Marketing research, a succes factor for an entrepreneur

The aim of our paper is to emphasize the importance of partnership in the case of a small business. Being one of the main features of the marketing strategy, marketing research is often perceived as a feature of big companies, involving huge effort of people and budget. In the case of an entrepreneur, “condemned” to run the business on his own, the need for networking is one of the most important function in order to reach substantial benefits. In this respect, we have designed a case to express the positive effects of collaboration with experts in the case of marketing research in order to increase the value of decision in customer satisfaction and positioning.entrepreneurship, marketing research, small business administration

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348

The Influence of Social Networks in Travel Decisions

Abstract Social networks are not the same as they were 10 years ago. Now, in addition to the role of “socialization”, their basic role, marketing has also intervened. Marketing can be defined as the art of identifying and satisfying customer needs while producing profit. Nowadays, through social media marketing, a company can promote itself or present products and services very easily, while being able to target exactly the desired people, which translates into making more profit. Our paper provides arguments on the influence of social media in travel decisions, and it’s based on a study of consumer behaviour in this field. The study began from our interest in the way social networks influence our personal decision to travel, to visit a certain area or a certain landmark, so we wanted to find out more information about how this “hypnosis” works. The main hypothesis of the study was that people are influenced by social networks in their travel decisions and according to the results, the hypothesis was confirmed. 91.35% of the total participants in the study were tempted to travel because of a photo seen on a social network, therefore, a good social marketing campaign could really make a difference in travel decisions.</jats:p

Hybrid Data-Driven Models for Hydrological Simulation and Projection on the Catchment Scale

Changes in streamflow within catchments can have a significant impact on agricultural production, as soil moisture loss, as well as frequent drying and wetting, may have an effect on the nutrient availability of many soils. In order to predict future changes and explore the impact of different scenarios, machine learning techniques have been used recently in the hydrological sector for simulation streamflow. This paper compares the use of four different models, namely artificial neural networks (ANNs), support vector machine regression (SVR), wavelet-ANN, and wavelet-SVR as surrogate models for a geophysical hydrological model to simulate the long-term daily water level and water flow in the River Shannon hydrological system in Ireland. The performance of the models has been tested for multi-lag values and for forecasting both short- and long-term time scales. For simulating the water flow of the catchment hydrological system, the SVR-based surrogate model performs best overall. Regarding modeling the water level on the catchment scale, the hybrid model wavelet-ANN performs the best among all the constructed models. It is shown that the data-driven methods are useful for exploring hydrological changes in a large multi-station catchment, with low computational cost.</jats:p

Efficacy and safety of talazoparib (TALA) or physician's choice of therapy (PCT) in United States patients (pts) with HER2- germline BRCA1/2-mutated (gBRCAm) locally advanced/metastatic breast cancer (LA/MBC) in the EMBRACA study.

1044 Background: TALA is a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor approved in the US for HER2- g BRCAm LA/MBC. Approval was based on results from the Phase 3 EMBRACA trial comparing efficacy/safety of TALA (1 mg/d) to PCT (capecitabine, eribulin, gemcitabine, vinorelbine) in HER2- g BRCAm LA/MBC pts. This analysis describes outcomes in US pts included in the pivotal study. Methods: Clinical findings from US pts enrolled in EMBRACA were analyzed. Pt characteristics, progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), clinical benefit rate (CBR), and safety/adverse events (AEs) were among the parameters assessed. Results: Of 431 randomized pts, 156 pts (36%) were from the US (TALA: 99; PCT: 57). Pt characteristics were balanced, although a higher percentage in the TALA arm had more poor prognostic features (eg, triple-negative breast cancer, disease-free interval &lt; 12 mo, and more disease sites). TALA improved PFS, ORR, CBR, and duration of response (DOR) vs PCT (Table). 22% of pts in the TALA arm had a continued objective response at month 12 vs 0 pts in the PCT arm. The most common AEs in the TALA arm included anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, fatigue, nausea, alopecia, and headache; hematologic grade 3/4 AEs occurred more often than nonhematologic AEs. Conclusions: In US pts with HER2- g BRCAm LA/MBC, TALA demonstrated significant improvements in outcomes vs PCT with a manageable safety profile. Clinical trial information: NCT01945775. [Table: see text] </jats:p

Outcomes of talazoparib (TALA) versus physician's choice of chemotherapy (PCT) in patients (pts) with advanced breast cancer (ABC) and a germline BRCA (gBRCA) mutation by line of chemotherapy (CT) in the EMBRACA trial.

1071 Background: The PARP inhibitor TALA was approved in the US for treatment of g BRCA-mutated ABC based in part on the EMBRACA study. Understanding the outcomes of EMBRACA pts relative to prior CT is a current unmet need. Methods: EMBRACA was a randomized Phase 3 trial comparing TALA 1 mg daily vs PCT (capecitabine, eribulin, gemcitabine, vinorelbine) in g BRCA-mutated ABC. Clinical outcomes were assessed by line of prior CT for ABC in intent-to-treat (ITT), triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), and hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer cohorts. Results: 431 pts were randomized (ITT; TALA 287; PCT: 144). TALA was generally more effective than PCT across efficacy endpoints regardless of line of CT (Table). For the ITT population, TALA improved progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) vs PCT for each line of CT assessed. Other prespecified subgroups (TNBC and HR+) will be presented. Conclusions: In pts with g BRCA-mutated ABC, TALA demonstrated improvements in clinical outcomes compared with PCT regardless of prior lines of CT. Clinical trial information: NCT01945775. [Table: see text] </jats:p

Efficacy and safety of talazoparib (TALA) or physician's choice of therapy (PCT) in United States patients (pts) with HER2- germline BRCA1/2-mutated (gBRCAm) locally advanced/metastatic breast cancer (LA/MBC) in the EMBRACA study

1044 Background: TALA is a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor approved in the US for HER2- g BRCAm LA/MBC. Approval was based on results from the Phase 3 EMBRACA trial comparing efficacy/safety of TALA (1 mg/d) to PCT (capecitabine, eribulin, gemcitabine, vinorelbine) in HER2- g BRCAm LA/MBC pts. This analysis describes outcomes in US pts included in the pivotal study. Methods: Clinical findings from US pts enrolled in EMBRACA were analyzed. Pt characteristics, progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), clinical benefit rate (CBR), and safety/adverse events (AEs) were among the parameters assessed. Results: Of 431 randomized pts, 156 pts (36%) were from the US (TALA: 99; PCT: 57). Pt characteristics were balanced, although a higher percentage in the TALA arm had more poor prognostic features (eg, triple-negative breast cancer, disease-free interval < 12 mo, and more disease sites). TALA improved PFS, ORR, CBR, and duration of response (DOR) vs PCT (Table). 22% of pts in the TALA arm had a continued objective response at month 12 vs 0 pts in the PCT arm. The most common AEs in the TALA arm included anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, fatigue, nausea, alopecia, and headache; hematologic grade 3/4 AEs occurred more often than nonhematologic AEs. Conclusions: In US pts with HER2- g BRCAm LA/MBC, TALA demonstrated significant improvements in outcomes vs PCT with a manageable safety profile. Clinical trial information: NCT01945775. [Table: see text

Morbidity and mortality after anaesthesia in early life: results of the European prospective multicentre observational study, neonate and children audit of anaesthesia practice in Europe (NECTARINE)

Background: Neonates and infants requiring anaesthesia are at risk of physiological instability and complications, but triggers for peri-anaesthetic interventions and associations with subsequent outcome are unknown. Methods: This prospective, observational study recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. The primary aim was to identify thresholds of pre-determined physiological variables that triggered a medical intervention. The secondary aims were to evaluate morbidities, mortality at 30 and 90 days, or both, and associations with critical events. Results: Infants (n=5609) born at mean (standard deviation [sd]) 36.2 (4.4) weeks postmenstrual age (35.7% preterm) underwent 6542 procedures within 63 (48) days of birth. Critical event(s) requiring intervention occurred in 35.2% of cases, mainly hypotension (&gt;30% decrease in blood pressure) or reduced oxygenation (SpO2 &lt;85%). Postmenstrual age influenced the incidence and thresholds for intervention. Risk of critical events was increased by prior neonatal medical conditions, congenital anomalies, or both (relative risk [RR]=1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04-1.28) and in those requiring preoperative intensive support (RR=1.27; 95% CI, 1.15-1.41). Additional complications occurred in 16.3% of patients by 30 days, and overall 90-day mortality was 3.2% (95% CI, 2.7-3.7%). Co-occurrence of intraoperative hypotension, hypoxaemia, and anaemia was associated with increased risk of morbidity (RR=3.56; 95% CI, 1.64-7.71) and mortality (RR=19.80; 95% CI, 5.87-66.7). Conclusions: Variability in physiological thresholds that triggered an intervention, and the impact of poor tissue oxygenation on patient's outcome, highlight the need for more standardised perioperative management guidelines for neonates and infants