Entrepreneurial Cognition

This open access book investigates the inter-relationship between the mind and a potential opportunity to explore the psychology of entrepreneurship. Building on recent research, this book offers a broad scope investigation of the different aspects of what goes on in the mind of the (potential) entrepreneur as he or she considers the pursuit of a potential opportunity, the creation of a new organization, and/or the selection of an entrepreneurial career. This book focuses on individuals as the level of analysis and explores the impact of the organization and the environment only inasmuch as they impact the individual’s cognitions. Readers will learn why some individuals and managers are able to able to identify and successfully act upon opportunities in uncertain environments while others are not. This book applies a cognitive lens to understand individuals’ knowledge, motivation, attention, identity, and emotions in the entrepreneurial process.

Entrepreneurial Cognition

entrepreneurial mindset; cognitive processes; cognitive psychology; prior knowledge; exploitation; motivation; financial motivation; non-financial motivation; entrepreneurial opportunities; self-identity; well-being; work identit

Entrepreneurial Theorizing

This open access book investigates an entrepreneurial approach to building new theories. It provides a rich understanding of how specific tools facilitate aspects of the theorizing process and offers a clearer big picture of the process of building important new entrepreneurship theories. The authors show that anthropomorphizing has been a critically important tool for developing influential entrepreneurship theories. They reveal how scholars build on their rich and highly accessible understanding of humans (i.e., the self and others) to make guesses and sense of entrepreneurial anomalies, articulate theoretical mechanisms to build more robust entrepreneurship theories, and create plausible stories that facilitate sensegiving. Further, they offer a framework that guides entrepreneurship scholars in finding a balance to maximize their contributions and guides reviewers and editors in managing the revise-and-resubmit process to advance the entrepreneurship field. Finally, they present lean scholarship as an approach to developing a portfolio of high-quality, high-impact papers. Lean scholarship starts with an entrepreneurial mindset and involves creating a minimum viable paper, exploring its validity, adding a plausible paper to one’s portfolio, and managing the portfolio by periodically deciding whether to persevere, pivot, or terminate each paper. This seminal work will appeal to entrepreneurship researchers, both those new to the field as well as seasoned veterans, who want to learn more about the tools that can be used to generate new knowledge about new ventures and other entrepreneurship topics

Die diabetische Ketoazidose:Ätiologie und Therapie in der Akutphase auf einer internistischen Intensivstation

Ziele der Studie: 1. Ursachen und Auslöser herauszufinden, 2. Ergebnisse durch Therapiestrukturierung zu verbessern, 3. die Komplikationsrate zu senken. Die Analyse umfasst 120 Fälle. Alle Patienten wurden mit Insulin-, Flüssigkeits-, Kaliumsubstitution behandelt. Dies erfolgte nach dem Grundsatz der langsamen Reäquilibrierung. Es zeigt sich eine Nullmortalität. Auslöser einer Ketoazidose waren überwiegend fehlerhafte Insulintherapie, keine Blutzuckermessungen, Materialfehler sowie Infektionen. In der Behandlung mit geringen Insulinmengen und Bolus bei Therapiebeginn, ausreichender Flüssigkeits- und mäßigen Kaliumsubstitution findet sich ein sicheres Therapieschema. Es zeigt sich eine signifikante Abhängigkeit (p<0,001) zwischen dem Blutzuckerspiegel und dem Serumkalium. Für die Therapie der Ketoazidose ist eine intensivmedizinische Behandlung notwendig. Eine Bikarbonatgabe ist nicht sinnvoll. Die Prophylaxe eines thrombembolischen Ereignisses ist notwendig und senkt die Komorbidität

Kinetics of Physiological Skin Flora in a Suction Blister Wound Model on Healthy Subjects after Treatment with Water-Filtered Infrared-A Radiation

The effect of water-filtered infrared-A radiation (wIRA) on normal skin flora was investigated by generating experimental wounds on the forearms of volunteers utilizing the suction blister technique. Over 7 days, recolonization was monitored parallel to wound healing. Four groups of treatment were compared: no therapy (A), dexpanthenol cream once daily (B), 20 min wIRA irradiation at 30 cm distance (C), and wIRA irradiation for 30 min once daily together with dexpanthenol cream once daily (D). All treatments strongly inhibited the recolonization of the wounds. Whereas dexpanthenol completely suppressed recolonization over the test period, recolonization after wIRA without (C) and in combination with dexpanthenol (D) was suppressed, but started on day 5 with considerably higher amounts after the combination treatment (D). Whereas the consequence without treatment (A) was an increasing amount of physiological skin flora including coagulase-negative staphylococci, all treatments (B–D) led to a reduction in physiological skin flora, including coagulase-negative staphylococci. In healthy volunteers, wIRA alone and in combination with dexpanthenol strongly inhibited bacterial recolonization with physiological skin flora after artificial wound setting using a suction-blister wound model. This could support the beneficial effects of wIRA in the promotion of wound healing

