Corporate Culture: a key to stimulate innovation

The continual and increasingly accelerated changes in the market -boosted by structural processes such as globalization, the opening of markets and the growing customers’ demand- constantly raises the competitive requirements that companies must face. Likewise, the uncertainties, risks and threats that this context poses urge firms to seek new strategies in order to survive and succeed. In this search, innovation emerges as a key tool, capable of boosting and maintaining levels of competitiveness. The main hypothesis of this work is that the development of an appropriate business culture is a valid alternative to stimulate innovative performance within companies. One of the fundamental conclusions of this study is that those companies which have not yet found a way to develop innovation have a disadvantage compared to others in the world. That is why it is necessary to develop entrepreneurial cultures that favor the creation and commercial exploitation of novel ideas capable of generating sustainable competitive advantages. As a result, leaders must take the responsibility of setting new behaviors and managerial practices. The study is exploratory-descriptive, with a qualitative methodology. It was based on the bibliographical revision of specialists on the subject

Coastal Observations of Weather Features in Senegal during the AMMA SOP-3 Period

During 15 August through 30 September 2006, ground and aircraft measurements were obtained from a multi-national group of students and scientists in Senegal. Key measurements were aimed at investigating and understanding precipitation processes, thermodynamic and dynamic environmental conditions, cloud, aerosol and microphysical processes and spaceborne sensors (TRMM, CloudSat/Calipso) validation. Ground and aircraft instruments include: ground based polarimetric radar, disdrometer measurements, a course and a high-density rain gauge network, surface chemical measurements, a 10 m flux tower, broadband IR, solar and microwave measurements, rawinsonde and radiosonde measurements, FA-20 dropsonde, in situ microphysics and cloud radar measurements. Highlights during SOP3 include ground and aircraft measurements of squall lines, African Easterly Waves (AEWs), Saharan Air Layer advances into Senegal, and aircraft measurements of AEWs -- including the perturbation that became Hurricane Isaac

Transcription factor TFCP2L1 patterns cells in the mouse kidney collecting ducts

Although most nephron segments contain one type of epithelial cell, the collecting ducts consists of at least two: intercalated (IC) and principal (PC) cells, which regulate acid-base and salt-water homeostasis, respectively. In adult kidneys, these cells are organized in rosettes suggesting functional interactions. Genetic studies in mouse revealed that transcription factor Tfcp2l1 coordinates IC and PC development. Tfcp2l1 induces the expression of IC specific genes, including specific H(+)-ATPase subunits and Jag1. Jag1 in turn, initiates Notch signaling in PCs but inhibits Notch signaling in ICs. Tfcp2l1 inactivation deletes ICs, whereas Jag1 inactivation results in the forfeiture of discrete IC and PC identities. Thus, Tfcp2l1 is a critical regulator of IC-PC patterning, acting cell-autonomously in ICs, and non-cell-autonomously in PCs. As a result, Tfcp2l1 regulates the diversification of cell types which is the central characteristic of 'salt and pepper' epithelia and distinguishes the collecting duct from all other nephron segments

Exposure to Maternal Diabetes Induces Salt-Sensitive Hypertension and Impairs Renal Function in Adult Rat Offspring

OBJECTIVE—Epidemiological and experimental studies have led to the hypothesis of fetal origin of adult diseases, suggesting that some adult diseases might be determined before birth by altered fetal development. We have previously demonstrated in the rat that in utero exposure to maternal diabetes impairs renal development leading to a reduction in nephron number. Little is known on the long-term consequences of in utero exposure to maternal diabetes. The aim of the study was to assess, in the rat, long-term effects of in utero exposure to maternal diabetes on blood pressure and renal function in adulthood

The naked truth: a comprehensive clarification and classification of current 'myths' in naked mole-rat biology.

The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) has fascinated zoologists for at least half a century. It has also generated considerable biomedical interest not only because of its extraordinary longevity, but also because of unusual protective features (e.g. its tolerance of variable oxygen availability), which may be pertinent to several human disease states, including ischemia/reperfusion injury and neurodegeneration. A recent article entitled 'Surprisingly long survival of premature conclusions about naked mole-rat biology' described 28 'myths' which, those authors claimed, are a 'perpetuation of beautiful, but falsified, hypotheses' and impede our understanding of this enigmatic mammal. Here, we re-examine each of these 'myths' based on evidence published in the scientific literature. Following Braude et al., we argue that these 'myths' fall into four main categories: (i) 'myths' that would be better described as oversimplifications, some of which persist solely in the popular press; (ii) 'myths' that are based on incomplete understanding, where more evidence is clearly needed; (iii) 'myths' where the accumulation of evidence over the years has led to a revision in interpretation, but where there is no significant disagreement among scientists currently working in the field; (iv) 'myths' where there is a genuine difference in opinion among active researchers, based on alternative interpretations of the available evidence. The term 'myth' is particularly inappropriate when applied to competing, evidence-based hypotheses, which form part of the normal evolution of scientific knowledge. Here, we provide a comprehensive critical review of naked mole-rat biology and attempt to clarify some of these misconceptions

Corporate culture : a key to stimulate innovation

Abstract: The continual and increasingly accelerated changes in the market boosted by structural processes such as globalization, the opening of markets and the growing customers’ demand- constantly raises the competitive requirements that companies must face. Likewise, the uncertainties, risks and threats that this context poses urge firms to seek new strategies in order to survive and succeed. In this search, innovation emerges as a key tool, capable of boosting and maintaining levels of competitiveness. The main hypothesis of this work is that the development of an appropriate business culture is a valid alternative to stimulate innovative performance within companies. One of the fundamental conclusions of this study is that those companies which have not yet found a way to develop innovation have a disadvantage compared to others in the world. That is why it is necessary to develop entrepreneurial cultures that favor the creation and commercial exploitation of novel ideas capable of generating sustainable competitive advantages. As a result, leaders must take the responsibility of setting new behaviors and managerial practices. The study is exploratory-descriptive, with a qualitative methodology. It was based on the bibliographical revision of specialists on the subject

Corporate Culture: a key to stimulate innovation

The continual and increasingly accelerated changes in the market -boosted by structural processes such as globalization, the opening of markets and the growing customers’ demand- constantly raises the competitive requirements that companies must face. Likewise, the uncertainties, risks and threats that this context poses urge firms to seek new strategies in order to survive and succeed. In this search, innovation emerges as a key tool, capable of boosting and maintaining levels of competitiveness. The main hypothesis of this work is that the development of an appropriate business culture is a valid alternative to stimulate innovative performance within companies. One of the fundamental conclusions of this study is that those companies which have not yet found a way to develop innovation have a disadvantage compared to others in the world. That is why it is necessary to develop entrepreneurial cultures that favor the creation and commercial exploitation of novel ideas capable of generating sustainable competitive advantages. As a result, leaders must take the responsibility of setting new behaviors and managerial practices. The study is exploratory-descriptive, with a qualitative methodology. It was based on the bibliographical revision of specialists on the subject

Developing an innovative culture in Argentinean SME

Innovation has become a game changer in the competitive and social arenas, capable of boosting and maintaining the highest competitive levels. In this sense, the innovative business culture -a particular intangible asset- is shown as a sufficient condition to develop difficult-to-imitate and sustainable competitive advantages, and a key challenge that companies’ executives have today. In addition, SME are scattered all over the planet and represent a fundamental driver for economic growth and social development, especially in Argentina. The hypothesis of this work –which was corroborated- is that if an adequate innovative business culture is developed, it is feasible to promote an innovative performance improvement. As a result, one of the main findings of this study –a follow on of some previous ones- is that an innovative culture provides identity, generates commitment and facilitates control, stimulating innovative performance and proposing competitive advantages. Specifically, the studied Argentinean SME environment has shown some difficulty in order to exploit novel ideas and promote this kind of culture. It has been verified that the managerial role could be improved as it was limited due to different inhibitors that are pointed out in this work, and that novel avenues should be found to benefit more people of our society. The study is exploratory-descriptive, with a qualitative methodology. It is supported with a bibliographical and an empirical analysis

Performance of a rain retrieval algorithm using TRMM data in the Eastern Mediterranean.

International audiencehis study aims to make a regional characterization of the performance of the rain retrieval algorithm BRAIN. This algorithm estimates the rain rate from brightness temperatures measured by the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) onboard the TRMM satellite. In this stage of the study, a comparison between the rain estimated from Precipitation Radar (PR) onboard TRMM (2A25 version 5) and the rain retrieved by the BRAIN algorithm is presented, for about 30 satellite overpasses over the Central and Eastern Mediterranean during the period October 2003–March 2004, in order to assess the behavior of the algorithm in the Eastern Mediterranean region. BRAIN was built and tested using PR rain estimates distributed randomly over the whole TRMM sampling region. Characterization of the differences between PR and BRAIN over a specific region is thus interesting because it might show some local trend for one or the other of the instrument.The checking of BRAIN results against the PR rain-estimate appears to be consistent with former results i.e. a somewhat marked discrepancy for the highest rain rates. This difference arises from a known problem that affect rain retrieval based on passive microwave radiometers measurements, but some of the higher radar rain rates could also be questioned.As an independent test, a good correlation between the rain retrieved by BRAIN and lighting data (obtained by the UK Met. Office long range detection system) is also emphasized in the paper