Innovation and Environmental Policy: Clean vs. Dirty Technical Change

We study a two sector endogenous growth model with environmental quality with two goods and two factors of production, one clean and one dirty. Technological change creates clean or dirty innovations. We compare the laissez-faire equilibrium and the social optimum and study first- and second-best policies. Optimal policy encourages research toward clean technologies. In a second-best world, we claim that a portfolio that includes a tax on the polluting good combined with optimal innovation subsidy policies is less costly than increasing the price of the polluting good alone. Moreover, a discriminating innovation subsidy policy is preferable to a non-discriminating one. JEL codes: H23, O3, O41Pollution, Endogenous Growth, Innovation, Environmental Policy, Laissez-Faire Equilibrium, Optimal Equilibrium, Discriminating vs. Non-Discriminating Subsidies to R&D

Loops in the fundamental group of \mathrm{Symp} (\mathbb C\mathbb P^2\#\,5\overline{ \mathbb C\mathbb P}\,\!^2) which are not represented by circle actions

We study the generators of the fundamental group of the group of symplectomorphisms \mathrm{Symp} (\mathbb C\mathbb P^2\#\,5\overline{ \mathbb C\mathbb P}\,\!^2, \omega) for some particular symplectic forms. The monotone case was studied by P. Seidel and J. Evans: they proved that this group is homotopy equivalent to the group of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of $S^2$ preserving 5 points. Recently J. Li, T. J. Li and W. Wu completely determined the Torelli symplectic mapping class group as well as the rank of the fundamental group of the group \mathrm{Symp}_{h}(\mathbb C\mathbb P^2\#\,5\overline{\mathbb C\mathbb P}\,\!^2) of symplectomorphisms that act trivially on homology, for any given symplectic form. In general, we expect the generators of the fundamental group to be given by circle actions on the manifold. However, we show that in some particular cases, there are loops in the fundamental group which cannot be realized by circle actions. This is a new phenomenon since in \pi_1 (\mathrm{Symp}_h(\mathbb C\mathbb P^2\#\,k\overline{\mathbb C\mathbb P}\,\!^2)), with $k \leq 4$, all the generators can be represented by circle actions on the manifold. Our work depends on Delzant classification of toric symplectic manifolds, Karshon's classification of Hamiltonian circle actions and the computation of Seidel elements of some circle actions.Comment: 27 figure

Criação de um clube de produtores de azeitona para a Indagop

A Indagrop, é uma empresa agroindustrial em crescimento, quer a nível nacional como internacional, porém identificou um problema. Este afeta o seu desempenho e condiciona o seu crescimento, que é a dispersão e escassez da produção de azeitona. O objetivo deste projeto é apresentar uma solução para este problema, que passa pela criação de um clube de produtores de azeitona, de modo a concentrar a produção e incentivar os produtores a produzir em maior quantidade e qualidade

Innovation and environmental policy: Clean vs. dirty technical change

We study a two sector endogenous growth model with environmental quality with two goods and two factors of production, one clean and one dirty. Technological change creates clean or dirty innovations. We compare the laissez-faire equilibrium and the social optimum and study first- and second-best policies. Optimal policy encourages research toward clean technologies. In a second-best world, we claim that a portfolio that includes a tax on the polluting good combined with optimal innovation subsidy policies is less costly than increasing the price of the polluting good alone. Moreover, a discriminating innovation subsidy policy is preferable to a non-discriminating one

Atypical moral judgment following traumatic brain injury

Previous research has shown an association between emotions, particularly social emotions, and moral judgments. Some studies suggested an association between blunted emotion and the utilitarian moral judgments observed in patients with prefrontal lesions. In order to investigate how prefrontal brain damage affects moral judgment, we asked a sample of 29 TBI patients (12 females and 17 males) and 41 healthy participants (16 females and 25 males) to judge 22 hypothetical dilemmas split into three different categories (non-moral, impersonal and personal moral). The TBI group presented a higher proportion of affirmative (utilitarian) responses for personal moral dilemmas when compared to controls, suggesting an atypical pattern of utilitarian judgements. We also found a negative association between the performance on recognition of social emotions and the proportion of affirmative responses on personal moral dilemmas. These results suggested that the preference for utilitarian responses in this type of dilemmas is accompanied by difficulties in social emotion recognition. Overall, our findings suggest that deontological moral judgments are associated with normal social emotion processing and that frontal lobe plays an important role in both emotion and moral judgment

Fluoroscopia na remoção de implantes profundos de etonogestrel

Fluoroscopy is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images. Although described in the literature in several areas of medicine, the use of fluoroscopy in Gynecology remains poorly explored. The two clinical cases described demonstrate a successful removal of deep etonogestrel radiopaque implants through the use of fluoroscopy proving to be a promising technique as an alternative or complementary to conventional techniques - X-ray and ultrasound Fluoroscopy has a good safety profile with an easy learning curve, and its use in gynecology and obstetrics may contribute to the resolution of more complex cases of subcutaneous implant extraction.A fluoroscopia é uma técnica de imagem que permite obter imagens em tempo real com recurso a raio-X. Apesar de descrita na literatura a utilização da fluoroscopia em diversas áreas da medicina, na Ginecologia esta técnica permanece pouco difundida. Neste sentido, os dois casos clínicos descritos demonstram o sucesso na extração de implantes radiopacos de etonogestrel profundos através do uso da fluoroscopia, revelando-se uma técnica promissora alternativa ou complementar às técnicas convencionais utilizadas, o raio-X e a ecografia. A fluoroscopia tem um perfil de segurança elevado com uma fácil curva de aprendizagem, pelo que o seu domínio pela ginecologia e obstetrícia poderá contribuir para a resolução de casos mais complexos de extração de implantes subcutâneos

O Planeamento Fiscal: Alterações à cláusula geral antiabuso na sequência da transposição da diretiva antielisão

Versão final (Esta versão contém as críticas e sugestões dos elementos do júri)A presente dissertação foi elaborada com o intuito de obtenção do grau de mestre em Auditoria e insere-se na área do Direito fiscal internacional. Ao longo da presente dissertação iremos abordar temas relacionados com o planeamento fiscal, focando mais concretamente na CGAA. O papel da Auditoria, nomeadamente a Auditoria Tributária, é fundamental na aplicação da CGAA. Ao longo dos anos, podemos verificar que Portugal é um dos países onde a mentalidade de fuga aos impostos ainda é uma realidade. O planeamento fiscal abusivo é uma preocupação crescente não só ao nível nacional mas também ao nível comunitário. Por isso, a UE emitiu uma diretiva com base nas preocupações da OCDE acerca da matéria do planeamento fiscal abusivo e medidas para o seu combate. A CGAA incide sobre situações em que através do planeamento fiscal agressivo o contribuinte procura uma determinada vantagem fiscal. Por ser considerada uma matéria de difícil objetividade, é fundamental regularizar os seus limites e definir a sua aplicabilidade. Esta norma sofreu alterações significativas no âmbito da transposição da diretiva ATAD da UE. Por isto, este estudo pretende comparar quais os benefícios e principais mudanças da entrada da nova Lei nº 32/2019, onde se verificam as alterações fundamentais da CGAA e da sua aplicabilidade.This dissertation was elaborated to obtain the degree of master in audit and is inserted in the area of international tax law. Throughout this dissertation we will address topics related to tax planning, focusing more specifically on General anti-avoidance rule (GAAR). The role of Audit, namely tax auditing, it is central in the implementation of the GAAR. Over the years, we have been able to verify that Portugal is one of the countries where the tax avoidance mentality is still a reality. Abusive tax planning is a growing concern not only at national level but also at Community level. That is why the EU has issued a Directive based on OECD concerns about the issue of abusive tax planning and measures to combat it. The GAAR standard focuses on situations where through aggressive tax planning, the taxpayer seeks a certain fiscal advantage. Because it is considered a matter of difficult objectivity, it is essential to regularize its limits and define its applicability. This standard has undergone significant changes in the transposition of the EU Anti- Avoidance Directive. Therefore, this study tends to compare the benefits and main changes in the entry of the new Law nº 32/2019, where there were fundamental changes in GAAR and its applicability

Mental health : social and economic determinants

RESUMO - O conceito de “saúde mental” é amplo, e nem sempre é fácil a sua definição, ou a identificação daquilo que a determina. No entanto, da mesma forma que a “saúde” não é apenas a ausência de doença, também a saúde mental é mais do que apenas a ausência de perturbação mental. Neste sentido, tem sido cada vez mais entendida como o produto de múltiplas e complexas interacções, que incluem factores biológicos, psicológicos e sociais. Neste artigo são revistos alguns dos determinantes sociais e económicos da saúde mental, nomeadamente factores como condições laborais e desemprego, educação, pobreza, condições RESUMO - de habitação, nível de urbanização, discriminação sexual e violência de género, experiências precoces e interacção familiar, exclusão social e estigma, cultura e acontecimentos de vida stressantes. Por fim, salienta-se também a importância do conhecimento dos determinantes sociais e económicos da saúde mental numa perspectiva de Saúde Pública, e a sua relevância para a redução da carga global de doença e a melhoria da saúde mental das populações.ABSTRACT - The concept of “mental health” is comprehensive, and it isn’t always easy to define or to identify its determinants. However, in the same way that “health” isn’t merely the absence of disease, mental health is also more than just the absence of mental disorder. Thus, it has increasingly been understood as the product of multiple and complex interactions that include biological, psychological and social factors. This article reviews some of the social and economic determinants of mental health, including factors like working conditions and unemployment, education, poverty, housing conditions, urbanization, sexual discrimination and gender based violence, early experiences and family interactions, social exclusion and stigma, culture, and stressful life events. Finally, the importance of the knowledge of social and economic determinants of mental health in a Public Health perspective is also highlighted, as well as its relevance to reduce the global burden of disease and to improve the mental health of populations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Traumatic brain injury patients: does frontal brain lesion influence basic emotion recognition?

Adequate emotion recognition is relevant to individuals’ interpersonal communication. Patients with frontal traumatic brain injury (TBI) exhibit a lower response to facial emotional stimuli, influencing social interactions. In this sense, the main goal of the current study was to assess the ability of TBI patients in recognizing basic emotions. Photographs of facial expressions of five basic emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, and surprise) were presented to 32 TBI patients and 41 healthy controls. Emotion recognition was measured by accuracy and reaction time. Overall performance of the TBI group was poorer than control group for emotion recognition, both in terms of accuracy and reaction time. It is suggested that TBI patients show impairment on emotion recognition, and this relation seems to be moderated by the lesion localization. Keywords: emotion recognition, basic emotions, TBI patients

Potential of atlantic codfish (Gadus morhua) skin collagen for skincare biomaterials

Collagen is the major structural protein in extracellular matrix present in connective tissues, including skin, being considered a promising material for skin regeneration. Marine organisms have been attracting interest amongst the industry as an alternative collagen source. In the present work, Atlantic codfish skin collagen was analyzed, to evaluate its potential for skincare. The collagen was extracted from two different skin batches (food industry by-product) using acetic acid (ASColl), confirming the method reproducibility since no significant yield differences were observed. The extracts characterization confirmed a profile compatible with type I collagen, without significant differences between batches or with bovine skin collagen (a reference material in biomedicine). Thermal analyses suggested ASColl’s native structure loss at 25 °C, and an inferior thermal stability to bovine skin collagen. No cytotoxicity was found for ASColl up to 10 mg/mL in keratinocytes (HaCaT cells). ASColl was used to develop membranes, which revealed smooth surfaces without significative morphological or biodegradability differences between batches. Their water absorption capacity and water contact angle indicated a hydrophilic feature. The metabolic activity and proliferation of HaCaT were improved by the membranes. Hence, ASColl membranes exhibited attractive characteristics to be applied in the biomedical and cosmeceutical field envisaging skincare.This work was supported by funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the scope of NORTE 2020, part of the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the project ATLANTIDA (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000040) and the R&D Infrastructure TERM RES-Hub PINFRA/22190/2016 (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-022190), also funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Financial support from FCT is also acknowledged for the investigator contract of C.F.M. (CEECIND/04687/2017), the PhD scholarship of A.L.A. (PD/BD/127995/2016) under Doctoral Programme Do*Mar and the PhD scholarship of R.O.S. (PD/BD/150519/2019) under Doctoral Programme in Advanced Therapies for Health, PATH