Preparação da empresa Qualidade+ para a certificação segundo a NP ISO 9001:2008

Mestrado em Empreendedorismo e Inovação na Indústria Alimentar na Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão do Instituto Politécnico de Viana do CasteloAs pessoas estão cada vez mais conscientes da Qualidade e esperam que os produtos, bens ou serviços adquiridos satisfaçam as mais altas exigências de qualidade. O objetivo comum a todas as empresas é fornecer soluções para as necessidades dos seus clientes, sendo que o sucesso resultará de fazê-lo de modo a satisfazer o cliente. Assumir o compromisso com a Qualidade é uma atitude vencedora da empresa, tornando-a mais competitiva e orientada para a melhoria contínua dos produtos/serviços e para a satisfação das exigências dos consumidores, em constante mudança. Este trabalho tem por objectivo a implementação de um sistema de gestão da Qualidade baseado na norma ISO 9001:2008 na empresa Qualidade+, para a sua posterior certificação. A adopção do Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade foi uma decisão estratégica e voluntária da organização. Para isso, foram definidos os processos da Qualidade+ e criados/adaptados vários documentos escritos (procedimentos, registos, manual da qualidade, matrizes de processos, etc.), tendo por referência os requisitos da norma ISO 9001:2008, onde constam os princípios gerais da sua implementação, tendo por base os processos definidos. A posterior certificação, foi considerada uma mais valia para a empresa, ou seja, foi pensada no sentido da melhoria da imagem, acesso a novos mercados, melhoria do desempenho operacional e uma nova cultura com a sensibilização e motivação dos colaboradores.People are increasingly aware of and expect meet quality of products, and services purchased meet the highest requirements. The common goal of all businesses is to provide solutions to the needs of its customers, and that success will result from doing so in order to satisfy the customer. Commitment to Quality is a winning attitude from the company making it more competitive and oriented towards continuous improvement of products / services and to meet consumer demands, changing. This work paper aims at implementing a Quality Management System based on ISO 9001:2008 Quality + in the company, to its subsequent certification. The adoption of the Quality Management System was a strategic decision and voluntary organization. For this, the processes were defined Quality + and created / adapted several written documents (procedures, records, quality manual, procedures arrays, etc..), With reference to the requirements of ISO 9001:2008, which contains the general principles its implementation, based on defined processes. The subsequent certification, was considered an asset to the company, or was thought towards improving the image, access to new markets, improve operational performance and culture with a new awareness and motivation

Early stages in the entrepreneurship nexus: Business opportunities and individual characteristics

This thesis focuses on the individual-opportunity nexus in the early stages of the entrepreneurship process, and includes five empirical studies. The aim of Study 1 was to contribute to the explanation of cognitive maps during the early stages of entrepreneurship. Results suggest that individuals with greater entrepreneurial experience have richer, clearer and simpler cognitive maps. Study 2 sought to obtain evidence concerning the basic dimensions included in cognitive prototypes pertaining to opportunity recognition and decision to launch a new venture. For the “business opportunity” prototype these are utility and distinctiveness while for the decision to launch a new venture, the basic dimensions are feasibility and motivational aspects. The two studies mentioned above focused on the opportunity side of the nexus. For the individual side of the nexus, we focused on the entrepreneurial potential construct applied in different contexts. With Study 3, we put forward a theoretical model for the entrepreneurial potential construct. Through six research steps, this study presented the development of the Entrepreneurial Potential Assessment Inventory, which can be used to measure the entrepreneurial potential construct. Study 4 aimed to analyse the predictive capacity of entrepreneurial potential profiling among entrepreneurial team members. Our results showed that, in a venture competition context, the teams with higher results in socio-psychological aspects became finalists. Study 5 presented a methodology for the selection of potential entrepreneurs for an entrepreneurship promotion program. The main results showed that individual and business opportunity characteristics are critical dimensions. Based on these empirical studies, this thesis also describes valuable tools that can contribute towards fostering entrepreneurship in Portugal.Esta tese focaliza-se no nexus indivíduo-oportunidade durante as fases iniciais do processo empreendedor e apresenta cinco estudos empíricos. O estudo 1 contribui para compreender a evolução dos mapas cognitivos nas fases iniciais do processo empreendedor. Os resultados mostram que os indivíduos com uma maior experiência empreendedora apresentam estruturas cognitivas mais ricas, claras e simples. O estudo 2 desenvolve um modelo bi-dimensional do processo de reconhecimento de oportunidades e da consequente decisão de lançar o negócio. Os resultados sugerem que o protótipo de oportunidade de negócio inclui duas dimensões: utilidade e distintividade. Por sua vez, o protótipo da decisão para fundar o negócio inclui os aspetos relacionados com a fiabilidade e com a motivação para lançar o negócio. O estudo 3 apresenta o modelo teórico do potencial empreendedor, e o desenvolvimento do Inventário de Avaliação do Potencial Empreendedor. O estudo 4 analisa a capacidade preditiva do potencial empreendedor entre equipas empreendedoras. Os resultados sugerem que, no contexto de um concurso de empreendedorismo, as equipas com resultados mais elevados nas dimensões psicossociais do potencial empreendedor foram selecionadas como vencedoras. O estudo 5 apresenta uma metodologia para a seleção de empreendedores num programa de promoção do empreendedorismo, e os resultados mostram que algumas das dimensões do potencial empreendedor e as características da oportunidade de negócio são críticas para a seleção. Com base nestas evidências empíricas, esta tese apresenta instrumentos com aplicação prática que podem vir a contribuir para o desenvolvimento do empreendedorismo em Portugal

Aportaciones científicas para el uso de suplementos dietéticos. Un estudio de caso en plantas hepatoprotectoras

[ES]Una alimentación suficiente y equilibrada es fundamental para mantener las funciones vitales, prevenir enfermedades y envejecer de manera saludable. Sin embargo, hay casos en los que no es posible alimentarse adecuadamente, ya sea por motivos de tipo médico (anorexia, náuseas y vómitos, disfunción gastrointestinal, incapacidad física o para alimentarse uno mismo, entre otros) o ambiental (calidad de alimentos inadecuada, insuficiente disponibilidad, patrones de comidas irregulares, etc.), o por existir alteraciones en las necesidades de nutrientes (p.ej., situaciones clínicas particulares o aumento del gasto energético). Por esas u otras razones, como pueden ser mantener el estado general de salud, mejorar el aspecto, aumentar el rendimiento físico o retrasar la aparición de enfermedades relacionadas con la edad, el uso de suplementos dietéticos ha aumentado notablemente en las últimas décadas. Este tipo de productos son cada vez más utilizados como complementos en su alimentación por personas sanas, al ser percibidos como “naturales” y seguros, aunque su uso más prevalente es por parte de pacientes hospitalizados o con riesgo de hospitalización, sometidos a medicación o con patología crónicas, así como por personas de edad. Entre sus diversas aplicaciones, se encuentran la pérdida de peso, tratamiento de diabetes, demencias, deterioro cognitivo, hiperplasia prostática, epilepsia o problemas gastrointestinales, o mejora en la función sexual, ósea y de articulaciones. El creciente interés en los suplementos dietéticos ha dado lugar a la producción y comercialización de una amplia gama de formulaciones que contienen vitaminas, minerales, preparados de hierbas o ingredientes similares, y facilitado su distribución con libre disponibilidad por cauces diversos, como farmacias, tiendas naturistas, grandes superficies, Internet e incluso en el mercado negro

Microencapsulation technology: a powerful tool for human embryonic stem cells expansion and cryopreservation

Dissertation presented to obtain a Master degree in Biotechnology at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaHuman embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are known by their ability to either self-renewal and differentiate into any adult cell type. These properties confer to hESCs a huge applicability for cell therapy, tissue engineering and drug screening. However, successful implementation of hESCs-based technologies requires the production of large numbers of well characterized cells and their efficient long-term storage. In this study, alginate microencapsulation technology was used in order to develop an efficient, scalable and integrated 3D culture system for expansion and cryopreservation of pluripotent hESCs. Three strategies were outlined: microencapsulation of hESCs as single cells, cell aggregates and cells immobilized on microcarriers. Encapsulation of hESCs immobilized on microcarriers was the best strategy to expand and cryopreserve pluripotent hESCs. The culture of encapsulated hESCs-microcarriers in spinner vessels assured an approximately 20-fold increase in cell concentration. Moreover, this strategy improved twice cell survival after cryopreservation by a slow-freezing rate procedure, comparatively with non-encapsulated culture. Microencapsulation also protected hESC aggregates from damage caused by stirring, allowed the control of aggregates size and the maintenance of cells pluripotency for two weeks. This work demonstrates that microencapsulation technology is a powerful tool to enhance growth and post-thawing recovery of pluripotent hESCs. The 3D culture systems developed herein represent a promising vehicle to assist the transition of hESCs to the clinical and industrial fields.This work was performed in the scope of the project - Integrated strategy for expansion, neuronal differentiation and cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells (PTDC/BIO/72755/2006) funded by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

Bioprocessing of human Pluripotent Stem Cells for cardiac cell therapy and pre-clinical research

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Some of these diseases, e.g. myocardial infarction (MI), are associated with a massive and permanent loss of cardiomyocytes (CMs), a non-proliferative and terminally differentiated cell population in the heart. Available pharmacological and interventional therapies are not suitable to amend the effects of this cell loss, mainly due to the limited regenerative capacity of the myocardium, and heart transplantation is limited by the number of compatible organs donated. Recently, human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), have emerged as attractive candidate cell sources to obtain CMs. Due to their inherent capacity to proliferate indefinitely and to differentiate into all mature cells of the human body, hPSCs constitute the unique cell source that can provide, ex-vivo, an unlimited number of functional CMs suitable for cell therapy and other applications including disease modeling and cardiotoxicity drug testing. Nonetheless, the complex nets of signaling pathways involved in cardiomyogenesis as well as the line-to-line variability compromise the effectiveness of the existing differentiation protocols to reproducibly produce high-quality CM from multiple hPSC lines. The immature phenotype of the produced hPSC-CMs and the lack of efficient methods for worldwide shipment of these cells also constrain the applicability of these cells in the clinic and industry. The main aim of this thesis was to devise robust, scalable and integrated approaches for the production and maturation of hPSC-CMs. The strategy consisted in exploring the impact of environmental factors, cell culture configuration, and metabolic substrate availability on bioprocess yields and cell’s quality using a set of “-omic” tools, namely transcriptomics, metabolomics and fluxomics, and cell characterization assays. In Chapter 1, the recent advances on the use of hPSC for cardiac cell therapy were reviewed. In Chapter 2, the effect of dissolved oxygen and bioreactor hydrodynamics on CM differentiation was explored. It was demonstrated that combining a hypoxia culture (4% O2 tension) with wave-induced agitation enables the differentiation of iPSCs towards CMs at faster kinetics and with higher yields. Chapter 3 focused on the development and characterization of a robust protocol for directed differentiation of hPSC towards CMs, suitable to generate CMs in both 2D monolayer and 3D aggregate culture formats. The culture of hPSC-cardiac progenitors as 3D aggregates revealed to be an efficient approach to improve CM enrichment and commitment. Although hPSC-CMs generated from both methods revealed to be highly glycolytic, 3D aggregate cultures showed slightly improved metabolic energetics (including increased TCA-cycle activity and ATP production). Chapter 4 assessed whether alterations in hPSC-CM culture medium composition to mimic in vivo substrate availability during cardiac development would induce hPSC-CM maturation in vitro. It was demonstrated that shifting hPSC-CMs from glucose-containing to galactose- and fatty acid-containing media promotes their maturation into adult-like CMs with higher oxidative metabolism, transcriptional signatures closer to ventricular CMs, higher myofibril density and alignment, improved calcium handling, enhanced contractility, and more physiological action potential kinetics, within 10-20 days. The feasibility to cold store hPSC-CMs monolayers and aggregates in a fully-defined clinical compatible formulation was evaluated in Chapter 5. It was demonstrated that hPSC-CMs are more resistant to prolonged hypothermic storage–induced cell injury in 3D aggregates than in 2D monolayers, showing high cell recoveries, typical (ultra)structure and functionality after 7 days of storage. Chapter 6 consists of a general discussion, where the main scientific and technological outcomes of this thesis are outlined. Overall, by pursuing an holistic approach that brought together a quantitative molecular and metabolic characterization, this thesis provides novel insights into the interaction of metabolism and CM differentiation/maturation but also establishes robust and scalable methods for production, functional maturation and short-term storage of hPSC-CMs. This will pave the way for the widespread application of hPSC-CMs in clinical and preclinical applications

Fire risk assessment in old urban areas: Coimbra old town

The fire risk assessment in old urban areas is a matter of concern both for those responsible for civil protection, and also for all inhabitants. These concerns range from the degradation of the old structures, bad electrical facilities, absence of detection systems and fire-fighting systems, lack of access for fire fighters’ vehicles, amongst others. Another major concern is that these urban centers present great heritage and cultural values. This study is based on a fire risk analysis on the historic old town of Coimbra, which was recently classified as World Heritage by UNESCO. In this study, fire risk assessment methods as GRETENER and ARICA were used with the purpose of obtaining values of the level of fire safety of buildings. After this analysis and knowing the results of methods, this study also aimed to point out measures to be implemented to improve the fire safety in the studied area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

a forced-choice identification study with Hungarian native speakers

UIDB/03213/2020 UIDP/03213/2020 2020.05740.BDAuditory perceptual experiments with Portuguese L2 are scarce, especially within the scope of the European variety (EP). In this study, we aim at observing the assimilation of the EP vowels [ɐ] and [ɨ] by Hungarian native speakers, and their perceptual learning after some contact with Portuguese. A multiple forced-choice identification experiment was run with two groups of Hungarian speakers – a group with and a group without previous contact with EP. The results show that the categorization fell into the closest phonetic categories of the L1. The results also indicate a learning effect for [ɨ], with a recategorization path from [y] to [ø]. As for [ɐ], no major differences were observed between groups. This result is consistent with difficulties observed in the classroom environment, where [ɐ] is particularly challenging to Hungarian learners.authorsversioninpres

School population perception to risk in Freixo de Espada à Cinta

Este estudo tem como objetivos principais a avaliação da perceção do risco da população escolar de Freixo de Espada à Cinta e a sua comparação com o grau de risco efetivo avaliado na matriz de riscos do Plano Municipal de Emergência de Proteção Civil (PMEPC). Neste trabalho foram considerados exemplos de riscos naturais, mistos e tecnológicos. A avaliação da perceção do risco da população escolar (alunos do 3º ciclo do ensino básico e do ensino secundário) realizou-se com 83 inquéritos (78% dos alunos). Os inquéritos organizaram-se em três blocos de questões sobre o espaço escola: (i) questões pessoais e socioeconómicas do inquirido; (ii) avaliação do sentimento de segurança no dia-a-dia; (iii) avaliação da preocupação do inquirido em relação aos riscos naturais, mistos e tecnológicos e da perceção da frequência de ocorrência dos riscos. O grau de risco foi obtido com base na matriz de risco do respetivo PMEPC. Esta matriz de risco utiliza a metodologia da Autoridade Nacional de Proteção Civil para a avaliação do grau de risco do município, baseando-se no cruzamento da probabilidade de ocorrência de um perigo com a gravidade que o mesmo representa para diferentes elementos expostos (população, ambiente e socio-economia). Os resultados mostram que a preocupação do risco da população inquirida varia entre as classes de preocupação mais baixa para as ondas de calor/vagas de frio e preocupação mais elevada no caso dos sismos. Os resultados de perceção contrastam com a incidência espacial destes riscos no município, porque segundo a matriz de risco do PMEPC as ondas de calor, vagas de frio, cheias e inundações, movimentos de massa e os incêndios florestais têm um risco elevado, enquanto os sismos têm um risco baixo. Em conclusão os resultados da perceção de riscos deste trabalho destacam 4 dimensões psicológicas, sociais e culturais dos alunos inquiridos: (i) noções de conforto climático face situações climáticas extremas; (ii) limitada vivência dos riscos naturais, mistos e tecnológicos pelo fato dos inquiridos serem jovens e terem vivido poucas experiências de risco; (iii) a vivência urbana; e (iv) importância da educação formal no desenvolvimento das perceções de risco.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

AcademiaUP: Empowering Distance Education at University of Porto

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for online. University of Porto (U.Porto), established an unit of Educational Technologies 20 years ago and after an accumulated experience in providing an Learning Management Systems (LMS) to support face-to-face teaching and learning (T&L), in 2016, the U.Porto developed AcademiaUP, a portal and a LMS platform for the delivery of e-learning and blended learning courses. Based on LMS Moodle, AcademiaUP considers the specificities of deployment and creation of distance education contents and materials, as well as the target audience characteristics. Moodle was chosen because our acquired experience but also for its maturity, for being open source and fully customizable and for a large support community.AcademiaUP, has an extensively customized interface and technical infrastructure. It integrates with external tools, BigBlueButton to better respond to synchronous online communication and Panopto for lecture capture and video production. AcademiaUP uses new plugins and a new theme to improve usability and enable a more suitable navigation for formal and non-formal T&L environments - sequential content delivery and contextual presentation of activities and resources. When designing the new LMS for AcademiaUP we were inspired in Coursera Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) approach for the marketing of the courses and in Open2Study for the delivering of the courses. All changes, however, avoided altering Moodle's core code, allowing for easier upgrades whenever newer Moodle versions are available.For the future, we intend to integrate AcademiaUP with the University information system to improve consistency of courses and users essential to accreditation procedures and quality assurance