Horizontal network collaboration by entrepreneurial ventures: a supply chain finance perspective

Purpose – The present paper aims at understanding how horizontal network collaborations between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can be designed and implemented to take advantage of a supply chain finance (SCF) perspective. Design/methodology/approach – This study presents an SCF literature background identifying four literature gaps, and in response to them it adopts an action research approach. The empirical analysis is developed on a network-case study: a horizontal collaboration project between small businesses of the Italian wine industry and their supply chains. Findings – SMEs can play an active role in developing – in terms of design and implementation – their collaborative networks by taking advantage of an SCF perspective for themselves, and their customers, based on the reorganization of relationships interface processes. Taking this perspective can be a concrete and crucial way to sustain the development of SMEs and their supply chains in an actual competitive context. Research limitations/implications – The paper identifies the theoretical gaps in the literature, suggests new research areas that deserve to be more deeply investigated and connects case-related results to the key concepts. The empirical part presents a real case application that proposes a complete roadmap for managers and practitioners who wish to experience similar projects. Practical implications – This network-case study storyline, presenting an overview of ten years of meetings, with related purposes, is suggesting a roadmap for design and implementation of horizontal network as managerial implications. These kinds of active research projects, with a collaborative mixed team of academics and practitioners, and involving a multilayer group of participants, are positive examples for closing the bridge between companies and academia, which enhance this network of small businesses active in trying to improve their competitiveness working together. Originality/value – The value of the paper is to embrace a supply chain-oriented perspective for an SME, independent of the financial system and based on inventory flow management. Very little literature focuses on inventory-based research within the SCF framework, designed for real implementation in horizontal network collaboration by entrepreneurial ventures

Feasibility of chest ultrasound up to 42 m underwater

After recent advancements, ultrasound has extended its applications from bedside clinical practice to wilderness medicine. Performing ultrasound scans in extreme environments can allow direct visualization of unique pathophysiological adaptations but can be technically challenging. This paper summarizes how a portable ultrasound apparatus was marinized to let scientific divers and sonographers perform ultrasound scans of the lungs underwater up to - 42 m. A metallic case protected the ultrasound apparatus inside; a frontal transparent panel with a glove allowed visualization and operation of the ultrasound by the diving sonographer. The inner pressure was equalized with environmental pressure through a compressed air tank connected with circuits similar to those used in SCUBA diving. Finally, the ultrasound probe exited the metallic case through a sealed aperture. No technical issues were reported after the first testing step and the real experiments

Therapeutic Mechanisms of Action for Hyperbaric Oxygen on Femoral Head Necrosis

Femoral head necrosis (FHN) is a disease process resulting from inadequate blood perfusion of subchondral bone. While the etiology of this disease is still not fully understood, there are multiple traumatic and atraumatic factors that are associated with the disease. Pathophysiology of the disease is characterized by the death of bone marrow and osteocytes. If left untreated, the disease may progress to joint collapse. While initial stages of the disease are asymptomatic, painful limitation of active and passive motion of the hip is eventually present. The current body of literature cannot identify an optimal treatment protocol for FHN. Postcollapse cases require surgical intervention, core decompression, or total hip arthroplasty. However, current strides in conservative management are being made. One of the possible conservative modalities that may effectively delay hip arthroplasty or even prevent the need for a surgical approach is hyperbaric oxygen (HBO2) therapy. HBO2 increases extracellular oxygen concentration and reduces cellular ischemia and edema by inducing vasoconstriction. Studies have reported radiographic improvement, reduction in pain, and increases in range of motion for early stages of the disease. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has also been shown to stimulate angiogenesis and enhance osteoclast and osteoblast function for remodeling and repair

Numerical Computation of Egg and Double-Egg Curves with Clothoids

Revised version (June, 2021) of the preprint corresponding to the paper published in Journal of Surveying Engineering.The clothoid, also known as Cornu spiral or Euler spiral, is a curve widely used as a transition curve when designing the layout of railway tracks and roads because of a key feature: its curvature is proportional to its length. The classical method to compute a clothoid is based on the use of Taylor expansions of sine and cosine functions, usually starting with zero curvature at the initial point. In this paper the clothoid is presented as the only curve with a constant rate of change of curvature, which parametrization can be obtained by solving an initial value problem. In this initial value problem the curvature at the starting point can be chosen, being able to develop simple, efficient, and accurate algorithms to connect two oriented circumferences by means of clothoids. These algorithms are presented as a useful tool for designing egg and double-egg curves in highway connections and interchangesThe authors would like to thank Loris Lori from Terni, Italy (Centro Sviluppo Materiali and ThyssenKrupp Acciai Speciali Terni), for replicating all examples and pointing out the misprints corrected in red in this revised version. M.E. VázquezMéndez thanks the funding support from project MTM2015-65570-P of Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain)/FEDER.S

The effects of different high-protein low-carbohydrates proprietary foods on blood sugar in healthy subjects

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects on blood sugar concentrations through the calculation of the glycemic score (GS) of 10 different high-protein low-carbohydrates (CHOs) proprietary foods that are commonly used as meals during very low-CHO ketogenic diets or during low-CHO diets. Fourteen healthy females were tested for their glycemic response curve elicited by 1000 kJ of glucose three times within a 3-week period (one test each week) compared with one of 10 test foods once on separate days twice a week. After determining the GS of each food in each individual, the mean GS of each test food was calculated. All test foods, compared with glucose, produced a significantly lower glycemic response. The GS of all test food resulted in being lower than 25 and the difference between the mean glycemia after the intake of glucose (mean 122 ± 15 mg/dL) and after the intake of the sweet test foods (mean 89 ± 7 mg/dL) was 33 mg/dL (P < .001), whereas the difference between the mean glycemia after the intake of glucose and after the intake of savory test foods (mean 91 ± 8 mg/dL) was of 31 mg/dL (P < .001). Conclusions: The reformulation of ultraprocessed ready-to-consume foods in a low-CHO, high-protein version can produce a significantly lower glycemic response whilst maintaining the valued ready-to-use format and high palatability demanded by consumers. The low impact on postprandial glycemia and the nutritional characteristics of these proprietary foods makes them useful in both weight control management strategies and in the care management of diabetes

