Plano de marketing de uma empresa de refeições congeladas

Mestrado em Engenharia Alimentar - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaNa indústria alimentar tem-se verificado um aumento do número de empresas que confecionam produtos que procuram responder às preocupações nutricionais e de saúde dos consumidores. Contudo, por serem novas e de pequena dimensão, ainda não têm definida a sua estratégia de marketing. Uma boa estratégia de marketing, irá permitir à empresa ganhar vantagem competitiva e ser bem-sucedida no mercado. Por isso, no presente documento propõe-se o desenvolvimento de um plano de marketing para a Paladar Pronto, uma empresa fundada em 2015, que produz refeições congeladas saudáveis. Neste contexto, foram inicialmente realizadas uma análise interna, uma análise externa e uma análise SWOT da empresa. A Paladar Pronto apresenta uma gama de produtos que se diferencia das demais oferecidas no setor, por apresentar características nutricionais saudáveis. A oferta deste tipo de produto no setor dos alimentos congelados é ainda reduzida, constituindo um ponto forte da empresa. No entanto, o reduzido orçamento estipulado para a atividade de marketing, limita a evolução e expansão do negócio. Seguidamente procedeu-se ao desenvolvimento da estratégia de marketing. O segmento de mercado foi determinado através da recolha e tratamento de dados dos consumidores, existentes na plataforma web da empresa e o posicionamento através de um inquérito online. O consumidor-alvo da Paladar Pronto pertence maioritariamente ao género feminino e encontra-se disposto a pagar mais por produtos que promovam a sua saúde e bem-estar. A Paladar Pronto é percecionada pelo consumidor-alvo como a marca mais saudável a operar no setor dos alimentos congelados em Portugal. Na elaboração do plano de marketing abordaram-se as quatro variáveis do marketing-mix (4 Ps). Destaca-se a estratégia proposta para a promoção baseada nos conceitos e metodologias do marketing digitalN/

Moringa as a household water purification method – community perception and pilot study in Guinea-Bissau

Background: Public perceptions of water-related issues are still under-researched topics. The current paper intends to explore a local community’s perceptions regarding household water purification (HWP) strategies, namely before and after trying a new method: moringa seeds powder (moringa-teabag). Methods: In September 2020, six focus group discussions (N = 65) assessing perceptions about the usefulness of Moringa oleifera Lam (Moringaceae) as a HWP method (before moringa-based HWP trials), and questionnaires (N = 104) evaluating successes and identifying difficulties (after one week of moringa-based HWP trials). Participants were all women aged over 18 years, living in Ondame, Biombo region, Guinea-Bissau. Data were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Results: The focus group discussions revealed that people are aware of the fact that water can transmit diseases. Although certain persons showed concern about shallow well water safety, people generally underestimate the risk, as they trust tubewell water. Not everyone had an understanding of what water contamination is, or the concept of medical importance. Some respondents declared they use traditional methods such as boiling and bleach to treat water before drinking. However, those who reported no kind of treatment indicated reasons such as lack of time, cost, and bleach’s taste and smell. In the questionnaire, more than half of the participants (68%) reported treating water before consumption. Nevertheless, these results are not consistent with our field notes. Participants demonstrated a strong belief in the capacity of moringa-teabags to purify water and even consider them better or much better (81%) than other methods. Participants asked for more information on moringa-teabag for household water purification. Conclusion: More information on water treatment and water safety would help to raise public awareness about waterborne diseases. These findings could be used to promote greater adherence to moringa-based HWP as an alternative to household water treatment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Association between Polymorphisms in Antioxidant Genes and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Inflammation is the driving force in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its link to oxidative stress and carcinogenesis has long been accepted. The antioxidant system of the intestinal mucosa in IBD is compromised resulting in increased oxidative injury. This defective antioxidant system may be the result of genetic variants in antioxidant genes, which can represent susceptibility factors for IBD, namely Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the antioxidant genes SOD2 (rs4880) and GPX1 (rs1050450) were genotyped in a Portuguese population comprising 436 Crohn's disease and 367 ulcerative colitis patients, and 434 healthy controls. We found that the AA genotype in GPX1 is associated with ulcerative colitis (OR = 1.93, adjusted P-value = 0.037). Moreover, we found nominal significant associations between SOD2 and Crohn's disease susceptibility and disease subphenotypes but these did not withstand the correction for multiple testing. These findings indicate a possible link between disease phenotypes and antioxidant genes. These results suggest a potential role for antioxidant genes in IBD pathogenesis and should be considered in future association studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A multinodular goiter as the initial presentation of a renal cell carcinoma harbouring a novel VHL mutation

BACKGROUND: Secondary involvement of the thyroid gland is rare. Often the origin of the tumor is difficult to identify from the material obtained by fine-needle aspiration cytology. Renal cell carcinoma of the clear-cell type is one of the more common carcinomas to metastasize to the thyroid gland. Somatic mutations of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor gene are associated with the sporadic form of this tumor. We aimed to illustrate the potential utility of DNA based technologies to search for specific molecular markers in order to establish the anatomic site of origin. CASE PRESENTATION: A 54-yr-old Caucasian male complaining of a rapidly increasing neck tumor was diagnosed as having a clear-cell tumor by fine-needle aspiration cytology. A positive staining for cytokeratin as well as for vimentin and CD10 in the absence of staining for thyroglobulin, calcitonin and TTF1 suggested a renal origin confirmed by computed tomography. Using frozen RNA, obtained from cells left inside the needle used for fine needle aspiration cytology, it was possible to identify a somatic mutation (680 delA) in the VHL gene. CONCLUSION: In the presence of a clear-cell tumor of the thyroid gland, screening for somatic mutations in the VHL gene in material derived from thyroid aspirates might provide additional information to immunocytochemical studies and therefore plays a contributory role to establish the final diagnosis. Moreover, in a near future, this piece of information might be useful to define a targeted therapy

The (dis)engagement of mangrove forests and mangrove rice in academic and non-academic literature on Guinea-Bissau-a systematic review protocol

Background: Coastal areas in Guinea-Bissau and elsewhere in West Africa are bordered by mangrove forests. In several of these places, swaths of mangrove forest have been removed and the landscape has been technologically adapted for the production of mangrove rice-a regionally important staple. However, the effects of global warming, in particular sea-level rise, pose challenges to these socioecological environments. In this context, knowledge appears as an important resource and knowing what knowledge has been produced and which perspectives have guided that production may inform future responses to climate change. We have developed a systematic literature review protocol focusing on the main question: "How have mangrove forest and mangrove rice spaces been represented in the literature on Guinea-Bissau?" The main hypothesis is that although they occupy contiguous, interrelated and interactant spaces in coastal environments, mangrove forests and mangrove rice have been studied and analyzed independently in the literature. Methods: This is a protocol for conducting a systematic review that will include academic and non-academic literature in Portuguese, English and French. The academic literature will be retrieved from both Web of Science and Scopus using Boolean expressions. The non-academic literature will be accessed from relevant institutions, specialized libraries, and reference lists of previously selected items. Data extraction will follow a standard procedure based on an information sheet. Our analysis will be both qualitative (inductive and deductive coding, content analysis) and quantitative (word clouds, descriptive statistics and statistical testing). Discussion: This systematic review will provide information about the conceptual framework that has been produced through research, policymaking, and conservation and development programs in the management of coastal areas. This study will identify the limitations of previous approaches and contribute to both future research and strategies for planning adaptation to climate change. Finally, the outputs will add to broader debates about people-nature coexistence and climate change adaptation and mitigation