The impact of knowledge transfer on innovation in multinational corporations: exploring the contingent effects

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThis direct research explores the contingencies of the relation between knowledge transfer and new product outcomes in Multinational companies. Indeed, in a MNC context, “the conditions under which such knowledge transfer can serve to induce positive outcomes remain unclear.”(Lee, 2008, p 1) After a deep literature review of knowledge transfer and new product outcomes literature, an exploratory study was conducted to understand which factors can influence the impact of knowledge transfer in new product outcomes, with the purpose to give insights about the way to approach a further study. We propose the following three internal contingencies: network strength, absorptive capacity, customer orientation and an external one: technological turbulence, through a semi structured interview guide conducted with 12 top managers. Globally, the exploratory study has provided confirmation for the variables proposed

Characterization of Plum Procyanidins by Thiolytic Depolymerization

The phenolic compounds of ?Green Gage? (GG) plums (Prunus domestica L.), ?Rainha Cla?udia Verde?, from a ?protected designation of origin? (PDO), in Portugal, were quantified in both flesh and skin tissues of plums collected in two different orchards (GG-V and GG-C). Analyzes of phenolic compounds were also performed on another GG European plum obtained in France (GG-F) and two other French plums, ?Mirabelle? (M) and ?Golden Japan? (GJ). Thiolysis was used for the first time in the analysis of plum phenolic compounds. This methodology showed that the flesh and skin contain a large proportion of flavan-3-ols, which account, respectively, for 92 and 85% in GJ, 61 and 44% in GG-V, 62 and 48% in GG-C, 54 and 27% in M, and 45 and 37% in GG-F. Terminal units of procyanidins observed in plums are mainly (+)-catechin (54?77% of all terminal units in flesh and 57?81% in skin). The GJ plums showed a phenolic composition different from all of the others, with a lower content of chlorogenic acid isomers and the presence of A-type procyanidins as dimers and terminal residues of polymerized forms. The average degree of polymerization (DPn) of plum procyanidins was higher in the flesh (5?9 units) than in the skin (4?6 units). Procyanidin B7 was observed in the flesh of all GG plums and in the skin of the Portuguese ones. Principal component analysis of the phenolic composition of the flesh and skin of these plums obtained after thiolysis allowed their distinction according to the variety and origin, opening the possibility of the use of phenolic composition for variety/origin identification

Ajustamento psicológico dos filhos em contexto de desvantagem económica e social : o papel do funcionamento reflexivo e do stress parental quotidiano

Dissertação de mestrado, Psicologia (Área de Especialização em Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde - Psicologia Clínica Sistémica), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, 2020A literatura tem demonstrado que a desvantagem económica e social se associa a dificuldades no exercício da parentalidade, com repercussões no desenvolvimento e bemestar das crianças e adolescentes e no funcionamento familiar. Todavia, a intervenção clínica, preventiva e terapêutica, tem-se mostrado eficaz na melhoria das competências parentais. O presente estudo objetivou compreender a relação entre o funcionamento reflexivo parental, o stress parental quotidiano e ajustamento psicológico dos filhos, em famílias de desvantagem económica e social, a residir na zona de Lisboa. A amostra foi constituída por 78 cuidadores, sinalizados por parentalidade de risco, a maioria mães (n = 67), no máximo com 6 filhos. O protocolo de avaliação englobou um Questionário Sociodemográfico, o Questionário de Funcionamento Reflexivo Parental, o Questionário de Fatores de Stress Quotidiano e o Questionário de Capacidades e Dificuldades (SDQPor). Os resultados evidenciaram associações significativas entre as variáveis em estudo, destacando-se: o papel preditor do funcionamento reflexivo parental (pré-mentalização e certeza dos estados mentais) relativamente ao stress parental quotidiano e ajustamento psicológico dos filhos; a influência negativa do stress parental quotidiano no ajustamento psicológico dos filhos; o papel mediador do stress parental quotidiano na relação entre funcionamento reflexivo parental e ajustamento psicológico dos filhos.Empirical literature has shown that economic and social disadvantage is associated with difficulties in parenting, with repercussions on the development and well-being of children and adolescents and on family functioning. However, clinical, as well as preventive and therapeutic intervention have been shown to be effective in improving parental skills. The present study aimed to understand the relationship between parental reflective functioning, daily hassles, and child adjustment, in economically and socially disadvantaged families, living in Lisbon. The sample consisted of 78 caregivers, mostly mothers (n = 67), with a maximum of six children, who were flagged for risk parenting. The evaluation protocol included a Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, the Daily Hassles Questionnaire and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results showed significant associations between the variables, including: the predictive role of parental reflective functioning (prementalization and certainty of mental states) in relation to daily hassles and child adjustment; the negative influence of daily hassles on child adjustment; the mediating role of daily hassles in the relationship between parental reflective functioning and child adjustment

Estudo de adsorção de péptidas a suporte de interacção hidrofóbica sob condições cromatográficas de não sobrecarga

Para explicar o mecanismo de adsorção subjacente à HIC da Angiotensina I foi efectuada a técnica sob condições lineares. As medidas experimentais foram realizadas em função do tipo de sal e sua concentração, da temperatura e do tipo de ligando no adsorvente para a Angiotensina I e seus derivados. Sob condições isocráticas e a elevadas concentrações de sal, uma característica da performance da Angiotensina I foi o “broadening” do pico e em muitos dos casos o aparecimento de dois picos. Estes resultados foram interpretados em termos da isomerização cis-trans da Angiotensina I (polipéptido com um resíduo de prolina) na coluna seguida de uma “re-conformação” após interacção com o suporte. Foi proposto que o fenómeno de pico “splitting”, o efeito combinado entre a temperatura, concentração de sal na fase móvel e o ligando na fase estacionária é causado por cinética de isomerização lenta que se encontram na mesma escala de tempo que a separação cromatográfica. A concentração de sal e a temperatura promovem a conversão da forma trans da Angiotensina I na forma cis, que tem uma maior área superficial hidrofóbica, em presença do suporte. A retenção da forma trans da Angiotensina I aumenta de uma força geral com o aumento da concentração de sal na fase móvel e é afectada ligeiramente pelo efeito da temperatura. Para além do suporte Butyl-Sepharose referido acima também foram examinados mais dois suportes hidrofóbicos (Phenyl-Sepharose e Octyl-Sepharose). O estudo do comportamento da Angiotensina I com os vários suportes indicou um aumento de retenção com o aumento do comprimento da cadeia n-alquilo do ligando, observando-se que o ligando aromático phenyl promove a alteração de conformação (isomerização cis-trans) da Angiotensina I a concentrações salinas mais baixas que nos outros suportes. Os suportes foram considerados como catalisadores do processo de isomerização cis-trans. Outro factor também estudado foi a substituição de aminoácidos em posições distintas da Angiotensina I para utilização em HIC usando a Butyl-Sepharose e tendo em conta o efeito da concentração de sulfato de amónio. Estes resultados demonstraram que tanto os aminoácidos da posição 5 como da posição 10 da Angiotensina I se encontram envolvidos na interacção hidrofóbica. Com base neste trabalho consideramos que a Angiotensina I pode ser um péptido modelo para estudos posteriores em HIC.In order to explain the mechanism underlying the HIC adsorption of Angiotensin I the technique was run under linear conditions. The experimental measures were done as function of salt type, its concentration, temperature and type of adsorbent ligand using as prove peptide Angiotensin I and its derivatives. Under isocratic elution conditions and at the higher salt concentrations, a characteristic of the chromatographic performance of Angiotensin I was the broadness of the corresponding peak and in most of the cases the appearance of two peaks. These results have been interpreted in terms of on-column cis-trans isomerization of Angiotensin I (a proline containing polypeptide) followed by its “re-conformation” after the interaction with the support. It has been proposed that the peak splitting phenomenon, a combined effect between temperature, salt concentration in the mobile phase and the ligand, is caused by slow kinetics of isomerization that is on the same time scale as the chromatographic separation. Salt concentration and temperature promotes the conversion of the trans form of Angiotensin I into its cis form, which has a bigger hydrophobic surface area, in presence of Butyl- Sepharose. The retention of the cis form of Angiotensin I increase with the increase of salt concentration in the mobile phase and seem not to be affected by temperature. It was further proved that Angiotensin I is only retarded on the column and not retained. Besides the Butyl-Sepharose support above mentioned two more hydrophobic supports (Phenyl-Sepharose and Octyl-Sepharose) were also examined. The study of the behaviour of Angiotensin I with the various supports indicated an increase of retention with the increase of the n-alkyl chain length. It was observed the phenyl aromatic ligand promotes Angiotensin I conformation alteration at lower salt concentration than the other supports. The supports were considered as catalyst for the isomerization process. Another factor, also studied was the amino acids replacement in different positions of Angiotensin I. These results of the adsorption of these peptides in a ButylSepharose column as function of ammonium sulphate concentrations demonstrated that both, the amino acids in position 5 and 10 of Angiotensin I, are involved in the hydrophobic interaction. Based on this work it can be considered that the Angiotensin I is a good peptide model for further studies in HIC

