IAS/IFRS mandatory adoption and cross-border M&A

This study investigates the effect of the mandatory implementation of IAS/IFRS on cross-border M&A activity. I test the hypothesis that the improvement in the comparability of financial statements among the adopting countries facilitates crossborder transactions. According to the expectations, I find support for enhanced crossborder M&As following the mandatory adoption of IFRS due to a likely increase in the comparability of financial reports. Additionally, listed targets from IFRS adopting countries do experience stronger positive influence on foreign M&A transactions than unlisted target from adopting countries and listed targets from IFRS non-adopting countries.

Shrinking shrinkage:How and why is fruit shrinkage being caused in Sonaemc's convenience stores? Finding opportunities of improvement envisioning its optimization

This work project regards a challenge presented by a Portuguese organization on the retail sector, SONAEMC, which is a case study of how and why fruit shrinkage occurs in the fruit supply chain within their convenience stores. A qualitative research methodology enabled to infer in which stages throughout the chain shrinkage’s causes occur and, to conclude that internal rules for procedures and processes are not always followed and whose compliance would be enough to reduce fruit shrinkage. The key conclusion is that if fruit stock loss is reduced by as much as 15% the category’s profitability could increase about 8%.

Cross sectional default probabilities in european corporate bonds

This study attempts to identify basis-trading opportunities in the European banking sector by comparing two different measures for the market’s assessment of risk: market-observed CDS spreads and model-implied Z-spreads. Using a sample of 10 banks, over a period of 3 years following the European banking crisis, it can be concluded that there were arbitrage opportunities in the sector, as evidenced by the derived negative bases.

Conception and first results of a cross-sectional national study on the demography, disease characteristics and socioeconomics status of the Portuguese patients with multiple sclerosis : the PORT-MS study

RESUMO: Introdução e objetivos: Não existia um estudo multicêntrico que descrevesse as características dos doentes com EM, da doença em si, ou do seu tratamento, em Portugal.Métodos: Doentes McDonald 2010 positivos foram sequencialmente recrutados em 7 centros entre Maio e Novembro 2014. Aplicou-se um Caderno de Recolha de Dados incidindo na demografia, doença, educação e emprego (estudo PORT-MS). Resultados: 561 doentes incluídos. Primeiros sintomas aos 30,2±10,5 anos (RRMS 29,2±10, PPMS 39,4±11,7, p<0,001); diagnóstico 3,2±5,3 anos depois (RRMS 3,0±5,1, PPMS 4,9±2,5, p=0,002); tempo de doença após diagnóstico 9,4±7,2 anos (semelhante RRMS no diagnóstico e PPMS); idade atual 42,9±12,4 anos (grupo RRMS no diagnóstico 42,0±12,1, PPMS 52,5±11,3, p<0,001); EDSS atual 2,5 (RRMS 2.0, PPMS 6.0); proporção feminino:masculino é 2,5:1 (RRMS semelhante, PPMS 1,1:1, p<0,05); no diagnóstico RRMS 90,6%, SPMS 0,9%, PPMS 8,6%; 9,5% dos RRMS encontravam-se em SP na inclusão (nomeadamente os com mais idade no diagnóstico e/ou atualidade ou tempo de doença mais prolongado). PPMS mais frequente em doentes diagnosticados mais tardiamente (p<0,001), onde aumenta também ligeiramente a proporção de mulheres na PPMS. Nas últimas décadas: novos casos mostram estabilidade na proporção de géneros e tipos de doença; idade nos primeiros sintomas e no diagnóstico aumentou ligeiramente, tempo entre eles diminuiu ligeiramente. Proporção sob DMT (Maio 2014): global 84,5%; atualmente RRMS 90,4%; SPMS 70,8%; PPMS 36,8%; progressivas agregadas 48%. Tipo de DMT, amostra global: interferões 56,5%, GA 18,4%, Natalizumab 11,6%, Fingolimod 9,7%. Global: economicamente ativos 61,5%, desemprego 13,5%, 74,1% dos não activos estão reformados por doença. Gravidezes após diagnóstico em 15% mulheres. Casos com história familiar positiva 7,8%. Discussão e conclusões: Incluída cerca de 10% da população portuguesa. Resultados congruentes com dados internacionais. Elevada proporção sob DMT, mesmo EDSS alto e formas progressivas. Terapêuticas de segunda linha sub representadas. Doentes jovens e com doença ligeira com vida económica ativa; restantes essencialmente reformados por doença.---------------- ABSTRACT : Background/aims: In Portugal, there wasn’t a multicentric study on the general characteristics (demography, disease milestones, DMT, socioeconomic status) of Multiple Sclerosis patients. Methods: Patients fulfilling McDonald 2010 criteria were sequentially recruited from May to November 2014 in 7 centers and data was systematically collected. Results: 561 patients included. First symptoms occurred at 30,2±10,5 years-old (RRMS 29,2±10, PPMS 39,4±11,7, p<0,001); diagnosis 3,2±5,3 years later (RRMS 3,0±5,1, PPMS 4,9±2,5, p=0,002); 9,4±7,2 years elapsed since diagnosis (similar for those is RRMS at diagnosis and PPMS); current age 42,9±12,4 years-old (group RRMS at diagnosis 42,0±12,1, PPMS 52,5±11,3, p<0,001); current EDSS 2,5 (RRMS 2.0, PPMS 6.0); females to males 2,5:1 (RRMS similar, PPMS 1,1:1, p<0,05); at diagnosis RRMS 90,6%, SPMS 0,9%, PPMS 8,6%; 9,5% of RRMS reached SP at inclusion (those older at diagnosis, in actuality, or with longer follow-up). PPMS more frequente in patients diagnosed at older ages (p<0,001), also slight increase in females. Along the last decades: new cases have showed stable proportions of gender and disease types; age at first symptoms and diagnosis slightly increased, time between them slightly decreased. Proportion on DMT (May 2014): 84,5% of all; 90,4% of currently in RRMS; 70,8% of SPMS; 36,8% of PPMS; 48% of progressive forms together. Type of DMT, all patients: interferons 56,5%, Glatiramer Acetate 18,4%, Natalizumab 11,6%, Fingolimod 9,7%. Economically active 61,5% of all, unemployment 13,5%, 74,1% of non-active are retired due to disease. Females pregnant after diagnosis 15%. Positive family cases in 7,8%. Discussion/Conclusions: 10% of the national MS population collected. Data generally consistente with international reports. Proportion under DMT relatively high in all disease types, but second line therapies underrepresented. Young patients with mild disease have an active economic life. Those not active are essentially retired due to disease.

Strengthening to seismic action of reinforced columns with rectangular cross-section

The first part of this research work regards the assessment of the mathematical modelling of reinforced concrete columns confined with carbon fibre (CFRP) sheets under axial loading. The purpose was to evaluate existing analytical models, contribute to possible improvements and choose the best model(s) to be part of a new model for the prediction of the behaviour of confined columns under bending and compression. For circular columns, a wide group of authors have proposed several models specific for FRP-confined concrete. The analysis of some of the existing models was carried out by comparing these with several tested columns. Although several models predict fairly the peak load only few can properly estimate the load-strain and dilation behaviour of the columns. Square columns confined with CFRP show a more complex interpretation of their behaviour. Accordingly, the analysis of two experimental programs was carried out to propose new modelling equations for the whole behaviour of columns. The modelling results show that the analytical curves are in general agreement with the presented experimental curves for a wide range of dimensions. An analysis similar to the one done for circular columns was this turn carried out for square columns. Few models can fairly estimate the whole behaviour of the columns and with less accuracy at all levels when compared with circular columns. The second part of this study includes seven experimental tests carried out on reinforced concrete rectangular columns with rounded corners, different damage condition and with confinement and longitudinal strengthening systems. It was concluded that the use of CFRP confinement is viable and of effective performance enhancement alone and combined with other techniques, maintaining a good ductile behaviour for established threshold displacements. As regards the use of external longitudinal strengthening combined with CFRP confinement, this system is effective for the performance enhancement and viable in terms of execution. The load capacity was increased significantly, preserving also in this case a good ductile behaviour for threshold displacements. As to the numerical nonlinear modelling of the tested columns, the results show a variation of the peak load of 1% to 10% compared with tests results. The good results are partly due to the inclusion of the concrete constitutive model by Mander et al. modified by Faustino, Chastre & Paula taking into account the confinement effect. Despite the reasonable approximation to tests results, the modelling results showed higher unloading, which leads to an overestimate dissipated energy and residualdisplacement.

Technical optimization of the synthesis of flavours

The goal of this thesis is the investigation and optimization of the synthesis of potential fragrances. This work is projected as collaboration between the University of Applied Sciences in Merseburg and the company Miltitz Aromatics GmbH in Bitterfeld‐Wolfen (Germany). Flavoured compounds can be synthesized in different ways and by various methods. In this work, methods like the phase transfer catalysis and the Cope‐rearrangement were investigated and applied, for getting a high yield and quantity of the desired substances and without any by‐products or side reactions. This involved the study of syntheses with different process parameters such as temperature, solvent, pressure and reaction time. The main focus was on Cope‐rearrangement, which is a common method in the synthesis of new potential fragrance compounds. The substances synthesized in this work have a hepta‐1,5‐diene‐structure and that is why they can easily undergo this [3,3]‐sigma tropic rearrangement. The lead compound of all research was 2,5‐dimethyl‐2‐vinyl‐4‐hexenenitrile (Neronil). Neronil is synthesized by an alkylation of 2‐methyl‐3‐butenenitrile with prenylchloride under basic conditions in a phase‐transfer system. In this work the yield of isolated Neronil is improved from about 35% to 46% by according to the execution conditions of the reaction. Additionally the amount of side product was decreased. This synthesized hexenenitrile involved not only the aforementioned 1,5‐diene‐structure, but also a cyano group, that makes this structure a suitable base for the synthesis of new potential fragrance compounds. It was observed that Neronil can be transferred into 2,5‐dimethyl‐2‐vinyl‐4‐hexenoic acid by a hydrolysis under basic conditions. After five hours the acid can be obtained with a yield of 96%. The following esterification is realized with isobutanol to produce 2,5‐dimethyl‐2‐vinyl‐4‐hexenoic acid isobutyl ester with quantitative conversion. It was observed that the Neronil and the corresponding ester can be converted into the corresponding Cope‐product, with a conversion of 30 % and 80%. Implementing the Cope‐rearrangement, the acid was heated and an unexpected decarboxylated product is formed. To achieve the best verification of reaction development and structure, scrupulous analyses were done using GC‐MS, 1H‐NMR and 13C‐ NMR.

The determinants of mutual fund performance: A cross-country study

We use a new data set to study the determinants of the performance of open–end actively managed equity mutual funds in 27 countries. We find that mutual funds underperform the market overall. The results show important differences in the determinants of fund performance in the USA and elsewhere in the world. The US evidence of diminishing returns to scale is not a universal truth as the performance of funds located outside the USA and funds that invest overseas is not negatively affected by scale. Our findings suggest that the adverse scale effects in the USA are related to liquidity constraints faced by funds that, by virtue of their style, have to invest in small and domestic stocks. Country characteristics also explain fund performance. Funds located in countries with liquid stock markets and strong legal institutions display better performance.

Control of a white organic light emitting diode’s emission parameters using a single doped RGB active layer

White Color tuning is an attractive feature that Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) offer. Up until now, there hasn’t been any report that mix both color tuning abilities with device stability. In this work, White OLEDs (W-OLEDs) based on a single RGB blend composed of a blue emitting N,N′-Di(1-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4,4′-diamine (NPB) doped with a green emitting Coumarin-153 and a red emitting 4-(Dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM1) dyes were produced. The final device structure was ITO/Blend/Bathocuproine (BCP)/ Tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminium (Alq3)/Al with an emission area of 0.25 cm2. The effects of the changing in DCM1’s concentration (from 0.5% to 1% wt.) allowed a tuning in the final white color resulting in devices capable of emitting a wide range of tunes – from cool to warm – while also keeping a low device complexity and a high stabilitty. Moreover, an explanation on the optoelectrical behavior of the device is presented. The best electroluminescense (EL) points toward 160 cd/m2 of brightness and 1.1 cd/A of efficiency, both prompted to being enhanced. An Impedance Spectroscopy (IS) analysis allowed to study both the effects of BCP as a Hole Blocking Layer and as an aging probe of the device. Finally, as a proof of concept, the emission was increased 9 and 64 times proving this structure can be effectively applied for general lighting.

Optimization of the electrodialytic phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ash

Phosphorus (P) is becoming a scarce element due to the decreasing availability of primary sources. Therefore, recover P from secondary sources, e.g. waste streams, have become extremely important. Sewage sludge ash (SSA) is a reliable secondary source of P. The use of SSAs as a direct fertilizer has very restricted legislation due to the presence of inorganic contaminants. Furthermore, the P present in SSAs is not in a plant-available form. The electrodialytic (ED) process is one of the methods under development to recover P and simultaneously remove heavy metals. The present work aimed to optimize the P recovery through a 2 compartment electrodialytic cell. The research was divided in three independent phases. In the first phase, ED experiments were carried out for two SSAs from different seasons, varying the duration of the ED process (2, 4, 6 and 9 days). During the ED treatment the SSA was suspended in distilled water in the anolyte, which was separated from the catholyte by a cation exchange membrane. From both ashes 90% of P was successfully extracted after 6 days of treatment. Regarding the heavy metals removal, one of the SSAs had a better removal than the other. Therefore, it was possible to conclude that SSAs from different seasons can be submitted to ED process under the same parameters. In the second phase, the two SSAs were exposed to humidity and air prior to ED, in order to carbonate them. Although this procedure was not successful, ED experiments were carried out varying the duration of the treatment (2 and 6 days) and the period of air exposure that SSAs were submitted to (7, 14 and 30 days). After 6 days of treatment and 30 days of air exposure, 90% of phosphorus was successfully extracted from both ashes. No differences were identified between carbonated and non-carbonated SSAs. Thus, SSAs that were exposed to the air and humidity, e.g. SSAs stored for 30 days in an open deposit, can be treated under the same parameters as the SSAs directly collected from the incineration process. In the third phase, ED experiments were carried out during 6 days varying the stirring time (0, 1, 2 and 4 h/day) in order to investigate if energy can be saved on the stirring process. After 6 days of treatment and 4 h/day stirring, 80% and 90% of P was successfully extracted from SSA-A and SSA-B, respectively. This value is very similar to the one obtained for 6 days of treatment stirring 24 h/day.

Product extension services deployment platform

Due to the progresses made in the branch of embedded technologies, manufacturers are becoming able to pack their shop floor level manufacturing resources with even more complex functionalities. This technological progression is radically changing the way production systems are designed and deployed, as well as, monitored and controlled. The dissemination of smart devices inside production processes confers new visibility on the production system while enabling for a more efficient and effective management of the operations. By turning the current manufacturing resources functionalities into services based on a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), in order to expose them as a service to the user, the binomial manufacturing resource/service will push the entire manufacturing enterprise visibility to another level while enabling the global optimization of the operations and processes of a production system while, at the same time, supporting its accommodation to the operational spike easily and with reduced impact on production. The present work implements a Cloud Manufacturing infrastructure for achieving the resource/service value-added i.e. to facilitate the creation of services that are the composition of currently available atomic services. In this context, manufacturing resource virtualization (i.e. formalization of resources capabilities into services accessible inside and outside the enterprise) and semantic representation/description are the pillars for achieving resource service composition. In conclusion, the present work aims to act on the manufacturing resource layer where physical resources and shop floor capabilities are going to be provided to the user as a SaaS (Software as a Service) and/or IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).

Improving silicon probe performance through layer-by-layer coating

Fully comprehending brain function, as the scale of neural networks, will only be possi-ble with the development of tools by micro and nanofabrication. Regarding specifically silicon microelectrodes arrays, a significant improvement in long-term performance of these implants is essential. This project aims to create a silicon microelectrode coating that provides high-quality electrical recordings, while limiting the inflammatory response of chronic implants. To this purpose, a combined chitosan and gold nanoparticles coating was produced allied with electrodes modification by electrodeposition with PEDOT/PSS in order to reduce the im-pedance at 1kHz. Using a dip-coating mechanism, the silicon probe was coated and then charac-terized both morphologically and electrochemically, with focus on the stability of post-surgery performance in anesthetized rodents. Since not only the inflammatory response analysis is vital, the electrodes recording degradation over time was also studied. The produced film presented a thickness of approximately 50 μm that led to an increase of impedance of less than 20 kΩ in average. On a 3 week chronic implant, the impedance in-crease on the coated probe was of 641 kΩ, compared with 2.4 MΩ obtained for the uncoated probe. The inflammatory response was also significantly reduced due to the biocompatible film as proved by histological tests.

Spray coating of oxide and chalcogenide semiconductor layers for TFT application

This work documents the deposition and optimization of semiconductor thin films using chemical spray coating technique (CSC) for application on thin-film transistors (TFTs), with a low-cost, simple method. CSC setup was implemented and explored for industrial application, within Holst Centre, an R&D center in the Netherlands. As zinc oxide had already been studied within the organization, it was used as a standard material in the initial experiments, obtaining typical mobility values of 0.14 cm2/(V.s) for unpatterned TFTs. Then, oxide X layer characteristics were compared for films deposited with CSC at 40°C and spin-coating. The mobility of the spin-coated TFTs was 103 cm2/(V.s) higher, presumably due to the lack of uniformity of spray-coated film at such low temperatures. Lastly, tin sulfide, a relatively unexplored material, was deposited by CSC in order to obtain functional TFTs and explore the device’s potential for working as a phototransistor. Despite the low mobilities of the devices, a sensitive photodetector was made, showing drain current variation of nearly one order of magnitude under yellow light. CSC technique’s simplicity and versatility was confirmed, as three different semiconductors were successfully implemented into functional devices.

Optimization of production of anti-cancer vaccines based on dendritic cells

Cancer remains as one of the top killing diseases in first world countries. It’s not a single, but a set of various diseases for which different treatment approaches have been taken over the years. Cancer immunotherapy comes as a “new” breath on cancer treatment, taking use of the patients’ immune system to induce anti-cancer responses. Dendritic Cell (DC) vaccines use the extraordinary capacity of DCs’ antigen presentation so that specific T cell responses may be generated against cancer. In this work, we report the ex vivo generation of DCs from precursors isolated from clinical-grade cryopreserved umbilical cord blood (UCB) samples. After the thawing protocol for cryopreserved samples was optimized, the generation of DCs from CD14+ monocytes, i.e., moDCs, or CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), i.e, CD34-derived DCs, was followed and their phenotype and function evaluated. Functional testing included the ability to respond to maturation stimuli (including enzymatic removal of surface sialic acids), Ovalbumin-FITC endocytic capacity, cytokine secretion and T cell priming ability. In order to evaluate the feasibility of using DCs derived from UCB precursors to induce immune responses, they were compared to peripheral blood (PB) moDCs. We observed an increased endocytosis capacity after moDCs were differentiated from monocyte precursors, but almost 10-fold lower than that of PB moDCs. Maturation markers were absent, low levels of inflammatory cytokines were seen and T cell stimulatory capacity was reduced. Sialidase enzymatic treatment was able to mature these cells, diminishing endocytosis and promoting higher T cell stimulation. CD34-derived DCs showed higher capacity for both maturation and endocytic capacity than moDCs. Although much more information was acquired from moDCs than from CD34-derived DCs, we conclude the last as probably the best suited for generating an immune response against cancer, but of course much more research has to be performed.

Analysis and Treatment of a male portrait in oil and a study of the size layer with reconstructions from Vibert’s recipe (1892)

This thesis project concentrated on both the study and treatment of an early 20th century male portrait in oil from Colecção Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Lisbon, Portugal. The portrait of Januário Correia de Almeida, exhibits a tear (approximately 4.0 cm by 2.3 cm) associated with paint loss on the right upper side, where it is possible to observe an unusually thick size layer (approximately 50 microns) and an open weave mesh canvas. Size layers made from animal glue remain subject to severe dimensional changes due to changes in relative humidity (RH), thereby affecting the stability of the painting. In this case, the response to moisture of the size layer is minimal and the painting is largely uncracked with very little active flaking. This suggests that the size layer has undergone pre-treatment to render it unresponsive to moisture or water. Reconstructions based on late nineteenth century recipes using historically appropriate materials are used to explore various options for modifying the characteristics of gelatine, some of which may relate to the Portrait’s size layer. The thesis is separated into two parts: Part 1: Describes the history, condition, materials and techniques of the painting. It also details the treatment of Januário Correia de Almeida as well as the choices made and problems encountered during the treatment. Part 2: Discusses the history of commercial gelatine production, the choice of the appropriate animal source to extract the collagen to produce reconstructions of the portrait’s size layer as well as the characterization of selected reconstructions. The execution of a shallow textured infill led to one publication and one presentation: Abstract accepted for presentation and publication, International Meeting on Retouching of Cultural Heritage (RECH3), Francisco Brites, Leslie Carlyle and Raquel Marques, ‘’Hand building a Low Profile Textured Fill for a Large Loss’’.