Systems Thinking and Scenario Planning: Application in the Clothing Sector

Industrial sectors that operate in uncertain environments - with demand variability, product seasonality and different industrialisation structures - need studies that enable identification and forecast trends. Therefore, the development of competitiveness extends beyond a company’s individual performance. Collective action, whether toward consumer markets, supplier markets, competitors and substitutes, can reinforce or help reformulate the current practices of an organisation, besides providing better results in the development of strategies and competitive positioning. Thus, clothing, the sector addressed in this work, is characterised by a long, fragmented, heterogeneous production chain, the competitiveness of which is linked to product differentiation. Therefore, the use of systemic approaches to study this sector is effective. In this sense, this research aims at adapting Systems Thinking and Scenario Planning (STSP) so that it supports the development and planning process in a given sector. Thus, this research applies STSP adapted to an analysis of the clothing sector in the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. As a result, in academic terms, this research proposed and validated a method for analysing industrial sectors of the clothing industry. In the sectoral context, this research identified elements that leverage the sector’s competitiveness, besides generating knowledge and learning aimed at strengthening the sectoral structure identified, and fostering the formation of a new clothing cluster.     

A Proposal for the Automatic Computation of Envelopes of Families of Plane Curves

Journal of Systems Science and Complexity - The idea of envelope of a family of plane curves is an elementary notion in differential geometry. As such, its implementation in dynamic geometry...     

Which is the use of systems theory in literature analysis?: The discovery of the place in La Mancha in Don Quixote

The use of systems theory to attempt to determine which ''place in La Mancha'' was the one whose name Cervantes could not quite recall in his universal novel, appears to be ordained to change certain attitudes towards science held in Cervantine literature. The reason: after four centuries of literary analysis, systemic methodology has proven able to identify the famous ''place'' with acceptable accuracy. Nonetheless, certain reasonable doubts persist around the suitability of a strictly scientific analysis of literature. In light of those doubts, the present article aims primarily to facilitate critique both of the systemic approach adopted and its outcome.     

New findings of Hexalona-branch representatives in Brazil,with a description of Prenda gen. nov. (Crustacea: Anomopoda: Aloninae)

Altogether, Coronatella and Hexalona-branches are considered the main lineages of Aloninae – a subfamily of common bottom-dwelling microcrustaceans in freshwater environments. Although the taxonomic features of Brazilian members of the Hexalona-branch have been summarised for species from the costata-group and affinis-group, a revision of other widely distributed species in the world is still lacking in this country. The aim of this paper was to study the morphology of Brazilian populations from the guttata-group and intermedia-group, and to describe a new genus from the Hexalona-branch. The parthenogenetic females of Alona cf. guttata from Brazil have similar morphology when compared to data from the literature, but the armature of the terminal claw of its males seems to be different from those of Alona guttata sensu stricto, Alona barbulata and Alona werestschagini. The intermedia-group is formed by Alona elisae sp. nov., which seems to be endemic to the Cerrado of Brazil Central, and Alona isabellae sp. nov., which is widely distributed in Brazil; this species has a labral keel armed with 2–4 setulae, and postabdomen with setulae of lateral fascicles longer than the level of marginal denticles, morphological traits that differentiate it from Alona elisae sp. nov. Another endemic species from the Hexalona-branch is Prenda arvensis gen. nov. and sp. nov., which has two main head pores, a reduced seta on endite 1 of the first limb, sixth limb is a wide lobe. The potential of biodiversity from the Hexalona-branch from Brazil is still underestimated, and a global revision of the guttata-group and intermedia-group is very important for the progress of Aloninae taxonomy and systematics.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0A2E4A30-0C9C-43E8-8E72-1DEDA6AFF3C3     

Increased migration of olfactory ensheathing cells secreting the Nogo receptor ectodomain over inhibitory substrates and lesioned spinal cord

Olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) transplantation emerged some years ago as a promising therapeutic strategy to repair injured spinal cord. However, inhibitory molecules are present for long periods of time in lesioned spinal cord, inhibiting both OEC migration and axonal regrowth. Two families of these molecules, chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans (CSPG) and myelin-derived inhibitors (MAIs), are able to trigger inhibitory responses in lesioned axons. Mounting evidence suggests that OEC migration is inhibited by myelin. Here we demonstrate that OEC migration is largely inhibited by CSPGs and that inhibition can be overcome by the bacterial enzyme Chondroitinase ABC. In parallel, we have generated a stable OEC cell line overexpressing the Nogo receptor (NgR) ectodomain to reduce MAI-associated inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Results indicate that engineered cells migrate longer distances than unmodified OECs over myelin or oligodendrocyte-myelin glycoprotein (OMgp)-coated substrates. In addition, they also show improved migration in lesioned spinal cord. Our results provide new insights toward the improvement of the mechanisms of action and optimization of OEC-based cell therapy for spinal cord lesion.     

The sheddase activity of ADAM17/TACE is regulated by the tetraspanin CD9

ADAM17/TACE is a metalloproteinase responsible for the shedding of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-α and many other cell surface proteins involved in development, cell adhesion, migration, differentiation, and proliferation. Despite the important biological function of ADAM17, the mechanisms of regulation of its metalloproteinase activity remain largely unknown. We report here that the tetraspanin CD9 and ADAM17 partially co-localize on the surface of endothelial and monocytic cells. In situ proximity ligation, co-immunoprecipitation, crosslinking, and pull-down experiments collectively demonstrate a direct association between these molecules. Functional studies reveal that treatment with CD9-specific antibodies or neoexpression of CD9 exert negative regulatory effects on ADAM17 sheddase activity. Conversely, CD9 silencing increased the activity of ADAM17 against its substrates TNF-α and ICAM-1. Taken together, our results show that CD9 associates with ADAM17 and, through this interaction, negatively regulates the sheddase activity of ADAM17.     

Forecasting VaR models under Different Volatility Processes and Distributions of Return Innovations

This paper provides clear‐cut evidence that the out‐of‐sample VaR (value‐at‐risk) forecasting performance of alternative parametric volatility models, like EGARCH (exponential general autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity) or GARCH, and Markov regime‐switching models, can be considerably improved if they are combined with skewed distributions of asset return innovations. The performance of these models is found to be similar to that of the EVT (extreme value theory) approach. The performance of the latter approach can also be improved if asset return innovations are assumed to be skewed distributed. The performance of the Markov regime‐switching model is considerably improved if this model allows for EGARCH effects, for all different volatility regimes considered. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RIAM (Rap1-interacting adaptor molecule) regulates complement-dependent phagocytosis

Phagocytosis mediated by the complement receptor CR3 (also known as integrin α_Mß₂ or Mac-1) is regulated by the recruitment of talin to the cytoplasmic tail of the ß₂ integrin subunit. Talin recruitment to this integrin is dependent on Rap1 activation. However, the mechanism by which Rap1 regulates this event and CR3-dependent phagocytosis remains largely unknown. In the present work, we examined the role of the Rap1 effector RIAM, a talin-binding protein, in the regulation of complement-mediated phagocytosis. Using the human myeloid cell lines HL-60 and THP-1, we determined that knockdown of RIAM impaired α_Mß₂ integrin affinity changes induced by stimuli fMLP and LPS. Phagocytosis of complement-opsonized RBC particles, but not of IgG-opsonized RBC particles, was impaired in RIAM knockdown cells. Rap1 activation via EPAC induced by 8-pCPT-2′-O-Me-cAMP resulted in an increase of complement-mediated phagocytosis that was abrogated by knockdown of RIAM in HL-60 and THP-1 cell lines and in macrophages derived from primary monocytes. Furthermore, recruitment of talin to ß₂ integrin during complement-mediated phagocytosis was reduced in RIAM knockdown cells. These results indicate that RIAM is a critical component of the phagocytosis machinery downstream of Rap1 and mediates its function by recruiting talin to the phagocytic complement receptors.