Abstract
This paper aims to analyse the bi-directional relationship between technical efficiency, as a measure of companies' performance, and capital structure, under the agency cost theory as well as the pecking order and trade-off theory, to explain the capital structure decisions. The technical efficiency was estimated by the DEA method and corrected by using a suitable bootstrap to obtain statistical inferences. To test the agency cost hypothesis, asymmetric information hypothesis, risk-efficiency hypothesis and franchise value hypothesis (under pecking order and trade off theories framework), two models were applied using some determinants of capital structure such as size, profitability, tangibility, liquidity as control and explanatory variables through a truncated regression with bootstrapping. From an initial sample of 1024 small and medium sized companies from the interior of Portugal, for the period 2006-2009, a subsample of 210 SMEs from secondary and tertiary sectors was selected. The results suggest that medium sized companies have higher average bias-corrected efficiency than small companies; that short-term leverage is positively related to efficiency and that the companies in the sample follow pecking order theory.

Abstract
The Portuguese footwear industry registered a strong performance over the last few years and the openness to adopt new technologies was a key factor. Among these, the implementation of innovative logistic systems for the transport and assignment of work-in-process in manufacturing processes was a key technology. By means of case research it was analyzed an internal logistic system, deployed in a Portuguese large footwear producer, which reveals some weaknesses at the physical and cyber levels. A lack of managing applications was detected at the factory and enterprise levels, which contribute to lower levels of visibility of production and productivity. This article presents the development of a Cyber-Physical Production System, in the context of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program BEinCPPS, that comprises four application experiments. These experiments were successful and the results demonstrated a relevant increase of production efficiency and decrease of maintenance costs.

Abstract

Abstract
Manufacturing companies increasingly try to innovate in their offers to consumers by creating more complete solutions that combine product and service components. However, shifting from a product-centric perspective to a solution oriented perspective is challenging. The present study adopted a design research methodology and built on Service-Dominant logic, integrating the human oriented perspective of Service Design with an organizational network-oriented perspective of Product-Service System. It creates a new Integrative PSS approach, evolves design models, and provides an application in a manufacturing industry. This paper details how the application supports the design of product service system solutions from the exploration to the implementation stages, highlighting the physical evidence of service, and contributes to advance design research at the intersection of PSS and Service Design.

Abstract
Aim: We investigated the demographic, anthropometric, clinical, biochemical and behavioural factors associated with children and adolescents who missed breakfast. Methods: This 2012 cross-sectional study was carried out in the city of Juiz de Fora, Brazil, with a sample of 684 students: 191 children aged 7-9 and 493 adolescents aged 10-14. Data on demographic, physical activity and breakfast consumption were based on a 24-hour recall record and a three-day dietary record. Weight, height, body fat, waist circumference and blood pressure were also measured. Finally, samples were collected for analysis of blood total cholesterol, low-density and high-density lipoproteins, triglycerides and glucose. The statistics are presented as prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence (95% CI) intervals. Results: Missing breakfast was more common among adolescents than children (30% versus 22%) and among girls of all ages than among boys (33% versus 22%). It was also associated with children, but not adolescents, with increased levels of diastolic blood pressure (PR 5.6, 95% CI 1.8-17.4), total cholesterol (PR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-1.9) and low-density lipoprotein (PR 2.1, 95% CI 1.5-2.9). Conclusion: Missing breakfast was more common among adolescents and females and associated with increased levels of diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein in children.

Abstract
The implementation of efficient strategic decisions such as process design and capacity investment under uncertainty, during the product development process, is critical for the pharmaceutical industry. However, to tackle these problems the widely used multi-stage/scenario-based optimization formulations are still ineffective, especially for the first-stage (here-and-now) solutions where uncertainty has not yet been revealed. This study extends the authors' previous work addressing the stochastic product-launch planning problem, by developing a new Multi-Objective Integer Programming model, embedded in a unified decision-making framework, to obtain the final design strategy that "maximizes" productivity while considering the decision-maker preferences. An approximation of the efficient Pareto-front is determined, and a subsequent Pareto solutions analysis is made to guide the decision process. The developed approach clearly identifies the process designs and production capacities that "maximize" productivity as well as the most promising solutions region for investment. Moreover, a good balance between investment and capacity allocation was achieved.