The specification of high interaction service processes

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A governance da sua empresa está na sua agenda?

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Human image vs. human illustration in social media advertising

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Qualidade da informação em Pequenas e Médias Empresas num contexto de crise financeira : estudo para o caso português

O objetivo deste Trabalho Final de Mestrado consiste em explorar a relação entre manipulação de resultados nas pequenas e médias empresas (PME) portuguesas e períodos de crise financeira. A principal forma de financiamento das empresas no contexto empresarial português tende a passar pela obtenção de crédito junto das Instituições Financeiras, pressionando os gestores das empresas a apresentar uma imagem de elevado desempenho económico. Quanto melhor for a imagem da empresa, maior probabilidade esta terá de aceder ao sistema bancário. Deste modo, os gestores das empresas em dificuldades financeiras tendem a adoptar soluções contabilísticas discricionárias no sentido de melhorarem a imagem da empresa e, consequentemente facilitarem o acesso ao financiamento. O estudo empírico foi fundamentado através da revisão da literatura, comparando trabalhos de variados autores sobre a atuação dos gestores em períodos de crise financeira e períodos de estabilidade económico-financeira. Este estudo permitiu concluir que os gestores tendem a manipular mais os seus resultados em contextos de crise económico-financeira, no sentido de conseguirem obter financiamento junto da banca. No entanto, recorrendo à análise de variáveis e rácios e pela construção de um modelo logit, concluiu-se que a crise financeira atual não teve impacto significativo na tomada de decisões que visam manipular os resultados no contexto empresarial português. Assim, a parte prática deste Trabalho Final de Mestrado, subordinado à questão ‘Será que os gestores tendem a manipular mais os resultados das suas empresas numa situação de crise financeira do que numa situação com ausência desta?’, permitiu concluir que no período de análise (2005 a 2012) a variável ‘ano’ não teve qualquer impacto na tomada de decisões por parte dos gestores e, portanto, não foi possível provar que em Portugal os gestores tendem a manipular os resultados das suas empresas de forma mais intensa numa situação de crise do que numa situação de estabilidade financeira.The purpose of this Dissertation was to explore the relationship between earnings management in small and medium-sized Portuguese companies and financial crisis periods. The main form of funding for companies in the Portuguese business environment is usually obtaining credit from financial institutions, thus putting pressure on company managers to present an image of high economic performance. In fact, the better the company’s image, the bigger probability it will have to access banking credit. For that reason, company managers in financial difficulties tend to adopt discretionary accounting solutions in order to improve the company’s image and consequently facilitate the access to financing. The empirical study was reasoned through literature revision, comparing works from different authors on the performance of managers in periods of financial crisis and periods of economic and financial stability. This study allowed concluding that managers tend to manipulate more their results in a context of economic and financial crisis, in order to be able to obtain banking credit. However, through the analysis of variables and ratios plus the construction of a logit model, it is possible to conclude that the current financial crisis does not have a significant impact in the decision making process of managing earnings, in the Portuguese business environment. This way, this Dissertation subordinated to the question ‘Do managers tend to further manipulate their companies’ results in a context of financial crisis then in its absence?’, allowed us to conclude that, in the period of study (2005 to 2012) the ‘year’ variable does not have any impact in the managers’ decision making process and therefore it was not possible to prove that in Portugal managers tend to manipulate their companies’ results more intensively in a context of crisis than in a context of financial stability

Modification of nanocellulose

Nanocellulose (NC) represents a pivotal material for the sustainable strategies of the future. NC comprises cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), each exhibiting unique and exceptional physicochemical properties. These properties encompass high specific surface area, high tensile strength, lightweight, biodegradability, good barrier properties, and high processing versatility. However, the range of properties and applications can be significantly expanded through the modification of NC, involving both chemical and physical methodologies, which introduce a plethora of functional groups to the densely populated hydroxyl groups present in pristine NC. The modification processes discussed in this chapter encompass chemical and physical modifications that were reported mostly within the last 5 years. The described methodologies emphasize the potential of NC as a substrate for advanced functional and sustainable material

Immersion and distancing across the therapeutic process: relationship to symptoms and emotional arousal

This study aims to clarify the roles of immersion and distancing (that is, reflection on an experience from an egocentric point of view or as an observer, respectively) on therapeutic change analyzing i) the evolution of these two perspectives across the resolution of a clinical problem, and ii) the relationship between immersion/distancing with symptoms and emotional arousal. We extracted all the passages of speech pertaining to the most relevant clinical problem of a good outcome case of depression undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy. We assessed the distancing/immersion of these extracts using the Measure of Immersed and Distanced Speech, and emotional arousal with the Client Emotional Arousal Scale-III. The symptoms were assessed from the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Outcome Questionnaire-10.2. Immersion was associated with symptoms and negative emotions, while distancing was associated with clinical well being and positive emotions. Immersion was still dominant when depressive symptoms were below the clinical threshold. Clinical change was associated with a decrease in immersion and an increase in distancing. The dominance of immersion does not necessarily indicate a bad outcome

The assessment of bacterial nanocellulose functionalized with metal nanoparticles

[Excerpt] Introduction Biocompatibility is one of the mandatory requirements of indwelling medical devices to avoid foreign body reactions and consequential surgical removal.This research was funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Program–COMPETE, under the project POCI-01-0247-FEDER-068924 and by National Funds through Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), under the project UID/CTM/00264/2020. Cátia Alves, Liliana Melro, Behnaz Mehravani, and Ana Isabel Ribeiro acknowledge FCT, MCTES, FSE, and UE PhD grants 2022.10454.BD, 2020.04919.BD, 2022.13094.BD, and SFRH/BD/137668/2018

Optimization of zirconia surface textured designs using Nd:Yag laser for biomedical applications

The development of surface textured designs has influence in primary stability of surgically placed implants since a textured surface allows to firmer mechanical link to the surrounding tissue. Laser technology has been investigated to develop new surface designs on green zirconia compacts by cold pressing. Nd:Yag laser were used to produce several strategies and different laser parameters (laser power, speed and laser passages) were tested to evaluate their impact on cavities geometry and depth. The surface texture designs were analysed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and regular geometries such as cavities or pillars were observed. The distance between lines have a strong impact on texturing quality and should be combined with optimum power and speed conditions. Regarding the optimized conditions, several surface textured patterns were created in both green and sintered zirconia compacts. This study allowed to conclude that only some texturing strategies are suitable to obtain high quality surface textured patterns. Otherwise, the remaining strategies are potential solutions for obtaining high quality machined structures (laser does not machine cavities but crosses the entire bulk). High strength zirconia scaffolds were machined by laser and CNC machining technologies and the two promising technologies were compared.This work is supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) through the grant SFRH/BD/148031/2019, the project UIDB/04436/2020 and UIDP/04436/2020

Prevalência de doença cardiovascular numa população de doentes com síndrome de apneia obstrutiva do sono

Introdução: A Síndrome de Apneia Obstrutiva do Sono (SAOS) induz uma série de alterações fisiopatológicas que aumentam o risco de desenvolvimento de doenças cardiovasculares. Entre estas, a hipertensão arterial (HTA) tem sido a mais estudada e cuja associação causal está mais bem estabelecida. Existem poucos dados sobre a prevalência destas patologias nos doentes com SAOS em Portugal. Tipo de estudo: Análise retrospectiva. Métodos: Determinação da prevalência de patologias cardiovasculares e sua relação com os vários graus de gravidade da SAOS, mediante a análise dos processos de 305 doentes com diagnóstico de SAOS seguidos na Consulta de Patologia do Sono do nosso Hospital. Resultados: Verificou-se uma prevalência de doenças cardiovasculares de 76,7%, sendo a HTA a mais frequente (60%), seguida da cardiopatia isquémica (11,8%) e das disritmias (10,8%). Outros factores de risco cardiovasculares como a obesidade (61,3%), diabetes (20,3%), dislipidemia (43,3%) e tabagismo (49,8%) foram também encontrados num elevado número de doentes. Conclusão: Detectou-se uma elevada prevalência de HTA, pelo que num doente com o diagnóstico de HTA deve ser sempre avaliada a possibilidade de existência de SAOS. Por outro lado, a constatação de uma prevalência elevada de outros factores de risco cardiovascular potencia uma maior morbilidade e mortalidade nos doentes com SAOS

Unidade de Internamento Psiquiátrico para Jovens dos 15 aos 25 Anos: Um Estudo de Follow-up

Introduction: Adolescence and early adulthood are life stages characterized by significant physical, psychological, and social transformations. The transitional age, between 15 and 25 years old, is considered a high-risk period for the development of psychopathology, representing a critical period of opportunities and challenges for mental health intervention. Our objective was to do 4-year follow-up study was conducted on young individuals who were hospitalized during the year 2018 in the acute psychiatric inpatient unit Unidade Partilhada, dedicated to individuals aged 15 to 25 years old. The aim was to assess the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the sample, inpatient characteristics, rehospitalization rate, psychopathological status, quality of life, satisfaction with the provided care, and maintenance of follow-up appointments; establishing relationships between the mentioned variables. Methods: Standardized telephone interviews were conducted using the reduced version of the Mental Health Inventory (MHI) and the World Health Organization’s Abbreviated Instrument for Quality of Life Assessment. Clinical records were also consulted. Results: There was a higher percentage of female patients (52.1%). The discharge diagnosis of mood disorders (54.3%) was significantly higher in females, while psychotic disorders (23.4%) were significantly higher in males (Fisher = 40; p<0.001). The duration of hospitalization (average=16.1 days; SD=13.6 days) was significantly longer for psychotic disorders compared to mood disorders (p=0.009). A percentage of 41.5% of young individuals were readmitted, with 6.3% readmitted within 30 days and 35.2% readmitted within 365 days. At the time of the follow-up interview, 80.9% considered themselves “better,” and 62.7% reported being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their lives. A percentage of 74.5% continued to receive outpatient care, with significantly lower MHI scores observed among individuals without current follow‐up. A percentage of 37.2% reported being “very satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” with the care provided. Conclusion: Obtaining knowledge and data that allow for the characterization of psychiatric hospitalization during the transitional age is fundamental for the planning, organization, and optimization of care provided to this population. Valuing patient opinions and fostering closer relationships between healthcare professionals and young patients promotes treatment adherence.Introdução: A adolescência e início da idade adulta, são fases do ciclo de vida marcadas por grandes transformações físicas, psicológicas e sociais. A faixa etária de transição, entre os15 e 25 anos, é considerada uma idade de risco para o desenvolvimento de psicopatologia, representando um período crítico de oportunidades e desafios para a intervenção em saúde mental. O nosso objetivo foi realizar um estudo de follow-up a 4 anos dos jovens internados durante o ano de 2018 na unidade de internamento agudo psiquiátrico Unidade Partilhada, destinado a jovens dos 15 aos 25anos de idade; pretendeu‐se avaliar as características sociodemográficas e clínicas da amostra, as características do internamento, a taxa de reinternamento, o estado psicopatológico, qualidade de vida, grau de satisfação com os cuidados prestados e manutenção do seguimento em consulta; estabelecendo relações entre as variáveis mencionadasMétodos: Entrevista telefónica padronizada, com aplicação da versão reduzida do Mental Health Inventory (MHI) e o Instrumento Abreviado de Avaliação da Qualidade de Vida da Organização Mundial de Saúde; consulta de processo clínico.Resultados: Há uma maior percentagem de doentes do sexo feminino (52,1%). O diagnóstico de alta de perturbaçãodo humor (54,3%) foi significativamente superior no sexo feminino e o de perturbação psicótica (23,4%) foi significativamente superior no sexo masculino (Fisher= 40; p<0,001). A duração do internamento (média=16,1 dias; DP=13,6 dias) foi significativamente superior para as perturbações psicóticas em comparação com as perturbações do humor (p=0,009). Dos jovens, 41,5% foram readmitidos, 6,3% num período inferior a 30 dias e 35,2% num período inferior a 365 dias. À data da entrevista de follow-up, 80,9% consideram estar “melhor”; e 62,7% estar “satisfeitos”ou “muito satisfeitos” com a sua vida. Mantêm acompanhamento em consulta 74,5%, sendo a pontuação do MHI significativamente inferior nos jovens sem seguimento atual. Referem estar “muito satisfeitos” ou “mais que muito” com o atendimento prestado, 37,2%.Conclusão: O conhecimento e obtenção de dados que permitam a caracterização do internamento psiquiátrico em idade de transição é fundamental para a planificação, organização e otimização dos cuidados prestados a esta população. A valorização da opinião do doente e a aproximação entre profissionais de saúde e doentes jovens, favorece a adesão ao tratamento