Organic modification of layered silicates for use as barrier pigments in coating systems

Functional coatings and the barrier pigments they contain are an indispensable part of corrosion or product protection. The frequently used layered silicates in their pure form often do not achieve a sufficient protection of the components or products. The barrier effect of the silicates can be significantly improved through targeted organic modification. The general use of commercial (unmodified) silicates leads to an improvement in the barrier of about 20 %. In contrast, the use of modified silicates achieves an improvement of up to 80 % [1], due to the extent of the diffusion path [2]. Decisive for the diffusion path and therefore for the subsequent functionality of the barrier is the exfoliation and orientation of the silicates, which depends on the compatibility with the coating system. Due to the large number of coating systems and the associated binder classes, the silicates should be specifically adapted to the respective polymer by being modified with reactive groups, which represents the main focus of this work. As a first polymer system an epoxy matrix was chosen. Thus, commercial silicates were modified by an epoxy-oligomer matrix based on 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether. The produced silicates were examined with the aid of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The expansion of the layers and the attachment of the organic molecules were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

Capecitabine in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma

To evaluate the therapeutic effects and systemic toxicities of a capecitabine-based home therapy regimen in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, 30 patients were enrolled in a phase II clinical trial. Treatment consisted of oral capecitabine combined with subcutaneous recombinant human interferon-α 2a, recombinant human interleukin-2 and oral 13-cis-retinoic acid. There were two (7%) complete responses (CRs) and eight (27%) partial remissions (PRs), for an overall objective response rate of 34% (95% CI 17–53%). Except one, all responses are ongoing, with a median duration of 9+ and 8+ months for CRs and PRs, respectively. Additionally, 12 patients (40%) reached stable disease. Eight patients (27%) showed continued disease progression despite treatment. Therapy was well tolerated and was given in the outpatient setting. Capecitabine-related World Health Organization (WHO) grade 2 and 3 toxicities were observed in five and two patients respectively, and were limited to fatigue, nausea/vomiting, diarrhoea, stomatitis, dermatitis and hand-and-foot syndrome. The substitution of capecitabine for 5-FU in the pre-existing biochemotherapy regimen did not result in a reduced therapeutic efficacy and showed significant anti-tumour activity in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Interplay between topography, fog and vegetation in the central South Arabian mountains revealed using a novel Landsat fog detection technique

In the central South Arabian mountains of Yemen and Oman, monsoon fog interception by the endemic cloud forest is essential for ecosystem functions and services. Yet, we know little about the local factors affecting fog distributions and their cumulative effects on vegetation. To examine these relationships, we developed a novel method of high-resolution fog detection using Landsat data, and validated the results using occurrence records of eight moisture-sensitive plant species. Regression tree analysis was then used to examine the topographic factors influencing fog distributions and the topoclimatic factors influencing satellite-derived vegetation greenness. We find that topography affects fog distributions. Specifically, steep windward slopes obstruct the inland movement of fog, resulting in heterogenous fog densities and hotspots of fog interception. We find that fog distributions explain patterns of vegetation greenness, and overall, that greenness increases with fog density. The layer of fog density describes patterns of vegetation greenness more accurately than topographic variables alone, and thus, we propose that regional vegetation patterns more closely follow a fog gradient, than an altitudinal gradient as previously supposed. The layer of fog density will enable an improved understanding of how species and communities, many of which are endemic, range-restricted, and in decline, respond to local variability in topoclimatic conditions

Skin Disinfection by Plasma-Tissue Interaction: Comparison of the Effectivity of Tissue-Tolerable Plasma and a Standard Antiseptic

Wound healing disorders frequently occur due to biofilm formation on wound surfaces requiring conscientious wound hygiene. Often, the application of conventional liquid antiseptics is not sufficient and sustainable as (1) the borders and the surrounding of chronic wounds frequently consist of sclerotic skin, impeding an effectual penetration of these products, and (2) the hair follicles representing the reservoir for bacterial recolonization of skin surfaces are not affected. Recently, it has been reported that tissue-tolerable plasma (TTP), which is used at a temperature range between 35 and 45°C, likewise has disinfecting properties. In the present study, the effectivity of TTP and a standard liquid antiseptic was compared in vitro on porcine skin. The results revealed that TTP was able to reduce the bacterial load by 94%, although the application of the liquid antiseptic remained superior as it reduced the bacteria by almost 99%. For in vivo application, however, TTP offers several advantages. On the one hand, TTP enables the treatment of sclerotic skin as well, and on the other hand, a sustainable disinfection can be realized as, obviously, also the follicular reservoir is affected by TTP