PAKing up to the endothelium

Angiogenesis recapitulates the growth of blood vessels that progressively expand and remodel into a highly organized and stereotyped vascular network. During adulthood, endothelial cells that formed the vascular wall retain their plasticity and can be engaged in neo-vascularization in response to physiological stimuli, such as hypoxia, wound healing and tissue repair, ovarian cycle and pregnancy. In addition, numerous human diseases and pathological conditions are characterized by an excessive, uncontrolled and aberrant angiogenesis. The signalling pathways involving the small Rho GTPase, Rac and its downstream effector the p21-activated serine/threonine kinase (PAK) had recently emerged as pleiotropic modulators in these processes. Indeed, Rac and PAK were found to modulate endothelial cell biology, such as sprouting, migration, polarity, proliferation, lumen formation, and maturation. Elucidating the Rac/PAK molecular circuitry will provide essential information for the development of new therapeutic agents designed to normalize the blood vasculature in human diseases.Comment: Cell Signal (2009) epub ahead of prin

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: BASE OF THE COMPANIES PROGRESS IN KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

The current framework of the society is the result of the actions that were taken in the direction of development by all the organizations that have activities in a business environment that is constantly changing. The complexity of the factors that influence the way of doing business has led to the appearance of new resources, which will support the evolution of the economic organizations, namely the knowledge. Therefor it is created a new context whose base is represented by the information and the human capital. In order to achieve a certain level of the economic performance, the business organization must identify measures and strategies that can insure obtaining competitive advantages. Research and development has become the main method that helps companies and states in order to evolve and find new solutions for the current and future challenges. The increasing interest for activities that have as result innovation seems to be the best option for each participant at the productive actions on the market. The knowledge based economies have as base innovation, research, education, but most of all human capital. Taking into consideration these aspects, the economic entities will initiate action that need to be performant according to the requirements of the current level of development of the society, but also will plan strategically the future directions, in order to face the change

THE IMPACT OF THE INNOVATIVE ACTIVITY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

The purpose of each business organization is to make profit by leveraging its advantages, so most of them focus on the activities which ensure the future development. The growth strategies of the big companies should be established around the research & development activity which grounds the possibilities of increasing the competitiveness. These companies invest annually huge amounts of money in order to discover new products, new ways of doing business and to meet the challenges of the competition. Innovation has become the common goal of all economic entities, being the way for a company to achieve something, either we refer to a product or to a service or even a process, compared with what is already on the market or in society. In this context it is essential to analyze the performance of the innovative activity and the manner in which its results will be reflected on the development of the business organizations.

Assessing advertising effectiveness in social network media for products with different appeals

Advertising on Social Networked Media is becoming more relevant for marketers. In fact, marketers’ budget for online advertising is gaining more weight in total marketing budget for brands. Therefore, it is becoming far more important these days to understand the aspects that build up an effective advertising campaign within SNS channels. This dissertation aims to study the effect that appeal types – hedonic or utilitarian – have on advertising effectiveness, whilst considering the impact of the platform in which the ad was being ran. This paper presents a multiple linear regression developed based on 274 actual campaigns that have been displayed both on Facebook and Instagram with two different appeals. The core analysis was made through a multiple regression model and independent samples t-test, using SPSS. Results have shown that ads with a utilitarian appeal perform better on social networked media than those with a hedonic appeal, meaning that consumers give more attention to ads where usefulness and benefits are featured. Moreover, it was concluded that the variable platform did not have an impact to the overall model. For marketing managers, this finding could mean allocating a higher amount of money for ads with this kind of appeal as they generate more clicks what demonstrates a higher interest in that specific product or service. Furthermore, it also could point out that actually it is not where the advertisement is displayed but what type of message it conveys.O orçamento gasto por marketers em publicidade online está a ganhar cada vez mais peso no orçamento total de publicidade nas empresas. Assim sendo, é cada vez mais importante compreender os aspetos que constituem uma campanha de publicidade eficaz dentro dos meios sociais digitais. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo estudar o efeito que os tipos de apelos – hedónicos ou utilitários – têm na eficácia da publicidade, considerando, ao mesmo tempo, o impacto da plataforma em que são passados os anúncios. Esta tese apresenta um modelo de regressão linear múltipla desenvolvido tendo por base 274 campanhas reais que decorrem tanto no Facebook como no Instagram com dois tipos de apelos diferentes. As análises principais forma feitas através de uma regressão linear múltipla e t-testes para amostras independentes, utilizando a ferramenta SPSS. Os resultados demonstraram que os anúncios com um apelo utilitário apresentam um melhor desempenho em redes socias do que os anúncios com um apelo hedónico, i.e., os consumidores prestam mais atenção a anúncios em que as características de utilidade e benefícios são destacadas. Por último, concluiu-se que a variável plataforma não tem qualquer impacto no resultado final do modelo desenhado. Para gestores, este resultado pode significar começar a alocar uma parte maior do orçamento das campanhas em anúncios com este tipo de apelo dado que estes geram mais clicks e, por isso, demonstram um maior interesse no produto. É realçado o facto de não ser a rede social em que o anúncio está, mas sim a mensagem o mesmo transmite

a learning journey

Maria Sarmento is grateful to Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (Ref. no SFRH/BPD/ 107886/2015); Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/ECO/00124/2013 and Social Sciences DataLab, Project 22209), POR Lisboa (LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-007722 and Social Sciences DataLab, Project 22209) and POR Norte (Social Sciences DataLab, Project 22209).This paper original contribution builds on examining consumer attitudes in periods of recession and post-recession, providing new insights concerning consumer decision-making, new logics of spending and saving behavior and also opening new paths for research on the psychology of choice in contexts of recession and the immediate stage of recovery. The study used a longitudinal qualitative approach comprising twenty-two semi-structured interviews with eleven Portuguese consumers. The research was conducted in two moments in time: 2014 and 2018, corresponding to periods of Portuguese recession and recovery. The results show that, during recessions, consumers look for economic level-headedness, adopting and assuming new behaviors that allow them to accommodate the reduced income, which also translates into increased social responsibility. Besides switching to cheaper options, namely looking for private labels and national brand promotions, consumers revealed new strategies and new habits, such as i) more organization and planned behavior; ii) going shopping more frequently; iii) reducing stocking behavior, and iv) avoiding wasting. The study expands the comprehension of consumer behavior during recessions and recovery, bringing the idea of crises as ‘learning journeys’ and transformational opportunities.authorsversionpublishe

Análisis del registro, aplicación y pago del Impuesto sobre la Renta (I.R) en la empresa Inversiones Mierisch del departamento de Matagalpa, en el periodo 2015

Esta investigación corresponde a evaluar el impuesto sobre la renta en las empresas de Matagalpa para ello pretendemos analizar el registro, aplicación y pago del Impuesto sobre la Renta en la empresa Inversiones Mierisch del departamento de Matagalpa en el periodo 2015. Es importante de que todas las entidades, personas naturales o jurídicas cumplan con el pago del impuesto sobre la renta (I.R) ya que es de carácter obligatorio según la ley de concertación tributaria 822 y contribuir a la realización de obras y beneficios a favor de la población y el país en sí. La metodología empleado en el desarrollo del presente estudio fue con un enfoque cuantitativo con elementos cualitativos, según el alcance de la investigación es de tipo descriptivo, respecto al tiempo es transversal ya que se investigo el periodo 2015. El procedimiento que se utilizó para el análisis de la información fue haciendo uso de los métodos teóricos y empíricos, como población todas las empresas del departamento de Matagalpa y Jinotega que se encuentran inscritas dentro del régimen general, como muestra se tomó la empresa Inversiones Mierisch y el instrumento que se utilizo para la recolección de la información fue a través de la entrevista dando respuesta a los objetivos específicos obteniendo los resultados siguientes: Se logro identificar que en el registro, aplicación y pago del impuesto sobre la renta corresponde al IR Anual, Pago Mínimo Definitivo y Retenciones. El procedimiento para efectuar el pago del Impuesto sobre la Renta se realizó a través de la ventanilla electrónica (VET) llenando los formatos de declaración para el IR Anual, Pago Mínimo Definitivo y Retenciones respectivamente y de acuerdo a la Ley de Concertación Tributaria 822, se pudo valorar que el registro, aplicación y pago del impuesto sobre la renta, se efectuó correctamente según su articulado cumpliendo específicamente con las fechas de pago, haciendo uso de los formatos que la DGI establece y aplicando las tasas correspondientes para cada tributo. Palabras claves: Impuesto sobre la Renta-IR anual-Pago Mínimo Definitivo- Retencione

Transmedia research. Participatory culture in the creation of academic knowledge

Se presenta un proyecto experimental de la Universitat Jaume I para utilizar narrativas transmedia con el objetivo de facilitar la participación en la comunicación de la ciencia. Conclusiones del proyecto Ágora Digital: narrativas transmedia y cultura participativa en la comunicación científica, respaldado por la Fecyt, en el que han participado miembros de diez grupos de investigación y el Centro Tecnológico Espaitec. Este estudio aborda las narrativas transmedia y la implementación de estrategias de ludificación o gamificación como una oportunidad para avanzar desde la comunicación hacia una investigación más responsable y alineada con las expectativas y valores de la ciudadanía. Los resultados del proyecto muestran cómo acercar la comunidad investigadora a la comunicación institucional y han servido como experiencia piloto para el proyecto internacional Out of the box.An experimental project of the University Jaume I, Castellón, Spain, to use transmedia narratives to facilitate the participation in the communication of science is presented. More precisely, it presents the conclusions of the project “Ágora Digital: narrativas transmedia y cultura participativa en la comunicación científica”, backed by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (Fecyt), in which members of ten research groups and the Technological Center Espaitec, have participated. This study approaches transmedia narratives and the implementation of gamification strategies as an opportunity to advance from the field of communication towards more responsible research, aligned with the expectations and values of the citizens. The results of the project has been useful to introduce the institutional communication channels to the research community of the University Jaume I and as a pilot of the international project Out of the box