Factores determinantes y críticos en empresas de servicios, para la obtención de ventajas competitivas sostenibles y transferibles a estrategias de globalización : un análisis de la industria del software ... /

Consultable des del TDXTítol obtingut de la portada digitalitzadaLos desarrollos económico y tecnológico están impulsando la globalización. El aumento en la demanda, la creciente homogeneidad de los mercados y las facilidades que brindan las tecnologías de la información, dan lugar a que los deseos y preferencias de los clientes se vean satisfechos mediante productos y servicios estandarizados. En el contexto de los servicios, la estandarización, la configuración de las actividades de valor añadido, y los programas uniformes de Marketing se constituyen como elementos relevantes de la estrategia global en las empresas de servicios. En la literatura, varios autores han identificado que tales elementos se ven soportados por diversos factores que permiten el logro de ventajas competitivas a escala local y que pueden ser transferibles al entorno global, así como por nuevas ventajas que las empresas desarrollan en los diversos mercados. Sin embargo, hay escasa evidencia empírica de que esto suceda. Los objetivos principales de esta tesis se centran en dos vertientes: 1) Identificar los factores que son relevantes para que las empresas de servicios logren ventajas competitivas que puedan ser transferibles a una estrategia global; y 2) Construir un marco conceptual desde la perspectiva del marketing, en el que se combinan diversas posturas encontradas en la literatura con algunas prácticas de empresas de servicios. Para tal efecto se han analizado los casos de cinco empresas que producen sistemas operativos y que los comercializan a escala mundial: Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell y Sun Microsystems. Los descubrimientos más significativos de este trabajo de investigación indican que: La amplitud de las líneas de productos y servicios, el capital tecnológico, los contratos, así como los servicios complementarios conforman factores críticos en orden de lograr ventajas competitivas sostenibles, y que dichos factores pueden ser transferibles a estrategias de globalización por las empresas de servicios de alta tecnología. Mientras que las alianzas y los programas de Marketing, aparte de ser considerados también fuentes de ventajas competitivas sostenibles, se erigen como potenciales agentes de transferencia de las ventajas competitivas de las empresas citadas. Como conclusión, el autor propone un marco conceptual para el análisis de la estrategia global de una empresa de servicios, el cual incluye: Las fuentes de ventaja competitiva, denotadas por factores organizativos y competitivos de las empresas; así como por los papeles que juegan las características de los servicios y el sector de servicios. Estas tres dimensiones condicionan el sostenimiento de las ventajas competitivas, así como la posibilidad de transferirlas al ámbito global. Luego entonces, la estrategia global se verá soportada por las ventajas competitivas transferidas y por la creación de nuevas ventajas en los diversos mercados donde la empresa participe.The developments economic and technological are impelling the globalization. The increase in the demand, the increasing homogeneity of the markets and the facilities that offer the technologies of the information (IT), they give rise that desires and preferences of the clients are satisfied by means of products and standardized services. In the context of the services, the standardization, the configuration of the activities of added value, and the uniform programs of Marketing are constituted like excellent elements of the global strategy in the companies of services. In Literature, several authors have identified who such elements are supported by diverse factors that allow the profit of competitive advantages on local scale and which they can be transferable to the global surroundings, as well as by new advantages that the companies develop in the diverse markets. Nevertheless, there is little empirical evidence of which this happens. The primary targets of this thesis are centered in two slopes: 1) Identifying the factors that are excellent so that the companies of services obtain competitive advantages that can be transferable to a global strategy; and 2) Propose a conceptual frame from the perspective of marketing, in that diverse positions found in Literature with some practices of companies of services are combined. For such effect the cases of five companies have been analyzed that produce operating systems and that commercialize them on world-wide scale: Hewlett Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell and Sun Microsystems. The most significant discoveries of this work of investigation indicate that: The amplitude of the lines of products and services, the technological capital, the contracts, as well as the complementary services conform critical factors in order to obtain sustainable competitive advantages, and that these factors can be transferable to strategies of globalization by the companies of services of high technology. Whereas the alliances and the programs of Marketing, aside from being also considered sources of sustainable competitive advantages, they are elevated like potential agents of transference of the competitive advantages of the mentioned companies. Like conclusion, the author proposes a conceptual frame for the analysis of the global strategy of a company of services, which includes: The sources of competitive advantage, denoted by organizational and competitive factors of the companies; as well as by the papers that play the characteristics of the services and the sector of services. These three dimensions condition the support of the competitive advantages, as well as the possibility of transferring them to the global scope. Soon then, the global strategy will be supported by the transferred competitive advantages and the creation of new advantages in the diverse markets where the company participates

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Relationship of Weather Types on the Seasonal and Spatial Variability of Rainfall, Runoff, and Sediment Yield in the Western Mediterranean Basin

Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure &lt; 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate &lt; 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries