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A need for new therapeutic approaches are necessary for dementia conditions and memory deficits of different origins, such as Alzheimer's disease. There is complex pathophysiological mechanisms involved, affecting adult hippocampal neurogenesis, in which neuropeptides and its neurogenesis regulation seem to participate. Neuropeptide Y(NPY) Y1 receptor (Y1R) and galanin (GAL) receptor 2 (GALR2) interact in brain regions responsible for learning and memory processes, emphasizing the hippocampus. Moreover, a significant challenge for treatments involving peptide drugs is bypassing the blood-brain barrier. The current study assesses the sustained memory performance induced by GALR2 and NPYY1R agonists intranasal coadministration and their neurochemical hippocampal correlates. Memory retrieval was conducted in the object-in-place task together with in situ proximity ligation assay (PLA) to manifest the formation of GALR2/Y1R heteroreceptor complexes and their dynamics under the different treatments. We evaluated cell proliferation through a 5-Bromo-2’-deoxyuridine (BrdU) expression study within the dentate gyrus of the dorsal hippocampus. The GalR2 agonist M1145 was demonstrated to act with the Y1R agonist to improve memory retrieval at 24 hours in the object-in-place task. Our data show that the intranasal administration is a feasible technique for directly delivering Galanin or Neuropeptide Y compounds into CNS. Moreover, we observed the ability of the co-agonist treatment to enhance the cell proliferation in the DG of the dorsal hippocampus through 5- Bromo-2’-deoxyuridine (BrdU) expression analysis at 24 hours. The understanding of the cellular mechanisms was achieved by analyzing the GALR2/Y1R heteroreceptor complexes upon agonist coactivation of their two types of receptor protomers in Doublecortin-expressing neuroblasts. Our results may provide the basis for developing heterobivalent agonist pharmacophores, targeting GALR2-Y1R heterocomplexes. It involves especially the neuronal precursor cells of the dentate gyrus in the dorsal hippocampus for the novel treatment of neurodegenerative pathologies as in the Alzheimer’s disease.

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold, being the first to grasp a broad picture of entrepreneurship determinants in Qatar, and second, to explore the intermediate effect of gender upon other factors affecting the propensity to become an entrepreneur and highlight gender heterogeneity. Combining theories on entrepreneurship determinants and gender, the study analyses the role of education (general and specific to enterprise), skill perception, social context and fear to fail as determinants of new venture creation in Qatar. The objective of the study is to appraise the determinants of the entrepreneurial activity in Qatar and understand if they hold across genders in terms of significance and magnitude. If so, policy actions can be adjusted to overcome gender gaps. This study aims to design policy recommendations to reinforce the Qatari entrepreneurial ecosystem and promote positive discrimination towards women initiatives in the Gulf region. Design/methodology/approach To understand male and female propensity to entrepreneurial activity in Qatar, a database from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) was used, considering data from 2014, with a sample that includes 4,272 individuals. To explore how the explanatory variables affect entrepreneurial propensity and if they hold significance across genders, three logistic regressions were run, the first including the entire sample, and the second and third separating individuals according to the gender. Then, to statistically appraise the differences among groups, a Kruskal–Wallis test was run to evidence group heterogeneity. Marginal effects of the model reinforce gender differences. The analysis was performed using Stata. Findings Different patterns of entrepreneurial propensity can be found among genders, allowing the exploration male and female determinants. The analysis shows that Qatari women are less prone to start a business when compared to men in equal conditions. For women, age is a deterring factor, contrarily to men. Both genders seem to be unconstrained by the fear to fail, still the self-perception of skills has a stronger effect on women. Research limitations/implications First, this study is restricted to the GEM database and covers 4,272 individuals whose representativeness cannot be statistically proved, despite the robustness of the sample size. Second, due to data limitations, the inclusion of theoretically relevant additional variables to the explanation of gender differences, such as economic and institutional determinants of entrepreneurial activity in the country under study, becomes infeasible. Practical implications Despite the conceptual and empirical limitations, the conclusions of the study fulfil literature gaps and offer quantitative and econometric evidences and which allow drawing policy recommendations. Social implications This study sheds a new light about the policy specificities needed to overcome gender differences and to equalise male and female entrepreneurial activity. Originality/value The study identifies gender differences in entrepreneurial propensity. The potential differences are firstly put in theoretical terms and followed by an exploratory analysis comprising statistical analysis and econometric estimations. The results allow examining the profile of male and female entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs, the determinants of entrepreneurial initiatives and gender gaps. The study helps policy makers to elaborate adequate strategies to foster gender equality on entrepreneurship, aiming to increase overall entrepreneurial activity and consequently socio-economic development.

The main goal of this article is to appraise the existence of different patterns of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystems, to identify its relationship with Entrepreneurial Initiative, and recommend entrepreneurship policies that may influence the growth of entrepreneurial action. Without evidence on entrepreneurial ecosystems landscape and what determinants stimulate entrepreneurship in a given environment, policies could become flawed and miss the target. To address research purposes, the analysis was performed using data extracted from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Database carried out between 2010 and 2016. To ensure a longitudinal perspective, it was used a balanced panel approach followed by Logistic Regression estimations. The article offers a novel and systematic approach, the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Taxonomy, to overcome a disaggregated perspective on entrepreneurial ecosystems, between individual and context levels. Empirical findings capture four different country profiles, based on two measures: Entrepreneurial ecosystems and entrepreneurial initiative. The results allow to compare the four groups and appraise significant disparities around entrepreneurship determinants, namely, the education factor. While education is commonly recognized as a positive influence on entrepreneurship, the results suggest a contradictory effect. The existence of differentiated profiles and its determinants points outs the importance of developing specific entrepreneurship policy packages attending group specificities.

Entrepreneurial universities are a significant element of entrepreneurial ecosystems and aspire to foster entrepreneurial initiative through their “third mission”. However, while entrepreneurial ecosystems are scrutinized using a contextual approach to detect differences and similarities and how they affect entrepreneurship, little is known about how entrepreneurial universities impact entrepreneurial initiatives in general, considering multiple environments. Drawing on entrepreneurial university and entrepreneurial ecosystem theories, a conceptual framework is proposed that aims to explain the effect of the entrepreneurial university on an entrepreneurial initiative through its three “missions”, using an entrepreneurial ecosystem taxonomy. Based on individual data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, this entrepreneurial initiative analyzed 18 European countries in 2017. The results do not generally support the importance of entrepreneurial universities to entrepreneurial initiative. The relevance of entrepreneurial universities increases in more fragile entrepreneurial ecosystems since individuals need support over multiple dimensions. Conversely, the entrepreneurial universities that are embedded in stronger entrepreneurial ecosystems lose relevance and negatively affect the entrepreneurial initiative. Therefore, the value of entrepreneurial universities is reduced when individuals receive greater support from other dimensions. The variations across both groups suggest that the concept of entrepreneurial universities is not a contemporaneous phenomenon; however, their effect is progressively revealed by the maturity of each university’s mission. This perspective substantially changes the understanding of entrepreneurial universities as a thwartwise strategy, suggesting that the universities’ impact is expanded as their missions gradually evolve. Overall, the study contributes to an understanding of the implications for universities that blindly follow entrepreneurship, neglecting the exogenous environment, namely, the entrepreneurial ecosystem and individual drive.

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Purpose The entrepreneurial initiative is believed as being a prosperity engine. Islamic organizations are presently committed to promoting entrepreneurship to generate economic growth, provide job opportunities, reduce government centrality, enhance innovation and sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to identify which factors affect Islamic entrepreneurial endeavors with particular emphasis on the role of gender. Additionally, how education, age, moral constraints, self-perception and social support will affect those entrepreneurial intentions based on Islamic principles. Once identified, policy actions will help to overcome extant gaps, reinforcing the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach Determinants of the entrepreneurial initiative will be appraised in the set Islamic countries present in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data set from 2016. Following the Organization of Islamic Cooperation list, 14 countries were identified establishing a total sample of 36,407 individuals. Using a set of predictors included in the theoretical framework a statistical analysis was performed followed by logit estimations. The significance of explanatory variables such as gender, age and social context toward entrepreneurial propensity reinforced the importance of specific tools rather than broad policies. Findings An entrepreneurial propensity is affected by three branches of factors: individual characteristics, individual behavior and individual perceptions along with the economic environment. The analysis shows that holding equal conditions, Islamic women in the sample are less prone to start a business compared to their male counterparts. Knowing other entrepreneurial endeavors enhance the entrepreneurial initiative. Fearing failure unconstraint entrepreneurial projects, but the self-perception of skills strongly triggers these initiatives. Research limitations/implications The empirical analysis relates to the GEM database, and, as a consequence, only 14 countries were considered, but it covers 36,407 individuals whose representativeness cannot be statistically proved, however, due to sample dimension the robustness is granted. Second, the sample is sectional covering the 2016 year, as a consequence results may be classified as exceptional.Finally, other factors such as institutional and behavioral determinants were not considered, despite their theoretical importance, due to their absence in the database. Still, the empirical results reinforce the theoretical debate and offer robust evidence to build a policy package, adapted to the Islamic singularities. Practical implications Still, the empirical results reinforce the theoretical debate and offer robust evidence to build a policy package, adapted to the Islamic singularities. Originality/value The paper identifies gender differences in entrepreneurial propensity among Islamic economics. The potential enhancers of the entrepreneurial initiative are first put in theoretical terms followed by an empirical analysis, encompassing descriptive analysis and econometric estimations. The results allow identification of gender gaps, as well as other individual and context characteristics affecting entrepreneurial endeavors. Empirical evidence casts light on policymakers elaborating accurate policy packages fostering gender equality in entrepreneurship in Islamic economics, aiming to increase overall entrepreneurial activity and leveraging socio-economic development. Finally, the study addresses recommendations to overcome gender differences relating to entrepreneurial activity considering the singularities of the context.