Engaging with customer experience while visiting a shopping centre

This project aims to assess the perception of Centro Colombo customers regarding the different experiences promoted by this shopping centre. With a deeper knowledge about customers preferences, Sonae Sierra managers hope to channel their efforts on experiential strategy for attaining satisfied customers. The project entails an extensive literature review, along with external, internal and competitive analyses. This reviews and analyses were the foundations for the creation of this project’ survey. By examining customer’s responses to this survey, it was possible to identify the dimensions of customer experience which are the most esteemed by consumers and which should be improved. In addition, a statistical analysis was performed, and confirmed the existing relationship between a customer encounter with a positive experience in the shopping centre and consumers feeling engaged towards it. This project includes an improvement proposal gathering new experiences that seem promising both for customers and Centro Colombo’s managers.Este projeto tem como objetivo aferir qual a perceção dos clientes do Centro Colombo face às diferentes experiências promovidas neste centro comercial. Com um conhecimento mais aprofundado sobre as preferências dos seus clientes, os gestores da Sonae Sierra poderão direcionar os seus esforços, através de uma estratégia experiencial, para conseguir clientes mais satisfeitos. Este projeto exigiu uma revisão de literatura extensa, assim como analises externa, interna e competitiva. Esta revisão e analises foram os pilares para a criação do questionário deste projeto. Através dos resultados deste questionário foi possível aferir, entre as várias dimensões de experiências do consumidor, quais as mais relevantes para os clientes e aquelas as que devem ser melhoradas. Adicionalmente, foi também testado e confirmado que existe relação entre o cliente deparar-se no centro com uma experiência positiva e se sentir comprometido com o mesmo. Este projeto termina com uma proposta de melhorias, face a novas experiências do consumidor que apresentam características promissoras tanto para os consumidores como para os gestores do Centro Colombo

I Conferência Internacional Investigação, Práticas e Contextos em Educação

A Conferência Internacional de Investigação, Práticas e Contextos em Educação (IPCE) visa contribuir para o avanço da teoria e prática em educação através da criação de uma oportunidade para que profissionais ligados a esta área e com interesses multidisciplinares interajam e partilhem experiências e conhecimentos, contribuindo e estimulando a investigação e a evolução de práticas em educação. A IPCE faz parte de um conjunto de atividades que o Instituto Politécnico de Leiria (IPL) tem vido a desenvolver nos últimos anos visando promover a colaboração entre investigadores, professores, estudantes e decisores, na identificação e discussão de desafios e possíveis soluções para os mais diversos problemas e contextos no mundo da educação. Vem também ao encontro de uma das dimensões da ação do IPL – a de promover a relação com a região em que está inserido. Este evento conta com a apresentação de cinco conferências plenárias, cinquenta e um artigos, trinta e seis relatos e vinte e um posters, esperando-se que possibilite uma discussão profunda em torno de um conjunto alargado de temáticas. Muitas das apresentações enquadram-se em trabalhos de investigação académica concluídos ou em desenvolvimento, outras em projetos desenvolvidos por profissionais e agentes educativos de várias instituições. Esta diversidade reflete as inter-relações ao nível dos contextos de práticas em instituições públicas, privadas ou instituições particulares de solidariedade social, tanto no ensino superior como no ensino básico e secundário e em contextos de formação não formal. Todos os trabalhos submetidos foram sujeitos a uma revisão por um mínimo de dois membros da comissão científica. Apesar de ser a primeira edição da conferência IPCE, o número de inscritos ultrapassa as duas centenas, evidenciando o interesse despertado pelas temáticas abordadas junto de educadores, professores, investigadores, estudantes do ensino superior, órgãos de direção e gestão de instituições e técnicos da área da educação. Esperamos que nas próximas edições se dê continuidade ao espaço de partilha, reflexão e divulgação de saberes que agora se inicia. A análise dos contributos apresentados reflete um conjunto de temáticas atuais, como a educação em contextos de infância, adolescência e idade adulta, a formação em contexto de trabalho, a utilização pedagógica das tecnologias, entre outros. Adicionalmente, a grande adesão ao formato de relato, que prevê a partilha oral de experiências e práticas, revela o sucesso da nossa intenção de articulação com os profissionais no terreno. Este documento está organizado em quatro secções correspondentes aos diversos tipos de apresentações: súmula das conferências plenárias, artigos, relatos e posters. Dentro de cada secção, os trabalhos estão organizados de acordo com a ordem de apresentação na conferência.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

From the popular tRNA^leu-COX2 intergenic region to the mitogenome: insights from diverse honey bee populations of Europe and North Africa

The tRNA -COX2 intergenic region of the mitochondrial DNA has been used for assessing diversity in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) populations worldwide. However, differential mutation rates in different partitions of the mitogenome may produce incongruent results. In this study, we sequenced 123 mitogenomes of 7 subspecies from lineages A, M, and C. This allowed generating a comprehensive dataset to investigate the phylogenetic and phylogeographic congruence among the mitogenome, individual genes, and the tRNA -COX2 region. We showed that the diversity patterns inferred from the tRNA -COX2 marker are not fully paralleled by those obtained with the mitogenome and the individual genes; while the three lineages are supported by these, the African sub-lineages and the haplotypes are not. Thus, conclusions drawn from the tRNA -COX2 region need to be taken with caution and this marker may not be appropriate to infer phylogenetic relationships between honey bee colonies. leu leu leu leuWe are deeply indebted to John C. Patton, Phillip San Miguel, Paul Parker, and Rick Westerman, Univer sity of Purdue, for resequencing the whole genomes, and to Pilar de la Rúa and to Carlo Amodeo for providing A. m. sahariensis and A. m. siciliana samples, respectively. Analyses were performed using computational resources at the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança. DH was supported by a PhD scholarship (SFRH/BD/84195/2012) from the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT). This work was supported by FCT through the programs COMPETE/QREN/EU (PTDC/BIA-BEC/099640/2008) and the 2013-2014 BiodivERsA/ FACCE-JPI joint call for research proposals, with the national funders FCT (Portugal), CNRS (France), and MEC (Spain)

Colonisation Patterns of Nosema ceranae in the Azores Archipelago

Nosema ceranae is a highly prevalent pathogen of Apis mellifera, which is distributed worldwide. However, there may still exist isolated areas that remain free of N. ceranae. Herein, we used molecular tools to survey the Azores to detect N. ceranae and unravel its colonisation patterns. To that end, we sampled 474 colonies from eight islands in 2014/2015 and 91 from four islands in 2020. The findings revealed that N. ceranae was not only present but also the dominant species in the Azores. In 2014/2015, N. apis was rare and N. ceranae prevalence varied between 2.7% in São Jorge and 50.7% in Pico. In 2020, N. ceranae prevalence increased significantly (p < 0.001) in Terceira and São Jorge also showing higher infection levels. The spatiotemporal patterns suggest that N. ceranae colonised the archipelago recently, and it rapidly spread across other islands, where at least two independent introductions might have occurred. Flores and Santa Maria have escaped the N. ceranae invasion, and it is remarkable that Santa Maria is also free of Varroa destructor, which makes it one of the last places in Europe where the honey bee remains naive to these two major biotic stressors

Emerging Role of miR-21-5p in Neuron–Glia Dysregulation and Exosome Transfer Using Multiple Models of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with neuron–glia dysfunction and dysregulated miRNAs. We previously reported upregulated miR-124/miR-21 in AD neurons and their exosomes. However, their glial distribution, phenotypic alterations and exosomal spread are scarcely documented. Here, we show glial cell activation and miR-21 overexpression in mouse organotypic hippocampal slices transplanted with SH-SY5Y cells expressing the human APP695 Swedish mutation. The upregulation of miR-21 only in the CSF from a small series of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) AD patients, but not in non-AD MCI individuals, supports its discriminatory potential. Microglia, neurons, and astrocytes differentiated from the same induced pluripotent stem cells from PSEN1ΔE9 AD patients all showed miR-21 elevation. In AD neurons, miR-124/miR-21 overexpression was recapitulated in their exosomes. In AD microglia, the upregulation of iNOS and miR-21/miR-146a supports their activation. AD astrocytes manifested a restrained inflammatory profile, with high miR-21 but low miR-155 and depleted exosomal miRNAs. Their immunostimulation with C1q + IL-1α + TNF-α induced morphological alterations and increased S100B, inflammatory transcripts, sAPPβ, cytokine release and exosomal miR-21. PPARα, a target of miR-21, was found to be repressed in all models, except in neurons, likely due to concomitant miR-125b elevation. The data from these AD models highlight miR-21 as a promising biomarker and a disease-modifying target to be further explored

Phylogenomic characterization and signs of microevolution in the 2022 multi-country outbreak of monkeypox virus

Erratum: Nat Med. 2022 Oct;28(10):2220-2221. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-02036-2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02036-2The largest monkeypox virus (MPXV) outbreak described so far in non-endemic countries was identified in May 2022 (refs. 1-6). In this study, shotgun metagenomics allowed the rapid reconstruction and phylogenomic characterization of the first MPXV outbreak genome sequences, showing that this MPXV belongs to clade 3 and that the outbreak most likely has a single origin. Although 2022 MPXV (lineage B.1) clustered with 2018-2019 cases linked to an endemic country, it segregates in a divergent phylogenetic branch, likely reflecting continuous accelerated evolution. An in-depth mutational analysis suggests the action of host APOBEC3 in viral evolution as well as signs of potential MPXV human adaptation in ongoing microevolution. Our findings also indicate that genome sequencing may provide resolution to track the spread and transmission of this presumably slow-evolving double-stranded DNA virus.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fibrosis of Peritoneal Membrane, Molecular Indicators of Aging and Frailty Unveil Vulnerable Patients in Long-Term Peritoneal Dialysis

Funding: Sociedade Portuguesa de Nefrologia (SPN) SPN funded a project and Ana Rita Martins, MD, Nephrology fellow, for a residence at Jiménez Díaz Foundation University Hospital, Madrid under the scope of novel serum biomarkers of CKD. iNOVA4Health research program (UIDP/04462/2020) is also acknowledged to support J.M.Peritoneal membrane status, clinical data and aging-related molecules were investigated as predictors of long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) outcomes. A 5-year prospective study was conducted with the following endpoints: (a) PD failure and time until PD failure, (b) major cardiovascular event (MACE) and time until MACE. A total of 58 incident patients with peritoneal biopsy at study baseline were included. Peritoneal membrane histomorphology and aging-related indicators were assessed before the start of PD and investigated as predictors of study endpoints. Fibrosis of the peritoneal membrane was associated with MACE occurrence and earlier MACE, but not with the patient or membrane survival. Serum α-Klotho bellow 742 pg/mL was related to the submesothelial thickness of the peritoneal membrane. This cutoff stratified the patients according to the risk of MACE and time until MACE. Uremic levels of galectin-3 were associated with PD failure and time until PD failure. This work unveils peritoneal membrane fibrosis as a window to the vulnerability of the cardiovascular system, whose mechanisms and links to biological aging need to be better investigated. Galectin-3 and α-Klotho are putative tools to tailor patient management in this home-based renal replacement therapy.publishersversionpublishe

In vivo and in vitro effects of RAD001 on bladder cancer

Objective: To evaluate the influence of Everolimus (RAD001) on chemically induced urothelial lesions in mice and its influence on in vitro human bladder cancer cell lines. Methods: ICR male mice were given N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine in drinking water for a period of 12 weeks. Subsequently, RAD001 was administered via oral gavage, for 6 weeks. At the end of the experiment, all the animals were sacrificed and tumor development was determined by means of histopathologic evaluation; mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) expressivity was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Three human bladder cancer cell lines (T24, HT1376, and 5637) were treated using a range of RAD001 concentrations. MTT assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL), and flow cytometry were used to assess cell proliferation, apoptosis index, and cell cycle analysis, respectively. Immunoblotting analysis of 3 cell line extracts using mTOR and Akt antibodies was performed in order to study the expression of Akt and mTOR proteins and their phosphorylated forms. Results: The incidence of urothelial lesions in animals treated with RAD001 was similar to those animals not treated. RAD001 did not block T24 and HT1376 cell proliferation or induce apoptosis. A reduction in cell proliferation rate and therefore G0/G1 phase arrest, as well as a statistically significant induction of apoptosis (P 0.001), was only observed in the 5637 cell line. Conclusion: RAD001 seems not to have a significant effect on chemically induced murine bladder tumors. The effect of RAD001 on tumor proliferation and apoptosis was achieved only in superficial derived bladder cancer cell line, no effect was observed in invasive cell lines

Patient-physician discordance in assessment of adherence to inhaled controller medication: a cross-sectional analysis of two cohorts

We aimed to compare patient's and physician's ratings of inhaled medication adherence and to identify predictors of patient-physician discordance.(SFRH/BPD/115169/2016) funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT); ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) through the operations: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029130 ('mINSPIRERS—mHealth to measure and improve adherence to medication in chronic obstructive respiratory diseases—generalisation and evaluation of gamification, peer support and advanced image processing technologies') cofunded by the COMPETE2020 (Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização), Portugal 2020 and by Portuguese Funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mutational spectrum of cystinosis in Portugal, 1998-2017

Artigo original publicado em inglês: Ferreira F, Leal I, Sousa D, et al. CTNS Molecular Genetics Profile in a Portuguese Cystinosis Population. Open J Genet. 2018 Dec 18;8(4):91-100. doi:10.4236/ojgen.2018.84008A cistinose é uma doença metabólica multisistémica, autossómica recessiva caracterizada por uma acumulação de cistina em diferentes órgãos e tecidos devido a uma deficiência no transporte de cistina para o exterior dos lisossomas. O gene responsável pela doença, CTNS, está localizado no cromossoma 17 e codifica para uma proteína de membrana lisossomal, a cistinosina. Neste trabalho foram estudados doentes não relacionados provenientes das consultas de adultos e pediatria de diferentes hospitais de Portugal continental e ilhas, que apresentavam proteinuria não-nefrótica, hipercalciúria, hipocaliemia, hiperaminoacidúria, glicosúria e hipofosfatemia, sugestivo de síndroma de Fanconi e queixas oculares. Bioquimicamente, a cistina intraleucocitária foi quantificada, tendo-se igualmente efetuado a caracterização molecular do gene CTNS, inicialmente apenas direcionado para a pesquisa da deleção de 57-kb, seguida da sequenciação de todos os exões codificantes do gene CTNS. Desde 1998 a 2017, 21 doentes cistinóticos foram bioquimicamente caracterizados. Entretanto, 4 destes doentes faleceram e dos restantes 17, apenas 11 foram estudados para o gene CTNS. Verificouse que 5 destes 11 doentes foram homozigóticos para a deleção de 57-kb (10/22; 45,5%), e outros 5 foram compostos heterozigóticos para esta mutação (15/22; 68,2%). As outras mutações identificadas foram: p.Q128X (c.721 C>T; 2/22), p.S139F (c.755 C>T; 4/22) e c.18-21delGACT (p.T7FfsX7; 1/22). Todos estes 17 doentes cistinóticos estão em tratamento, sendo que 84% são adultos, 16% são crianças jovens e 54,5% são transplantados renais. Este estudo efetuado ao longo de vários anos, reflete a experiência no diagnóstico e monitorização dos doentes cistinóticos. Além disso, a caracterização das mutações encontradas no gene CTNS, ressalta a importância para um screening inicial da deleção de 57-kb e permite um futuro aconselhamento genético aos casais de risco.Cystinosis is a multisystemic autosomal recessive deficiency of the lysossomal membrane transporter protein (cystinosin) caused by mutations in CTNS gene. This study summarizes the Portuguese experience in the diagnosis and management of patients with this rare disease over the past few years and reports recurrent mutations in the CTNS gene. Unrelated patients from different pediatric and adult hospitals all over Portugal with non-nephrotic proteinuria, hypercalciuria, hypokalemia impaired proximal reabsorption of amino acids, glycosuria and hypophosphatemia, suggestive of a Fanconi syndrome and ocular problems were studied. Intraleukocyte cystine levels were determined and molecular analysis performed, to determine the presence of the 57-kb deletion in CTNS, followed by direct sequencing of the coding exons of CTNS. From 1998 to 2017, 21 cystinotic patients were biochemically diagnosed. From the remaining 17 (4 deceased), 11 were studied for CTNS gene. Five out of 11 patients were homozygous for the 57-kb deletion (10/22; 45.5%), and other 5 were compound heterozygous for this variant (15/22; 68.2%). The other mutations found were p.Q128X (c.721 C>T; 2/22), p.S139F (c.755 C>T; 4/22) and c.18-21delGACT (p.T7FfsX7; 1/22). All of these 17 cystinotic patients are in treatment. Approximately 84% are adults, 16% are young children, and 54.5% are kidney transplant recipient. The authors would like to emphasize the importance of first screening for the 57-kb deletion since it is very common in our population. This genetic study is the first in Portugal and it could be the basis for future genetic counseling in cistinotic patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio