What are Firms? Evolution from Birth to Public Companies

We study how firm characteristics evolve from early business plan to initial public offering to public company for 49 venture capital financed companies. The average time elapsed is almost 6 years. We describe the financial performance, business idea, point(s) of differentiation, non-human capital assets, growth strategy, customers, competitors, alliances, top management, ownership structure, and the board of directors. Our analysis focuses on the nature and stability of those flrIn attributes. Firm business lines remain remarkably stable from business plan through public company. Within those business lines, non-human capital aspects of the businesses appear more stable than human capital aspects. In the cross-section, firms with more alienable assets have substantially more human capital turnover.Theory of the firm; Entrepreneurship; Venture capital; Firm life cycle

The Effects of Stock Lending on Security Prices: An Experiment

Working with a sizeable, anonymous money manager, we randomly make available for lending two-thirds of the high-loan fee stocks in the manager’s portfolio and withhold the other third to produce an exogenous shock to loan supply. We implement the lending experiment in two independent phases: the first, from September 5 to 18, 2008, with over $580 million of securities lent; and the second, from June 5 to September 30, 2009, with over$250 million of securities lent. The supply shocks are sizeable and significantly reduce lending fees, but returns, volatility, skewness, and bid-ask spreads remain unaffected. Results are consistent across both phases of the experiment and indicate no adverse effects from securities lending on stock prices.

The development of Bitcoin futures : exploring the interactions between cryptocurrency derivatives

We utilise a high-frequency analysis to investigate the period surrounding the establishment of two new futures contracts based on the performance of Bitcoin. Our analysis shows that there have been significant pricing effects sourced from both fraudulent and regulatory unease within the industry. While analysing breakpoints in efficiency, we verify the view that Bitcoin futures dominate price discovery relative to spot markets. However, we add to this research by finding that CBOE futures are found to be the leading source of informational flow when compared directly to their CME equivalent

Cancer in Youth Living With HIV (YLWHIV): A narrative review of the access to oncological services among YLWHIV and the role of economic strengthening in child health

Youth Living with HIV/AIDS (YLWHIV) have a higher risk of developing immunodeficiency related illnesses including certain cancers than their general population counterparts of the same age. This narrative review of current available literature describes factors associated with pediatric access to oncological services, and the role economic strengthening could play in improving health outcomes for this vulnerable population. Findings suggest that both HIV-infected and -uninfected children living in low and middle-income countries struggle with access and adherence to cancer treatment and care. Cost of treatment is a major barrier to access and adherence. Asset-building savings programs may increase financial security and subsequently result in better health outcomes although they have not been utilized to improve access to cancer treatment

Economic Abuse and Care-seeking Practices for HIV and Financial Support Services in Women Employed by Sex Work: A Cross-Sectional Baseline Assessment of a Clinical Trial Cohort in Uganda

Economic hardship is a driver of entry into sex work, which is associated with high HIV risk. Yet, little is known about economic abuse in women employed by sex work (WESW) and its relationship to uptake of HIV prevention and financial support services. This study used cross-sectional baseline data from a multisite, longitudinal clinical trial that tests the efficacy of adding economic empowerment to traditional HIV risk reduction education on HIV incidence in 542 WESW. Mixed effects logistic and linear regressions were used to examine associations in reported economic abuse by demographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, HIV care-seeking, and financial care-seeking. Mean age was 31.4 years. Most WESW were unmarried (74%) and had less than primary school education (64%). 48% had savings, and 72% had debt. 93% reported at least one economic abuse incident. Common incidents included being forced to ask for money (80%), having financial information kept from them (61%), and being forced to disclose how money was spent (56%). WESW also reported partners/relatives spending money needed for bills (45%), not paying bills (38%), threatening them to quit their job(s) (38%), and using physical violence when earning income (24%). Married/partnered WESW (OR = 2.68, 95% CI:1.60–4.48), those with debt (OR = 1.70, 95% CI:1.04–2.77), and those with sex-work bosses (OR = 1.90, 95% CI:1.07–3.38) had higher economic abuse. Condomless sex (β = +4.43, p < .05) was higher among WESW experiencing economic abuse, who also had lower odds of initiating PrEP (OR = .39, 95% CI:.17–.89). WESW experiencing economic abuse were also more likely to ask for cash among relatives (OR = 2.36, 95% CI:1.13–4.94) or banks (OR = 2.12, 95% CI:1.11–4.03). The high prevalence of HIV and economic abuse in WESW underscores the importance of integrating financial empowerment in HIV risk reduction interventions for WESW, including education about economic abuse and strategies to address it. Programs focusing on violence against women should also consider economic barriers to accessing HIV prevention services

