Arbutus unedo L.: From traditional medicine to potential uses in modern pharmacotherapy

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Arbutus unedo L., the strawberry tree (Ericaceae family) is of increasing interest because of its common traditional, industrial, chemical and pharmaceutical uses. The plant is a typical evergreen plant of the Mediterranean basin, as well as of other regions with hot summers and mild rainy winters. This review covers the studies relevant to Arbutus unedo L. utilization in the current pharmacological therapy. Materials and methods: The available information on traditional uses, phytochemistry and biological activities of Arbutus unedo L. was collected from scientific databases through a search using the keywords 'Arbutus unedo L.' and/or 'strawberry tree' in 'Google Scholar', 'Pubmed', 'Sciencedirect', 'SpringerLink', 'Web of Science - Clarivate Analytics' and 'Wiley'. Unpublished Ph.D. and M.Sc. dissertations were also consulted for chemical composition, biological activities and traditional uses of Arbutus unedo L. and for manual search of additional references. Results: The fruits of the plant have been traditionally used as antiseptics, diuretics and laxatives in folk medicine, while the leaves have been used due to their diuretic, urinary antiseptic, antidiarrheal, astringent, depurative and antihypertensive properties. According to the scientific literature survey, different extracts obtained from Arbutus unedo L. have demonstrated a high pharmacological potential due to their in vitro and preclinical antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasitic, antiaggregant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, antitumoral, antioxidant, and spasmolytic properties. Conclusion: This review suggests that A. unedo is a promising source of phytopharmaceutical products. The potential advantages of Arbutus unedo are related with the presence of polyphenolic compounds in its composition. However, further studies are needed to ascertain some profitable effects in humans. The beneficial effects associated with this shrub suggest that Arbutus unedo can be used for the development of new drugs to treat diseases such diabetes, hypertension, among others. Nonetheless, the safety of the Arbutus unedo compounds should also be examined

Decision Support Methodology when Entering New Markets for a Semi-Finished Bronze Products Foundry

The world and society that we live in nowadays, develops itself with an astonishing speed. In order for companies to keep themselves competitive, they have, more and more, to choose strategic decisions to be successful. When the moment to study new markets and new clients arrive, it is important to evaluate the situation and understand, in a tactical way, which choice is the best to go. In the context of semi-finished bronze products foundry, factories that are within a business-to-business environment, it is fundamental to understand that they are playing in a very competitive market in terms of technology, quality standards and prices. To deal with competitors that also aim to extend their market, enterprises are betting in decision models to help them to make better decisions and to succeed. In this dissertation, a decision support methodology is suggested that crosses several tools. PESTLE, SWOT and multi-criteria decision-making matchmake results to help decision makers and managers to make competitive decisions. The section that explains the decision-making process was based on the Analytic Network Process. This dissertation was developed within a semi-finished bronze products foundry, located in Germany. This company has the will to expand to Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico

Analysis of the intranuclear life of nonsense transcripts

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Biologia, Especialidade de Biologia MolecularNonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a quality control mechanism that detects and rapidly degrades mRNAs carrying premature translation-termination codons (PTCs). Mammalian NMD depends on both splicing and translation, and requires recognition of the premature stop codon by the cytoplasmic ribosomes. Surprisingly, some published data have suggested that nonsense codons may also affect the nuclear metabolism of the nonsense-mutated transcripts. Therefore, we hypothesized that human β-globin transcripts sensitive to NMD could have a singular subcellular localization and processing state in mammalian cells nuclei. To determine if PTCs could influence nuclear events, we have established mouse erythroleukemia (MEL) cell lines stably transfected with wild-type or PTC-containing human β-globin genes. Subsequently, we analyzed the accumulation of NMD-competent β-globin transcripts versus wild-type counterparts using two different approaches: visualization of transcripts localization by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH); and quantification of pre-mRNA steady-state levels by ribonuclease protection assays (RPA) and reverse transcription-coupled quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). FISH analysis shows that MEL cells stably expressing PTC-containing β-globin transcripts present a marked tendency to display an abnormal speckled-like pattern of localization in the nucleus. However, in addition to the presence of the PTC, other effectors may act on the β-globin transcripts localization, as some wild-type β-globin MEL cells presented this abnormal FISH phenotype as well. On the other hand, our analyses by RPA and RT-qPCR clearly show that β- -globin pre-mRNAs carrying NMD-competent PTCs, but not those containing a NMD-resistant PTC, exhibit a significant decrease in their steady-state levels relatively to the wild-type or to a missense-mutated β-globin pre-mRNA. Conversely, in non-erythroid HeLa cells, human β-globin pre-mRNAs carrying NMD-competent PTCs accumulate at normal levels. Half-life analysis of these pre-mRNAs in MEL cells demonstrate that their low steady-state levels do not reflect significantly lower pre-mRNA stabilities when compared to the normal control. Furthermore, our results also provide evidence that the relative splicing efficiencies of intron 1 and 2 are unaffected. In conclusion, our set of data highlights potential nuclear pathways that induce a selective downregulation of PTC-containing β-globin pre-mRNA in MEL cells, albeit not affecting their stability or splicing effectiveness. These specialized nuclear pathways, which may act in concert with the general NMD mechanism, might discriminate the NMD-sensitive transcripts as abnormal in a promoter- and/or cell line-specific manner, probably to obtain optimal NMD activity.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - (SFRH/BD/31920/2006); financial support [Centro de Investigação em Genética Molecular Humana (CIGMH) and Center for Biodiversity, Functional and Integrative Genomics (BioFIG)

Financing potential in Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises

The main purpose of this dissertation is to show the main sources of financing that SMEs have access to, given that these companies represent most of the Portuguese business community. Secondly, it is intended to verify what types of financing and financial instruments companies use to obtain the desired financing and what is the purpose of the company in obtaining such financing. For that purpose a questionnaire is applied to companies, Finally, the study intends to understand if SMEs use or are aware of the help provided by public institutions, such as IAPMEI. With both the literature review and the application of the questionnaires the study concludes that the companies do not use nor exploit all the market hypotheses available for their financing. Despite the wide range of opportunities given by banks and other financial institutions, companies stick to the method they know, which is also the most common, the bank financing.A presente dissertação tem como principal objetivo mostrar quais as principais fontes de financiamento a que as PMEs têm acesso, dado que estas empresas representam a maioria do tecido empresarial português. Em segundo lugar, pretende-se verificar, através de um inquérito efetuado a empresas, quais são os tipos de financiamento e instrumentos financeiros que as empresas utilizam por forma a obterem o financiamento desejado e qual a finalidade da empresa ao obter esse financiamento. Por fim, pretende-se perceber se as PMEs utilizam ou conhecem a ajuda prestada por instituições públicas, como o IAPMEI. Através da revisão da literatura e da aplicação dos questionários conclui-se com o estudo que as empresas não utilizam nem exploram todas as hipóteses de mercado disponíveis para o seu financiamento. As empresas, apesar da vasta gama de oportunidades dadas quer pela banca quer por outras instituições financeiras cingem-se ao método que conhecem, que é o financiamento mais comum, o financiamento bancário

The get big fast as a business model in e-commerce : a case study of Zalando

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the properties of the internet that help e-commerce companies to growth so much and so fast, along with the analysis of the Get Big Fast strategy. Such strategy exploits online business activities based on first mover advantage, allowing incumbents to preempt competition by gaining market share as fast as possible and generate positive feedbacks. This qualitative research is a case-study of Zalando, an online fashion retailer. Though initially specialized in footwear, the firm quickly broadened its product portfolio, expanded into new markets and acquired millions of clients, becoming the Europe’s market leader. Hence, this study investigates to what extent Zalando has followed the Get Big Fast principles, based on data provenient from five interviews and multiple secondary sources. The findings indicate that certain properties of the internet stimulate the scalability of business operations, such as: 1) Mediating Technology 2) Information Density 3) Universal Standards 4) Distribution Channel 5) Infinite Virtual Capacity and 6) Global Reach. Moreover, it was found that Zalando has actually pursued the Get Big Fast strategy by being an early mover in the market, applying three out of four common tactics to gain market share (capacity expansion, heavy advertising and formation of strategic alliances), following product and market development strategies and generating four positive feedbacks (economies of scale, learning effects, network effects and accumulation of complementary assets). Nevertheless, some limitations exist, including an extensive scope of research, limited amount of interviews conducted via Skype and a generalization problem.O propósito desta tese é indentificar as propriedades da Internet que ajudam as empresas de comércio electrónico a crescer tanto e tão rápido, juntamente com a análise da estratégia Get Big Fast. Esta estratégia explora a actividade económica online baseada em first mover advantage, permindo aos incumbentes antecipar os seus rivais através da rápida conquista de quota de mercado e da produção de feedbacks positivos. Este estudo qualitativo é um caso de estudo sobre a Zalando, uma loja virtual de moda. Apesar de ser inicialmente especializada em calçado, a empresa alargou rapidamente o seu portofolio de produtos, expandiu-se para novos mercados e adquiriu milhões de clientes, tornando-se no líder de mercado Europeu. Portanto, esta tese investiga em que medida a Zalando segiu os princípios Get Big Fast, de acordo com informação recolhida em cinco entrevistas e múltiplas fontes secundárias. Os resultados indicam que certas propriedades da Internet estimulam a expansibilidade do comércio online, tais como: 1) Tecnologia Mediadora 2) Densidade de Informação 3) Normas Universais 4) Canal de Distribuição 5) Capacidade Virtual Infinita 6) Alcance Global. Além disso, verificou-se que a Zalando seguiu efectivamente uma estratégia Get Big Fast por ser pioneira no mercado, aplicar três de quatro tácticas comuns destinadas à conquista de quota de mercado (expansão de capacidade, forte investimento publicitário e formação de alianças estratégicas), seguir estratégias de desenvolvimento de produtos e mercados e gerar quatro feedbacks positivos (economias de escala, efeitos de aprendizagem, efeitos de rede e acumulação de activos complementares). Contudo, existem algumas limitações, tais como o extenso âmbito de investigação, o número limitado de entrevistas realizadas por Skype e um problema de generelização

Zara's case study: the strategy of the fast fashion pioneer

The Fashion Industry has been changing among the years, and fashion companies are changing the way they do business. They are focusing each day more on the consumers, and what they are looking for at that moment. Fast Fashion concept is gaining ground in the industry because now it is more important to always follow the latest trends and produce according to that, than to have just two collections per year for a higher price. Now, consumers are always looking for different products and those companies who can give them that will achieve the success more easily. Consumers not only are looking for different products, but even more, are using different channels to shop. The online shopping is winning users day by day because now people search for convenience and comfort. However, this behaviour can be different from the different generations, and it is important to know exactly which target it is important to reach and satisfy their desires. This way, fashion companies need to adapt their business and turn it more technological, to make the shopping experience the more enjoyable as possible. This Case Study has the objective of study Zara’s strategies, from their supply chain until their marketing and communication strategies, and the strategy in the physical stores versus at the online store. Then the study will focus on the consumer: their behavior according to the different generations and the brand perception according to them. A Market Research, through an online survey, will be conducted in order to help the development of this study.A indústria da Moda tem vindo a mudar ao longo dos anos e as empresas de moda têm vindo a alterar a maneira como fazem negócio. Cada vez mais se focam no consumidor e naquilo que ele está a procura no momento. O conceito de "Fast Fashion" tem vido a ganhar terreno na indústria, porque agora é mais importante seguir as últimas tendências e produzir de acordo com isso do que apenas lançar duas coleções anuais por um preço mais elevado. Agora, os consumidores estão constantemente a procurar produtos diferentes, e as empresas de moda que são capazes de lhes dar isso irão alcançar o sucesso mais facilmente. Os consumidores não procuram apenas produtos diferentes, mas cada vez mais usam diferentes canais para realizar as suas compras. As compras "online" estão a ganhar utilizadores de dia para dia, pois cada vez mais eles procuram conveniência e conforto. Mas este comportamento pode ser diferente de acordo com as diferentes gerações, e é importante saber exatamente o tipo de "target" que interessa para assim satisfazer as suas necessidades. Desta forma, as empresas de moda precisam de adaptar o seu negócio e torná-lo mais tecnológico, de forma a tornar a experiência de compra o mais agradável possível. Este Caso Pedagógico tem como objetivo estudar a estratégia da Zara, desde a cadeia de abastecimento até as estratégias de marketing e comunicação, e também comparar a estratégia nas lojas físicas com as da loja "online". Depois o estudo irá focar-se no consumidor: o seu comportamento tendo em conta as diferentes gerações e a sua perceção de marca. Um estudo de mercado, através de um inquérito "online", será realizado para ajudar o desenvolvimento deste estudo

Evaluation of public policies in Portuguese regional development context – a preliminary methodological approach supported in north region

The evaluation of territorial programs and plans has been gaining importance, both in political-institutional speeches and practices and in academic reflections. In Portugal, the structure of planning, operacionalized on a vast number of quite recent instruments, requires an effort of articulation in the guidelines to various scales (from European until the municipal) and of the various fields (some sectoral, others, of more transversal nature). The development of monitoring systems, as well as the generalisation of the evaluation procedures, answer to the need of articulation between policies and support the strategic nature that is planning today. As a part of the Research Project SPOTIA - Sustainable Spatial Policy Orientations and Territorial Impact Assessment - Contribution to Portuguese context' (Centre of Geographical Studies – University of Lisbon to the Ministry of Science and Technologies), this paper aims to present an example of the first outputs of this research on the analysis of coherence between three different instruments planning, such as the National Policy Planning (PNPOT), a guiding document of national level, the Regional Spatial Plan to Northern Territory (PROT-Norte), the regional guidance document, and the Regional Operational Programme (PO-Norte), the regional program associated to a financing plan and program implementation. The analysis of coherence between these documents is not only between their general, strategic and specific objectives, but also by the indicator system assessment of each document. With this analysis we can reach the domains that are constantly, or not, present in these documents. In this context, a first essay of a methodological approach on evaluation of public policies in Portuguese context will be presented.

Legislação sobre os organismos geneticamente modificados : segurança alimentar ou proteccionismo?

Os grandes produtores e exportadores mundiais de produtos agrícolas têm vindo a adoptar a engenharia genética nesta actividade com o intuito de melhorar a produtividade dos factores e aumentar a rentabilidade das empresas. Na última década, os Estados Unidos (EUA) e a União Europeia (UE) implementaram legislação muito díspar no que diz respeito à produção, comercialização e consumo de organismos geneticamente modificados (OGM). Aparentemente, a forte pressão política exercida pelos consumidores europeus no sentido de efectuarem escolhas informadas sobre os alimentos que consomem, levou a UE a tornar obrigatória a rotulagem dos OGM, assim como, o seu rastreio ao longo das sucessivas fases da cadeia de produção e de distribuição. Neste contexto, o presente artigo tem por objectivo identificar e entender as potenciais motivações que têm estado por detrás das diferentes políticas seguidas pela UE e pelos EUA relativamente aos produtos alvo de modificação genética