A Growth Model for the Quadruple Helix Innovation Theory

We propose a theoretical growth model with which to frame analytically the Quadruple Helix Innovation Theory (QHIT). The aim is to emphasise the investment in innovation transmission mechanisms in terms of economic growth and productivity gains, in one-high-technology sector, by stressing the role played by the helices of the Quadruple Helix Innovation Model: Academia and Technological Infrastructures, Firms of Innovation, Government and Civil Society. In the existing literature, the relationship between the helices and respective impacts on economic growth does not appear clear. Results are fragile due to data weakness and the inexistence of a theoretical framework to specify the relationship between the helices. Hence our motivation for providing the QHIT with a theoretical growth model. Our intent is to model the importance of emerging, dynamically adaptive, and transdisciplinary knowledge and innovation ecosystems to economic growth. We find that higher economic growth rate is obtained as a result of an increase in synergies and complementarities between different productive units, or an increase in productive government expenditure.Economic Growth, Quadruple Helix Innovation Model, Innovation Ecosystems

Bioinformatics analysis of multi-omics data elucidates U2 snRNP function in transcription

Transcription by RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is an important step in cell function and regulation. Pol II transcription has been shown to be coupled to pre-mRNA splicing, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Co-transcriptional splicing requires the assembly of a functional spliceosome on nascent pre-mRNA, but whether and how this influences Pol II transcription remains unclear. To investigate this, we used a human erythroleukemic cell line and performed transient transcriptome sequencing (TT-seq) and mammalian native elongating transcript sequencing (mNET-seq) upon fast inhibition of U2 snRNP function. We further studied how the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) recruitment is related to the Pol II pause duration, using chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing (ChIP-seq) of the PTEF-b kinase cyclin T1 (CycT1) upon U2 snRNP inhibition. I performed a bioinformatics analysis of the different datasets generated for this study and two additional published datasets. I also conducted a multiomics analysis combining TT-seq and mNET-seq data to calculate and quantify transcription kinetic parameters such as Pol II productive initiation frequency, pause duration and elongation velocity. Here we show that inhibition of pre-mRNA branch site recognition by the spliceosome component U2 snRNP leads to a widespread and strong decrease in new RNA synthesis from human genes. We further show that inhibition of U2 snRNP function increases the duration of Pol II pausing in the promoter-proximal region, impairs recruitment of the pause release factor P-TEFb, and reduces Pol II elongation velocity at the beginning of genes. Our results indicate that efficient release of paused Pol II into active transcription elongation requires the formation of functional spliceosomes and that eukaryotic mRNA biogenesis relies on positive feedback from the splicing machinery to the transcription machinery. We further show that the fast U2 snRNP inhibition affects the expression of genes related to RNA synthesis and it is not related to stress response genes. Our new multi-omics approach for the calculation of Pol II elongation velocity can be applied to further study the impact on Pol II kinetics regarding different splicing and transcription factors. This is of great importance to unravel the mechanisms behind Pol II transcription and splicing and understand how the disruption of this regulation leads to several pathological cell phenotypes and diseases.2021-08-2

A Growth Model for the Quadruple Helix Innovation Theory

We propose a theoretical growth model with which to frame analytically the Quadruple Helix Innovation Theory (QHIT). The aim is to emphasise the investment in innovation transmission mechanisms in terms of economic growth and productivity gains, in one-high-technology sector, by stressing the role played by the helices of the Quadruple Helix Innovation Model: Academiaand Technological Infrastructures, Firms of Innovation, Government and Civil Society. In the existing literature, the relationship between the helices and respective impacts on economic growth does not appear clear. Results are fragiledue to data weakness and the inexistence of a theoretical framework to specify the relationship between the helices. Hence our motivation for providing the QHIT with a theoretical growth model. Our intent is to model the importance of emerging, dynamically adaptive, and transdisciplinary knowledge and innovation ecosystems to economic growth. We .nd that higher economic growth rate is obtained as a result of an increase in synergies and complementarities between different productive units, or an incease in productive government expenditure.Economic Growth; Quadruple Helix Innovation Model; Innovation Ecosystems.

Health heat stress in the Porto Metropolitan Area – a matter of temperature or inadequate adaptation?

