Understanding the Entrepreneurial Process: a Dynamic Approach

There is considerable predominance in the adoption of perspectives based on characteristics in research into entrepreneurship. However, most studies describe the entrepreneur from a static or snapshot approach; very few adopt a dynamic perspective. The aim of this study is to contribute to the enhancement of knowledge concerning entrepreneurial process dynamics through an understanding of the values, characteristics and actions of the entrepreneur over time. By focusing on personal attributes, we have developed a framework that shows the importance of affective and cognitive aspects of entrepreneurs and the way that they evolve during the development of their business

POSSÍVEIS INTERAÇÕES ENTRE CONHECIMENTOS EXTERNOS E INTERNOS NOS PROCESSOS DE INOVAÇÕES DE MICRO E PEQUENAS EMPRESAS

Grande parte dos estudos desenvolvidos a respeito da inovação aberta é focada em empresas de grande porte e especialmente aquelas dedicadas a alta tecnologia. O mesmo não se pode dizer a respeito da prática da inovação aberta em micro, pequenas e médias empresas, as quais também recorrem a parceiros estratégicos para seus processos de inovação, mas que ainda carecem de mais estudos que orientem tanto o campo teórico quanto o empresarial para a gestão desse paradigma da inovação. Este artigo teve como objetivo central identificar as mais variadas práticas de gestão da inovação que os gestores de micro e pequenas empresas têm utilizados para captarem e absorverem conhecimentos de fontes externas e avaliar a necessidade de organizar essas práticas para que haja incremento da competitividade. O estudo teve caráter exploratório, constituído de uma ampla revisão da literatura, seguido de uma pesquisa de campo para a coleta de dados. Foram realizadas entrevistas em profundidade junto a gestores e pessoas envolvidas com o processo de inovação das empresas e os dados coletados foram analisados qualitativamente, com a utilização da análise de conteúdo. Como principais resultados, destacou-se a necessidade de se estabelecer relações de confiança entre os gestores das empresas e as fontes externas de conhecimento. A busca por fontes externas já ocorre entre as empresas estudadas, mas não obedecem a um padrão de gestão que tenha sido estabelecido para que os benefícios resultantes do processo de inovação aberta sejam alcançados de maneira mais efetiva

Pelvis Drainage after Total Mesorectal Excision : a multicentre study

Rectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and the second most common cancer in women. Among the different treatment options the radical approach is performed with a surgical technique known as Total Mesorectal Surgery (TME). The use of prophylactic pelvic drainage after TME has been long debated. Despite most of the literature agrees about its ineffectiveness, there is still controversy over the need of using it or not: On the one hand there are articles supporting the use of drainage and on the other hand, articles questioning its use as well as studies that find no difference between using them or not. Most of the published studies, are inconclusive owing to the heterogeneity of the included population, the small number of patients, the deficient randomization among other causes; leading to inconsistent results and conclusions. For that reason, I have proposed a multicentre study to asses the effect of pelvic drainage after Total Mesorectal Excision.El càncer rectal és el tercer càncer que afecta més freqüentment als homes i el segon més freqüent a les dones. Entre les diferents opcions terapèutiques, trobem una tècnica quirúrgica coneguda com Escissió Total de Mesorrecte. L'us de drenatge pelvic després d'una ETM ha estat un tema molt debatut. Tot i que hi ha un acord generalitzat a la literatura sobre la seva inefectivitat, encara existeix controvèrsia sobre la necessitat de fer-lo servir o no: per un costat, tenim articles que recolzen l'us de drenatge i, per un altre costat, articles que ho qüestionen, a més d'estudis que no han trobat cap diferencia entre fer-lo i no fer-lo servir. La majoria dels estudis publicats són inconclusos donada la falta d'heterogeneïtat a l'hora d'incloure la població, o al petit numero de pacients o al dèficit de randomitzacio entre altre causes, ocasionant resultats i conclusions inconsistents. Per aquesta raó, he proposat un estudi multicentric per verificar l'efecte del drenatge pelvià després d'una Escissió Total de Mesorecte.El cáncer rectal es el tercer cáncer más frecuente en hombres y el segundo más común en mujeres. Entre las diferentes opciones terapéuticas, encontramos una técnica quirúrgica conocida como Escisión Total de Mesorecto (ETM). El uso de drenaje pélvico tras una ETM ha sido un tema muy debatido. A pesar del acuerdo generalizado de la literatura sobre su inefectividad, aún existe controversia sobre la necesidad o no de usarlo: Por un lado, tenemos artículos que apoyan el uso de drenaje y, por el otro lado, artículos que lo cuestionan; además de estudios que no encontraron ninguna diferencia entre ponerlo y no ponerlo. La mayoría de los estudios publicados son inconclusos dada la falta de heterogeneidad de los mismos, o a su pequeño número de pacientes, o al déficit de randomización, entre otras causas; ocasionado así resultados y conclusiones inconsistentes. Por esta razón, he propuesto un estudio multicéntrico para verificar el efecto del drenaje pélvico tras una Escisión Total de Mesorecto

The Urine-to-Plasma Urea Concentration Ratio is associated with eGFR and eGFR decline over time in a population cohort.

