The relationship between tax rates and tax revenues in eurozone member countries - exploring the Laffer curve

We estimate Laffer Curves for direct and indirect taxes for each Eurozone country, using panel data from 1995 to 2011, by means of Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) models. We choose the three taxes that contribute the most to the government tax revenue: the value added tax (VAT), the corporate income tax (CT), and the labour income tax (LT). From our estimated significant parameters, which have the expected signs according to the Laffer Curve theory, we obtained a maximum/optimal tax rate for VAT for Greece, Portugal, and Slovakia and for the majority of the Eurozone countries for direct taxes. We also take into consideration the business cycle. Many countries do not present differences in regime, and when they do, the optimal tax rate is higher during recessions. Finally, we compare the observed tax rates in 2012 to the estimated optimal tax rates, to assess if the 2012 policy was located at the prohibitive range of the Laffer Curve. Our results are important for the discussions about fiscal discipline and harmonization in the Eurozone, since they exhibit important disparities between countries and taxes. We can see that, especially for CT and LT, there is a strong divide between the values of the optimal maximum tax rates for Eastern European countries and Western European economies. Additionally, the economic and financial conditions of each country also influence the value for the tax rate.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Exploitation of filamentous and picoplanktonic cyanobacteria for cosmetic applications: potential to improve skin structure and preserve dermal matrix components

The use of natural products in skin care formulations gained interest as a concern for modern societies. The undesirable side effects of synthetic compounds, as well as the associated environmental hazards, have driven investigation on photosynthetic organisms as sustainable sources of effective and environmentally friendly ingredients. The use of natural extracts in cosmetics has been highlighted and, along with plants and algae, cyanobacteria have come into focus. Due to their low culture demands, high grow rates and ability to produce a wide variability of bioactive metabolites, cyanobacteria emerged as an economic and sustainable base for the cosmetic industry. In this study, we evaluated the potential of ethanol extracts of picocyanobacteria strains of the genera Cyanobium and Synechocystis and filamentous strains of the genera Nodosilinea, Phormidium and Tychonema for skin applications, with focus in the field of anti-aging. The extracts were analyzed for their pigment profile, phenolic content, antioxidant potential, cytotoxicity against keratinocytes (HaCat), fibroblasts (3T3L1), endothelial cells (hCMEC/D3) and capacity to inhibit hyaluronidase (HAase). The total carotenoid content ranged from 118.69 to 383.89 μg g−1 of dry biomass, and the total phenolic content from 1.07 to 2.45 mg GAE g−1. Identified carotenoids consisted of zeaxanthin, lutein, canthaxanthin, echinenone and β-carotene, with zeaxanthin and lutein being the most representative (49.82 and 79.08 μg g−1, respectively). The highest antioxidant potential was found for Phormidium sp. LEGE 05292 and Tychonema sp. LEGE 07196 for superoxide anion radical (O2•−) scavenging (IC50 of 822.70 and 924 μg mL−1, respectively). Low or no cytotoxicity were registered. Regarding HAase inhibition, Tychonema sp. LEGE 07196 and Cyanobium sp. LEGE 07175 showed the best IC50 (182.74 and 208.36 μg mL−1, respectively). In addition, an increase in fibroblast proliferation was registered with these same strains. From this work, the ethanol extracts of the species Tychonema sp. and Cyanobium sp. are particularly interesting for their potential application in anti-aging formulations, once they stimulated fibroblast proliferation and inhibit hyaluronic acid digestion.This work was done in the framework of the projects: BLUEHUMAN-BLUE biotechnology as a road for innovation on HUMAN’s health aiming smart growth in Atlantic Area-EAPA_151/2016 of the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund; EnhanceMicroAlgae - High added-value industrial opportunities for microalgae in the Atlantic Area (EAPA_338/2016) of the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme funded by the European Regional Development Fund; ALGAVALOR - MicroALGAs: integrated production and valorization of biomass and its various applications - SI I&DT no. 352234-supported by the PORTUGAL 2020 through the European Regional Development Fund; and supported by the FCT Projects UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020. The authors acknowledge the support and the use of resources of EMBRC-ERIC, specifically of the Portuguese infrastructure node of the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC-PT) CIIMAR–PINFRA/22121/2016–ALG-01-0145-FEDER-022121, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through COMPETE2020-Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI) and national funds through FCT/MCTES

Accelerated life testing of frozen green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.) quality loss kinetics: colour and starch

This study uses the information derived from a computational research for the design of accelerated life testing (ALT) to implement experimentally the step stress methodology for the quantification of frozen green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris, L.) colour and starch degradation kinetics. Colour loss and starch degradation were successfully modelled, respectively, by a first-order reversible and apparent first-order kinetics, under dynamic temperature fluctuations. Results show that the step stress produces models with lower regression standard errors than the conventional isothermal methodology, increasing the accuracy of the estimated kinetic parameters. The ALT methodology, produces however, higher confidence intervals for the estimated kinetic parameters, than the isothermal methodology (e.g. colour b-coordinate by the: (i) isothermal methodology: k₋₁₅ ºC=22.189±0.349 day⁻¹·10⁻³; and (ii) ALT methodology: k₋₁₅ ºC=22.189±0.349 day⁻¹·10⁻³). Furthermore, as expected, higher Arrhenius activation energies (Ea) were estimated by the ALT step-stress methodology, than by the isothermal methodology (e.g. Hunter total colour difference (TCDH): (i) isothermal methodology: Ea=106.272±18.67 kJmol⁻¹; and (ii) ALT methodology: Ea=140.344±18.670 kJmol⁻¹). Accelerated tests are valuable tools, that can aid the study of quality losses in frozen foods. Although ALT tests increase the complexity of data analysis, they produce satisfactory results, when applied to frozen green beans kinetics of starch and colour losses.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Percutaneous Closure of Patent Foramen Ovale after Anterior Spinal Cord Infarction

In patients with a patent foramen ovale (PFO) who have had a cryptogenic ischemic stroke, percutaneous closure reduces its recurrence risk. However, its role in spinal cord infarction (SCI) is less well-established. A few case reports describe the putative causative role of PFO in SCI. We present a case of a teenager with cryptogenic anterior SCI in the setting of a deep vein thrombosis and a high risk-PFO who underwent successful percutaneous closure.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Facing the complexity of grape quality management and delivering an highthroughput device: VinePAT

The physiological response of plants to external perturbation is complex and occurs at different levels of their metabolism. This is a multivariate and multi-scale phenomena, therefore high-throughput methodologies are required to extract relevant information. The nonexistence of a device with such characteristics constitutes a barrier to the interpretation of the consequences of external inputs. Spectroscopy is a multivariate methodology with greatest interest for metabolic studies in biological systems. In fact, this technique provides detailed information on the molecular structure and reaction mechanisms. Moreover due to its non-destructive character, this methodology is currently used to characterize proteins, peptides, lipids, membranes, carbohydrates in pharmaceuticals and food products as well as plants and animal tissues. VinePAT is a vineyard management system based in the Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) methodologies to provide winemakers with state-of-the-art metabolic images of vineyards for precision winemaking by using UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy techniques. The system hardware is based on miniaturized fiber-optics spectrometer adapted for grape and leaves measurements and suited for outdoor data acquisition. Combining these georeferenced outdoor measurements collected at the vineyard with state-of-the-art spectroscopy signal processing, the winemaker will be able to observe vine metabolism by using a non-destructive 'in-vivo' methodology, as well as, the global-picture of the vineyard for implementing precision winemaking technologies based on process analytical technology. Here we demonstrate the potential of the VinePAT technology for grape-growers by presenting: i) spectroscopy equipment in action; ii) the variance imaging and zone diagnostics; iii) metabolic imaging with especial incidence in key metabolites for grape maturation; iv) how to use multivariate control charts; and v) the full potential of the technology deployed by process analytical technology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of organizational culture on organizational performance: The case of security sector

Aims: Today’s business world is characterized by its constant rapidly changing environment, facing a very competitive economic context, making it crucial for the achievement of business success to understand, timely, what drives its results, namely its performance. Organizational performance may be affected by several number of variables and the understanding of these variables are decisive for business management. This research aims to address and measure organizational performance, understanding if and how much it is influenced by organizational culture, as well as if employee work engagement mediates the mentioned relationship. Methodology / Approach: We approach the concept of organizational culture and its evolution over time, ending up by specifically addressing it according to the competing values framework (Quinn & Rohrbaugh, 1983) and measuring it through the instrument “Focus Questionnaire” (Van Muijen et al., 1999). Organizational performance is conceptually introduced and its strategic importance to the general success of the company is duly framed. In order to assess organizational performance, we use a measurement instrument developed by Delaney and Huselid (1996). The literature evidences that employee work engagement effectively mediates the mentioned relationship, which within this framework we assess according to the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli et al., 2002). The assessment of the referred tripartite influential relationship is accomplished through the formulation and testing of a research question, which is “Do organizational culture types influence organizational performance and is this influence mediated by employee work engagement?”, through the respective four sub research questions. For that purpose, we applied a questionnaire, composed by the three measurement instruments previously introduced, preceded by a pre-test procedure, to a sample composed by security professionals, receiving a total of 629 valid answers. Conclusions / Results: Our results evidence that culture positively and significantly influences both organizational performance and employee work engagement, which is aligned with the results of a variety of other researches on this topic, as well as that employee work engagement partially mediates the influence of all organizational culture types on organizational performance. Research implications: Managers who seek to achieve high levels of organizational performance shall understand and address organizational culture, being aware of the mediating effect that employee work engagement has on that influential relationship. Specifically considering a population composed by professionals that are responsible for the security of our organizations, it is critical to adapt the cultural context in which those individuals are inserted. As now known, clan culture, followed by hierarchy culture, are the cultural types that have a higher effect on organizational performance, being positively influenced by high levels of employee work engagement. Originality: This specific interactional relationship of organizational culture effect on organizational performance, mediated by employee work engagement, applied to this specific business sector, has never been address before.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Eficiência do comprimento relativo de raiz seminal (CRRS) na avaliação de plantas individuais para tolerância ao alumínio em milho.

xSuplemento. Edição dos resumos do 43º Congresso Nacional de Genética