Crescita, Innovazione Tecnologica e Mercato dei Capitali: il Ruolo del Venture Capital

Questo paper considera il venture capital come forma di finanziamento che si realizza in quegli ambienti dove i fallimenti di mercato causati da problemi informativi sono tali da non rendere possibile l'affermazione di altre istituzioni finanziarie, e dove questa si affermi come unica forma di finanziamento nell'ambito della finanza d'impresa. Definiremo allora il venture capital come un intermediario finanziario altamente specializzato in grado di operare in certi ambienti, caratterizzati da livelli elevati di incertezza e dalla presenza di forti asimmetrie informative, in cui la capacità nell'affrontare le inefficienza strutturali del mercato risiede nell'abilità di raccogliere e trattare le informazioni rilevanti per prendere decisioni ottimali di investimento. Gli ambienti in cui i venture capitalist sono prevalenti sono i settori innovativi delle imprese ad alta tecnologia, dove a causa dell'elevata intensità di ricerca e sviluppo e della sostanziale intangibilità dei beni, si generano considerevoli livelli di incertezza e di asimmetrie informative, rendendo estremamente difficoltosa la selezione delle opportunità di investimento e il controllo dei comportamenti opportunistici degli imprenditori.Venture capital, asymmetric information, financing decision, ownership

Effect of domestic sheep on chamois activity, distribution and abundance on sub-alpine pastures

Resource competition and disease transmission may occur when domestic and wild ungulates live sympatricly. We investigated if the release of sheep (Ovis aries) onto alpine pasture in Switzerland affected chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) activity budgets, local population size and spatial distribution. We also evaluated the risk of transmission of Mycoplasma conjunctivae (causing a contagious eye disease) from sheep to chamois by examining if the two species had close contact with one another. We carried out the study in an alpine valley containing two adjacent areas: one containing sheep (Fochsenflue) and one where sheep were excluded (Spitzflue). We found no difference between the activity budgets of the chamois at the two sites. At the Fochsenflue, chamois and sheep mainly used separate areas. However, after approximately 1month, sheep started to move twice per day, into the main area of the chamois. The percentage time feeding, spatial distribution and numbers of chamois did not change in response. Sheep were responsible for all encounters in which the two species came closer than 50m to each other. The encounters were brief, body contact never occurred, they were not concentrated at saltlicks and chamois mainly ended them. The results suggest that the presence of sheep had little effect on the chamois. However, competition between the two species could still be occurring over a longer time scale. Finally, we found that the risk of inter-specific transmission of IKC through direct body contact is likely to be low, but the risk through indirect means (flies or aerosols) remain

Parallelizable Microfluidic Resistive On-Line Detector of Micrometric Aggregates of Biopharmaceutical Antibodies

A microfluidic device based on the differential measurement of the ionic resistance of a micropore for detection of aggregates of antibodies in biopharmaceutical downstream process is presented. The main novelty of this contribution regards the experimental demonstration that, despite the poor solidness of proteins, their aggregates, in their standard production buffer, can be electrically detected down to 2.4 μm diameter with sub-ms transit time (flow rate of 5 μl/min). Thanks to the simple PDMS fluidic fabrication, compact DC readout circuit and convenient use of the same metallic silver tubing for both electrical and fluidic interconnection, the device can be straightforwardly parallelized in tens of units, thus combining single micrometric sensitivity with larger flow rates (>100 μl/min), suitable for in-line installation in pharmaceutical plants

A new handheld electromagnetic cortical stimulator for brain mapping during open skull neurosurgery: a feasibility study

Transcranial magnetic stimulations have provided invaluable tools for investigating nervous system functions in a preoperative context; in this paper we propose an innovative tool to extend the magnetic stimulation to an open skull context as a promising approach to map the brain cortex. The present gold standard for intraoperative functional mapping of the brain cortex, the direct brain stimulation, has a low spatial resolution and limited penetration and focusing capabilities. The magnetic stimulatory device that we present, is designed to overcome these limitations, while working with low currents and voltages. In the present work we propose an early study of feasibility, in which the possibility of exploiting a train of fast changing magnetic fields to reach the neuron's current thresholds is investigated. Measurements of electric field intensity at different distances from the coil, showed that the magnetic stimulator realized is capable of delivering an electric field on a loop of wire theoretically sufficient to evoke neuron's action potential, thus showing the approach' feasibility

The Use of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy During Percutaneous Dilatational Tracheostomy With Laryngeal Mask

The aim of our research is to evaluate the advantage by the combined use of fiberoptic bronchoscopy and laryngeal mask during the performance of percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy in an intensive care unit

Health impact assessment of major collective events: an overview of the available experiences

Background: major sporting and cultural events are a sensitive political and social issue. The aim of this study was to perform a critical review of the international literature regarding health impact assessment (HIA) studies of major events to identify all the health indicators available in the literature. Methods: we drew up a review of available literature on HIAs pertaining to major sports and cultural events. The papers obtained were read and then assessed in relation to the inclusion criteria, and the health indicators used were listed and commented upon. Results: we found three published HIA reports. One is a full report, and the other two are a screening report and a rapid HIA report. Through a detailed analysis, it has been possible to develop a set of indicators that can be used for future HIAs on major sporting and cultural events. Conclusions: reports of HIAs for major events that are available online identify several health impacts. In the pre-event phase, negative effects are predominant; in the post-event period, positive impacts prevail. The characteristics of the different stakeholders involved in the events play an important role in the evaluation process

Localization of a putative ClC chloride channel in spinach chloroplasts

AbstractSeven genes seem to encode for putative ClC chloride channels (AtClC-a to AtClC-g) in Arabidopsis thaliana. Their function and localization is still largely unknown. AtClC-f shares considerable sequence similarity with putative ClC channel proteins from Synechocystis, considered to represent the precursor of chloroplasts. We show by biochemical and mass spectrometry analysis that ClC-f is located in the outer envelope membrane of spinach chloroplasts. Consistent with the plastidial localization of ClC-f, p-chlorophenoxy-acetic acid (CPA) reduces photosynthetic activity and the protein is expressed in etioplasts and chloroplasts but not in root tissue. These findings may represent a step toward the molecular identification of ion channel activities in chloroplast membranes

Effectiveness of plant-derived formulations against the rootknot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid et White) Chitw. in a protected tomato crop

The effectiveness of two plant-derived formulations for the control of the root-knot Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid et White) Chitw. was evaluated in a protected tomato crop in Southern Italy. A neem oil-based formulation and a commercial mixture of aqueous extracts of Quillaja saponaria Molina (80%), Yucca schidigera Roezl (10%) and Tagetes spp. (10%) were tested in comparison with the standard chemical oxamyl and an untreated control. All tested formulations significantly decreased soil nematode population and average root galling compared to the untreated control. However, nematode infestation was found significantly lower in plots treated with oxamyl or neem formulation than in those treated with quillay-based product. Tomato yield did not significantly differ among treatments. Satisfactory yield obtained by quillay-based product appears to be caused by the biostimulating effect of quillay extract on tomato plants

Effectiveness of soil solarization combined with a plant-derived formulation for the control of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid et White) Chitw. in greenhouse tomato

The effectiveness of soil solarization, alone or in combination with oxamyl or a plant-derived formulation (a mixture of aqueous extracts of Quillaja saponaria Molina , Yucca schidigera Roezl and Tagetes spp., 80, 10 and 10%, respectively), for the control of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid et White) Chitw. was assessed in a greenhouse trial on tomato at Battipaglia (province of Salerno), Southern Italy. The combination of soil solarization with the plant-derived formulation resulted in a greater nematode suppression than application of single treatments. Combining soil solarization with the plant-derived formulation resulted in tomato yield and fruit size similar to that of the combination of soil solarization with oxamyl. Therefore the combination of soil solarization with plant-derived formulations may represent a sustainable nematode control strategy, as safe for human health and environment