INTERNAL ORGANIZATION OF A F&B COMPANY IN THE BOP CONTEXT

Base of Pyramid (BoP) is nowadays one of global management’s top issues. Although several studies were focused on developing economies and their markets behaviour, very few have worked on the internal organization dramaBoP, developing economies, strategy, value chain

Multi-attribute choice with ordinal information: a comparison of different decision rules

In the context of additive multiattribute aggregation, we address problems with ordinal information, i.e., considering a ranking of the weights (the scaling coefficients). Several rules for ranking alternatives in these situations have been proposed and compared, such as the rank-order-centroid weight, minimum value, central value, and maximum regret rules. This paper compares these rules, together with two rules that had never been studied (quasi-dominance and quasi-optimality) that use a tolerance parameter to extend the concepts of dominance and optimality. Another contribution of this paper is the study of the behavior of these rules in the context of selecting a subset of the most promising alternatives. This study intends to provide guidelines about which rules to choose and how to use them (e.g., how many alternatives to retain and what tolerance to use), considering the contradictory goals of keeping a low number of alternatives yet not excluding the best one. The comparisons are grounded on Monte Carlo simulations

Bitcoin-boom or bust: implementation of cryptocurrencies in diversified portfolios

Bitcoin stands as one of the most revolutionizing tools of the last decade. Its incredible and eventful run makes it highly valued by some and equally criticized by others. Many defend it as the future of banking and the entire financial industry, while others call it a bubble waiting to burst. Despite this duality the biggest of the cryptocurrencies has been gaining a following with more and more investors willing to invest in it. As of October 2020, the Director of Research of Fidelity said that portfolio managers should consider allocating up to 5% of their value to Bitcoin, with the cryptocurrency's current market value being just a "drop in the bucket" of its potential, alerting that the move of retail investors towards Bitcoin is inevitable. Thus, we studied how viable is the implementation of Bitcoin on an investor' portfolio, making mainly use of well diversified index replicators of some of the biggest and most used benchmarks. The results have shown that despite concerns mostly of volatility there is relevance in considering adding the cryptocurrency to one's portfolio. Retail and institutional investors alike should not sleep on the emergence of this new asset class and should take measures to ensure that they study and comprehend it in order to assess if it fits their risk profile and not miss on the potential diversification effect and returns that one could have with Bitcoin. The main theoretical contribution of this work comes from the in depth analysis of Bitcoin and its diversification capabilities when faced to more common investment vehicles, while the main practical contribution lies on the application of the individual portfolio weights to an Exchange-traded fund (ETF) adept investor looking to diversify into Bitcoin.O Bitcoin mostra-se como uma das mais revolucionárias ferramentas da última década. O seu incrível caminho cheio de eventos faz com que seja altamente valorizado por uns e altamente criticado por outros. Muitos defendem que será o futuro da banca e do sistema financeiro, enquanto que outros afirmam que não passa de uma bolha à espera de rebentar. Apesar desta dualidade, a maior criptomoeda tem vindo a ganhar cada vez mais seguidores e investidores dispostos a investir nela. Em outubro de 2020, o Diretor of Research da Fidelity afirmou que os gestores de portfolios deveriam considerar alocar até 5% do valor do portfolio ao Bitcoin, com o valor da criptomoeda sendo apenas uma "gota num oceano" do seu potencial e alertando que a mudança de investidores particulares para o Bitcoin é inevitável. Assim, estudou-se a viabilidade da implementação de Bitcoin no portfolio de um investidor, fazendo uso de índices replicadores de mercado já bastante diversificados que são muitas vezes usados como termos de comparação para outros portfolios. Os resultados mostraram que, apesar de maioritariamente preocupações com a volatilidade, há relevância em considerar a adição de criptomoedas ao portfolio de um investidor. Investidores tanto particulares como institucionais devem estar atentos à emergência desta nova classe de ativos e devem tomar medidas para garantir que a estudam e compreendem para assim poderem ver se será ou não indicada para o seu portfolio, de modo a não perder os ganhos e efeitos de diversificação que podem advir do Bitcoin. A contribuição teórica principal deste trabalho vem da análise detalhada ao Bitcoin e do seu potencial de diversificação quando comparado aos instrumentos de investimento mais frequentemente usados. Enquanto que a maior contribuição prática está na aplicação dos pesos de carteira de Bitcoin e do ativo complementar para um investidor adepto de fundos Exchanged-traded (ETF’s) que procure diversificar com Bitcoin

Improving Small Cities Competitiveness through Greenway Planning and Design: Vila-Franca-de-Xira case study, Lisboa Metropolitan Area, Portugal

Greenway concept as a strategy to support landscape planning and design has been addressed in research studies and publications worldwide (Fabos and Ryan, 2006). However, to fully understand the significance of greenways as a mean to improve cities landscape, the analysis of the design and implementation levels are crucial in order to assess its efficiency towards life quality and acceptance by local populations. This paper aims to further research the role of greenways on medium/small cities in Portugal, as a mean to improve their competitiveness. Through the case study of greenway design and implementation in the city of Vila- Franca-de-Xira (VFX) in the North Region of Lisbon Metropolitan Area (figure 1), where the authors have been involved as designers, it was analyzed how the concept of greenway enables a better coordinate municipal urban planning, government funds capturing and allocation for public space improvement. The outcome here hypothesized is that, beyond greenway’s efficiency as a communication tool between planning professionals and politicians, they enable to introduce a positive dynamic towards the improvement of cities environmental and landscape quality. Addressing issues of public health, well-being, resources’ protection, and public attraction, greenways may well contribute to increase cities competitiveness in a metropolitan context

Microfabrication of a microfluidic device for cell sorting: isolation of both circulating tumour cell (CTC) and giant cancer associated macrophage-like cells (CAMLs)

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia MecânicaO cancro é a segunda maior causa de morte do mundo, tendo as mortes relacionadas com cancro vindo a aumentar. Entre os vários tipos de cancro, o cancro da próstata (PCa) é o segundo cancro masculino mais comum. Uma grande parte das mortes por cancro poderia ser evitada se os doentes fossem diagnosticados e tratados antes do desenvolvimento de metástases cancerígenas. A presença de células tumorais circulantes (CTC) e de macrófagos associados a tumores (CAML) na corrente sanguínea dos doentes com cancro é crucial para a deteção precoce da doença, já que estas desempenham um papel importante na disseminação do cancro. Assim, é importante desenvolver tecnologias capazes de detetar, quantificar e analisar estas células raras, pois isso permitiria um tratamento personalizado não invasivo, assim como um acompanhamento dos doentes em tempo real. Portanto, este estudo centrou-se no desenvolvimento e otimização de um sistema microfluídico capaz de isolar eficazmente tanto as CTCs como as CAMLs do sangue periférico de pacientes com PCa. Assim sendo, foram concebidos dois dispositivos microfluídicos em espiral de Dean Flow Fractionation (DFF), tendo um dispositivo duas saídas e o outro quatro saídas. As forças inerciais inerentes que atuam sobre os microcanais permitem uma separação contínua das partículas de interesse, provocada pela diferença de tamanho entre as CTCs e CAMLs e o resto das células sanguíneas. As geometrias dos dispositivos foram desenvolvidas utilizando um software CAD, tendo estas sido otimizadas numericamente antes de os dispositivos serem fabricados. Ambos os dispositivos foram testados numérica e experimentalmente para assegurar que seriam capazes de isolar as células tumorais circulantes raras. O desempenho dos dispositivos foi experimentalmente otimizado utilizando amostras de suspensões celulares de linhas de células cancerosas da próstata (DU-145 e PC-3) e células gigantes geradas in vitro, tendo estas sido suspensas em sangue saudável e diluídas. Para os caudais ideais da amostra e do fluido buffer de 100 e 1000 µL/min, respetivamente, a eficiência de isolamento do sistema microfluídico final foi de 85,28% para a linha de células PCa e 60,83% para as células gigantes geradas in vitro, tendo também sido alcançada uma elevada depleção do resto das células sanguíneas. Os resultados numéricos e experimentais foram semelhantes. Assim, os dispositivos microfluídicos propostos constituem um método viável para isolar células tumorais circulantes raras, potencialmente abrindo caminho para a deteção não-invasiva e para a monitorização do tratamento do cancro.Cancer is the world's second largest cause of death, with cancer-related fatalities growing over the years. Among the various cancer types, prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common male cancer. However, a large portion of cancer fatalities might be avoided if patients were diagnosed and treated before the development of cancer metastases. The presence of rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cancer-associated macrophage-like cells (CAMLs) in cancer patients' bloodstreams are crucial for early disease detection and treatment monitoring, as they play an important role in cancer dissemination, i.e. in the metastasis process. Thus, it is important develop technologies capable of detecting, quantifying and analysing these rare cells, as that would allow for a personalized non-invasive treatment, as well as real time patient monitoring. Therefore, this study focused on the development and optimization of a microfluidic system capable of efficiently isolate both CTCs and CAMLs from peripheral blood of PCa patients. As such, two spiral Dean Flow Fractionation (DFF) microfluidic devices were designed, a two-outlet and four-outlet device. The inherent inertial forces that act on the microchannels allow for a continuous, size-based separation of CTCs and CAMLs from blood. The devices geometries were developed using a CAD software, being numerically optimized prior to its fabrication. Both devices were tested numerically and experimentally to assure that they were capable of isolate rare circulating cancer-related cells. The devices’ performances were experimentally optimized using samples of cell suspensions of prostate cancer cell lines (DU-145 and PC-3) and in vitro generated giant cells suspended in diluted in healthy blood. For the optimal sample fluid and buffer fluid flow rates of 100 and 1000 µL/min, respectively, the isolation efficiency of the final microfluidic system was 85.28% for the PCa cell line and 60.83% for the in vitro generated giant cells, while a high depletion of non-interest cells was achieved. The numerical and experimental results were similar. Thus, the proposed microfluidic devices constitute a viable method to isolate rare circulating cancer-related cells, potentially paving the way for personalized non-invasive detection and treatment monitoring of cancer.This work results of the project InNPeC - Nano tools for rare giants: an innovative blood-based screening for prostate cancer (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031442), funded by European Regional Development Found (ERDF) and by Fundação para Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT)

Chemical and biological studies of Portuguese Bee venom

This research aimed to develop analytical methodologies for the quality control of apitoxin, as well as evaluating its biological activities. A spectrophotometer method was established to estimate the total protein content, equivalent to albumin, in the apitoxin samples. Its advantage lies in preserving sample integrity. Additionally, electrochemical methodologies were developed, allowing confirmation that apitoxin lacks antioxidant activity and implementing quality control measures for four heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Pb, and Cu). The antimicrobial activity of the five apitoxin samples revealed bactericidal action against all tested strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, except for Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains, which remained unaffected. Among the samples, Sample 1 exhibited the lowest MIC values (9.2 µg/mL) against Staphylococcus aureus, meaning that this bacteria was the most sensitive to the negative effects of apitoxine. The highest MIC (41.8 µg/mL) was observed against a strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae in the presence of Sample 5, denoting increased resistance to apitoxin. Portuguese apitoxin demonstrated significant inhibitory effects against various enzymes: xanthine oxidase (IC50 values ranged between 1.7± 0.4 and 6.3± 0.85 μg/mL), lipase (IC50 values ranged from 0.05 ± 0.01µg/mL to 0.16 ±0, 0.03 μg/mL), α-amylase (IC50 values between 0.08 ± 0.02 and 0.4 ± 0.12 μg/mL), α-glucosidase (IC50 values between 0.03 ± 0.01 and 0.14 ± 0.01 μg/mL), lipoxygenase (IC50 values in the range of 0.06± 0.01 to 0.25± 0.04 μg /mL), acetylcholinesterase (IC50 values ranged from 0.78 ± 0.2 to 3.75 ± 0.2 μg/mL), tyrosinase (IC50 values between 1.6 ± 0.1 to 4.8 ± 0.24 μg/mL), and hyaluronidase (inhibition percentage between 85±5.4 % and 75.0±3.3%). In conclusion, apitoxin possesses valuable antimicrobial and enzyme-inhibiting. These findings suggest that apitoxin could hold potential significance in addressing various health conditions and diseases, warranting further scientific investigations due to its potential application in clinical or pharmaceutical settings.Esta investigação teve como objetivo o desenvolvimento de metodologias analíticas para o controlo de qualidade da apitoxina, bem como a avaliação das suas actividades biológicas. Foi estabelecido um método espetrofotométrico para estimar o teor de proteína total, equivalente à albumina, nas amostras de apitoxina. A sua vantagem reside na preservação da integridade da amostra. Adicionalmente, foram desenvolvidas metodologias electroquímicas que permitiram confirmar a ausência de atividade antioxidante da apitoxina e implementar medidas de controlo de qualidade para quatro metais pesados (Zn, Cd, Pb e Cu). A atividade antimicrobiana das cinco amostras de apitoxina revelou uma ação bactericida contra todas as estirpes testadas de Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus e Klebsiella pneumoniae, com exceção das estirpes de Pseudomonas aeruginosa, que não foram afectadas. Entre as amostras, a Amostra 1 apresentou os valores mais baixos de CIM (9,2 µg/mL) contra Staphylococcus aureus, o que significa que esta bactéria foi a mais sensível aos efeitos negativos da apitoxina. A CIM mais elevada (41,8 µg/mL) foi observada contra uma estirpe de Klebsiella pneumoniae na presença da Amostra 5, denotando um aumento da resistência à apitoxina. A apitoxina portuguesa demonstrou efeitos inibitórios significativos contra várias enzimas: xantina oxidase (os valores de IC50 variaram entre 1,7± 0,4 e 6,3± 0. 85 μg/mL), lipase (valores de IC50 variaram entre 0,05 ± 0,01µg/mL e 0,16 ±0, 0,03 μg/mL), α- amilase (valores de IC50 entre 0,08 ± 0,02 e 0,4 ± 0,12 μg/mL), α-glucosidase (valores de IC50 entre 0. 03 ± 0,01 e 0,14 ± 0,01 μg/mL), lipoxigenase (valores de IC50 na faixa de 0,06± 0,01 a 0,25± 0,04 μg /mL), acetilcolinesterase (valores de IC50 variaram de 0,78 ± 0. 2 a 3,75 ± 0,2 μg/mL), tirosinase (valores de IC50 entre 1,6 ± 0,1 a 4,8 ± 0,24 μg/mL) e hialuronidase (percentagem de inibição entre 85±5,4% e 75,0±3,3%). Em conclusão, a apitoxina possui um valioso efeito antimicrobiano e inibidor de enzimas. Estes resultados sugerem que a apitoxina pode ter um significado potencial na abordagem de várias condições de saúde e doenças, justificando mais investigações científicas devido à sua potencial aplicação em contextos clínicos ou farmacêuticos