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Prima facie reasons to question enclosed intellectual property regimes and favor open-source regimes for germplasm

In principle, intellectual property protections (IPPs) promote and protect important but costly investment in research and development. However, the empirical reality of IPPs has often gone without critical evaluation, and the potential of alternative approaches to lend equal or greater support for useful innovation is rarely considered. In this paper, we review the mounting evidence that the global intellectual property regime (IPR) for germplasm has been neither necessary nor sufficient to generate socially beneficial improvements in crop plants and maintain agrobiodiversity. Instead, based on our analysis, the dominant global IPR appears to have contributed to consolidation in the seed industry while failing to genuinely engage with the potential of alternatives to support social goods such as food security, adaptability, and resilience. The dominant IPR also constrains collaborative and cumulative plant breeding processes that are built upon the work of countless farmers past and present. Given the likely limits of current IPR, we propose that social goods in agriculture may be better supported by alternative approaches, warranting a rapid move away from the dominant single-dimensional focus on encouraging innovation through ensuring monopoly profits to IPP holders

Effect of Ultrasonic-Assisted Blanching on Size Variation, Heat Transfer, and Quality Parameters of Mushrooms

The main aim of this work was to assess the influence of the application of power ultrasound during blanching of mushrooms (60 90 °C) on the shrinkage, heat transfer, and quality parameters. Kinetics of mushroom shrinkage was modeled and coupled to a heat transfer model for conventional (CB) and ultrasonic-assisted blanching (UB). Cooking value and the integrated residual enzymatic activity were obtained through predicted temperatures and related to the hardness and color variations of mushrooms, respectively. The application of ultrasound led to an increase of shrinkage and heat transfer rates, being this increase more intense at low process temperatures. Consequently, processing time was decreased (30.7 46.0 %) and a reduction in hardness (25.2 40.8 %) and lightness (13.8 16.8 %) losses were obtained. The best retention of hardness was obtained by the UB at 60 °C, while to maintain the lightness it was the CB and UB at 90 °C. For enhancing both quality parameters simultaneously, a combined treatment (CT), which consisted of a CB 0.5 min at 90 °C and then an UB 19.9min at 60 °C, was designed. In this manner, compared with the conventional treatment at 60 °C, reductions of 39.1, 27.2, and 65.5 % for the process time, hardness and lightness losses were achieved, respectively. These results suggest that the CT could be considered as an interesting alternative to CB in order to reduce the processing time and improve the overall quality of blanched mushrooms.The authors acknowledge the financial support of Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas and Universidad Nacional de La Plata from Argentina, Erasmus Mundus Action 2-Strand 1 and EuroTango II Researcher Training Program and Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (SPAIN) and the FEDER (project DPI2012-37466-CO3-03).Lespinard, A.; Bon Corbín, J.; Cárcel Carrión, JA.; Benedito Fort, JJ.; Mascheroni, RH. (2015). Effect of Ultrasonic-Assisted Blanching on Size Variation, Heat Transfer, and Quality Parameters of Mushrooms. Food and Bioprocess Technology. 8(1):41-53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-014-1373-zS415381Aguirre, L., Frias, J. M., Barry-Ryan, C., & Grogan, H. (2009). Modelling browning and brown spotting of mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) stored in controlled environmental conditions using image analysis. Journal of Food Engineering, 91, 280–286.Anantheswaran, R. C., Sastry, S. K., Beelman, R. B., Okereke, A., & Konanayakam, M. (1986). Effect of processing on yield, color, and texture of canned mushrooms. Journal of Food Science, 51(5), 1197–1200.Biekman, E. S. A., Kroese-Hoedeman, H. I., & Schijvens, E. P. H. M. (1996). Loss of solutes during blanching of mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) as a result of shrinkage and extraction. Journal