Understanding Portuguese young consumers intention to use mobile commerce

In the last decade, e-commerce became popular all over the world. The recent widespread of smartphones transformed a significant part of e-commerce in mobile commerce. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to find out which factors affect consumers intention of using m-commerce through the exploration of a conceptual model to analyze customers’ perceptions of using mobile commerce services for online shopping. This paper aims at anticipating consumer behavior, and providing implications for designers, managers, marketers, and operators related to mobile commerce (mcommerce). In order to test a conceptual model, an empirical investigation with a sample of 183 young Portuguese participants was carried out. It was used a structural equation model (SEM) in order to test the relationships of the model. The results reveal that anxiety, which is an affective obstacle against using new technology, is a key negative predictor of a customer’s intentions to use mobile devices for e-commerce. Additionally, enjoyment, usefulness, and compatibility have an impact on a customer’s behavioral intentions. Also, the consumer’s self-awareness of his/her mobile skillfulness affects anxiety, enjoyment, and usefulness and compatibility. The outcomes of this study help to understand what prevents or encourages the use intention of m-commerce. The results not only help develop a better understanding of mobile commerce theories for researchers, but they also offer viable knowledge to those involved in promoting m-commerce to potential purchasers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Motives to engage with sports brands on Facebook and Instagram – the case of a Portuguese football club

Purpose Social network sites are key marketing tools that allow brands to connect and engage with consumers. However, there is still a lack of evidence of their value for football brands. This research aims to understand the motivations for fans to engage with their favourite football brands on Facebook and Instagram. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was performed, resulting in 214 valid responses. As the social media strategy followed by the football brand analysed was built around games, the authors divided fans into two groups based on the main method in which the club's games are watched: in stadium versus mediated. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between motivations and fans' engagement, through content consumption and contribution, on Facebook and Instagram. Analysis was performed first with the whole sample and then by group (stadium attendance vs mediated attendance fans). Findings The findings show that social influence, entertainment, searching for information and rewards are the most relevant motivations for consumers to engage with brand-related content on Facebook. Entertainment, rewards and social influence are the main motivations influencing consumer interactions on Instagram. Group moderation was only confirmed in the impact of social influence on Facebook page content consumption. Originality/value The results provide valuable insights into the social media marketing activities of sports brands, which will assist brand managers to develop strategies for effectively stimulating engagement with the different groups of fans.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Effect of mannan oligosaccharides extracts in uropathogenic escherichia coli adhesion in human bladder cells

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cuidados de enfermado a pacientes oncológicos: revisión integrativa

Objetivo: identificar os cuidados de enfermagem à pacientes oncológicos. Metodologia: estudo do tipo revisão integrativa, utilizou-se dos seguintes descritores: enfermagem oncológica, oncologia, cuidados de enfermagem para busca dos artigos, as bases de dados selecionadas foram: Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), Sistema Regional de Informação em Linha para Revistas Científicas da América Latina, Caribe, Espanha e Portugal (LANTIDEX). Resultados: após análise dos dados afirma-se que os principais tipos de cuidados de enfermagem são: realização do curativo diário, aspiração traqueal, verificação de sinais vitais, cuidados com drenos, posicionamento da cabeceira e observação de sangramentos, do padrão respiratório, soroterapia, autocuidado além de cuidado com a família do paciente. Conclusão: diante destes dados, observa-se que os principais cuidados de enfermagem, relacionam-se a assistência direta ao paciente, mas vai muito além, envolvendo os cuidados emocionais que envolvem estes clientes.Objective: identifying nursing care for cancer patients. Methodology: integrative review, the following descriptors were used: oncology nursing, oncology, nursing care to search for articles, the selected databases were: Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Virtual Health Library (VHL) , Regional Online Information System for Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal (LANTIDEX). Results: after analyzing the data, we affirm that the main types of nursing care are: daily dressing, tracheal aspiration, vital signs verification, drainage care, bedside positioning and observation of bleeding, respiratory pattern, self-care in addition to caring for the patient's family. Conclusion: based on these data, it can be observed that the main nursing care is related to direct care to the patient, but goes much further, involving the emotional care that involves these clients.Objetivo: identificar los cuidados de enfermería a pacientes oncológicos. Metodología: estudio de tipo revisión integrativa, se utilizó de los siguientes descriptores: enfermería oncológica, oncología, cuidados de enfermería para la búsqueda de los artículos, las bases de datos seleccionadas fueron: Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Biblioteca Virtual en Salud (BVS), Sistema regional de información en línea para revistas científicas de América Latina, el Caribe, España y Portugal (LANTIDEX). Resultados: resultados de los análisis de los datos se basan en que los principales tipos de cuidados de enfermería son: realización del curativo diario, aspiración traqueal, verificación de signos vitales, cuidados con drenajes, posicionamiento de la cabecera y observación de sangrados, del patrón respiratorio, sueroterapia, autocuidado además de cuidado con la familia del paciente. Conclusión: Ante estos datos, se observa que los principales cuidados de enfermería, se relacionan con la asistencia directa al paciente, pero va mucho más allá, involucrando los cuidados emocionales que involucran a estos clientes

Effect of mannan oligosaccharides extracts in uropathogenic escherichia coli adhesion in human bladder cells

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common public health problem, mainly caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). Patients with chronic UTIs are usually treated with long-acting prophylactic antibiotics, which promotes the development of antibiotic-resistant UPEC strains and may complicate their long-term management. D-mannose and extracts rich in D-mannose such as mannan oligosaccharides (MOS; D-mannose oligomers) are promising alternatives to antibiotic prophylaxis due to their ability to inhibit bacterial adhesion to urothelial cells and, therefore, infection. This highlights the therapeutic potential and commercial value of using them as health supplements. Studies on the effect of MOS in UTIs are, however, scarce. Aiming to evaluate the potential benefits of using MOS extracts in UTIs prophylaxis, their ability to inhibit the adhesion of UPEC to urothelial cells and its mechanism of action were assessed. Additionally, the expression levels of the pro-inflammatory marker interleukin 6 (IL-6) were also evaluated. After characterizing their cytotoxic profiles, the preliminary results indicated that MOS extracts have potential to be used for the handling of UTIs and demonstrated that the mechanism through which they inhibit bacterial adhesion is through the competitive inhibition of FimH adhesins through the action of mannose, validated by a bacterial growth impact assessment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Spent yeast waste streams as a sustainable source of bioactive peptides for skin applications

Spent yeast waste streams are a byproduct obtained from fermentation process and have been shown to be a rich secondary source of bioactive compounds such as phenolic compounds and peptides. The latter are of particular interest for skin care and cosmetics as they have been shown to be safe and hypoallergenic while simultaneously being able to exert various effects upon the epidermis modulating immune response and targeting skin metabolites, such as collagen production. As the potential of spent yeast’s peptides has been mainly explored for food-related applications, this work sought to understand if peptide fractions previously extracted from fermentation engineered spent yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) waste streams possess biological potential for skin-related applications. To that end, cytotoxic effects on HaCat and HDFa cells and whether they were capable of exerting a positive effect upon the production of skin metabolites relevant for skin health, such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, fibronectin and elastin, were evaluated. The results showed that the peptide fractions assayed were not cytotoxic up to the highest concentration tested (500 µg/mL) for both cell lines tested. Furthermore, all peptide fractions showed a capacity to modulate the various target metabolites production with an overall positive effect being observed for the four fractions over the six selected targets (pro-collagen IαI, hyaluronic acid, fibronectin, cytokeratin-14, elastin, and aquaporin-9). Concerning the evaluated fractions, the overall best performance (Gpep > 1 kDa) was of an average promotion of 41.25% over the six metabolites and two cell lines assessed at a concentration of 100 µg/mL. These results showed that the peptide fractions assayed in this work have potential for future applications in skin-related products at relatively low concentrations, thus providing an alternative solution for one of the fermentation industry’s waste streams and creating a novel and highly valuable bioactive ingredient with encompassing activity to be applied in future skin care formulations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

High-concentration carbamide peroxide can reduce the sensitivity caused by in-office tooth bleaching: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial

Objectives: A single-blinded, randomized, parallel clinical trial evaluated the use of 37% carbamide peroxide (CP) on bleaching effectiveness and tooth sensitivity reported by patients undergoing in-office tooth bleaching, in comparison with the results of using 35% hydrogen peroxide. Material and Methods:Forty patients were allocated to receive two sessions of in-office tooth bleaching using either 35% hydrogen peroxide (HP) or 37% CP. Each patient’s sensitivity level was evaluated during and up to 24 h after bleaching. The effectiveness of the bleaching procedures was evaluated with a spectrophotometer one week after each session and 30 days after the last session. The impact of tooth bleaching on the patients’ perceptions regarding smile changes, in addition to the bleaching procedures and their results, were also recorded. Absolute and relative sensitivity risks were calculated. Data on sensitivity level were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney or T-test, and data from the color evaluation were subjected to 2-way repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The use of CP reduced the risk and level of tooth sensitivity to values close to zero, whereas the difference between the bleaching agents disappeared after 24 h. An increased bleaching effect was observed for HP, mainly due to an improved reduction of redness and yellowness. Participants perceived improved tooth bleaching for HP and reduced sensitivity for CP, but no differences regarding the comfort of the techniques were noted. Conclusions: In our study, 37% CP resulted in reduced tooth sensitivity but decreased the tooth bleaching effectiveness. However, both bleaching agents resulted in high levels of patient satisfaction

ABORDAGEM DIAGNÓSTICA DE MASTOCITOMA CUTÂNEO METASTÁTICO EM CANINO

Mast cell tumors are one of the most common skin neoplasms that affect dogs. The diagnosis is based on clinical and laboratory aspects, with cytology and histopathology being the preferred methods. Therefore, this study aims to report the importance of the broad diagnostic approach of metastatic cutaneous mastocytoma in a castrated a female dog attended at the Veterinary Hospital of the State University of Ceará, with a neoformation in a member compatible with mast cell tumor. The patient’s staging was performed through laboratory tests of complete blood count, aspiration cytology of regional lymph nodes and bone marrow, which showed the presence of focus of metastasis, as well as the abdominal ultrasound examination, which showed changes in the liver parenchymas and right medial iliac lymphadenopathy. Given the suspicions, the patient was euthanized and the body was sent for necropsy and histopathological examination, which confirmed the diagnosis of high-grade cutaneous mast cell tumor, with metastasis in the liver, lung, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. Thus, it can be is concluded that mast cell tumor is a neoplasm of multifactorial diagnosis, where hematological tests associated with cytology, histopathological, and imaging analyses are essential to establish the definitive diagnosis to determine a better therapeutic behavior and prognosis of canine patients.O mastocitoma é uma das neoplasias cutâneas mais comuns que acometem cães. O diagnóstico da doença é baseado em aspectos clínicos e laboratoriais, sendo a citologia e a histopatologia os métodos de eleição. Diante disso, o objetivo deste estudo é relatar a importância da ampla abordagem diagnóstica de mastocitoma cutâneo metastático em uma fêmea canina castrada, atendida no Hospital Veterinário da Universidade Estadual do Ceará, com uma neoformação em membro compatível com mastocitoma. O estadiamento da paciente foi feito através de exames laboratoriais de hemograma completo, e citologia aspirativa de linfonodo regional e medula óssea, que evidenciaram a presença de focos de metástase; bem como do exame de ultrassom abdominal, que evidenciou alterações no parênquima hepático e linfoadenomegalia ilíaco medial direita. Diante das suspeitas, optou-se pela eutanasia da paciente, cujo corpo foi enviado para os exames de necropsia e histopatologia, os quais confirmaram o diagnóstico de mastocitoma cutâneo de alto grau, com metástase em fígado, pulmão, medula e linfonodos. Desta forma pode-se concluir que o mastocitoma cutâneo metastático é uma neoplasia de diagnóstico multifatorial, em que a realização de exames hematológicos associados às análises citológicas, histopatológicas e de imagem são indispensáveis para estabelecer o diagnóstico definitivo para qu seja determinada uma melhor conduta terapêutica e prognóstico de pacientes caninos

História das Américas : apontamentos iniciais de ensino e pesquisas

-Esta coletânea visa abordar a história do continente americano e do Brasil numa perspectiva de diálogo. Ao pensarmos em ensino e pesquisas, dividimos os capítulos de modo a contemplar a amplitude de temas desenvolvidos por pesquisadores do Brasil e do exterior. O intuito da obra foi trazer pesquisas em variados graus de execução, indo desde primeiras reflexões a trabalhos de pesquisa mais amadurecidos. Procuramos apresentar uma diversidade de temas e evidenciar algumas das muitas possibilidades de estudo do nosso continente, do qual o Brasil também faz parte