Corporate Practices that Inhibit and Drive Innovation for Sustainability

Proposal to the Eastern Academy of Management to conduct a discussion symposium regarding a systematic review of the body of research on innovation for sustainable business

The influence of metabolic and circulatory heterogeneity on the expression of pulmonary oxygen uptake kinetics in humans

New Findings What is the central question of this study? The finding that pulmonary oxygen uptake (inline image) kinetics on transition to moderate exercise is invariant and exponential is consistent with a first-order reaction controlling inline image. However, slowed inline image kinetics when initiating exercise from raised baseline intensities challenges this notion. What is the main finding and its importance? Here, we demonstrate how a first-order system can respond with non-first-order response dynamics. Data suggest that progressive recruitment of muscle fibre populations having progressively lower mitochondrial density and slower microvascular blood flow kinetics can unify the seemingly contradictory evidence for the control of inline image on transition to exercise. We examined the relationship amongst baseline work rate (WR), phase II pulmonary oxygen uptake (inline image) time constant (inline image) and functional gain inline image during moderate-intensity exercise. Transitions were initiated from a constant or variable baseline WR. A validated circulatory model was used to examine the role of heterogeneity in muscle metabolism (inline image) and blood flow (inline image) in determining inline image kinetics. We hypothesized that inline image and GP would be invariant in the constant baseline condition but would increase linearly with increased baseline WR. Fourteen men completed three to five repetitions of ∆40 W step transitions initiated from 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 W on a cycle ergometer. The ∆40 W step transitions from 60, 80, 100 and 120 W were preceded by 6 min of 20 W cycling, from which the progressive ΔWR transitions (constant baseline condition) were examined. The inline image was measured breath by breath using mass spectrometry and a volume turbine. For a given ΔWR, both inline image (22–35 s) and GP (8.7–10.5 ml min−1 W−1) increased (P < 0.05) linearly as a function of baseline WR (20–120 W). The inline image was invariant (P < 0.05) in transitions initiated from 20 W, but GP increased with ΔWR (P < 0.05). Modelling the summed influence of multiple muscle compartments revealed that inline image could appear fast (24 s), and similar to in vivo measurements (22 ± 6 s), despite being derived from inline image values with a range of 15–40 s and inline image with a range of 20–45 s, suggesting that within the moderate-intensity domain phase II inline image kinetics are slowed dependent on the pretransition WR and are strongly influenced by muscle metabolic and circulatory heterogeneity

The effect of baseline metabolic rate on pulmonary O₂ uptake kinetics during very heavy intensity exercise in boys and men

addresses: Children's Health and Exercise Research Centre, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK.Copyright © 2012 Elsevier. NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Respiratory Physiology and Neurobiology, 2012, 180 (2-3), pp. 223 – 229 DOI: 10.1016/j.resp.2011.11.013This study tested the hypothesis that pulmonary VO₂ kinetics would be slowed during 'work-to-work' exercise in adults but not in children. Eight boys (mean age=12.5 ± 0.5 years) and nine men completed very heavy step transitions initiated from either 'unloaded' pedalling (U→VH) or unloaded-to-moderate cycling (i.e. U→M to M→VH). The phase II τ was significantly (p<0.05) lengthened in M→VH compared to U→M and U→VH in boys (30 ± 5 vs. 19 ± 5 vs. 21 ± 5 s) and men (49 ± 14 vs. 30 ± 5 vs. 34 ± 8 s). In U→VH, a greater relative VO₂ slow component temporally coincided with an increased linear iEMG slope in men compared boys (VO₂ slow component: 16 ± 3 vs. 11 ± 4%; iEMG slope: 0.19 ± 0.24 vs. -0.06 ± 0.14%, p<0.05). These results suggest that an age-linked modulation of VO₂ kinetics might be influenced by alterations in muscle fibre recruitment following the onset of exercise

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio