Do innovation and financial constraints affect the profit efficiency of European enterprises?

This paper investigates the relationship between profit efficiency, finance and innovation. By adopting stochastic frontiers, we pioneer the use of a novel dataset merging firm level survey data with balance sheet information for a large sample of European companies. We find that firms having difficulties in access to finance as well as firms introducing product innovation display an incentive to improve their efficiency. While innovation produces benefit for firms’ profitability, financial constraints impose a discipline to the firms forcing them to cut unproductive costs that reduce the profitability. We document nuanced differences between firms in industry and services, while they are more pronounced when we look at disaggregation across High-Tech and Low-Tech companies. From a policy perspective, our results enrich the understanding on the link between innovation, financial constraints and efficiency, which goes beyond the idea that easier access to finance is the panacea to get higher performance

Export starters and exiters: Do innovation and finance matter?

Using European Central Bank restricted-access biannual data on European small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) over the period 2014\u20132017, we analyze the impact that innovation, financial constraints, and an efficient regulatory environment exert on the probability of switching from the status of nonexporter to exporter and vice versa. We find that either the use of finance for innovation or undertaking product innovation increases the likelihood of starting to export and lowers the likelihood of stopping exporting. Although SMEs\u2019 financial frictions are negligible for foreign market entry, they matter for increasing the probability of exiting. We also document that a friendly regulatory environment is conducive to start\u2014but not to stop\u2014exporting. Our findings provide empirical support for the recent European Commission policies on both SMEs\u2019 internationalization and access to finance

A One-Pot Synthesis of "K(hfa) glyme" Adducts: Effect of the Polyether Length on the Ion Coordination Sphere

AbstractPotassium complexes are starting to gather more and more interest from academia and industry because of their intriguing application possibilities. Novel adducts of potassium hexafluoroacetylacetonato [K(hfa)] with polyethers (monoglyme, diglyme, triglyme, and tetraglyme) were synthesized through a single step reaction and characterized through FT‐IR spectroscopy as well as 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Single crystal X‐ray diffraction studies enabled the identification of fascinating K coordination polymeric networks

Targeting Nfix to fix muscular dystrophies

Muscular dystrophies (MDs) are still incurable heterogeneous diseases, characterized by muscle wasting, replacement by fibrotic tissue, and increasing weakness, which in severe cases, such as Duchenne MD, lead to premature death. MDs are due to mutations encompassing different dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC) genes, which code for structural proteins that anchor the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix, thus conferring myofiber stability. All mutations destabilizing this complex result in different MD forms, with varying levels of severity. Independently of the genetic defect, MDs share common hallmarks, characterized by continuous cycles of muscle degeneration, due to lack of structural support during contraction, followed by regeneration cycles by satellite cells (SCs), the canonical myogenic stem cells of adult muscle. However, dystrophic SCs generate new fibres which are also prone to degeneration so that, after many cycles of degeneration/regeneration, this cell population is exhausted and muscle is replaced by connective and adipose tissue. At this stage, any therapeutic intervention is likely to fail

Tiempo de cese de tabaco para la prevención de complicaciones en la cicatrizacion de heridas quirurgica

O estudo objetivou buscar evidências científicas sobre o tempo requerido para interrupção do tabagismo no pré-operatório para a redução de complicações na cicatrização da ferida cirúrgica. Revisão integrativa realizada nas bases Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (LILACS) e Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval Sistem on-line (MEDLINE) no período de 17/08/2012 a 17/09/2012, utilizando os descritores: abandono do uso de tabaco e cicatrização de feridas; abandono do uso de tabaco e período pré-operatório; abandono do uso de tabaco e período perioperatório (LILACS) e tobacco use cessation e perioperative period; tobacco use cessation e wound healing (MEDLINE). Dos 81 estudos elegíveis, 12 foram incluídos. O tempo de cessação do tabagismo necessário para redução de complicações de cicatrização é de no mínimo quatro semanas (quatro estudos com nível de evidência I; três estudos nível de evidência II; dois estudos nível de evidência IV; um estudo nível de evidência VII).The study aimed to find scientific evidence about the duration of preoperative smoking cessation required to reduce surgical wound healing complications. An integrative review was performed in the databases, Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), from 08/17/2012 to 09/17/2012, using the keywords: tobacco use cessation and wound healing; tobacco use cessation and preoperative period; tobacco use cessation and perioperative period (LILACS) and tobacco use cessation and perioperative period; tobacco use cessation and wound healing (MEDLINE). Out of the 81 eligible studies, 12 were included. The duration of smoking cessation needed to reduce healing complications was at least four weeks (four studies with level of evidence I, three studies with level of evidence II, two studies with level of evidence IV, and one study with level of evidence VII).El estudio tuvo como objetivo reunir evidencia científica sobre el tiempo necesario para dejar de fumar antes de la cirugía, para reducir las complicaciones en la cicatrización de la herida quirúrgica. Se realizó una revisión integradora en las bases de datos de América Latina y del Caribe (LILACS) y en MEDLINE durante el período comprendido entre el 17/08/2012 al 17/09/2012, utilizando los descriptores: cese del uso de tabaco y cicatrización de heridas, cese del uso de tabaco y periodo preoperatorio, cese del uso de tabaco y periodo perioperatorio en LILACS y tobacco use cessation e perioperative period; tobacco use cessation e wound healing en MEDLINE. De los 81 estudios elegibles, 12 fueron incluidos. El tiempo necesario para dejar de fumar para reducir las complicaciones de curación es de al menos cuatro semanas (cuatro estudios con nivel de evidencia I, tres estudios de evidencia de nivel II, dos estudios de evidencia de nivel IV, un estudio de nivel de evidencia VII)

Are Venture Capital SMEs more likely to start exporting?

This paper examines the effect that venture capital ownership exerts on the probability of SMEs to become newly exporting companies. We employ firm-level data and statements provided by the ECB SAFE for the years 2014-2016. By exploiting the panel dimension of our dataset, we show that being owned by venture capitalists or business angels increases by 9% the likelihood to become an exporter. This effect holds after controlling for firms' innovation and performance, as well as for the regulatory environment. Results turn to be robust to different specifications and endogeneity concerns

Evidence for the Band-Edge Exciton of CuInS2 Nanocrystals Enables Record Efficient Large-Area Luminescent Solar Concentrators

AbstractTernary I‐III‐VI2 nanocrystals (NCs), such as CuInS2, are receiving attention as heavy‐metals‐free materials for solar cells, luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs), LEDs, and bio‐imaging. The origin of the optical properties of CuInS2 NCs are however not fully understood. A recent theoretical model suggests that their characteristic Stokes‐shifted and long‐lived luminescence arises from the structure of the valence band (VB) and predicts distinctive optical behaviours in defect‐free NCs: the quadratic dependence of the radiative decay rate and the Stokes shift on the NC radius. If confirmed, this would have crucial implications for LSCs as the solar spectral coverage ensured by low‐bandgap NCs would be accompanied by increased re‐absorption losses. Here, by studying stoichiometric CuInS2 NCs, it is revealed for the first time the spectroscopic signatures predicted for the free band‐edge exciton, thus supporting the VB‐structure model. At very low temperatures, the NCs also show dark‐state emission likely originating from enhanced electron‐hole spin interaction. The impact of the observed optical behaviours on LSCs is evaluated by Monte Carlo ray‐tracing simulations. Based on the emerging device design guidelines, optical‐grade large‐area (30×30 cm2) LSCs with optical power efficiency (OPE) as high as 6.8% are fabricated, corresponding to the highest value reported to date for large‐area devices

Subsurface properties of Lucus Planum, Mars, as seen by MARSIS

Lucus Planum, extending for a radius of approximately 500 km around 181°E, 5°S, is part of the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF), a set of several discontinuous deposits of fine-grained, friable material straddling across the Martian highland-lowland boundary. Parts of the MFF have been probed through radar sounding by MARSIS and SHARAD, synthetic-aperture, low-frequency radars carried respectively by ESA's Mars Express and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They transmit low-frequency radar pulses that are capable of penetrating below the surface, and are reflected by any dielectric discontinuity present in the subsurface. The dielectric permittivity of the MFF material, estimated from data of both radars, is consistent with either a substantial component of water ice or a low-density, ice-poor material. There is no evidence for internal layering in SHARAD data, despite the fact that layering at scales of tens of meters has been reported in many parts of the MFF. This lack of detection can be the result of one or more factors, such as high interface roughness, low dielectric contrast between materials, or discontinuity of the layers. After more than 10 years of observations, MARSIS has acquired about 240 orbits across Lucus Planum, making it possible to map the presence and depth of subsurface interfaces to a much greater detail than in previous works. The positions and strengths of subsurface echoes were extracted manually from radargrams and mapped across Lucus Planum, converting echo time delay to apparent depth. The strongest subsurface echoes, resulting from weak internal attenuation, strong subsurface reflectivity, or both, are found within the deposits located NW of Apollinaris Patera, while no subsurface echoes could be detected in the central section of Lucus Planum, in spite of several high-SNR observations. Subsurface reflections are common in the Eastern and Northwestern sectors, in some cases to depths of more than 2000 m assuming a dielectric permittivity of about 3. The lack of subsurface reflections in the central part of Lucus Planum can be the result of several factors, some of which depend on surface properties. A high topographic roughness at scales comparable to the radar wavelength causes scattering of the impinging pulse, resulting in weaker surface and subsurface echoes. However, surface roughness estimated from MOLA data is higher in the Eastern part of Lucus Planum. Another possibility is that roughness at the base of the deposit is higher in its central part, although there is no indication of such kind of trend in the older surrounding terrains. Because subsurface echoes appear to be closely associated with areas of distinct surface morphology, it is possible that Lucus Planum is in fact laterally inhomogeneous and that the central part consists of denser, more radar-attenuating material. This work was supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) through contract no. I/032/12/1

Multiple subglacial water bodies below the south pole of Mars unveiled by new MARSIS data

The detection of liquid water by the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) at the base of the south polar layered deposits in Ultimi Scopuli has reinvigorated the debate about the origin and stability of liquid water under present-day Martian conditions. To establish the extent of subglacial water in this region, we acquired new data, achieving extended radar coverage over the study area. Here, we present and discuss the results obtained by a new method of analysis of the complete MARSIS dataset, based on signal processing procedures usually applied to terrestrial polar ice sheets. Our results strengthen the claim of the detection of a liquid water body at Ultimi Scopuli and indicate the presence of other wet areas nearby. We suggest that the waters are hypersaline perchlorate brines, known to form at Martian polar regions and thought to survive for an extended period of time on a geological scale at below-eutectic temperatures