Plasmid DNA recovery from fermentation broths by a combined process of micro- and ultrafiltration : modeling and application

Microfiltration and ultrafiltration operations were used in tandem to isolate and purify a 6050 bp plasmid DNA (pDNA). To achieve primary isolation of the plasmid from fermentation broths, immediately after cell lysis, a 0.2 μm microfiltration membrane was selected for solid/liquid separation, which was performed in a diafiltration mode, as an alternative to centrifugation. Then to attain plasmid concentration and purification, an ultrafiltration membrane with a pore radius of 4.1 nm was selected. Permeation of pDNA and RNA in the two membrane steps was modeled using recently published mass transfer models applicable to the permeation of closed segmented chains and freely-jointed chains, respectively. The permeation of proteins and genomic DNA (gDNA) was also studied in these operations. The microfiltration operation allowed high plasmid and RNA permeation, as expected. It was observed that significant amounts of gDNA, previously precipitated during the cell lysis step, reappear in solution during the diafiltration step. The effect of the ionic strength on this apparent re-solubilization was investigated, by testing the addition of two different salts to the diafiltration buffer: CH3COOK and CaCl2. The results show that these salts can be used to control gDNA apparent re-solubilization. During the ultrafiltration operation high plasmid retention with low adsorption was obtained under low ionic strength conditions. The results also show that a significant removal proteins and the re-solubilized gDNA is achieved, as well as some purification in respect to low molecular weight RNA, since all these components permeate through the ultrafiltration membrane

Prevalence of Pain on Admission by Level of Cognitive Impairment in Nursing Homes

Purpose: To provide contemporary estimates of pain by level of cognitive impairment among US nursing home residents without cancer. Methods: Newly admitted US nursing home residents without cancer assessed with the Minimum Data Set 3.0 at admission (2010-2016) were eligible (n=8,613,080). The Cognitive Function Scale was used to categorize level of cognitive impairment. Self-report or staff-assessed pain was used based on a 5-day look-back period. Estimates of adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) were derived from modified Poisson models. Results: Documented prevalence of pain decreased with increased levels of cognitive impairment in those who self-reported pain (68.9% no/mild, 32.9% severe) and those with staff-assessed pain (50.6% no/mild, 37.2% severe staff-assessed pain). Relative to residents with no/mild cognitive impairment, pharmacologic pain management was less prevalent in those with severe cognitive impairment (self-reported: 51.3% severe vs 76.9% in those with no/mild; staff assessed: 52.0% severe vs 67.7% no/mild). Conclusion: Pain was less frequently documented in those with severe cognitive impairment relative to those with no/mild impairments. Failure to identify pain may result in untreated or undertreated pain. Interventions to improve evaluation of pain in nursing home residents with cognitive impairment are needed

Berry-Enriched Diet in Salt-Sensitive Hypertensive Rats:Metabolic Fate of (Poly)Phenols and the Role of Gut Microbiota

Diets rich in (poly)phenols are associated with a reduced reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disorders. While the absorption and metabolism of (poly)phenols has been described, it is not clear how their metabolic fate is affected under pathological conditions. This study evaluated the metabolic fate of berry (poly)phenols in an in vivo model of hypertension as well as the associated microbiota response. Dahl salt-sensitive rats were fed either a low-salt diet (0.26% NaCl) or a high-salt diet (8% NaCl), with or without a berry mixture (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, Portuguese crowberry and strawberry tree fruit) for 9 weeks. The salt-enriched diet promoted an increase in the urinary excretion of berry (poly)phenol metabolites, while the abundance of these metabolites decreased in faeces, as revealed by UPLC–MS/MS. Moreover, salt and berries modulated gut microbiota composition as demonstrated by 16S rRNA analysis. Some changes in the microbiota composition were associated with the high-salt diet and revealed an expansion of the families Proteobacteria and Erysipelotrichaceae. However, this effect was mitigated by the dietary supplementation with berries. Alterations in the metabolic fate of (poly)phenols occur in parallel with the modulation of gut microbiota in hypertensive rats. Thus, beneficial effects of (poly)phenols could be related with these interlinked modifications, between metabolites and microbiota environments.C.B., C.N.d.S., C.O. were funded by ANR (ANR-13-ISV1-0001-01) and FCT (FCTANR/BEX-BCM/0001/2013). D.B. was funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF P26127-B20) and European Research Council (Starting Grant: FunKeyGut 741623). D.S. and A.F. acknowledge support from Scottish Government: Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services. We also acknowledge the Investment for the Future program ANR-11-IDEX-0003-01 within the LABEX ANR-10-LABX-0033 (C.B., C.O.), Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia financial support of A.G. (SFRH/BD/103155/2014) and C.N.d.S. (IF/01097/2013). iNOVA4Health Research Unit (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007344), which is cofounded by FCT through national funds, and by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement, is acknowledged

Revisiting the chemistry of apple pomace polyphenols

Hot water is an easily implementable process for polyphenols extraction. To evaluate the effect of this process on apple pomace, the overall polyphenolic composition was assessed before and after hot water extraction, followed by extractions with aqueous/organic solutions. As determined by UHPLC-DAD, flavan-3-ols were the main apple native polyphenols. Their amount decreased 50% after hot water extraction, while the other classes remained unchanged. Dihydrochalcones and hydroxycinnamic acid oxidation products, were also observed, alongside with non-extractable oxidised procyanidins that represented more than 4-fold the amount of native apple polyphenols in the pomace. Microwave superheated-water extraction of the insoluble cell wall material in water/acetone solutions and the high amounts of polyphenols that were insoluble in water/ethanol solutions suggested that oxidised procyanidins could be covalently linked to polysaccharides. These complexes represented up to 40% of the available polyphenols from apple pomace, potentially relevant for agro-food waste valuation.publishe

Positivity of the English language

Over the last million years, human language has emerged and evolved as a fundamental instrument of social communication and semiotic representation. People use language in part to convey emotional information, leading to the central and contingent questions: (1) What is the emotional spectrum of natural language? and (2) Are natural languages neutrally, positively, or negatively biased? Here, we report that the human-perceived positivity of over 10,000 of the most frequently used English words exhibits a clear positive bias. More deeply, we characterize and quantify distributions of word positivity for four large and distinct corpora, demonstrating that their form is broadly invariant with respect to frequency of word use.Comment: Manuscript: 9 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures; Supplementary Information: 12 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure

Young People’s Views on Food Hygiene and Food Safety: A Multicentre Qualitative Study

Foodborne diseases are a global burden, are preventable, and young people are a key population for behaviour change as they gain autonomy. This study aimed to explore young people’s needs across several European countries in relation to learning about and implementing food hygiene and food safety. Qualitative focus groups and interviews were conducted in rural and city regions across England, France, Hungary and Portugal. Data were collected to attain data saturation, transcribed, thematically analysed, and mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework. Twenty-five out of 84 schools approached (29.8%) participated, with data collected from 156 11–18-year-old students. Students had good knowledge of personal hygiene but did not always follow hygiene rules due to forgetfulness, lack of facilities or lack of concern for consequences. Students had limited understanding of foodborne microbes, underestimated the risks and consequences of foodborne illness and perceived the “home” environment as the safest. Young people preferred interactive educational methods. Addressing gaps in young people’s food safety knowledge is essential to improve their lack of concern towards foodborne illness and motivate them to follow food hygiene and safety behaviours consistently. Findings have been used to develop educational resources to address gaps in knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio