Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-29T15:07:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Catia Ciencia Animal 2011.pdf: 762064 bytes, checksum: bf88768cc40c5c8bee991ff416b2a29d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-03 / The function of antioxidants is control the free radicals to improve the quality of fresh and cryopreserved semen. The objective this work was to study the effect of antioxidants catalase, α-tocopherol and sodium pyruvate added in bull semen in order to control the reactive oxygen species and improve sperm quality after cryopreservation. Were used six adult Nelore bulls previously selected from other animals by evaluation of body condition and andrological examination. Semen was collected and immediately evaluated for motility and vigor at the laboratory. After, the semen were diluted with Tris-egg yolk-glycerol medium with the antioxidants molecules in different concentrations. The work was divided into four experimental groups: Group 1 (control without addition of antioxidants), Group 2 (with catalase antioxidant in three concentrations 20 IU, 80 IU and 200 IU), Group 3 (with α-tocopherol antioxidant in the concentrations of 50 mM, 100 mM and 150 mM) and Group 4 (with sodium pyruvate antioxidant in the concentrations of 1.5 mM, 3.5 mM and 5 mM). After semen thawing the computerized analysis (CASA) of motility, plasm membrane, and acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity and measurement of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). It was observed that the antioxidants had no significant effect on most parameters measured, but the lower antioxidants concentrations were more efficient than the control group for the total motility, progressive motility, average path velocity, and plasm membrane integrity parameters. In the TBARS evaluation was observed lower lipid peroxidation when higher antioxidants concentrations were used. Thus more research is needed to determine the functionality of sperm, as well as indentify the optimal concentration of the antioxidants that benefits all sperm parameters after thawing. / Os antioxidantes têm como função neutralizar os efeitos dos radicais livres proporcionando uma melhor qualidade do sêmen fresco e criopreservado. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o efeito da adição dos antioxidantes catalase, α-tocoferol e piruvato de sódio no sêmen bovino visando um controle das espécies reativas de oxigênio para melhorar a qualidade espermática pós-criopreservação. Foram utilizados seis touros adultos da raça Nelore selecionados previamente entre outros animais por meio da avaliação de condição corporal e exame andrológico. O sêmen foi coletado e imediatamente avaliado quanto a motilidade e vigor no laboratório. Em seguida, o sêmen foi diluído com o meio Tris-gema-glicerol com as moléculas antioxidantes nas diferentes concentrações. O trabalho foi estruturado em quatro grupos experimentais: Grupo1 (controle sem adição de antioxidantes); grupo 2 (com antioxidante catalase em três concentrações 20 UI, 80 UI e 200 UI); grupo 3 (com antioxidante α-tocoferol nas concentrações de 50 μM, 100 μM e 150 μM) e o grupo 4 (com antioxidante piruvato de sódio nas concentrações de 1.5 μM, 3.5 μM e 5 μM). Após a descongelação foram realizadas as análises computadorizada (CASA) da motilidade, da integridade de membrana plasmática, de integridade acrossomal, da atividade mitocondrial e mensuração de substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS). Observou-se que os antioxidantes não tiveram efeito significativo na maioria dos parâmetros avaliados, porém nas menores concentrações tiveram melhor resultado comparando-se com o grupo controle para os parâmetros de motilidade total, motilidade progressiva, velocidade de trajeto e integridade de membrana. Em relação a avaliação de TBARS observou-se que as maiores concentrações dos antioxidantes têm menor peroxidação lipídica. Desta forma, tornam-se necessárias mais pesquisas em relação a avaliação funcional dos espermatozóides, bem como a identificação da concentração ideal que beneficie todos os parâmetros espermáticos pós-descongelação.

Can cross-border interaction: interpersonal, economic, and otherwise, help ease relations between neighbouring political entities facing conflicts of interest and other differences? 1. How and why are border crossing communication routes created and maintained? 2. Under what circumstances are they used and how? 3. In what ways do they alter the conditions of a conflict between the parties that they link? 4. How do governments relate to the communication route and in what ways do they fit it into their policies? Seeking to reconcile the theories of the international system advanced by Hedley Bull and John W. Burton, we conduct a comparative case study, based on contemporary media and scholarship, of the situations regarding Senegal and the Gambia, as well as the two de facto (if not de jure) republics of Cyprus to answer these questions. Having sought to estimate the causes and effects of border crossing, we find that host factors, in particular divergent economies and the utilization of international partners, may in fact come to stem from the issues of border-crossing activity and contribute to complicating existing conflicts rather than resolve them.

Sports marketing is divided into three sectors: marketing of a sport, marketing products and services through sports and promotion of a sport to the public. This thesis is mostly referring to marketing through sport, and its analysis of a very unique and innovative organization. Red Bull GmbH is a leader within the dynamic area of energy drinks, a fast-growing area of the beverage sector. The objectives of this thesis are to show how Red Bull develops its marketing strategy and identify the principles and processes involved, to describe the tools and techniques used in their marketing and show how they have been applied. The main goal of this thesis is to explain how effective is the association with extreme sports for Red Bull.

In my thesis I am looking into the comparison of communication strategy of the Coca-Cola company and its representative competitors in the Czech Republic and abroad. Each company has its own communication strategy and its communication mix, with help of which it is pursuing the successfulness of the communication strategy. The objective of my research is to find out to what extent it is successful and how strongly the communication mix affects the consumers. Based on the results of the research, I constitute my own recommendations for respective companies regarding the means of adjusting their communication mix in order to reach desired results.

MSCAGR / Department of Animal Science / Preservation of semen is an important process to ensure that semen quality is sufficient for use in assisted reproductive technologies. This study evaluated the effectiveness of three different extenders to preserve bull semen stored under different conditions, as an alternative to frozen-thawed semen straws used for artificial insemination. Semen samples were collected from two Nguni bulls using an electro-ejaculator and transported to the laboratory at 37 °C for evaluation. Pooled semen was first aliquoted into three extenders namely Triladyl, Ham’s F10 and M199 at a dilution ratio of 1:4 (semen:extender), and then stored at controlled room temperature 24 °C. Secondly pooled semen was aliquoted into four groups of Ham’s F10 extender and diluted at a ratio of 1:4, then stored at 24 °C, 17 °C, 12 °C and 5 °C respectively. Sperm motility rates were analysed after 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours. Morphology, viability and sperm DNA fragmentation were analysed after 72 hours. The study was replicated four times and data was analysed by ANOVA. Triladyl had higher sperm viability rate and total motility rate for 72 hours (P<0.01). However, Ham’s F10 had higher progressive motility rate as compared to the other extenders. There was no significant difference (P<0.01), in the viability rate between Ham’s F10 and M199. No significant difference was also observed in total sperm abnormalities (absent tails, coiled tails and bent tails), except for reacted acrosomes (P>0.05), between the two Nguni bulls. Lower temperatures than 24 °C influenced sperm motility and viability in Ham’s F10. There was no significant difference in sperm DNA fragmentation rates (P<0.01), between all the four storage temperatures which indicated that temperature did not have an influence on sperm DNA fragmentation. In conclusion, bull semen can be preserved in Triladyl or Ham’s F10 and M199 culture media stored at 24 °C and stay alive for 72 hours. Triladyl proved to be the best suitable extender showing higher sperm viability and total motility rates as compared to Ham’s F10 and M199. Lower temperatures than 24 °C noticeably decreased sperm motility and viability in Ham’s F10 culture medium.

Bakgrund: Människor tenderar att i större grad investera i bekanta företag i närområden, detta psykologiska fenomen kallas för home bias. Det kan bli problematiskt då det kan medföra att investerare inte optimerar sina portföljer utifrån risk, avkastning och korrelation mellan tillgångarna i portföljen. Tidigare forskning kring home bias har indikerat på att fenomenet kan drivas av olika förklaringsmekanismer, exempelvis marknadsförhållanden, volatilitet och transaktionskostnader. Forskningen kring home bias har i mindre skala fokuserat på hur home bias förändras i olika marknadsförhållanden dessutom finns endast begränsad forskning om detta för svenska fonder vilket är varför det var intressant att undersöka denna kunskapslucka. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka och analysera potentiell exponering och förändring av home bias i svenskregistrerade fonder vid marknadsförändringar i ekonomin mellan år 1994–2018. För att definiera olika marknadsförhållanden används termerna bear-marknad vilket är en kontraherande marknad och bull-marknad som är motsatsen. Detta har sedan undersökts och analyserats tillsammans med de två valda förklaringsmekanismerna volatilitet och transaktionskostnader. Metod: Studien var kvantitativ med en deduktiv ansats. Den primära datan har bestod av den totala svenska fondförmögenheten mellan 1994–2018 och den totala världsmarknadsportföljen. Dessutom har indexdata använts för att fånga marknadsförändringar och svenska genomsnittliga fondavgifter för att beskriva transaktionskostnader. Att inkludera volatilitet och transaktionskostnader grundade sig på den tidigare forskningens tyngdpunkt på dessa två mekanismer. Analysmetoden har främst utgått från hypotestest för dessa variabler. Slutsats: Resultatet av studien hittade signifikanta samband för home bias för svenskregistrerade fonder både för bear-och bull-marknad, vilket ligger i linje med tidigare forskning som har sett att bear-marknader leder till ökning av home bias på grund av att osäkerheten i omvärlden gör investerare i större grad villiga att placera i det bekanta. Dessutom har tidigare forskning visat att home bias minskar under säkrare perioder vilket denna studies resultat av sambandet mellan bull-marknaden och home bias indikerat. Vidare visade båda förklaringsmekanismerna att de har ett signifikant samband med home bias. Resultatet har därmed bidragit till kunskap om home bias i marknadsförhållanden för den svenska fondmarknaden och kan i större grad motverka investerare att hamna i psykologiska fällor som leder till sämre investeringsbeslut. / Background: People tend to invest a large portion of their investments in familiar companies near their home area, this psychological phenomenon is called home bias. This can become problematic thus it means that investors do not optimize their portfolios based on risk, return and correlation between assets in the portfolio. In addition, there are studies that indicate that home bias is driven by various explanatory mechanisms, for example market conditions, volatility and transaction costs. Research about home bias has in a smaller scale focused on how home bias changes in different market conditions, especially in Sweden and for funds, therefore it would be interesting to investigate this knowledge gap. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine and analyze the relationship between funds registered in Sweden and their potential exposure to home bias in various market conditions in the economy between 1994-2018. To define market conditions, the concepts bear market is used when the market is in a contracting phase and bull market is used when the opposite conditions occur. This has been examined and analyzed together with the two selected explanatory mechanisms volatility and transaction costs. Method: The method for this research is quantitative with a deductive approach. The primary data used to investigate home bias comes from statistics of total Swedish fund assets between 1994-2018 and the total world market portfolio. Furthermore, index data is used to capture market changes and data of average fund fees are used to examine transaction costs. The choice to include volatility and transaction costs is based on the previous research emphasis on these two mechanisms. The method of analysis is based primarily on hypothesis testing for the mentioned variables. Conclusion: The result of the study shows that the relationship between bear and bull markets and home bias for funds registered in Sweden are significant. Which is in line with previous research that states that bear markets lead to an increase in home bias because the uncertainty around the world makes investors to a greater extent willing to invest in the familiar. In addition, previous research has shown that home bias decreases during safer periods, which the results of the relationship between the bull market and home bias indicate in this study. Furthermore, both explanatory mechanisms showed that they are significantly associated with home bias. The result has contributed to the knowledge of home bias for the Swedish fund market in various market conditions and can in a larger scale counteract investors to fall in to psychological traps and go through with badly made investment decisions.

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Crisis management encompasses a range of strategies, including crisis communication, which plays a critical role in maintaining a company’s reputation and managing stakeholders’ perceptions during challenging situaions. This study investigates the crisis communication practices employed by Red Bull GmbH during a crisis situation. The aim is to assess whether the company adheres to established guidelines outlined in the literature for effective crisis communication. The research methodology involves the collection and analysis of documentary data from various public communication channels, including social media, websites, and published articles. Content analysis is conducted inconjunction with existing research, incorporation the Situational Crisis Communication Theory and Stakeholder Theory frameworks. The findings reveal the Red Bull GmbH predominantly aligns with the literature’s recommendations, notably by demonstrating empathy in incidents, disclaiming responsibility, and emphasizing their own expertise.

Studier visar på att företag väljer att underprissätta sina aktier vid en börsnotering, det vill säga att aktiens pris fastställs till lägre än vad det verkliga värdet är för att locka icke informerade investerare och för att säkerställa full täckningsgrad. Graden av underprissättning varierar beroende på om det är en het eller kall period av börsnoteringar. Tidigare forskning har främst studerat börsnoteringars prestation ur ett långsiktigt perspektiv där börsnoteringar generellt presterar sämre än marknaden. Ett fåtal studier har även undersökt börsnoteringars utveckling på kort sikt, där noteringarna i stället visar på positiv prestation. Med ett ökat allmänt intresse för börsen de senaste åren och även en markant ökning i antalet genomförda börsintroduktioner så fann författarna till studien ett forsknings gap på den svenska marknaden. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka huruvida antalet börsintroduktioner på marknaden påverkar finansiell prestation på kort sikt, mätt i aktiekursutveckling. Studien undersöker genomförda börsnoteringar på marknadsplatsen Nasdaq Stockholm och handelsplattformen First North under perioden2012–2021. För att undersöka om antalet börsnoteringar har någon påverkan på finansiell prestation så klassificerades perioder av börsnoteringar som antingen heta, normala eller kalla. Studiens syfte utmynnade i två forskningsfrågor och den huvudsakliga forskningsfrågan lyder: Har antalet börsintroduktioner på marknaden någon påverkan på deras kortsiktiga finansiella prestation? Den sekundära forskningsfrågan lyder: Vilken av noteringsperioderna het och kall ger högst avkastning på kort sikt? Studien är kvantitativ och har en deduktiv ansats, således är syftet inte att generera nya teorier utan i stället använda befintliga teorier som är relevanta för ämnesområdet. Studien utgår från tre teorier, vilka är den effektiva marknadshypotesen, Winner’s Curse och signalteorin, där den effektiva marknadshypotesen är den primära teorin för studien som legat till grund för hypotesprövningar. Winner’s Curse och signalteorin har fungerat som komplement och har använts som stöd för de diskussioner som förts i studiens analyskapitel. Resultatet påvisar att det finns skillnader i den genomsnittliga abnormala avkastningen mellan heta och kalla perioder vilket kan tyda på att antalet har en påverkan, men dessa skillnader kunde inte statistiskt säkerställas. Resultatet visade att den genomsnittliga abnormala avkastningen för heta perioder var 4,034 % och för kalla perioder 0,349 %. Detta resultat besvarar forskningsfråga två, där heta perioder genererar högst abnormal avkastning på kort sikt. Eftersom resultaten inte gått att statistiskt säkerställa finner studien inga bevis mot den effektiva marknadshypotesen i sin svaga och semistarka form. I studiens robusthetstest undersöktes också om det fanns skillnader mellan de två inkluderade listorna Nasdaq Stockholms och First Norths genomsnittliga abnormala avkastning. Det uppmättes statistiskt signifikanta skillnader, där signifikansnivån var satt till 5 %, vid det tillfället då robusthetstesterna genomfördes. Det resultatet finner stöd för att avfärda den effektiva marknadshypotesen, även i sina svagare former, där skillnaderna till viss del kan förklaras utifrån signalteorin och Winner’s Curse.

This thesis extends the 52-week high momentum literature, which was first published by George and Hwang in 2004, by stressing the parameters of the trading strategy to investigate its robustness. George and Hwang, in their seminal paper, find that the ratio of a stock’s close price to its 52-week high price is a good predictor of future returns. The thesis stresses various parameters of the strategy - such as the percent of total stocks bought and sold each period – and applies the strategy over different time periods – such as bull and bear markets. The study finds that the strategy is more profitable over the later half of the data set due to underperformance in bear markets such as the 1929 market crash and subsequent Great Depression. The results also show a significant difference in profitability between bull and bear market periods. The second half of the thesis looks at a new area in momentum, the absolute 52-week high. The strategy buys stocks whose price has increased over the previous six months, and who also close to their 52-week high price. Stocks are only bought (sold) if their price has increased (decreased) over the past six months and is close to (far from) the 52-week high price. The aim is to cut out stocks that are considered to be underperforming in the 52-week high momentum strategy, leaving only true winner and loser stocks. This strategy was found to increase the strength of the 52-week high momentum strategy, and the results show that there is no longer a significant difference between bull and bear market returns.