enterprise competitive advantages resources is computed, followed by a country ranking analysis to select the optical market. By evaluating both macro and industry indicators, it was concluded that the Dominican Republic was the most attractive country. Furthermore, an implementation strategy is suggested with the most favorable entry mode and several activities that need to take place in order to complete a successful internationalization process

European dog owner perceptions of obesity and factors associated with human and canine obesity

Obesity is a common nutrition-related disorder leading to reduced life expectancy in both humans and dogs. With the aim of identifying new prevention and control options, the study objectives were (1) to investigate dog-owner perceptions about obesity in terms of themselves and their dogs, and (2) to identify factors associated with obesity and possible social, environmental and economic drivers for its development in dog owners and their pets. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed across multiple countries. The questionnaire focused on human and canine obesity, associated factors and potential drivers, and was distributed online and in the form of hard copies among dog owners in 11 European countries. In total, 3,185 responses from ten countries were included in multivariable analyses. Between 19.1% and 48.8% of the dog owners reported to be overweight/obese. Owner-reported overweight/obesity in dogs ranged from 6.0% to 31.3% based on body condition score charts, and 31.8% to 69.4% based on body fat index charts. Common factors associated with obesity in owners and their dogs were age, gender and owners’ attitudes to diet and physical activity. Dog owners who did not consider obesity to be a disease were more likely to have obese dogs