Portuguese shoes : the sexiest industry in Europe : a repositioning strategy towards changing the perception of Portuguese footwear : a brand´s perspective

The Portuguese footwear industry is one of the most dynamic sectors in the country and has progressing steadily. Nonetheless, the industry has faced in the past decades, the challenge of aligning its image to the strategic positioning of the sector. This thesis revolves around the study of the Portuguese footwear industry and its image repositioning strategy as well as, the understanding of how an emergence luxury brand within this industry has been able to craft an intelligent marketing strategy, affirming its competitiveness among the international elite through a wellthought positioning strategy. Through this example students, readers and academics will be able to get an inside scoop of the industry and understand the underlying drivers and challenges of an industry´s image repositioning strategy whilst surrounded by the distinctive specificities of the current economic environment. The outcome of this study has yielded mainly two conclusions: The Portuguese footwear industry has evolved tremendously yet, it still faces a challenge in aligning its image to match the already excellent reputation Portuguese shoes have in terms of quality. Furthermore, the perceived value of the "Made in Portugal” brand is still not identified amongst consumers as a value added feature in Portuguese shoes. The Portuguese footwear industry is currently confronting such challenges and is indeed moving towards a fully integrated communication strategy, which aligns its excellent quality products to a sophisticated, luxurious image.A indústria do calçado Português é um dos sectores mais dinâmicos do país e tem progredido de forma notável. No entanto, a indústria tem enfrentado nas últimas décadas, o desafio de alinhar sua imagem ao posicionamento estratégico do sector. A presente tese gira em torno do estudo da indústria do calçado Português e da sua estratégia de reposicionamento de imagem, bem como, a compreensão de como uma emergente marca de luxo desta indústria tem sido capaz de criar uma estratégia de marketing inteligente, afirmando a sua competitividade entre a elite internacional através de uma esclarecida estratégia de posicionamento. Através deste exemplo estudantes, leitores e acadêmicos serão capazes de obter um olhar privilegiado da indústria e compreender as causas subjacentes e os desafios de uma estratégia de reposicionamento de imagem de uma indústria envolvida pelas especificidades distintivas do ambiente econômico actual. O resultado deste estudo culminou principalmente em duas conclusões: Ainda que a indústria do calçado Português tenha evoluído tremendamente na última década, ainda enfrenta um desafio no alinhamento da sua imagem para coincidir com a já excelente reputação que os sapatos portugueses têm em termos de qualidade. Além disso, a percepção de valor do "Made in Portugal" como marca ainda não está identificado entre os consumidores como uma característica valor acrescentado para sapatos portugueses. A indústria do calçado Português está atualmente a enfrentar tais desafios e caminha de facto para uma estratégia de comunicação totalmente integrada, alinhando os seus produtos de excelente qualidade com uma imagem sofisticada e luxuosa

Determination of NKR-P1B Receptor Expression and Its Function in Liver-Resident NK Cells

Background: The liver harbours a large population of immune cells, which is selectively enriched in natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells represent a lymphoid population with a potent cytolytic activity, which play critical roles in immune defense against invading pathogens. Two distinct NK cell subsets, liver-resident NK (lrNK) cells and conventional NK (cNK) cells, are present in the liver. NK cell functions are regulated by an array of activating and inhibitory receptors. NKR-P1B is one of the earliest expressed NK cell receptors that inhibits NK cell functions upon binding to its cognate C-type related ligand, Clr-b. Purpose: Determine expression of NKR-P1B receptor in liver NK cells, and its role in the development and function of liver-resident NK cells. Experimental Design: We used a multiparametric flow cytometry technique to analyze the phenotype, distribution, and homeostatic differences between lrNK cells and cNK cells in the livers from wild-type (WT) and knockout NKR-P1B (KO) mice. Results: Preliminary results suggest that, WT lrNK cells exhibit a more mature phenotype compared to NKR-P1B KO lrNK cells. There were no significant differences in the distribution of NK cells in the livers from WT and NKR-P1B KO mice. As compared to cNK cells, lrNK cells displayed higher expression of granzyme B, an enzyme required for cytotoxic activity of NK cells. Conclusion: The findings from this work will provide new insights about the expression and function of NKR-P1B receptor in lrNK cells and a better understanding of the distinguishing behavior of lrNK cells compared to cNK cells

Assessing the adherence of obstetricians towards postpartum diabetes screening guidelines: A pre- and post-intervention study at secondary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To assess the adherence level of obstetricians towards postpartum diabetes screening guidelines. Methods: The quasi-experimental pre- and post-intervention study was conducted from May 2014 to April 2015 at Aga Khan Hospital for Women-Karimabad, Karachi, and comprised all obstetricians practicing at the time. All the booked women with gestational diabetes delivered in the 6 months before refresher lecture (group 1) and those delivering in the 6 months following the intervention (group 2) were included. Data was analysed using SPSS 19. Results: Of the 550 cases, 275(50%) each were in groups 1 and 2. All pregnant women had live-birth. The intervention made it thrice likely (95% confidence interval: 7.83) that a physician advised postpartum oral glucose tolerance test. Caesarean section increased the chances of getting test advice almost 4 times (95% confidence interval: 1.70, 9.10) compared to women who delivered vaginally. Women managed on insulin with / without metformin were 4 times likely to being advised the test compared to women managed on diet (confidence interval: 1.00, 17.09). Full-time employees advised 7 times more than the visiting obstetricians (confidence interval: 1.33, 35.16). Conclusion: It is time for more strategic planning regarding patient education the benefits of detection of abnormal glucose tolerance in early postpartum perio

Athena SWAN and ADVANCE: effectiveness and lessons learned

Athena SWAN and ADVANCE: effectiveness and lessons learne

Work factors related to psychological and health-related distress among employees with chronic illnesses

Objective: This study examined specific psychosocial factors associated with psychological and health-related distress amongst employees reporting different chronic illnesses. Methods: The sample consisted of 1029 employees managing either musculoskeletal pain (n=324), arthritis and rheumatism (n=192), asthma (n=174), depression and anxiety (n=152), heart disease (n=96) or diabetes (n=91). Information on psychological distress, work limitations, illness management, disclosure, absence, presenteeism, support and demographic factors were obtained through self-administered questionnaires. Results: Both low psychological well-being and high health-related distress were associated with an increase in work limitations (β=0.20, SE=.03; and β=0.19, SE=.01, respectively), poorer management of illness symptoms at work (β=−0.17, SE=.12; and β=−0.13, SE=.02), high presentieesm (β=0.19, SE=.25; and β=0.14, SE=.05) and low workplace support (β=−0.05, SE=.22; and β=−0.12, SE=.05). Health-related distress was additionally associated with disclosure of illness at work (β=0.18, SE=.08) and long-term sickness absence (β=0.10, SE=.06). Conclusions: To enable individuals to effectively manage both their illness and their work without serious repercussions, it is important for both healthcare professionals and employers alike, to improve the well-being of workers with chronic illness by supporting and facilitating their efforts to over-come health-related limitations at work

Disruption of CD47-SIRPα signaling restores inflammatory function in tumor-associated myeloid-derived suppressor cells

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous immune population with diverse immunosuppressive functions in solid tumors. Here, we explored the role of the tumor microenvironment in regulating MDSC differentiation and immunosuppressive properties via signal-regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα)/CD47 signaling. In a murine melanoma model, we observed progressive increases in monocytic MDSCs and monocyte-derived dendritic cells that exhibited potent T cell-suppressive capabilities. These adaptations could be recapitulated in vitro by exposing hematopoietic stem cells to tumor-derived factors. Engagement of CD47 with SIRPα on myeloid cells reduced their phagocytic capability, enhanced expression of immune checkpoints, increased reactive oxygen species production, and suppressed T cell proliferation. Perturbation of SIRPα signaling restored phagocytosis and antigen presentation by MDSCs, which was accompanied by renewed T cell activity and delayed tumor growth in multiple solid cancers. These data highlight that therapeutically targeting myeloid functions in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors could enhance anti-tumor immunity

Biophysical Characteristics of Lipid-Induced Aβ Oligomers Correlate to Distinctive Phenotypes In Transgenic Mice

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects cognition and memory. Recent advances have helped identify many clinical sub-types in AD. Mounting evidence point toward structural polymorphism among fibrillar aggregates of amyloid-β (Aβ) to being responsible for the phenotypes and clinical manifestations. In the emerging paradigm of polymorphism and prion-like propagation of aggregates in AD, the role of low molecular weight soluble oligomers, which are long known to be the primary toxic agents, in effecting phenotypes remains inconspicuous. In this study, we present the characterization of three soluble oligomers of Aβ42, namely 14LPOs, 16LPOs, and GM1Os with discreet biophysical and biochemical properties generated using lysophosphatidyl glycerols and GM1 gangliosides. The results indicate that the oligomers share some biophysical similarities but display distinctive differences with GM1Os. Unlike the other two, GM1Os were observed to be complexed with the lipid upon isolation. It also differs mainly in detection by conformation-sensitive dyes and conformation-specific antibodies, temperature and enzymatic stability, and in the ability to propagate morphologically-distinct fibrils. GM1Os also show distinguishable biochemical behavior with pronounced neuronal toxicity. Furthermore, all the oligomers induce cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and plaque burden in transgenic AD mice, which seems to be a consistent feature among all lipid-derived oligomers, but 16LPOs and GM1Os displayed significantly higher effect than the others. These results establish a correlation between molecular features of Aβ42 oligomers and their distinguishable effects in transgenic AD mice attuned by lipid characteristics, and therefore help bridge the knowledge gap in understanding how oligomer conformers could elicit AD phenotypes

The Evolution, Spread and Global Threat of H6Nx Avian Influenza Viruses

Avian influenza viruses of the subtype H6Nx are being detected globally with increasing frequency. Some H6Nx lineages are becoming enzootic in Asian poultry and sporadic incursions into European poultry are occurring more frequently. H6Nx viruses that contain mammalian adaptation motifs pose a zoonotic threat and have caused human cases. Although currently understudied globally, H6Nx avian influenza viruses pose a substantial threat to both poultry and human health. In this review we examine the current state of knowledge of H6Nx viruses including their global distribution, tropism, transmission routes and human health risk