8 research outputs found
Texture analysis and Its applications in biomedical imaging: a survey
No full textTexture analysis describes a variety of image analysis techniques that quantify the variation in intensity
and pattern. This paper provides an overview of several texture analysis approaches addressing the rationale supporting them, their advantages, drawbacks, and applications.
This survey’s emphasis is in collecting and categorising over five decades of active research on texture analysis.Brief descriptions of different approaches are presented along with application examples. From a broad range of texture analysis applications, this survey’s final focus is on biomedical image analysis. An up-to-date list of biological tissues and organs in which disorders produce texture changes that may be used to spot disease onset and progression is provided. Finally, the role of texture analysis methods as biomarkers of disease is summarised.This work was supported in part by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under Grants PTDC/EMD-EMD/28039/2017, UIDB/04950/2020, PestUID/NEU/04539/2019, and CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000016 and by FEDER-COMPETE under Grant POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028039. (Corresponding author: Rui Bernardes.)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Tobacco counseling experience prior to starting medical school, tobacco treatment self-efficacy and knowledge among first-year medical students in the United States
No full textFirst author Rui Sherry Xiao is a doctoral student in the Clinical and Population Health Research Program in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at UMass Medical School.OBJECTIVE: To explore students' tobacco dependence counseling experiences prior to medical school and their associations with tobacco counseling self-efficacy, and familiarity with and perceived effectiveness of tobacco dependence treatment among first-year medical students in the United States. METHOD: In 2010, 1266 first-year medical students from 10 US medical schools completed a survey reporting their clinical experiences with specific tobacco counseling skills (e.g., 5As) prior to medical school. The survey also included questions on tobacco counseling self-efficacy, perceived physician impact on smokers, and familiarity and effectiveness of tobacco-related treatments. RESULTS: Half (50.4%) reported some tobacco counseling experiences prior to medical school (i.e. at least one 5A). Students with prior counseling experiences were more likely to have higher tobacco counseling self-efficacy, and greater familiarity with medication treatment, nicotine replacement treatment, and behavioral counseling for smoking cessation, compared to those with no prior experiences. Perceived physician impact on patient smoking outcomes did not differ by prior tobacco counseling experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Many first-year medical students may already be primed to learn tobacco dependence counseling skills. Enhancing early exposure to learning these skills in medical school is likely to be beneficial to the skillset of our future physicians.Clinical and Population Health Researc
Physico-mechanical properties of chitosan films with carvacrol and grape seed extract
No full textThe physico-mechanical properties of 3 films composed by carvacrol, grape seed extract (GSE) and chitosan in different proportions were studied. The films, prepared by solvent casting technique with the following compositions of the casting solutions in carvacrol, GSE and chitosan: film-1: 9.6 ppm–684 ppm–1.25% w/v, film-2: 60 ppm–400 ppm–1.2% w/v and film-3: 90 ppm–160 ppm–1.24% w/v and were compared to a control (1.25% w/v chitosan) film. Mechanical, structural, barrier and colour properties of the films were evaluated. Film-3 presented the lowest water vapour and carbon dioxide permeabilities (WVP and CO2P) and tensile strength (TS) values and the highest oxygen permeability (O2P), whereas film-1 presented the highest water content and the lowest crystallinity, CO2P, TS and luminosity. These results suggest that in the range studied, carvacrol and GSE affect the film structure and its mechanicalproperties due to hydrophilic (GSE) and hydrophobic (carvacrol) compounds. This work will help the development of edible films, based on physico-mechanicalproperties, contributing to food preservation and shelf-life extension.The author Javiera F. Rubilar gratefully acknowledges her Ph.D. grant Erasmus Mundus 2008-1022/001 Frame ECW/17 from the EACEA of the European Union. The author Rui M. S. Cruz would like to thank Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (grant SFRH/BPD/70036/2010)
Lusophone entrepreneurship: analysis of entrepreneurial behavioural characteristics in Brazilian and Portuguese universities
No full textThis study analyzes the entrepreneurial characteristics of students from public universities. The objective was to evaluate the presence of the characteristics of entrepreneurship pointed out by McClelland through a comparative analysis between two countries and through an analysis using structural models. Data collection was performed with the questionnaire prepared by David McClelland that assesses entrepreneurial behavioural characteristics through 55 preliminary questions. Data were collected from 329 respondents at universities in Brazil and Portugal during 2019. A quantitative analysis was performed using AMOS 26 software, and structural equation models were tested for the three groups under analysis. The analysis resulted in the validation of three measurement models (Portuguese (PT) and Brazilian (BR), PT, and BR), and it was observed that all dimensions were relevant and statistically significant in the set of PT and BR simultaneously and in the BR group. For the PT group, only the dimension “taking calculated risks”, corresponding to H2, did not have statistical validity.This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, UIDB/04011/2020.
The work of the author Rui Silva is supported by national funds, through the FCT—Portuguese
Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UIDB/04011/2020. The work of the author
Paulo Mourão is financed by NIPE (Center for Research in Economics and Management), University
of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Taotologias, de Rui Rocha: uma poética do champuramento
No full textThis dissertation is about the book of poems, Taotologias, by the author Rui Rocha,
residing in the administrative region of Macau, China. The research investigated how the
poetic voice created by the author to express western and eastern philosophical-religiouscultural precepts through linguistic-literary elements, developing a champurado text, which
presents messages images from both western and eastern spacetimes.
For this purpose, elements relevant to the composition of the work's writings were historically
sought, as well as the linguistic-literary elements constituting the spacetimes featured in the
poems were geographically sought. In addition, there was a philosophical-religious research,
since the writings of Taotologias are reviewed on this theme. In line with this study, I delve
deeper into the investigation of strategic linguistic-literary tools, understanding that all the
images-messages were erected both in form and in content in a champurado way, that is,
using a hybrid look, taking it Both Western and Eastern cultures are seen as a confluence.A presente dissertação versa sobre o livro de poemas, Taotologias, do autor Rui
Rocha, residente na região administrativa de Macau, na China. A pesquisa investigou como a
voz poética criada pelo autor conseguiu expressar os preceitos filosóficos, religiosos e
culturais, tanto os ocidentais quanto os orientais, por meio de elementos linguístico-literários,
construindo uma obra champurada, a qual apresenta imagens-mensagem dos espaços-tempo
ocidentais e dos orientais. Para tanto, buscou-se historicamente os elementos relevantes à
composição das escritas da obra, bem como buscou-se geograficamente os elementos
linguístico-literários constitutivos dos espaços-tempo figurados nos poemas. Além disso,
houve uma pesquisa filosófico-religiosa, uma vez que as escritas de Taotologias são
revestidas dessa temática. Em consonância a esse estudo, aprofundou-se a investigação das
ferramentas estratégicas linguístico-literárias, entendendo que todas as imagens-mensagem
foram erigidas tanto na forma como no conteúdo de maneira champurada, ou seja, utilizandose de um olhar hibridizado, confluindo tanto para a cultura ocidental quanto para a oriental
The impact of strategy, environment, and the management system on the foreign subsidiary: the implication for open innovation
No full textWith globalisation, there has been an intensification of investments by foreign groups in sectors strategic to their country of origin, such as some minerals. It is, therefore, crucial for a parent company to implement specific controls in its management control systems. In these circumstances, this study aims to determine the degree of control exercised by the parent company over a subsidiary in cultural and organisational dimensions. In addition, other exogenous factors (entities and external factors) influence this system. The results obtained showed that the parent company had an influence on the Management Control System (MCS) of the subsidiary and changed the way control was exercised there, but was unable to deal with macroeconomic instability, environmental and strategic uncertainty, and, consequently, the management risk involved in the extractive activity; in this case, for this subsidiary to operate a seam mine and not be aware of it since it is essentially a commercial, economic group. In addition to these effects on the organisational dimension and the cultural dimension, the shareholders were unable to integrate the subsidiary’s organisational and local culture, which generated some dynamic tension with the expatriate. In addition to the theoretical framework used, it was confirmed that the Flamholtz model is passive to implement in industries in general, particularly in the extractive industry. Finally, some final considerations were made about the management control system, in which the argument is reinforced that there must be empathy between the local staff and the expatriate, as a representative of the shareholders, in order for this system to be a vehicle for the effective transfer of knowledge between both parties, as well as to be supported by open innovation.The work of the author Rui Silva is supported by national funds, through the FCT -
Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UIDB/04011/2020. The work of
the author Cidália Oliveira is financed by NIPE (Centre for Research in Economics and Management),
University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Dissemination of social accounting information: a bibliometric review
No full textThe discussion in recent decades about sustainable development issues has given rise to a new accounting dimension: social accounting. Currently, this issue remains an emerging theme. Although there are some studies and literature reviews, none include disclosure of social accounting information or the analysis of research paradigms. This article reviews the research on social accounting disclosure and tries to answer the following research questions: What research streams have been followed? Which theories and research paradigms have been used? The search for articles to be included in the literature review was performed through the Web of Science. The 126 articles obtained were later analyzed using Bibliometrix software. Results expose the growing interest in this theme and identify three distinct research lines (three clusters): Cluster 1—Social accounting disclosures, Cluster 2—Legitimacy vs. disclosure of social accounting, and Cluster 3—Motivations for disclosure of social accounting. The main contribute of this article resides, on the one hand, in the fact that no literature review articles have been found that include the theme of the disclosure of information on social accounting and, on the other hand, the treatment of data has been done with innovative software, an R package for bibliometric and co-citation analysis called Bibliometrix. As well as mapping the literature, another theoretical contribution of this study was identifying the main research approaches used in the studies. Within the paradigmatic plurality of social accounting research, the results suggest that social accounting research can also be critically addressed when addressing the sustainability challenges posed by climate change or carbon emissions, among many other aspects. This study is, to our knowledge, the first bibliometric review done about social accounting information disclosure.The work of the author Rui Silva is supported by national funds, through the FCT—
Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UIDB/04011/2020. The
work of the author Cidália Oliveira is financed by NIPE (Center for Research in Economics and
Management), University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
Electrosprayed whey protein-based nanocapsules for beta-carotene encapsulation
No full textSupplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2019.126157.In this work an electrohydrodynamic process (electrospray) was used to produce beta-carotene loaded nanocapsules based on whey protein isolate (WPI). WPI solutions were prepared in aqueous solutions with different concentrations of ethanol (5, 10 and 15%) which were used for beta-carotene solubilization. Different electrospray conditions were tested and the morphology and molecular organization of the nanocapsules were studied on dried and hydrated state. The size of the dried nanocapsules ranged between 227 and 283nm. After hydration, there was a significant increase in the mean size of the nanocapsules, being the sizes higher for nanocapsules produced with increasing concentrations of ethanol. Results, obtained from the reactivity of free sulfhydryl groups and fluorescence analysis, showed that the increase of ethanol concentration had a destabilizing effect on the protein unfolding. Electrosprayed WPI-based nanocapsules can be used for the encapsulation of ?-carotene answering the industrial demand for novel encapsulation technologies to protect sensitive bioactive compounds.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 unit and by BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-
FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 – Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The author Rui M. Rodrigues thanks to FCT the financial grant
with SFRH/BD/110723/2015. This work was supported by the project ARMAdilhas seletivas para eliminação da VESPA velutina. Medida 6 – Investigação e Desenvolvimento (n° 5894057). Instituto de Financiamento de Agricultura e Pescas, I.P.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