From land to glass. An integrated approach for quality and traceability assessment of top Italian wines

The wine sector in Italy is a significant contributor to the country's economy. Furthermore, Italy is renowned for producing some of the world's most excellent wines. For these reasons, the wine industry is susceptible to frauds, such as reporting false origin claims in labels. In this context, this paper aims to provide traceability and quality tool to recognise wines from different Italian regions, i.e. Calabria, Piemonte, Sicily and Veneto, from selected winemakers that reach the Top 10% in almost three international rankings. The multi-elemental analysis of soil and wine samples by ICP-MS and their chemometric treatments have identified Ni, Cs, Li, Ca, Ba, Pb, Rb, Sb, Fe and U as the most informative variables to reach optimal classification of samples. The analytical data have been used to develop an original managerial framework to leverage Pareto's Principle for effective brand-land management in the top wine segment

Inhibition of fast axonal transport by pathogenic SOD1 involves activation of p38 MAP kinase

Dying-back degeneration of motor neuron axons represents an established feature of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) associated with superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) mutations, but axon-autonomous effects of pathogenic SOD1 remained undefined. Characteristics of motor neurons affected in FALS include abnormal kinase activation, aberrant neurofilament phosphorylation, and fast axonal transport (FAT) deficits, but functional relationships among these pathogenic events were unclear. Experiments in isolated squid axoplasm reveal that FALS-related SOD1 mutant polypeptides inhibit FAT through a mechanism involving a p38 mitogen activated protein kinase pathway. Mutant SOD1 activated neuronal p38 in mouse spinal cord, neuroblastoma cells and squid axoplasm. Active p38 MAP kinase phosphorylated kinesin-1, and this phosphorylation event inhibited kinesin-1. Finally, vesicle motility assays revealed previously unrecognized, isoform-specific effects of p38 on FAT. Axon-autonomous activation of the p38 pathway represents a novel gain of toxic function for FALS-linked SOD1 proteins consistent with the dying-back pattern of neurodegeneration characteristic of ALS

Identification and Measurement of Carbonic Anhydrase-II Molecule Numbers in the Rat Carotid Body

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) in the carotid body (CB) plays an important role in the maintenance of blood PO2 and PCO2/pH homeostasis by regulating ventilation. It has been observed that the activity of CA in the rabbit CB is stronger under hypoxic conditions than under normoxic and hyperoxic conditions. In conditions of chronic hypoxia, the volume of the CB increases significantly because the number of type I and II cells increases. So far, the number of CA molecules in the CB has not been assessed. We develop a technique to quantify the number of CA molecules in the CB. The CBs were dissected out from 8 rats, immediately frozen with liquid nitrogen, pulverized and centrifuged. The proteins extracted from CB tissue were heat-denatured and separated by electrophoresis on a 12.5% denatured-polyacrylamide gel (SDSPAGE); a 31 kDa protein band was determined which reacted with a rabbit polyclonal antibody specific for rat CA-II in Western blot analysis. The immunoreactive 31 kDa CA-II protein was detected and quantified by laser scanner densitometry using 125I-rProtein A as a tracer. The mean 125I radioactivity emitted by the antibody bound CA-II was 31277 cpm. This value corresponds to 4.57 ng CA-II. When compared with a rat CA-II calibration curve, an average of number of 3.54 x 107 CA-II molecules were quantified for 1 µg of whole CB tissue. This is a sensitive and accurate radioimmunoassay technique and may be useful in future studies on the role of CA-II in different pathophysiologic conditions

Evidence that chronic hypoxia causes reversible impairment on male fertility

Aim: To evaluate the effect of chronic hypoxia on human spermatogenic parameters and their recovery time. Methods: Seminological parameters of six male healthy mountain trekkers were evaluated in normoxia at sea level. After 26 days exposure to altitude (ranging from 2 000 m to 5 600 m, Karakorum Expedition) the same parameters were again evaluated after returning to sea level. These parameters were once again evaluated after 1 month and then again after 6 months. Results: Sperm count was found to be lower immediately after returning to sea level (P = 0.0004) and again after a month (P = 0.0008). Normal levels were reached after 6 months. Spermatic motility (%) shows no reduction immediately after returning to sea level (P = 0.0583), whereas after 1 month this reduction was significant (P = 0.0066). After 6 months there was a recovery to pre-hypoxic exposure values. Abnormal or immature spermatozoa (%) increased immediately after returning to sea level (P = 0.0067) and then again after 1 month (P = 0.0004). After 6 months there was a complete recovery to initial values. The total number of motile sperm in the ejaculate was found to be lower immediately after returning to sea level (P = 0.0024) and then again after 1 month (P = 0.0021). After 6 months there was a recovery to pre-hypoxic exposure values. Conclusion: Chronic hypoxia induces a state of oligospermia and the normalization of such seminological parameters at the restoration of previous normoxic conditions after 6 months indicate the influence of oxygen supply in physiological mechanisms of spermatogenesis and male fertility. (Asian J Androl 2008 Jul; 10: 602–606