Entrepreneurial and market orientations: the moderating role of social networks on post-entry performance of international new ventures

This paper investigates whether entrepreneurial and marketing orientations (respectively EOs and Mos) impact – individually or collectively – international new ventures’ (INVs’) post-entry performance growth. Furthermore, we investigate whether such relations are moderated by the foreign social networks, both formal and informal, of international new ventures. Using a survey, we test our hypotheses on a sample of Italian high-tech INVs located in a cluster near Rome. A quantitative analysis is used to test the hypotheses. We found that EOs and MOs positively impact the post-entry international performance growth of INVs. Moreover, while informal foreign social network ties significantly moderate the impact of EOs and MOs, formal foreign social network ties do not have a significant moderating effect. Many theoretical and practical contributions are discussed in the paper

Nonequilibrium, thermostats and thermodynamic limit

The relation between thermostats of "isoenergetic" and "frictionless" kind is studied and their equivalence in the thermodynamic limit is proved in space dimension $d=1,2$ and, for special geometries, $d=3$.Comment: 22 pages PRA 2-columns format v3: Typos corrected as acknowledge

Functional evaluation protocol

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Myringotomy and ventilation tube insertion with endoscopic or microscopic technique in adults: a pilot study

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of endoscopic-assisted myringotomy and ventilation tube insertion in adults affected by chronic otitis media with effusion, comparing the outcomes of this approach with those obtained with the traditional microscopic technique. Twenty-four patients were enrolled in this trial and alternately assigned to 2 groups of 12 subjects each. In group A, patients underwent myringotomy and ventilation tube insertion under endoscopic view, whereas in group B, the same procedure was performed traditionally using a microscope. All cases were evaluated 1 week after surgery and then monthly until tube extrusion. Type A tympanogram was achieved in 10 of 13 ears in both groups (76.92%). No significant difference in operative times or complication rates was observed (P > .05). Endoscopic technique could be a viable alternative to the microscopic approach for myringotomy and ventilation tube positioning in adults affected by chronic otitis media with effusion

Surgical rehabilitation

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Role of endoscopy in lateral skull base approaches to the petrous apex

Objective: The aim of this article is to study the role and advantages of combined microscopic/endoscopic procedures or exclusive endoscopic approaches in the treatment of petrous apex pathologies. Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective case series analysis. We included patients affected by pathologies of the petrous apex, who underwent microscopic/endoscopic-assisted or exclusive endoscopic procedures. Patient and pathology characteristics and surgical data (focusing on the involvement of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and facial nerve by the disease) were collected. Residual disease, detected through the endoscopic check, and the feasibility of endoscopic residual tumor removal were also evaluated. Finally, facial nerve and hearing functions were assessed pre- and postoperatively. Results: The records of 75 patients undergoing lateral skull base surgery for petrous apex lesions, from May 2009 to March 2019, were collected. In 17 out of 75 patients, an exclusive endoscopic procedure was possible. The remaining 58 patients underwent a combined microscopic/endoscopic approach. In 15 cases, residual disease was found and removed endoscopically at the end of the microscopic procedure; in eight cases, the residual disease was medial and/or inferior to the horizontal segment of the ICA, while in two cases, it was located in the fundus of the internal auditory canal. In five cases, it involved the labyrinthine segment of the facial nerve. Conclusion: Petrous apex surgery remains a traditional microscopic-based surgery, but the recent advent of endoscopic surgery has permitted an improvement in radicality minimizing the manipulation of neurovascular structures

The endoscopic anatomy of the cochlear hook region and fustis: Surgical implications

The cochlear hook region can be considered as the interface between the middle and inner ear. The identification of surgically-relevant endoscopic landmarks of this anatomical entity and assessment of their clinical value is still lacking in the literature. Procedures like cholesteatoma surgery and minimal invasive endoscopic approaches to the lateral skull base may particularly benefit from these considerations. We hypothesize that the spatial orientation of anatomical landmarks in the cochlear hook can be expressed in angles and are reproducibly identifiable by transcanal otoendoscopy. Therefore, endoscopic dissection of the cochlear hook region was performed in 32 temporal bone specimens. Topographic anatomy was documented and analysed. We performed computed tomography of 28 specimens to assess the region in three-dimensional reconstructions. The mean angle between the round window and the basal scala tympani was assessed 25.9\ub0 in endoscopic and 28.2\ub0 in three-dimensionally reconstructed models. The fustis was recognised as a reliable landmark for the basal turn. A mean angle of 155.4\ub0 to the basal scala tympani was assessed. A slight bulging without obstruction of the basal turn was observed in 5 cases. The utility of the revealed anatomical details was assessed in minimal invasive endoscopic lateral skull base approaches. In conclusion, we described the angles between anatomical landmarks of the cochlear hook region. Moreover, the angle as recorded through an endoscope was found to be reliable compared to three-dimensional reconstructions from computed tomography