Giants with feet of clay: the sustainability of the business models in music streaming services

This paper examines the sustainability of the recorded music industry from the perspective of music performers. Music streaming platforms, or digital music service providers (DMSPs), have changed the recorded music industry paradigm since the middle of the 2010s. Business models for performers have evolved from royalty agreements based on sales to more complex remuneration systems based on revenues from a combination of (ad-based) free and paid subscriptions. Previous research has mainly focused on the examination of the business models of streaming services from the point of view of the innovation players (digital platforms) and/or the traditional dominant intermediaries (record labels and publishers). However, not all innovation-driven transformations are sustainable. In this paper, we argue that the sustainability of the main business models in the music industry demands the consideration of the performers’ perspective. We combine a qualitative approach with primary and secondary data sources to investigate the sustainability of existing trends of business models and business practices for different categories of performers, including both monetary values and a description of how revenues are shared. We conclude that DMSPs foster an asymmetric value chain in which the creative players barely capture value while technology-based innovations increase the capability of DMSPs to generate and capture value. Finally, we outline some alternative business models looking for the long-term sustainability of the digital music marketplace

An academic perspective on the entrepreneurship policy agenda: themes, geographies and evolution

Text mining is being increasingly used for the automatic analysis of different corpus of documents, either standalone or complementarily to other bibliometric techniques. The case of academic research into entrepreneurship policy is particularly interesting due to the increasing relevance of the topic and since the knowledge about the evolution of themes in this field is still rather limited. Consequently, this paper analyses the key topics, trends and shifts that have shaped the entrepreneurship policy research agenda to date using text mining techniques, cluster analysis and complementary bibliographic data to examine the evolution of a corpus of 1,048 academic papers focused on entrepreneurial-related policies and published during the period 1990-2016 in ten of the most relevant entrepreneurship journals. The results of the analysis show that inclusion, employment and regulation-related papers have largely dominated the research in the field, evolving from an initial classical approach about the relationship between entrepreneurship and employment to a wider and multidisciplinary perspective, including the relevance of management, geographies, and narrower topics such as agglomeration economics or internationalization instead of previous generic sectorial approaches. Overall, the text mining analysis reveals how entrepreneurship policy research has gained increasing attention and has become both more open, with a growing cooperation among researchers from different affiliations; and more sophisticated, with concepts and themes that moved forward the research agenda closer to the priorites of policies implementatio

An academic perspective on the entrepreneurship policy agenda: themes, geographies and evolution

Text mining is being increasingly used for the automatic analysis of different corpus of documents, either standalone or complementarily to other bibliometric techniques. The case of academic research into entrepreneurship policy is particularly interesting due to the increasing relevance of the topic and since the knowledge about the evolution of themes in this field is still rather limited. Consequently, this paper analyses the key topics, trends and shifts that have shaped the entrepreneurship policy research agenda to date using text mining techniques, cluster analysis and complementary bibliographic data to examine the evolution of a corpus of 1,048 academic papers focused on entrepreneurial-related policies and published during the period 1990-2016 in ten of the most relevant entrepreneurship journals. The results of the analysis show that inclusion, employment and regulation-related papers have largely dominated the research in the field, evolving from an initial classical approach about the relationship between entrepreneurship and employment to a wider and multidisciplinary perspective, including the relevance of management, geographies, and narrower topics such as agglomeration economics or internationalization instead of previous generic sectorial approaches. Overall, the text mining analysis reveals how entrepreneurship policy research has gained increasing attention and has become both more open, with a growing cooperation among researchers from different affiliations; and more sophisticated, with concepts and themes that moved forward the research agenda closer to the priorites of policies implementatio

Mitochondrial Thioredoxin-Glutathione Reductase from Larval Taenia crassiceps (Cysticerci)

Mitochondrial thioredoxin-glutathione reductase was purified from larval Taenia crassiceps (cysticerci). The preparation showed NADPH-dependent reductase activity with either thioredoxin or GSSG, and was able to perform thiol/disulfide exchange reactions. At 25°C specific activities were 437 ± 27 mU mg−1 and 840 ± 49 mU mg−1 with thioredoxin and GSSG, respectively. Apparent Km values were 0.87 ± 0.04 μM, 41 ± 6 μM and 19 ± 10 μM for thioredoxin, GSSG and NADPH, respectively. Thioredoxin from eukaryotic sources was accepted as substrate. The enzyme reduced H2O2 in a NADPH-dependent manner, although with low catalytic efficiency. In the presence of thioredoxin, mitochondrial TGR showed a thioredoxin peroxidase-like activity. All disulfide reductase activities were inhibited by auranofin, suggesting mTGR is dependent on selenocysteine. The reductase activity with GSSG showed a higher dependence on temperature as compared with the DTNB reductase activity. The variation of the GSSG- and DTNB reductase activities on pH was dependent on the disulfide substrate. Like the cytosolic isoform, mTGR showed a hysteretic kinetic behavior at moderate or high GSSG concentrations, but it was less sensitive to calcium. The enzyme was able to protect glutamine synthetase from oxidative inactivation, suggesting that mTGR is competent to contend with oxidative stress

Seasonal Behavior of Fasciola hepatica in Sacrificed Bovines at Chacuba Slaughterhouse, Camagüey, Cuba.

To determine the existence of seasonal patterns for  Fasciola hepatica infestation in bovines slaughtered in the province of Camaguey, Cuba, information  gathered from  13 059 bovines  sacrificed  at the Chacuba slaughterhouse (Terso Livestock Basic Marketing Company, Maraguan Livestock Company),  between 2008 and 2014, was used. The study included 2 387 animals affected by F. hepatica, according to  the  anatomical and pathological diagnostic made at the slaughterhouse.  Prevalence calculations were based on the sacrificed and affected  animals  (18.27%) for the entire period. The seasonal decomposition process was based on additive model. It revealed the existence of sea-sonal behavior for the animals affected by  Fasciola hepatica  and its prevalence. The seasonal patterns  had peaks in February, October and December for the two variables studied. Evaluation of intermediate hosts dynamics and larval F. hepatica stages were associated to the seasonal patterns observed

EEL spectroscopic tomography: Towards a new dimension in nanomaterials analysis

Electron tomography is a widely spread technique for recovering the three dimensional (3D) shape of nanostructured materials. Using a spectroscopic signal to achieve a reconstruction adds a fourth chemical dimension to the 3D structure. Up to date, energy filtering of the images in the transmission electron microscope (EFTEM) is the usual spectroscopic method even if most of the information in the spectrum is lost. Unlike EFTEM tomography, the use of electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) spectrum images (SI) for tomographic reconstruction retains all chemical information, and the possibilities of this new approach still remain to be fully exploited. In this article we prove the feasibility of EEL spectroscopic tomography at low voltages (80kV) and short acquisition times from data acquired using an aberration corrected instrument and data treatment by Multivariate Analysis (MVA), applied to FexCo(3-x)O4@Co3O4 mesoporous materials. This approach provides a new scope into materials; the recovery of full EELS signal in 3D

Electron energy-loss spectroscopic tomography of FexCo(3-x)O4 impregnated Co3O4 mesoporous particles: unraveling the chemical information in three dimensions

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy-spectrum image (EELS-SI) tomography is a powerful tool to investigate the three dimensional chemical configuration in nanostructures. Here, we demonstrate, for the first time, the possibility to characterize the spatial distribution of Fe and Co cations in a complex FexCo(3-x)O4/Co3O4 ordered mesoporous system. This hybrid material is relevant because of the ferrimagnetic/antiferromagnetic coupling and high surface area. We unambiguously prove that the EELS-SI tomography shows a sufficiently high resolution to simultaneously unravel the pore structure and the chemical signal

Comportamiento estacional de Fasciola hepatica en bovinos sacrificados en el matadero Chacuba, Camagüey, Cuba.

Con el objetivo de determinar la existencia de patrones estacionales para la infestación por Fasciola hepatica en bovinos sacrificados en la provincia de Camagüey, Cuba, fueron utilizados los registros mensuales de los 13 059 sacrificios de ganado bovino realizados en el matadero Chacuba de la Unidad Empresarial Básica Comercializadora ganadera de Terso, perteneciente a la Empresa Pecuaria Maraguán; durante el periodo comprendido entre enero de 2008 y diciembre de 2014. Fueron utilizados los 2 387 animales afectados por F. hepatica, resultado del diagnóstico anátomo-patológico realizado en el propio matadero. A partir de animales sacrificados y los afectados fue calculada la prevalencia que alcanzó un valor de 18,27 % para todo el período. El proceso de descomposición estacional con un modelo aditivo, reveló, por primera vez en Camagüey, la existencia de comportamiento estacional para los animales afectados por Fasciola hepatica y la prevalencia. Los patrones estacionales estuvieron caracterizados por picos en febrero, octubre y diciembre para las dos variables estudiadas. Se recomienda evaluar la dinámica de los hospederos intermediarios y estadios larvarios de F. hepatica para relacionarlos con los patrones estacionales observados.Seasonal Behavior of Fasciola hepatica in Cattle Slaughtered at Chacuba Abattoir, Camagüey, CubaABSTRACTWith the objective to determine the existence of seasonal patterns of infection with Fasciola hepatica in slaughtered bovines in Camagüey province, monthly records were used for the 13 059 slaughtered bovines carried out in Chacuba slaughterhouse, a basic unit belonging to the Terso Cattle Commercializing Company, in Camagüey, Cuba, from January 2008 to December 2014. There were 2 387 animals affected by F. hepatica according to the anatomicpathologic diagnosis carried out at the slaughterhouse. The disease prevalence in slaughtered and infected animals was determined for the whole period to be of 18.25 %. The process of seasonal decomposition with an additive model revealed for the first time in Camagüey, the existence of a seasonal pattern for affected bovines with Fasciola hepatica, as well as for the amount and the prevalence. The seasonal patterns were characterized by peaks in February, October and December for the two studied variables. It’s recommended to evaluate the dynamics of the intermediate host and larval stages of F. hepatica to correlate with the observed seasonal patterns

3D Visualization of the Iron Oxidation State in FeO/Fe3O4 Core-Shell Nanocubes from Electron Energy Loss Tomography.

Left panel shows the explained variance ratio of the principal component analysis (PCA) decomposition. The six first components, which are enough to explain the whole data set, are plotted in the right panel. Components 0, 3 and 5 show no remarkable features in the Fe L2,3 ionization energy and seem rather related to the background of the spectra due to their power-law behaviour, while component 1 is almost constant and therefore could be related to the dark noise in the detector