Start-ups, firm growth and the consolidation of the French biotech industry

Based on an original dataset, we analyze empirically the determinants of firm growth in the French biotech industry during two periods, 1996-1999 and 1999-2002. We have two main results. First, Gibrat's law is violated. The growth of annual turnover is influenced by teh initial size of the firm. The effect is non-linear, negative for small firms. Second, location has a significant impact on growth. We use different sets of dummies to characterize location and different measures of firm growth. As a whole, our results point at Marseilles (and its region) and Nanterre (but not Paris and Evry) as favorable places for the growth of firms between 1999 and 2002. For the 1996-1999, the favorable places are Strasbourg (and Alsace) and Rh“ne-Alpes (Lyon/Grenoble). Our analysis thus suggests that the changes in the (notably legal) environment of French biotech firms that took place in 1999 had a drastic effect of the comparative advantages of locations for biotech firms.BIOTECHNOLOGY; INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERING; FIRM GROWTH; FRANCE

Differential distribution of myosin isoforms among the myofibrils of individual developing muscle fibers

Myosin was localized in situ in the posthatch chicken pectoralis using isoform-specific mAbs. The distribution among myofibrils was demonstrated by immunofluorescence and by immunogold EM. Fluorescein- or rhodamine-labeled antibody (12C5) specific for the head region (S1) of myosin was used as a marker to identify embryonic myosin. In longitudinal semithin frozen sections, a minority population of myofibrils stained intensely with 12C5. All other myofibrils in the same cell stained only weakly. Similarly, in Lowicryl-embedded ultrathin sections prepared for EM, a minority population reacted preferentially with gold-labeled 12C5. An antibody (5B4) specific for the rod portion of neonatal myosin reacted strongly with nearly all myofibrils, and this was evident by light and electron microscopy. A few of the fibrils that reacted strongly with 12C5 reacted weakly with 5B4. These observations demonstrate that an epitope reacting with 12C5 is more abundant in some myofibrils than in others within the same cell. Three categories of myofibrils can be identified by their relative proportions of embryonic and neonatal forms of myosin: in nearly all fibrils, a neonatal isoform predominates; in a minority population, embryonic and neonatal isoforms are both abundant; and in a few fibrils, an embryonic isoform predominates. It is concluded that there are distinct populations of myofibrils in which specific isoforms are segregated within an individual cell

Control of unstable steady states by time-delayed feedback methods

We show that time-delayed feedback methods, which have successfully been used to control unstable periodic ortbits, provide a tool to stabilize unstable steady states. We present an analytical investigation of the feedback scheme using the Lambert function and discuss effects of both a low-pass filter included in the control loop and non-zero latency times associated with the generation and injection of the feedback signal.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure

Total-dose radiation effects data for semiconductor devices. 1985 supplement. Volume 2, part A

Steady-state, total-dose radiation test data, are provided in graphic format for use by electronic designers and other personnel using semiconductor devices in a radiation environment. The data were generated by JPL for various NASA space programs. This volume provides data on integrated circuits. The data are presented in graphic, tabular, and/or narrative format, depending on the complexity of the integrated circuit. Most tests were done using the JPL or Boeing electron accelerator (Dynamitron) which provides a steady-state 2.5 MeV electron beam. However, some radiation exposures were made with a Cobalt-60 gamma ray source, the results of which should be regarded as only an approximate measure of the radiation damage that would be incurred by an equivalent electron dose