3,655 research outputs found
Reasons and opportunism control in public grants policies for development and innovations of businesses
In this paper we would to analyze the mechanism of public grants on economic growth. In particular this topic has been the subject of scientific interest by economists and, recently, also by business economics scholars. The studies of the economists focused on the motivations of the intervention itself; the business economic studies, on the other hand, have analyzed the impact both on the behavior of entrepreneurs and on the firms themselves by public grants. The studies examined so far highlight two basic conceptual dimensions, different, but also complementary to each other: on the one hand the economic-oriented to investigate the motivations and effectiveness of the public intervention; the second, business-oriented, focused on the firm’s behavior following public grant. Based on these arguments, our research question arises: could the effectiveness of public intervention for funding development and business innovation be influenced by the differences in the various socio-political and institutional contexts in which they are applied? The
aim of paper is analyze the motivations of public grants policies and their influence on the behavior of firms. In this way we want to identify asolutions scheme able to recover efficiency and effectiveness of public actions to support development. It is therefore possible to identify some corrective mechanisms on public intervention policies. In particular with reference to the behaviors induced by the grants policies, the idea is to re-design the grants policies in consideration of the different forms of pre and post contractual opportunism. With reference, instead, to the motivations underlying the public grants policies, it is necessary to examine the relationship between the State (Principal) and the beneficiary firms (Agent) in relation to the respective dimensions of the contractual force
Positive or negative voting premium: what happened to private benefits in Italy?
A large body of research deals with voting premium as a proxy of private benefit of control. Almost all of them find positive voting premium, in particular in Italy. Therefore appears interesting to ask what is the current status of private benefits of control in Italy in the last decade (2007-2017). Surprisingly, we show three major findings: i) reduction of non-voting share in the Italian scenario; ii) prevalence of negative voting rights premium more than positive ones, thus conflicting with the assumption and the observations by other researchers; iii) limits of the voting premium method. Our aim is that this study, despite its limitations, may encourage further researches focused on the analysis of the improvement and the change in the Italian corporate governance. The article points out that interesting evidence already exists, although still much remains to do in the future
Influence of Stream-Subsurface Exchange Flux and Bacterial Biofilms on Oxygen Consumption Under Nutrient-Rich Conditions
The lack of a complete understanding of the complex reciprocal interactions between hydrological processes and the structure and function of microbial communities limits our ability to
improve the predictions of microbial metabolism in streams. We report here on how overlying water velocity and losing and gaining flux interact with bacterial community structure and its activity to control oxygen consumption in a sandy streambed under high nutrient levels. We used an experimental flume packed with natural sediment and measured the bacterial biomass distribution and oxygen profiles in the streambed and across bed forms. Local oxygen consumption rates were calculated with a 1-D numerical model (GRADIENT). Bacterial abundance and production rates varied across the bed form within 1 order of magnitude, while their taxonomic classes were similar across bed forms despite variations in flow conditions and sediment disturbance events. However, bacterial production rates were not directly correlated with bacterial abundance. On the other hand, oxygen consumption rates ranged over 4 orders of magnitude across the bed forms and were highly correlated with the vertical exchange flux between the water and the streambed. The results strongly suggest that under high nutrient levels, the system is, in general, transport limited and that predicting oxygen consumption rates depends on local vertical exchange fluxes
Multiphysics simulation of corona discharge induced ionic wind
Ionic wind devices or electrostatic fluid accelerators are becoming of
increasing interest as tools for thermal management, in particular for
semiconductor devices. In this work, we present a numerical model for
predicting the performance of such devices, whose main benefit is the ability
to accurately predict the amount of charge injected at the corona electrode.
Our multiphysics numerical model consists of a highly nonlinear strongly
coupled set of PDEs including the Navier-Stokes equations for fluid flow,
Poisson's equation for electrostatic potential, charge continuity and heat
transfer equations. To solve this system we employ a staggered solution
algorithm that generalizes Gummel's algorithm for charge transport in
semiconductors. Predictions of our simulations are validated by comparison with
experimental measurements and are shown to closely match. Finally, our
simulation tool is used to estimate the effectiveness of the design of an
electrohydrodynamic cooling apparatus for power electronics applications.Comment: 24 pages, 17 figure
Staggered Fibrils and Damageable Interfaces Lead Concurrently and Independently to Hysteretic Energy Absorption and lnhomogeneous Strain Fields in Cyclically Loaded Antler Bone
The diagnostic accuracy of the small fiber neuropathy symptoms inventory questionnaire (SFN-SIQ) for identifying pure small fiber neuropathy
A definite diagnosis of pure small fiber neuropathy (SFN) relies on specific diagnostic testing, such as skin biopsy, quantitative sensory testing (QST), and nociceptive evoked potentials, which require considerable resources that may not be widely available. Accordingly, diagnostic tools with easy implementation in non-specialist centers are warranted to identify patients who require second-level diagnostic tests. In this study, we aimed to test the accuracy of the Small Fiber Neuropathy Symptoms Inventory Questionnaire (SFN-SIQ) in diagnosing pure SFN. We enrolled 86 patients with suspected pure SFN. In these patients, we calculated the diagnostic accuracy of the SFN-SIQ using a combination of clinical examination, QST, and skin biopsy as a reference standard. We found that the SFN-SIQ showed an excellent ability to discriminate between patients with and without pure SFN, with 86% sensitivity and 70% specificity in the diagnosis of pure SFN. Our study providing the diagnostic yield of the SFN-SIQ for pure SFN diagnosis suggests that this questionnaire might be used to screen patients with suspected SFN and identify those requiring second-level diagnostic tests such as QST, skin biopsy, or nociceptive evoked potentials
Placental growth factor and its potential role in diabetic retinopathy and other ocular neovascular diseases
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Numerical analysis of deep ground movements induced by circular shaft construction
: The prediction of the excavation-induced displacements by shaft construction in urban areas is an important design issue. A series of experiments were conducted by Le et al. (2019) using a geotechnical centrifuge to evaluate the distribution with depth of soil movements induced during a shaft construction. Those results have been confirmed and expanded in this work by means of numerical analyses. Following this validation, numerical modelling has been used to analyse the influence of OCR and of the shaft geometry, namely its depth H and diameter D!"#$%. In the abovementioned experimental study (Le et al., 2019) the presence of existing underground structures in the proximity of the shaft had been neglected. Therefore, in this study the effect of an existing shallow tunnel in the vicinity of the shaft excavation was taken into account and numerically analysed. The results show that the induced displacement field is affected by the tunnel, depending on its distance from the shaft. Nevertheless, when the distance between the shaft and the existing tunnel is larger than the tunnel axis depth, the tunnel presence may be neglected in the prediction of shaft-indued displacements. Based on the numerical results, further centrifuge tests will be carried out to model the interaction between the shaft excavation and the tunnel
Gastrointestinal colonization with multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: effect on the risk of subsequent infections and impact on patient outcome
Background: In ICU patients, digestive tract colonization by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative (G 12) bacteria is a significant risk factor for the development of infections. In patients undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), colonization by MDR bacteria and risk of subsequent nosocomial infections (NIs) have not been studied yet. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence, etiology, risk factors, impact on outcome of gastrointestinal colonization by MDR G 12 bacteria, and risk of subsequent infections in patients undergoing ECMO. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data: 105 consecutive patients, treated with ECMO, were admitted to the ICU of an Italian tertiary referral center (San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy) from January 2010 to November 2015. Rectal swabs for MDR G 12 bacteria were cultured at admission and twice a week. Only colonization and NIs by MDR G 12 bacteria were analyzed. Results: Ninety-one included patients [48.5 (37\u201356) years old, 63% male, simplified acute physiology score II 37 (32\u201347)] underwent peripheral ECMO (87% veno-venous) for medical indications (79% ARDS). Nineteen (21%) patients were colonized by MDR G 12 bacteria. Male gender (OR 4.03, p = 0.029) and duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) before ECMO > 3 days (OR 3.57, p = 0.014) were associated with increased risk of colonization. Colonized patients had increased odds of infections by the colonizing germs (84% vs. 29%, p < 0.001, OR 12.9), longer ICU length of stay (LOS) (43 vs. 24 days, p = 0.002), MV (50 vs. 22 days, p < 0.001) and ECMO (28 vs. 12 days, p < 0.001), but did not have higher risk of death (survival rate 58% vs. 67%, p = 0.480, OR 0.68). Infected patients had almost halved ICU survival (46% vs. 78%, p < 0.001, OR 4.11). Conclusions: In patients undergoing ECMO for respiratory and/or circulatory failure, colonization by MDR G 12 bacteria is frequent and associated with more the tenfold odds for subsequent infection. Those infections are associated with an increased risk of death
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