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Renal transplant is the gold standard treatment for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Despite the evolution of renal transplant procedures, complications can still occur. Transplant renal artery pseudoaneurysm is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication, which can be asymptomatic or cause mass-effect symptoms. We report an unusual case of a pseudoaneurysm of an unfunctional renal transplant that caused a femoral nerve compression, mimicking lumbosacral radiculopathy. The case concerns a 38-year-old woman with primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) that progressed to ESKD. The patient underwent a kidney transplant that failed a few years after the surgery. More than 10 years later, she presented with symptoms consistent with lumbosacral radiculopathy, which was ultimately diagnosed as femoral nerve compression caused by a transplant renal artery pseudoaneurysm. This case emphasizes that each patient's medical history should always be considered when assessing even common complaints because rare causes can manifest in frequent symptoms. On the other hand, this case makes us reflect on weighing up the cost/benefit of some diagnostic investigations, as it is important not only to investigate the most common causes but also to rule out, in selected patients, those that, although rare, can be life-threatening.

This research addresses the social exclusion of elderly citizens in terms of lifelong education via an interdisciplinary STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) approach. Technological literacy among older people is a critical factor in social exclusion. This study seeks to provide senior citizens with competencies in scientific, artistic, mathematical, and technological domains by enhancing scientific and technological literacy. The research developed a series of non-formal education sessions on the golden ratio using a STEAM educational approach. A quantitative methodology approach was carried out by using a diagnostic survey of the participants’ conceptions and a subsequent quasi-experimental study to evaluate the impact of the intervention. This study, conducted with 37 senior citizens (n = 37), found positive results aligning with the existing literature on the potential of the STEAM approach. The STEAM approach proved to be engaging for seniors, offering a holistic and interdisciplinary educational experience. Despite the limited availability of science educational programs for seniors and the scarcity of studies on lifelong learning using the STEAM approach, this research highlights the need for such initiatives, especially given the growing senior population. Applying STEAM education shows promise in enhancing scientific literacy and motivation among adult learners. By integrating mathematical concepts, such as the golden ratio, with practical applications in arts and natural sciences, STEAM education can provide a rich, motivating, and accessible learning experience, promoting active and healthy ageing through lifelong learning. Further research and development in this area could maximise educational benefits for the senior population.

This paper presents the main features of the financialisation of the Portuguese economy and society by focusing on the relation between the Portuguese financial sector and both external and domestic economic agents. It underlines the role played by the insertion of domestic finance into international financial markets in the financialisation of the country. Based on the Portuguese case, it elaborates on the theoretical understanding of the context-specific nature of semi-peripheral financialisation aimed as a contribution to an emerging body of literature addressing this phase of capitalism.

This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of cooperation in productive ventures, conceived of as collective action endeavours that require cooperation rather than mere coordination. It is argued that cooperative behaviour is grounded on three kinds of ‘common goods’, defined as goods that are shared and recognized as beneficial by the workers. These comprise common goals, relational satisfaction, and moral norms and values. The commonly held goods are associated with motives and behavioural rules which constitute both the reasons for cooperating and the means through which the dilemmatic nature of cooperation is overcome. It is further argued that the binding character of these rules is closely linked to humans’ ability and opportunity to communicate. Normative guidelines relative to management practices and directions for future research are also derived.

Financialisation addresses the rising importance of the financial sphere in contemporary capitalist economies, but the concept has remained theoretically vague, often failing to go beyond the narrow confines of the rise of finance and to examine the broader interaction of finance with the rest of the economy. Furthermore, scarce attention has been paid to the relevance of financialisation to developing countries, particularly to middle-income countries. South Africa is an important case-study that enables a stronger conceptualisation of financialisation, encompassing its relation to developing countries. The thesis first develops a political economy approach to the concept of financialisation by drawing on recent work that stresses the changing conduct of non-financial enterprises, banks and households. A theoretical framework for financialisation is developed and is then set against the empirical reality of South Africa. To be specific, the thesis examines the evolution of financial flows as well as of the financial position of different sectors - focusing on non-financial enterprises, banks, and households - during the post-apartheid period, thus testing the relevance and applicability of financialisation to South Africa. The thesis shows that the South African economy is indeed a financialised economy, but which nevertheless presents a number of distinguishing features for each sector due to the specific domestic historical context and connections with the world market. Non-financial enterprises have become increasingly engaged in debt and equity markets, but still rely on traditional sources of funding, such as bank credit. Banks have targeted households as a rising source of income, but investment banking activities have remained marginal. Finally, households have accumulated increasing volumes of debt, although with unequal distribution and cost, reflecting the extreme inequality of the South African society. The results presented contribute to a more robust understanding of financialisation in developing counties showing its variety of form as a phase of capitalist development.

This report reviews the literature about environmental, social, and governance investing, examines the correlation between the ESG ratings and cost of equity, and assesses the impact of ESG considerations on Jeronimo Martins’ Valuation. The results on Jeronimo Martins’ share price are mixed with two scenarios decreasing the share value to 21.28€ and 21.60€ and two scenarios increasing to 24.85€ and 28.24€.

Neste trabalho, são estudadas algumas questões relativas à regularidade da solução de problemas de cálculo das variações e de Lagrange. Como resultado desse estudo, apresentamos algumas estimativas explicitas para o controlo ótimo de alguns problemas específicos. Estas estimativas são ainda utilizadas para derivar um limite para a complexidade de um método de ponto interior aplicado a um problema de Lagrange convexo.Além disso, é ainda estudado o problema de rastreio regido pela equação do calor. Obtivemos uma aproximação por um problema de otimização de dimensão finita e, baseando-nos nessa aproximação, encontramos um limite para a complexidade do método de ponto interior aplicado ao problema de rastreio regido pela equação do calor.

A divulgação Científica tem vindo a expandir-se e a abranger as mais diversas áreas científicas, tanto na Biologia, como na Geologia, na Física, na Medicina e na Astronomia. Cada vez mais, as exigências de uma sociedade desenvolvida justificam a necessidade de se divulgar ciência, onde as competências e os saberes da mesma se refletem no aumento pelo gosto da ciência. Para tal, não basta falar de divulgação científica, mas sim de divulgação da ciência, onde as visitas de estudo detêm um papel preponderante nas escolas, incutindo o gosto e motivando os estudantes a aprender ciência fora das salas de aula. O programa nacional de Biologia e Geologia de 10º ou 11º ano, contempla propostas diversas atividades para a implementação e diversificação das temáticas abordadas no mesmo programa. Como atividades outdoor, o programa considera alguns recursos institucionais, e locais de interesse geológico. Assim, o estudo desenvolvido assentou no modelo organizativo de visitas de estudo desenvolvido por Nir Orion (1993), numa turma de 11º ano de uma escola do Porto. O estudo realizado permitiu aferir qual o entendimento dos estudantes face as visitas de estudo, qual a importância das mesmas, assim como a importância dada à divulgação científica.

O problema conhecido na literatura como “Facility layout problem (FLP)”, em que se pretende determinar a disposição de recursos de produção e a sua interação num determinado espaço, é um problema estratégico para a implementação do chão de fábrica de uma empresa pelo impacto que tem na performance da produção.O problema consiste em encontrar um posicionamento único entre instalações (departamentos, máquinas, células de produção, armazéns, etc.) e localizações no chão de fábrica, de forma a otimizar um ou mais objetivos de produção. O objetivo da criação de layout consiste na otimização do espaço existente, minimização do tempo de produção, redução do custo de manuseamento de matérias, aumento do grau de flexibilidade, entre outros.A solução do problema deverá especificar a localização relativa de cada departamento (layout em bloco) e numa fase posterior poderá especificar o layout detalhado dentro de cada departamento.Na presente tese serão apresentados alguns modelos matemáticos para criação de um layout, neste caso vamos usar uma formulação matemática Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP), uma formulação matemática Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) e uma heurística de Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) para resolver problemas de layout. Todas estas formulações e modelos serão postos em prática para a resolução de problemas fictícios.Numa primeira abordagem iremos resolver problemas fictícios onde abordaremos a formulação QAP para problemas de atribuição de espaço de duas dimensões (x,y) e MIP e em seguida iremos usar a heurística PSO para a resolução de problemas em escala maior e real.