Foreign subsidiaries and innovation : evidence from Portugal

A literatura em investimento direto estrangeiro em Portugal ainda não prestou atenção suficiente á importância da inovação local que estas subsidiárias estão a realizar. Para estudar este fenómeno, uma lista de subsidiárias estrangeiras localizadas em Portugal foi cruzada com informação sobre programas de financiamento públicos que suportam investigação e desenvolvimento (I&D). Um total combinado de 132 empresas (total de 262 projectos, 929.4 milhões de € de despesas elegíveis e 377.8 milhões de € em incentivos) tinham projectos aprovados. Um estudo de caso foi realizado de forma a podermos perceber de que forma uma subsidiária (Bosch Car Multimedia) iniciou processos de criação e transferência de conhecimento com parceiros locais (Universidade do Minho), assim como perceber quais os impactos económicos que esta interacção teve na economia do País. A capacidade de absorção, o stock de conhecimento de cada parceiro assim como o seu historial de interacção contribuiu para a formação da parceria. O túnel de inovação da subsidiária associado aos inputs do parceiro local foram factores decisivos na identificação, análise e validação das ideias do projecto. Recursos humanos com a visão ideal, um modelo de governação adequado, a proximidade geográfica que permitiu comunicação frequente, e políticas fiscais foram factores chaves no sucesso deste projecto de inovação indústria-universidade. A economia Portuguesa é beneficiada, a taxa de exportações aumentou, o talento das universidades é retido localmente, os níveis de empregabilidade aumentam e a inovação criada permite dar uma imagem positiva do País como uma localização ideal para actividades de I&D.The literature review of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Portugal has not yet paid much attention to the importance of the innovation being created locally by foreign subsidiaries. To study this phenomenon, a list of foreign subsidiaries located in Portugal was cross-matched with public programs that support R&D activities. A combined total of 132 subsidiaries (total of 262 projects, with 929.4 million € of elegible expenses and 377.8 million € of incentives) had projects approved. A case-study was performed to understand how one subsidiary (Bosch Car Multimedia) has engaged in knowledge creation and transfer processes with local partners (University of Minho), as well as understanding the impact of this relationship on the Portuguese economy. The absorptive capacity, the knowledge stock of each partner and their history of interactions contributed to the establishment of the partnership. The innovation funnel of the company, together with inputs from the local partner, were decisive factors in the identification, analysis and validation of the project ideas. Having human resources with the ideal mind-set, an adequate governance model, along with the geographical proximity, that enabled frequent and broad-band communication, and local fiscal policies were key factors towards the success of an industry-university innovation project. The Portuguese economy benefited, exports have increased, fresh talent from universities is retained locally, local levels of employment rose and innovation was created leading to a positive image of the country as a prime R&D location

Exploring the powerful phytoarsenal of white grape marc against bacteria and parasites causing significant diseases

Natural extracts containing high polyphenolic concentration possess antibacterial, antiparasitic and fungicidal activities. The present research characterises white grape marc, a winemaking by-product describing their physicochemical features and antimicrobial capacities. Main components of 2 different extracts generated were phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols and their gallates, and flavonols and their glycosides. As a result of this complex composition white grape marc extracts showed pronounced bioactivities with potential uses in agricultural, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, among others. Specifically, polyphenol compounds were extracted by using hydro-organic solvent mixtures from the by-product of Albariño white wines (Galicia, NW Spain) production. In the present work the “in vitro” antimicrobial activity of the bioactive extracts was evaluated using two different hydro-organic mixtures (HOL & HOP). The microorganisms tested included Gram positive and negative bacteria, two Apicomplexan parasite species and one Oomycota parasite. Microbial species investigated are causing agents of several human and animal diseases, such as foodborne illnesses (Bacillus cereus, Eschericha coli, Salmonella enterica), skin infections (Staphylococcus aureus), mastitis (Streptococcus uberis), parasite infections as Malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) or Toxoplasmosis (Toxoplasma gondii), and plant infections as "chestnut ink" in chestnuts or "root rot" in avocado, both diseases caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi. Both extracts verified activity against all the tested species demonstrating their potentiality to be used for the development of biocides to control a wide range of pathogenic agents; at the same time that they contribute to winemaking industry residues valorisationThis research was supported by projects GPC2017/04 (Consolidated Research Groups Program) & ED431E 2018/01 Cross-Research in Environmental Technologies (CRETUS) (Xunta de Galicia, Spain)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Orbital exenteration for eyelid skin carcinoma

Abstract Exenteration of the orbit is a disfiguring and destructive procedure; it is generally performed for orbital malignancies and often provides a significant reconstructive challenge. Our purpose was to evaluate the clinical indications for orbital exenteration in a tertiary referral center and to assess the reconstructive options employed. A retrospective nonrandomized analysis was performed, selecting all patients undergoing orbital exenteration over a 5-year period, between January 2005 and January 2010. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics, and reconstructive techniques used were evaluated. Twenty patients with a mean age of 76.5 years underwent total orbital exenteration. Basal cell carcinoma was the main operative indication (45%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (15%). Reconstructive techniques included cover of the raw orbital cavity with a temporal muscular flap in all cases followed with split skin grafting (25%), bilaterally pedicle V-Y advancement flap (10%) and a fasciocutaneous island flap of the retroauricular region (65%). Twenty percent of patients had local complications and all were treated in a satisfactory fashion. Eyelid skin tumors remain an important cause of orbital exenteration. Temporal muscle flap is a reliable and stable reconstructive solution after orbital exenteration and additional aid is supplied with skin grafts or local flaps. This technique ensures a good aesthetic outcome and better situation for later complementary treatments and minimal associated donor site morbidity

NeuroKinect: A Novel Low-Cost 3Dvideo-EEG System for Epileptic Seizure Motion Quantification

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder which affects 0.5-1% of the world population. Its diagnosis relies both on Electroencephalogram (EEG) findings and characteristic seizure -induced body movements - called seizure semiology. Thus, synchronous EEG and (2D) video recording systems (known as Video-EEG) are the most accurate tools for epilepsy diagnosis. Despite the establishment of several quantitative methods for EEG analysis, seizure semiology is still analyzed by visual inspection, based on epileptologists' subjective interpretation of the movements of interest (MOIs) that occur during recorded seizures. In this contribution, we present NeuroKinect, a low-cost, easy to setup and operate solution for a novel 3Dvideo-EEG system. It is based on a RGB-D sensor (Microsoft Kinect camera) and performs 24/7 monitoring of an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) bed. It does not require the attachment of any reflectors or sensors to the patient's body and has a very low maintenance load. To evaluate its performance and usability, we mounted a state-of-the-art 6-camera motion-capture system and our low-cost solution over the same EMU bed. A comparative study of seizure-simulated MOIs showed an average correlation of the resulting 3D motion trajectories of 84.2%. Then, we used our system on the routine of an EMU and collected 9 different seizures where we could perform 3D kinematic analysis of 42 MOIs arising from the temporal (TLE) (n = 19) and extratemporal (ETE) brain regions (n = 23). The obtained results showed that movement displacement and movement extent discriminated both seizure MOI groups with statistically significant levels (mean = 0.15 m vs. 0.44 m, p<0.001;mean = 0.068 m(3) vs. 0.14 m(3), p< 0.05, respectively). Furthermore, TLE MOIs were significantly shorter than ETE (mean = 23 seconds vs 35 seconds, p< 0.01) and presented higher jerking levels (mean = 345 ms(-3) vs 172 ms(-3), p< 0.05). Our newly implemented 3D approach is faster by 87.5% in extracting body motion trajectories when compared to a 2D frame by frame tracking procedure. We conclude that this new approach provides a more comfortable (both for patients and clinical professionals), simpler, faster and lower-cost procedure than previous approaches, therefore providing a reliable tool to quantitatively analyze MOI patterns of epileptic seizures in the routine of EMUs around the world. We hope this study encourages other EMUs to adopt similar approaches so that more quantitative information is used to improve epilepsy diagnosis

