Estado atual do branding nas companhias spin-off e start-up acadêmicas: caso universidades públicas na Colômbia

The aim of this research is to describe the current state of branding processes that affect academic spin-off and start-up companies in Colombia. The findings are based on the case study of three academic spin-off companies and three academic start-up companies from three public universities in Colombia. The data is compiled from semi-structured interviews with the companies’ founders and is analyzed using the qualitative content analysis methodology. Bresciani & Eppler’s (2010) model of analysis of branding for SMEs was used. The results show the importance of branding activities for the companies studied. New factors were identified as being relevant and specific to the process of branding in academic spin-offs and start-ups: the absence of marketing departments, publicity as the principal means of affecting the brand, the figure of the entrepreneur as “live representation” of the brand, recruitment processes and the importance of backing from the university brand. It was found that the factors that have not driven or allowed branding activities in these companies are the lack of financial resources, the lack of knowledge in this field or the undervaluing of branding. Finally, the cyclical process of branding of this type of companies is described.Esta investigación tiene como fin describir el estado actual de los procesos de branding que efectúan las empresas tipo spin-off y start-upacadémicas en Colombia. Los hallazgos están basados en el estudio de caso de tres empresas tipo spin-off académico y tres start-upacadémico, provenientes de tres universidades públicas colombianas. Los datos son recopilados a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas aplicadas a los fundadores de las compañías, y a su vez analizados mediante la metodología de análisis de contenido cualitativo. Se empleó el modelo de análisis de branding para PYME descrito por Bresciani y Eppler (2010). Los resultados muestran la importancia de las actividades de branding para las empresas estudiadas. Nuevos factores fueron detectados como relevantes y particulares para los procesos de brandingen las spin-off y start-up académicas: la ausencia de departamentos de mercadeo, las actividades publicitarias como medio principal para efectuar presencia de marca, la figura del emprendedor como “representación viva” de la marca, los procesos de selección de personal y la importancia del respaldo de marca de la universidad. Se encontró que los factores que no han impulsado o permitido actividades de brandingen las empresas son la falta de recursos financieros, el desconocimiento del tema y la subvaloración de este. Finalmente se describió el proceso cíclico para el branding de la categoría de empresas analizadas.Esta pesquisa tem como finalidade descrever o estado atual dos processos de branding que efetuam as empresas tipo spin-off e start-up acadêmicas na Colômbia. Os achados estão baseados no estudo de caso de três empresas tipo spin-off acadêmico e três start-up acadêmico, provenientes de três universidades públicas colombianas. Os dados são recopilados através de entrevistas semiestruturadas aplicadas aos fundadores das companhias, e a sua vez analisados mediante a metodologia de análise de conteúdo qualitativo. Utilizou-se o modelo de análise de branding para PYME descrito por Bresciani & Eppler (2010). Os resultados mostram a importância das atividades de branding para as empresas estudadas. Novos fatores foram detectados como relevantes e particulares para os processos de branding nos spin-off e start up acadêmicos: a ausência de departamentos de marketing, as atividades publicitárias como meio principal para efetuar presença de marca, a figura do empreendedor como “representação viva” da marca, os processos de seleção de pessoal e a importância do respaldo de marca da universidade.  Encontrou-se que os fatores que não têm impulsionado ou permitido atividades de branding nas empresas são a falta de recursos financeiros, o desconhecimento do tema e a sub-valoração deste. Finalmente se descreveu o processo cíclico para o branding da categoria de empresas analisadas

Design of an Information System for optimizing the Programming of nursing work shifts

Health institutions operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They face a demand that fluctuates daily. Unlike jobs with fixed hours and obligatory days off, in health, operational continuity is required. The allocation for nursing shifts generates a rotation of people for health services according to legal and casuistic guidelines. Assigning and planning shifts results in a workload that takes an average of five to six extra hours. Existing applications offer a partial solution because they do not consider the news and contingencies of a health service. A web application is presented that, given a list of nurses, historical shifts and restrictions, a work shift planning is generated. This application comes to support the current shift allocation method based on electronic spreadsheets. The development consists of two modules. The first module has a shift allocation algorithm developed in C ++ and the second module has a graphical interface. As a case study, a set of health services from Chile and Colombia was used. The services have a defined number of nurses, who work different shifts according to the role and need of the institution. The results obtained are similar to a historical one. The proposed system takes less time and delivers various files and parameters that can be useful for nurses, the service and the health institutio

The strength of density‐dependent mortality is contingent on climate and seedling size

QuestionsDensity‐dependent processes may promote species diversity in plant communities. Here, we tested whether seedling survival was density‐dependent and varied by seedling size, species and climatic factors.LocationTropical rain forest, Xishuangbanna, southwest China.MethodsGeneralized linear mixed‐effects models were used to examine seedling survival (232 tree species) across 9 years of seedling census data from a 20‐ha tropical forest dynamics plot. Our predictor variables were conspecific and heterospecific neighbour density, size of the seedling and annual variation in climatic factors.ResultsWe found significant negative effects of conspecific tree density, but positive effects of heterospecific seedling density on the survival of tree seedlings in this plot. In general, conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) was observed most frequently for large size classes of seedlings (≥20‐cm high), while heterospecific positive density dependence (HPDD) was similar at all size classes. CNDD for large seedlings was stronger during warm years, and HPDD for large seedlings was stronger during dry years.ConclusionsOur study suggests that the strength of density dependence varied through time, and this strength was influenced by water availability and temperature. Our results highlight the potential for changes in species composition and species co‐existence that could result from increasing temperature‐strengthening CNDD effects and decreasing precipitation strengthening HPDD effects.In this study, we tested the correlation between the strength of density dependence and climatic conditions across 9 years of censuses. We found the strength of density dependence fluctuates and is significantly correlated with temperature and precipitation. Our study highlights the alteration of the strength of density dependence with climate change which will alter community composition in tropical forest.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145578/1/jvs12645.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145578/2/jvs12645_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145578/3/jvs12645-sup-0001-AppendixS1.pd

Centralized Modularity of N-Linked Glycosylation Pathways in Mammalian Cells

Glycosylation is a highly complex process to produce a diverse repertoire of cellular glycans that are attached to proteins and lipids. Glycans are involved in fundamental biological processes, including protein folding and clearance, cell proliferation and apoptosis, development, immune responses, and pathogenesis. One of the major types of glycans, N-linked glycans, is formed by sequential attachments of monosaccharides to proteins by a limited number of enzymes. Many of these enzymes can accept multiple N-linked glycans as substrates, thereby generating a large number of glycan intermediates and their intermingled pathways. Motivated by the quantitative methods developed in complex network research, we investigated the large-scale organization of such N-linked glycosylation pathways in mammalian cells. The N-linked glycosylation pathways are extremely modular, and are composed of cohesive topological modules that directly branch from a common upstream pathway of glycan synthesis. This unique structural property allows the glycan production between modules to be controlled by the upstream region. Although the enzymes act on multiple glycan substrates, indicating cross-talk between modules, the impact of the cross-talk on the module-specific enhancement of glycan synthesis may be confined within a moderate range by transcription-level control. The findings of the present study provide experimentally-testable predictions for glycosylation processes, and may be applicable to therapeutic glycoprotein engineering

Do Dimensions of Ethnic Identity Mediate the Association Between Perceived Ethnic Group Discrimination and Depressive Symptoms?

Ethnic group discrimination represents a notable risk factor that may contribute to mental health problems among ethnic minority college students. However, cultural resources (e.g., ethnic identity) may promote psychological adjustment in the context of group-based discriminatory experiences. In the current study, we examined the associations between perceptions of ethnic group discrimination and depressive symptoms, and explored dimensions of ethnic identity (i.e., exploration, resolution, and affirmation) as mediators of this process among 2,315 ethnic minority college students (age 18 to 30 years; 37% Black, 63% Latino). Results indicated that perceived ethnic group discrimination was associated positively with depressive symptoms among students from both ethnic groups. The relationship between perceived ethnic group discrimination and depressive symptoms was mediated by ethnic identity affirmation for Latino students, but not for Black students. Ethnic identity resolution was negatively and indirectly associated with depressive symptoms through ethnic identity affirmation for both Black and Latino students. Implications for promoting ethnic minority college students’ mental health and directions for future research are discussed