Digitalização das promoções de vendas e email marketing

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentado ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Marketing Digital, sob orientação de Professor Doutor António Correia de BarrosAs Promoções de Vendas são um mecanismo de atração dos clientes fidelizados e de novos clientes. Estas focam aspetos como a importância das Marcas e o Preço que influencia bastante a decisão de compra e requer estratégias especialmente de comunicação para criar uma envolvente em torno dele (Automatic Cognitive Processing). A importância de um pensamento comum entre o online e o offline, pois com o desenvolvimento das novas formas de digitalização, como as Redes Sociais, cada vez mais é possível prever quais os gostos e interesses do consumidor final. Assim, a comunicação não pode exclusivamente ser direcionada para um só meio, pois só a inter-relação e comunicação entre os diferentes canais vai originar uma maior fidelização. O estudo analisa uma amostra siginificativa de Emails Marketing com o objetivo de estudar o maior número de Emails contendo Promoções de Vendas. Os Emails observados são quase 500 durante um período de 2 anos e foram arquivados ao longo dos anos no Email pessoal. O conteúdo analisado teve em foco variáveis específicas como a Linha Assunto, a Orientação, o Call to Action, o Número de Palavras que permitiram afirmar que a Promoção de Vendas estava presente e é bastante utilizada no Email Marketing.Sales Promotion are an attraction mechanism for loyal customers and for the new ones. As usual they focus aspects like the importance of Brands and Price that influences a lot the decision to purchase. Price, also requires special strategies of comunication to create an environment around it (Automatic Cognitive Processing). The importance of common thought between online and offline because with the development of digitalization new forms, like Social Media, it will increase more and more the possibility to predict which are the likes and interests of final costumers. Therefore, comunication can’t be exclusively directed for one mean because inter relationship and comunication between diferent channels will create greater loyalty. The study analyses a significative sample of Email Marketing with the objective of studying the bigger number of Emails which contained Sales Promotion. The Emails observed are almost 500 during a períod of 2 years. They were archived in personal Email over the years. Content analyses had in focus specific variables like Subject Line, Orientation, Call to Action, Number of Words that allowed to say that Sales Promotion were present and it is widdely used in Email Marketing

Predictive value of serum markers of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C

INTRODUCTION: Serum markers have been used in the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). AIMS: We evaluated the capacity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, gama-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels, platelet count, the AST to platelet ratio index (APRI) and serum hyaluronic acid (HA) to predict the intensity of hepatic fibrosis in patients with CHC and the variation of these markers after therapy with interferon. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In 72 patients with hepatitis C, AST/ALT ratio, GGT levels, platelet count, the APRI index (calculated as the ratio of AST to platelets) and serum HA concentration were determined and compared to histological staging according to the scoring system of METAVIR. Sixty-five patients received interferon and ribavirin therapy. The individuals that completed the treatment (n = 33) underwent a new test for serum marker of fibrosis in order to compare it with pre-treatment levels. RESULTS: GGT levels, platelet count, the APRI index and serum HA were correlated with the stage of hepatic fibrosis (p < 0.01), except AST/ALT ratio. The analysis of the areas under the ROC curve (AUC) evidenced that APRI and HA levels were the markers with the best association with hepatic staging: AUC (APRI) = 0.85 and AUC (HA) = 0.86. After therapy with interferon, only GGT and the APRI showed reduction of their levels (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: HA and the APRI index were the most accurate approaches to liver fibrosis staging and they may be used as alternative diagnostic methods in patients with CHC.INTRODUÇÃO: Os marcadores séricos têm sido empregados na avaliação da fibrose hepática em pacientes portadores de hepatite crônica C (HCC). OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a capacidade do índice aspartato aminotransferase (AST)/alanina aminotransferase (ALT), dos níveis séricos de gama-glutamiltransferase (GGT), contagem de plaquetas, do índice AST/plaquetas (APRI) e do ácido hialurônico (AH) em predizer a intensidade da fibrose hepática na HCC e a variação desses marcadores após tratamento com interferon. PACIENTES E MÉTODOS: Em 72 pacientes portadores de hepatite C determinamos no soro o índice AST/ALT, GGT, plaquetas, índice APRI (obtido pelo quociente AST/plaquetas) e o AH, que foram comparados ao estadiamento histológico, segundo os critérios de METAVIR. Receberam tratamento com interferon e ribavirina 65 pacientes. Os indivíduos que concluíram o tratamento (n = 33) realizaram nova dosagem dos marcadores séricos de fibrose para comparar com os níveis pré-tratamento. RESULTADOS: Observamos que a GGT, a contagem de plaquetas, o índice APRI e o AH se correlacionaram com estádio de doença hepática (p < 0,01), exceto o índice AST/ALT. A análise das áreas sob as curvas ROC (AUC) evidenciaram que a melhor associação com estadiamento hepático foi para o índice APRI e a dosagem sérica do AH: AUC (APRI) = 0,85 e AUC (AH) = 0,86. Na avaliação pós-terapia com interferon, apenas a GGT e o índice APRI apresentaram redução de seus níveis (p < 0,05). CONCLUSÃO: O AH e o índice APRI apresentaram maior acurácia no estadiamento da fibrose, podendo ser aplicados como métodos diagnósticos alternativos na HCC.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Universidade Federal de Alagoas Hospital UniversitárioUNIFESPFundação Universitária de Ciências da Saúde de Alagoas Governador Lamenha FilhoUFAL HUUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Detection of oxaliplatin- and cisplatin-DNA lesions requires different global genome repair mechanisms that affect their clinical efficacy

The therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin and oxaliplatin depends on the balance between the DNA damage induction and the DNA damage response of tumor cells. Based on clinical evidence, oxaliplatin is administered to cisplatin-unresponsive cancers, but the underlying molecular causes for this tumor specificity are not clear. Hence, stratification of patients based on DNA repair profiling is not sufficiently utilized for treatment selection. Using a combination of genetic, transcriptomics and imaging approaches, we identified factors that promote global genome nucleotide excision repair (GG-NER) of DNA-platinum adducts induced by oxaliplatin, but not by cisplatin. We show that oxaliplatin-DNA lesions are a poor substrate for GG-NER initiating factor XPC and that DDB2 and HMGA2 are required for efficient binding of XPC to oxaliplatin lesions and subsequent GG-NER initiation. Loss of DDB2 and HMGA2 therefore leads to hypersensitivity to oxaliplatin but not to cisplatin. As a result, low DDB2 levels in different colon cancer cells are associated with GG-NER deficiency and oxaliplatin hypersensitivity. Finally, we show that colon cancer patients with low DDB2 levels have a better prognosis after oxaliplatin treatment than patients with high DDB2 expression. We therefore propose that DDB2 is a promising predictive marker of oxaliplatin treatment efficiency in colon cancer.</p

High-throughput sequencing of black pepper root transcriptome

Background: Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is one of the most popular spices in the world. It is used in cooking and the preservation of food and even has medicinal properties. Losses in production from disease are a major limitation in the culture of this crop. The major diseases are root rot and foot rot, which are results of root infection by Fusarium solani and Phytophtora capsici, respectively. Understanding the molecular interaction between the pathogens and the host's root region is important for obtaining resistant cultivars by biotechnological breeding. Genetic and molecular data for this species, though, are limited. In this paper, RNA-Seq technology has been employed, for the first time, to describe the root transcriptome of black pepper. Results: The root transcriptome of black pepper was sequenced by the NGS SOLiD platform and assembled using the multiple-k method. Blast2Go and orthoMCL methods were used to annotate 10338 unigenes. The 4472 predicted proteins showed about 52% homology with the Arabidopsis proteome. Two root proteomes identified 615 proteins, which seem to define the plant's root pattern. Simple-sequence repeats were identified that may be useful in studies of genetic diversity and may have applications in biotechnology and ecology. Conclusions: This dataset of 10338 unigenes is crucially important for the biotechnological breeding of black pepper and the ecogenomics of the Magnoliids, a major group of basal angiosperms.Rede Paraense de Genomica e Proteomica (Governo do Estado do Para/SEDECT/FAPESPA)Rede Paraense de Genomica e Proteomica (Governo do Estado do Para/SEDECT/FAPESPA)PROPESP/UFPAPROPESP/UFPAFADESPFADESPFINEPFINEPCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)CAPES (Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior

High-throughput sequencing of black pepper root transcriptome

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is one of the most popular spices in the world. It is used in cooking and the preservation of food and even has medicinal properties. Losses in production from disease are a major limitation in the culture of this crop. The major diseases are root rot and foot rot, which are results of root infection by Fusarium solani and Phytophtora capsici, respectively. Understanding the molecular interaction between the pathogens and the host’s root region is important for obtaining resistant cultivars by biotechnological breeding. Genetic and molecular data for this species, though, are limited. In this paper, RNA-Seq technology has been employed, for the first time, to describe the root transcriptome of black pepper.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud The root transcriptome of black pepper was sequenced by the NGS SOLiD platform and assembled using the multiple-k method. Blast2Go and orthoMCL methods were used to annotate 10338 unigenes. The 4472 predicted proteins showed about 52% homology with the Arabidopsis proteome. Two root proteomes identified 615 proteins, which seem to define the plant’s root pattern. Simple-sequence repeats were identified that may be useful in studies of genetic diversity and may have applications in biotechnology and ecology.\ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud This dataset of 10338 unigenes is crucially important for the biotechnological breeding of black pepper and the ecogenomics of the Magnoliids, a major group of basal angiosperms.FAPESPAUFPAFINEPCAPE

DC-SIGN (CD209) gene promoter polymorphisms in a Brazilian population and their association with human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 infection

This study evaluated four polymorphisms located in the DC-SIGN (CD209) gene promoter region (positions −336, −332 −201 and −139) in DNA samples from four Brazilian ethnic groups (Caucasians, Afro-Brazilian, Asians and Amerindians) to establish the population distribution of these single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and correlated DC-SIGN polymorphisms and infection in samples from human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected individuals. To identify CD209 SNPs, 452 bp of the CD209 promoter region were sequenced and the genotype and allelic frequencies were evaluated. This is the first study to show genetic polymorphism in the CD209 gene in distinct Brazilian ethnic groups with the distribution of allelic and genotypic frequency. The results showed that −336A and −139A SNPs were quite common in Asians and that the −201T allele was not observed in Caucasians, Asians or Amerindians. No significant differences were observed between individuals with HTLV-1 disease and asymptomatic patients. However, the −336A variant was more frequent in HTLV-1-infected patients [HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), 80 %; healthy asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers, 90 %] than in the control group (70 %) [P=0.0197, odds ratio (OR)=2.511, 95 % confidence interval (CI)=1.218–5.179). In addition, the −139A allele was found to be associated with protection against HTLV-1 infection (P=0.0037, OR=0.3758, 95 % CI=0.1954–0.7229) when the HTLV-1-infected patients as a whole were compared with the healthy-control group. These observations suggest that the −139A allele may be associated with HTLV-1 infection, although no significant association was observed among asymptomatic and HAM/TSP patients. In conclusion, the variation observed in SNPs −336 and −139 indicates that this lectin may be of crucial importance in the susceptibility/transmission of HTLV-1 infections