Analysis of the innovation value chain in strategic projects of the Brazilian Army

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare seven case studies of strategic innovation projects of the Brazilian army; these projects present high transformational potential and high investments and are supported by technology and science policies. Design/methodology/approach – The authors present herein multiple case studies in which the authors conduct a documentary analysis of the innovation processes in the Brazilian army, as well as semi-structured interviews conducted with eight servicemen with more than 15 years of working experience. Findings – The results obtained suggest that the innovation process occurs in four stages: creation, selection, development and diffusion of ideas. Practical implications – The research is relevant because it presents how the interaction between the Brazilian army, companies and academia strengthens the innovation ecosystem, stimulating the development of best practices for the management of strategic projects. Originality/value – The main contribution of this study is to present the strategic project management of innovation based on public policies and investment in projects of the Brazilian army, which are drivers for the development of ecosystems that promote the creation and expansion of companies, the diffusion of technological knowledge in universities, and suitable solutions for the military sector

Knowledge management in transnational organizations: the organizational environment as a scatter instrument

National economies are gradually opening wide for international trade; this trend compels organizations, mainly the internationalized ones, to be more prepared to effectively and efficiently compete worldwide. In this context, the goal of this study was to identify and describe strategies and practices which promote knowledge flows within an international organization that holds its headquarter in a developed country and subsidiaries in developing countries. Methodological procedures include the explicit examination of codified information between subsidiaries units, through interviews and document analysis, in order to capture the tacit dimension in the causal maps that were made. Main results show an organizational strategy focused on the continuous stimuli to the construction of an organizational environment, embedded with solicitude between knowledge senders and receivers, and with a formal information management that supports knowledge exchanges and flows in a worldwide context

Tecnologias de informação e comunicação na oferta de serviços financeiros para a população de baixa renda: os correspondentes bancários do Banco Lemon

Bancos brasileiros têm desenvolvido iniciativas inovadoras para levar serviços financeiros à população de baixa renda por meio de correspondentes bancários (CBs). O Banco Lemon é um caso interessante a ser investigado, pois implantou um modelo de negócios exclusivamente baseado no uso de CBs e focado nos clientes de baixa renda. Este artigo descreve o processo de adoção da tecnologia de CBs no Banco Lemon para ofertar serviços financeiros para a população de baixa renda, fazendo um resgate histórico das suas atividades, desde sua criação até o ano de 2009. O artigo também discute o relativo sucesso do banco na operação de serviços de arrecadação e os resultados pouco expressivos nas iniciativas de concessão de crédito.Brazilian banks have developed innovative initiatives to deliver financial services for the low-income population through correspondent banking (CB). Banco Lemon is such an interesting case to be studied because it has implemented a business model based exclusively on CB outlets and its focus was on low-income clients. This paper describes Banco Lemon's adoption process of the CB technology to deliver financial services for the low-income population, promoting a historical description of the bank's activities, since its creation and up to the year 2009. Eventually, this paper concludes that bill payment initiatives were successful while credit initiatives led to unexpressive outcomes

MIOPIAS DE UMA LENTE DE AUMENTO: AS LIMITAÇÕES DA ANÁLISE DE DOCUMENTOS NO ESTUDO DAS ORGANIZAÇÕES

As publicações nacionais na área da Administração, muitas vezes, recorrem ao estudo de caso como estratégia metodológica para a pesquisa de campo, que comumente apoiam-se na tríade: entrevista, observação e análise de documentos. Destas, foca-se, especificamente, na análise de documentos, a fim de se incrementar o rigor desse método de coleta de informações. Diante disso, o intuito da presente discussão é identificar as limitações da análise de documentos nos estudos das organizações, a fim de advertir os pesquisadores sobre os riscos existentes, para que uma pesquisa sob esse método detenha o rigor adequado. É importante entender que o processo de análise de documentos não é único, sendo complemento ou complementado por outros métodos coleta de dados. Por isso, uma análise de documentos com maior rigor exige atividades prévias por parte do pesquisador. Essas atividades envolvem reflexões e compreensão do pesquisador sobre: (1) o contexto social; (2) o indivíduo escritor do documento; (3) a elaboração do documento por parte do escritor; (4) a leitura do texto do documento; (5) o leitor; (6) o documento per se. A partir dessa sistemática, o pesquisador pode se deparar com os seguintes problemas: (a) contexto social ao qual o documento foi elaborado; (b) conhecimento prévio que o pesquisador pode deter para abstrair maiores informações do documento; (c) conteúdo preestabelecido, que limita a percepção do pesquisador quanto ao conteúdo do documento; (d) retórica contida no documento, que pode enviesar a interpretação da realidade da organização; (e) documento como fonte única de dados, que estabelece que o documento pode ser complementado por outros métodos de coleta de dados. A falta de preparo e de atenção em relação a todos esses elementos pode comprometer a compreensão da estrutura do documento e, principalmente, do seu conteúdo e discurso. Com essas precauções, acredita-se que os pesquisadores possam levantar com maior rigor informações empíricas por meio de análises documentais

Overexpressing IRS1 in Endothelial Cells Enhances Angioblast Differentiation and Wound Healing in Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

The effect of enhancing insulin’s actions in endothelial cells (ECs) to improve angiogenesis and wound healing was studied in obesity and diabetes. Insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) was overexpressed in ECs using the VE-cadherin promoter to create ECIRS1 TG mice, which elevated pAkt activation and expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Flk1, and VE-cadherin in ECs and granulation tissues (GTs) of full-thickness wounds. Open wound and epithelialization rates and angiogenesis significantly improved in normal mice and high fat (HF) diet–induced diabetic mice with hyperinsulinemia in ECIRS1 TG versus wild type (WT), but not in insulin-deficient diabetic mice. Increased angioblasts and EC numbers in GT of ECIRS1 mice were due to proliferation in situ rather than uptake. GT in HF-fed diabetic mice exhibited parallel decreases in insulin and VEGF-induced pAkt and EC numbers by >50% without changes in angioblasts versus WT mice, which were improved in ECIRS1 TG mice on normal chow or HF diet. Thus, HF-induced diabetes impaired angiogenesis by inhibiting insulin signaling in GT to decrease the differentiation of angioblasts to EC, which was normalized by enhancing insulin’s action targeted to EC, a potential target to improve wound healing in diabetes and obesity

Metastasis to the gluteus maximus muscle from renal cell carcinoma with special emphasis on MRI features

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The skeletal muscle is an unusual site for metastasis from renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Metastatic RCC must be differentiated from benign primary soft-tissue tumors because aggressive surgical resection is necessary.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present the case of a 65-year-old man with metastatic RCC in the gluteus maximus muscle (3.8 cm in diameter) found on enhanced computed tomography (CT) 6 years after nephrectomy. Retrospectively, the small mass (1 cm in diameter) was overlooked 5 years earlier on enhanced CT. Because the growth of the lesion was slow, benign tumor was a differential diagnosis. However, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed that the mass had high-signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images (WIs) compared to that of skeletal muscle, with mild enhancement by Gadolinium. The MRI features were unusual for most soft-tissue tumors having low-signal intensity on T1-WI and high-signal intensity on T2-WI. Therefore, under a diagnosis of metastatic RCC, the lesion was resected together with the surrounding skeletal muscle. The histology was confirmed to be metastatic RCC.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>MRI features of metastatic RCC may be beneficial in differentiating it from primary soft-tissue tumor.</p

The immunoreceptor adapter protein DAP12 suppresses B lymphocyte–driven adaptive immune responses

Human and mouse B cells lacking functional DAP12 are hyperresponsive, and DAP12 works with MAIR-II (CD300d) to negatively regulate B cell activity

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) mRNA expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and non-cancerous liver tissue

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) regulates lipid metabolism in the liver. It is unclear, however, how this receptor changes in liver cancer tissue. On the other hand, mouse carcinogenicity studies showed that PPARα is necessary for the development of liver cancer induced by peroxisome proliferators, and the relationship between PPARα and the development of liver cancer have been the focus of considerable attention. There have been no reports, however, demonstrating that PPARα is involved in the development of human liver cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects were 10 patients who underwent hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma. We assessed the expression of PPARα mRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and non-cancerous tissue, as well as the expression of target genes of PPARα, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A and cyclin D1 mRNAs. We also evaluated glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, a key enzyme in the glycolytic system.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The amounts of PPARα, carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA in cancerous sections were significantly increased compared to those in non-cancerous sections. The level of cyclin D1 mRNA tends to be higher in cancerous than non-cancerous sections. Although there was a significant correlation between the levels of PPARα mRNA and cyclin D1 mRNA in both sections, however the correlation was higher in cancerous sections.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present investigation indicated increased expression of PPARα mRNA and mRNAs for PPARα target genes in human hepatocellular carcinoma. These results might be associated with its carcinogenesis and characteristic features of energy production.</p