Forskole/Startup Preschool. An examination of a program for migrant entrepreneurship in Norway

This report is a study of a particular program under the auspices of Startup Migrants AS, called Forskole/Startup Preschool. The name difference reflects in which language the event is conducted. The study is limited to a data collection from the Forskole/Startup Preschool participants through Nettskjema, supplemented by direct observation from several Forskole/Startup Preschool-sessions. The report is to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the most important hindrance for migrant entrepreneurs in obtaining their first customer? 2. To what extent does the Norwegian environment hinder the formation of new business for those with a non-western background? 3. What is the effect of public support programs, such as Norsk Arbeids- og velferdsetaten (NAV) on the participant’s ability to start a business? The report is based on the researcher’s presence at six different Forskole/Startup Preschool between September 2021 and February 2022. Five of them in Oslo and the Oslofjord-region, one in Bergen, including survey responses from 32 participants in a survey via Nettskjema. The median response for this took four minutes and 45 seconds to complete. Based on the outcome of the research activity conducted, the apparent answers to the above research questions are as follows: 1. Understanding the rules and bureaucracy and getting through it, is noted as the number one reported difficulty for migrant entrepreneurs in starting a business in Norway. It is of merit to share that it appears to be statistical significance for those without co-founders or team members, in citing the main difficulty as finding good advisors (rather than sorting out the rules and bureaucracy). Most of the Forskole/Startup Preschool participants, had not established a company yet. 27 of 32 respondents (more than 84%) had not registered a company, and were therefore not yet eligible to have paying customers. 2. As a migrant’s length of time in Norway increases, so does the likelihood the individual will be satisfied with the Norwegian system with regards to establishing a business. There is no evidence from the results that those with a non-western background are facing an extra hindrance in this area. It is rather a more important factor in whether a migrant entrepreneur is satisfied with the support received from the Norwegian system, how long they have been living in in Norway. Those who have spent less time in Norway are more likely to be dissatisfied by the support they receive from Norwegian support systems. 3. There is no evidence of an effect from NAV on migrant entrepreneurs’ abilities to start a business. Of the 32 respondents, only one was receiving money from NAV to attend Forskole/Startup Preschool. The satisfaction levels with the Norwegian support system for starting a business are relatively high, with nearly 50% of the participants expressing satisfaction and fewer than 25% expressing dissatisfaction. Further details regarding the research and other insights gathered from the research appear in the text below. Regarding the research question of hindrance for migrant entrepreneurs in Norway, we have followed this up by this research question: What can Forskole/Startup Preschool do to improve so that participants can increase their chances at acquiring their first customers? The research shows that 29 of 32 respondents (more than 90%) for a long time have wanted to establish their own company. When combining this with the evidence that most of the participants still have not established any company, it would probably make sense to have a follow-up Forskole/Startup Preschool for those who complete the three-day weekend course to offer a customer-development workshop. While customer development is covered in the Forskole/Startup Preschool course to some extent, the timing seems not perfect for this item, for most participants. They may find themselves overwhelmed by the intensity of the three-day course and unable to follow up easily on the customer development issues after having established their business. As it happens, the researcher came across some of the previous Forskole/Startup Preschool participants in contexts of more extensive entrepreneurship training programs that last six to eight weeks, and we registered what is commented above as one of the things mentioned by this previous Forskole/Startup Preschool participants. Another possibility for Forskole/Startup Preschool could be to tie closer into the ecosystem and recommend alumni to participate or link up with more extensive customer development training from other ecosystem actors. We are uncertain whether this already may be the case. We find it also interesting to mention the participants’ motivations to attend Forskole/Startup Preschool. More than 33% (11 of 32) say it was to gain practical information about how to get started with establishing a business in Norway. For those who share deeper feelings about their motivations, 25% want to earn a living from their business; to support themselves and their families. More than 18% (6 of 32) want to use their creative skills and more than 15% (5 of 32) want to give back something to society. These motivations are not mutually exclusive, see quotes from the participants further down in the report. Since Forskole/Startup Preschool sessions already have a strong emphasis on motivation, through use of the five why technique (Serrat, 2017) future Forskole/Startup Preschool probably could gain in going deeper into tying these insights from the participants’ motivations for becoming entrepreneurs into the customer development processes.publishedVersio

Optimal Computation of Overabundant Words

The observed frequency of the longest proper prefix, the longest proper suffix, and the longest infix of a word w in a given sequence x can be used for classifying w as avoided or overabundant. The definitions used for the expectation and deviation of w in this statistical model were described and biologically justified by Brendel et al. (J Biomol Struct Dyn 1986). We have very recently introduced a time-optimal algorithm for computing all avoided words of a given sequence over an integer alphabet (Algorithms Mol Biol 2017). In this article, we extend this study by presenting an O(n)-time and O(n)-space algorithm for computing all overabundant words in a sequence x of length n over an integer alphabet. Our main result is based on a new non-trivial combinatorial property of the suffix tree T of x: the number of distinct factors of x whose longest infix is the label of an explicit node of T is no more than 3n-4. We further show that the presented algorithm is time-optimal by proving that O(n) is a tight upper bound for the number of overabundant words. Finally, we present experimental results, using both synthetic and real data, which justify the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach in practical terms

Migrant entrepreneurship support in Europe: a PRISMA systematic literature review [version 2; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]

Background This systematic literature review (SLR) analyzes migrant entrepreneurship support in Europe through three research questions (RQs) to understand 1) migrant entrepreneur characteristics in the European context, 2) challenges encountered by migrant entrepreneurs in European host countries, and 3) policies supporting migrant entrepreneurship in Europe. This review addresses gaps in current knowledge in academia as well as issues that policymakers and practitioners face when addressing migrant entrepreneurship support. Methods This SLR employed a search protocol to retrieve published sources from 1970 to 2021, via Scopus (27 March 2022) and Web of Science (7 April 2022). Inclusion criteria targeted migrant entrepreneurship support studies while exclusion criteria eliminated domestic migration and non-European contexts. The authors worked iteratively, aligning the data with the RQs to reduce bias, and adapted Bourdieu's forms of capital to create an analytical framework for the sources included in the SLR, with a table for each RQ to synthesize relevant data for analysis. Results The review examined 91 peer-reviewed papers, with a focus on migrant entrepreneurship support in Europe, covering characteristics, challenges, and support policies. It classified migrant entrepreneur challenges and characteristics into financial, human, and social capital, as well as external factors. Common challenges include the local culture and language, network, funding, and adapting to local business practices. Migrant entrepreneurs' stability relates to time in the host country and local language proficiency and reflects past entrepreneurial experience and education. Supportive mechanisms involve local networks, financing, and mentoring. Conclusions The SLR's limitations encompass possible oversight of pertinent studies, along with potential bias in data extraction, analysis, and subjectivity due to thematic analysis. Nonetheless, the findings suggest the following research agenda for migrant entrepreneurship support: evaluating and enhancing human and social capital, sharing information, designing support programs, addressing in-group/out-group bias in support programs, and exploring bottom-up migrant entrepreneurship support approaches

Migrant entrepreneurship in Europe: a systematic literature review [version 1; peer review: 1 approved, 2 approved with reservations]

Background: This systematic literature review (SLR) analyzes migrant entrepreneurship in Europe through three research questions (RQs) to understand 1) migrant entrepreneur characteristics in the European context, 2) challenges encountered by migrant entrepreneurs in European host countries, and 3) policies supporting migrant entrepreneurship in Europe. This review addresses gaps in current knowledge in academia as well as issues that policymakers and practitioners face when addressing migrant entrepreneurship support. Methods: This SLR employed a search protocol to retrieve published sources from 1970 to 2021, via Scopus (27 March 2022) and Web of Science (7 April 2022). Inclusion criteria targeted migrant entrepreneurship support studies while exclusion criteria eliminated domestic migration and non-European contexts. The authors worked iteratively, aligning the data with the RQs to reduce bias, and adapted Bourdieu's forms of capital to create an analytical framework for the sources included in the SLR, with a table for each RQ to synthesize relevant data for analysis. Results: The review examined 91 peer-reviewed papers, with a focus on migrant entrepreneurship in Europe, covering characteristics, challenges, and support policies. It classified migrant entrepreneur challenges and characteristics into financial, human, and social capital, as well as external factors. Common challenges include the local culture and language, network, funding, and adapting to local business practices. Migrant entrepreneurs' stability relates to time in the host country and local language proficiency and reflects past entrepreneurial experience and education. Supportive mechanisms involve local networks, financing, and mentoring. Conclusions: The SLR's limitations encompass possible oversight of pertinent studies, along with potential bias in data extraction, analysis, and subjectivity due to thematic analysis. Nonetheless, the findings suggest the following research agenda for migrant entrepreneurship support: evaluating and enhancing human and social capital, sharing information, designing support programs, addressing in-group/out-group bias in support programs, and exploring bottom-up migrant entrepreneurship support approaches

Understanding tumour growth variability in breast cancer xenograft models identifies PARP inhibition resistance biomarkers

Tumour growth; Xenograft; PARP inhibition resistanceCreixement tumoral; Xenoempelt; Resistència a la inhibició de PARPCrecimiento tumoral; Xenoinjerto; Resistencia a la inhibición de PARPUnderstanding the mechanisms of resistance to PARP inhibitors (PARPi) is a clinical priority, especially in breast cancer. We developed a novel mathematical framework accounting for intrinsic resistance to olaparib, identified by fitting the model to tumour growth metrics from breast cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) data. Pre-treatment transcriptomic profiles were used with the calculated resistance to identify baseline biomarkers of resistance, including potential combination targets. The model provided both a classification of responses, as well as a continuous description of resistance, allowing for more robust biomarker associations and capturing the observed variability. Thirty-six resistance gene markers were identified, including multiple homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway genes. High WEE1 expression was also linked to resistance, highlighting an opportunity for combining PARP and WEE1 inhibitors. This framework facilitates a fully automated way of capturing intrinsic resistance, and accounts for the pharmacological response variability captured within PDX studies and hence provides a precision medicine approach

On overabundant words and their application to biological sequence analysis

The observed frequency of the longest proper prefix, the longest proper suffix, and the longest infix of a word w in a given sequence x can be used for classifying w as avoided or overabundant. The definitions used for the expectation and deviation of w in this statistical model were described and biologically justified by Brendel et al. (J Biomol Struct Dyn 1986, [1]). We have very recently introduced a time-optimal algorithm for computing all avoided words of a given sequence over an integer alphabet (Algorithms Mol Biol 2017, [2]). In this article, we extend this study by presenting an O(n)-time and O(n)-space algorithm for computing all overabundant words in a sequence x of length n over an integer alphabet. Our main result is based on a new non-trivial combinatorial property of the suffix tree T of x: the number of distinct factors of x whose longest infix is the label of an explicit node of T is no more than 3n−4. We further show that the presented algorithm is time-optimal by proving that O(n) is a tight upper bound for the number of overabundant words. Finally, we present experimental results, using both synthetic and real data, which justify the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach in practical terms

Optimal Computation of Avoided Words

The deviation of the observed frequency of a word w from its expected frequency in a given sequence x is used to determine whether or not the word is avoided. This concept is particularly useful in DNA linguistic analysis. The value of the standard deviation of w, denoted by std(w), effectively characterises the extent of a word by its edge contrast in the context in which it occurs. A word w of length k>2 is a ρ-avoided word in x if std(w)≤ρ, for a given threshold ρ<0. Notice that such a word may be completely absent from x. Hence computing all such words naïvely can be a very time-consuming procedure, in particular for large k. In this article, we propose an O(n)-time and O(n)-space algorithm to compute all ρ-avoided words of length k in a given sequence x of length n over a fixed-sized alphabet. We also present a time-optimal O(σn)-time algorithm to compute all ρ-avoided words (of any length) in a sequence of length n over an integer alphabet of size σ. We provide a tight asymptotic upper bound for the number of ρ-avoided words over an integer alphabet and the expected length of the longest one. We make available an implementation of our algorithm. Experimental results, using both real and synthetic data, show the efficiency of our implementation

CNEFinder: Finding conserved non-coding elements in genomes

Availability and implementation: Free software under the terms of the GNU GPL (https://github.com/lorrainea/CNEFinder).Motivation: Conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) represent an enigmatic class of genomic elements which, despite being extremely conserved across evolution, do not encode for proteins. Their functions are still largely unknown. Thus, there exists a need to systematically investigate their roles in genomes. Towards this direction, identifying sets of CNEs in a wide range of organisms is an important first step. Currently, there are no tools published in the literature for systematically identifying CNEs in genomes. Results We fill this gap by presenting CNEFinder⁠; a tool for identifying CNEs between two given DNA sequences with user-defined criteria. The results presented here show the tool’s ability of identifying CNEs accurately and efficiently. CNEFinder is based on a k-mer technique for computing maximal exact matches. The tool thus does not require or compute whole-genome alignments or indexes, such as the suffix array or the Burrows Wheeler Transform (BWT), which makes it flexible to use on a wide scale.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/M50788X/1]

Spectrum of mutational signatures in T-cell lymphoma reveals a key role for UV radiation in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

Funder: Galderma; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100009754Funder: NIHR-BRC Cambridge core grantFunder: National Institute for Health Research; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000272Funder: NHS EnglandAbstract: T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas develop following transformation of tissue resident T-cells. We performed a meta-analysis of whole exome sequencing data from 403 patients with eight subtypes of T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to identify mutational signatures and associated recurrent gene mutations. Signature 1, indicative of age-related deamination, was prevalent across all T-cell lymphomas, reflecting the derivation of these malignancies from memory T-cells. Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma was specifically associated with signature 17, which was found to correlate with the IRF4 K59R mutation that is exclusive to Adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma. Signature 7, implicating UV exposure was uniquely identified in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), contributing 52% of the mutational burden in mycosis fungoides and 23% in Sezary syndrome. Importantly this UV signature was observed in CD4 + T-cells isolated from the blood of Sezary syndrome patients suggesting extensive re-circulation of these T-cells through skin and blood. Analysis of non-Hodgkin’s T-cell lymphoma cases submitted to the national 100,000 WGS project confirmed that signature 7 was only identified in CTCL strongly implicating UV radiation in the pathogenesis of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma