Дисертації з теми "SMA’s"

Transforming growth factor-p (TGFp) pathways have been shown to regulate renal branching morphogenesis, one of the key processes determining the final number of nephrons. Although Smads are known to be downstream mediators of these signals, little is known about their role in kidney development. Using RT-PCR and in situ hybridization we investigated the expression of Smads during kidney development. We have found that the receptor regulated Smads (1, 2, 3, 5 and 8) as well as the common partner (Smad4), are expressed in the developing kidney during nephrogenesis. These factors have a specific expression pattern that overlaps with the expression of the signalling molecules BMP-4 and TGFpi. Expression of Smads 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 is mainly found in undifferentiated mesenchymal cells of the nephrogenic zone as well as ureteric bud tips, but is downregulated in condensing mesenchymal structures. Smad 2 is mostly expressed in the stromal cell compartment. The distinct, yet overlapping, expression of Smads suggests that the specificity of TGFp signals might be determined in part by the combination of Smads expressed in a particular cell type. To better characterize the role of TGFP in kidney development, mouse embryonic kidney explants were treated with soluble TGFP ligands. Addition of BMP-2 and TGFpi inhibited renal branching morphogenesis through their effects on proliferation and survival. Similarly, proliferation and survival appeared to be the critical processes affected by TGFP signalling in the mIMCD-3 model of tubulogenesis. The direct role of Smads was examined by overexpression of a Smad3-GFP fusion protein in mIMCD-3 cells. Apoptosis was most frequently co-localized to Smad-3 transfected cells, which was consistent with the effects observed from the ligand, TGFpi. To test these observations in vivo, we developed a novel method for the manipulation of embryonic kidney explants in culture. GFP-expression vectors were introduced in kidney explants without loss in viability, and the expression of GFP was found to be rapid and sustained for several days in culture. In summary, this study has placed Smads downstream of TGFP signals in the developing kidney, and it opens the door to finding molecules that might be affected by these signals.

Nowadays, Cloud Technologies are commonly used for a lot of large organizations to aid knowledge sharing.  This brings some benefits to the organization by reducing the cost of the charges, improve security, enhance content accessibility, improve efficiency etc. On the other hand, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) tend to manage their information in more informal way by not using the specific language or terminology of KM. Moreover, Small and Medium enterprises do not trust the adoption of cloud-based techniques for managing information for many reasons that discussed later. This thesis tries to provide the benefits and drawbacks of cloud-based Knowledge Management techniques in Greek SMEs and also to find how knowledge processes are used in Greek SMEs according to cloud-based Knowledge Management techniques. Also, through this work I will come up with the benefits and drawbacks of applying cloud-based techniques for managing information-knowledge in SMEs. To accomplish this, I derived with a methodology that is based on qualitative approach. More specifically, I provide an exhaustive literature review and then I contacted with five SMEs in Greece to explore, using different techniques, if these SMEs can benefit from the cloud-based Knowledge Management techniques and how indent are for adopting cloud-based Knowledge Management techniques in their organization. I realized that three of the SMEs are using cloud-based techniques for Knowledge Management, where the two of them does not. To be more specific one of these two SMEs does not manage its knowledge at all. However, all of the five organizations showed a great interest to adopt cloud-based and information system technologies for Knowledge Management. At the end, this work comes up with the following important findings and insights, as well: Cloud-based Knowledge Management techniques can bring a lot of benefits in terms of cost savings and performance. However, this suits the right and efficiently use of cloud-based techniques. The lack of using efficiently cloud-based Knowledge Management techniques may lead to some drawbacks, such as reduction on the performance of the organization and reduction on the savings.   This thesis also discusses some points for future direction such as the analysis of a larger space of organizations, the investigation of quantitative analysis and also the combination of both (qualitative and quantitative).

Due to the rapid changing environment many organizations are striving to achieve agility and flexibility in internal and external environments. In order for an enterprise to be able to respond to this changing environment, it must integrate the business functions into a distinct system that is capable of exploiting information technology competently. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) mainly focused on integrating internal business functions and implementing an ERP system requires a significant amount of time and financial resources. Moreover, ERP systems are complex, non-flexible and are not capable of collaborating with autonomous application leading to difficulty in integration and customization [3]. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) is an alternate technology to ERP where the integration process is automated without much effort. This research work mainly focuses on designing an order processing system using the concepts of EAI for Intra Organization in any small and medium enterprises (SME’s). As a result of this research work, a five layered architecture has been designed which can be integrated in any enterprise without affecting the existing business workflow. This architecture is categorized into Data Layer, Middleware Layer, Event Generation Layer, Translation Layer and Interface layer. Further to actually test the extent and reliability of this architecture a prototype system implementation is built at Hyundai Mobis Parts- Sweden, using the concepts of EAI. In addition the evaluation of the prototype system is performed to check the above defined layers of the architecture.

Les motivacions entorn al programari lliure han estat sempre un tema de gran interès, sent la pregunta més obvia, "perquè les persones treballen de forma gratuïta?". Les motivacions dels desenvolupadors han estat establertes (per exemple, von Hippel (2001), Lerner and Tirole (2002)). De la mateixa manera que ho han estat per a les empreses grans i petites que adopten programari lliure basat en models de negoci (per exemple, Lakhani and von Hippel, 2003; Fitzgerald, 2006; Krishnamurthy, 2004). No obstant això, un nombre cada vegada més elevat de les PIMES amb estratègies que no estan directament relacionades amb aquest model de negoci estan contribuint a les comunitats de programari lliure. En aquest estudi s'investiga les motivacions d'aquestes empreses des d'un punt de vista de comportament mitjançant un model d'investigació basat en TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior). Hem demostrat que factors com la "obertura" d'una PIME, la importància percebuda del programari lliure, els desenvolupadors (empleats) d'una PIME, juntament amb l'ambient extern, podrien influir en la decisió d'una PIME a participar en comunitats de programari lliure. A més, hem demostrat que es poden identificar algunes diferències entre empreses d'alta base tecnològica i empreses amb poca base tecnològica. Aquestes conclusions poden ajudar governs nacionals o regionals per millorar el disseny de polítiques per tal d'incentivar l'ús i la participació de les empreses en les comunitats de programari lliure. Especialment ara, degut a la forta crisi econòmica que pateix Europa, el programari lliure pot ser una solució adequada per a fomentar la innovació.
Motivations in FLOSS have always been a subject of great interest, by starting with the most obvious question, “why people work for free?”. The motivations of developers have been well established (eg von Hippel (2001), Lerner and Tirole 2002). The same exists also for big and small companies adopting FLOSS based Business Models (eg Lakhani and von Hippel, 2003; Fitzgerald 2006; Krishnamurthy, 2004). However an increasing number of SMEs with strategies not directly related to the Business Model are contributing to FLOSS communities. In this study we try to investigate these motivations under a behavioral perspective by using a research model based on TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior). We demonstrated that factors like the “openness” of a SME, the perceived importance of FLOSS, the developers (employees) of a SME along with the external environment of a SME, could influence the decision of a SME to participate in FLOSS communities. Also, we have demonstrated that some differences can be identified between high tech firms and non high tech firms. These findings can help national or regional governments to design better policies in order to better promote the use and the participation of firms to FLOSS communities. Especially now, in times of heavy economical crisis in Europe, FLOSS can be an adequate solution to foster innovation.

Global Savings Group - Rocket Internet SE venture currency risk management exposure. This thesis covers the theory around currency risk management, putting it into practice with the real case of GSG currency risk exposure. In the end I aim to verify if currency risk affects the performance of SMEs, and if such type of companies (in this case the GSG) are aware of such exposure and if they adopt any strategies in order to reduce such exposure.

En konkurrenskraftig strategi kan vara en avgörande faktor för ett företags framgång. En formell företagsstrategi ser till att både de som deltar i den strategiska planeringen och i genomförandet följer samma mål. Det riktas kritik mot hur företag använder sig av strategisk planering och den största utmaningen för företagen ligger i att implementera strategin i verksamheten. Ett problem som är kopplat till strategier är att organisationers sätt att skapa konkurrensfördelar förändras snabbt. Företagen måste på grund av detta skapa förutsättningar för en ständigt pågående strategisk dialog.Syftet är att undersöka hur små och medelstora företag (SMF) arbetar med den strategiska planeringen i verksamheten och hur de kontrollerar att de strategiska aktiviteterna verkar i linje med det långsiktiga målet. Syftet med studien är även att ta reda på vilka faktorer som bidrar till en lyckad strategisk planering och implementering hos SMF. För att besvara vårt syfte har en multipel fallstudie gjorts på två SMF i Sjuhäradsområdet. Personliga intervjuer har genomförts med personer från företagens ledningsgrupp och styrelse.SMF har gemensamma karaktärsdrag gentemot stora företag och följande områden har undersökts: omgivningsfaktorer, organisationsmiljö och ledningen. Storleken på företaget har en betydande roll när det kommer till hur stor påverkan omgivningen har på ett företag. SMF har mer begränsade resurser vilket bidrar till större osäkerhet i omgivningen och att hålla koll på bland annat andra konkurrenter. Organisationsstrukturen hos SMF kännetecknas av en platt struktur med få ledningsnivåer vilket bidrar till en hög flexibilitet och förmåga att anpassa sig till marknaden. De få ledningsnivåerna bidrar till att antalet mellanchefer är färre och kravet på Vd:ns ledningsexpertis ökar.The Closed-Loop Management System är en modell som föreslås användas vid strategisk planering hos företag. Modellen består av fem steg: utveckla strategin, översätta strategin, planera handlingar, kontrollera och lär samt testa och anpassa strategin. Modellen beskriver hur företag ska gå tillväga från att formulera och uttala strategin till att implementera och kommunicera den i verksamheten och har använts som underlag för att undersöka hur SMFs arbetar med strategisk planering och strategisk kontroll i praktiken. För att säkerställa att implementering av strategin blivit lyckad behöver företagen utföra strategisk kontroll. Ett sätt att utföra strategisk kontroll är genom att använda sig av integrerad prestationsmätning. Det innebär en balanserad styrning mellan finansiella och icke-finansiella mått där orsak- och verkansamband mellan de olika måtten kartläggs och har undersökts på företagen i studien.Slutsatser som kan dras av studien är att tre viktiga faktorer som bidrar till strategisk framgång i SMF är: inställningen hos de anställda, val av organisationsstruktur och tydlig kommunikation. För att genomföra den strategiska planeringen används ett metodiskt arbetssätt för att strukturera upp aktiviteter och delmål som finns för att uppnå det övergripande målet. Genom att bryta ned det övergripande målet i delmål och aktiviteter säkerställer företagen att de kortsiktiga handlingarna verkar i linje med den långsiktiga strategiska planen. Det är även viktigt för företagen att kontrollera och mäta dessa aktiviteter. Finansiella och icke-finansiella mått används för strategisk kontroll men studiens resultat visar att de finansiella måtten är dominerande.
A competitive strategy is essential for a corporate’s success in their industry. The challenge is not only to design the strategy; it is to spread it throughout the organization. An integrated measurement system refers to support and control the activities and goals that leads to strategic success. Thus, earlier studies have shown that integrated measurement systems have contributed to improve large enterprises’ performances when applied in their businesses. However, this study refers to the gap of research on the use of integrated measurement systems and its impact on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). This study focusses on two Swedish SMEs and research what characterize their qualities that contributes to strategic success. The study will also focus on how the SMEs apply strategic planning and strategic control in their business’s.The study was based on previous studies in the context of strategy. The interviews were conducted on two Swedish SMEs, and the respondents were people that are a part of each company’s management team that possess both knowledge and insight to the company’s strategic work.Our findings suggest that factors contributing to strategic success in SME’s are: the communication approach, the attitude of the employees and the organizational structure. The strategic planning in SME wasn’t based on a specific model to support the strategic planning. However, they use a similar methodical approach to implement the activities in the strategic planning process. Finally, the study also shows that SMEs use integrated measurement in terms of financial and non-financial measurements, where the financial measurements had a greater impact on the SME business’s.

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The Italian business presence in Brazil has been characterizing, since years, the economic landscape of Brazil. More than 1300 Italian companies, from the biggest to the smallest one, are acting in Brazil, exploiting the overall potential of this country and contributing with the excellence they can bring. Noting the consistency of the Italian presence and wondering how those companies have entered such a complex country and, a recurring name has been GM Venture, which became the protagonist of this dissertation. The thesis in fact aims at studying how GM Venture Company has been able to create value for Italian SMEs, contributing to their success in Brazil during the last ten years. Therefore this analysis focuses firstly on the literature dealing with the key success factors for the internationalization of small-medium enterprises. The second part of the literature goes deep in the specific case of the Brazilian context, trying to understand the major problems that this particular environment poses to small-medium companies internationalizing here and some specific factors Italian companies should pay attention to. Given this introduction, the analysis centers on the core topic of this dissertation. In fact the investigation regarding the GM Venture case looks specifically at how this company has been able create value despite those problems and create a business model able to successfully support SMEs entering Brazil. The inquiry on the case and the conclusion reports how GM Venture, through its operations, has been able to respond to the Brazilian rtise, and positively contribute to the growth and value of the Italian economic reality in this country. Moreover looking at the literature findings, this specific case introduces some novelty in the emerged factors, such as a new way of conceiving the Network, as well as new factors or undervalued ones for success such as promptness in the response and trustworthiness, which are essential in the Brazilian economic environment.
Desde muitos anos a presença Italiana no Brasil foi caracterizante do panorama econômico brasileiro. Mais de mil trezentos empresas italianas, das maiores ate as menores, são presente hoje no Brasil, aproveitando inteiramente do potencial Brasileiro e levando no Brasil uma contribuição relevante no sistema econômico, por meio da excelência que caracteriza estas empresas Italianas. Olhando ao tamanhão da realidade das empresas italiana no Brasil, e como todas essas corporações podia ter entrado em um pais muito complexo, ponto central foi a GM Venture, que se tornou o protagonista da minha dissertação. Esso TCC tem o escopo de entender melhor como esses deis anos GM Venture conseguiu em criar valor econômico por muitas media e pequena empresas Italianas, levando eles ao sucesso no novo país. Por isso a dissertação se focaliza inicialmente sobre a literatura da internacionalização e dos fatores essenciais de sucesso por uma pequena e media empresa em general. O secundo fator de analise nela literatura para o caso especifico do contexto Brasileiro, foi a compreensão dos problemas principais que o Brasil põe para pequenas-medias empresas estrangeiras, e algumas atenções que são necessárias em particular para empresários italianos. Para evoluir no tema, depois de essa introdução ao tema e ao contexto, o tópico mais importante é discutido. Então a investigação de esse trabalho se focaliza sobre o tema de como a GM Venture tem capacidade de responder com uma solução para os problemas presentados criando valor, e como ela criou um modelo de business que seja capaz de levar ao sucesso as empresas clientes no Brasil. A analise e conclusão do caso vão elaborar como a GM Venturo contribuiu ao resolver e evitar a complexidade Brasileira com meios legais e experiência, cooperando em positivo no crescimento da realidade econômica italiana em Brasil. Olhando ainda mais na analise da literatura e comparando o caso, parece evidente como o caso da GM Venture introduziu algumas novidades nos fatores já individuados, como uma ideais nova de network, e no mesmo tempo foi capaz de presentar fatores novos o subestimado, como a pronta velocidade e a confiança nos relacionamento de business que são muito importantes especialmente no Brasil.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) prevail in their business communities and constitute the base of many nations’ economies. As a reason it is vital that SMEs show their active engagement and relatedness of their CSR activities making them at the core of their business strategies, as well as maintain their role as responsible citizens in their communities.CSR activities and practices being mainly developed by large corporations impede the way they can be applied on their smaller counterparts; ultimately leading to different results. SMEs require different solutions and run in different settings, which afford them unique opportunities to become sustainable enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of CSR engagement in Småland, Sweden. The study was divided into two parts, social (community wise) and environmental. We aimed to understand the reasons behind engagement and non-engagement in this matter. Also, it was important to find a pattern for future development of CSR among SMEs. We relied on previous research conducted for SMEs around Europe, and compared mainly the results from Sweden to our research findings.

This study was largely done by using the quantitative survey method, where a questionnaire was designed to collect the results. Descriptive and exploratory statistics is at the core of interpreting the results. Some of the findings were confirmed by previous research while the rest were either unprecendeted or surprising, both in a positive and negative way. The CSR involvement was highly related to the size of the companies, in total more than half of the companies were involved to some extent. The main reasons for involvement in local communities were ethical as well as to satisfy own employees. The reasons for non-engagement were due to lack of resources, time and money, but also the fact that many companies simply never thought about engagement. When it comes to the environmental part, the results showed that companies act very responsibly. They are also aware and compliant to legislations and have environmental policies. Again, ethical reasons were the main driving force behind environmental concerns for the companies, but also the enhancement of the image was a chief reason. In general, companies do not seem to find economical benefits behind the engagement in CSR and less than half of the companies that engage in social responsibilities today are planning on continuing in the near future. Social involvement is voluntary and companies choose to do it mainly because of ethical reasons. On an overall basis, the engagement of SMEs in social activities is quite weak to moderate, while in environmental engagement the results are to some extent more optimistic. However, we cannot allege that a handful of Smålands SMEs see the full business benefits of engagement and as a result they cannot be said to be working towards ‘doing well by doing good’. Policy makers, municipalities and larger firms need to support the SMEs in their further engagement.

Les Bmps sont des morphogènes appartenant à la superfamille du Tgf-[beta] et sont impliqués dans plusieurs processus cellulaires tels que la prolifération, la migration, la différenciation et le maintien de l'homéostasie autant chez l'embryon que chez l'adulte. La liaison des Bmps aux récepteurs entraîne l'activation au niveau du cytoplasme de facteurs de transcription nommés les BR-Smads (Smadl, 5 et 8). Parmi les rôles attribués à la voie de signalisation des Bmps, très peu d'études ont démontré précisément quels BR-Smads médiaient ces rôles et fonctions. Une étude au sein de notre laboratoire avait préalablement caractérisé les rôles de la voie de signalisation des Bmps au niveau de l'épithélium intestinal suite à la délétion conditionnelle de Bmpr1a chez la souris. Nous avons voulu déterminer les rôles spécifiques de chaque BR-Smad au niveau de l'épithélium intestinal. Nous avons utilisé le système de délétion conditionnelle Cre/loxP afm d'effectuer la délétion individuelle de Smad1, Smad5 ou Smad8 strictement au sein des cellules épithéliales intestinales à l'aide de la Cre recombinase sous le contrôle du promoteur tronqué de la Villine . Des analyses de prolifération et de migration par incorporation de BrdU ont permis de démontrer que Smadl était impliqué dans le contrôle de la prolifération tandis que Smad5 était impliqué dans la migration des cellules épithéliales intestinales. Le marquage des différents types de cellules sécrétrices composant l'épithélium de l'intestin ont été effectués. Les résultats obtenus ont permis de démontrer que les rôles des Bmps dans la différenciation des cellules caliciformes seraient médiés par Smadl et Smad5 alors que Smadl serait le seul BR-Smad impliqué dans la différenciation des cellules de Paneth. Les défauts dans la détermination des cellules entéroendocrines observés chez les souris Bmpr1a[indice supérieur deltaCE1] n'ont pas été observés suite à la délétion individuelle de chacun des BR-Smads. Ce résultat suggère donc la présence d'une compensation entre les divers BR-Sxnads ou que les défauts de la détermination des cellules entéroendocrines nécessitent la perte de deux ou des trois BR-Smads en même temps. Nous avons également généré des modèles cellulaires stables exprimant diverses constructions de shARN contre chaque BR-Smad chez les cellules IEC-6. Les résultats obtenus in vitro confirment l'implication de Smadl dans le contrôle de la prolifération et le rôle de Smad5 dans la migration de cellules épithéliales intestinales. De plus, ces modèles cellulaires permettront l'étude plus approfondie des mécanismes impliqués dans la prolifération et la migration suite à la délétion de Smadl et Smad5 respectivement en plus de faciliter la combinaison de la perte de plusieurs BR-Smads en même temps. Les résultats obtenus démontrent que les BR-Smads ont des rôles distincts au niveau de la prolifération, de la migration et de la différenciation de l'épithélium intestinal, mais suggèrent également que les BR-Smads aient des rôles combinatoires et compensatoires entre eux dans certaines fonctions cellulaires. [symboles non conformes]

Mergers and acquisitions are widely known as growth strategies for large entities worldwide, not always yielding positive results and sustaining businesses over and above challenges they may bring if not properly executed. Small and medium-size enterprises in South Africa have been failing prematurely for various reasons, and little research has been done to look at solving these early failures, which are in turn contributing to a high unemployment rate, as layoffs continue due to lack of business sustainability. This study seeks to establish the extent to which M&As can drive growth through profitability and sustainability of SMEs, as well as whether the acquisition of entrepreneurial start-ups inject much-needed innovation, and the energy to grow and survive failure. About seven enterprises were interviewed through a qualitative case study approach in three industrial sectors, where construction, manufacturing and professional services were selected. Results proved the positive impact of M&As to a large extent, however, some failures to inject growth were also found with the guidance necessary to succeed. Entrepreneurial start-ups were found to be risky for SMEs, however these do provide the edge at times. Skills, niche market access, profitability, and growth were all noted to be positives, while profit losses and high employee turnover were all noted to be negatives. A conceptual inductive theory building model was established, and a conclusive theoretical model conceived from research results, contributing to both realms of academia and business.
Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
pt2020
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
MBA
Unrestricted

The global market place is becoming ever more accessible. Internet and communication technologies are opening up new opportunities for firms of all configurations. Based on that, this research will focus on Born Global business-to-business (B2B small, medium enterprises (SME) entering in the German market. The aim is to answer the following two research questions: ‘What does a Born Global B2B SME’s internationalization process look like?’ and ‘Which adaptations should a Born Global B2B SME make to acquire customers in the German market?’ A review of internationalization literature, complemented by company participation and interviews furthers the body of academic research in this subject area. Qualitative research is applied through a company case study and primary interviews are conducted. A case study is employed to further understand and practically apply adaptations a firm can make to increase its chance of success in a foreign market environment, once internationalizing. The conclusions drawn that a Born Global B2B SME entering a foreign market should make adaptations in its online presence to cater to the new market. Specifically, language adaptations are required to the native tongue. This research concludes with both practical and theoretical suggestions. The key findings from the interviews show that the Born Global B2B SME’s studied have taken an ‘accidental’ internationalization process.

Background

In 2006 the audit duty for SME’s was abolished in Denmark, and January 1st 2007 Finland decided to do the same. The subject is now under investigation in Sweden since the government has appointed an

investigation dealing with the future of the audit duty for small companies. The report will not only investigate whether an abolishment needs to be done but also if compliments are needed in order to prevent companies from breaking the rules, intentionally or unintentionally due to lack of knowledge.

Purpose

To investigate how a possible abolishment of the auditing duty for small companies will affect the creditors’ ability to assess the company’s creditworthiness.

Method

The selected sample of this study contained interviews with five organisations that would be affected differently of an abolishment of the audit duty. The authors wanted to interview organisations with different perceptions of the audit duty although the or-ganisations have in common that they all possess knowledge which is important to the banks in the credit rating process. The sample consists of representatives from; FAR SRS, Företagarna, Handelsbanken, Nordea and Upplysningscentralen.

Conclusion

All the different organisations in the study showed different views in the value of having audited financial statements. FAR SRS and Företagarna were, as could be expected, most and least in favour of having audited financial statements. UC did not predict to be affected by an abolishment, but did see a value in it. Interesting conclusions could be seen between the banks. It showed that depending on the organisational structure dif-ferent value was seen in the audit duty. This addresses how important a bank’s routines are in the process of valuing a company’s creditworthiness. The study showed that an abolishment will probably turn the focus in the credit process from the information that figures generates. The information used to assess a company’s creditworthiness would to a larger extent be on analysing the business concept, the environment and the re-sources that a company posses.

Active research of SMAs has shown that its Seebeck coefficient is sensitive to its martensitic phase transformation and has the potential to determine the SMAs state of transformation. The combination of Shape Memory Alloys, which have a positive Seebeck coefficient, and Constantan which has a negative Seebeck coefficient (-35 mV/K) results in a thermocouple capable of measuring temperature. The work presented in this thesis is based on the development and design of this sensor. This sensor is used to study the hysteretic behaviour of SMAs. Although Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) exhibit a myriad of nonlinearities, SMAs show two major types of nonlinear hysteresis. During cyclic loading of the SMAs, it is observed that one type of hysteretic behavior depends on the rate of heating the SMAs, whilst the variation of maximum temperature of an SMA in each cycle results in the other hysteretic behavior. This later hysteretic behavior gives rise to major and minor nonlinear loops of SMAs. The present work analyzes the nonlinearities of hysteretic envelopes which gives the different maximum temperatures reached for each hysteretic cycle with respect to stress and strain of the SMA. This work then models this behavior using Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) and compares it to experimental results. The nonlinear learning and adaptation of ANFIS architecture makes it suitable to model the temperature path hysteresis of SMAs.
Master of Science

There are many factors involved in the low survival rate of Ecuadorian SMEs, among which we can highlight: a lack of R & D, poor managerial orientation to improve processes, poor relations with universities, excessive decision-making centralization by administrators, low technical training of personnel, societal conflicts and human relations problems. The present research will focus on analyzing the leadership styles of Ecuadorian SMEs' managers and how leadership styles affect trust and conflict behavior. Study results will represent a contribution towards human relations and the sustainability of SMEs in Ecuador. Two samples take the perception of the managers (N=341) and of the employees (N=314) were analyzed. Fist contribution describe the leadership styles of managers of SMEs in Ecuador and the relation between the different styles. The demographic characteristics of the leaders are taken into consideration in order to establish if they have an impact on the pattern used. Second contribution showed that from the managerial perspective, cognitive and affective trust and leadership styles were significantly and positively correlated to a different extent. In addition, cognitive trust was found to mediate the relationship between leadership styles and affective trust. In contrast, the employees’ perspective showed no correlation between the aforementioned variables. The third contribution showed a significant and positive correlation between conflict management styles and leadership styles, and trust may have a mediation effect on this relationship, except with transformational leadership and problem-solving. The hypotheses were tested through a structural equation model (SEM) methodology. Finally, theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for future research were proposed.

In the discussions today about Africa’s way out of poverty the main focus has been on SME’s, and there potential to increase the economy. In my thesis I research a network of small scale producers in Zanzibar called UWAZI. The thesis compares the theory of Robertson and Lussier, with UWAZI’s situation in Zanzibar. The two most important factors for success are identified as networks and financing which this thesis is focusing on. The conclusion is that UWAZI needs a better financing programme in order to be successful in the future and if this is implemented there is no reason for them to fail. They have a strong network and cooperation and a good mentor programme linked to the business. This thesis proves that it is possible for a women network to reach a successful enterprise in Africa.

Mestrado em Administração e Gestão Pública
Com este trabalho pretende-se compreender a evolução e transição entre paradigmas de gestão e de Administração Pública, enquadrando a empresarialização da gestão autárquica na lógica e orientação que as novas perspectivas e modelos organizacionais preconizam para a prestação de serviços públicos. Considerando a expansão que o sector empresarial local tem conhecido, constituindo-se como uma via privilegiada no âmbito da implementação e desenvolvimento de políticas públicas no domínio dos serviços de interesse geral, apresenta-se um estudo de caso, que versa sobre a transformação dos Serviços Municipalizados de Águas e Saneamento do Porto numa Empresa Municipal, tendo como primordial objectivo avaliar o impacto já verificado na prestação do serviço público decorrente dessa transformação. Procura-se compreender as razões subjacentes à empresarialização da instituição, analisar a actividade da nova entidade, enquadrando essa análise nos desafios globais que os novos fundamentos de gestão e administração pública colocam às organizações públicas na actualidade. ABSTRACT: The present dissertation seeks to understand the evolution and transitions amongst the public management and administration paradigms, framing the corporatization of the local government management into logic based guidance according to the new organizations’ perspectives and models, recommended for the public service provision. Considering the expansion that the local business sector has experienced, and the fact that it has constituted itself as a privileged method within the scope of the implementation and development of public policies in the field of general interest services, we present a case study, which deals with the transformation of the Municipal Service of Water and Sanitation of Porto into a municipal enterprise, having as a primary objective, the evaluation of the impact that has already been verified in the public service provision decurrent from the already referred transformation. We further seek to understand the underlying reasons that led to the corporation process of the organization, by analyzing the activity of the new entity that merged, framing the analyses to meet the global changes that the new foundations of public management and administration places to the present public organizations.

This thesis is aimed at the identification of causes for the instability of Ti-49.8Ni and Ti-40.8Ni-9Cu (at.%)shape memory alloys during thermomechanical cycling. To assess the macroscopical and microstructural behaviour several techniques were employed. Thermo-mechanical tests (TMT) revealed that TiNi did not stabilise under the tested conditions. In contrast, TiNiCu showed a more stable behaviour. Whereas the maximum testing temperatures were found to be detrimental for the strain output in TiNi, none such influence could be found in TiNiCu. In TiNiCu increasing stresses seems to prevent the material stabilisation.During in-situ TMTs under high energy X-ray radiation in a synchrotron, microstructural factors influencing the stability of the material were assessed. No hint on a negative influence of remnant or intermediate phases and texture or variant selection was found. Instead increasingly negative strains build up in austenite possibly causing instabilities. In TiNiCu differences in the processing where found to cause changes in the phase transformation temperatures. These could be linked with differences in the chemical composition and in the level of inhomogeneity of precipitates.

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Química e Bioquímica
Cada vez mais os sistemas de saneamento básico têm sido alvo de queixas relativamente aos odores que emanam. Com o crescimento populacional, torna-se hoje em dia quase impossível afastá-los das populações. Por outro lado, alguns compostos odoríficos apresentam sérios riscos para a saúde dos trabalhadores,para a conservação das infraestruturas e para a eficiência dos tratamentos. Torna-se fundamental para a concepção, projecto e exploração das infraestruturas de saneamento o conhecimento sobre a ocorrência, contenção e tratamento de odores. Com o objectivo de se verificar as principais causas e origens de odores no sistema de saneamento básico dos SMAS de Peniche foi realizada uma revisão sobre vários aspectos associados à formação e controlo de odores. Com a finalidade de avaliar as condições de funcionamento do sistema de desodorização instalado na ETAR de Peniche foram realizadas medições das concentrações de sulfureto de hidrogénio, amoníaco, metano e cloro nas atmosferas gerais dos edifícios da ETAR. Uma monitorização global (medições das cargas odoríficas nas tubagens da extracção do sistema de desodorização) permitiu avaliar o funcionamento dos vários órgãos e a eficiência do tratamento de odores. O controlo das condições afluentes ao sistema de saneamento básico dos SMAS de Peniche e a correcta elaboração das práticas de operação e processo evitarão o aparecimento de condições sépticas com consequente formação e, ou,libertação de odores. Por outro lado, a importância de se efectuar uma monitorização ao sistema de contenção, ventilação e tratamento dos odores para garantir condições de segurança e higiene no trabalho dos operários, o controlo da corrosão, a minimização dos custos operacionais e a melhoria nas eficiências do tratamento de odores.

Le TGF-β (Transforming growth factor-β) régule de nombreux processus cellulaires et la dérégulation de la signalisation du TGF-β est associée à divers troubles vasculaires. Dans le laboratoire du Dr Génot, le TGF-β a été découvert comme étant le facteur capable d’induire la formation de podosomes organisés en superstructures, appelées rosettes, dans les cellules endothéliales aortiques. Les podosomes sont des structures à base d’actine, formées de façon transitoire, capables de dégrader la matrice extracellulaire (MEC). Dans ce projet, nous avons étudié les récepteurs du TGF-β et les mécanismes moléculaires associés, impliqués dans la formation des podosomes en réponse au TGF-β dans le modèle des cellules endothéliales aortiques bovines primaires (BAEc). Deux types de récepteurs du TGF-β de type I (TβRI), ALK5 et ALK1, régulent les réponses au TGF-β dans les cellules endothéliales, ALK5 étant un récepteur ubiquitaire et ALK1 étant un récepteur dont l’expression est restreinte aux cellules endothéliales. Ces deux récepteurs contrôlent l'activation de protéines Smads distinctes et réagissent à la stimulation par le TGF-β. ALK5 active Smad2/3 et ALK1 active Smad1/5/8. BMP9 est un autre ligand d’ALK1. ALK1 n'active pas Smad2/3 dans les BAEc et BMP9 inhibe la formation des podosomes induite par le TGF-β. La stimulation de Smad1/5/8 par le traitement au TGF-β est induite par la signalisation du complexe ALK1/ALK5. En utilisant une approche à base de siRNA ciblant l’un ou l’autre des TβRI, l’induction des podosomes par le TGF-β est supprimée. Cependant, la transfection des TβRI constitutivement actifs (CA) a montré que l’expression du CA-ALK5 se substitue au TGF-β pour induire des podosomes alors que l'expression du CA-ALK1 est inefficace. Concernant la signalisation en aval des TβRI, l'implication des protéines Smads a également été étudiée dans la régulation du processus. La diminution d’expression de Smad3 abolit complètement la formation des podosomes induite par le TGF-β alors que la déplétion des protéines Smad1 ou Smad5 augmente leur formation. La surexpression des protéines Smad2 ou Smad3, elles aussi, dans une certaine mesure, se substituent aux signaux du TGF-β, alors que la surexpression de Smad1 diminue la formation des podosomes en réponse au TGF-β. Le TGF-β est également capable de moduler la formation d'un autre type de structure d'actine appelée étoiles d’actine. Le nombre de cellules présentant des étoiles d'actine diminue avec le traitement au TGF-β. Cependant, dans les cellules déficientes en Smad3, la formation de ces étoiles d’actine semble être stimulée par le TGF-β. Dans les BAEc, la rigidité ainsi que les protéines de la MEC semblent aussi moduler la formation des podosomes et des étoiles d'actine. Ces travaux démontrent que, bien que le TGF-β stimule à la fois ALK5 et ALK1, la signalisation d’ALK5 induit la formation des podosomes et la signalisation d’ALK1 atténue ce signal. Les voies canoniques, par l’intermédiaire de la régulation des protéines Smads, contribuent à la formation des podosomes induits par le TGF-β dans les BAEc
Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) regulates a wide array of cellular processes and deregulation of TGF-β signalling is associated with various vascular disorders. In the Lab of Dr. Génot it was discovered that TGF-β induces the formation of podosomes organised in superstructures called rosettes, in aortic endothelial cells. Podosomes are transient actin-based structures able to degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM). In this project we have studied TGF-β receptors and associated molecular mechanisms underlying podosome formation in response to TGF-β in primary bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEc). Two types of TGF-β type I receptors (TβRI), ALK5 and ALK1, regulate TGF-β responses in endothelial cells. ALK5 being an ubiquitous receptor and ALK1 being endothelial cell specific. Both ALK5 and ALK1 receptors control the activation of distinct Smad proteins, and both are responsive to TGF-β stimulation. ALK5 activates Smad 2/3 and ALK1 activates Smad 1/5/8. BMP9 is another ligand for ALK1. ALK1 doesn’t activate Smad2/3 in BAEc and ALK1 inhibits TGFβ-induced podosome formation. Smad1/5/8 stimulation by TGF-β treatment is induced through ALK1/ALK5 complex signalling. Using a knockdown approach, at the TβRI level, TGF-β induction of podosomes was inhibited. However, transfection of constitutively active (CA) TβRI showed that CA-ALK5 expression bypassed the TGF-β requirement for podosome induction whereas CA-ALK1 expression was ineffective. Looking downstream of TβRI signalling, the involvement of Smad proteins was also analysed in terms of podosome formation. Smad3 depletion completely abolished TGFβ-induced podosome formation whereas depletion of Smad1 or Smad5 proteins enhanced the TGFβ-induced podosome response. When overexpressed, Smad2 or Smad3, to some extent, bypassed TGFβ signals, whereas Smad1 overexpression diminished the TGFβ-induced podosome response. TGF-β also modulated the formation of another type of actin structure named actin-stars. The number of cells presenting actin-stars decreased with TGF-β treatment. However, in Smad3 depleted cells the formation of these actin-stars seemed to be stimulated by TGF-β. In BAEc stiffness and ECM proteins also seemed to modulate podosome and actin star formation. This project establishes that although TGF-β stimulates both ALK5 and ALK1, ALK5 signalling triggers podosome formation and ALK1 mitigates this signal. The canonical pathways through Smad protein regulation are important for TGF-β induced podosome in BAEc

Today, security strategy has a crucial role in society, which does not imply only to large companies, but also and especially to Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s).

The intention of this thesis is to provide instructions and help enterprises that need assistance in applying proper security strategy. This thesis comprises the most crucial areas of security within an enterprise. Its aim is to study more deeply the situation of the current security strategy, of a telecom and a software development enterprise, by which the enterprise can extract enough information to provide a proper system. The purpose is to study, analyze, explore and bring some conclusions with new ideas on how to improve and propose a new security strategy that can fit and that can be appropriate for this enterprise.

Regarding the exploration and research for the enterprise, “fragile assets” are the target to be taken in consideration such as “software”, “databases” and “important data”.

The method which is used in this thesis, is the case study method, which has best suited the purpose of this thesis by covering the logic of design, data collection techniques and data analysis. As a theory the OCTAVE-sm approach was applied. This approach has three phases which each contains its own processes. These processes were followed and used for the evaluation of the current state in one Small Medium Enterprise (SME) called InterAdria. The use of OCTAVE-sm approach in this thesis can be a guide to all other Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) that struggle with their security strategy same as the enterprise mentioned above. The conclusion was based on the entire data gathering that was done by following the steps of the Octave-sm approach.

Cette thèse examine l'impact de la structure du marché bancaire sur l’activité économique et les contraintes financières des petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) et l'efficacité des banques au niveau local. Il comprend trois chapitres empiriques. Le premier chapitre s’intéresse à l’impact du relationship banking sur les contraintes financières des PME et s'appuie sur deux indicateurs alternatifs pour saisir différentes dimensions de ces contraintes. Les résultats soulignent le rôle ambigu de la proximité bancaire et de la relation client face aux contraintes financières des PME. Sur la période 2005-2013, la présence accrue de banques régionales ou géographiquement concentrées contribue à atténuer les contraintes de crédit à court terme des PME françaises mais accroît leur sensibilité aux flux de trésorerie liés aux investissements. En outre, dans les deux cas, les contraintes financières des PME sont renforcées sur des marchés distants sur le plan fonctionnel. De plus, en période de crise, les avantages de la relation bancaire sur la contrainte de crédit à court terme demeurent et, dans certains cas, sont renforcés. Nous constatons également que la présence accrue des banques régionales facilite l'accès au crédit à court terme pour les entreprises plus rentables avant la crise financière mondiale et particulièrement pour celles qui ont connu une forte baisse de leur rentabilité en période de crise. Le deuxième chapitre analyse l’impact des relations de crédit via une plus grande proximité bancaire sur l’activité économique réelle, en s’appuyant à la fois sur des données individuelles de firmes et sur des données macroénomiques au niveau des départements. Il s’intéresse également à l’impact différencié de cette proximité en fonction du degré de dépendance au financement externe des PME françaises sur la période 2005-2013. Nos résultats révèlent que la relation de crédit via une plus grande proximité bancaire est bénéfique pour l'activité économique des PME en temps normal et en période de crise. De plus, parmi ces PME, les avantages de la proximité bancaire sont les plus importants pour les micro-entreprises. De plus, nos résultats montrent une forte hétérogénéité dans l’impact de la structure du marché bancaire local en fonction du degré de dépendance vis-à-vis du financement extérieur. Notre analyse macroéconomique montre également que une plus forte proximité bancaire a un impact positif sur l’emploi et stimule la croissance de l’activité économique. Le troisième chapitre analyse l’impact l'impact des caractéristiques des banques et des marchés locaux sur l'efficacité des succursales bancaires. Cette analyse s’appuie sur un ensemble données détaillé au niveau des succursales en Chine sur la période 2008-2011. Nos résultats suggèrent que les caractéristiques des marchés tant locaux que bancaires affectent l’efficacité des succursales bancaires. Les succursales de banques appartenant à l'État ont l’efficience-profit la plus forte mais l’efficience-coût la plus faible, tandis que les succursales de banques étrangères ont l’efficience-profit la plus élevée. En outre, la concurrence des banques et le développement économique sur le marché local contribuent à promouvoir l'efficacité des succursales. De plus, l’efficacité des banques et l’efficacité du marché bancaire local peuvent influer sur l’efficacité des succursales, l’impact de l’efficacité des banques étant économiquement plus important. Nos résultats suggèrent que la structure du marché bancaire local a un impact statistiquement et économiquement significatif sur l’activité économique et les contraintes financières des PME, l'activité économique réelle et l'efficacité des banques. Les superviseurs bancaires et les régulateurs doivent veiller à maintenir un environnement bancaire diversifié, garantissant la présence de banques locales et géographiquement concentrées, et à renforcer la concurrence des banques afin de stimuler la croissance économique
This dissertation examines the impact of banking mar ket structure on SMEs financial constraints, real economic activity and bank efficiency at a local level. It comprises three empirical essays as three chapters, the first two chapters are on French banking market and the third one is on Chinese banking mar ket. The first chapter investigates the relevance of relationship lending for SMEs and continuation lending during crisisrelying on two alternative indicators to capture different dimensions of SMEs financial constraints. The findings emphasize the ambiguous role of banking proximity and of relationship banking on SMEs financial constraints. Over the 2005-2013 period, for French manufacturing SME s, higher presence of regional banks or of geographically-focused banks help to alle viate their short-term credit constraint, while lar germarket share of national banks or stronger presence of geographically-diversified banks is beneficial to reduce their investment cash-flow sensitivity. Moreover, in both cases, SMEs’ financial constraints are strengthened in functionally-distant mar kets. In addition, during crisis times, the benefits of relationship banking on short-term credit constraint remains and, insome cases, are reinforced. We also find that these benefits differ according to SMEs pre-crisis financial health, in line with pre vious findings of continuation lending during crisis.The second chapter analyzes the impact of relationship lending through a stronger banking proximity on real economic activity at both firm le vel and county (department) level and the heterogeneity of this impact based on SMEs external financial dependence in France over the 2005-2013 period. Our results confirm the benefits of elationship banking for SMEs as highlighted in the pre vious chapter. A stronger banking proximity is beneficial to SMEs’ economic activity in both ormal and crisis times, even after controlling for times, county, industry and firm level characteristics, and these benefits are stronger for micro firms, the smallest and more informationally-opaque SMEs. In addition, our results show a significant heterogeneity in the impact of local banking market structure among small firms depending on the le vel of dependence on external finance. Further, our macroeconomic analysis also provide evidence that local banking market structure has statistically and economically significant impact on economic activity. The third chapter analyzes the finance-growth nexus from a different perspective by investigating what drives bank branch efficiency. Three efficiency measures are adopted to estimate the impact of bank and local market characteristics on bank branch efficiency using a detailed branch-level dataset in China over the 2008-2011 period. Our findings suggest that both bank and local market characteristics affect bank branch efficiency. Branches of state-own banks are the most profit efficient and least cost efficient, while branches of foreign banks are the most cost efficient. In addition, bank competition and economic development in local market help promote branch efficiency. In addition, both bank efficiency and local banking market efficiency can affect branch efficiency, and the impact of bank efficiency is econ omically more significant. Our findings suggest that local banking market structure has a statistically and economically significant impact on small business lending, real economic activity and bank efficiency, bank supervisors and regulators should pay at tention to maintain a diversified banking environment, guaranty the presence of local and geographically-focused banks, and enhance bank competition to stimulate growth

BMPs ocupam papel central na diferenciação e crescimento celulares. A sinalização intracelular das BMPs depende de substratos conhecidos como BR-SMADs (SMAD1/5/8). Em ilhotas pancreáticas de ratas grávidas, onde ocorre aumento da massa endócrina e da síntese e secreção de insulina, houve aumento da expressão do receptor BMPR1A. Em camundongos knockout para BMPR1A houve diminuição da expressão de genes-chave na exocitose de grânulos de insulina. Tais eventos estão associados à redução da atividade das BR-SMADs. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar, em células b INS1E, o perfil de expressão gênica em larga escala após silenciamento das BR-SMADs. As expressões relativas de Munc18a, Munc18b e Snap23 foram reduzidas quando do silenciamento das BR-SMADs (n=3, p<0,05 vs CTL). O silenciamento de SMAD1 (n=3, p<0,05 vs CTL) ou SMAD5 (n=3, p<0,05 vs CTL) acarretaram redução do mRNA de Sintaxina 4. Conclui-se que as BR-SMADs estão envolvidas na regulação da secreção de insulina modulando proteínas envolvidas na fusão de vesículas contendo grânulos de insulina à membrana plasmática de células INS1E.
BMPs play a determinant role in cell differentiation and growth. BMP intracellular signaling involves the substrates know as BR-SMADs (SMAD1/5/8). BMPR1A receptor expression was upregulated in pancreatic islets from pregnant rats, in wich endocrine mass and insulin secretion are increased. Mice with attenuated BMPR1A signaling in b cells showed decreased expression of key genes involved in insulin exocytosis. These events are associated with reduction of BR-SMADs activity. The aim of this work was to perform a screening to evaluate changes in expression profiles after knockdown of BR-SMADs in INS1E b cells. Relative expressions of Munc18a, Munc18b and Snap23 were diminished after knockdown of the BRSMADs (n=3, p<0,05 vs CTL). Only SMAD1 (n=3, p<0,05 vs CTL) and SMAD5 (n=3, p<0,05 vs CTL) silencing caused reduction of sintaxin 4 expression. These data point to the involvement of BR-SMADs in the regulation of insulin secretion by modulating the expression of proteins responsible by fusion of insulin-containing granules to the membrane of INS1E cells.