How to increase value for customers of style in a box: The first Portuguese online platform for renting luxury dresses

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Reconceptualising public spaces of (IN)equality: sensing and creating layers of visibility

Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Geografia e Planeamento Territorial - Especialidade: Geografia Humana

Novel ready-to-eat mango product using gellan gum as gelling agent: physico-chemical, microbial and sensory characteristics

Este trabalho foi efectuado com o apoio da Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto Superior de Agronomia com o Centro de Engenharia dos Biossistemas (CEER

The impact of leprosy on health-related quality of life

INTRODUCTION: Leprosy is a potentially disabling infectious disease that evolves into emotional issues due to the prejudice that persists about the illness. The endemic has declined substantially with multidrug therapy (MDT) in the 80's; however, new demands associated with the reduction of stigma and the improvement of the affected people's quality of life have emerged. In Brazil, leprosy is still a public health problem. Piauí is the second state in the Northeast in prevalence and detection, and Teresina is a hyperendemic city. This study aimed to analyze the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people in treatment for leprosy in Teresina/PI. METHODS: An observational study was conducted using the SF-36 (a specific questionnaire for assessing quality of life), which sought the determinants of poor quality of life among people with leprosy, outlining the sociodemographic, clinical, and epidemiological characteristics of the 107 patients interviewed. RESULTS: The correlations between the variables showed five determinants of HRQoL: late diagnosis, multibacillary forms, reactions, disability diagnosis grade II, and prejudice. The profile of the participants showed that leprosy still affects the lower social classes in historically endemic areas, causing high percentages of secondary injuries that compromise the work capacity and quality of life of the affected people, perpetuating the stigma associated with the disease. CONCLUSIONS: The study reinforces the need to implement more effective strategies of disease control, due to the development of severe and disabling forms of leprosy is directly related to poor HRQoL in the same cured patient.

Health-related quality of life in patients with Chagas disease: a review of the evidence

Chagas disease (ChD), a neglected tropical disease caused by infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), remains a serious public health issue in Latin America and is an emerging disease in several non-endemic countries, where knowledge of the condition and experience with its clinical management are limited. Regionally, the disease is the major cause of disability secondary to tropical diseases in young adults. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impairment is common in patients with ChD, especially in those with Chagas dilated cardiomyopathy, the most severe manifestation of the disease, which frequently leads to heart failure. The aim of this review was to conduct a literature search for studies that have evaluated the determining factors of HRQoL in ChD patients. We included cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, and experimental studies, as well as clinical trials that evaluated the HRQoL in ChD patients aged 18 to 60 years and are presenting an explicit description of statistical analysis. Using a combination of keywords based on Descriptors in Health Sciences (DeCS) and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) for searches in PubMed and the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), 148 studies were found. After exclusions, 12 studies were selected for analysis. Three main findings were extracted from these studies: 1) cardiac involvement is associated with a worse HRQoL in ChD patients; 2) HRQoL is associated with the patients' functional capacity; and 3) simple and inexpensive therapeutic measures are effective for improving HRQoL in ChD patients. Hence, ChD patients' functional capacity, the effectiveness of non-surgical conservative treatment, and cardiac involvement are important determining factors for the HRQoL in ChD patients.

As apostas desportivas online associadas à combinação de resultados

The present dissertation is aimed at finding out whether the existing criminal protection of the sports ethics value is sufficient, regarding the dangers arising from the global online sports betting market and its characteristics. In the first chapter, the main issue will be introduced: the association between online sports bets and competition manipulations from a criminal point of view. In the second chapter, online sports bets will be defined, the characteristics of the referred global market explained and the danger said features bear to the manipulation of sports competitions exposed – also analysing the participants in this phenomenon. In chapter 3, it will be shown that the protection of sports ethics is a matter of public interest and that this interest is carried out by the sports federations as well. In the fourth chapter, the focus will be the criminal protection of sports ethics: its necessity based on the penal dignity of this system of sport associated values; the need to re-evaluate the existing protection due to the recognition of the existence of the online sports betting market; the existing criminal norms regarding the manipulation of sports competitions. Finally, in chapter 5, the intent will be to propose solutions to the identified problems concerning the sufficiency of the existing criminal legislation.

Terra nativa : a relação eco-humana na vida e na obra de Ferreira de Castro

A presente investigação visou contribuir para o estudo da permeabilidade entre Ciência e Arte, explorando, nomeadamente, o diálogo frutífero entre a área científica interdisciplinar da Ecologia Humana e a Literatura Portuguesa. Neste sentido, configura o que pode entender-se como um ensaio de dupla interdisciplinaridade. Recorreu-se a uma metodologia híbrida que integra métodos e fontes das ciências do ambiente e sociais e da análise literária, cujos graus de objetividade variam entre si, e que pode filiar-se na recente área dos “mixed methods”, cuja exploração se acentuou nas últimas duas décadas na Europa e nos Estados Unidos. Em concreto, pretendeu-se analisar a representação literária da Natureza e do vínculo de interdependência que o ser humano estabelece com ela na obra de Ferreira de Castro (1898-1974) ‒ um dos mais aclamados e traduzidos escritores portugueses do século XX, fundador do “romance social” português ‒ e perceber em que medida essa representação irradia da experiência de vida em variados ambientes geográficos, da personalidade e da ideologia do escritor. A tese consta de duas partes principais, traçando a primeira uma “Ecobiografia” do escritor, que averigua a sua relação e a sua conceção pessoal sobre a Natureza; e dedicando-se a segunda à ecocrítica de quatro textos de ficção com cenários em áreas rurais de Portugal continental, escritos entre 1928 e 1947: Emigrantes (1928), “O Natal em Ossela” (1933), Terra Fria (1934) e A Lã e a Neve (1947). Defende-se que, num tempo anterior ao movimento ecológico português, esses textos continham já um significativo teor eco-humano. Apresentam, por isso, um grande potencial de difusão do ambiente biofísico e das modalidades relacionais que o ser humano instituiu com a terra numa época, revelando-se um valioso contributo para a História Ambiental do território português. Esta função extra-artística projeta-se nas gerações leitoras do presente e do futuro e pode atuar em benefício da consciência ambiental e de cidadania neste século XXI. Razão por que é devido à obra castriana este novo lugar na Cultura portuguesa, mais além e mais amplo que a sua aplaudida dimensão literária.

Terra Nativa. A relação eco-humana na vida e na obra de Ferreira de Castro

A presente investigação teve o apoio financeiro da FCT, através de uma Bolsa de Doutoramento.

Comparative environmental life-cycle analysis of concretes using biomass and coal fly ashes as partial cement replacement material

Nowadays, the concrete production sector is challenged by attempts to minimize the usage of raw materials and energy consumption, as well as by environmental concerns. Therefore, it is necessary to choose better options, e.g. new technologies or materials with improved life-cycle performance. One solution for using resources in an efficient manner is to close the materials' loop through the recycling of materials that result either from the end-of-life of products or from being the by-product of an industrial process. It is well known that the production of Portland cement, one of the materials most used in the construction sector, has a significant contribution to the environmental impacts, mainly related with carbon dioxide emission. Therefore, the study and utilization of by-products or wastes usable as cement replacement in concrete can supply more sustainable options, provided that these type of concrete produced has same durability and equivalent quality properties as standard concrete. This work studied the environmental benefits of incorporating different percentages of two types of fly ashes that can be used in concrete as cement replacement. These ashes are waste products of power and heat production sectors using coal or biomass as fuels. The results showed that both ashes provide a benefit for the concrete production both in terms of environmental impact minimization and a better environmental performance through an increase in cement replacement. It is possible to verify that the incorporation of fly ashes is a sustainable option for cement substitution and a possible path to improve the environmental performance of the concrete industry.

Durability indicators comparison for SCC and CC in tropical coastal environments

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) demands more studies of durability at higher temperatures when subjected to more aggressive environments in comparison to the conventional vibrated concrete (CC). This work aims at presenting results of durability indicators of SCC and CC, having the same water/binder relations and constituents. The applied methodologies were electrical resistivity, diffusion of chloride ions and accelerated carbonation experiments, among others, such as microstructure study, scanning electron microscope and microtomography experiments. The tests were performed in a research laboratory and at a construction site of the Pernambuco Arena. The obtained results shows that the SCC presents an average electrical resistivity 11.4% higher than CC; the average chloride ions diffusion was 63.3% of the CC; the average accelerated carbonation penetration was 45.8% of the CC; and the average open porosity was 55.6% of the CC. As the results demonstrated, the SCC can be more durable than CC, which contributes to elucidate the aspects related to its durability and consequent prolonged life cycle.

Satisfaction with Life Scale among adolescents and young adults in Portugal: extending evidence of construct validity

The paper presents three empirical studies designed to extend the test of the construct validity of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) among Portuguese students. In the first study, the responses of 461 elementary and secondary education students were submitted to a principal component analysis. A solution of one single factor was chosen, accounting for 55.7 % of the total variance, with Cronbach alpha coefficient and inter-item correlation above .70 and .20, respectively. The second study used a sample of 317 undergraduate students and registered a similar factor solution for SWLS (/pq = 0.99), which accounted for 65.6 % of the total variance (Cronbach alpha .89 and inter-item correlation above .20). A test–retest analysis registered coefficients of .70 (T2) and .77 (T3) and no significant statistically differences between T2, T3 and T1. The third study used a sample of 107 foster care youths from elementary and secondary education. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicate adequate fit indexes for the one-factor solution (v2/df = 2.70, GFI = .96, CFI = .96), which showed convergent validity, reliability and homogeneity. In conclusion, there is psychometric evidence for the one-factor structure of the SWLS in Portugal.

Hydrophobic/hydrophilic P(VDF-TrFE)/PHEA polymer blend membranes

Polymer blend membranes have been obtained consisting of a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic polymers distributed in co-continuous phases. In order to obtain stable membranes in aqueous environments, the hydrophilic phase is formed by a poly(hydrohyethyl acrylate), PHEA, network while the hydrophobic phase is formed by poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TrFE). To obtain the composites, in a first stage, P(VDF-TrFE) is blended with poly(ethylene oxyde) (PEO), the latter used as sacrificial porogen. P(VDF-TrFE)/PEO blend membranes were prepared by solvent casting at 70° followed by cooling to room temperature. Then PEO is removed from the membrane by immersion in water obtaining a P(VDF-TrFE) porous membrane. After removing of the PEO polymer, a P(VDF-TrFE) membrane results in which pores are collapsed. Nevertheless the pores reopen when a mixture of hydroxethyl acrylate (HEA) monomer, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (as crosslinker) and ethanol (as diluent) is absorbed in the membrane and subsequent polymerization yields hybrid hydrophilic/hydrophobic membranes with controlled porosity. The membranes are thus suitable for lithium-ion battery separator membranes and/or biostable supports for cell culture in biomedical applications.

Sustentabilidade no Design: uma abordagem aos resíduos limpos das indústrias do calçado

Dissertação de mestrado em Design e Marketing

Sistema de apoio à decisão clínica: quality of life system

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia e Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

Ciclo de vida do produto: desenvolvimento e produção: estudo de caso

Dissertação de mestrado em Design e Marketing