The aim of this contribution is to understand the negative outcomes for human health during hot weather in a Mediterranean urban environment. Examining seasonal variations of thermal comfort in Porto, by Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), and comparing expected and observed daily mortality (all causes) and morbidity (all causes, respiratory and circulatory diseases), suggests that in southern Europe, people’s adaptation techniques for reducing heat stress and associated health risks need to be developed much further. Research already done in Porto shows that social and economic vulnerability must be included alongside with individual characteristics, like age, gender or genetics, when defining the thresholds above which negative health impacts begin to become severe. Findings from Porto show that a climate risk map is needed for every metropolitan area, with sufficient detail to give locally appropriate temperature thresholds taking into account both the local climate and the socio-economic conditions of every sector of the urban environment

Sovereign-bank nexus: risk transfers and causality

Whilst banks are exposed to sovereign risk, sovereigns are exposed to bank risk. This Work Project investigates the linkage between both, i.e., the sovereign-bank nexus. Focusing on a sample of 11 European countries during 2014-2020, evidence supporting a positive response of banks’ home country sovereign debt holdings to increases in sovereign bond spreads and decreases in profitabilityis presented. It is also shown that banks’ solvency over this period was connected to their home country sovereign bond spreads. Lastly, adding a sample of 40 banks, it is confirmed that the sovereign-bank link age was still in place during the 2017-2020period

Consumers and palm oil: how much do they know and does it matter how much they know?

Corporate social responsibility is a concept present in companies that aim to raise their morals of social progress, respect fundamental rights, protect the environment, and take into consideration the interests of their consumers. The involvement of companies with social responsibility is likely to capture the attention of consumers who are concerned with the aspects mentioned above. The purpose of this research is to evaluate whether corporate social responsibility impacts consumer attitudes and behaviours, regarding the sharing of information by companies about the presence of palm oil in their products and the consequences that that the production of this same oil brings to the environment. For this purpose, a study was developed with the objective of perceiving whether consumers are aware of the environmental consequences of palm oil, seek information about this ingredient and if, when presented with the consequences that palm oil production has on the environment, their attitudes and behaviours in relation to their buying and information seeking habits would change. The results show that the the simple fact of providing information about the negative environmental impact of palm oil's production can affect consumers' purchase intentions. This investigation suggests that companies concerned with social responsibility can have an important role to play by facilitating consumer awareness regarding the negative consequences of the production of palm oil.A responsabilidade social das empresas é um conceito presente em empresas que pretendem aumentar os seus padrões de desenvolvimento social, respeitar os direitos fundamentais, proteger o ambiente e que estão interessadas em conhecer as preferências dos seus consumidores. O envolvimento das empresas com a responsabilidade social vai captar consumidores que que se preocupam com os aspetos referidos acima. O objetivo desta investigação é avaliar se a responsabilidade social das empresas tem impacto nas atitudes e comportamentos do consumidor, em específico no que diz respeito à partilha de informação por parte das empresas relativamente à presença de óleo de palma nos seus produtos e às consequências que essas produções têm para o ambiente. Para tal, foi desenvolvido um estudo cujo objetivo foi percecionar se os consumidores têm o hábito de procurar informação sobre o óleo de palma e se, depois de lhes serem apresentadas com as consequências que a produção de óleo de palma tem para o ambiente, mudariam as suas atitudes e comportamentos relativamente aos seus hábitos de procura de informação e de compra. Os resultados mostraram que o simples facto de apresentar informação aos consumidores sobre o impacto ambiental da produção de óleo de palma pode afetar os seus hábitos de compra. Assim, verifica-se que há um papel importante a desempenhar por parte das empresas que são socialmente que procuram ser, que passa por educar os consumidores no que diz respeito às consequências ambientais na origem da produção de óleo de palma

Uncovering the Role of Motor Performance and Creative Thinking on Sports Creativity in Primary School-aged Children

The demand for creativity in sports has attracted great interest, looking for factors that predict and release children’s creative behavior. Our aim was to determine the effects of motor skills and creative thinking on sports creativity, according to gender and age. 198 children (7.71 ± 1.39 years) were recruited. They completed three motor skills tests, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking and the Creative Behavior Assessment in Teams Sports. Sprint and change of direction (COD) established to be complementary pairs since predicted all the creative thinking (CT) components. COD emerged as a reliable indicator for attempts and originality in game settings. Abstractness of titles emerged as a key component of CT on sports creativity. According to gender, sprint and COD differently predicted the outcomes; in younger ages both were more effective in predicting CT components. Our findings support an interplay between motor, thinking, and sports creativity, revealing commonalities in the underlying processes responsible for driving CT and novel behaviors in sport. Training programs enforced in motor performance and CT should be included in primary schools’ curricula and in youth sports academies, assisting sports scientists, coaches, and teachers to develop more effective enrichment environments for fostering children’s creative behavior and sports creativity.Calouste Gulbenkian Foundationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio