A review essay on child well-being measurement: uncovering the paths for future research

The research on indicators on the state of child well-being is a growing field and one that has experienced several changes through time. Due to the growing supply of data on children, and in order to facilitate conclusions and tracking trends, researchers have been led to develop child well-being summary indexes. Several proposals have already been presented. In the present work, we critically review the most prominent summary child well-being indexes recently constructed, the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, the Child Well-being Index for the European Union, the Microdata Child Well-Being Index, and the Deprivation Index. The examination is carried out according to the contributions and innovations the indexes have brought to the field. A critical assessment of the methods used in the construction of the indexes is made and their main limitations identified. Accordingly, some future lines of research to improve child well-being measurement through summary indexes are put forward.child well-being, measurement, composite indices

A weighted multidimensional index of child well-being which incorporates children’s individual perceptions

It has been a decade since a landmark piece of work on child well-being measurement based on a summary index was developed in the United States, the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being. Several research studies, both in the U.S. and Europe, followed on from this work. However, improvements in the methodologies used by researchers are still required, namely with regard to incorporating children’s own perspectives of their well-being, as well as involving them in the measurement process. In the present paper, a composite index is proposed in order to try overcoming three of the main methodological limitations of current studies: the short account for children’s perceptions on their own well-being, the use of aggregated data, and the use of uniform and other weighting schemes that do not translate the real weights of individual indicators.child well-being, measurement, child indicators, methods

Determinantes da estrutura de capital nas empresas cotadas da Euronext Lisboa

Dissertação de mestrado, Finanças Empresariais, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Algarve, 2014A presente dissertação investiga a relação entre a estrutura de capital das empresas cotadas na Euronext Lisboa e os seus determinantes, com base no modelo de dados em painel, mediante o recurso a uma base de dados composta por 32 empresas, num horizonte temporal compreendido entre 2005 e 2009. Feito o enquadramento teórico e empírico das teorias financeiras da estrutura de capital, foram investigados os seguintes determinantes do nível de endividamento das empresas a dimensão, o crescimento, a rendibilidade, a tangibilidade dos ativos e o cash-flow gerado pelas mesmas. Através da metodologia de dados em painel estáticos (pooled, efeitos fixos e efeitos aleatórios) e dinâmicos (GMM), foram estimados os modelos mais adequados à amostra em estudo. Os factos identificados na investigação indicam que o modelo dinâmico é o que melhor representa a relação entre o endividamento e os determinantes investigados, uma vez que as empresas tendem a procurar um nível ótimo de endividamento, recorrendo para isso a um modelo de ajustamento. A variável cash-flow apresenta um efeito negativo e estatisticamente significativo sobre o endividamento, tal como previsto, tanto na modelação como no estático (efeitos aleatórios)

A weighted multidimensional index of child well-being which incorporates children’s individual perceptions

It has been a decade since a landmark piece of work on child well-being measurement based on a summary index was developed in the United States, the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being. Several research studies, both in the U.S. and Europe, followed on from this work. However, improvements in the methodologies used by researchers are still required, namely with regard to incorporating children’s own perspectives of their well-being, as well as involving them in the measurement process. In the present paper, a composite index is proposed in order to try overcoming three of the main methodological limitations of current studies: the short account for children’s perceptions on their own well-being, the use of aggregated data, and the use of uniform and other weighting schemes that do not translate the real weights of individual indicators.child well-being, measurement, child indicators, methods

Identificação de Hotspots no gene MYH

Mestrado em Biologia Molecular e CelularA Polipose Associada ao MYH (MAP) é uma das síndromes de polipose cólica associadas a risco aumentado de cancro colorretal. Descoberta em 2002, a MAP é uma síndrome hereditária com transmissão autossómica recessiva. Causada por mutações bialélicas no gene MYH, a MAP é responsável por cerca de 0,5 - 1% dos carcinomas colorrectais. O gene MYH codifica a enzima MYH glicosilase que faz parte do sistema de reparação de DNA por excisão de bases (BER). O sistema BER desempenha um papel significativo na reparação de mutações causadas por espécies reativas de oxigénio (ROS). Este estudo teve como principal objetivo determinar as frequências alélicas das mutações patogénicas detetadas numa série de 115 amostras consecutivas estudada no GDPN, de modo a delinear um protocolo laboratorial de rastreio de alterações do gene MYH eficaz, rentável e adequado. Através das técnicas de DGGE e sequenciação direta, foram detetados 29 casos com variações de sequência (excluindo polimorfismos conhecidos), em que as mutações missense p.Tyr179Cys e p.Gly396Asp foram responsáveis por 72,2% dos alelos mutados. As outras mutações patogénicas encontradas foram a mutação frameshift c.1227_1228dupGG, já detetada na população portuguesa e a deleção extensa dos exões 4 ao 16 [c.349-?_(1650_?)del], com apenas dois relatos na literatura. A maioria das restantes variantes encontradas, embora classificadas como “provavelmente patogénicas” por programas computacionais preditivos do efeito das mutações na proteína, ainda carecem de estudos funcionais para que possam ser definitivamente “rotuladas” de patogénicas. Tendo em conta a variedade de mutações encontradas ao longo do gene e os casos de heterozigotia composta detetados, a melhor estratégia para o rastreio de alterações do gene MYH neste laboratório, deverá passar pelo estudo inicial dos exões 7 e 13 do gene, seguindo-se o estudo de toda a sequência codificante do gene em todos os casos negativos ou heterozigóticos para uma mutação patogénica. Por outro lado, nos pacientes portadores de mutação em aparente homozigotia ou heterozigotia deverá ser considerada a hipótese de uma análise adicional por MLPA no sentido de detetar/excluir a presença de grandes deleções/duplicações.MYH-associated polyposis (MAP) is one of the colon polyposis syndromes associated with a significant increased CCR risk. Discovered in 2002, MAP is a hereditary syndrome with autosomal recessive transmission. Caused by biallelic mutations in MYH gene, is responsible for about 0.5 – 1% of colorectal carcinomas. The MYH gene encodes the enzyme MYH glycosylase, which is part of the DNA repair by base excision (BER). The BER system plays a significant role in the repair of mutations caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study aimed at determining the allele frequencies of MYH pathogenic mutations in order to devise an efficient, cost effective and suitable protocol for laboratory screening of MYH gene alterations. Using DGGE and direct sequencing 29 positive cases with MYH altered sequence (excluding known polymorphisms) were detected. Missense mutations p.Tyr179Cys and p.Gly396Asp accounted for 72,2% of mutated alleles. The other pathogenic mutations found were the frameshift mutation c.1227_1228dupGG, already detected in the Portuguese population and the extensive deletion of exons 4-16 [c.349-? _ (1650_?)del], with only two reports in the literature. Most of the remaining variants found, although classified as “likely pathogenic” by computational programs predicting the effect of mutations in the protein, still lack functional studies in order to be definitively “labelled” as pathogenic. Given the variety of mutations found throughout this gene and the detected cases of compound heterozygosity, the best strategy for the screening of the MYH gene in this laboratory should include the initial screening of exons 7 and 13, followed by the study of the entire coding sequence of the gene in all cases negative or heterozygous for a pathogenic mutation. Moreover, in patients who appear to be homozygous or heterozygous for a certain mutation further analysis by MLPA should be considered, in order to detect/exclude the presence of large deletions/duplications

Pancitopénia Associada a Perturbação de Ingestão Alimentar Evitante/ Restritiva: Um Caso Clínico

Avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is one of the least clearly understood feeding and eating disorders, and there are no guidelines for its treatment. Patients with ARFID often present comorbid psychiatric disorders. The feeding and eating disorders can present with pancytopenia associated with poor nutritional status. Our aim is to present a clinical case of pancytopenia in a patient with ARFID. The case concerns a 20‑year‑old man hospitalized with pancytopenia. It was diagnosed ARFID and comorbid generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive behavior therapy was implemented, and after six months there was an improvement in the feeding behavior, with greater diversity of ingested food and remission of pancytopenia. This is the first documented case of ARFID with pancytopenia. A multidisciplinary approach is crucial not only for the correct diagnosis, but also for the effective treatment with relapse prevention.A perturbação de ingestão alimentar evitante/restritiva (ARFID) é uma das perturbações alimentares menos compreendidas, não havendo guidelines para o seu tratamento. Os doentes com ARFID frequentemente apresentam perturbações psiquiátricas comórbidas. As perturbações da alimentação e ingestão podem apresentar pancitopénia associada a um mau estado nutricional. O nosso objetivo é apresentar um caso clínico de pancitopénia num doente com ARFID. Trata‑se de um homem de 20 anos internado por pancitopénia. Foi feito o diagnóstico de ARFID em comorbilidade com perturbação de ansiedade generalizada. Foi implementada terapia cognitivo comportamental, e após seis meses houve uma melhoria na ingestão alimentar, com maior diversidade de alimentos ingeridos. Este é o primeiro caso documentado de ARFID com pancitopénia. É crucial uma abordagem multidisciplinar, não só para um diagnóstico correto, mas também para o tratamento adequado com prevenção de recaídas

Renewable energy scenarios in the portuguese electricity system

Portugal has been demonstrating over the years a high dependence of imported fossil fuels, especially with regard to the transportation and electricity production sectors. The urgent need to balance supply and demand as well as the growing concern about environmental issues and reduction of external energy dependency justified an increasing interest in the exploitation of renewable energy sources (RES) looking for more efficient strategies in terms of economic and social or environmental dimensions. The electricity sector represented a clear example of this RES trend with European and Portuguese policies focused on strategies promoting renewable resources and energy efficiency. Following different studies already conducted in other countries, this paper presents an approach to a possible 100% renewable electricity scenario in Portugal, supported by the application of the model EnergyPLAN. The importance of the interconnection as stabilization measure for a system highly dependent on renewable energy sources of variable output is put in evidence. The results also established that the cost structure of each scenario is mainly driven by the low marginal cost of renewable technologies along with their high investment costs.This work was financed by: the QREN – Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors, the European Union – European Regional Development Fund and National Funds- Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-011377 and Project Pest-OE/EME/UI0252/2011

A review essay on child well-being measurement: uncovering the paths for future research

The research on indicators on the state of child well-being is a growing field and one that has experienced several changes through time. Due to the growing supply of data on children, and in order to facilitate conclusions and tracking trends, researchers have been led to develop child well-being summary indexes. Several proposals have already been presented. In the present work, we critically review the most prominent summary child well-being indexes recently constructed, the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, the Child Well-being Index for the European Union, the Microdata Child Well-Being Index, and the Deprivation Index. The examination is carried out according to the contributions and innovations the indexes have brought to the field. A critical assessment of the methods used in the construction of the indexes is made and their main limitations identified. Accordingly, some future lines of research to improve child well-being measurement through summary indexes are put forward.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Three essays on the measurement of child well-being

This dissertation focuses on the measurement of child well-being through summary composite indexes. We address two main questions raised in literature: how can be children better involved in the process of measurement? What aggregation methods should be employed when calculating such composite indexes? In order to answer these questions, this work is structured as follows. In Essay 1 we review some of the relevant literature regarding the measurement of child well-being through summary composite indexes, namely, the Index of Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, the Child Well-being Index for the European Union, the Microdata Child Well-Being Index developed also for the United States, and the Deprivation Index that was developed for the child population of a specific area (Lisbon) of Portugal. The contributions and limitations of these indexes are identified, together with some needs for future research. In Essay 2 we build up from some of the recommendations made in Essay 1 and propose a new (microdata based) composite child well-being index that takes the children’s own perspectives into account. The theoretical basis for the choice of dimensions and individual indicators is presented and the implementation of the dimensions and aggregation methods to be used in the index are justified and explained. Essay 3 is an empirical testing of the index proposed in Essay 2 using a sample of Portuguese children from the Northern region of the country. In order to have a yard-stick for comparison, we start by reviewing the main determinants of child well-being identified in literature. The methodological aspects of the implementation of the index are presented, together with the description of the child sample, the main hypothesis to be tested and the econometric model specification. The results of the estimation are presented and critically assessed by comparison with other methods of index calculation. This essay concludes with some policy implications drawn from those results