Recidivist criminal behaviour and executive functions: a comparative study

This study sought to analyse the relation between executive functions and criminal recidivism. We assessed a set of cognitive abilities associated with executive functioning in a group of recidivist offenders (n = 19), primary offenders (n = 25) and non-offenders (n = 30). Our results, tested with nonparametric statistics and Monte Carlo method, revealed that there were no executive differences between both groups of offenders but, when compared with non-offenders, the recidivists showed a worse performance in Trail Making Test part B, and the primary offenders presented a significant lower score on Porteus Maze Test Age score. This study suggests that there can be a different pattern of executive functioning deficits associated with the offenders’ criminal record: recidivism may be more related to mental flexibility impairments and primary offenders’ antisocial behaviour may be aggravated by planning deficits

A computer vision-based proposal for seat occupancy monitoring applied to FEUP's library

FEUP students frequently find themselves without a proper seating area when seeking the library for their studying efforts. Furthermore, this situation tends to be exacerbated during evaluation periods. As an attempt to minimize this issue, the work for this dissertation will aim to develop a vision-based system, which will allow students and staff: -- to know, in real-time, which seating areas are available or occupied. -- consult an accessible dashboard, containing a complete history, seat mapping, and other relevant statistical data. The solution is two-tiered, the first one dealing with the direct detection of seated people. Though this information could be retrieved through the check-in and -out system already put in place, several instances remain where the students cannot be expected to cooperate fully, creating gaps in the data. For this purpose, there is a need for a low-cost technology (i.e. there are many seating options spread out), which is also non-invasive (i.e. little to no cabling) and of easy maintenance (i.e. low-powered, simple installation). There is a great range of possible methods available for this particular problem, such as a small, dedicated module per seat or table (i.e. microcontroller, IR-sensor, and a wireless communication system). The choice, however, fell upon a vision-based system, which will be able to cover all relevant areas and remain open to changes in layout and detection options. The second tier of the system includes a Web interface, accessible to everyone involved with FEUP, including all relevant information for the everyday activities and management of the building, as previously mentioned. Although many options already exist in the current market and could replicate these very same features (examples: https://tinyurl.com/y23gdt4d, https://floorsen.se/), there are two common disadvantages: a high cost and difficulty of integration with other existing systems, as they are closed and rely on proprietary technology. In this landscape, an opportunity arises to develop a system with truly differentiating characteristics. The work will be done in cooperation with the Serviços da Biblioteca da FEUP

The use of loan loss provisions for earnings management in large european banks. An analysis in pre and post-crisis period

Classificação JEL: G21, M41Esta dissertação examina o uso das perdas por imparidade de crédito na gestão de resultados dos grandes bancos Europeus, contribuindo com uma análise comparativa os periodos antes e pós a crise financeira de 2008. Estudos anteriores revelam que desde a implementação de IFRS, que os bancos são supervisionados com regras contabilisticas mais rigidas de modo a garantir uma maior transparência das suas figuras contabilísticas. As regras de IFRS (nomeadamente a IAS 39) limitam os incentivos de comportamento discrecionário por parte dos bancos, relativamente ao uso de perdas por imparidade de crédito, o principal accrual bancário para gestão de resultados. Usando uma amostra de 58 grandes bancos Europeus para o período de 2006-2012, evidencio que os bancos que reportam de acordo com IFRS, ainda gerem os seus resultados através do reconhecimento acelerado de perdas por imparidade de crédito. Embora esta observação seja evidente antes da crise, no periodo posterior este comportamento é menos pronunciado devido à pro-ciclicidade inerente no modelo de perda incorrida da IAS 39. Por outro lado, no período pós-crise, os bancos tendem a adiar as suas imparidades de crédito o mais tarde possível, de modo a suavizarem os seus resultados positivamente. De um modo geral, este estudo contribui para evidenciar que os grandes bancos Europeus gerem os seus resultados através do reconhecimento acelerado de perdas por imparidade de crédito, quando: estão num período anterior à crise; são mais lucrativos; ou estão mais sub-capitalizados. A análise dos resultados desta dissertação levam-me a questionar se é desejável continuar num modelo de perdas incurridas, ou avançar para um modelo baseado em perdas esperadas.This dissertation examines the use of loan loss provisions for earnings management on large European banks, comparing the period pre and post the 2008 financial crisis. Previous studies show that since the implementation of IFRS, banks are subject to tighter accounting rules to ensure transparency in their accounting figures. The IFRS rules (namely IAS 39) limit banks incentives for having an opportunistic discretionary behavior regarding the use of loan loss provisions, the principal bank accrual for earnings management. Using a sample of 58 large European banks, for the period 2006-2012, I find evidence that banks reporting under IFRS, still engage in earnings management through the accelerated recognition of loan loss provisions. Although this observation is evident before the 2008 financial crisis, in the post-crisis period this behavior is less pronounced, due to the inherent pro-cyclicality of the IAS 39 incurred-loss model. On the other hand, in the post-crisis period banks tend to delay recognition of loan losses until too late in order to smooth income positively. Overall, this study contributes to evidence that large European banks manage earnings through the acceleration of loan loss provisions, when: are in a pre-crisis period; are more profitable; or are under capital-constraints. Results of this research raise questions whether it is desirable to continue supporting an incurred loss model or move towards an expected loss mode

Exploratory data analysis and data envelopment analysis of construction and demolition waste management in the European Economic Area

This paper deals with the efficiency and sustainability of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) management in 30 Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA) (the 28 European Union countries plus Norway and Iceland) for the period 2010-2016 using Exploratory Data Analytics (EDA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The first stage of the proposed methodology is EDA with already available (the CDW recovery rate) and suggested indicators (e.g., building stock characterization, dwelling occupancy ratio, macroeconomic ratios and CDW breakdown) to characterize the efficiency and sustainability of CDW management. The second stage is to assess the efficiency of countries using DEA through two original CDW production models, one for sustainability, measuring the efficiency of the construction sector for reducing itsCDW, and the second a model to score the efficiency of maximizing the CDW recovery rate. The main outcome of the paper is the proposed methodology, which is a candidate for replacing current indicators in order to evaluate the performance of CDW policy, due to is adaptive nature, promoting the continuous improvement and overcoming the limitations of the poor quality of metrics, data and parametric indicators. The methodology has been experimentally validated using Eurostat data for 30 Member States of EEA, ranking them according to the two DEA model scores, to point out the countries considered efficient among those of their scale, as a reference for sustainable and efficient practices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Targeting the tumor microenvironment: An unexplored strategy for mutant KRAS tumors

Current evidence strongly suggests that cancer cells depend on the microenvironment in order to thrive. In fact, signals from the surrounding tumor microenvironment are crucial for cancer cells´ aggressiveness, altering their expression profile and favoring their metastatic potential. As such, targeting the tumor microenvironment to impair cancer progression became an attractive therapeutic option. Interestingly, it has been shown that oncogenic KRAS signaling promotes a pro-tumorigenic microenvironment, and the associated crosstalk alters the expression profile of cancer cells. These findings award KRAS a key role in controlling the interactions between cancer cells and the microenvironment, granting cancer a poor prognosis. Given the lack of effective approaches to target KRAS itself or its downstream effectors in the clinic, exploring such interactions may open new perspectives on possible therapeutic strategies to hinder mutant KRAS tumors. This review highlights those communications and their implications for the development of effective therapies or to provide insights regarding response to existing regimens.This work was supported through FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors (COMPETE 2020), Programa Operacional de Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (Norte 2020), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by National Funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (PTDC/MED-ONC/31354/2017). PDC is a PhD student from Doctoral Program in Pathology and Molecular Genetics from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS) and she is funded through a PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/131156/2017) awarded by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). FM is a PhD student from Doctoral Programme in Biomedicine from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto and she is funded through NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029. ALM is funded through NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012. SV is hired by IPATIMUP under norma transitória do DL n.º 57/2016 alterada pela lei n.º 57/2017. This work was supported through FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors (COMPETE 2020), Programa Operacional de Competitividade e Internacionaliza??o (POCI), Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (Norte 2020), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by National Funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (PTDC/MED-ONC/31354/2017). PDC is a PhD student from Doctoral Program in Pathology and Molecular Genetics from the Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS) and she is funded through a PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/131156/2017) awarded by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). FM is a PhD student from Doctoral Programme in Biomedicine from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto and she is funded through NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000029. ALM is funded through NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012. SV is hired by IPATIMUP under norma transitória do DL n.° 57/2016 alterada pela lei n.° 57/2017

Perfis psicológicos de crianças e jovens em acolhimento residencial

A investigação que aborda as necessidades psicológicas de crianças em AcolhimentoResidencial (AR) tem sido consistente em identificar um padrão de desajustamentopsicológico e sintomatologia de saúde mental. A evidência de padrões de funcionamentopositivo tem sido mais escassa e centrou-se em variáveis especificas, como bem-estarsubjetivo e satisfação com a vida. O presente estudo pretende identificar grupos decrianças/jovens em AR com diferentes perfis de funcionamento psicológico (FP),atendendo, simultaneamente, a características positivas e a sinais específicos dedesajustamento psicológico; explorar a associação entre estes grupos e variáveisindividuais das crianças e contextuais das casas de acolhimento. Participaram nesteestudo 545 crianças/jovens, de ambos os sexos (54.9% são raparigas), com uma idademédia 15.38 anos. Os participantes responderam ao SDQ, YSR, IBP, ESCV, EFS,PANAS, e RSES. Através de uma análise de clusters foram identificados quatro gruposde crianças/jovens em AR com diferentes perfis de FP: Perfil de FP Positivo, Perfil de FPBorderline, Perfil de FP Borderline e Clínico, e Perfil de FP Clínico. Verificaram-se maisrapazes no Perfil de FP Positivo e de FP Clínico, existindo uma tendência para as criançasdo Perfil de FP Positivo estarem acolhidas em casas mistas. Revelaram-se mais raparigasno Perfil de FP Borderline e Clínico, com tendência a estarem acolhidas em casassegregadas. Os resultados do estudo oferecem conhecimento acerca dos diferentes perfispsicológicos das crianças em AR e reforçam ainda a relevância do acolhimento em casasmistas, bem como a importância de adequar melhor o AR às necessidades das raparigas

Um modelo de espada criado pelos portugueses na primeira metade do século XV?

A espada de guarda dupla, dita "espada carangueja", tem sido considerada por todos os especialistas internacionais em armaria como uma invenção dos finais do século XV, com origem naPenínsula Ibérica. O seu uso perdurou até meados do século XVI. A observação de documentosiconográficos portugueses da primeira metade do século XV - três esculturas religiosas e dois túmulos com jacentes e epigrafes datadas -, pôs em evidência que este modelo de espada já existia emPortugal antes da década de 40 do século XV. Estes exemplos sugerem a possibilidade de estemodelo de espada ter sido criado em Portugal na primeira metade do século XV.Up until now, all international arms and armour specialists have considered that swords with doubleguard were created in Iberia in the end of 15th century and used till the middle of 16th century.Five Portuguese iconographic documents, three religious sculptures and two sculptured tombswith dated epigraphic friezes, show that this sword model already existed in Portugal before 1440.These examples suggest that this sword model can possibly have been created in Portugal in thefirst half of the 15th centur