Izraženost glikoproteinskog antitijela MUC2 i vaskularnog endotelnog čimbenika rasta (VEGF) u sluznici Barrettova jednjaka

Higher expression of the mucin 2 (MUC2) glycoprotein and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in Barrett’s mucosa may be associated with a higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma development. Thirty-six patients diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagus (BE), short-segment, were included in the study due to unsuccessful treatment with proton pump inhibitors. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathologic analysis of the tissue obtained by esophagogastric junction biopsy. Expression of MUC2 and VEGF was determined by immunohistochemistry. We found four patients in early stage of adenocarcinoma and 32 patients with BE; five of them had indication for argon plasma coagulation treatment, one for radiofrequency ablation and one for endoscopic mucosal resection; 25 patients were treated with proton pump inhibitors. Regression of BE occurred in 25 (69.44%) patients. MUC2 positivity is unique for goblet cells in patients with BE, but it is not the only marker. VEGF is an indicator of angiogenesis in the mucosa of patients with BE and adenocarcinoma.Izražajnost glikoproteina mucina 2 (MUC2) i vaskularnog endotelnog faktora rasta (VEGF) u sluznici Barrettova jednjaka (BJ) može se dovesti u vezu s višim rizikom razvoja adenokarcinoma jednjaka. Studija je obuhvatila 36 bolesnika s dijagnozom BJ koja je potvrđena patohistološkom analizom nakon višestrukih biopsija ezofagogastričnog spoja. Izražajnost MUC2 i VEGF-a je prikazana imunohistokemijskom analizom. Otkrivena su četiri bolesnika u ranom stadiju adenokarcinoma (učinjena je totalna ezofagektomija) i 32 bolesnika s BJ, od kojih je petoro imalo indikaciju za argon plazma koagulaciju, jedan za endoskopsku resekciju sluznice, jedan za radiofrekventnu ablaciju, a 25 ih je liječeno inhibitorima protonske pumpe. Regresija BJ je zabilježena u 25 (69,44%) bolesnika. Pozitivan nalaz MUC2 je karakterističan za vrčaste stanice u BJ, ali nije jedini biljeg. VEGF je pokazatelj angiogeneze u sluznici bolesnika s BJ i adenokarcinomom

Collaboration between Industry and Science: Motivation Factors, Collaboration Intensity and Collaboration Outcome

Collaboration between industry and science is considered one of the most important aspects of the innovation system. Innovation capability being crucially linked with the level of communication between scientific institutions and industry, it is important to understand why and how intensively companies collaborate with scientists, and how they rate such collaboration. The present paper explores how motives for collaboration and company approach to innovation and technology influence collaboration with scientists. The paper also examines differences among small, medium sized and large companies. Since collaboration between science and industry is expected to have a positive impact on a company’s innovation capabilities, we explored how selected innovation indicators are affected by collaboration

STRATAGIJA ODREĐIVANJA CIJENA I UČENJE

U posljednja dva desetljeća u marketinškoj literaturi mnogo se pažnje posvećivalo vremenskom određivanju cijene proizvoda/usluge. Rezultat toga istraživanja su modeli dinamičkog zadavanja cijene, tj. modeli koji opisuju kako se cijena proizvoda/usluge mijenja s vremenom. Ti modeli između ostalog obuhvaćaju kako postojeće znanje o životnom ciklusu proizvoda, tako i teoriju o difuziji novog proizvoda kroz tržište. Na tržištu je neprestano prisutna izmjena i prerada informacija, drugim imenom učenje. Na primjer, poduzeća uče kako smanjiti cijenu proizvodnje, uče o svojim kupcima i o drugim konkurentskim poduzećima. Potrošači uče o osobinama proizvoda i o njihovim proizvođačima. Rezultati sve te izmjene informacija odražavaju se na cijenu proizvoda. Cijena može biti posljedica učenja, ili može biti instrument kojim se nastoji potaknuti učenje. U ovom članku opisana je ta međusobna povezanost učenja i određivanja cijene

Girl Power: Creating More with Less

Studies show that women are very productive employees, but that as business owners, compared to their male counterparts, they run companies that earn less, grow at a lesser rate, and employ a smaller number of employees. One of the explanations for this discrepancy argues that indicators such as sales, turnover or profit do not measure performance adequately because they are dependent on the size of the firm. Since women often make a conscious decision to keep their companies small, these performance measures may not adequately represent women-owned businesses. We study a panel of micro firms across all industries, from three EU countries of comparable size (Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia) in the period 2010 – 2019. Results indicate that female-owned firms have higher values of both turnover per asset and value added per asset. Additionally, results suggest that during recession years, female-led firms show a degree of resilience to these adverse effects, and they manage to increase their turnover per asset by 3 to 4 percent on average, compared to male-led firms. We conclude that although women-owned micro firms tend to have less resources compared to men’s, women can create larger output per asset, suggesting capability to combine those resources in a very effective way

RAZLIKE U INOVIRANJU IZMEĐU USLUŽNIH I PROIZVODNIH PODUZEĆA U HRVATSKOJ

Services have different characteristics than products, and naturally we would expect this to be refl ected in innovation development practices of service companies. Although there exist empirical studies that address this issue in developed economies, no study to date investigated this question in a transition country. In particular, this paper explores whether service firms in Croatia are inclined to adopt modern business tools like new product development process, and whether they differ in the use of business functions in product development. The paper is based on an empirical study of Croatian companies performed in spring 2002.Karakteristike usluga razlikuju se od karakteristika proizvoda, pa bismo zato prirodno očekivali da razvitak inovacija u uslužnim tvrtkama pokazuje različitosti u usporedbi s razvitkom inovacija u proizvodnim poduzećima. Iako u svijetu postoje empirijske studije o karakteristikama inoviranja u uslužnim djelatnostima, nijedna od njih ne odnosi se na tranzicijske zemlje. Ovaj članak ima za cilj ispitati koliko su uslužna poduzeća u Hrvatskoj sklona prihvatiti moderne metode - kao što je, npr., proces razvijanja novog proizvoda, i razlikuju li se u upotrebi poslovnih funkcija u razvijanju inovacija od proizvodnih poduzeća. Članak se osniva na empirijskom istraživanju hrvatskih poduzeća koje je provedeno u proljeće godine 2002

Application of potential method to survey analysis

This paper examines an alternative method for analyzing a collection of Likert items in the multi-criteria decision framework. Likert items are compared in pairs and organized in a set of weighted digraphs which are aggregated according to the Potential Method rules. In combination with Factor Analysis this approach gives respondents’ preferences on the scale which approximates a measurable value function. As an application of the proposed methodology, we examine a potential set of incentives and explore the degree to which they would be accepted by the industry. We use Potential Method to elicit firm’s preferences for given incentives and we seek to explain the difference in these preferences by the firm/market factors. Data is collected through a survey of 190 Croatian enterprises performed in 2002

The Effects of Innovation Activities in SMEs in the Republic of Croatia

The ultimate goal of innovation activities is the improvement of business results. Although a number of studies have dealt with innovation in SMEs, few have investigated results of innovation development. As these results depend on the innovating firm, our goal in this paper is to explore the firm-specific factors that have impact on innovation results. These factors include not only classic features like firm ownership, proportion of highly educated employees, and the market in which the firm operates, but also the firm’s market orientation and its readiness to implement strategic and management changes. The paper seeks to contribute to the extant literature by exploring how firm-specific factors impact innovation results

Girl Power: Creating More with Less

Studies show that women are very productive employees, but that as business owners, compared to their male counterparts, they run companies that earn less, grow at a lesser rate, and employ a smaller number of employees. One of the explanations for this discrepancy argues that indicators such as sales, turnover or profit do not measure performance adequately because they are dependent on the size of the firm. Since women often make a conscious decision to keep their companies small, these performance measures may not adequately represent women-owned businesses. We study a panel of micro firms across all industries, from three EU countries of comparable size (Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia) in the period 2010 – 2019. Results indicate that female-owned firms have higher values of both turnover per asset and value added per asset. Additionally, results suggest that during recession years, female-led firms show a degree of resilience to these adverse effects, and they manage to increase their turnover per asset by 3 to 4 percent on average, compared to male-led firms. We conclude that although women-owned micro firms tend to have less resources compared to men’s, women can create larger output per asset, suggesting capability to combine those resources in a very effective way