Strategic Interaction in Local Fiscal Policy: Evidence from Portuguese Municipalities

This paper aims at testing the degree of interaction between Portuguese municipalities’ expenditure levels by estimating a dynamic panel model, based on jurisdictional reaction functions. The analysis is performed for all 278 Portuguese mainland municipalities from 1986 to 2006, using alternative ways to measure neighbourhood. Results indicate that local governments’ spending decisions are significantly influenced by the actions of neighbouring municipalities. For total expenditures, there is evidence that a 10% increase in nearby municipalities’ expenditures boosts expenditures in a given municipality by around 3.8%.spending interactions, local government, spatial econometrics, dynamic panel data

VR Exergames for ocular diseases diagnosis

According to the World Health Organization, in 2011 there were about 314 million people with impaired vision, due either to ocular diseases or uncorrected ocular errors. Around 45 million people, of these 314 million, are blind. About 75% of all blindness and visual impairment cases caused by these diseases are avoidable. There are already some practical and relatively cheap tools to make this diagnosis, but all of them are intrusive, which doesn’t make them too attractive. To solve this issue, we thought of a non-intrusive way to diagnose eye problems. So we created a Virtual Reality exergame, EyeCare, that tests users’ vision, while they are having fun playing it. This exergame is meant to be played by teenagers and young adults, using only a smartphone and Virtual Reality visor. EyeCare consists in a game where users have to complete several puzzles to escape the forest. The users play the puzzles to assess their astigmatism, contrast sensitivity, color blindness, and peripheral vision. In the end, the results are given to the users as problems that they may have. With this solution, our goal is to diagnose diseases early enough, so they can be monitored, and thus reducing the number of people with impaired vision and blindness

Update on demographic and genetic parameters of a captive population of threatened Saharawi dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas neglecta)

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina VeterináriaBetween 1970 and 1975, 72 (36♂.36♀) Saharawi dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas neglecta) arrived in Finca Experimental la Hoya, Almería, southeast Spain. They were the founding individuals of a captive breeding programme, now managed as an European Endangered species Programme, currently with 236 (104.132) living individuals distributed among 12 institutions. Previous demographic and genetic assessment of this population was published in 2002 (Abáigar, 2002). An updated analysis was commended, ultimately motivated by the recent establishment of in situ reintroductions in Senegal. Besides the inclusion of the last 14 years of studbook data, this is the first thorough study to use the software programmes Population Modelling, ENDOG and SplitsTree4 for this taxon. The census history shows an overall increasing population, consistent with the incorporation of more institutions in the programme, although a tendency towards a stationary population is observed since 2010. Such tendency is corroborated by the current demographic parameters of annual growth rate (1.058), instantaneous rate of change (0.056) and net reproductive rate (1.283). Age-specific life table parameters show higher mortality rate, fecundity rate and reproductive value in males in almost all age-classes in contrast with higher survival rate and life expectancy in females. Sex and age structure of the global living population is close to pyramidal shape, as would occur in demographically stable populations. Plotting of annual gene diversity and mean inbreeding coefficient shows a positive impact of the incorporation of eight wild-caught individuals in the programme in the 90s. Current genetic parameters are the result of proper reproductive management of threatened species, and are in accordance with standardised targets when planning cooperative metapopulation breeding.RESUMO - Atualização dos parâmetros demográficos e genéticos de uma população em cativeiro de gazela dorcas Saharawi (Gazella dorcas neglecta) - Entre 1970 e 1975, 72 (36♂.36♀) gazelas dorcas Saharawi (Gazella dorcas neglecta) foram transportadas até à Finca Experimental la Hoya, Almería, no sudeste de Espanha. A partir destes indivíduos desenvolveu-se um programa de cria em cativeiro, hoje em dia inserido no âmbito de um European Endangered species Programme, atualmente com 236 (104.132) animais distribuídos por 12 instituições. A mais recente avaliação de cariz demográfico e genético desta população foi publicada em 2002 (Abáigar, 2002). Foi, assim, recomendada a realização de um novo estudo, em parte motivado pelo recente programa de reintrodução in situ levado a cabo no Senegal. Para além da inclusão dos últimos 14 anos de registos do studbook, este é o primeiro estudo completo em que se usaram os software informáticos Population Modelling, ENDOG e SplitsTree4 nesta subespécie. O censo histórico mostra uma população globalmente crescente, consistente com a gradual incorporação de mais instituições no programa de cria, apesar de, desde 2010, ser notória uma tendência para a estabilização. Esta tendência é corroborada pelos parâmetros atuais de taxa anual de crescimento (1,058), taxa intrínseca de crescimento (0,056) e taxa reprodutiva líquida (1,283). As tabelas de vida mostram taxa de mortalidade, taxa de fecundidade e valor reprodutivo mais elevados em machos em praticamente todas as classes etárias, contrastando com taxa de sobrevivência e esperança média de vida superiores em fêmeas. A estrutura de género e idade da população viva aproxima-se a uma forma piramidal, própria de populações demograficamente estáveis. Os gráficos de variação de diversidade genética e de coeficiente de consanguinidade médio ao longo dos anos mostram que a incorporação de oito indivíduos não relacionados, na década de 1990, teve um impacte benéfico em ambos. Os parâmetros genéticos atuais são o resultado de um maneio reprodutivo correcto de uma espécie ameaçada e estão em concordância com os objectivos traçados aquando do planeamento de reprodução conjunta de metapopulações.N/

Implementing energy saving algorithms for Ethernet link aggregates with ONOS

During the last few years, there has been plenty of research for reducing energy consumption in telecommunication infrastructure. However, many of the proposals remain unim-plemented due to the lack of flexibility in legacy networks. In this paper we demonstrate how the software defined networking (SDN) capabilities of current networking equipment can be used to implement some of these energy saving algorithms. In particular, we developed an ONOS application to realize an energy-aware traffic scheduler to a bundle link made up of Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) links between two SDN switches. We show how our application is able to dynamically adapt to the traffic characteristics and save energy by concentrating the traffic on as few ports as possible. This way, unused ports remain in Low Power Idle (LPI) state most of the time, saving energy.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figure

A multiagent based shop floor transportation system simulator

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de ComputadoresCurrently, companies are forced to adapt to new production policies. For example, the creation and development of new means to create customized products with short production cycles and low cost, while maintaining the same levels of productivity and quality. This generated the need for manufacturing systems agile and flexible in order to accommodate the new production policies. The new paradigms of production, boosted by advances in information technology, IT, accept the concept of multi-agent systems and related technologies. The multi-agent systems seek to achieve the development of modules whose individual and collective functions adapt and evolve in order to ensure the suitability of production systems in the treatment of business opportunities volatile but profitable. With the rise of distributed and autonomous components interacting in project execution, traditional simulation tools will become insufficient. This paper presents the implementation of an architecture based in agents and oriented to interactions that implements the concept of simulation and serves as a support for introducing a new simulation tool that has the capability to interconnect with any transportation system able to manage all manufacturing line, and provide a statistical analysis of the system

Telomere biology in metazoa

Tese de doutoramento, Engenharia Biomédica e Biofísica, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2011Telomerase, the enzyme that maintains telomeres, is absent from most adult human somatic cells, producing a progressive telomere shortening that limits the proliferative potential of primary human cell cultures (Shay and Wright 2007). This programmed telomere shortening, replicative aging, functions as a tumor suppressor program that generates a barrier for the outgrowth of tumors. Remarkably, this telomere tumor suppressor program is not conserved in laboratory rats and mice, which have long telomeres and constitutive telomerase (Sherr and DePinho 2000; Wright and Shay 2000). The present study examines over 60 mammalian species to determine the phylogenetic distribution of the telomere tumor suppressor pathway. Phylogeny based statistical analysis demonstrates that telomere length inversely correlates with lifespan but not body size, while telomerase expression inversely correlates with body size but not lifespan. The ancestral mammalian phenotype was determined to have short telomeres and repressed telomerase. At least 5-7 independent times in different orders smaller, shorter lived species changed to having long telomeres and expressing telomerase, suggesting tradeoffs between the advantages and drawbacks of using replicative aging as a tumor suppression mechanism. We show that one advantage is consistent with reducing the energetic/cellular costs of specific oxidative protection mechanism needed to maintain short telomeres. We propose that the telomere tumor suppressor pathway represents an initial adaptation to the increased mutational load of homeothermy by ancestral mammals, has adaptive advantage in large and long-lived animals, but has been abandoned by many species. These observations resolve a longstanding confusion about the use of telomeres in humans and mice, support a role for telomere length in limiting lifespan, provide a critical framework for interpreting studies of the role of oxidative protection in the biology of aging, and identify which mammals can be used as appropriate model organisms for the study of the role of telomeres in human cancer and aging.European Union Programs POCI 2010 & FSE and by national funds from the Portuguese Ministry for Science, Technology and Superior Education ((N.M.V.G); Keck Foundation and the National Institute on Aging (W.E.W. & J.W.S.