Determinantes da oferta de crédito bancário: caso português

Mestrado em EconomiaO presente trabalho tem por base o estágio desenvolvido na Caixa de Crédito Agrícola e uma avaliação em painel dos principais determinantes da oferta do crédito bancário em Portugal. O sector bancário tem-se demostrado muito importante para o desenvolvimento da economia, pois permite a aquisição de financiamento de particulares e empresas, de modo a aumentar o poder de compra, o investimento e o consumo. Uma atividade fundamental no sector bancário é a concessão de crédito, uma vez que esta tem uma grande influencia nos resultados obtidos pelo banco e veicula um elevado risco associado ao endividamento. Neste trabalho pretendemos identificar as principais razões ligadas à concessão de crédito no sector privado não financeiro em Portugal, relacionando o que foi aprendido ao longo do estágio e tendo em conta o exemplo da Caixa de Crédito Agrícola. Considera-se uma análise em painel com o objectivo de identificar os determinantes de oferta de crédito. Assim, realizamos numa primeira fase um estudo geral ao sector bancário e à concessão de crédito em Portugal, apontando alguns pontos que nos pareceram fundamentais no estágio. Numa segunda fase estimamos um modelo com variáveis que representam diferentes factores que influenciam a oferta de crédito por parte das instituições bancárias. Verificamos que o activo total da instituição, o produto interno bruto, a margem das taxas de juro e o total depósitos bancários, tal como previsto, se apresentam significativos na oferta de crédito, sendo o seu comportamento na mesma direção da variável dependente. É ainda importante mencionar que a análise é feita num período recente de tempo, por isso, os resultados refletem a crise dos últimos anos, o elevado nível da dívida e de incumprimento, que implica uma maior submissão do sector às mudanças vigentes no país."his report is based on work developed in Crédito Agrícola and a review in panel data of the main determinants of supply of bank credit in Portugal. The banking sector has demonstrated very important for economic development as it allows the acquisition of funding from individuals and companies, in order to increase the purchasing power, investment and consumption. A fundamental activity in the banking sector is the granting of credit, because this has a large influence on the results obtained by the bank and conveys a high risk associated with debt. In this paper we intend to identify the main reasons for granting credit in nonfinancial private sector in Portugal, linking what has been learned over the past period in Crédito Agrícola. It is considered a review in panel in order to identify the determinants of credit supply. Therefore, we initially study the overall banking and the granting credit in Portugal, pointing out some points which we felt crucial. In a second step we estimate a model with different variables that represent factors that influence the supply of credit by banks. We found that the total assets of the institution, the gross domestic product, margin interest rate and total deposits presents a significant influence in the credit supply, and its behavior is in the same direction as the dependent variable. It is also important to mention that the analysis is made in a recent period of time and the results reflect the crisis of recent years, the high level of debt and default, which implies greater subjection sector to changes in force in the country

Esfera pública e escândalo: o secreto no âmbito público

A tese sobre Esfera Pública e Escândalo procura analisar os pressupostos da indústria da informação na sua intersecção com a esfera política, pois só assim será possível indagar os aspectos da comunicação mediatizada que convertem o escândalo num acontecimento mediático. O que aqui está em causa é um questionamento crítico acerca da génese da esfera pública hodierna no sentido de compreender a condição de possibilidade do escândalo político nos cenários da vida quotidiana. Na nossa perspectiva, o estudo do escândalo possibilita uma compreensão mais precisa acerca das relações que se estabelecem entre a cultura política e as organizações mediáticas. Deste modo, intenta-se problematizar o objecto de estudo à luz das transformações que deram forma ao espaço público contemporâneo. Trata-se de delinear um processo disruptivo mediante a observação das complexas intersecções que se erigem no espaço societal, sobretudo no que à articulação do campo dos media com o campo da política diz respeito. O estudo do escândalo suscita questões relativas ao papel dos media na configuração do debate público, questões que dizem respeito às pretensões objectivantes da linguagem jornalística, à dimensão logotécnica da informação ou, inclusive, à invasão da vida pública pela expansão do privado. Procura-se estabelecer um quadro de análise interpretando o escândalo como «arte político-mediática» tendo em conta as estratégias construtivistas do sistema político e os dispositivos comunicacionais de mediação simbólica. A ilustração empírica pretende pôr em evidência o valor expressivo do escândalo e a componente esteticizante que ele revela.The thesis on the Public Sphere and Scandal seeks to analyse the assumptions of the information industry at its intersection with the political sphere, because only in this way it will be possible to inquire the aspects of the broadcast communication that convert the scandal on a newsworthy event. The issue here is a critical questioning about the genesis of the present-day public sphere in order to understand the condition of possibility of political scandal in the scenarios of everyday life. From our perspective, the study of the scandal enables a more accurate understanding about relationships that are established between political culture and media organizations. This way, we intend to render the subject of study problematic in the light of the transformations that formed the contemporary public space. It is about outlining a disruptive process by observing the complex intersections which are erect in the societal space, particularly as far as the articulation of the media and policy fields are concerned. The study of the scandal raises questions concerning the role of the media in setting the public debate, issues that pertain to the objective claims of journalistic language, the logotechnics dimension of information or, even, the invasion of public life by the expansion of the private. We seek to establish an analysis framework interpreting the scandal as political-media art considering the constructivist strategies of the political system and the communicational devices of symbolic mediation. The empirical illustration is intended to highlight the expressive value of the scandal and the aesthetic component that it reveals

Avaliação de desorientação topográfica após AVC : estudo de caso clínico e utilização de questionários e provas em ambiente virtual

Trabalho Final do Curso de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2019A desorientação topográfica corresponde à perda seletiva da capacidade de um indivíduo navegar no ambiente. Os casos de desorientação topográfica após lesão cerebral têm sido associados a diferentes áreas cerebrais. Contudo, os questionários e provas para caracterização desta perturbação são limitados, com aplicabilidade clínica pouco testada e sem normas para a população portuguesa. Descreve-se o caso de uma doente com queixas crónicas, espontaneamente reportadas, de desorientação topográfica após acidente vascular cerebral, sujeita a avaliação neurológica, neuropsicológica e imagiológica, e discute-se o caso em função da literatura prévia. Experimentalmente, foram traduzidos e aplicados à doente e a 33 controlos saudáveis os questionários Wayfinding Questionnaire e Questionnaire on Everyday Navigational Ability, previamente validados em doentes com AVC e doença de Alzheimer, respetivamente. A doente e 4 controlos foram ainda testados num ambiente virtual tentativamente adaptado para avaliar orientação topográfica e mecanismos alocêntricos vs egocêntricos. O caso estudado é raro, apresentando a doente um AVC parietal direito, possivelmente associado a perda de orientação egocêntrica referida na literatura. Observou-se diferença significativa entre a doente e controlos na pontuação dos questionários de orientação topográfica, apoiando o diagnóstico de desorientação topográfica da doente e a realização futura de estudos mais alargados na população saudável e com patologias selecionadas. O teste do ambiente virtual não foi discriminativo entre a doente e controlos. Permitiu, no entanto, a discussão desse resultado negativo e possíveis fatores explicativos envolvendo os sujeitos ou o ambiente virtual para futuro aperfeiçoamento do teste inicial.Topographical disorientation is the selective loss of the capacity of an individual to navigate in the environment. The cases of topographical disorientation post brain injury have been associated to different brain areas. However, the questionnaires and tests to characterize this disturbance are limited. Their clinical applicability has been poorly tested and they lack portuguese norms. We describe the case of a patient with chronic, spontaneously reported, complaints of topographical disorientation after stroke, subjected to neurologic, neuropsychological and imagiologic evaluation, and the case is discussed according to the previous literature. Experimentally, the Wayfinding Questionnaire and Questionnaire on Everyday Navigational Ability, previously validated in stroke and Alzheimer’s disease patients, respectively, were translated and applied to the patient and 33 healthy controls. The patient and 4 controls were also tested in a virtual environment tentatively adapted to evaluate topographical orientation and alocentric vs egocentric mechanisms. The patient presents a right parietal stroke, possibly associated with loss of egocentric orientation, as described in the literature. There was significant difference between the patient and the controls in the topographical orientation questionnaires scores, supporting the patient’s diagnosis of topographical disorientation and the future implementation of larger studies in the healthy population and in selected diseases. The virtual environment assays weren’t discriminatory between the patient and the controls. That negative result was discussed as well as possible explanatory factors regarding the subjects or the virtual environment for a future improvement of the initial test

Thermal contact resistance between mold steel and additively manufactured insert for designing conformal channels: an experimental study

The focus of this research is on thermal contact resistance between a mold and its insert, specifically inserts made by additive manufacturing (AM). Using a thermal steady-state system and varying contact pressures (0, 50, 75, and 100 bars), we present experimental results of the thermal contact resistance at the contact interface between steel A (1.2344), obtained from an extruded rod, and steel B (1.2709), produced by laser powder bed fusion. Thermal tests were performed for unbonded and bonded configurations. Results showed that increasing the contact pressure allows the system equilibrium to be reached at lower temperatures. Furthermore, thermal tests showed that in the transition zone of the bonded configuration, a well-defined resistance is not formed between the two steel samples as it occurs in the unbonded configuration. For the unbonded configuration, the thermal contact resistance values decrease with increasing applied contact pressure, improving the system’s heat transfer.This work was financially supported by project PRIDOP (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-040271), co-financed by the European Community Fund FEDER through POCI—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização. This work was also supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/04077/2020 (METRICS Center). Furthermore, this work was supported by Portuguese FCT under the reference project UIDB/04436/2020

Contact lenses as drug controlled release systems: a narrative review

Topically applied therapy is the most common way to treat ocular diseases, however given the anatomical and physiological constraints of the eye, frequent dosing is required with possible repercussions in terms of patient compliance. Beyond refractive error correction, contact lenses (CLs) have, in the last few decades emerged as a potential ophthalmic drug controlled release system (DCRS). Extensive research is underway to understand how to best modify CLs to increase residence time and bioavailability of drugs within therapeutic levels on the ocular surface.These devices may simultaneously correct ametropia and have a role in managing ophthalmic disorders that can hinder CL wear such as dry eye, glaucoma, ocular allergy and cornea infection and injury. In this narrative review the authors explain how the ocular surface structures determine drug diffusion in the eye and summarize the strategies to enhance drug residence time and bioavailability. They synthesize findings and clinical applications of drug soaked CLs as DCRS combined with delivery diffusion barriers, incorporation of functional monomers, ion related controlled release, molecular imprinting, nanoparticles and layering. The authors draw conclusions about the impact of these novel ophthalmic agents delivery systems in improving drug transport in the target tissue and patient compliance, in reducing systemic absorption and undesired side effects, and discuss future perspectives.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

End-to-end QoS architecture for 4G scenarios

This paper describes the QoS architecture and the corresponding QoS signalling protocols to be developed inside the IST project Daidalos. We address the main results achieved in terms of the definition of the QoS components and its interfaces, the description of the application and network services, definition of the signalling scenarios for the integration of the QoS signalling with the application signalling and with mobility approaches, and specification of the intra- and inter- domain QoS control approaches. We also describe the QoS management of the system, through the Policy–based Management System, and a Real-time Network Monitoring system able to aid in admission control with the results of active and passive measurements. All the elements, interfaces and functionalities take into account multicast services and inherent broadcast networks

O e-Learning na Educação Médica Contínua: aplicação a uma situação de ensino-aprendizagem em Oftalmologia

n Introduction: The birth of the knowledge society gave way to a new paradigm in education whose main concept relies on continuous education. E-Learning, as a model of the teaching-learning process, fits perfectly this new paradigm: using digital technology allows the conception of educational events with underlying learning theories, in a customised way, at a global scale. Objectives: The assessment of the impact and the efficacy of e-Learning in the post graduate medical education, based on a distance educational event conceived for this investigation. Material and methods: An investigation was conducted, based on an educational experience that we designed, implemented, piloted and evaluated. All the steps are described. Three questionnaires were developed and applied to assess our sample’s characteristics (continuous medical education and cybernaut profile and learning style). A test of fifty multiple choice questions was presented before (diagnostic test) and after (final test) our educational event, as well as a test of ten multiple choice questions was given at the end of each session. At the end of the event all the participants were invited to answer a questionnaire of impact and satisfaction and received a Participation Certificate. Results: Our educational intervention was explored by a population of thirty seven residents of ophthalmology except for three doctors already ophthalmologists. Mean age was thirty three years old. All give high value to their continuous medical education, and use the Personal Computer (PC) more than four hours a week. They prefer the professional domain, mainly medline research and scientifically interesting sites. Experience in e-learning classes is scarce. The evaluation of general satisfaction with our educational event, based in twenty items or in a selected question of the final satisfaction questionnaire (Kirkpatrick’s level I) was very good. All the inquired items regarding the advantages of the e-learning methodology were considered important or very important, mainly the flexibility, practical-theoretical interaction and customised learning. Referred drawbacks were the absence of a real equipment manipulation. The Final Test mean classification – 88,1±15,1 (with or without Session Tests done) and the Final Evaluation mean classification – 85,4±15,1 (Final Test classification or mean classification Session Tests) were significantly higher (p<0,001) than the Diagnostic Test mean classification – 57,3±15,6, thus revealing knowledge learning Kirkpatrick’s level II). The time spent correlated positively with the obtained classification. Conclusion: Medical population presents psico intellect and social characteristics favourable to this methodology. These population’s perceptions on the systemic implementation of e-Learning in medical education are promising. This methodology shows adequacy to continuous medical education in ophthalmology as suggested by this investigation’s results.Introdução: A sociedade do conhecimento conduziu a um novo paradigma no domínio da educação centrado no conceito de educação contínua. O e-Learning, como modelo de ensino-aprendizagem integra-se neste contexto, pois recorrendo às tecnologias digitais permite a concepção e implementação de estratégias pedagógicas adequadas a uma aprendizagem eficaz, personalizada e global. Objectivos: O objectivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a eficácia e impacto do e-Learning na educação médica pós-graduada em oftalmologia com base numa intervenção educacional a distância. Metodologia: A investigação foi conduzida com base num curso para o qual foram desenvolvidos o desenho, as metodologias de implementação e pilotagem e a estratégia de avaliação. Foram aplicados três questionários para caracterização da amostra (perfil de cibernauta, perfil de formação pós-graduada e estilo de aprendizagem). Os aprendentes resolveram um Teste de Diagnóstico de cinquenta perguntas de escolha múltipla, um Teste Final com as mesmas questões e no final da cada Sessão foi apresentado um Teste de dez questões de escolha múltipla. Após concluírem o curso todos responderam a um questionário de satisfação e impacto e receberam um Diploma de Participação. Resultados: A intervenção educacional foi aplicada a uma amostra de trinta e sete médicos: trinta e quatro médicos internos de Oftalmologia e três médicos oftalmologistas. A média de idades situou-se nos 33 anos. Todos atribuíram e levada importância à sua formação pós-graduada e na sua maioria utilizam semanalmente o computador (PC) mais de quatro horas. É privilegiado o domínio profissional, com acentuação para a visita a sites de interesse científico e medlines para pesquisa bibliográfica, sendo rara a frequência na formação em cursos online. Na avaliação da satisfação geral com o evento educativo, relativamente às vantagens da metodologia e-Learning destaca-se a flexibilização, a interacção prática-teórica e a aprendizagem personalizada, ficando sublinhada como desvantagem a ausência de manipulação de um equipamento real. A classificação média obtida no Teste Final – 88,1±15,1 (com ou sem testes de sessão realizados) e a média da Avaliação Final – 85,4±15,1(classificação do Teste Final ou na sua ausência a classificação média dos Testes de Sessão) quando comparada com a média de classificações obtidas no Teste de Diagnóstico – 57,3±15,6 foi statisticamente significativa (p<0,001). Conclusão: A população médica apresenta características psicológicas, cognitivas e sociais favoráveis à utilização da metodologia e-Learning, sendo as suas percepções prometedoras, relativamente à implementação sistémica de regimes educacionais prevendo o e-Learning. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem adequação desta metodologia na educação médica contínua em oftalmologia

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection