Manifold-Marketing:a new marketing archetype for the information age, applied to the adoption of oral contraceptives and other drugs by end-users

Taking into account the new communication paradigm of Social Media this paper proposes an original marketing archetype for the information age named by the authors as “ManifoldMarketing”. The conducted study explores the contribution of participating in social networks on the Internet for the adoption process of oral contraceptives (OCs) and other drugs by their end users. Empirical data for this research was collected from a sample of 1162 respondents of a target population formed by Portuguese women, current or potential users of OCs who had reached a level of college education. The results obtained after applying a package of statistical techniques involving descriptive statistics, nonparametric tests and multivariate analysis show that the use of the Internet as well as the participation in the social network Facebook can contribute to the adoption process of OCs. Market segments which are relevant to pharmaceutical marketing were identified based on criteria that associate the information and communication technologies (ICT) with the adoption process of OCs carried out by the consumers themselves. This study also demonstrates that the adoption model and segmentation proposed can be generalized to other markets in the health sector. Considering the obtained results and the proposed "Manifold Marketing", innovative pharmaceutical marketing guidelines are presented.N/

Accounting for Financial Instruments: An Analysis of the Determinants of Disclosure in the Portuguese Stock Exchange

This paper analyzes the determinants of disclosure level in the accounting for financial instruments of Portuguese listed companies. We have constructed an index of disclosure based on IAS 32 and 39 disclosure requirements and computed the index score for each company. Consequently, this study also analyzes the characteristics of companies that are closest to IAS before 2005. The analysis includes variables that capture intrinsic features of Portuguese companies and institutional regulatory context, such as capital structure and characteristics of the corporate governance structure, within contingency theory. We could not find significant influence of corporate governance structure and of financing structure. We conclude that disclosure degree is significantly related to size, type of auditor, listing status and to the economic sector. This research reveals areas for improvement of the Portuguese companies’ reporting practices and suggests areas for intervention of the Portuguese capital markets regulator in the context of mandatory IAS after 2005.Financial instruments accounting, Disclosure indices, Firm-specific characteristics, International Accounting, IAS, Portugal

Accounting for financial instruments: A comparison of European companies’ practices with IAS 32 and IAS 39

This paper analyses accounting for financial instruments of STOXX 50 companies and compare them to the requirements of IAS 32 and IAS 39, before IFRS are mandatory in the European Union. We use a list of 120 categories of inquiry and 370 possible responses and analyse companies’ annual reports. The results show that the majority of companies disclose the fair value amounts and methods of calculation but the information is neither clear nor objective, preventing the fair value information from being relevant and useful. We conclude that companies have a long way to go in terms of accounting and disclosure of financial instruments, namely derivatives. The mandatory adoption of more stringent standards such as the IAS 32 and IAS 39 may improve the information disclosed by companies. Doubts about the compliance degree and the usefulness of the information still remain. This paper brings new perspectives to the challenges of IAS/IFRS adoption, namely to what relates to fair value measurement.Accounting for financial instruments, Fair value accounting, International Accounting, Accounting harmonisation, IAS/IFRS, STOXX 50

Accounting practices for financial instruments. How far are Portuguese companies from IAS?

The purpose of this study is to analyse the current accounting practices for financial instruments by Portuguese companies and compare them to the measurement, recognition and disclosure requirements stipulated in IAS 32 and 39. In order to attain our objective, we drew up a list of 120 categories of inquiry and 370 possible responses that we were interested in analysing. We applied content analysis technique to 2001 listed companies’ annual reports. Our results suggest that the accounting practices for financial instruments by companies listed on the Portuguese stock exchange are very far from what IAS 32 and 39 require. This is especially observed in the measurement and recognition criteria applied to the categories of financial instruments for which the adoption of fair value is required (that is, held-for-trading and available-for-sale financial assets). In what derivative instruments are concerned, we found that the fair value measurement criterion is being adopted by a large number of derivative users. However, with respect to hedging transactions, the gap between accounting practices and the relevant accounting Standards is quite wide. A big improvement in reporting practices regarding this type of instruments will be needed. These findings throw light on the challenges of adopting IAS, particularly with respect to fair value measurement, now that 2005 is near.Financial instruments accounting, Fair Value, International Accounting, IAS, Portugal

Opting-out

Bruyelle Pierre. Tunnel sous la Manche, systèmes de relations en Europe du Nord-Ouest et développement régional. Introduction générale. In: Hommes et Terres du Nord, 1988/1-2. Tunnel sous la manche et développement régional en Europe du Nord-Ouest. pp. 1-2

Recensão crítica

Uma obra de reflexão acessível constituía uma necessidade no panorama da nossa cultura pedagógica. A obra aqui em questão representa o remover dessa situação, sendo pena que a mesma não esteja já traduzida em português. De facto, muito se tem escrito também entre nós sobre a pedagogia, com incidência em tópicos diferenciados e incluindo os diversos níveis de ensino. Porém uma excepção, por vezes incompreensível, se tem verificado: a Pedagogia Universitária

Contributo para o estudo dos modelos curriculares de M. Skilbeck e L. Vandevelde e L. D' Hainaut

O modelo curricular de Skilbeck postula uma directriz fundamental a que deve presidir a elaboração de qualquer um "conjunto de acções planificadas com vista a suscitar a instrução "(De Landsheere). Essa directriz consiste, segundo Skilbeck, na efectiva participação da instituição educativa. Isto porque, segundo o mesmo autor, qualquer "modelo" é uma estrutura de acção cuja dinâmica, no quadro institucional, produz um efeito de selecção (diferenciação dos elementos) que, na situação de ensino-aprendizagem, é indispensável à melhoria da prática educativa. A função do currículo é entre outras, estabelecer uma ponte entre a diversidade das práticas de ensino-aprendizagem e a investigação sistemática relativa aos diferentes tipos de saber que as integram, de modo a possibilitar, de forma consistente, a evolução das mesmas

Evaluation of chemically-induced steatosis in different human in vitro hepatic systems

Trabalho Final de Mestrado Integrado, Ciências Farmacêuticas, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2017Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is histologically defined by atypical accumulation of hepatic lipid droplets, known as hepatic steatosis. The increased accumulation of triglycerides in the liver is a result of an abnormal lipid metabolism reflected by a greater input (uptake and synthesis) than the fatty acids output rate (oxidation and secretion). During the last decades liver toxicity has been not only the leading cause for pharmacovigilance safety reports and the withdrawing of previously approved drugs but also one of the major causes of discontinuation of the development of new chemical entities. Therefore, the issue of drug induced steatosis should be addressed during preclinical drug development. Since robust human-relevant in vitro models are lacking, it is necessary to develop predictable culture systems in toxicity testing. HepG2 cells are one of the most used in vitro models to study hepatotoxicity, however, this cell model has some limitations and does not fully represent the human hepatic metabolism nor the population diversity. On the other hand, stem cell-derived hepatic cells, such as human skin-derived precursors differentiated into hepatic cells (hSKP-HPC), are emerging as suitable in vitro study system for preclinical evaluation of hepatotoxic compounds. The present research work aims to characterize these cell systems for the study of steatogenic compounds, namely a fatty acid (Sodium Oleate), two drugs (Tetracycline and Sodium Valproate) and a chemical solvent (2-ethyhexanol). The induced steatosis was evaluated in each in vitro model through the observation of intracellular accumulation of lipids and through the analysis of the expression of important genes involved in intracellular lipid accumulation. Preliminary results revealed that hSKP-HPC was the cell model with highest accumulation of neutral lipids, followed by undifferentiated hSKP. Nonetheless, the obtained gene expression profiles were inconclusive, especially for hKSP-HPC. However, previous findings had already demonstrated the potential of hSKPs as a human relevant in vitro model to identify drug induced hepatotoxicity and future research work is needed. Stem cell technology is still an expanding area with potential use in hepatic toxicity testing. Yet, issues such as disparities between cell cultures and hepatic differentiations still need to be overcome.A doença de fígado gordo não alcoólico (NAFLD) é definida histologicamente como a acumulação atípica de gotículas lipídicas hepáticas, conhecida por esteatose hepática. A acumulação de triglicéridos no fígado é resultado de um metabolismo lipídico anormal que é refletido por um desequilíbrio entre a absorção e síntese de ácidos gordos e a oxidação e secreção. Ao longo das últimas décadas, a toxicidade hepática tem sido não só a principal causa para a retirada de fármacos do mercado, mas também, um dos maiores motivos para a descontinuação do processo de desenvolvimento e investigação de novas moléculas candidatas a fármacos. Assim, a esteatose potencialmente induzida por fármacos deve ser estudada durante a fase pré-clínica de desenvolvimento de fármacos. Para cumprir esse objetivo, é necessário o desenvolvimento de sistemas robustos in vitro de cultura de células de origem humana para estudo da hepatotoxicidade de modo a preencher as lacunas existentes. As células HepG2 são um dos modelos in vitro mais utilizados para estudar a hepatotoxicidade, contudo, este possui algumas limitações não representando o metabolismo hepático humano na sua globalidade nem a diversidade populacional. Por outro lado, células hepáticas diferenciadas de células estaminais, obtidas a partir de precursores derivados da pele humana (hSKP-HPC) têm vindo a emergir como um novo modelo in vitro para a avaliação pré-clínica de compostos que possam induzir esteatose. Este trabalho experimental visa caracterizar estes modelos celulares na investigação de compostos esteatogénicos tais como: um ácido gordo (oleato de sódio), dois fármacos (tetraciclina e valproato de sódio) e um solvente químico (2-etilhexanol). A indução da esteatose foi avaliada em cada modelo celular através da observação da acumulação intracelular de lípidos e da análise da expressão génica de diversos genes importantes no mecanismo celular da esteatose. Os resultados obtidos revelaram que as hSKP-HPC foram o modelo celular com maior acumulação lipídica. Contudo, os perfis de expressão génica observados foram inconclusivos. Ainda assim, estudos anteriores demonstraram o potencial das hSKP-HPC como um relevante modelo in vitro que permite a deteção de esteatose induzida por fármacos. A tecnologia das células estaminais é ainda uma área em expansão com aplicabilidade no estudo da hepatotoxicidade hepática. Porém, existem ainda diversas incertezas relacionadas com disparidades entre culturas celulares e processos de diferenciação hepática e, por isso mesmo, futuro trabalho de investigação deverá ser feito

Inspection of the thickness of resin cements for ceramic veneers

O objetivo principal deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão da literatura sobre a espessura do cimento resinoso após cimentação de facetas cerâmicas. Para a seleção de artigos publicados até fevereiro de 2019, uma pesquisa bibliográfica foi realizada no PUBMED usando os seguintes termos de pesquisa: “veneer” AND resin cement AND thickness” OR “layer”. Os resultados mostram que a espessura do cimento resinoso se mostra mais pronunciada na zona occlusal do dente, com valores que podem variar entre os 50 e 110 µm. Também na mesma zona é onde se pode encontrar a maior concentração das tensões. O aumento da espessura do cimento tem pouco efeito na variação das tensões provocadas nas facetas cerâmicas. Contudo, o tipo de cimento, a preparação das margens do dente, o tipo e espessura de facetas que vão condicionar o comportamento do cimento, e as forças mastigatórias vão afetar a vida útil da faceta