Corrupting Learning: Evidence from Missing Federal Education Funds in Brazil

While cross-country analysis suggests that corruption hinders economic growth, we have little evidence on the mechanisms that link corruption to long-run economic development. We provide micro-evidence on the consequences of corruption for the quality of education. We use data from the auditing of Brazil’s local governments to construct objective measures of corruption involving educational block grants transferred from the central government to municipalities. Using variation in the incidence of corruption across municipalities and controlling for students’, schools’ and municipal characteristics, we find that corruption significantly reduces the school performance of primary school students. Students residing in municipalities where corruption in education was detected score 0.35 standard deviations less on standardized tests, and have significantly higher dropout and failure rates. We also provide evidence on the mechanisms that link corruption and mismanagement to learning and school attainment. The results are consistent with corruption directly affecting economic growth through the reduction of human capital accumulation. JEL Codes: D73, I21, H72

Intervenção da fisioterapia uroginecológica na incontinência urinária: uma revisão sistemática

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em FisioterapiaObjetivo: Determinar a efetividade da Fisioterapia Uroginecológica no tratamento de mulheres com Incontinência Urinária (IU). Metodologia: Pesquisa computadorizada nas bases de dados Pubmed/Medline, Ebsco e PEDro para identificar estudos randomizados controlados que avaliam várias técnicas de intervenção de Fisioterapia Uroginecológica na IU. Resultados: Nesta revisão foram incluídos 10 estudos envolvendo 836 indivíduos, com classificação metodológica de 6 na escala de PEDro. Dos 10 estudos incluídos nesta revisão, tendo em conta a intervenção da Fisioterapia Uroginecológica na IU, 6 avaliaram a Fisioterapia no treino dos músculos do pavimento pélvico (TMPP), 3 têm em conta a aplicação do biofeedback (BFB), 5 a aplicação de electroestimulação (EE) e 4 a utilização de cones vaginais. Conclusão: A Fisioterapia Uroginecológica é fundamental tanto para a redução das perdas urinárias quer na melhoria da qualidade de vida das mulheres.Objective: To determine the effectiveness of Urogynecologic Physiotherapy treatment in women with Urinary Incontinence (UI). Methodology: Research on computerized databases on Pubmed/Medline, Ebsco and PEDro to identify randomized controlled trials that evaluates various Urogynecologic Physiotherapy interventions in UI. Results: This review include 10 studies involving 836 patients, with arithmetic mean methodology classification of 6 on the PEDro scale. From 10 the studies included in this review, taking into account the intervention of Urogynecologic Physiotherapy at UI, 6 evaluated the Physiotherapy in pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT), 3 take into account the application of biofeedback (BFB), 5 application for electrical stimulation (EE), and 4 the use of vaginal cones. Conclusion: The Urogynecological Physiotherapy is essential both to reduce urinary losses either in improving the quality of life of their bearers

Crime and Self-Complaint: Why?

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ActualSales Portugal : the internationalization process and foreign market selection

The online performance marketing industry (OPM) has been consistently growing double digits for the past 5 years, reflecting the market’s adjustments to a reality where economic challenges predominate and consequently push companies to demand greater evidence of return on investment. Online lead generation, a sub-segment of OPM, is defined as the processof generation and delivery of leads, i.e. prospects interested on a certain product or service. ActualSales is a multinational Portuguese company that operates in the online lead generation industry,currently facing the industry’s paradigm of rapid growth and increasing competition. Henrique Agostinho, managing partner, was responsible indefining the next steps for the company’s internationalization strategy and adaptation to the recent and fast-growing industry, by creating a new subsidiary whether in Argentina or Colombia. Recent contract opportunities in both Latin American countries made the two eligible for consideration; however, the company did not possess enough human resources to tackle both geographies. Consequently, only one country could be chosen. In this case, students are presented with real life events related to industry and strategy definition, more specificallythe internationalization process and foreign market selection of ActualSales.A indústria de online performance marketing (OPM) tem vindo a crescer consistentementedois dígitos ao longo dos últimos cinco anos, refletindo o ajustamento do mercado a uma realidade onde os desafios económicos predominam e forçaa que as empresas exijam cada vez mais evidências do retorno do investimento. O online lead generation é um subsegmento da indústria OPM, e define-se como sendo o processo de criação e entrega de leads. A ActualSales é uma empresa multinacional Portuguesa que opera na indústria de lead generation e que atualmente compete numa indústria em rápido crescimento e com cada vez mais competidores. Henrique Agostinho, managing partner, é o responsável pela definição da estratégia de internacionalização da empresa para a América Latina, acompanhando assim o rápido crescimento da indústria nestes países. Novas oportunidades contratuais nos países da Argentina e Colômbia, tornaram possível a implementação de uma nova subsidiária. No entanto, a falta de recursos humanos suscetíveis à expatriação, força a que apenas um dos países seja eleito. Este case study expõe eventos reais, permitindo ao leitor uma representação daquilo que são os desafios relacionados com a definição de uma estratégia de internacionalização, assim como o processo de seleção de mercados internacionais

Assessment of biological properties and applications of extracts obtained from agroindustrial subproducts

Lipid oxidation and microbial growth, two of the most well studied processes associated with food spoilage, become the focus of attention when natural compounds are used to circumvent the problem. Synthetic antioxidants associated with food matrices always had a negative connotation due to the undesirable effects related with their consumption over long periods of time. Nevertheless, the addition of natural compounds with antioxidant activity has gained a great importance, particularly when these compounds, less harmful and from renewable resources, can block both processes. In this work, four extracts obtained from by-products / industrial residues were utilized to evaluate: the antioxidant and the antimicrobial activities, the ability to enhance the growth of probiotic bacteria and the applicability associated with the food industry. Grape pomace (GP) extract was the one with the highest antioxidant activity whereas the extract from almond shells (AS) was the one with the lowest capacity. The identification of the compounds present in the extracts showed different profiles for all extracts although there were common compounds, such as: vanillic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, vanillin, quercetin, hydroxymethyfurfural and 2-furfuraldehyde. Concerning the antimicrobial activity, all the extracts inhibited the growth of pathogenic bacteria, namely Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. However, no trend was observed, i.e., the extracts did not show a selective action upon either Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria. From the analysis of the minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs), the eucalypt wood (EW) extract was the most active, whereas the AS and CC (corn cobs) extracts were less active. The time-kill analysis/ survival curves have highlighted the antimicrobial effect of the extracts; however, this was not immediate, in that for the majority of cases, this effect only occurred at approximately 24h. The assays with probiotic bacteria showed that the tested extract concentrations (0.025% and 0.1%) did not significantly affect the growth of these microorganisms. Finally, for the application associated with the food industry, films with the extracts were produced, and their characterization did not evidence strong differences; statistically significant differences were only observed for color and moisture content, with the AS and CC extracts showing smaller values comparatively to the other films. In addition, all films showed antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic bacteria tested, suggesting the possible use of these extracts in an edible film.A oxidação lipídica e o crescimento microbiano, dois dos processos melhor estudados e associados à deterioração dos alimentos, têm ganho grande atenção quando a solução passa pela adição de compostos naturais. A presença de antioxidantes sintéticos em matrizes alimentares detém uma conotação negativa, pelos efeitos indesejáveis associados ao consumo durante longos períodos de tempo. Não obstante, a adição de antioxidantes naturais, menos nocivos e de fontes renováveis, tem vindo a captar uma maior atenção quando conseguem obstruir ambos os processos. Neste trabalho, foram utilizados quatro extratos obtidos a partir de subprodutos/ resíduos agroindustriais, nos quais se procurou avaliar: as atividades antioxidante e antimicrobiana, a capacidade para potenciar o crescimento de bactérias probióticas e uma aplicação associada à indústria alimentar. A maior capacidade antioxidante foi encontrada no extrato de bagaço uva (GP extract), sendo por sua vez o extrato de cascas de amêndoa (AS extract) aquele que demonstrou menor capacidade. A identificação dos compostos presentes mostrou que todos os extratos apresentavam perfis diferentes, ainda que existam compostos comuns a todos os extratos, como é o caso do ácido vanílico, 3,4-dihidroxibenzaldeído, vanilina, quercetina, hidroximetilfurfural e 2-furfuraldeído. No que diz respeito à atividade antimicrobiana, concluiu-se que todos os extratos inibiram o crescimento das bactérias patogénicas testadas (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus e Salmonella spp.) No entanto, os extratos não se mostraram mais ativos para bactérias Gram-positivas ou Gram-negativas. A partir da análise das concentrações mínimas bactericidas (CMBs), pode observar-se que o extrato de madeira de eucalipto (EW extract) foi o mais ativo, contrariamente ao extrato de carolos de milho (CC extract) e ao de amêndoa. As curvas de sobrevivência/ morte evidenciaram que o efeito antimicrobiano não é imediato, na medida em que, para a maior parte dos casos, acontece após aproximadamente 24h. Os ensaios com bactérias probióticas mostraram que as concentrações de extrato testadas (0.025% e 0.1%) não provocam alterações significativas no crescimento destes microrganismos. Por fim e como aplicação, recorreu-se à indústria alimentar, pela formulação de um filme que permitiu concluir que, ainda que estes sejam produzidos com diferentes extratos, não apresentam diferenças nas suas propriedades físicas e mecânicas, exceto na cor e no teor de humidade, onde o extrato de cascas de amêndoa e o extrato de carolos de milho apresentaram, respetivamente, valores inferiores aos restantes filmes avaliados. Além disso,todos os filmes evidenciaram atividade antimicrobiana sobre as bactérias patogénicas testadas, sugerindo o possível uso destes extratos num filme comestível

Male and Female Psychopaths: Affective, Interpersonal, and Behavioral Differences

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Crime, re-offence, and substance abuse of patients with severe mental disorder

Scientific research has shown that there is a causal association between crime, re-offence, and severe mental disorder. Numerous authors have found that psychosis, particularly schizophrenic psychosis, personality disorders, namely antisocial personality disorder, and substance abuse are disorders, which considerably increase the criminal risk. The patients’ decompensation and the associated comorbidity, in this regard, can never be neglected. Therefore, in this paper a review of literature was performed whose goals demonstrate: 1) the relationship between severe mental disorder and crime; 2) the relationship between severe mental disorder and re-offence; 3) the relationship between substance use and crime; 4) the relationship between substance use in individuals with severe mental disorder and crime and re-offence. Promoting the independence and well-being of these patients contributing to the maintenance of social peace, which requires timely monitoring and evaluation of the clinical condition and functionality of the individual, through articulation in a network, which would allow to assess and foster the skills of the individual as a social being.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio