Men's grooming in Germany: A consumer research and discussion of current consumer attitudes

The objective of this dissertation was to explore the German men’s grooming market and to discuss the usage and purchase behavior of young male adults. After a brief market analysis, this dissertation evaluates the results of qualitative and quantitative research. The conducted research explored the consumer’s reasoning for and attitude towards personal grooming, and their attitude towards product attributes and the aging process. The dissertation concludes that men attach high value to personal grooming but only to the extent that their personal need is satisfied. As the male involvement in MG is highly dependent on each consumer’s individual needs, the market requires a careful segmentation.

Development of a fundus camera for analysis of photoreceptor directionality in the healthy retina

The Stiles-Crawford effect (SCE) is the well-known phenomenon in which the brightness of light perceived by the human eye depends upon its entrance point in the pupil. This physiological characteristic is due to the directional sensitivity of the cone photoreceptors in the retina and it displays an approximately Gaussian dependency which is altered in a number of pathologies. Retinal imaging, a widely spread clinical practice, may be used to evaluate the SCE and thus serve as diagnostic tool. Nonetheless, its use for such a purpose is still underdeveloped and far from the clinical reality. In this project a fundus camera was built and used to assess the cone photoreceptor directionality by reflective imaging of the retina in healthy individuals. The physical and physiological implications of its development are addressed in detail in the text: the optical properties of the human eye, illumination issues, acquiring a retinal image formed by the eye, among others. A full description of the developmental process that led to the final measuring method and results is also given. The developed setup was successfully used to obtain high quality images of the eye fundus and in particular the parafoveal cone photoreceptors. The SCE was successfully observed and characterized. Even though considerable improvements could be done to the measurement method, the project showed the feasibility of using retinal imaging to evaluate the SCE thus motivating its usage in a clinical environment.

Can body traits, other than wings, reflect the flight ability of Triatominae bugs?

Abstract: INTRODUCTION : Insects of the subfamily Triatominae are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi , the Chagas disease parasite, and their flying behavior has epidemiological importance. The flying capacity is strikingly different across and within Triatominae species, as well as between sexes or individuals. Many Triatoma infestans individuals have wings but no flying muscles. In other Triatominae species, no clear relationships were found between wing length and flying behavior. If wing presence or size is not reflective of the flying behavior, which other parts of the body could be considered as reliable markers of this important function? METHODS : The genus Mepraia has exceptional characteristics with invariably wingless females and wingless or winged males. We calculated the porous surface exposed to odorant molecules to estimate the olfactory capacity of Mepraia spinolai . The head shape and thorax size were estimated using the geometric morphometric approach and traditional morphometric techniques, respectively. RESULTS : Alary polymorphism in M. spinolai was significantly associated with consistent modification of the thorax size, head shape, and notable change in the estimated olfactory capacity. The macropterous individuals had a larger olfactory surface and thorax size and significantly different head shape compared to those of the micropterous individuals. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that these structural changes could be associated with the flying potential of Triatominae. Thus, morphological attributes not found on wings could help determine the likely flying potential of the bugs.

The late adopter scale: A measure of late adopters of technological innovations

Diffusion of Innovation is a topic of interest for researchers and practitioners. Although substantial research is conducted on user categories, researchers often focus on the first half of the curve, ignoring the late adopters. We conduct two studies to measure the attributes of late adopters. In our first study of mobile phone users, we develop the Late-Adopter Scale. We then test it on a sample of laptop users. This scale is multi-dimensional, presents nomological and discriminant validity and has three dimensions: 1) rate of adoption, 2) resistance to innovation, and 3) skepticism. Findings reveal that all three Late Adopter Scale dimensions are significantly associated with low price preference. Moreover, in both samples skepticism is associated with high preference for simple products, lower leading edge status, and lower product involvement. Discussion focuses on implications of this new scale to theory and practice of new product development and diffusion of innovation.

Recommendations for Nova School of Business and Economics to target yhe Colombian market

The growing connotation Internationalization has worldwide, alongside the economic, political and socio-environmental changes, is empowering a progressively global education economy. Therefore, this Work Project aims to help Nova SBE to understand the decision making process of the Colombian tertiary education students, as this market constitutes an enriching opportunity to meet both business and educative objectives. In order to do so, a qualitative research was conducted to comprehend the rationale behind Colombian students to study abroad. The study points out that the reputation of a HE institution and the Portuguese culture are the key attributes to pursue a degree in Portugal.

Using data mining for prediction of hospital length of stay: an application of the CRISP-DM Methodology

Hospitals are nowadays collecting vast amounts of data related with patient records. All this data hold valuable knowledge that can be used to improve hospital decision making. Data mining techniques aim precisely at the extraction of useful knowledge from raw data. This work describes an implementation of a medical data mining project approach based on the CRISP-DM methodology. Recent real-world data, from 2000 to 2013, were collected from a Portuguese hospital and related with inpatient hospitalization. The goal was to predict generic hospital Length Of Stay based on indicators that are commonly available at the hospitalization process (e.g., gender, age, episode type, medical specialty). At the data preparation stage, the data were cleaned and variables were selected and transformed, leading to 14 inputs. Next, at the modeling stage, a regression approach was adopted, where six learning methods were compared: Average Prediction, Multiple Regression, Decision Tree, Artificial Neural Network ensemble, Support Vector Machine and Random Forest. The best learning model was obtained by the Random Forest method, which presents a high quality coefficient of determination value (0.81). This model was then opened by using a sensitivity analysis procedure that revealed three influential input attributes: the hospital episode type, the physical service where the patient is hospitalized and the associated medical specialty. Such extracted knowledge confirmed that the obtained predictive model is credible and with potential value for supporting decisions of hospital managers.

Numerical Assessment of the out-of-plane response of a brick masonry structure without box behaviour

This paper presents the assessment of the out-of-plane response due to seismic loading of a masonry structure without rigid diaphragm. This structure corresponds to real scale brick masonry specimen with a main façade connected to two return walls. Two modelling approaches were defined for this evaluation. The first one consisted on macro modelling, whereas the second one on simplified micro modelling. As a first step of this study, static nonlinear analyses were conducted to the macro model aiming at evaluating the out-of-plane response and failure mechanism of the masonry structure. A sensibility analyses was performed in order to assess the mesh size and material model dependency. In addition, the macro models were subjected to dynamic nonlinear analyses with time integration in order to assess the collapse mechanism. Finally, these analyses were also applied to a simplified micro model of the masonry structure. Furthermore, these results were compared to experimental response from shaking table tests. It was observed that these numerical techniques simulate correctly the in-plane behaviour of masonry structures. However, the

Multilevel model of safety climate for furniture industries

BACKGROUND: Furniture companies can analyze their safety status using quantitative measures. However, the data needed are not always available and the number of accidents is under-reported. Safety climate scales may be an alternative. However, there are no validated Portuguese scales that account for the specific attributes of the furniture sector. OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to develop and validate an instrument that uses a multilevel structure to measure the safety climate of the Portuguese furniture industry. METHODS: The Safety Climate in Wood Industries (SCWI) model was developed and applied to the safety climate analysis using three different scales: organizational, group and individual. A multilevel exploratory factor analysis was performed to analyze the factorial structure. The studied companies’ safety conditions were also analyzed. RESULTS: Different factorial structures were found between and within levels. In general, the results show the presence of a group-level safety climate. The scores of safety climates are directly and positively related to companies’ safety conditions; the organizational scale is the one that best reflects the actual safety conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The SCWI instrument allows for the identification of different safety climates in groups that comprise the same furniture company and it seems to reflect those groups’ safety conditions. The study also demonstrates the need for a multilevel analysis of the studied instrument.

Candida bracarensis: Evaluation of virulence factors and its tolerance to Amphotericin B and Fluconazole

Candida bracarensis is an uncommon Candida species found during an epidemiological study of candidiasis performed in Braga, Portugal. Initially, it was identified as C. glabrata, but recently detailed analyses pointed out their differences. So, little information is still available about C. bracarensis virulence factors and antifungal susceptibilities. Therefore, the main goal of this work is to evaluate the ability of C. bracarensis to form biofilms, to produce hydrolytic enzymes (proteases, phospholipases and hemolysins), as well as its susceptibility to amphotericin B and fluconazole. It was shown, for the first time, that all C. bracarensis strains were able to form biofilms and display proteinase and hemolytic activities. Moreover, although planktonic cells presented antifungal susceptibility, amphotericin B and fluconazole were unable to inhibit biofilm formation and eradicate pre-formed biofilms. Due to the propensity of C. bracarensis to display antifungal resistance and virulence attributes, the control of these emerging pathogens is recommended.

Thermal conditions affecting heat transfer in FDM/FFE: a contribution towards the numerical modelling of the process

The performance of parts produced by Free Form Extrusion (FFE), an increasingly popular additive manufacturing technique, depends mainly on their dimensional accuracy, surface quality and mechanical performance. These attributes are strongly influenced by the evolution of the filament temperature and deformation during deposition and solidification. Consequently, the availability of adequate process modelling software would offer a powerful tool to support efficient process set-up and optimisation. This work examines the contribution to the overall heat transfer of various thermal phenomena developing during the manufacturing sequence, including convection and radiation with the environment, conduction with support and between adjacent filaments, radiation between adjacent filaments and convection with entrapped air. The magnitude of the mechanical deformation is also studied. Once this exercise is completed, it is possible to select the material properties, process variables and thermal phenomena that should be taken in for effective numerical modelling of FFE.

Sensory intensity assessment of olive oils using an electronic tongue

Olive oils may be commercialized as intense, medium or light, according to the intensity perception of fruitiness, bitterness and pungency attributes, assessed by a sensory panel. In this work, the capability of an electronic tongue to correctly classify olive oils according to the sensory intensity perception levels was evaluated. Cross-sensitivity and non-specific lipid polymeric membranes were used as sensors. The sensor device was firstly tested using quinine monohydrochloride standard solutions. Mean sensitivities of 14±2 to 25±6 mV/decade, depending on the type of plasticizer used in the lipid membranes, were obtained showing the device capability for evaluating bitterness. Then, linear discriminant models based on sub-sets of sensors, selected by a meta-heuristic simulated annealing algorithm, were established enabling to correctly classify 91% of olive oils according to their intensity sensory grade (leave-one-out cross-validation procedure). This capability was further evaluated using a repeated K-fold cross-validation procedure, showing that the electronic tongue allowed an average correct classification of 80% of the olive oils used for internal-validation. So, the electronic tongue can be seen as a taste sensor, allowing differentiating olive oils with different sensory intensities, and could be used as a preliminary, complementary and practical tool for panelists during olive oil sensory analysis.

Local non-negative initial data scalar characterization of the Kerr solution

For any vacuum initial data set, we define a local, non-negative scalar quantity which vanishes at every point of the data hypersurface if and only if the data are Kerr initial data. Our scalar quantity only depends on the quantities used to construct the vacuum initial data set which are the Riemannian metric defined on the initial data hypersurface and a symmetric tensor which plays the role of the second fundamental form of the embedded initial data hypersurface. The dependency is algorithmic in the sense that given the initial data one can compute the scalar quantity by algebraic and differential manipulations, being thus suitable for an implementation in a numerical code. The scalar could also be useful in studies of the non-linear stability of the Kerr solution because it serves to measure the deviation of a vacuum initial data set from the Kerr initial data in a local and algorithmic way.

Multi-temporal analysis of radiometric changes in satellite images of forest edges to infer selective-logging areas in the Amazon forest

Radiometric changes observed in multi-temporal optical satellite images have an important role in efforts to characterize selective-logging areas. The aim of this study was to analyze the multi-temporal behavior of spectral-mixture responses in satellite images in simulated selective-logging areas in the Amazon forest, considering red/near-infrared spectral relationships. Forest edges were used to infer the selective-logging infrastructure using differently oriented edges in the transition between forest and deforested areas in satellite images. TM/Landsat-5 images acquired at three dates with different solar-illumination geometries were used in this analysis. The method assumed that the radiometric responses between forest with selective-logging effects and forest edges in contact with recent clear-cuts are related. The spatial frequency attributes of red/near infrared bands for edge areas were analyzed. Analysis of dispersion diagrams showed two groups of pixels that represent selective-logging areas. The attributes for size and radiometric distance representing these two groups were related to solar-elevation angle. The results suggest that detection of timber exploitation areas is limited because of the complexity of the selective-logging radiometric response. Thus, the accuracy of detecting selective logging can be influenced by the solar-elevation angle at the time of image acquisition. We conclude that images with lower solar-elevation angles are less reliable for delineation of selecting logging.

Diet and ecomorphology of Leporinus reticulatus (Characiformes: Anostomidae) from the upper Rio Juruena, MT, Brazil: ontogenetic shifts related to the feeding ecology

The conservation of diverse and well-distributed fish taxa, as the genus Leporinus, relies intrinsically on the knowledge of the ecological attributes of its representatives. Aiming to increase this knowledge, studies on diet and ecomorphology are ideal to provide important information about species ecology. Thus, this study aimed to analyze aspects of feeding ecology of L. reticulatus, from the upper Rio Juruena, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The diet of specimens in different ontogenetic stages was compared, as well as their teeth morphology and ecomorphological attributes. Leporinus reticulatus presented omnivorous diet, with higher consumption of invertebrates by smaller specimens (younger ones), and gradual introduction of plant items in larger specimens (older ones). The items consumed by the individuals and the ecomorphological attributes indicated that the species is generalist and opportunistic, besides its association with the river bottom, evidencing a benthic feeding behavior. This species presents a gradual ontogenetic modification in teeth shape and mouth positioning, ranging from a terminal mouth with tricuspid teeth, in smaller specimens, to an inferior mouth with spatula shaped teeth with no cusps, in larger specimens.The ecomorphological attributes indicate an increasing swimming efficiency, and ability for performing vertical displacements, along the ontogenetic development, which in addition to the morphological ontogenetic alterations in the buccal apparatus, contributes to a better ability to explore another niches.

Resource partitioning and ecomorphological variation in two syntopic species of Lebiasinidae (Characiformes) in an Amazonian stream

ABSTRACTResource partitioning is important for species coexistence. Species with similar ecomorphology are potential competitors, especially when phylogenetically close, due to niche conservatism. The aim of this study was to investigate the resource partitioning among populations of two species of lebiasinids (Copella nigrofasciata and Pyrrhulina aff. brevis) that co-occur in a first-order Amazonian stream, analyzing the trophic ecology, feeding strategies and ecomorphological attributes related to the use of food and space by these species. Fish were captured in May and September 2010. The stomach contents of 60 individuals were analyzed and quantified volumetrically to characterize the feeding ecology of both species. Eleven morphological attributes were measured in 20 specimens and combined in nine ecomorphological indices. Both species had an omnivorous-invertivorous diet and consumed predominantly allochthonous items. Both showed a tendency to a generalist diet, but intrapopulational variation in resource use was also detected. Overall feeding niche overlap was high, but differed between seasons: low during the rainy season and high in the dry season. In the latter, the food niche overlap was asymmetric because C. nigrofasciata consumed several prey of P. aff. brevis, which reduced its food spectrum. The ecomorphological analysis suggests that C. nigrofasciatahas greater swimming capacity (greater relative length of caudal peduncle) than P. aff. brevis, which has greater maneuverability and tendency to inhabit lentic environments (greater relative depth of the body). Our results demonstrate that these species have similar trophic ecology and suggest a spatial segregation, given by morphological differences related to locomotion and occupation of habitat, favoring their coexistence.