‘Better late than never’: the interplay between green technology and age for firm growth

This paper investigates the relationship between green/non-green technologies and firm growth. By combining the literature on eco-innovations, industrial organisation and entrepreneurial studies, we examine the dependence of this relationship on the pace at which firms grow and the age of the firm. From a dataset of 5498 manufacturing firms in Italy for the period of 2000–2008, longitudinal fixed effects quantile models are estimated, in which the firm’s age is set to moderate the effects of green and non-green patents on employment growth. We find that the positive effect of green technologies on growth is greater than that of non-green technologies. However, this result does not apply to struggling and rapidly growing firms. With fast-growing (above the median) firms, age moderates the growth effect of green technologies. Inconsistent with the extant literature, this moderation effect is positive: firm experience appears important for the growth benefits of green technologies, possibly relative to the complexity of their management

MYTHO is a novel regulator of skeletal muscle autophagy and integrity

Autophagy is a critical process in the regulation of muscle mass, function and integrity. The molecular mechanisms regulating autophagy are complex and still partly understood. Here, we identify and characterize a novel FoxO-dependent gene, d230025d16rik which we named Mytho (Macroautophagy and YouTH Optimizer), as a regulator of autophagy and skeletal muscle integrity in vivo. Mytho is significantly up-regulated in various mouse models of skeletal muscle atrophy. Short term depletion of MYTHO in mice attenuates muscle atrophy caused by fasting, denervation, cancer cachexia and sepsis. While MYTHO overexpression is sufficient to trigger muscle atrophy, MYTHO knockdown results in a progressive increase in muscle mass associated with a sustained activation of the mTORC1 signaling pathway. Prolonged MYTHO knockdown is associated with severe myopathic features, including impaired autophagy, muscle weakness, myofiber degeneration, and extensive ultrastructural defects, such as accumulation of autophagic vacuoles and tubular aggregates. Inhibition of the mTORC1 signaling pathway in mice using rapamycin treatment attenuates the myopathic phenotype triggered by MYTHO knockdown. Skeletal muscles from human patients diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) display reduced Mytho expression, activation of the mTORC1 signaling pathway and impaired autophagy, raising the possibility that low Mytho expression might contribute to the progression of the disease. We conclude that MYTHO is a key regulator of muscle autophagy and integrity

Analysis, Design and Realization of a Furnace for In Situ Wettability Experiments at High Temperatures under X-ray Microtomography

In this study, we analyzed the problem of a compact furnace, to be used for in situ experiments in a cone-beam X-ray microtomography commercial system. The design process was accomplished and outlined through its main steps, until the realization of a prototype. The furnace was conceived to carry out wettability experiments at temperatures up to 700 C and under inert atmosphere on sessile droplets of a molten metal alloy, with a few millimeters diameter, posed on a thin ceramic substrate. X-ray imaging of the molten droplet is expected to permit an accurate threedimensional reconstruction of the droplet profile and a robust estimation of the related quantities (such as the contact angle and the surface tension) utilized for the assessment of metal-ceramic joints by brazing. The challenges faced during this project, mostly related to the constraints of the setup, and the novel solutions implemented were discussed also with the support of analytical and numerical tools, in terms of interaction of X-rays with matter, geometry and working principle, heat transfer and insulation, material selection

A study of the carcinogenic activity of a single injection of 7,12- -dimethylbenz(a)anthracene into newborn c57bl mice.

Newborn C57BL mice were injected subcutaneously with a single dose of 100 μg of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene. A high neonatal mortality occurred, reducing to 23 percent the number of animals surviving at weaning time. Tumors were observed in 60.5 percent of the surviving 38 animals: 4 malignant lymphomas, 6 subcutaneous tumors at the site of injection, 5 skin tumors, 7 liver hemangiomas, 2 myocardial hemangiomas, 1 liver hemangiosarcoma, 3 multiple lung adenomas, 1 cholangioma. Among 102 untreated controls, there were 4 malignant lymphomas, 1 multiple lung adenoma, and 1 hepatoma. The average latent period, calculated at time of death, was of 30 weeks for the 4 lymphomas of the DMBA-treated group, and of 93 weeks for the 4 lymphomas occurring in the control group. These results indicate that DMBA given at birth, has a lower carcinogenic activity in C57BL mice than in other strains. </jats:p