Motivadores da Internacionalização de Pequenas Empresas de Software: um estudo multi casos nos contextos brasileiro e espanhol

The software industry is characterized as an industry of intense growth and the companies are in process of internationalization. Although the industry is dominated by small companies, the international insert of these companies is still reduced. The objective of this research was to know drivers of internationalization in small companies of software. The research method was the multiple study of cases developed in five small software companies in two contexts: in the State of Paraná, south of Brazil and in Valence, Spain. Data were collected in opened interviews. The code process was developed with the software NVivo, version 11. Subsequently, the data were classified and interpreted. The categories resulted in the drivers of internationalization: a) competition; b) search for new markets; c) market to new products; d) casual opportunity; e) growth; f) Access to international markets to look for human resources. The theoretical contribution was the analysis of the internationalization of small companies in two contexts, which allows larger inclusion in the conclusions on motivators of internationalization. As practical contribution, the results of the research can be useful to software companies that want to internationalize, since they can mirror in the drivers mentioned in this research.A indústria de software se caracteriza como uma indústria de intenso crescimento global, no qual as empresas têm se internacionalizado. Embora o setor seja dominado por pequenas empresas, a inserção internacional dessas empresas ainda é reduzida. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi conhecer os motivadores da internacionalização de pequenas empresas do setor de software. O método da pesquisa foi o estudo múltiplo de casos, realizado junto a cinco pequenas empresas de software em dois contextos, no Estado do Paraná, sul do Brasil e em Valencia, Espanha. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas do tipo abertas. A codificação foi realizada com o software NVivo, versão 11. Os dados foram categorizados e interpretados. As categorias resultaram nos motivadores de internacionalização: a) a competição; b) busca por novos mercados; c) colocação de produto inovador: d) oportunidade casual; e) crescimento; f) acesso a mercados internacionais para buscar recursos humanos. A contribuição teórica foi a de analisar a internacionalização de pequenas empresas em dois contextos, propiciando maior abrangência nas conclusões sobre motivadores de internacionalização. Como contribuição prática, os resultados da pesquisa podem ser úteis às empresas de software que desejam se internacionalizar, de modo a se espelharem nos motivadores mencionados pelas empresas nesta pesquisa

67P/C-G inner coma dust properties from 2.2 au inbound to 2.0 auoutbound to the Sun

GIADA (Grain Impact Analyzer and Dust Accumulator) on-board the Rosetta space probe is designed to measure the momentum, mass and speed of individual dust particles escaping the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P). From 2014 August to 2016 June, Rosetta escorted comet 67P during its journey around the Sun. Here, we focus on GIADA data taken between 2015 January and 2016 February which included 67P's perihelion passage. To better understand cometary activity and more specifically the presence of dust structures in cometary comae, we mapped the spatial distribution of dust density in 67P's coma. In this manner, we could track the evolution of high-density regions of coma dust and their connections with nucleus illumination conditions, namely tracking 67P's seasons. We also studied the link between dust particle speeds and their masses with respect to heliocentric distance, i.e. the level of cometary activity. This allowed us to derive a global and a local correlation of the dust particles' speed distribution with respect to the H2O production rate. © 2016 The Authors.Peer Reviewe

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

The Comet Interceptor Mission

Here we describe the novel, multi-point Comet Interceptor mission. It is dedicated to the exploration of a little-processed long-period comet, possibly entering the inner Solar System for the first time, or to encounter an interstellar object originating at another star. The objectives of the mission are to address the following questions: What are the surface composition, shape, morphology, and structure of the target object? What is the composition of the gas and dust in the coma, its connection to the nucleus, and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind? The mission was proposed to the European Space Agency in 2018, and formally adopted by the agency in June 2022, for launch in 2029 together with the Ariel mission. Comet Interceptor will take advantage of the opportunity presented by ESA’s F-Class call for fast, flexible, low-cost missions to which it was proposed. The call required a launch to a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. The mission can take advantage of this placement to wait for the discovery of a suitable comet reachable with its minimum ΔV capability of 600 ms−1. Comet Interceptor will be unique in encountering and studying, at a nominal closest approach distance of 1000 km, a comet that represents a near-pristine sample of material from the formation of the Solar System. It will also add a capability that no previous cometary mission has had, which is to deploy two sub-probes – B1, provided by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, and B2 – that will follow different trajectories through the coma. While the main probe passes at a nominal 1000 km distance, probes B1 and B2 will follow different chords through the coma at distances of 850 km and 400 km, respectively. The result will be unique, simultaneous, spatially resolved information of the 3-dimensional properties of the target comet and its interaction with the space environment. We present the mission’s science background leading to these objectives, as well as an overview of the scientific instruments, mission design, and schedule

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Motivadores da Internacionalização de Pequenas Empresas de Software: um estudo multi casos nos contextos brasileiro e espanhol

The software industry is characterized as an industry of intense growth and the companies are in process of internationalization. Although the industry is dominated by small companies, the international insert of these companies is still reduced. The objective of this research was to know drivers of internationalization in small companies of software. The research method was the multiple study of cases developed in five small software companies in two contexts: in the State of Paraná, south of Brazil and in Valence, Spain. Data were collected in opened interviews. The code process was developed with the software NVivo, version 11. Subsequently, the data were classified and interpreted. The categories resulted in the drivers of internationalization: a) competition; b) search for new markets; c) market to new products; d) casual opportunity; e) growth; f) Access to international markets to look for human resources. The theoretical contribution was the analysis of the internationalization of small companies in two contexts, which allows larger inclusion in the conclusions on motivators of internationalization. As practical contribution, the results of the research can be useful to software companies that want to internationalize, since they can mirror in the drivers mentioned in this research.A indústria de software se caracteriza como uma indústria de intenso crescimento global, no qual as empresas têm se internacionalizado. Embora o setor seja dominado por pequenas empresas, a inserção internacional dessas empresas ainda é reduzida. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi conhecer os motivadores da internacionalização de pequenas empresas do setor de software. O método da pesquisa foi o estudo múltiplo de casos, realizado junto a cinco pequenas empresas de software em dois contextos, no Estado do Paraná, sul do Brasil e em Valencia, Espanha. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas do tipo abertas. A codificação foi realizada com o software NVivo, versão 11. Os dados foram categorizados e interpretados. As categorias resultaram nos motivadores de internacionalização: a) a competição; b) busca por novos mercados; c) colocação de produto inovador: d) oportunidade casual; e) crescimento; f) acesso a mercados internacionais para buscar recursos humanos. A contribuição teórica foi a de analisar a internacionalização de pequenas empresas em dois contextos, propiciando maior abrangência nas conclusões sobre motivadores de internacionalização. Como contribuição prática, os resultados da pesquisa podem ser úteis às empresas de software que desejam se internacionalizar, de modo a se espelharem nos motivadores mencionados pelas empresas nesta pesquisa

Tuberculosis peritoneal sin sintomatología respiratoria en femenina de 18 años con fiebre y ascitis: reporte de caso.

La tuberculosis es una enfermedad bacteriana producida por Mycobacterium tuberculosis, cuya presentaci&oacute;n m&aacute;s com&uacute;n es la tuberculosis pulmonar; dentro de las presentaciones extrapulmonares, la peritoneal ocupa el 6to lugar por orden de frecuencia. Se presenta caso de paciente femenino de 18 a&ntilde;os de edad procedente del estado Miranda, Venezuela, sin antecedentes patol&oacute;gicos conocidos, qui&eacute;n manifest&oacute; fiebre de 39&ordm;C, vespertina y aumento progresivo de volumen abdominal durante un mes. Al examen f&iacute;sico se evidencia abdomen globoso a expensas de l&iacute;quido asc&iacute;tico, blando, depresible, no doloroso, con matidez cambiante y signo de la oleada positivo. En la hematolog&iacute;a resalta trombocitosis y elevaci&oacute;n de VSG; radiograf&iacute;a de t&oacute;rax sin alteraciones, ultrasonido transvaginal y ultrasonido abdominal reportan ascitis sin megalias, PCR para micobacterias del l&iacute;quido asc&iacute;tico negativo y ADA con un resultado de 93 U/L. Durante la hospitalizaci&oacute;n persisti&oacute; febril y ascitis incluso posterior a paracentesis terap&eacute;utica. Teniendo el contexto de PCR y epidemiol&oacute;gicos negativos para TBC se plante&oacute; diagn&oacute;stico diferencial de carcinomatosis peritoneal, pero por el valor de ADA elevado se inici&oacute; prueba terap&eacute;utica con rifampicina 450mg, isoniazida 225 mg, pirazinamida 1200 mg, etambutol 825 mg piridoxina 50 mg (todas orden d&iacute;a) y control de funci&oacute;n hep&aacute;tica, observ&aacute;ndose mejor&iacute;a cl&iacute;nica notoria. El diagn&oacute;stico de tuberculosis peritoneal sin asociaci&oacute;n de sintomatolog&iacute;a respiratoria y con PCR negativo constituye un reto cl&iacute;nico; es importante el conocimiento de la entidad al plantear hip&oacute;tesis diagn&oacute;sticasAbstractThe Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with its most common form being pulmonary TB. In order of frequency, the peritoneal form (PT) is the sixth leading cause of extrapulmonary TB. The case of an 18-year-old female from Miranda State, Venezuela is studied. The patient presents no known pathological symptoms, vespertine fever of 39&ordm; C (102.2&ordm; F) and progressive increase of abdominal volume for one month. Physical examination shows the patient&rsquo;s abdomen nontender, soft, pliable and distended&mdash;due to the presence of ascitic fluid&mdash;with shifting dullness and presence of fluid wave. Blood test shows thrombocytosis and increased ESR; chest x-ray did not present any abnormalities; transvaginal and abdominal ultrasounds revealed ascites without megaly; PCR for mycobacterial ascites was negative and the ADA result was 93 U/l. During hospitalization, the patient remained febrile and the ascitic conditions persisted even after therapeutic paracentesis. Considering the PCR and the epidemiological data negative results for TB, a differential diagnosis of peritoneal carcinomatosis was proposed. However, due to the high ADA level, a treatment test was initiated with rifampicin 450 mg, isoniazid 225 mg, pyrazinamide 1200 mg, ethambutol 825 mg, pyridoxine 50 mg (daily intake) and control of the liver function, observing a marked clinical improvement. The diagnosis of PT without related respiratory symptoms and a negative PCR constitutes a clinical challenge. Consequently, it is important to be aware of this condition when proposing a diagnostic hypothesi

Experiências de internacionalização de pequenas empresas de software e conhecimentos obtidos

Purpose: The objective of this research was to identify and analyze the input forms and the knowledge obtained by small software companies in internationalization experiences.  Method: It is a qualitative study, conducted with five case studies of small entrepreneurs. Primary and secondary data were used. Primary data were obtained from nine open and semi-structured interviews, and secondary data from company websites. Data were categorized into input forms and knowledge obtained. Data from the latter category were complementarily analyzed using Iramuteq software.  Findings: As generated knowledge, six classes of knowledge were identified: a) markets and destinations; b) action to place the product on the international market; c) support and search for external knowledge; d) need for qualification for the internationalization process and local partnerships; e) local market vision; f) complexity of the internationalization process.  Originality/value: The study of internationalization experiences and knowledge gained is an original approach as it highlights the ways in which small software companies gain input and experience in internationalization experiences. Theoretical/Methodological Contributions: The results showed that learning in internationalization experiences favored the increase of international market knowledge and contributed to improve competitiveness in the local market.Objetivo: o objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar e analisar as formas de entrada e os conhecimentos obtidos por pequenas empresas de software em experiências de internacionalização.Método: é um estudo qualitativo, realizado com cinco estudos de casos de pequenos empreendedores. Foram utilizados dados primários e secundários. Dados primários foram obtidos em nove entrevistas abertas e semiestruturadas, e os dados secundários em web sites das empresas. Os dados foram categorizados em formas de entrada e conhecimentos obtidos. Os dados desta última categoria foram complementarmente analisados com uso do software Iramuteq. Principais resultados: como conhecimentos gerados, foram identificadas seis classes de conhecimentos, sendo: a) mercados e destinos; b) ação para colocar o produto no mercado internacional; c) apoio e busca de conhecimentos externos; d) necessidade de qualificação para o processo de internacionalização e parcerias locais; e) visão do mercado local; f) complexidade do processo de internacionalização. Relevância/originalidade: o estudo das experiências de internacionalização e conhecimentos obtidos é uma abordagem original, pois destaca as formas de entrada e os conhecimentos obtidos por pequenas empresas de software em experiências de internacionalização.  Contribuições teóricas/metodológicas: os resultados mostraram que a aprendizagem nas experiências de internacionalização favoreceu o aumento do conhecimento de mercado internacional e contribuiu para melhoria de competitividade no mercado local