Exploring the powerful phytoarsenal of white grape marc against bacteria and parasites causing significant diseases

Natural extracts containing high polyphenolic concentration possess antibacterial, anti-parasitic and fungicidal activities. The present research characterises two extracts based on white grape marc, a winemaking by-product, describing their physicochemical features and antimicrobial capacities. The main components of these extracts are phenolic acids, flavan-3-ols and their gallates and flavonols and their glycosides. As a result of this complex composition, the extracts showed pronounced bioactivities with potential uses in agricultural, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Polyphenol compounds were extracted by using hydro-organic solvent mixtures from the by-product of Albariño white wines (Galicia, NW Spain) production. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of these extracts was evaluated on Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and Apicomplexan and Oomycota parasites. Microbial species investigated are causing agents of several human and animal diseases, such as foodborne illnesses (Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Toxoplasma gondii), skin infections and/or mastitis (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus uberis), malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) and plant infections as “chestnut ink” or “root rot” (Phytophthora cinnamomi). Both extracts showed activity against all the tested species, being nontoxic for the host. So, they could be used for the development of biocides to control a wide range of pathogenic agents and contribute to the enhancement of winemaking industry by-products

Giant chondrosarcoma of the chest wall: a rare surgical challenge

The chest wall chondrosarcoma (CWC) is a rare slowly growing primary tumor of the chest wall with an incidence of &lt;0.5 per million person-years. We present the case of a giant CWC that caused a mass effect on the mediastinum, heart, and lung. Large tumors with thoracic structures compression may be life threatening, and its resection and subsequent chest wall reconstruction represent a significant multidisciplinary surgical challenge. In this case, despite the large tumor dimensions, the preoperative planning—sparing key reconstructive options without compromising the tumor resection—allowed a complete en bloc tumor excision of a grade III chondrosarcoma with negative histologic margins. Successful reconstruction of the large full-thickness chest wall defect, with a latissimus dorsi muscle flap and methyl methacrylate incorporated into a polypropylene mesh in a sandwich fashion, was accomplished. Patient recovery was uneventful with good functional and aesthetic outcomes, and no evidence of recurrence at 1.5 years follow-up. This case report illustrates the main clinical, radiological, and histologic features of a CWC while discussing the surgical goals and highlighting the principles for chest wall reconstruction following extensive resection of a large and rare entity

Identificação de leveduras isoladas a partir de meis de Trás-os-Montes, através de técnicas de biologia molecular

De entre as características do mel, destaca-se a sua composição química em que os aguçares possuem um papel dominante. Possui um teor em agua de 16 a 18%, contendo também enzimas, hidroximetilfurfural, sais minerais, substâncias azotadas, vitaminas, compostos aromáticos e ácidos. Os ácidos apesar de estarem presentes no mel em pequena proporção (teor máximo 0,5%) tem um efeito pronunciado no sabor e contribuem, para a resistência do mel ao ataque microbiano. Foram identificados no mel pelo menos 18 ácidos diferentes sendo o acido glucorónico o mais abundante. Em alguns méis o acido p-hidroxibenz6ico, o objecto de estudo do presente trabalho também é frequente

Long term outcomes of neonate septic arthritis of the shoulder

Upper limb palsy in the newborn may be caused by a large number of pathologies, such as fracture, brachial plexus palsy or infection. The diagnosis of neonatal osteoarticular infection is extremely challenging, especially in the shoulder joint. The lack of obvious clinical signs can frequently result in a delay in the diagnosis, which can lead to important sequelae. A retrospective study of nine patients with a history of neonatal septic arthritis of the shoulder was performed. All patients were treated at the same institution

System for automated gait analysis using an RGB-D camera

No abstract available