Proposal for Increasing Efficiency of the Sales Process in a Selected Market Segment of a Company Supplying automation solutions

Tato diplomová práce analyzuje efektivitu obchodního procesu mezinárodní technologické společnosti ve specifickém B2B segmentu průmyslové automatizace. Cílem je identifikovat nedostatky a navrhnout opatření pro zvýšení konkurenceschopnosti. Práce vychází z teoretických konceptů B2B marketingu a prodeje. Analýza současného stavu odhalila klíčové slabiny: absenci silného strategického marketingu, reaktivní a produktově orientovaný obchodní model a nedostatečné dovednosti týmu v oblasti hodnotového prodeje a porozumění potřebám zákazníka. Navrhovaná řešení zahrnují posílení strategického marketingového řízení, přechod k proaktivnímu obchodnímu modelu zaměřenému na budování hodnoty a včasné zapojení v nákupním cyklu, optimalizaci nabídkového procesu a diferenciaci obchodních rolí pro lepší strategické řízení účtů a akvizici. Cílem transformace je zvýšit efektivitu obchodních procesů a posílit tržní pozici společnosti.This diploma thesis analyzes the efficiency of the sales process of an international technology company within a specific B2B segment of industrial automation. The aim is to identify shortcomings and propose measures to increase competitiveness. The work is based on theoretical concepts of B2B marketing and sales. Analysis of the current state revealed key weaknesses: the absence of strong strategic marketing, a reactive and product-oriented sales model, and insufficient team skills in value selling and understanding customer needs. The proposed solutions include strengthening strategic marketing management, transitioning to a proactive business model focused on value creation and early engagement in the buying cycle, optimizing the bidding process, and differentiating sales roles for better strategic account management and acquisition. The goal of the transformation is to increase the efficiency of sales processes and strengthen the company's market position.152 - Katedra podnikové ekonomiky a právavýborn

Copper deficiency in cattle in the Klamath Basin

Rapid copper depletion without clinical symptoms of copper deficiency was found in cattle under natural Klamath basin conditions. Copper metabolism was influenced by grass species fed to the animals. Tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea Schreb. 'Altar and 'Fawn', reduced liver copper stores and decreased blood plasma copper and ceruloplasmin activity to a deficiency level in less than four months. Cattle fed during the same time period with quackgrass, Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv., maintained normal blood copper and ceruloplasmin activity levels and increased liver copper stores. Quackgrass was lower than fescue in copper content (4.6 ppm and 6.6 ppm respectively). The average copper/ molybdenum ratio was lower in fescue (2.80) than in quackgrass (3.82). Cattle fed quackgrass grew faster than cattle fed fescue (P <0.001). Copper supplementation of 300, 400 or 1000 mg Cu/head/day (as CuSO₄) did not improve average daily gains. The decrease in daily gains found during July and August in all treatment groups was not alleviated by copper supplementation. Ceruloplasmin activity values below 130 optical density units are considered subnormal under Klamath basin conditions. Plasma copper values were less sensitive indicators of beginning copper depletion in this study than were ceruloplasmin activity values. Copper depletion was associated with plasma copper values of 0.08-0.4 ppm, liver copper values of less than 6 ppm dry weight (d.w.) and ceruloplasmin activity values approaching zero. The relationship between plasma copper and ceruloplasmin activity was found to be curvilinear; calculations of plasma copper from ceruloplasmin activity used by other workers were found inaccurate under conditions of this study. A new test for diagnosis of copper deficiency was developed. The test measures the decrease of uricase (a copper enzyme) activity in the liver and kidneys indirectly by measuring accumulation of uric acid in the blood. (The conversion of uric acid to allantoin is catalyzed by uricase; thus the copper deficiency-caused decrease in uricase activity leads to accumulation of uric acid in the blood.) Three- to four-times higher levels of uric acid were found in copper-depleted cattle when compared to normal cattle. Increasing copper supplementation from zero to 1000 mg Cu/head/ day resulted in an increasing level of copper accumulated in the liver. The relationship between copper supplementation and liver copper was curvilinear, in contrast to results of earlier studies with ruminants. The supplementation of 1000 mg Cu/head/day (approximately 100 ppm, dry feed) resulted in an average liver copper of 400 ppm (d.w.) with no apparent symptoms of copper toxicity. Copper supplementation of 300 mg Cu/head/day was found sufficient to maintain the test animals in positive copper balance. Liver copper accumulation (average of 230 ppm) indicated that long-term copper supplementation of cattle under Klamath conditions should not exceed 300 mg Cu/head/day; higher levels could result in copper toxicity. Liver zinc, iron and molybdenum levels were not affected by the different levels of copper supplementation tested in this study. The influence of water quality on daily gains and on copper metabolism was tested in 1974. Intakes of water from Upper Klamath Lake were lower than intakes of well water (P < 0.001). Animals using well water over a 70-day period showed higher gains, but the difference was not significant. Copper metabolism was not affected by differences in water quality

Virulent Strain of Hepatitis E Virus Genotype 3, Japan

Virulence may be associated with mutation of the helicase domain (V239A), and source of the human infection may be swine

Global and regional burden of hospital admissions for pneumonia in older adults::A systematic review and meta-analysis

Pneumonia constitutes a substantial disease burden among adults overall and those who are elderly. We aimed to identify all studies investigating the disease burden among older adults (age, ≥65 years) admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. We estimated the hospital admission rate and in-hospital case-fatality ratio (CFR) of pneumonia in older adults, stratified by age and economic status (industrialized vs developing), with data from a systematic review of studies published from 1996 through 2017 and from 8 unpublished population-based studies. We applied these rate estimates to population estimates for 2015 to calculate the global and regional burden in older adults who would have been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia that year. We estimated the number of in-hospital pneumonia deaths by combining in-hospital CFRs with hospital admission estimates from hospital-based studies. We identified 109 eligible studies; 73 used clinical pneumonia as the case definition, and 36 used radiologically confirmed pneumonia as the case definition. We estimated that, in 2015, 6.8 million episodes (uncertainty range [UR], 5.8-8.0 episodes) of clinical pneumonia resulted in hospital admissions of older adults worldwide. The hospital admission rate increased with advancing age and was higher in men. The total disease burden was likely underestimated when using the definition of radiologically confirmed pneumonia. Based on data from 52 hospital studies reporting data on pneumonia mortality, we estimated that about 1.1 million in-hospital deaths (UR, 0.9-1.4 in-hospital deaths) occurred among older adults. The burden of pneumonia requiring hospitalization among older adults is substantial. Appropriate prevention and management strategies should be developed to reduce its impact

Global Disease Burden Estimates of Respiratory Syncytial Virus–Associated Acute Respiratory Infection in Older Adults in 2015::A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Respiratory syncytial virus associated acute respiratory infection (RSV-ARI)constitutes a substantial disease burden in older adults≥65 years. We aimed to identify all studies worldwide investigating the disease burden ofRSV-ARIin this population. We estimated thecommunityincidence, hospitalisationrate and in-hospital case fatality ratio (hCFR) of RSV-ARI in older adults stratified by industrialized anddeveloping regions, with data from a systematic review ofstudies published between January 1996 and April 2018, and from 8 unpublished population-based studies. We applied these rate estimates to population estimates for 2015, to calculate the global and regional burdenin older adults with RSV-ARIin community and in hospital duringthat year. We estimated thenumber ofin-hospital RSV-ARIdeaths by combining hCFR with hospital admission estimates from hospital-based studies. In 2015, there were about 1.5million(95% CI 0.3-6.9) episodes of RSV-ARIin older adults in41industrialised countries (data missing in developing countries), and of these 214,000 (~14.5%; 95% CI 100,000-459,000) were admitted to hospitals. The global number of hospital admissionsforRSV-ARI in older adults was estimated at 336,000 (UR 186,000-614,000).We further estimated about 14,000 (UR 5,000-50,000) in-hospital deaths related to RSV-ARIglobally.The hospital admission rate and hCFR were higher for those ≥65 years than those aged 50-64 years. The disease burden of RSV-ARIamong older adults is substantialwith limited data from developing countries; appropriate prevention and management strategiesare needed to reduce this burden

Vitamin A, vitamin E, iron and zinc status in a cohort of HIV-infected mothers and their uninfected infants

Introduction We hypothesized that nutritional deficiency would be common in a cohort of postpartum, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women and their infants. Methods Weight and height, as well as blood concentrations of retinol, α-tocopherol, ferritin, hemoglobin, and zinc, were measured in mothers after delivery and in their infants at birth and at 6-12 weeks and six months of age. Retinol and α-tocopherol levels were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography, and zinc levels were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The maternal body mass index during pregnancy was adjusted for gestational age (adjBMI). Results Among the 97 women 19.6% were underweight. Laboratory abnormalities were most frequently observed for the hemoglobin (46.4%), zinc (41.1%), retinol (12.5%) and ferritin (6.5%) levels. Five percent of the women had mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations \u3c 31g/dL. The most common deficiency in the infants was α-tocopherol (81%) at birth; however, only 18.5% of infants had deficient levels at six months of age. Large percentages of infants had zinc (36.8%) and retinol (29.5%) deficiencies at birth; however, these percentages decreased to 17.5% and 18.5%, respectively, by six months of age. No associations between infant micronutrient deficiencies and either the maternal adjBMI category or maternal micronutrient deficiencies were found. Conclusions Micronutrient deficiencies were common in HIV-infected women and their infants. Micronutrient deficiencies were less prevalent in the infants at six months of age. Neither underweight women nor their infants at birth were at increased risk for micronutrient deficiencies

Systematic Evaluation of Serotypes Causing Invasive Pneumococcal Disease among Children Under Five: The Pneumococcal Global Serotype Project

Hope Johnson and colleagues calculate the global and regional burden of serotype-specific pneumococcal disease in children under the age of five

RePORT International: Advancing Tuberculosis Biomarker Research Through Global Collaboration

Progress in tuberculosis clinical research is hampered by a lack of reliable biomarkers that predict progression from latent to active tuberculosis, and subsequent cure, relapse, or failure. Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis (RePORT) International represents a consortium of regional cohorts (RePORT India, RePORT Brazil, and RePORT Indonesia) that are linked through the implementation of a Common Protocol for data and specimen collection, and are poised to address this critical research need. Each RePORT network is designed to support local, in-country tuberculosis-specific data and specimen biorepositories, and associated research. Taken together, the expected results include greater global clinical research capacity in high-burden settings, and increased local access to quality data and specimens for members of each network and their domestic and international collaborators. Additional networks are expected to be added, helping to spur tuberculosis treatment and prevention research around the world

Humoral Immunogenicity of mRNA-1345 RSV Vaccine in Older Adults

BACKGROUND: The mRNA-1345 vaccine demonstrated efficacy against RSV disease with acceptable safety in adults &gt;/=60 years in the ConquerRSV trial. Here, humoral immunogenicity results from the trial are presented. METHODS: This phase 2/3 trial randomly assigned adults (&gt;/=60 years) to mRNA-1345 50-microg encoding prefusion F (preF) glycoprotein (n = 17,793) vaccine or placebo (n = 17,748). RSV-A and RSV-B neutralizing antibody (nAb) and preF binding antibody (bAb) levels at baseline and day 29 post-vaccination were assessed in a per-protocol immunogenicity subset ([PPIS]; mRNA-1345, n = 1515; placebo, n = 333). RESULTS: Day 29 nAb geometric mean titers (GMTs) increased 8.4-fold against RSV-A and 5.1-fold against RSV-B from baseline. Seroresponses (4-fold rise from baseline) in the mRNA-1345 groups were 74.2% and 56.5% for RSV-A and RSV-B, respectively. Baseline GMTs were lower among participants who met the seroresponse criteria than those who did not. mRNA-1345 induced preF bAbs at day 29, with a pattern similar to nAbs. Day 29 antibody responses across demographic and risk subgroups were generally consistent with the overall PPIS. CONCLUSION: mRNA-1345 enhanced RSV-A and RSV-B nAbs and preF bAbs in adults (&gt;/=60 years) across various subgroups, including those at risk for severe disease, consistent with its demonstrated efficacy in the prevention of RSV disease

Epidemiology of hepatitis viruses among hepatocellular carcinoma cases and healthy people in Egypt: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Liver cancers are strongly linked to hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Egypt has the highest prevalence of HCV worldwide and has rising rates of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Egypt's unique nature of liver disease presents questions regarding the distribution of HBV and HCV in the etiology of HCC. Accordingly, a systematic search of MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, ScienceDirect and World Health Organisation databases was undertaken for relevant articles regarding HBV and HCV prevalence in Egypt among healthy populations and HCC cases. We calculated weighted mean prevalences for HBV and HCV among the populations of interest and examined differences in prevalence by descriptive features, including age, year and geographic region. Prevalences for HBV and HCV were 6.7% and 13.9% among healthy populations, and 25.9% and 78.5% among HCC cases. Adults had higher prevalences of both infections (Adult HBV = 8.0%, Child HBV = 1.6%; Adult HCV = 15.7%, Child HCV = 4.0%). Geographically, HBV was higher in the south, whereas HCV was greater in the north (North HBV = 4.6%, South HBV = 11.7%; North HCV = 15.8%, South HCV = 6.7%). Among HCC cases, HBV significantly decreased over time ( p = 0.001) while HCV did not, suggesting a shift in the relative influences of these viruses in HCC etiology in Egypt. Our results highlight large amounts of heterogeneity among the epidemiological factors associated with liver disease in Egypt and underscore the necessity of an integrated strategy for the successful prevention of viral hepatitis infections and chronic liver disease. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61320/1/23937_ftp.pd