BACKGROUND Evaluation of renal function and of factors associated with its decline are important public health issues. Besides markers of glomerular function (e.g., GFR), those of tubular functions are rarely evaluated. Urea, the most abundant urinary solute, is markedly concentrated in urine when compared to plasma. We explored the urine-to-plasma ratio of urea concentrateions (U/P-urea-ratio) as a marker of tubular functions. METHODS We evaluated the relationship of the U/P-urea-ratio with eGFR at baseline in 1043 participants (48±17y) from the SKIPOGH population-based cohort, using mixed regression. In 898 participants, we assessed the relation between U/P-urea-ratio and renal function decline between two study waves 3 years apart. We studied U/P ratios for osmolarity, Na, K, uric acid for comparison. RESULTS In a transversal study at baseline, eGFR was positively associated with U/P-urea-ratio (βscaled = 0.08, 95%CI[0.04;0.13]) but not with the U/P ratio of osmolarity. Considering separately participants with renal function > or ≤ 90 ml/minx1.73m2, this association was observed only in those with reduced renal function. In the longitudinal study, eGFR declined at a mean rate of 1.2 ml/min per year. A significant association was observed between baseline U/P-urea-ratio and eGFR decline (βscaled = 0.08, 95%CI[0.01;0.15]). A lower baseline U/P-urea-ratio was associated with a greater eGFR decline. CONCLUSION This study provides evidence that the U/P-urea-ratio is an early marker of kidney function decline in the general adult population. Urea is easy to measure with well-standardized techniques and at low cost. Thus, the U/P-urea-ratio could become an easily available tubular marker for evaluating renal function decline

As Novas Diretrizes e a Importância do Planejamento Urbano para o Desenvolvimento de Cidades Sustentáveis

Cities are protagonists in the overall development process. Today, more than 54% of the world's population lives in cities and it is expected to reach the 60% mark by 2030. Cities have thus played a crucial role in the global sustainable development agenda. The idea of ​​urban sustainability has been disseminated through important international studies and protocols in order to overcome social, economic and environmental challenges to generate quality of life for its citizens and contribute to the development capacity of future generations. This work investigated the importance and the new directives of urban planning as a tool for the structuring of sustainable cities. A qualitative research was conducted through in - depth interviews with experts from different areas of knowledge on the theme of cities, bringing as a main result a systemic view on the role of urban planning in the development of sustainable cities. In addition, aiming at a balanced urban development, this study points out the need for a new ordering and cohesion of the different elements that compose a city and proposes ways for a new collaborative urban governance, thus contributing to the scientific development of the urban and regional planning area.Las ciudades son protagonistas en el proceso global de desarrollo. Hoy en día, más del 54% de la población mundial vive en ciudades y se espera que alcance el 60% en 2030. Las ciudades han jugado un papel crucial en la agenda global de desarrollo sostenible. La idea de la sostenibilidad urbana se ha difundido a través de importantes estudios y protocolos internacionales para superar los desafíos sociales, económicos y ambientales para generar calidad de vida para sus ciudadanos y contribuir al desarrollo de la capacidad de las generaciones futuras. Este trabajo investigó la importancia y las nuevas directivas de planificación urbana como una herramienta para la estructuración de ciudades sostenibles. Se llevó a cabo una investigación cualitativa a través de entrevistas en profundidad con expertos de diferentes áreas de conocimiento sobre el tema de las ciudades, con el resultado principal de una visión sistémica sobre el papel de la planificación urbana en el desarrollo de ciudades sostenibles. Además, con el objetivo de lograr un desarrollo urbano equilibrado, este estudio señala la necesidad de una nueva ordenación y cohesión de los diferentes elementos que componen una ciudad y propone vías para una nueva gobernanza urbana colaborativa, contribuyendo así al desarrollo científico de las ciudades y los pueblos. Área de planificación regional.As cidades são protagonistas no processo de desenvolvimento global. Atualmente mais de 54% da população mundial reside em cidades e com previsão de alcançar a marca de 60% em 2030. Assim, as cidades têm ocupado um papel crucial na agenda global de desenvolvimento sustentável. A ideia de sustentabilidade urbana vem se disseminando através de importantes estudos e protocolos internacionais, no intuito das cidades superarem desafios de ordem social, econômica e ambiental para gerar qualidade de vida aos seus cidadãos e contribuir com a capacidade de desenvolvimento das gerações futuras. Este trabalho investigou a importância e as novas diretrizes do planejamento urbano como ferramenta para a estruturação de cidades sustentáveis. Foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa através de entrevistas em profundidade com especialistas de diferentes áreas de conhecimento no tema de cidades, trazendo como principal resultado uma visão sistêmica sobre o papel do planejamento urbano no desenvolvimento de cidades sustentáveis. Além disso, visando um desenvolvimento urbano equilibrado, este estudo aponta a necessidade de um novo ordenamento e coesão dos diferentes elementos que compõem uma cidade e propõe caminhos para uma nova governança urbana colaborativa, contribuindo assim para o desenvolvimento científico da área de planejamento urbano e regional

A versatile clearing agent for multi-modal brain imaging

Extensive mapping of neuronal connections in the central nervous system requires high-throughput um-scale imaging of large volumes. In recent years, different approaches have been developed to overcome the limitations due to tissue light scattering. These methods are generally developed to improve the performance of a specific imaging modality, thus limiting comprehensive neuroanatomical exploration by multimodal optical techniques. Here, we introduce a versatile brain clearing agent (2,2'-thiodiethanol; TDE) suitable for various applications and imaging techniques. TDE is cost-efficient, water-soluble and low-viscous and, more importantly, it preserves fluorescence, is compatible with immunostaining and does not cause deformations at sub-cellular level. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in different applications: in fixed samples by imaging a whole mouse hippocampus with serial two-photon tomography; in combination with CLARITY by reconstructing an entire mouse brain with light sheet microscopy and in translational research by imaging immunostained human dysplastic brain tissue.Comment: in Scientific Reports 201

Optical core networks research in the e-Photon-ONe+ project

This paper reports a summary of the joint research activities on Optical Core Networks within the e-Photon-ONe+ project. It provides a reasonable overview of the topics considered of interest by the European research community and supports the idea of building joint research activities that can leverage on the expertise of different research groups. © 2009 IEEE

PhenoExplorer: An Interactive Web-based Platform for Exploring (Epi)Genome-Wide Associations Using a Swiss Population-based Study

The recent advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies has allowed exploring the contribution of thousands of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, or proteomic variants to complex phenotypic traits. Here, we sought to conduct large-scale (Epi)Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS/EWAS) to investigate the associations between genomic (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism; SNP) and epigenomic (Cytosine-Phospho-Guanine; CpG) markers, with multiple phenotypic traits in a population-based context. We used data from SKIPOGH, a family- and population-based cohort conducted in the cities of Lausanne, Geneva, and Bern (N=1100). We used 7,577,572 SNPs, 420,444 CpGs, and 825 phenotypes, including anthropometric, clinical, blood, urine, metabolite, and metal measures. GWAS analyses assessed the associations between SNPs and metabolites and metals (N=279), using regression models adjusted for age, sex, recruitment center, and familial structure, whereas EWAS analyses explored the relations between CpGs and 825 phenotypes, additionally adjusting for the seasonality of blood sampling and technical nuisance. Following the implementation of GWAS and EWAS analyses, we developed a web-based platform, PhenoExplorer, aimed at providing an open access to the obtained results. Of the 279 phenotypes included in GWAS, 103 displayed significant associations with 2804 SNPs (2091 unique SNPs) at Bonferroni threshold, whereas 109 of the 825 phenotypes included in EWAS analyses were associated with 4893 CpGs (2578 unique CpGs). All of the obtained GWAS and EWAS results were eventually made available using the in-house built web-based PhenoExplorer platform, with the purpose of providing an open-access to the tested associations. In conclusion, we provide a comprehensive outline of GWAS and EWAS associations performed in a Swiss population-based study. Further, we set up a web-based PhenoExplorer platform with the purpose of contributing to the overall understanding of the role of molecular variants in regulating complex phenotypes

Efficient synthesis of small-sized phosphonated dendrons: potential organic coatings of iron oxide nanoparticles:

We report herein the synthesis of biocompatible small-sized phosphonated monomers and dendrons used as functional coatings of metal oxide nanoparticles, more specifically superparamagnetic iron oxides (SPIOs) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and therapy through hyperthermia. The molecules were engineered to modulate their size, their hydrophilic and/or biocompatible character (poly(amido) amine versus oligoethyleneglycol), the number of anchoring phosphonate groups (monophosphonate versus phosphonic tweezers) and the number of peripheral functional groups for further grafting of dyes or specific vectors. Such a library of hydrophilic phosphonic acids opens new possibilities for the investigation of dendronized nanohybrids as theranostics