During finishing, internal stresses stored during spinning, warping and weaving are removed and fabrics attain an almost fully relaxed state. Their handle feels warm and smooth. Table I lists the finishing operations of the four finishing treatments considered in this study, which are those normally employed by the European industry. Washing removes fiber ends from the surface and fibers are sometimes brought to it. Milling, mainly applied to fabrics containing wool, is a vigorous mechanical process designed to bust yarns and develop fullness in carded fabrics. Pure wool fabrics respond more strongly to the milling process than fabrics which contain little or perhaps no wool. Carbonizing removes the cellulosic matter mixed with wool. Raising produces a thin layer of protruding fibers and shearing cuts it to uniform length. Pressing flattens the fibers on the surface and decatizing fixes the fabric containing wool into its pressed condition, improving its handle and appearance. The final pressing removes unintended creases and enhances fabric appearance by increasing their lustre and smoothness.1 Abstract Twenty-three woolen, mixed and worsted woven fabrics made of wool, polyester/ wool, polyester/cellulosic and waste fibers underwent four different finishing treatments. The effect of the finishing on gray goods was studied by comparing the structural parameters and the results obtained by compressive and cyclic multiaxial strain testing. It was observed that finishing lead to a more fully, dimensionally stable and more relaxed fabric structure. By comparing the results obtained from finished fabrics it was possible to distinguish between the different groups of finished fabrics: Pure wool fabrics, non-pure wool fabrics, woolen fabrics made of warp worsted yarns (mixed fabrics) and pure worsted fabrics. The measured structural parameters were fabric density, thickness and mass per square meter, Eurotex and image analysis cover factors, air permeability and sonic velocity. The results given by compressional testing were compressibility, the Onions compressive index and Kawabata's linearity of compression. The results of the cyclic multiaxial strain testing were initial deformation, relaxation and creep indexes and bagginess after five deformation cycles.

PurposeBoth franchising and internationalisation are important subjects of study, but in the existent literature little attention has been given to these two topics combined. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the internationalisation through franchising, using as a case study the internationalisation process of Parfois, a specialised retail brand based in northern Portugal, and operating in the fashion accessories business.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach was adopted based on information collected from various sources, including the company's website, the World Bank database, some news reports about Parfois, and also from interviews with those responsible for the internationalisation of Parfois.FindingsThe authors have identified a clear pattern in the internationalisation process: the firm is willing to open its own stores in the European market, where it feels comfortable, allowing franchisees to assume the investment risk in other world regions, with particular relevance for the Middle East and Eastern Europe.Originality/valueIn the international competitive market, it is important for other retail brands to understand how a relatively small retail brand, based in a depressed European zone, is able to expand worldwide. Furthermore, the lack of existing literature about internationalisation through franchising in specialised retailing companies adds value to this study.

This paper aims to identify and analyze the main limiting factors of innovation performance in terms of product and process innovation. The limiting factors to innovation make the innovation process of a firm difficult, which influences its innovation performance. The goal of this essay is to develop a theoretical support based on current reference approaches, corroborated by empirical support, which allows for the identification and analysis of the factors that restrict innovation activity and innovation performance.The database is extracted from the Community Innovation Survey -CIS 2010, which was conducted under the responsibility of the Office of Planning, Strategy, Evaluation and International Relations/Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (GPEARI/MCTES), in collaboration with the National Statistics Institute (INE), under the supervision of EUROSTAT. We have developed a logistic regression model that highlights the barriers to innovation and identifies the factors that limit innovation performance. The analysis suggests that several barriers to innovation influence the Innovative performance of Portuguese firms. These results may be attributed to the fact that perceived barriers stimulate the firm to overcome these difficulties, which promotes the internal propensity to innovate. The most significant barriers identified in the study are the following: high innovation costs and perceived uncertainties in both the demand and market for new goods and services. This study shows that firms that do not have either qualified personnel to carry out innovation activities or sufficient market information are less likely to innovate than firms that do not experience these difficulties.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to better understand whether firm cooperation and absorptive capacity foster success in seeking public financial support for innovation activities and, by doing so, how they contribute to innovation output. Design/methodology/approach The authors therefore extend the existing literature focusing on the effects of cooperation and absorptive capacity on specific public financial support for innovation activities in Portuguese firms from local or regional government, central administration and the European Union by using available data from the Community Innovation Survey CIS 2010 and the application of logistic regression models. The empirical analysis enabled a better understanding of the positive relationship of the variables that determine the form of public financial support in the integration of incentives within firms to stimulate innovation. Findings Therefore, as the level of absorptive capacity in Portuguese firms increases, so does the demand for benefits from public financial support to stimulate innovation from the European Union also increases. The same analysis, now considering the determinant cooperation, notes the positive effects of institutional sources of information and cooperation, in the propensity for seeking public financial incentives from the Central Administration and the European Union. As for internal information and cooperation sources, they are positively related to the integration of incentive measures from the local or Regional Administration and Central Administration. Originality/value The paper presents results that allow us to propose some suggestions that both the firms and those responsible for the implementation of public policies can undertake to increment innovation performance.

Purpose-This paper aims to analyses barriers as a determinant of ongoing or abandoned innovation activities. The literature exploits barriers as the nature of innovation and its influence on firm's. The main focus is the Portuguese SMEs and the impacts that act as barriers in the development of innovation activities. Design/methodology/approach-The database was obtained through the Community Innovation Survey 2010 (CIS 2010) that was coordinated by EUROSTAT. In this sense, a logistic regression model is proposed, which makes it possible to analyse the relations between three or more variables, depending on whether the relationship is one of dependence or interdependence, thus allowing the application of distinct statistical techniques, using 6,160 firms Findings-There are several sources of information that are associated with the development of innovation projects. Practical implications-The importance of barriers to the development of innovation activities, as well as it being a decisive factor in the impediment to and abandon of the same, was noted. Originality/value-This study also demonstrated that each case is different and that a barrier in one firm can at the same time be a window of opportunity for another firm.

In this chapter are showed how cultural factors influence accounting practices in different countries of the world, due to culture after the adoption of IFRS by SMEs in Brazil. It is based on a sample of 120 SMEs located in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. The SMEs were selected from a group that has been receiving accounting and financial advice since 2008. These companies are from a range of different sectors, but have in common the need to arrange bank financing in order to expand their activities. The results suggest that cultural impacts continue to prevail, such as the subordination to tax rules, but the disinterest of stakeholders in financial reporting provides a strong case to postpone the IFRS adoption process.

One of the biggest challenges faced by companies is the retention of employees. Studies undertaken in the area indicate that the high turnover rate, especially characterized by voluntary dismissal, is motivated by non-alignment of employees' interests with company objectives. The author focused on identifying which factors related to the employees and which factors related to the companies are determinant to retain employees and reduce the rate of turnover. To answer this question, a survey was conducted with a sample of 264 people, between employees and employers, treated by factor analysis. The results showed that age, gender, and marital status are not important for the employees' permanence and that the promotion of training, opportunities for advancement, salaries, and fair benefits are more valued, as well as the employee's interest in ascending professionally.

Background: Melanomas are typically malignant neoplasms commonly observed in the oral cavity of dogs. The classical presentation of melanomas with characteristic melanin pigmentation is easy to diagnose; however, in some cases, the lack of melanin production in the amelanotic oral tumors cause a delay in establishing the precocious diagnosis and consequent treatment. The aim of this report was to evaluate the histopathological and immunohistochemical aspects of an oral amelanotic melanoma with osteocartilaginous formation and metastasis in a dog, in a temporal way.Case: A 10-year-old male German Shepherd dog, presenting mouth bleeding with an amelanotic melanoma located between the upper incisors was received at the Veterinary Hospital of the Catholic University Dom Bosco (UCDB), Campo Grande, MS, Brazil. The animal was clinically evaluated and radiography was performed. The tumor was surgically removed and a sample was collected for histopathological examination that revealed spindloid and some epithelioid morphological cell types surrounded by a fibromatous matrix with moderate amounts of fibrovascular stroma. Approximately 1 month after surgical removal, recovery of the tumor was observed, and a second clinical analysis and collection of sample were performed. These procedures were repeated three times showing the same histopathological characteristics added by myxoid, chondroid, fibromatous tissue, and small groups of chondrocytes as well as central areas of irregular mineralized spicules. X-ray examination revealed proliferative and lytic bone infiltration in the jaw. Immunohistochemical analysis for melanocytic differentiation markers was performed showing positivity to Melan-A, tyrosinase and HMB-45 immunoreactivity, while no S100 reactivity was detected. After 11 months of the first biopsy, pleural effusion and radiopaque disseminated nodules of 1cm in the lungs were detected by X-ray. The animal died and necropsy was conducted. Multiple masses were observed in the lung and at the parietal pleura, suggesting lung metastasis by the positivity for Melan-A.Discussion: The dog was first diagnosed with fibromatous epulis based on the observation of fibroblastic tissue and spindle cells with intense vascularization associated to the site of the tumor and its macroscopic aspect. In the subsequent follow-ups the tumor displayed malignant characteristics observed by recurrence after each surgery, as the tumor returned even larger, aggressive, and infiltrative. From the second biopsy, the histopathological analysis showed the undifferentiated character of epithelioid neoplastic cells, demonstrated by the increase of cartilage and osteoid tissue and the mineral deposit. The phenomenon of the tumor stroma to form cartilage and bone is highlighted here because myxoid change and cartilage formation were frequently observed at the site where amelanotic spindle cells were actively proliferating. It is possible that neoplastic melanocytic cells themselves were involved in the development of the osteocartilaginous areas. Although no cytoplasmic melanin pigmentation was found in the tumor fragments, specific melanocytic markers for melanoma detected neoplastic melanocytes and unmelanized melanosomes. The positive reaction for Melan-A, HMB-45, and tyrosinase in the epithelioid, spindle, and cartilaginous cell groups of the neoplasia indicated amelanotic melanoma with osteocartilaginous differentiation. The negative HMB-45, S100, and tyrosinase expression in lung metastasis may be due to the fact that melanomas express aberrant markers and are also known to display occasional loss of their classic immunophenotype. Amelanotic melanoma can be underdiagnosed due to rapid progression of the tumor allied to the dedifferentiation ability of melanocytes. Thus, the follow up study of cell morphology and immunohistochemical analysis for melanogenic factors can be important determinants in diagnosis.