A chain-interactive innovation model for the learning economy: Prelude for a proposal

The implementation of innovation has a central role in the dynamic knowledge economy of the twenty-first century. The ability to assemble new expertise and commercialise new business propositions constitutes one of the central characteristics in today’s globalising, learning-intensive, fast changing economic life. This paper sets out to articulate a stylised understanding of the modern innovation process on the basis of the currently available understanding in the innovation studies tradition. The conceptual model seeks to capture the essential features of organisations engaged in developing dynamic factors of competitiveness.innovation; innovation process; conceptual model

A chain-interactive innovation model for the learning economy: Prelude for a proposal

The implementation of innovation has a central role in the dynamic knowledge economy of the twenty-first century. The ability to assemble new expertise and commercialise new business propositions constitutes one of the central characteristics in today's globalising, learning-intensive, fast changing economic life. This paper sets out to articulate a stylised understanding of the modern innovation process on the basis of the currently available understanding in the innovation studies tradition. The conceptual model seeks to capture the essential features of organisations engaged in developing dynamic factors of competitiveness

Cuidados de enfermagem de reabilitação à pessoa com pneumonia: estudo de caso

Introduction: Pneumonia is a disease where the inflammation of the parenchyma of one or both lungs occurs. It is one of the main reasons for hospitalization due to respiratory disease and is characterized by a restrictive pattern, where there is a decrease in the inspired volume capacity. The treatment of pneumonia is symptomatic and/or pharmacological, depending on the agents involved, and should be complemented with Functional Respiratory Reeducation exercises to optimize ventilation, prevent and correct postural changes, permeabilize the airway and reduce work respiratory. Objective: To identify the contribution of a Functional Respiratory Reeducation program for people with pneumonia. Method: Case Study that respects the Case REport guidelines. A Rehabilitation Nursing program was implemented, aimed at the diagnoses identified according to the foreseen objectives and the needs identified in the initial assessment of the person being cared for. Results: The Functional Respiratory Reeducation techniques used allowed the reduction of symptoms associated with pneumonia, the improvement of exercise capacity and functional capacity, with a subsequent increase in participation in daily life activities and, consequently, an improvement in quality of life. Conclusions: The Rehabilitation Nursing program implemented contributed to the improvement of respiratory function and functionality of the person in the context of acute respiratory disease.Introducción: La neumonía es una enfermedad en la que ocurre la inflamación del parénquima de uno o ambos pulmones. Es uno de los principales motivos de hospitalización por enfermedad respiratoria y se caracteriza por un padrón restrictivo, donde hay una disminución de la capacidad de volumen inspirado. El tratamiento de la neumonía es sintomático y/o farmacológico, dependiendo de los agentes implicados, Y debe complementarse con la realización de ejercicios de Reeducación Respiratoria Funcional para optimizar la ventilación, prevenir y corregir los cambios posturales, permeabilizar la vía aérea y reducir el trabajo respiratorio. Objetivo: Identificar la contribución de un programa de Reeducación Respiratoria Funcional para personas con neumonía. Metodología: Estudio de caso que respeta las pautas del Case REport. Se implementó un programa de Enfermería de Rehabilitación orientado a los diagnósticos identificados según los objetivos esperados y las necesidades identificadas en la valoración inicial de la persona cuidada. Resultados: Las técnicas de Reeducación Funcional Respiratoria utilizadas permitieron la reducción de los síntomas asociados a la neumonía, la mejora de la capacidad de ejercicio ya la capacidad funcional, con un posterior aumento de la participación en actividades de la vida diaria y en consecuencia, una mejora en la calidad de vida. Conclusión: El programa de Enfermería de Rehabilitación implementado contribuyó a mejorar la función y funcionalidad respiratoria de la persona en el contexto de enfermedad respiratoria aguda.Introdução: A pneumonia é uma doença onde ocorre a inflamação do parênquima de um ou ambos os pulmões. É um dos principais motivos de internamento por doença respiratória e caracteriza-se por um padrão restritivo, onde há diminuição na capacidade do volume inspirado. O tratamento da pneumonia é sintomático e/ou farmacológico, em função dos agentes envolvidos, e deve ser complementado com a realização de exercícios de Reeducação Funcional Respiratória para otimizar a ventilação, prevenir e corrigir as alterações posturais, permeabilizar a via aérea e reduzir o trabalho respiratório. Objetivo: Identificar o contributo de um programa de Reeducação Funcional Respiratória dirigido à pessoa com pneumonia. Método: Estudo de Caso que respeita as guidelines Case REport. Foi implementado um programa de Enfermagem de Reabilitação dirigido aos diagnósticos identificados consoante os objetivos previstos e das necessidades identificadas na avaliação inicial da pessoa cuidada. Resultados: As técnicas de Reeducação Funcional Respiratória utilizadas permitiram a redução da sintomatologia associada à pneumonia, a melhoria da capacidade de exercício e da capacidade funcional, com um posterior aumento da participação nas atividades de vida diárias e consequentemente, uma melhoria da qualidade de vida. Conclusão: O programa de Enfermagem de Reabilitação implementado contribuiu para a melhoria da função respiratória e da funcionalidade da pessoa com doença respiratória aguda

Factors affecting SMEs' strategic decisions to approach international markets

[EN] The internationalisation challenges that face all companies are no longer the exclusive concern of multinationals. Participation in the international marketplace has become a reality for large firms and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) alike. This kind of participation can be rewarding for both companies and employees. The markets that SMEs enter and the success of this entry depend on several factors such as cultural differences, company tradition, venture capital, products and competitors. The goal of this study is therefore to understand whether the characteristics of the external market, the characteristics of the company itself and the barriers to internationalisation influence the strategic approach that SMEs adopt in their internationalisation processes. Using data on 320 Portuguese SMEs, we apply multivariate analyses to test the dimensions of internationalisation. We find that the decision of SMEs to internationalise involves an institutional change in response to external pressures in the home country. SMEs under greater institutional pressure not only tend to expand further but also engage in their initial international activities more radically.This work is supported by FEDER funds from COMPETE 2020 and Portuguese funds - PORTUGAL 2020. Project IEcPBI - Interactive Ecosystem for Portuguese Business Internationalization - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032139.Azevedo Lobo, C.; Fernandes, CI.; Ferreira, JJ.; Peris-Ortiz, M. (2020). Factors affecting SMEs' strategic decisions to approach international markets. European J of International Management. 14(4):617-639. https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2020.107607S61763914

Intrathoracic gastric volvulus: an autopsy case report

First described by Berti in 1866, gastric volvulus (GV) is an uncommon and potentially lethal entity. GV occurs when the stomach twists by more than 180º resulting in obstruction of the alimentary tract, visceral ischemia, necrosis, and perforation. It is classified according to the rotation axis in organoaxial, mesenteroaxial or a combination of both. The clinical presentation can be acute, and is usually severe or chronic, which sometimes may be asymptomatic. It predominantly occurs in the fifth decade of life, but children, mainly those under the age of 1 year, may be affected. No ethnicity or gender was observed to show predominance. This entity is related to gastric, diaphragmatic disorders as well as laxity of gastric ligaments. Acute GV may complicate with incarceration and strangulation of the stomach when gastric necrosis ensues. These cases show a mortality rate of 60%. The authors report the fatal case of a surgically treated GV in a 43-year-old female patient who looked for medical care only after 1 month of initial symptoms. Diagnosis was confirmed with a thoracic and abdominal axial computed tomography. Besides the entire stomach being herniated and twisted into the thoracic cavity, the pancreas was pulled up through the hiatal orifice, provoking acute pancreatitis. Because of gastric necrosis and perforation, gastroenteric fluid drained into the mediastinum and left pleural space. The postoperative outcome was unfavorable resulting in the patient’s death. The authors call attention to the severeness of the disease, and therefore the need of precocity of diagnosis and surgical treatment

Gomphrena globosa L. as a novel source of food-grade betacyanins: Incorporation in ice-cream and comparison with beet-root extracts and commercial betalains

Currently, there are some examples of natural colourants with commercial use. However, these colourants are usually under-exploited, besides being obtained from a reduced number of plant or algal species. Accordingly, we propose using betalains obtained from an alternative plant species, Gomphrena globosa, which have a powerful colouring activity besides being strong antioxidants, as a novel ice-cream colourant. For comparison purposes, other ice-cream formulations were prepared, namely without colourants, added with commercial betalain or with Beta vulgaris extract. Besides evaluating the colour parameters L*, a* and b*, the nutritional parameters, individual sugars and fatty acids profiles were also studied. These parameters were evaluated throughout time, up to a maximum of 60 days of freeze (−22 °C) storage. Betacyanin quantification of each formulation was also performed to determine its maintenance along storage. In general, ice-creams prepared with G. globosa were similar (considering nutritional, colour, individual sugars and fatty acids profiles) to those including B. vulgaris extract, thereby validating the suitability of this alternative plant as a source of food colourants, particularly as ice-cream colourants. Furthermore, the positive effects induced by the addition of this natural colourant were maintained throughout storage time, as indicated by the markers distribution in the linear discriminant analysis.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013); L. Barros and J.C.M. Barreira contracts and C.L. Roriz grant (SFRH/BD/117995/ 2016). This work was also funded by the European Structural and Investment Funds (FEEI) through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER- 023289: DeCodE and Project Mobilizador ValorNatural®.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

GC-MS – Still standing for clinical and forensic analysis: validation of a multidrug method to detect and quantify illicit drugs

An SPE-GC-MS analytical method using whole blood samples has been developed and validated to detect and quantify nineteen compounds belonging to the Drugs of Abuse (DA) groups of cocaine and metabolites, opiates and new psychoactive substances (NPS). The method detailed here is necessary because the recreational consumption of these DA has increased considerably in recent years and poly-drug-consumption is now very common. The method developed was both specific and selective. Three different working ranges have been defined due to the differences between therapeutic, toxic and lethal concentrations of DA. Linearity was confirmed for the defined working ranges of all DA, except pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, norephedrine, and TFMPP. Since the remaining nineteen substances showed heteroscedasticity, six ponderation factors were studied to find the best fit for each compound. Limits of Detection and Lower Limits of Quantification have been studied and defined. No carryover was noted, with acceptable extraction recoveries. The achievement of all validation criteria according to international guidelines allows the application of the proposed method in routine forensic analysis. Using this method can also significantly reduce response times and GC-MS analysis costs.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Canábis Medicinal – um novo Graal?

Poster apresentado no 18º Congresso Nacional de Medicina Legal e de Ciências Forenses, Coimbra (Portugal), 2019A Cannabis sativa e os seus sucedâneos constituem o grupo de drogas de abuso mais consumido a nível mundial. A planta contém várias moléculas, entre as quais os fitocanabinóides ?9-tetrahidrocanabinol (?9-THC) e o canabidiol (CBD), sendo que o ?9-THC tem efeitos psicoativos, ao contrário do CBD. Nos últimos anos, vários grupos de trabalho têm sugerido um potencial de ação terapêutica do CBD e do ?9-THC, tema atual e de grande controvérsia. Existem vários recetores canabinóides descritos, mas apenas quatro têm sido estudados com fins terapêuticos: os recetores canabinóides tipo 1 (CB1) e tipo 2 (CB2), o recetor inotrópico TRPV1 e o recetor de serotonina 5-HT1A. A estes recetores podem-se ligar os vários tipos de canabinóides com finalidade terapêutica, incluindo o CBD. Com este trabalho, os autores pretendem avaliar o estado da arte relativamente a este tema através de uma revisão bibliográfica. Os canabinóides têm sido utilizados como abordagem complementar aos tratamentos convencionais, quando estes falham na resposta terapêutica. Vários estudos sugerem que o CBD poderá ter propriedades terapêuticas, nomeadamente, analgésicas, anti-inflamatórias, antipsicóticas, ansiolíticas, anticonvulsivas e provocadoras de efeitos citotóxicos em células cancerígenas, sendo de notar que a sua utilização seria facilitada pela ausência de efeitos psicoativos, não estando associado ao reforço, ao desejo e à compulsividade de abuso. O CBD também atenua os efeitos metabólicos provocados pelo ?9-THC, bem como reduz alguns dos efeitos adversos, como a ansiedade, a sedação e a taquicardia, sendo benéfico no tratamento da epilepsia e da dor. Deste modo, o CBD terá papel protetor contra a danificação do cérebro provocada pelo uso de canábis recreativo e, por isso, útil no controlo da dependência. Também foi sugerido ter efeitos preventivos na quimioterapia em células do carcinoma colorretal, protegendo o DNA de danos oxidativos com o aumento da concentração de endocanabinóides. O CBD também se terá mostrado eficaz combinado com medicamentos antiepiléticos e antipsicóticos. O Sativex, constituído por ?9-THC e por CBD ativos com uma proporção de 1:1, é o único medicamento autorizado pelo INFARMED em Portugal, usado para o tratamento de espasmos musculares e dor neuropática causados pela esclerose múltipla. O verdadeiro potencial terapêutico do CBD, bem como o seu mecanismo de ação, só recentemente tem sido alvo de estudos, pelo que ainda há muita incerteza associada à sua real eficácia. Concretamente, a ação do CBD na administração conjunta com medicamentos convencionais prescritos no tratamento de determinada patologia não é, ainda, consensual. Especificando, existem dúvidas sobre se a melhoria dos sintomas se deve ao CBD, à interação droga-droga ou apenas ao medicamento convencional. Os efeitos, quer comportamentais, quer metabólicos, da interação entre o THC e o CBD também são insuficientemente compreendidos e ainda existem dúvidas sobre se a melhor terapêutica é apenas com CBD ou numa combinação de CBD com THC. Como qualquer medicamento, o CBD não é apropriado para todas as pessoas e para todas as patologias e os seus efeitos adversos devem ser considerados antes da toma destes produtos. Em Portugal, e à exceção do Sativex, os produtos de CBD são vendidos como suplementos alimentares e, consequentemente, não são controlados pelo Infarmed, quer na potência do CBD, quer no conteúdo de outros constituintes. Assim, afigura-se premente a regulamentação deste mercado, clarificando inequivocamente o contexto terapêutico, diferenciando-o de todos os outros.N/