Banks’ capital, regulation and the financial crisis

This paper investigates whether regulatory capital requirements play an important role in determining banks’ equity capital. We estimate equity capital regressions using panel data of a sample of 560 banks for 2004-2010. Our results suggest that regulatory capital requirements are not first order determinants of banks’ capital structure. We document differences on the effect of most factors on banks’ share of equity according to the type of bank and to the region of the bank. Finally, we show that the determinants of this share are sensitive to the recent international financial crisis and to a set of regulatory country factors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of a processed cereal food fortified with iodíne

Trabalho complementar (Trabalho de Investigação) realizado no âmbito da Unidade Curricular Estágio da Licenciatura em Ciências da Nutrição da Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto, sob orientação de Professora Doutora Olívia Maria de Castro Pinho (Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto) e coorientação de Prof.ª Doutora Bela Franchini (Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto) e Dr.ª Maria Cristina Duarte Teixeira Santos (Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto)Resumo da tese: Uma ingestão deficiente ou excessiva de iodo pode resultar em sérios problemas patológicos, maioritariamente relacionados com o metabolismo da glândula tiróide, o que pode representar uma ameaça direta para o Homem. Assim é importante que a ingestão deste mineral seja adequada, de acordo com a ingestão diária recomendada. Deste modo, foi objetivo deste estudo desenvolver um produto cerealífero processado fortificado com iodo, sem recorrer à utilização de sal iodado, como medida profilática de combate à deficiência em iodo. Foram formuladas quatro receitas de bolachas na totalidade. As diferentes receitas continham um nível crescente de iodeto de potássio nomeadamente, 0,5; 0,75 e 1mg por 100g de farinha, enquanto a uma destas não foi adicionado iodeto de potássio. O iodo foi determinando por cromatografia líquida de elevada performance com par iónico em fase reversa e deteção em ultravioleta, um método simples, prático e sensível. A preparação da amostra foi realizada através de um método de cinzas em meio alcalino, obtendo-se uma recuperação de extração média de 77,1%. A concentração de iodo encontrada nas bolachas foi substancialmente menor do que a concentração de iodo adicionado, visto que a sua recuperação média nas três receitas distintas foi de 6,3% 7,7% e 7,9%, respetivamente.Thesis abstract: Deficient or excessive iodine dietary intake can result in serious pathology problems, mostly in relation with thyroid gland metabolism which may represent a direct threat to the human being. Therefore it is important that the intake of this mineral is adequate according to the recommended daily intake. It was the aim of this study to develop a processed cereal food fortified with iodine such as a prophylactic measure to combat iodine deficiency without using iodized salt. A total of four recipes of sweet biscuits were formulated. Different recipes contain increasing levels of potassium iodide, to be precise 0.5, 0.75 and 1mg per 100g flour and one of them didn´t have any addition of potassium iodide. The iodine was determined by an ion-pair reversed-phase HPLC with ultraviolet detection, a simple, practical and sensitive method. Sample preparation was done by alkaline dry ashing, and therefore a mean extraction recovery of iodine of 77.1% was obtained. The iodine concentration found in the sweet biscuits was substantially lower than the iodine concentration added. The mean recovery of iodine at the three different recipes was 6.3% 7.7% and 7.9%, respectively. verified

The Interpretation of Verbal Probability Expressions Used in the IAS/IFRS: Some Portuguese Evidence

One of the main arguments in favour of the adoption and convergence with the international accounting standards published by the IASB (i.e. IAS/IFRS) is that these will allow comparability of financial reporting across countries. However, because these standards use verbal probability expressions (e.g. “probable”) they require professional accountants to interpret and classify the probability of an outcome or event taking into account those terms and expressions and to best decide in terms of financial reporting. This paper reports part of a research on the interpretation of verbal probability expressions used in the IAS/IFRS by the auditors registered with the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM). This analysis was made “in isolation”, that is, without considering a context. The findings show that these terms and expressions are differently perceived by the auditors. Thus the paper provides evidence that suggests that it is fair to review the use of verbal probability expressions in accounting standards, namely the IAS/IFRS

Ecohydraulics of pool-type fishways for the Iberian Barbal (Luciobarbus Bocagei Steindachner, 1864)

Doutoramento em Engenharia Florestal - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaThis study analyses the impact of different hydraulic conditions on the Iberian barbel’s upstream movements in a pool-type fishway. Developed in an experiment pool-type fishway prototype and including fish of different sizes, this study investigates: i) the efficiency of passage through submerged orifices or notches; ii) the effect of velocity, turbulence and Reynolds shear stress on this species’ behaviour; iii) the suitability of straight and offset orifices to fish’s passage and, finally, iv) the efficiency of offset and straight orifices with a deflector bar for this specimens’ movements. The fishways was found to be efficient to the upstream passage of this species. Submerged orifices were preferentially used by specimens, mainly by small fish which, although their higher rheotatic capacity, showed strong difficulties to pass through the fishway. The behaviour of the latter was also the most affected by turbulence and Reynolds shear stress, which seemed to be the variables affecting fish’ movements the most. Straight orifices were found not be adequate to fish passage, even when added of a deflector bar. The results are discussed in terms of future research delineation

Unspliced Precursors of NMD-Sensitive β-Globin Transcripts Exhibit Decreased Steady-State Levels in Erythroid Cells.

This work was partially supported by Fundac¸a˜o para a Cieˆncia e a Tecnologia [Programa de Financiamento Plurianual do Centro de Investigac¸a˜o em Gene´tica Molecular Humana (CIGMH) and Center for Biodiversity, Functional and Integrative Genomics (BioFIG)]. AM, FA and ALS were supported by fellowships from Fundac¸a˜o para a Cieˆncia e a Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/31920/2006, PRAXIS XXI/BPD/18880/98 and SFRH/BD/8351/2002, respectively). No additional external funding was received for this study. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip.Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a quality control mechanism that detects and rapidly degrades mRNAs carrying premature translation-termination codons (PTCs). Mammalian NMD depends on both splicing and translation, and requires recognition of the premature stop codon by the cytoplasmic ribosomes. Surprisingly, some published data have suggested that nonsense codons may also affect the nuclear metabolism of the nonsense-mutated transcripts. To determine if nonsense codons could influence nuclear events, we have directly assessed the steady-state levels of the unspliced transcripts of wild-type and PTC-containing human β-globin genes stably transfected in mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cells, after erythroid differentiation induction, or in HeLa cells. Our analyses by ribonuclease protection assays and reverse transcription-coupled quantitative PCR show that β-globin pre-mRNAs carrying NMD-competent PTCs, but not those containing a NMD-resistant PTC, exhibit a significant decrease in their steady-state levels relatively to the wild-type or to a missense-mutated β-globin pre-mRNA. On the contrary, in HeLa cells, human β-globin pre-mRNAs carrying NMD-competent PTCs accumulate at normal levels. Functional analyses of these pre-mRNAs in MEL cells demonstrate that their low steady-state levels do not reflect significantly lower pre-mRNA stabilities when compared to the normal control. Furthermore, our results also provide evidence that the relative splicing efficiencies of intron 1 and 2 are unaffected. This set of data highlights potential nuclear pathways that might be promoter- and/or cell line-specific, which recognize the NMD-sensitive transcripts as abnormal. These specialized nuclear pathway(s) may be superimposed on the general NMD mechanism.publishersversionpublishe

Intervenciones para depresión en jóvenes: de la reducción de síntomas al bienestar y funcionamiento óptimo

Depression is a major public health problem in children and adolescents, which makes the identification and implementation of effective interventions an increasing concern. Therefore, the main aim of this article is to discuss theoretically different psychological interventions for depression. In particular, those focused on psychopathology and depressive symptom reduction and the new interventions based on the positive psychology approach, which focus on optimal functioning and wellbeing. Empirically supported interventions for children and adolescents, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT), have focus on symptom reduction, which represents an incomplete vision of youth functioning. In contrast, interventions based on positive psychology promote a more balanced approach that takes into consideration the negative and positive aspects of experience and aims to enhance well-being. We present and discuss new interventions, such as the Optimal Functioning Therapy for Adolescents, which suggest that the focus of interventions for depressed adolescents should integrate symptom reduction and well-being enhancement to achieve optimal functioning. Helping young people be happier and more engaged in their lives is part of a new perspective for clinical psychology practice.La depresión es un problema de salud pública importante en niños y adolescentes, lo que hace que identificar e implementar intervenciones efectivas para su tratamiento sea de creciente interés. Por lo tanto, el objetivo principal de este artículo es discutir teóricamente diferentes intervenciones psicológicas para la depresión. En particular, las que se abordan la psicopatología, la reducción de los síntomas depresivos y las nuevas intervenciones basadas en el enfoque de la psicología positiva, que se centran en el funcionamiento óptimo y el bienestar de la persona. Intervenciones con respaldo empírico para los niños y adolescentes, como la terapia cognitivo-conductual (TCC) y la terapia interpersonal (IPT), tienen un enfoque de reducción de síntomas, lo que representa una visión incompleta de funcionamiento en la juventud. En contraste, las intervenciones basadas en la psicología positiva promueven una aproximación más equilibrada que contempla los aspectos negativos y positivos de la experiencia y tiene como objetivo mejorar el bienestar. En el artículo, se presentan y discuten intervenciones nuevas, como la Terapia del Funcionamiento Óptimo Terapia para Adolescentes, que sugieren que el enfoque de las intervenciones para los adolescentes con depresión debería integrar la reducción de síntomas y la mejora de su bienestar para lograr un funcionamiento óptimo. Ayudar a que los jóvenes sean más felices y más comprometidos en sus vidas es parte de una nueva perspectiva para la práctica de la psicología clínica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Divergências entre a contabilidade e a fiscalidade: a perspetiva dos Contabilistas Certificados

A relação entre a contabilidade e a fiscalidade, tal como o grau de conformidade e divergências entre elas, tem sido alvo de grande controvérsia quer a nível nacional, quer a nível internacional. Estando as diferenças entre os dois normativos e, consequentemente, a problemática da relação entre a contabilidade e a fiscalidade fortemente relacionadas com as diferenças nos objetivos de cada uma das disciplinas, bem como com a influência que uma pode exercer sobre a outra. Neste âmbito, pretende-se identificar e analisar as principais divergências entre as normas contabilísticas e as normas fiscais e entender o que é, maioritariamente, feito em Portugal em cada situação de divergência analisada, se são utilizadas as normas fiscais ou as normas contabilísticas, bem como se existe influência da fiscalidade nas práticas contabilísticas. Para este efeito e, como em Portugal grande parte das empresas recorre à contabilidade em regime de outsourcing, ou seja, recorrem aos serviços de Contabilistas Certificados externos à empresa, pretendo-mos entender o que é feito por estes através de questionários feitos aos mesmos, avaliando desta forma qual o normativo escolhido pelos Contabilistas Certificados em diversas situações que exigem o seu julgamento profissional, bem como qual a opinião dos mesmo relativamente à influência que o normativo fiscal tem nas práticas contabilísticas. As principais conclusões deste estudo mostram que em diversas situações os Contabilistas Certificados optam pela utilização das normas fiscais na preparação das Demonstrações Financeiras, revelando, também, que a fiscalidade tem uma forte influência nas práticas contabilísticas e na atividade dos Contabilistas Certificados.The relationship between accounting and taxation, as well as the degree of conformity and divergences between them, has been the subject of great controversy both nationally and internationally. The differences between the two regulations and, consequently, the problem of the relationship between accounting and taxation are strongly related to the difference in the objectives of each of the disciplines, as well as to the influence that one can exert on the other. In this context, we intend to identify and analyze the main divergences between accounting standards and tax standards and understand what is mostly done in Portugal in each situation of divergence analyzed, whether tax or accounting standards are used, as well as whether there is any influence of taxation on the accounting practices. For this purpose, and since in Portugal most companies use outsourced accounting, as in, they use the services of Certified Accountants from outside the company, we intend to understand what is done by them through questionnaires made to them, thus evaluating the normative chosen by Certified Accountants in several situations that require their professional judgment, as well as their opinion concerning the influence that tax norms have on accounting practices. The main conclusions of this study show that in several situations Certified Accountants choose to use tax norms in the preparation of Financial Statements, also revealing that taxation has a strong influence on accounting practices and on the activity of Certified Accountants

Desenvolvimento de uma estratégia de comunicação digital para a promoção da marca de uma empresa B2B

Mestrado em Comunicação MultimédiaVivemos num período de grandes e rápidas alterações sociais. O desenvolvimento das tecnologias da comunicação e informação resultou em grandes mudanças na sociedade, sendo a mais evidente o facto de o acesso à internet ser hoje uma regra e não uma exceção. Este facto faz com que as empresas alterem a forma como distribuem a sua mensagem adaptando-se assim a um mundo mais digital. Apesar de muitas empresas business-toconsumer (B2C) já adotarem estratégias de comunicação mais digitais na promoção da sua marca, o mesmo não se verifica nas empresas businessto- business (B2B). É neste sentido que nasce o propósito desta investigação, que consiste em aplicar as estratégias de comunicação digital de empresas B2C num contexto B2B e analisar quais as que produzem melhores resultados. A metodologia seguida para o efeito foi a análise de várias estratégias de comunicação digital de empresas B2C e adaptá-las posteriormente à empresa B2B em estudo. Foram feitas análises quantitativas e qualitativas às várias estratégias implementadas de maneira a compreender o seu impacto na promoção marca da empresa. Apesar dos resultados em relação à problemática não terem sido conclusivos, foi possível concluir que, no inicio da sua implementação, uma estratégia de comunicação digital tem um grande impacto na comunicação interna da empresa.We live in a time of big and quick social changes. The development of the information and communication technologies has resulted in major changes in the society, being the most evident the fact that Internet access is now a rule and not an exception. This makes companies change the way they distribute their message thus adapting to a more digital world. Although many business-toconsumer (B2C) companies are already adopting a more digital strategy in promoting their brand, the same isn’t true to business-to-business (B2B) companies. The purpose of this investigation is to apply digital communication strategies usual used in B2C companies in a B2B context. The methodology followed to meet this purpose was the analysis of several digital communication strategies of B2C companies and then adapting them to the B2B company under study. Quantitative and qualitative analyzes were carried out on the various strategies implemented to see their impact on the brand. Although the results were not conclusive, it was possible to conclude that, at the beginning of its implementation, a digital communication strategy has a great impact on the internal communication of the company