Projektijohdon strateginen asema projektiorientoituneen organisaation kilpailuedun kehittämisessä. Case: Projektijohdon näkemyksiä

Lähtökohtaisesti projekti nähdään lyhyen aikavälin toimintana. Projekteilla on kuitenkin sekä strateginen että taktinen ulottuvuus. Projektiorientoituneessa organisaatiossa projektijohtaminen on sulautettu osaksi organisaation johtamisjärjestelmää. Äärimmilleen vietynä johtaminen projekteilla (engl. management by projects) tarkoittaa, että yrityksen kaikki toiminnot tuotetaan projektien kautta linjaorganisaation hallinnoidessa projektisalkkua. Linja- ja projektiorganisaation rajapinnassa projektijohdolla on oma roolinsa projektin ja linjaorganisaation välisten suhteiden hoitamisessa ja projektin onnistumisessa. Projektijohdon strategisen aseman myötä heidän roolinsa laajenee taktisesta johtamisesta strategiseen johtamiseen ja tätä kautta kilpailuetuun. Projektijohdon mahdollisuuksia osallistua kilpailuedun kehittämiseen on kuitenkin tutkittu verrattain vähän. Projektiorientoituneen organisaation malli pyrkii vastaamaan muuttuvan ympäristön luomiin haasteisiin. Staattisen kilpailuedun tarkastelusta tulisikin siirtyä lyhytaikaisten kilpailuetujen hyödyntämiseen, mikä voidaan tehdä esimerkiksi projekteissa. Tämän tutkimuksen pääongelma oli, millaisena projektijohto kokee strategisen mahdollisuutensa osallistua projektiorientoituneen organisaation pitkän aikavälin kilpailuedun kehittämiseen. Tutkimus toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena tapaustutkimuksena, jonka empiria kerättiin haastattelemalla seitsemää projektijohdon edustajaa viidestä eri yrityksestä ja eri toimialoilta. Tutkimuksen tuloksissa korostui empirian ja alan kirjallisuuden yhdenmukaisuus siinä, että projektijohto ja erityisesti projektipäälliköt näkevät oman roolinsa taktisena. Heidän työtään määritteli yksittäisen projektin johtaminen. Itse projektiorganisaation osalta koettiin kuitenkin tarpeelliseksi mahdollisuus osallistua linjaorganisaation pitkän aikavälin toiminnan kehittämiseen. Kilpailuedun kehittämiseen osallistumisen mahdollisuudet koettiin vaihtelevasti sekä hyviksi että kehnoiksi. Strategisten projektien ohella projektijohto pystyi kehittämään linjaorganisaation kilpailuetua epäsuorasti. Organisatoristen tekijöiden ohella projektijohdon strategista asemaa määrittelee se, minkälaisena henkilö itse kokee asemansa. Tämän tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella projektijohdon strategisia mahdollisuuksia hyödynnettiin puutteellisesti. Esimerkiksi tietoperusteista kilpailuetua kehitettäessä projektijohdon osaamista voitaisiin hyödyntää enemmän henkilöstö- ja kompetenssijohtamisessa. Jotta projektiorientoituneen organisaation malli voisi toimia puhtaasti ja jotta projektijohto voisi paremmin osallistua linjaorganisaation pitkän aikavälin tavoitteiden, kuten kilpailuedun, kehittämiseen, näyttäisi tämän tutkimuksen perusteella siltä, että projektijohdolla tulisi olla sama hierarkkinen asema kuin linjajohdolla.

Puheen sujuvuus 3- ja 4-vuotiailla suomenkielisillä lapsilla

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää suomenkielisten sujuvasti puhuvien 3- ja 4-vuotiaiden lasten puheen sujuvuutta sekä sitä, miten puheen sujuvuuden piirteet muuttuvat kolmen ja neljän ikävuoden välillä. Puheen sujumattomuuksia tutkittiin niiden tyyppien, määrien ja kestojen perusteella. Tutkielman aineisto koostui seitsemän tytön ja seitsemän pojan kolme- ja neljävuotiaana nauhoitetuista videonäytteistä, jotka saatiin Maarit Silvénin pitkittäistutkimuksena kerätystä aineistosta. Videonäytteistä saaduista puhenäytteistä litteroitiin ortografisesti lapsen 50 ilmaisua vähintään kahdesta erilaisesta tilanteesta. Sujumattomuudet tunnistettiin kuulonvaraisesti. Litteroiduista puhenäytteistä laskettiin sujumattomuuksien määrät sekä puhenäytteen sisältämien tavujen ja sanojen määrät. Lapsen tuottamat 50 ilmaisua vietiin Praat-tietokoneohjelmaan, jonka avulla laskettiin ilmausten kokonaispuheaikaa, sujuvan ja sujumattoman puheen osuuksia kokonaispuheajasta sekä sujumattomuuksien kestoja. Tilastolliset analyysit toteutettiin SPSS Statistics-ohjelman versiolla 22. Tutkielman tulokset antoivat viitteitä siitä, että suomenkieliset lapset olisivat hieman englanninkielisiä kolme- ja neljävuotiaita lapsia sujumattomampia sekä änkytyksenkaltaisten ja muiden sujumattomuuksien osalta että sujumattomuuksien kokonaismäärältä. Änkytyksenkaltaiset sujumattomuudet vähentyivät iän myötä muiden sujumattomuuksien ja sujumattomuuksien kokonaismäärän lisääntyessä. Määrällisesti kummassakin ikäryhmässä esiintyi eniten väli- ja täytesanoja, täyttämättömiä taukoja ja uudelleenmuotoiluja. Näiden sujumattomuustyyppien määrä myös lisääntyi iän myötä, ja ne olivat kestollisesti pisimpiä sujumattomuuksia. Rikkoontuneiden sanojen määrä oli suuri vielä kolmevuotiailla, mutta väheni neljään ikävuoteen mennessä. Tutkielman tulokset perustuvat pieneen aineistoon, joten tuloksia ei voida yleistää. Tulokset antoivat kuitenkin alustavia viitteitä siitä, että suomenkielisten lasten puheen sujuvuus ei etene kaikilta osin samalla tavoin kuin englanninkielisillä lapsilla, joiden puheen sujuvuuteen suurin osa puheen sujuvuustutkimusten tuloksista perustuu. Suomenkieliseen aineistoon perustuvaan puheen sujuvuustutkimukseen suuremmilla aineistolla on siis aihetta, jotta saadaan tietoa suomenkielisten lasten puheen sujuvuuden kehittymisestä ja suomenkieliseen aineistoon sopivia puheen sujuvuuden mittareita, joilla tyypillinen puheen sujumattomuus voidaan erottaa änkytyksestä sen varhaisessa vaiheessa.

Capacidades dinámicas que influyen en la operación de la Red de Turismo de La Candelaria

El desarrollo de la presente investigación, centra su atención en las capacidades dinámicas que influyen en la operación de la Red de Turismo de La Candelaria de Bogotá. Para este fin, se realizó una encuesta a 100 directivos o dueños de las empresas que conforman dicha red, y que es una muestra significativa para los propósitos de la investigación, puesto que permite describir a nivel de la empresa y a nivel de la red, la influencia de las capacidades dinámicas de absorción, adaptación e innovación. Como resultados, se obtuvieron que al nivel de empresas las tres capacidades dinámicas influyen en la operación de la misma, encontrándose una mayor relación entre las capacidades de “Innovación – Adaptación"; a nivel de red empresarial ocurre lo contrario, puesto que la relación de las capacidades dinámicas de “Innovación – Adaptación” es nula, mientras que las relaciones entre “Absorción – Innovación” y “Absorción – Adaptación” poseen una alta relación para la operación de la red. Lo anterior, se deriva del análisis realizado de los datos tabulados de la encuesta aplicada a las empresas de la red de turismo, con los estudios empíricos hallados que proponen escalas de medición para las capacidades dinámicas de absorción, adaptación e innovación, y el marco teórico elaborado como soporte para la presente investigación.

In vitro genotoxicity assessment of caffeic, cinnamic and ferulic acids

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Potentially modifiable predictors of mortality in patients treated with long-term oxygen therapy

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Anti-clastogenic effect of beta-glucan extracted from barley towards chemically induced DNA damage in rodent cells

beta-Glucan (BG) was tested in vitro to determine its potential clastogenic and/or anti-clastogenic activity, and attempts were made to elucidate its possible mechanism of action by using combinations with an inhibitor of DNA polymerase. The study was carried out on cells deficient (CHO-k1) and cells proficient (HTC) in phases I and II enzymes, and the DNA damage was assessed by the chromosomal aberration assay. BG did not show a clastogenic effect, but was anti-clastogenic in both cell lines used, and at all concentrations tested (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/mL) in combination with damage inducing agents (methylmethane sulfonate in cell line CHO-k1, and methylmethane sulfonate or 2-aminoanthracene in cell line HTC). BG also showed a protective effect in the presence of a DNA polymerase beta inhibitor (cytosine arabinoside-3-phosphate, Ara-C), demonstrating that BG does not act through an anti-mutagenic mechanism of action involving DNA polymerase beta.

BTEX biodegradation by bacteria from effluents of petroleum refinery

Groundwater contamination with benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) has been increasing, thus requiring an urgent development of methodologies that are able to remove or minimize the damages these compounds can cause to the environment. The biodegradation process using microorganisms has been regarded as an efficient technology to treat places contaminated with hydrocarbons, since they are able to biotransform and/or biodegrade target pollutants. To prove the efficiency of this process, besides chemical analysis, the use of biological assessments has been indicated. This work identified and selected BTEX-biodegrading microorganisms present in effluents from petroleum refinery, and evaluated the efficiency of microorganism biodegradation process for reducing genotoxic and mutagenic BTEX damage through two test-systems: Allium cepa and hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cells. Five different non-biodegraded BTEX concentrations were evaluated in relation to biodegraded concentrations. The biodegradation process was performed in a BOO Trak Apparatus (HACH) for 20 days, using microorganisms pre-selected through enrichment. Although the biodegradation usually occurs by a consortium of different microorganisms, the consortium in this study was composed exclusively of five bacteria species and the bacteria Pseudomonas putida was held responsible for the BTEX biodegradation. The chemical analyses showed that BTEX was reduced in the biodegraded concentrations. The results obtained with genotoxicity assays, carried out with both A. cepa and HTC cells, showed that the biodegradation process was able to decrease the genotoxic damages of BTEX. By mutagenic tests, we observed a decrease in damage only to the A. cepa organism. Although no decrease in mutagenicity was observed for HTC cells, no increase of this effect after the biodegradation process was observed either. The application of pre-selected bacteria in biodegradation processes can represent a reliable and effective tool in the treatment of water contaminated with BTEX mixture. Therefore, the raw petroleum refinery effluent might be a source of hydrocarbon-biodegrading microorganisms. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.A. All rights reserved.

Physiological responses of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, fed vitamin C- and lipid-supplemented diets and submitted to low-temperature stress

Water temperature alterations can determine harmful physiological modifications in fish, which should be prepared to cope with this, and nutrition strategies seem to be essential. This study evaluated the effects of different levels of vitamin C and lipids on physiological responses of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, submitted to temperature stress. There were two phases: Phase I - preparing fish to store vitamin C and lipid at appropriate temperature, and Phase II - evaluating the contributions these reserves make to fish physiology under low-temperature stress. The experiment used a 3 x 2 factorial design with three vitamin C levels (300, 600, and 1200 mg/kg diet) and two lipid levels (8.0 and 12.0%), plus absence of nutrient test and a diet of 6.0% lipids and 125.0 mg/kg vitamin C. In Phase I, 192 fish were kept at 26.0 +/- 1.0 C for 112 d, and in Phase II, 48 fish were kept at 18.0 +/- 0.5 C for 32 d and at 15.0 +/- 0.5 C for 11 d. Fish fed C0L0 diet showed lower erythrocytes values in both phases; higher vitamin C supplement determined higher red blood cell (RBC) number and higher hematocrit (Htc) (Phase II); Htc was significantly lower in Phase II; after temperature stress, fish fed C0L0 diet had higher mean corpuscular volume, lower hemoglobin corpuscular concentration, and significantly lower vitamin C concentration in the liver; and higher supplementation determined a higher concentration in the liver (Phases I and II). Higher plasmatic cortisol concentration was seen in fish fed C0L0 diet. In conclusion, our results show that the absence of vitamin C in diets impairs RBC formation and does not enable fish to cope with stress; excess vitamin C is efficient in mitigating stress and 600 mg/kg diet is economic and physiologically sufficient to prepare fish for coping with low-temperature stress. Lipid supplementation does not determine alterations in stress biochemical parameters.

Anticlastogenic activity of aqueous extract of Agaricus blazei in drug-metabolizing cells (HTCs) during cell cycle

The mushroom Agaricus blazei has been extensively investigated because of evidence of its antimutagenic, antitumor, and anticarcinogenic activities. This study investigated the clastogenic and/or anticlastogenic activity of aqueous extract of Agaricus blazei (10% w/v) in drug-metabolizing rat hepatoma tissue cells (HTCs), with continuous treatment and treatment during different phases of the cell cycle. DNA damage was induced utilizing two directacting agents-methyl methane sulfonate and ethyl methane sulfonate-and two indirect-acting agents-2-aminoanthracene and cyclophosphamide. The aqueous extract of A. blazei with either continuous treatment or treatment during different phases of the cell cycle showed clastogenic activity. The results with continuous treatment showed that A. blazei does not protect against DNA damage-inducing agents that are direct acting. Meanwhile, when combined with indirect-acting agents, a protective effect was demonstrated. A protective effect was also found during different phases of the cell cycle when cells were treated with indirect-acting agents. The protective effects against indirect-acting agents (continuous treatment and during the different phases of the cell cycle) suggest that A. blazei may provide some health benefits to the public when used as a functional food.

In Vitro Evaluation of the Genotoxic Activity and Apoptosis Induction of the Extracts of Roots and Leaves from the Medicinal Plant Coccoloba mollis (Polygonaceae)

Coccoloba mollis (Family Polygonaceae) is a medicinal plant popularly used in cases of memory loss, stress, insomnia, anemia, impaired vision, and sexual impotence, but the scientific literature, to date, lacks studies on the biological effects of this species, particularly with regard to cytotoxicity and induction of DNA damage. The aim of the present study was to assess in vitro (in hepatic HTC cells) ethanolic extracts of the roots and leaves of C. mollis for cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and induction of apoptosis. For these evaluations the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assay, comet assay, micronucleus test with cytokinesis block, and an in situ test for detection of apoptotic cells with acridine orange staining were used. The results showed that the extract obtained from the roots of C. mollis is more cytotoxic than that obtained from the leaves and that the reduction in cell viability observed in the MTT assay was a result, at least in part, from the induction of apoptosis. Both extracts induced DNA damage at a concentration of 20 mu g/mL in the comet assay, but no genotoxicity was detected with any of the treatments carried out in the micronucleus test.

In vitro metabolism effect on genotoxicity and antigenotoxicity of Agaricus blazei organics and aqueous extracts by the comet assay

There is high interest in the natural products properties due to their use in popular medicine. Agaricus blazei Murrill ss. Heinem. (Ab) is native to Brazil and has been widely disseminated because its medicinal properties. In the present study, the genotoxic and antigenotoxic potential of Ab extracts were investigated using the comet assay. The cells utilized were the non drug-metabolizing line CHO-k1 (Chinese hamster ovary) and the drug-metabolizing line HTC (rat hepatoma). Cells were treated for 3 h in the absence of fetal bovain serum (FBS) with methanolic, hexanic and n-butanolic extracts at 50 μg/ml and 0.75% aqueous extract to test for genotoxicity. Antigenotoxic effects of extracts were determined in cells exposed to the DNA damage inducing agent ethyl methanesulfonate under simultaneous or simultaneous with 1 h pre-incubation conditions. The extracts did not show genotoxicity in HTC, while they were genotoxic in CHO-k1. No antigenotoxic effect was observed with any extract under any condition. These results demonstrate that the metabolism in presence or in absence has a direct influence on the genotoxicity of these extracts. © 2006 The Japan Mendel Society.

Anticlastogenic effect of β-glucan, extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, on cultured cells exposed to ultraviolet radiation

β-glucan is an important polysaccharide due to its medicinal properties of stimulating the immune system and preventing chronic diseases such as cancer. The aim of the present study was to determine the anticlastogenic effect of β-glucan in cells exposed to ultraviolet radiation (UV). Chromosome aberration assay was performed in drug-metabolizing cells (HTC) and non drug-metabolizing cells (CHO-K1 and repair-deficient CHO-xrs5), using different treatment protocols. Continuous treatment (UV + β-glucan) was not effective in reducing the DNA damage only in CHO-xrs5 cells. However, the pre-treatment protocol (β-glucan before UV exposition) was effective in reducing DNA damage only in CHO-K1 cells. In post-treatment (β-glucan after UV exposition) did not show significative anticlastogenic effects, although there was a tendency toward prevention. The data suggest that β-glucan has more than one action mechanism, being capable of exerting desmutagenic as well as bio-antimutagenic action. The findings also suggest that the presence of the xenobiotic metabolizing system can reduce the chemopreventive capacity of β-glucan. Therefore, these results indicate that β-glucan from Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be used in the prevention and/or reduction of DNA damage. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Application of micronucleus test and comet assay to evaluate BTEX biodegradation

The BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) mixture is an environmental pollutant that has a high potential to contaminate water resources, especially groundwater. The bioremediation process by microorganisms has often been used as a tool for removing BTEX from contaminated sites. The application of biological assays is useful in evaluating the efficiency of bioremediation processes, besides identifying the toxicity of the original contaminants. It also allows identifying the effects of possible metabolites formed during the biodegradation process on test organisms. In this study, we evaluated the genotoxic and mutagenic potential of five different BTEX concentrations in rat hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cells, using comet and micronucleus assays, before and after biodegradation. A mutagenic effect was observed for the highest concentration tested and for its respective non-biodegraded concentration. Genotoxicity was significant for all non-biodegraded concentrations and not significant for the biodegraded ones. According to our results, we can state that BTEX is mutagenic at concentrations close to its water solubility, and genotoxic even at lower concentrations, differing from some described results reported for the mixture components, when tested individually. Our results suggest a synergistic effect for the mixture and that the biodegradation process is a safe and efficient methodology to be applied at BTEX-contaminated sites. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of (-)-cubebin (Piper cubeba) on cytotoxicity, mutagenicity and expression of p38 MAP kinase and GSTa2 in a hepatoma cell line

(-)-Cubebin is a lignan extracted from the seeds of the pepper Piper cubeba, a commonly eaten spice with beneficial properties, including trypanocidal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-proliferative and leishmanicidal activities. Because of its therapeutic potential, we investigated the effects of (-)-cubebin on the cytotoxicity, cell proliferation kinetics, mutagenicity and expression of p38 MAP kinase and glutathione S-transferase a2 (GSTa2) using real-time RT-PCR in Rattus norvegicus hepatoma cells. We found that 280 μM (-)-cubebin was cytotoxic after 24, 48 and 72. h of exposure, but not mutagenic at 0.28 μM, 2.8 μM and 28 μM after 26. h. Similarly, exposure to 0.28 μM, 2.8 μM and 28 μM (-)-cubebin for 24, 48, 72 and 96. h did not alter the cell proliferation kinetics. Cells exposed to 28 μM (-)-cubebin for 24. h did not exhibit changes in p38 MAP kinase and GSTa2 expression, indicating that cellular changes were not induced by extracellular stimuli and that (-)-cubebin is likely not metabolized via this pathway. Our results suggest that high levels of (-)-cubebin should be consumed with caution due to the cytotoxic effect observed at the highest concentration. However, at lower concentrations, no cytotoxic, mutagenic or proliferative effects were observed, providing further evidence of the safety of consuming (-)-cubebin. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Análise dos efeitos citotóxicos, genotóxicos e mutagênicos do inseticida malation, utilizando os sistemas teste de Allium cepa e células de mamíferos

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)