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While public intervention in Research and Development (R&D) is generally supported by economic theory and R&D subsidies are being implemented in most OECD countries, evidence on their effectiveness fails to reveal conclusive results. Exploring data from approved and rejected applicants to two R&D funding instruments in Portugal, we provide further evidence on R&D subsidy programmes directed to firms and S&T organisations, by identifying the determinants of grant decisions by the public agency. The results show that subsidies to firms are mainly aimed at large R&D projects by manufacturing firms, in both high- and low-technology sectors. Subsidies to S&T organisations show a higher degree of selectivity, targeting mainly universities and premium public research centres, and favouring R&D projects in exact sciences and engineering and cooperation projects. The subsidy allocation process in Portugal presents distinctive features in line with its status of an innovation follower country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy ( FAP) is a chronic debilitating multi-organic disorder, mainly assessed using ordinal-based impairment measures. To date, no outcome measure at the activity and participation level has been constructed in FAP. The current study aimed to design an interval activity/participation scale for FAP through Rasch methodology. A preliminary FAP Rasch-built overall disability scale (pre- FAP-RODS) containing 146 activity/participation items was assessed twice (interval: 2-4 week; test-retest reliability) in 248 patients with Val30Met FAP examined in Porto, Portugal, of which 65.7% have received liver transplantation. An ordinal-based 24-item FAP-symptoms inventory questionnaire ( FAP-SIQ) was also assessed (validity purposes). The pre- FAP-RODS and FAP-SIQ data were subjected to Rasch analyses. The pre- FAP-RODS did not meet model's expectations. On the basis of requirements such as misfit statistics, differential item functioning, and local dependency, items were systematically removed until a final 34-item FAP-RODS© was constructed fulfilling all Rasch requirements. Acceptable reliability/validity scores were demonstrated. In conclusion, the 34-item FAP-RODS© is a disease-specific interval measure suitable for detecting activity and participation restrictions in patients with FAP. The use of the FAP-RODS© is recommended for future international clinical trials in patients with Val30Met FAP determining its responsiveness and its cross-cultural validation. Its expansion to other forms of FAP should also be focus of future clinical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background, Aim and Scope. The distribution of sediments in estuarine beaches is controlled by the interactions between sediment supply, hydrodynamic processes and human intervention. The main purpose of this study is to characterize the sediments of Tagus estuarine beaches in order to understand their origin and to contribute to a better knowledge of the Tagus estuary sediment budget. Methods. Surface sediment samples were collected across beach profiles and sand grain size analysis was performed by dry sieving. Grain size statistics for the median (d50) and standard deviation (SDM) were obtained using the Moment method. This study was complemented by a qualitative evaluation of the sediment composition. Cross-shore topographic surveys were conducted for selected sampling sites. Results. Tagus estuarine beach sediments are mainly composed of quartz sand particles which are fine-grained and well sorted near the mouth of the estuary and medium to coarse-grained and moderately sorted in the inner domain. Compositional results show evidence of active anthropogenic sediment sources, especially in the coarser fractions. Discussion. The analysis of the textural and compositional characteristics of beach sediments in the inner estuarine domain is compatible with local sedimentary sources, while a marine signature is present at the mouth and inlet channel sediments. In the inner domain, differences in the sedimentary processes are represented by the textural characteristics of the sediments, such as the sorting degree and the gravel content. Sediment characteristics also reflect human intervention in the system, with the introduction of anthropogenic and allochthonous particles and the mixture of sediments from different sources. Conclusions. The sediments of the inner Tagus estuarine beaches are derived from local Plio-Pleistocene outcrops while inlet and outer estuary beaches reveal a dominant marine source. Beach textural variability observed in the inner domain is not related to wave forcing gradients, but mainly to variations in the sedimentary processes along the estuarine margins and to human intervention. Results show that the Tagus estuarine beaches depended, almost exclusively, on sediment input from local sources until the last century. With increasing human occupation, sediment transfers became dominated by anthropogenically related activities mainly connected with the occupation of estuarine margins and dredging. Recommendations and Perspectives. Further studies should extend the present level of knowledge in what concerns sand transport patterns through additional compositional and geochemical analysis, and the development of new techniques in order to allow the quantitative evaluation of the impact of human activities on the sediment budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the perception of the quality of life of adolescents and young adults with congenital heart disease and to examine the variables that have a negative impact on it and that add a resilience effect., Methods: A total of 22 male and 18 female patients, aged 12-26 years, of whom 27 were admitted to surgery and 13 were not, participated in this study. All patients had complete medical records and were interviewed once; demographic and clinical data were collected, and patients filled a questionnaire on quality of life, the WHOQOL-BREF, and underwent an interview on social support, educational style, self-image, functional limitations, and emotional adjustment., Results/conclusions: Our patients showed a better perception of quality of life than did the general population, on the basis of psychological, social relationship and environment scales. Older patients hold a better perception of quality of life on the psychological scale. Cyanosis did not show any significant impact over perception of quality of life decay; however, the number of surgical procedures and the persistence of moderate-to-severe residual injuries had considerable detrimental effect. Social support had an impact on increasing resilience, promoting adjustment to illness. Several factors may play a role in adjustment to congenital heart disease, either improving the perception of quality of life or worsening it. We may conclude that some buffer variables on congenital heart disease may play roles in increasing the perception of quality of life of patients during their lifetime, social support probably explaining why the perception of quality of life is better than in the normal population. The number of surgeries and the moderate-to-severe residual injuries, however, reverted that effect.