“Who Gets Public Support to Innovation? Evidence from the Portuguese Alentejo Region”

The aim of the study is to assess which factors influence the policymaking decisions to financially support an innovative investment project. Based on the case study of the Portuguese Innovation Incentive System in the Alentejo region, we estimated an econometric model based on firms’ and application’ characteristics, controlling for macroeconomic environment. The results indicate that the selection process is more focused on the expected project impact than on firms’ past performance. Furthermore, we found that government preference for promoting employment and exportation are shown to be higher than the impact on firm productivity.

Distal limb osteoarthritis in the horse

The aim of this thesis was to study two objective methods of osteoarthritis (OA) diagnosis in horses and use them on the assessment of new intra-articular treatments. The studied methods were a new inertial-sensor based system of lameness detection and cartilage biomarkers in serum. It was found that distal limb flexion is significantly correlated to the presence of metacarpo-phalangeal OA in hind limbs and that inertial-sensors are sensitive in detecting asymmetry in these cases. A positive and significant correlation was observed between Coll2-1 concentration in serum and the presence of joint disease in males and young horses. Fib3-2 measurement has good potential to be used since it is not influenced by sex or age. Using an experimental model of OA, adipose stem cells pre-activated with interferon-gamma decreased joint inflammation and radiographic lesions. In clinical cases, a single injection of high-concentrated and high-molecular weight hyaluronic-acid decreased joint inflammation and biomarkers’ concentration; OSTEOARTRITE DO MEMBRO DISTAL NO CAVALO Resumo: A finalidade desta tese foi estudar dois métodos de diagnóstico objetivo de osteoartrite (OA) em equinos e aplicá-los na avaliação de novas terapias intra-articulares. Utilizou-se um sistema de sensores de movimento e foi avaliada a concentração de biomarcadores de cartilagem no soro. Concluiu-se que a flexão distal positiva está correlacionada com OA na articulação metacarpofalângica nos membros posteriores e que os sensores são sensíveis na detecção de assimetria nestes casos. Existe uma correlação positiva e significativa entre as concentrações de Coll2-1 e a presença de doença articular, sobretudo em machos e jovens. A dosagem de Fib3-2 tem utilidade por não ser influenciada pelo sexo nem idade. Num modelo experimental da doença, a terapia à base de células estaminais reduziu a inflamação articular e as lesões radiográficas. Em casos clínicos, o tratamento com ácido-hialurónico de alta concentração e peso molecular provoca uma diminuição da inflamação articular e dos biomarcadores no soro.

Methods of earth building in the Huila Province, Angola

In Angola, the construction made of raw earth is a cultural heritage widely used by low income households, representing over 80% of the population [1, 3]. In Huila province is evident construction in raw earth in a large scale, either in urban or in periurban and rural areas. The construction methods follow the ancestral standards, distributed throughout the region of Huila, being built by the several ethnic groups. Among the construction techniques in earth, stand out: the adobe, wattle-and-daub and more recently on CEB (Compressed Earth Block). The type of soil used to make the adobes is mainly silty-clayed sand [1]. The most applied materials are: rods, reeds, wood, grass, straw, soil and stone, almost with the same characteristics [2]. The manufacture of adobe, consists essentially in mixing clay and grass (plant fibers), then put the mixture inside a wooden mold, having a size of 42 cm long and 18 cm high and taking three to four days to dry and be applied in housing construction. The application of these materials makes the construction less expensive because they are collected, transformed and applied by the owner himself of housing without any project, based only on the result of the practice and experience acquired from their ancestors. They are simple constructions, presenting a typology of grouped and isolated single-family housing, ranging between 2 and 3 bedrooms [2]. The construction techniques used in such small housings have positive environmental aspects, both as regards the materials employed, such as the manner in which the constructions are raised, showing special concerns for the quality improvement of them, as regards the resistance, durability and comfort [4].