Effects of Organic Innovative Culture and Strategic Knowledge Management on Process Innovation and Organizational Performance

O objetivo deste estudo é analisar o efeito da cultura orgânica inovadora e da gestão estratégica do conhecimento na inovação de processos e da inovação de processos e gestão estratégica do conhecimento no desempenho organizacional. De forma complementar, analisou-se o efeito mediador da inovação de processos na relação entre gestão estratégica do conhecimento e desempenho organizacional. Uma survey foi realizada com funcionários da Confederação Nacional das Cooperativas Médicas (UNIMED). Para a análise dos dados foi utilizada modelagem de equações estruturais por mínimos quadrados parciais (PLS-SEM). Os resultados dos testes das hipóteses mostraram relações positivas e significativas, tanto nas relações diretas como nas indiretas pela mediação, o que indica influência das variáveis analisadas no desempenho organizacional. Os resultados denotam a importância de estimular a busca por novos conhecimentos e aprendizagem organizacional, além de oferecer suporte à geração de novas ideias no ambiente de trabalho.The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of organic innovative culture and strategic knowledge management on process innovation and process innovation and strategic knowledge management on organizational performance. Complementarily, the mediating effect of process innovation on the relationship between strategic knowledge management and organizational performance was analyzed. A survey was conducted with employees of the National Confederation of Medical Cooperatives (UNIMED). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results of the hypothesis tests showed positive and significant relationships, both in direct and indirect relationships by mediation, which indicates influence of the variables analyzed on organizational performance. The results denote the importance of stimulating the search for new knowledge and organizational learning, in addition to providing support for the generation of new ideas in the work environment

Vitamin E modifies poly(D,L)lactic acid wettability and reduces bacterial adhesion

Highly biocompatible polylactic acid (PLA)-derived polymers are used for different biomedical applications such as orthopaedic screws and drug delivery devices. Nevertheless their clinical use is limited by their proinflammatory characteristics. Vitamin E (α-tocopherol, Vit. E), a natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent has been used to improve different biomaterials biostability [1], and among them also P(D,L)LA [2]. In this work, addition of Vit.E (10-40% w/v) to P(D,L)LA films obtained by solvent casting technique increased polymer surface wettability and human plasma protein adsorption, while addition of Vit.E acetate (Vit.E Ac, 10-40% w/v), the acetic ester of α-tocopherol, often used as an alternative to Vit.E itself, failed in modifying polymer wettability. On the other hand, bacterial adhesion experiments onto control, Vit.E and Vit.E Ac enriched P(D,L)LA films showed that both presence of Vit.E and Vit.E Ac was able to reduce the adhesion of the RP62A Staphylococcus epidermidis strain [3]. In particular, in PLA + Vit. E samples the decrease in bacterial adhesion was of 56%, while, in the case of PLA + Vit. E Ac samples the decrease was of 40%. These preliminary data suggest that Vit. E addition to PLA containing medical devices could improve their resistance to bacterial infections

Does Forced Voting Result in Political Polarization?

This paper estimates the effects of the compulsory voting laws on individuals´ political orientations though a regression discontinuity framework. The identification comes from Brazil´s dual voting system – voluntary and compulsory – whose exposure is determined based on citizens’ dates of birth. Using self-collected data, we find that compulsory voting has sizable effects on individuals´ political preferences, making them more likely to identify with a political party and to become oriented towards ideological extremes

Contemporary lipid-lowering management and risk of cardiovascular events in homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia: insights from the Italian LIPIGEN Registry

Aims: The availability of novel lipid-lowering therapies (LLTs) has remarkably changed the clinical management of homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH). The impact of these advances was evaluated in a cohort of 139 HoFH patients followed in a real-world clinical setting. Methods and results: The clinical characteristics of 139 HoFH patients, along with information about LLTs and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels at baseline and after a median follow-up of 5 years, were retrospectively retrieved from the records of patients enrolled in the LIPid transport disorders Italian GEnetic Network-Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (LIPIGEN-FH) Registry. The annual rates of major atherosclerotic cardiovascular events (MACE-plus) during follow-up were compared before and after baseline. Additionally, the lifelong survival free from MACE-plus was compared with that of the historical LIPIGEN HoFH cohort. At baseline, LDL-C level was 332 ± 138 mg/dL. During follow-up, the potency of LLTs was enhanced and, at the last visit, 15.8% of patients were taking quadruple therapy. Consistently, LDL-C decreased to an average value of 124 mg/dL corresponding to a 58.3% reduction (Pt < 0.001), with the lowest value (∼90 mg/dL) reached in patients receiving proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors and lomitapide and/or evinacumab as add-on therapies. The average annual MACE-plus rate in the 5-year follow-up was significantly lower than that observed during the 5 years before baseline visit (21.7 vs. 56.5 per 1000 patients/year; P = 0.0016). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the combination of novel and conventional LLTs significantly improved LDL-C control with a signal of better cardiovascular prognosis in HoFH patients. Overall, these results advocate the use of intensive, multidrug LLTs to effectively manage HoFH

Target genes, variants, tissues and transcriptional pathways influencing human serum urate levels.

Elevated serum urate levels cause gout and correlate with cardiometabolic diseases via poorly understood mechanisms. We performed a trans-ancestry genome-wide association study of serum urate in 457,690 individuals, identifying 183 loci (147 previously unknown) that improve the prediction of gout in an independent cohort of 334,880 individuals. Serum urate showed significant genetic correlations with many cardiometabolic traits, with genetic causality analyses supporting a substantial role for pleiotropy. Enrichment analysis, fine-mapping of urate-associated loci and colocalization with gene expression in 47 tissues implicated the kidney and liver as the main target organs and prioritized potentially causal genes and variants, including the transcriptional master regulators in the liver and kidney, HNF1A and HNF4A. Experimental validation showed that HNF4A transactivated the promoter of ABCG2, encoding a major urate transporter, in kidney cells, and that HNF4A p.Thr139Ile is a functional variant. Transcriptional coregulation within and across organs may be a general mechanism underlying the observed pleiotropy between urate and cardiometabolic traits.The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project was supported by the Common Fund of the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and by NCI, NHGRI, NHLBI, NIDA, NIMH, and NINDS. Variant annotation was supported by software resources provided via the Caché Campus program of the InterSystems GmbH to Alexander Teumer

Ensaios em economia política

This thesis is divided into three parts. The first one evaluates the institution of compulsory vote, providing new estimates for the effects of the obligation to vote on individuals. The identification strategy relies on the Brazilian dual voting system - voluntary and compulsory - the exposure being determined by the date of birth. Using RD and IV approaches and data from a self-collected survey, we find that the compulsory legislation leads to a significant increase in voter turnout. These changes are followed by a sizable increase in the probability that individuals will express preference for a political party, but not by an increase in political knowledge among the population. Moreover, we find that the first compulsory voting experience permanently affects individuals\' preferences. The second part of the thesis empirically analyses episodes of sovereign debt default. Some of the salient features of the theoretical literature on sovereign debt, including its prediction that almost all defaults should arise in \"Bad Times\", are at odds with the data: over 38% of defaults actually occur in \"Good Times\", as measured by an HP filter. We explore the specific characteristics of each type of default and present econometric evidence that failures to repay foreign debt in good times can, usually, be rationalized by three components: (i) changes in the political environment, (ii) hikes in global interest rates and (iii) instances in which good HP times actually take place under quite poor economic conditions. We also present some suggestive indications that the duration of the episodes does not vary substantially with the type of default that precedes them, but with the environment in which they occur, drawing some important implications for the understanding of economies\' post-default market access. The third part of the thesis looks at the issue of campaign contributions in exchange for political favors (the so called \"pay-to-play\" scheme). I proposes a simple game to model the incentives of political parties and firms from public-revenue-intensive sectors, and test the implications of this model using data on campaign contributions and public contracts from Brazil. The data confirms the pay-to-play hypothesis.Esta tese se divide em três partes. A primeira parte avalia a instituição do voto compulsório, proporcionando novas estimativas para os efeitos da obrigação de votar sobre os indivíduos. A estratégia de identificação se baseia no sistema dual em vigor no Brasil - voluntário e compulsório - sendo a exposição determinada pela data de nascimento. Usando as metodologias de RD e VI, e dados de uma pesquisa coletada especificamente para este estudo, concluímos que esta legislação leva a um aumento significante na participação política através do voto. Este aumento é acompanhado por uma elevação considerável na probabilidade de os cidadãos expressarem preferência por um partido político, mas não no seu nível de conhecimento sobre política. Além disto, concluímos que a primeira experiência de voto afeta permanentemente as preferências dos indivíduos. A segunda parte da tese analisa empiricamente episódios de calote da dívida soberana. Alguns dos aspectos fundamentais da literatura teórica sobre o assunto, incluindo a previsão de que quase todos os calotes deveriam ocorrer em \"Períodos Ruins\", não são confirmados pelos dados: mais de 38% dos calotes ocorrem em \"Períodos Bons\", sob a definição do filtro HP. Exploramos as características de cada tipo de calote e apresentamos evidência econométrica de que calotes na dívida externa em períodos bons em geral podem ser explicados por três componentes: (i) mudanças no ambiente político, (ii) aumentos nas taxas de juros internacionais e (iii) instâncias em que o filtro HP classifica um período como bom ainda que a real situação econômica seja bastante negativa. Por fim, apresentamos alguns resultados que sugerem que a duração do episódio de calote não depende substancialmente do tipo de calote em questão, mas sim do ambiente em que o calote ocorre. Tal resultado abre caminho para novas pesquisas sobre o acesso a mercados internacionais de crédito após calotes. A terceira parte da tese trata da questão de contribuições de campanha em troca de favores políticos (esquema conhecido como \"pay-to-play\"). Eu proponho um jogo simples para modelar os incentivos de partidos políticos e firmas de setores intensos em receitas públicas, e testo as implicações deste modelo usando dados de doações de campanhas e contratos públicos do Brasil. Os dados confirmam a hipótese de pay-to-play

Welfare costs of taxation under sovereign default risk

Esta dissertação apresenta um modelo de equilíbrio geral dinâmico, com serviço contingente da dívida soberana, construído para analisar os impactos dos impostos sobre o bem-estar. Neste modelo, variações na estrutura tributária (oriundas de reformas) afetam o bem-estar dos agentes de forma direta, em decorrência de distorções alocativas, e também por meio de seus efeitos indiretos sobre o risco de default da dívida soberana. Avalia-se, quantitativamente, para o caso brasileiro, os custos de bem-estar associados a cada tipo de imposto. Obtém-se que a perda total de bem-estar devida aos impostos vigentes no Brasil é próxima de 19% do consumo de longo-prazo. O ranking dos tipos de imposto mostra-se robusto, seja em termos de custos de bem-estar por unidade de receita arrecadada (sob a tributação vigente), seja em termos de custos de bem-estar adicionais por unidade de receita adicional. Do mais eficiente para o menos eficiente: imposto sobre consumo, imposto sobre a remuneração do trabalho, imposto sobre a remuneração do capital. Observa-se que um aumento de receitas tributárias por meio da elevação do imposto sobre o consumo ou do imposto sobre a remuneração do trabalho pode gerar custos negativos de bem-estar. Esta possibilidade existe em economias nas quais a elasticidade da probabilidade de default da dívida com relação às receitas governamentais é suficientemente elevada, e os custos adicionais de default não são desprezíveis. Constata-se ainda que resultados perversos (no sentido de contra-intuitivos e indesejáveis) podem sobrevir a mudanças bem-intencionadas na estrutura tributária.This dissertation presents a general equilibrium model, with contingent service of sovereign debt, constructed to analyze the impacts of taxes on welfare. In this model, variations on the tax structure (originated from reforms) impact welfare directly, in the form of allocative distortions, and also through their indirect effects on the probability of default on sovereign debt. I evaluate, quantitatively, for Brazil, the welfare costs associated to each type of taxation. I find that the total welfare loss due to current taxation in Brazil is close to 19% of long-term consumption. The ranking of tax types demonstrates to be robust, both in terms of welfare costs per unit of revenue raised (under the current tax structure), and in terms of additional welfare costs per unit of additional revenue raised. From the most efficient to the least efficient: consumption tax, labor income tax, capital income tax. I observe that a growth in tax revenues through the increase in either consumption or labor income tax can generate negative welfare costs. This is a possibility in economies in which the elasticity of the probability of default in relation to the level of government revenues is high enough, and additional costs of default are substantial. I also find that perverse results (in the sense of being counter-intuitive and undesirable) may be generated by well-intentioned changes in the tax structure

Sorção de sulfentrazone em função da textura, matéria orgânica e umidade de solos

Objetivou-se determinar a sorção do herbicida sulfentrazone em três solos: Latossolo Vermelho Distroférrico - textura argilosa; Latossolo Vermelho Distrófico – textura média; e Argissolo Vermelho Amarelo distrófico - textura arenosa/média. Esses foram coletados nas profundidades 0 - 0,2 m e 0,2 - 0,4 m, a fim de diferenciar os teores de matéria orgânica. Outro fator avaliado foi a umidade do solo quando o herbicida foi aplicado. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram distribuídos em um esquema fatorial 3 (solos) x 2 (profundidades) e 3 (níveis de umidade no solo). Os três níveis de umidade no solo foram: 1) o herbicida diluído em um volume de água suficiente para umedecer 10 kg de solo seco, elevando a umidade para a capacidade de campo; 2) aplicação do herbicida diluído em um volume de água suficiente para saturar 10 kg de solo seco; 3) o herbicida aplicado em solo seco, usando micro-pipetas para produzir gotas de 10 μg, e depois de 12 h os vasos receberam água suficiente para elevarà capacidade de campo. A dose de sulfentrazone foi 0,6 kg ha-1 (1,2 L ha-1 do produto comercial Boral). Depois de 24 h e 7 dias, foi extraído a solução do solo de cada vaso. A concentração de sulfentrazone na solução do solo foi quantificada em Cromatografia Líquida de Alta Eficiência (CLAE) usando coluna C18 e detecção UV. Os pHs das soluções também foram determinados e seus valores usados para calcular a porcentagem de ionização do herbicida. As informações propiciaram o cálculo de Kd e Koc. Os valores de Kd variaram de... .The main objective of this research was to study the sulfentrazone sorption in three brazilian soils: “Latossolo Vermelho Distroférrico” an Oxisol with clay texture; “Latossolo Vermelho Distrófico” an Oxisol medium texture; and “Argissolo Vermelho Amarelo distrófico” an Entisol sandy texture. The soil samples were collected in two depth ranges: 0 – 0.2 m and 0.2 – 0.4m. The most remarkable difference between soil samples from the two depth ranges was the higher organic matter content in the surface. The experiment was designed in randomized blocks with four replications. The treatments were displaced in a factorial scheme 3 (soils) x 2 (depth ranges) x 3 (soil humidity levels). The three soil humidity levels were: 1) application of the herbicide diluted in a volume of water enough to humidify 10 kg of air dried soils up o field capacity; 2) application of the herbicide diluted in a volume of water enough to saturate 10 kg of air dried soils; 3) the herbicide was applied to air dried soil, using a micro pipette to produce droplets of 10 μL, and after 12 hours the pots received water enough to reach field capacity. The rate of sulfentrazone was 0.6 kg ha-1 (1.2 L ha-1 of the commercial product Boral). After 24 h and 7 days, it was extracted soil solution from each pot. The concentrations of sulfentrazone in the soil solutions were measured by HPLC using C18 column and UV detection. The pHs of the solutions were also assessed and the values were used to calculate the herbicide ionization percents. The information available allowed to calculate the values of Kd and Koc. The values of Kd and... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below)