Valor económico da onda

Dissertação de Mestrado, Ciências Económicas e Empresariais, 30 de Janeiro de 2017, Universidade dos Açores.Pretendeu-se com esta Tese de Mestrado caracterizar os praticantes de surf em Portugal e nos Açores e estimar o potencial dos desportos de ondas no desenvolvimento económico nacional e regional. Para a caracterização dos praticantes de surf foram validados 1654 inquéritos, sendo que 180 inquéritos foram respondidos nos Açores e 1474 em Portugal Continental. O inquérito utilizado foi elaborado pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa no âmbito do estudo Project Value of Waves Ocean Culture. Foram realizados inquéritos iguais nos Açores e em Portugal Continental o que permite uma comparação entre estas duas regiões. Foi realizada uma análise descritiva das respostas dadas às questões relacionadas com a qualidade dos spots bem como uma análise de variância onde se pretendeu encontrar os principais fatores relacionados com esta qualidade. Foram também estimados modelos custo de viagem individual, com base no modelo de Maveriks, que pretenderam explicar a frequência de visita às praias.ABSTRACT: This master’s thesis main purpose was to characterize the surfers in Portugal and in the Azores and estimate the potential of wave sports in the national and regional economic development. To characterize the surfers 1654 were validated, 180 questionnaires were answered in the Azores and 1474 questionnaires in mainland Portugal. The questionnaire was developed by Universidade Nova de Lisboa in the study Project Value of Waves Ocean Culture. Investigations were performed both in the Azores and mainland Portugal which allows a comparison between these two regions. A descriptive analysis addressed the question of the quality of spots as well and analysis of variance identified the main factors related to the quality of the spots. An individual travel cost, based on the Maveriks model, explaining the frequency of visits to beaches was estimated

Deteção da simulação de problemas de memória em contexto forense

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Psicologia (área de especialização de Psicologia da Justiça)A avaliação da simulação é um procedimento indispensável em muitas avaliações neuropsicológicas, clínicas e forenses. Uma vez que as provas de avaliação neuropsicológicas se mostram incapazes de detetar a simulação de sintomas, outras metodologias devem ser seguidas. A utilização de Testes de Validade de Sintomas (TVS) é uma das técnicas mais promissoras para este mesmo fim. Neste estudo, procurámos desenvolver um novo TVS baseado no TOMM - Test Of Memory Malingering (Tombaugh, 1996) contento, no entanto, diversas alterações metodológicas, efetuadas com base nas conclusões de diversos estudos recentes, de forma a aumentar a eficácia e utilidade deste mesmo teste. Explorámos ainda qual o efeito de diversas variáveis na deteção da simulação de problemas de memória, nomeadamente, o tempo de resposta dos participantes, o treino dos avaliados e a ordem pela qual o TVS é aplicado na bateria de provas. Desenvolvemos um TVS (DETECTS – Teste de Deteção da Simulação de Problemas de Memória) completamente informatizado, com um tempo de aplicação reduzido e com pontos-de-corte eficazes, possuindo a prova um elevado índice de sensibilidade, especificidade e valor preditivo positivo e negativo. Em conjunto com a bateria de testes aplicada, a prova construída permitiu, para a amostra utilizada, que nenhum simulador fosse incorretamente classificado como detentor de uma perturbação mnésica legítima, e vice-versa.The evaluation of malingering is an essential procedure in most neuropsychological, clinical and forensic evaluations. Since neuropsychological tests are unable to detect malingering, other methods must be used for this purpose. One of the most promising procedures is the use of Symptom Validity Tests (SVT). In this study, we aimed to develop a new SVT, inspired on the TOMM - Test of Memory Malingering (Tombaugh, 1996), but with some modifications, based on recent findings from several studies, to increase the effectiveness and usefulness of this test. We also explored the effect of different variables on the detection of memory malingering, for instance, participants’ response time, participants training, and the order in which the SVT is applied within the neuropsychological test battery. Therefore, we developed a fully computerized test (DETECTS – Memory Malingering Detection Test), with a reduced application time, and with effective cut-off points as well as an excellent sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive power values. When applied among the test battery, this test allowed us not to wrongly classify any malingerer as a subject with legitimate memory deficits and vice versa

Methodology for single nucleotide polymorphism selection in promoter regions for clinical use. An example of its applicability

Genetic variability in humans can explain many differences in disease risk factors. Polymorphism-related studies focus mainly on the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of coding regions of the genes. SNPs on DNA binding motifs of the promoter region have been less explored. On a recent study of SNPs in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas we faced the problem of SNP selection from promoter regions and developed a practical methodology for clinical studies. The process consists in identifying SNPs in the coding and promoter regions of the antigen-processing system using the 'dbSNP' database. With the 'HapMap' program, we select SNPs with frequencies >20% in Caucasian populations. For coding regions, we sought biologically and clinically relevant SNPs described in the literature. For the promoter regions, we determined their chromosomal location on 'QiagenSABioscience' site database. The nucleotide sequence of ancestral and variant alleles is available in the 'dbSNP'. These sequences were used in ` Promoter TESS' to determine binding differences of transcription factors. Each sequence may have affinity to different TFs. Thus, SNP selection on the promoter regions was based in the differences on TF binding pattern between the old and the new allele. The potential clinical relevance of the new TFs was also evaluated before the final selection. With this approach, we found that almost half of the relevant SNP fall within the promoter region. In conclusion, we were able to develop a methodology of oriented selection of promoter regions of human genes, comparing the TF with affinity to the ancestral allele with the TF to a variant allele. We selected those SNPs that change the TF's affinity to a pattern with functional significance.(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

La entrevista cognitiva mejorada: cómo interrogar a un testigo de manera eficaz

La entrevista cognitiva está considerada como una de las técnicas más eficaces para mejorar la calidad de la declaración de un testigo. Inicialmente incluía cuatro técnicas: reinstauración del contexto, contarlo todo, cambio de perspectiva y cambio de orden, pero se han introducido otras nuevas, dando lugar a la entrevista cognitiva mejorada. Esta nueva entrevista, además de mejorar la calidad de la declaración de los testigos, también parece ser útil para otros propósitos, como detectar mentiras, o para mejorar el bienestar mental de las víctimas. Repasamos brevemente la investigación existente y las técnicas más relevantes para ambos tipos de entrevista

Are herpes virus associated to aggressive periodontitis? A review of literature

Periodontal Disease includes a wide variety of infectious entities with various clinical manifestations in the oral cavity and responses to treatment. The determinants of clinical manifestations of periodontal disease include the type of infectious agent, the host immune response and environmental factors. Aggressive periodontitis (AP) is de ned as a type of in ammation with speci c clinical and laboratory features, which distinguish it from other types of periodontitis, with high incidence rates in a sub-group of individuals. Bacteria have been frequently mentioned as the agent inciting gingival in ammation and tissue destruction that underlies the pathogenesis of periodontitis. However, recent studies, with some controversial results, have suggested that the herpes family of viruses, including CMV and EBV-1 as well as papillomaviruses, HIV, Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1, Torquetenovirus and hepatitis B and C occur with high frequency in active periodontal lesions. There is a lack of information about this disease and the role of herpesviruses in its pathophysiology. This review provides a critical analysis of the scienti c evidence linking bacteria and viruses with AP and their potential impact on clinical characteristics, prognosis and therapy

Impact of cervicovaginal microbiome on the risk of cervical abnormalities development

The vaginal microbiome has emerged as potentially influencing the natural history of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections and their clinical impact. We aimed to characterize the vaginal microbiome in samples from 807 high-risk HPVs (Hr-HPV) positive women with a mean age of 41.45 +/- 10.79 years who participated in the Regional Cervical Cancer Screening Program from the Northern Region of Portugal. Microbiome analysis was performed with commercial kits for the detection of 21 microorganisms. The most frequent microorganisms were Ureaplasma parvum (52.5%), Gardnerella vaginalis (GV) (34.5%), Atopobium vaginae (AV) (32.6%), Lacto (30.7%), and Mycoplasma hominis (MH) (23.5%). The distribution according to age reveals that MH, Mega1, GV, BVab2, AV, and Mob were more prevalent in women older than 41 years of age (p < 0.050), while Lacto is significantly decreased in this group (23.5% vs. 39.4%, p < 0.001; RR = 0.47). The risk analysis showed that Hr-HPV-16/-18 and Hr-HPV-9val genotypes are associated with an increased risk of developing cervical abnormalities, while Lacto (p < 0.001; odd ratio [OR] = 0.33), GV (p = 0.0111; OR = 0.41), AV (p = 0.033; OR = 0.53) and Mob (p = 0.022; OR = 0.29) are associated with protection. Similar results were found for the risk of development atypical squamous cells cannot exclude HSIL/high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. Overall, the multivariate analysis confirmed that lactobacillus and bacteria associated with bacterial vaginosis (GV, AV, and Mob) are associated with protection against the development of cervical abnormalities. This study provides important data to be included in the future management of risk stratification for Hr-HPV-positive women

How to prepare a power system for 12% wind energy penetration: The Portuguese Case Study

The 2001/77/CE Renewable Energies European Directive together with Kyoto Protocol ratification supported by a Government vision and strong objective on the reduction of external oil dependence put Portugal in the front line to achieve one of the highest wind energy penetrations within ten years time. This paper gives a summarized overview of the Portuguese technical approaches and methodologies followed in order to plan and accomodate the ambitious wind power goals to 2010/2013, preserving the overall quality of the power system

First polar body morphology and fertilization rate, cleavage rate, and embryo quality

OBJETIVO: determinar a relação entre a morfologia do primeiro corpúsculo polar (CP) de oócitos humanos e as taxas de fertilização e clivagem e a qualidade embrionária em procedimentos de Injeção Intracitoplasmática de Espermatozóide (ICSI). MÉTODOS: estudo retrospectivo de 582 ciclos consecutivos de ICSI no período de julho de 2003 a julho de 2005. A morfologia do primeiro CP foi avaliada com revisão de 3.177 oócitos em metáfase II, imediatamente antes da realização da ICSI, sempre pelo mesmo observador. O CP foi classificado nas seguintes categorias: CP intacto e de tamanho normal, CP fragmentado ou CP de tamanho aumentado. Avaliamos as taxas de fertilização e de clivagem, o número e a proporção de embriões de boa qualidade em cada um dos três grupos avaliados 48 horas após a ICSI (D2). Foram considerados de boa qualidade os embriões com quatro células, sem fragmentação e com blastômeros simétricos em D2. RESULTADOS: as taxas de fertilização, clivagem e de formação de embriões de boa qualidade resultantes da inseminação de oócitos com o CP aumentado (20,7, 18,7 e 5%, respectivamente) foram significativamente menores que as de oócitos com o CP intacto e de tamanho normal (70,8, 62,5 e 19%, respectivamente) ou CP fragmentado (69,7, 60,5 e 17,1%, respectivamente). CONCLUSÕES: observamos que a presença do primeiro CP aumentado relaciona-se com piores taxas de fertilização, clivagem e de formação de embriões de má qualidade. Entretanto, a fragmentação no primeiro CP parece não interferir nos resultados da ICSI.PURPOSE: to determine the relationship between the morphology of the first spindle pole of human oocytes and rates of fertilization, fragmentation and embryo quality in procedures of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). METHODS: retrospective study of 582 consecutive ICSI cycles, from July 2003 to July 2005. The morphology of the first spindle pole (SP) was assessed through the analysis of 3,177 oocytes in metaphase II, immediately before the ICSI procedure, always by the same observer. SP has been classified in the following categories: normal size intact, fragmented or augmented SP. Fertilization rate and fragmentation, and the number and rate of good quality embryos in each one of the three groups studied have been evaluated, 48 hours after ICSI (D2). Embryos with four cells, without fragmentation and with symmetric blastomeres in D2 were considered as of good quality. RESULTS: rates of fertilization, fragmentation and of good quality embryo formation, resulting from oocyte insemination, with augmented SP (20.7, 16.7 and 5% respectively) were significantly lower than the ones from intact and normal size SP (70.8, 62.5 and 19%, respectively) or from fragmented SP oocytes (69.7, 60.5 and 17.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: it has been observed that the presence of augmented first spindle pole is related to worse rates of fertilization, fragmentation and bad quality embryo formation. Nevertheless, fragmentation in the first spindle pole of the oocyte does not seem to affect ICSI results

Importance of xeroderma pigmentosum group D polymorphisms in susceptibility to ovarian cancer

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of XPD genotypes as genetic indicator of susceptibility to ovarian cancer. We have used a case–control study. We analysed DNA samples from 141 ovarian cancer patients and 202 control subjects, for three XPD polymorphisms using PCR-RFLP. We observed that Asn312Asn XPD genotype carriers have increased susceptibility of ovarian cancer (ORZ2.46 95% CI 1.20–5.06; PZ0.015). Furthermore, we found that carriers of Gln751Gln XPD genotype have an increased susceptibility of ovarian cancer (ORZ3.40 95% CI 1.61–7.15; PZ0.001). Asn312Asn and Gln751Gln are particularly associated with an early-stage of disease. Our results suggest an important role for Asn312Asn and Gln751Gln XPD polymorphisms in the susceptibility to ovarian cancer

Monitorização in continuum da Lagoa das Sete Cidades

Nas últimas décadas, a Lagoa das Sete Cidades (Ilha de São Miguel, Açores) tem sido afectada por um lento processo de eutrofização que, recentemente, conduziu a um agravamento da sua qualidade química e ecológica. Para avaliar o estado actual da Lagoa e monitorizar a sua evolução foi implementado um sistema de monitorização in continuum, baseado numa estação remota multiparamétrica e em análises periódicas do fitoplâncton. A monitorização in continuum permitiu caracterizar a evolução sazonal dos parâmetros físico-químicos, verificando-se uma rápida transição entre os períodos de mistura e estratificação da massa de água. O desenvolvimento da estratificação térmica foi determinante na evolução da comunidade fitoplanctónica