Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2023-10-31"
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- Application of nanoparticles in cancer treatment: a concise reviewPublication . Sell, Mariana; Lopes, Ana Rita; Escudeiro, Maria; Esteves, Bruno; Monteiro, Ana R.; Trindade, Tito; Cruz-Lopes, LuísaTimely diagnosis and appropriate antitumoral treatments remain of utmost importance, since cancer remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Within this context, nanotechnology offers specific benefits in terms of cancer therapy by reducing its adverse effects and guiding drugs to selectively target cancer cells. In this comprehensive review, we have summarized the most relevant novel outcomes in the range of 2010–2023, covering the design and application of nanosystems for cancer therapy. We have established the general requirements for nanoparticles to be used in drug delivery and strategies for their uptake in tumor microenvironment and vasculature, including the reticuloendothelial system uptake and surface functionalization with protein corona. After a brief review of the classes of nanovectors, we have covered different classes of nanoparticles used in cancer therapies. First, the advances in the encapsulation of drugs (such as paclitaxel and fisetin) into nanoliposomes and nanoemulsions are described, as well as their relevance in current clinical trials. Then, polymeric nanoparticles are presented, namely the ones comprising poly lactic-co-glycolic acid, polyethylene glycol (and PEG dilemma) and dendrimers. The relevance of quantum dots in bioimaging is also covered, namely the systems with zinc sulfide and indium phosphide. Afterwards, we have reviewed gold nanoparticles (spheres and anisotropic) and their application in plasmon-induced photothermal therapy. The clinical relevance of iron oxide nanoparticles, such as magnetite and maghemite, has been analyzed in different fields, namely for magnetic resonance imaging, immunotherapy, hyperthermia, and drug delivery. Lastly, we have covered the recent advances in the systems using carbon nanomaterials, namely graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and carbon dots. Finally, we have compared the strategies of passive and active targeting of nanoparticles and their relevance in cancer theranostics. This review aims to be a (nano)mark on the ongoing journey towards realizing the remarkable potential of different nanoparticles in the realm of cancer therapeutics.
- Using Unreal Engine 5 to realistic rendering of scenesPublication . Orvalho, Luísa; Couto, Carlos; Costa, Duarte; Leite, GonçaloThis scientific paper discusses the Unreal Engine 5 (EU5) game engine and its tools in the field of realistic scene rendering. This real- time 3D image creation tool is used by developers to create photorealistic visuals and immersive experiences. Some of the main features of this graphics engine are presented, such as Nanite, Lumen and MetaHuman Creator, as well as the contributions that its use can bring to the industry of video games, film, architecture, virtual reality.
- Fatores de suscetibilidade genética para peri-implantite : revisão sistemáticaPublication . Silva, Margareth Araújo da; Santos, Luís Filipe de Sepúlveda Silva; Silva, Raquel Monteiro Marques da; Almeida, Rita Silva Bornes deIntrodução: A presente revisão sistemática seguiu a metodologia definida pelo (PRISMA), seguindo os critérios PICO. Estabeleceu-se a seguinte questão: Será que a presença de SNPs influencia a suscetibilidade de pacientes sujeitos a colocação de implantes dentários para o desenvolvimento de peri-implantite? A pesquisa bibliográfica foi realizada nas bases de dados Medline/PubMed, Web of Science e Scopus utilizando a expressão de busca: “((Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide) OR (SNPs)) AND (Peri-implantitis)”. Após a pesquisa, 19 artigos foram selecionados para a revisão sistemática. Objetivo: Inventariar os SNPs com associação demonstrada com a incidência de peri-implantite, por forma a sistematizar a evidência existente sobre os fatores genéticos subjacentes a esta condição. Resultados: Nos 19 estudos, foram avaliados um total de 23 genes e 32 SNPs quanto a uma eventual relação com a ocorrência de peri-implantite. 13 dos 32 SNPs analisados apresentaram diferenças significativas na distribuição de frequências alélicas ou genotípicas. O polimorfismo IL1B rs1143634 foi avaliado em quatro estudos, que revelaram diferenças significativas na distribuição de frequências alélicas entre os grupos caso e controlo. O polimorfismo TNF rs1800629 foi avaliado em cinco estudos, em que os portadores do alelo variante A apresentam um risco significativamente superior de desenvolver peri-implantite. O polimorfismo CD14 rs2569190 foi avaliado em dois estudos, ainda que em nenhum dos estudos tenham sido observadas diferenças significativas na distribuição de frequências alélicas e genotípicas. O polimorfismo OPG rs2073618 foi avaliado em dois estudos e foram observadas diferenças significativas na distribuição de frequências alélicas. Conclusão: Foram identificados 16 polimorfismos significativamente associados com a peri-implantite. Sete destes – CD14 rs2569190, FCGR2B rs1050501, FCGR2A rs1801274, FCGR3A rs396991, IL10 rs1800872, IL1B rs1143634 e TNF rs1800629 apresentaram associações significativas nos 3 modelos de transmissão considerados na análise. Quatro polimorfismos evidenciaram resultados significativos concordantes em dois ou mais estudos independentes: IL1B rs1143634, TNF rs1800629, CD14 rs2569190 e OPG rs2073618.
- Multivariate analysis in accelerated shelf-life assessment - an overviewPublication . Lima, Laíres; Pereira, Ana I.; Pintado, Manuela; Carocho, Márcio; Barros, LillianTo meet the market demand for high-quality products, researchers and manufacturers have invested in the development of accurate methods for estimating shelf-life. Tests that consider the simultaneous effects of different parameters on food degradation are useful tools in shelf-life studies, as these parameters can directly influence quality and safety. With this in mind, the objective of this review is to gather pertinent information from recent studies (2006–2022) pertaining to multivariate analysis applied in accelerated shelf-life tests in order to facilitate a comprehensive understanding. The review focuses on multivariate techniques commonly employed in accelerated shelf-life modeling, namely, principal components analysis, partial least squares regression, orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis. Through an extensive literature review, the collected data represent the evolution of these methods, taking into account current trends, advances in food shelf-life techniques, and future perspectives. It was observed that the recent literature provides limited information on the determination of shelf-life under multiple accelerated factors. However, the studies analyzed showed that multivariate analysis can be a useful tool in the interpretation of quality characteristics and can accurately predict the shelf-life of foods compared to univariate kinetic procedures. The multivariate statistical methods addressed in this work are presented as a promising method for foods tested, being applied together with different chemometric techniques. This comprehensive review contributes to the body of knowledge surrounding accelerated shelf-life testing, offering valuable insights for researchers, manufacturers, and stakeholders in the food industry.
- Using sentiment analysis to predict Amazon ratings : a comparative study using dictionaries approachesPublication . Amorim, Inês Bettencourt Martins; Alves, Paulo Alexandre PimentaThis dissertation delves into the domain of sentiment analysis, a computational approach to detect and extract human sentiments from textual data. With the ever-increasing growth of online textual content, especially in the form of reviews, the need to accurately determine customer sentiment has never been more imperative. To explore the efficacy of lexicon-based sentiment analysis models, this study implements 9 models: VADER, TextBlob, NRC Lexicon, SentiWordNet, Pattern, AFINN, Opinion Lexicon, LabMT, and ANEW. These models are tested on an Amazon reviews dataset, which is uniquely accompanied by a rating system in which the accuracy of the sentiment extraction can be assessed. The study then further delves into a comparative analysis, collecting the performance of these models to discern their strengths, weaknesses, and overall utility.
- Climate governance: cities as global actorsPublication . Rocha, ArmandoDespite their lack of a formal status as subjects of international law, cities have been performing a relevant activity in the context of global climate governance. In fact, coping with climate change requires action from all levels of governance. The vulnerability of cities to climate change and its effects, hand in hand with their contribution to global GHG emissions, explains why cities have been particularly active in testing new rules, standards, and practices, which might be later codified as a treaty-based or domestic statutory rules. Furthermore, cities have been pledging to comply with targets and deadlines of GHG emissions reduction, namely through local ordinances, in consistency with their Constitutions. Cities’ pledges do not bind their States but sustain their States’ international commitments and help complying with the goals and obligations under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. Finally, cities can participate as observers in the meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, where they may contribute to the shaping of treaty rules and offer a decisive help in climate-related litigation before international bodies. The role of cities as global actors is short, but it has proved to be efficient, and there is still potential for broadening their contribution to global climate governance.
- The paradox of the peasantry in management and organization studiesPublication . Cunha, Miguel Pina e; Clegg, Stewart R.; Rego, Arménio; Berti, MarcoPurpose – Burrell (2020) challenged management and organization studies (MOS) scholars to pay attention to a topic they have mostly ignored: the peasantry, those 2 billion people that work in the rural primary sector. We address the topic to expand Burrell’s challenge by indicating that the peasantry offers a unique context to study a paradoxical condition: the coexistence of persistent poverty and vanguardist innovation. Approach – We advance conceptual arguments that complement the reasons why researchers should pay more attention to the peasantry. We argue that continuation of past research into field laborers, transitioning from feudalism to industrial capitalism, still has currency, not just because of the good reasons listed by Burrell (enduring relevance of the phenomenon in developing countries; sustainability concerns; acknowledgment of common heritage) but also because some seemingly archaic practices are evident in the economically developed countries where most management and organizations scholars live. Findings – We show that in advanced economies the peasantry has not disappeared, and it is manifest in contradictory forms, as positive force contributing to sustainable productivity (in the case of digitized agriculture) and as a negative legacy of social inequality and exploitation (as form of modern slavery) Originality – We discuss contrasting themes confronting management of the peasantry, namely modern slavery and digital farming, and propose that a paradox view may help overcome unnecessary dualisms which may promote social exclusion rather than integrated development. Keywords: Peasantry, Modern slavery, Digitized agriculture, Management and farming, New space industry.
- Heterogeneity of business models and banking sector resiliencePublication . Marques, Bernardo P.; Alves, Carlos F.This paper studies the relationship between the heterogeneity of business models and the banking sector's resilience, in light of the interplay between diversification, market power, and resilience. Our goal is to tackle the open puzzle related to the effects of diversification-induced homogeneity of banks' business models on the banking sector's stability. Using a sample of 1268 banks from 33 countries (Europe, Asia, America), for the period between 2005 and 2021, we estimate a 3SLS model that accounts for the interplay between revenue diversification, heterogeneity, market power and resilience. We apply principal components and clustering analysis to identify the banks' business models and compute an ecology-based measure of heterogeneity per country. We find that revenue diversification reduces bank heterogeneity, suggesting that banks pursue uniform diversification strategies. We also uncover a positive relationship between bank heterogeneity and market power, suggesting low rivalry among different business models. Importantly, our results indicate that bank heterogeneity positively impacts resilience and is economically significant. Namely, we estimate a 4.5% increase in the Z-score due to a one (within) standard deviation increase in business model heterogeneity. We discuss several implications of our results for micro- and macro-prudential supervision and regulation, and identify potential avenues for future research.
- Digital marketing in the age of sustainabilityPublication . Orvalho, Luísa; Moleiro, Rúben; Meireles, AndréSustainability, known as one of the pillars of digital transformation, combined with the growing recognition of importance of environmental, social and economic sustainability, creates the need for companies to integrate sustainable practices into their business strategies and into the company's culture and philosophy. This scientific review article explores digital marketing opportunities and challenges in the sustainability era, as a set of strategies that promote sustainable actions and products for a company, this article analyzes the impact of sustainable practices on business strategies and addresses Green IT it also has some examples of good practices of companies that use green marketing.