Vista Alegre Atlantis investment committee paper - capital structure

The proposed Investment Committee Paper is intended for academic purposes only. The project aims to study a private equity deal using a Leveraged Buyout (LBO) for Vista Alegre Atlantis (VAA), a market leader in the ceramic and glass tableware sector. Our goal is to understand how the LBO could be structured, what returns it could provide, and what exit strategies can be pursued. In addition, we will focus on analysing and forecasting the business plan and defining the optimal capital structure. The conclusion is that VAA is an attractive investment opportunity, able to leverage the market's growth

Grapevine aquaporins: gating of a tonoplast intrinsic protein (TIP2; 1) by cytosolic pH

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is one of the oldest and most important perennial crops being considered as a fruit ligneous tree model system in which the water status appears crucial for high fruit and wine quality, controlling productivity and alcohol level. V. vinifera genome contains 28 genes coding for aquaporins, which acting in a concerted and regulated manner appear relevant for plant withstanding extremely unfavorable drought conditions essential for the quality of berries and wine. Several Vv aquaporins have been reported to be expressed in roots, shoots, berries and leaves with clear cultivar differences in their expression level, making their in vivo biochemical characterization a difficult task. In this work V. vinifera cv. Touriga nacional VvTnPIP1;1, VvTnPIP2;2 and VvTnTIP2;1 were expressed in yeast and water transport activity was characterized in intact cells of the transformants. The three aquaporins were localized in the yeast plasma membrane but only VvTnTIP2;1 expression enhanced the water permeability with a concomitant decrease of the activation energy of water transport. Acidification of yeast cytosol resulted in loss of VvTnTIP2;1 activity. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of a His131 residue, unusual in TIPs. By site directed mutagenesis, replacement of this residue by aspartic acid or alanine resulted in loss of pHin dependence while replacement by lysine resulted in total loss of activity. In addition to characterization of VvTn aquaporins, these results shed light on the gating of a specific tonoplast aquaporin by cytosolic pHinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Síndrome de Ekbom: Relato de Caso

Delusional parasitosis, also known as delusional infestation or Ekbom syndrome, is a somatic type of delusional disorder, usually mono‑symptomatic, in which patients are convinced they are being infested with animal parasites while no objective evidence to support their belief exists. Complaints are usually about skin infestation, but involvement of the gastrointestinal tract has also been described. We describe a case of a 59‑year‑old woman with delusional parasitosis claiming to be infected with Strongyloides stercoralis.A parasitose delirante, também conhecida como delírio de infestação ou síndrome de Ekbom, é um tipo de delírio somático, normalmente monossintomático, no qual os doentes estão convictos de estarem infestados por parasitas, não existindo, no entanto, qualquer evidência que suporte esta crença. Normalmente, a “infestação” refere‑se à pele, mas “infestações” do trato gastrointestinal encontram‑se também descritas na literatura. Relatamos um caso de uma senhora de 59 anos de idade com um delírio de infestação por Strongyloides stercoralis

Language learning in tourism through mobile devices in higher education

In the digital age, millions of people use mobile phones to communicate. However, these devices are also being used for educational purposes. This paper attempts to show an overview of the use of mobile devices in the process of learning English as a second language by a class of higher education Tourism students, in Portugal. The paper refers to an initial research study that explores the overt and covert uses the students give to mobile devices and their attitude towards their use in an educational setting. A survey was conducted to glean this information and we present the results which show that this technology is not used by most of the students in educational settings and that they are very aware of their teachers’ penalising attitudes towards it.After the survey was conducted, a few language learning activities were tried out within and outside the classroom and, in general, students appreciated these and wish for more such activities in the future.Na era digital, milhões de pessoas usam telemóveis para comunicar. No entanto, estes dispositivos também estão a ser usados para fins educativos. Este texto apresenta possibilidades de utilização de dispositivos móveis no processo de aprendizagem de Inglês, como língua não materna, através do trabalho desenvolvido com uma turma de alunos de Turismo do ensino superior, em Portugal. O artigo reporta-se a um estudo em fase inicial que explora a utilização de dispositivos móveis pelos alunos e a sua atitude perante a mesma, num ambiente de aprendizagem. Os alunos foram inquiridos acerca do uso da tecnologia móvel em contexto de sala de aula e os resultados mostram que esta não é usada pela maioria dos alunos em contextos educativos. Para além disso, observou-se que os alunos estranham a utilização de dispositivos móveis, em contexto de aprendizagem, pelo seu uso estar proibido noutros níveis de ensino. Depois de aplicado o inquérito, foram desenvolvidas algumas atividades de aprendizagem de língua, dentro e fora da sala de aula que, em geral, foram apreciadas. Para além disso, foi demonstrado, por parte destes alunos, o desejo de continuar a desenvolver atividades com dispositivos móveis, em particular o telemóvel.publishe

Imigração qualificada: músicos da Ucrânia na Orquestra Clássica da Madeira

No universo artístico da Região Autónoma da Madeira existe um significativo e experiente grupo de profissionais de música clássica oriundos de países da Europa Central e de Leste. To mando como principal enfoque o papel daqueles que assumem, no seio da Orquestra Clássica da Madeira, maior representatividade relativamente ao país de origem - os ucranianos - procu rámos, através de um estudo empírico caracterizar esta população e perceber não só o seu papel na sociedade de acolhimento, mas também a sua aceitação por esta.In the artistic universe of Madeira there is a significant and experienced group of classical music professionals from countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Taking as its primary focus the role of those who assume, within the Madeira Classical Orchestra, greater representation of the country of origin - Ukrainians - we sought, through an empirical study, to characterize this population and understand not only their role in the host society, but also their acceptance by it.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Novas abordagens ao posicionamento periódico de figuras irregulares

Tese de doutoramento. Ciências de Engenharia. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

A mobile app to support clinical diagnosis of upper respiratory problems (eHealthResp): co-design approach

Background: The misuse of antibiotics is a global public health issue that fosters bacterial resistance and jeopardizes generational health. The development of validated tools such as web-based courses and mobile apps to enhance clinical decisions in upper respiratory infections is of great importance in reducing the incorrect use of antibiotics in these situations. Objective: The aim of this study was to design and prevalidate the interface of a mobile app to assist and provide clinical support in the diagnosis of upper respiratory problems. We aimed to assess the adequacy and usability of the interface of the tool in the belief that it could be beneficial to health care delivery in the clinical decision setting. Methods: Using a co-design approach that brought together professionals in interface design and experts in pharmacology and pharmacoepidemiology, the mobile app interface was evaluated through peer review sessions held by interface design professionals on a heuristic survey. The reviewers accessed a high-fidelity interactive mock-up of the interface and filled in a questionnaire to assess the dimensions of layout and visual design and navigation and tasks. The resulting feedback of this evaluation supported the redesign of the primary interface, which was assessed for the second time by 2 of the previously mentioned reviewers. Results: With 4 as the highest score, the interface scored a mean of 3.16 (SD 0.45; median of the means 3.2) for layout and visual design and a mean of 3.43 (SD 0.33; median of the means 3.51) for navigation and tasks, reflecting an overall positive evaluation. The open-ended commentaries allowed us to better understand specific recommendations of the reviewers. Throughout this section, approximately 0.98 comments per parameter were registered, reflecting a high level of effectiveness of the chosen parameters in identifying potential problems. The resultant beta version of the interface, addressing the majority of the detected problems, was further assessed by 2 of the previous reviewers, validating the new design. Future tests with physicians and pharmacists will help assess credibility and user experience dimensions. Conclusions: Our study revealed that the designed interface is easy to interpret and use. Peer reviewers raised important issues that could be easily fixed and positively reassessed. As a result, the study enabled us to produce a new tool for interface usability assessment and a set of recommendations for developing mobile interfaces for clinical decision support systems in the scope of upper respiratory problems.publishe

crystallization and structure determination using soft X-rays

Superoxide reductase is a 14 kDa metalloprotein containing a catalytic nonhaem iron centre [Fe(His)4Cys]. It is involved in defence mechanisms against oxygen toxicity, scavenging superoxide radicals from the cell. The oxidized form of Treponema pallidum superoxide reductase was crystallized in the presence of polyethylene glycol and magnesium chloride. Two crystal forms were obtained depending on the oxidizing agents used after purification: crystals grown in the presence of K3Fe(CN)6 belonged to space group P21 (unit-cell parameters a = 60.3, b = 59.9, c = 64.8 A ° , = 106.9 ) and diffracted beyond 1.60 A ° resolution, while crystals grown in the presence of Na2IrCl6 belonged to space group C2 (a = 119.4, b = 60.1, c = 65.6 A ° , = 104.9 ) and diffracted beyond 1.55 A ° . A highly redundant X-ray diffraction data set from the C2 crystal form collected on a copper rotating-anode generator ( = 1.542 A ° ) clearly defined the positions of the four Fe atoms present in the asymmetric unit by SAD methods. A MAD experiment at the iron absorption edge confirmed the positions of the previously determined iron sites and provided better phases for model building and refinement. Molecular replacement using the P21 data set was successful using a preliminary trace as a search model. A similar arrangement of the four protein molecules could be observed

Ambientes virtuais e suas potencialidades para o ensino e aprendizagem de matemática: comunicação e colaboração

Nesse artigo temos por objetivo apresentar e discutir as potencialidades de alguns recursos tecnológicos para se trabalhar em grupos online. Para tanto, trazemos alguns trabalhos, como o de BAIRRAL (2009), que fizeram uso de ambientes virtuais, sejam aqueles com caráter pedagógico ou aqueles que foram adaptados para tal. Destacamos nesses trabalhos as possibilidades de comunicações online de formas síncronas e assíncronas. Ademais, buscando ressaltar as potencialidades, a partir da experiência vivida, descrevemos e discutimos uma atividade de lógica com participantes de uma oficina na UNESP de Rio Claro, utilizando o Google Docs. Tecemos as considerações acerca do experienciado utilizando a ferramenta histórico de revisões, que armazena as ações de cada sujeito no documento e, em seguida, as analisamos segundo a perspectiva de que o conhecimento é produzido por um coletivo de seres-humanos-com-mídias (BORBA e VILLARREAL, 2005). Além disso, incorporamos a essas discussões as ideias de dispositivo (DELEUZE, 1990), de rizoma (DELEUZE e GUATARRI, 1995), as linhas de forças, o poder e a resistência, e subjetivações, sobre a ótica foucaultiana, promovido pela utilização desses recursos. Assim, nos preocupamos em evidenciar os pontos positivos e as limitações ao se trabalhar com ambientes do ciberespaço, sejam os pontos destacados pelos autores visitados ou pela nossa própria experiência