of Food Engineering, 28(2), 139–152.Biekman, E. S. A., van Remmen, H. H. J., Kroese-Hoedeman, H. I., Ogink, J. J. M., & Schijvens, E. P. H. M. (1997). Effect of shrinkage on the temperature increase in evacuated mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) during blanching. Journal of Food Engineering, 33(1–2), 87–99.Brennan, M., Le Port, G., & Gormley, R. (2000). Post-harvest treatment with citric acid or hydrogen peroxide to extend the shelf life of fresh sliced mushrooms. Lebensmittel Wissenschaft und Technologie, 33, 285–289.Cárcel, J. A., Benedito, J., Rosselló, C., & Mulet, A. (2007). Influence of ultrasound intensity on mass transfer in apple immersed in a sucrose solution. Journal of Food Engineering, 78, 472–479.Cárcel, J. A., Benedito, J., Bon, J., & Mulet, A. (2007). High intensity ultrasound effects on meat brining. Meat Science, 76, 611–619.Cárcel, J. A., García-Pérez, J. V., Benedito, J., & Mulet, A. (2011). Food process innovation through new technologies: Use of ultrasound. Journal of Food Engineering, 110, 200–207.Cheng, X., Zhang, M., & Adhikari, B. (2013). The inactivation kinetics of polyphenol oxidase in mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) during thermal and thermosonic treatmemts. Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 20, 674–679.Cliffe-Byrnes, V., & O’Beirne, D. (2007). Effects of gas atmosphere and temperature on the respiration rates of whole and sliced mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus): implications for film permeability in modified atmosphere packages. Journal of Food Science, 72, 197–204.Coskuner, Y., & Ozdemir, Y. (1997). Effects of canning processes on the elements content of cultivated mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Food Chemistry, 60(4), 559–562.Cruz, R. M. S., Vieira, M. C., Fonseca, S. C., & Silva, C. L. M. (2011). Impact of thermal blanching and thermosonication treatments on watercress (Nasturtium officinale) quality: thermosonication process optimisation and microstructure evaluation. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 4(7), 1197–1204.De Gennaro, L., Cavella, S., Romano, R., & Masi, P. (1999). The use of ultrasound in food technology I: inactivation of peroxidase by thermosonication. Journal of Food Engineering, 39, 401–407.De la Fuente, S., Riera, E., Acosta, V. M., Blanco, A., & Gallego-Juárez, J. A. (2006). Food drying process by power ultrasound. Ultrasonics, 44, 523–527.Delgado, A. E., Zheng, L., & Sun, D. W. (2009). Influence of ultrasound on freezing rate of immersion-frozen apples. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 2, 263–270.Devece, C., Rodríguez-López, J. N., Fenoll, J. T., Catalá, J. M., De los Reyes, E., & García-Cánovas, F. (1999). Enzyme inactivation analysis for industrial blanching applications: comparison of microwave, conventional, and combination heat treatments on mushroom polyphenoloxidase activity. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 47(11), 4506–4511.Fernandes, F. A. N., & Rodrigues, S. (2007). Ultrasound as pre-treatment for drying of fruits: dehydration of banana. Journal of Food Engineering, 82, 261–267.Gabaldón-Leyva, C. A., Quintero-Ramos, A., Barnard, J., Balandrán-Quintana, R. R., Talamás-Abbud, R., & Jiménez-Castro, J. (2007). Effect of ultrasound on the mass transfer and physical changes in brine bell pepper at different temperatures. Journal of Food Engineering, 81, 374–379.Gallego-Juárez, J. A., Riera, E., De la Fuente, S., Rodríguez-Corral, G., Acosta-Aparicio, V. M., & Blanco, A. (2007). Application of high-power ultrasound for dehydration of vegetables: processes and devices. Drying Technology, 25, 1893–1901.Gamboa-Santos, J., Montilla, A., Soria, A. C., & Villamiel, M. (2012). Effects of conventional and ultrasound blanching on enzyme inactivation and carbohydrate content of carrots. European Food Research and Technology, 234, 1071–1079.García-Pérez, J. V., Cárcel, J. A., De la Fuente, S., & Riera, E. (2006). Ultrasonic drying of foodstuff in a fluidized bed. Parametric study. Ultrasonics, 44, 539–543.García-Pérez, J. V., Cárcel, J. A., Riera, E., Rosselló, C., & Mulet, A. (2012). Intensification of low-temperature drying by using ultrasound. Drying Technology, 30, 1199–1208.Gonzáles-Fandos, E., Giménez, M., Olarte, C., Sanz, S., & Simón, A. (2000). Effect of packaging conditions on the growth of microorganisms and the quality characteristics of fresh mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) stored at inadequate temperatures. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 89, 624–632.Gormley, T. R. (1975). Chill storage of mushrooms. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 26, 401–411.Gouzi, H., Depagne, C., & Coradin, T. (2012). Kinetics and thermodynamics of thermal inactivation of polyfenol oxidase in an aqueous extract from Agaricus bisporus. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 60, 500–506.Holdsworth, S. D. (1997). Thermal processing of packaged foods. London: Chapman Hall.Horžić, D., Jambrak, A. R., Belščak-Cvitanović, A., Komes, D., & Lelas, V. (2012). Comparison of conventional and ultrasound assisted extraction techniques of yellow tea and bioactive composition of obtained extracts. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 5, 2858–2870.Jambrak, A. R., Mason, T. J., Paniwnyk, L., & Lelas, V. (2007a). Ultrasonic effect on pH, electric conductivity, and tissue surface of button mushrooms, brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Czech Journal of Food Science, 25, 90–99.Jambrak, A. R., Mason, T. J., Paniwnyk, L., & Lelas, V. (2007b). Accelerated drying of button mushrooms, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower by applying power ultrasound and its rehydration properties. Journal of Food Engineering, 81, 88–97.Jasinski, E. M., Stemberger, B., Walsh, R., & Kilara, A. (1984). Ultra structural studies of raw and processed tissue of the major cultivated mushroom, Agaricus bisporus. Food Microstructure, 3, 191–196.Jolivet, S., Arpin, N., Wicher, H. J., & Pellon, G. (1998). Agaricus bisporus browning: a review. Mycological Research, 102, 1459–1483.Konanayakam, M., & Sastry, S. K. (1988). Kinetics of shrinkage of mushroom during blanching. Journal of Food Science, 53(5), 1406–1411.Kotwaliwale, N., Bakane, P., & Verma, A. (2007). Changes in textural and optical properties of oyster mushroom during hot air drying. Journal of Food Engineering, 78(4), 1207–1211.Leadley C. & Williams A. (2002). Power ultrasound—current and potential applications for food processing, Review No 32, Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association.Lespinard, A. R., Goñi, S. M., Salgado, P. R., & Mascheroni, R. H. (2009). Experimental determination and modeling of size variation, heat transfer and quality indexes during mushroom blanching. Journal of Food Engineering, 92, 8–17.Lima, M., & Sastry, S. K. (1990). Influence of fluid rheological properties and particle location on ultrasound-assisted heat transfer between liquid and particles. Journal of Food Science, 55(4), 1112–1115.López, P., & Burgos, J. (1995). Peroxidase stability and reactivation after heat treatment and manothermosonication. Journal of Food Science, 60(3), 551–553.López, P., Sala, F. J., Fuente, J. L., Cardon, S., Raso, J., & Burgos, J. (1994). Inactivation of peroxidase lipoxigenase and phenol oxidase by manothermosonication. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 42(2), 253–256.Mansfield, T. (1962). High temperature-short time sterilization. Proceedings First International Congress on Food Science and Technology, 4, 311–316.Mason T. J. (1998). Power ultrasound in food processing—the way forward. In M. J. W. Povey & T. J. Mason (Eds.), Ultrasound in Food Processing (pp 103–126). Blackie Academic & Professional, London.McArdle F. J. & Curwen D. (1962). Some factors influencing shrinkage of canned mushrooms. Mushroom Science, 5, 547–557.McArdle, F. J., Kuhn, G. D., & Beelman, R. B. (1974). Influence of vacuum soaking on yield and quality of canned mushrooms. Journal of Food Science, 39, 1026–1028.Mohapatra, D., Bira, Z. M., Kerry, J. P., Frías, J. M., & Rodrigues, F. A. (2010). Postharvest hardness and color evolution of White button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus). Journal of Food Science, 75(3), 146–152.Ohlsson, T. (1980). Temperature dependence of sensory quality changes during thermal processing. Journal of Food Science, 45(4), 836–847.Ortuño, C., Martínez-Pastor, M., Mulet, A., & Benedito, J. (2013). Application of high power ultrasound in the supercritical carbon dioxide inactivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Food Research International, 51, 474–481.Peralta-Jimenez, L., & Cañizares-Macías, M. P. (2012). Ultrasound-assisted method for extraction of theobromine and caffeine from cacao seeds and chocolate products. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 6, 3522–3529.Rodríguez-López, J. N., Fenoll, N. G., Tudela, J., Devece, C., Sánchez-Hernández, D., De los Reyes, D., et al. (1999). Thermal inactivation of mushroom polyphenoloxidase employing 2450 MHz microwave radiation. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, 47, 3028–3035.Sala, F., Burgos, J., Condon, S., Lopez, P., & Raso, J. (1995). Effect of heat and ultrasound on microorganisms and enzymes. In G. W. Gould (Ed.), New methods of food preservation (1st ed., pp. 176–204). Glasgow: Blackie Academic and professional.Sanjuán, N., Hernando, I., Lluch, M. A., & Mullet, A. (2005). Effects of low temperature blanching on texture, microstructure and rehydration capacity of carrots. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 85, 2071–2076.Santos, M. V., & Lespinard, A. R. (2011). Numerical simulation of mushrooms during freezing using the FEM and an enthalpy—Kirchhoff formulation. Heat and Mass Transfer, 47, 1671–1683.Sastry, S. K., Beelman, R. B., & Speroni, J. J. (1985). A three-dimensional finite element model for thermally induced changes in foods: application to degradation of agaritine in canned mushrooms. Journal of Food Science, 50(5), 1293–1299.Sastry, S. K., Shen, G. Q., & Blaisdel, J. L. (1989). Effect of ultrasonic vibration on fluid-to-particule convective heat transfer coefficients. Journal of Food Science, 54(1), 229–230.Sensoy, I., & Sastry, S. K. (2004). Ohmic blanching of mushrooms. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 27(1), 1–15.Sheen, S., & Hayakawa, K. (1991). Finite difference simulation for heat conduction with phase change in an irregular food domain with volumetric change. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 34(6), 1337–1346.Simal, S., Benedito, J., Sanchez, E. S., & Rossello, C. (1998). Use of ultrasound to increase mass transport rates during osmotic dehydration. Journal of Food Engineering, 36, 323–336.Siró, I., Vén, C., Balla, C., Jónás, G., Zeke, I., & Friedrich, L. (2009). Application of an ultrasonic assisted curing technique for improving the diffusion of sodium chloride in porcine meat. Journal of Food Engineering, 91, 353–362.Soria, A. C., & Villamiel, M. (2010). Effect of ultrasound on the technological properties and bioactivity in foods: a review. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 21, 323–331.Verlinden, B. E., Yuksel, D., Baheri, M., De Baerdemaeker, J., & Van Dijk, C. (2000). Low temperature blanching effect on the changes in mechanical properties during subsequent cooking of three potato cultivars. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 35, 331–340.Wu, C. M., Wu, J. L.-P., Chen, C.-C., & Chou, C.-C. (1981). Flavor recovery from mushroom blanching water. In G. Charalambous & G. Inglett (Eds.), The quality of foods and beverages: chemistry and technology, vol. 1. New York: Academic Press.Zivanovic, S., & Buescher, R. (2004). Changes in mushroom texture and cell wall composition affected by thermal processing. Journal of Food Science, 69, 44–48

Black Girls Speak STEM: Counterstories of Informal and Formal Learning Experiences

This study presents the interpretations and perceptions of Black girls who participated in I AM STEM – a community-based informal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program. Using narrative inquiry, participants generated detailed accounts of their informal and formal STEM learning experiences. Critical race methodology informed this research to portray the dynamic and complex experiences of girls of color, whose stories have historically been silenced and misrepresented. The data sources for this qualitative study included individual interviews, student reflection journals, samples of student work, and researcher memos, which were triangulated to produce six robust counterstories. Excerpts of the counterstories are presented in this article. The major findings of this research revealed that I AM STEM ignited an interest in STEM learning through field trips and direct engagement in scientific phenomena that allowed the girls to become agentic in continuing their engagement in STEM activities throughout the year. This call to awaken the voices of Black girls to speak casts light on their experiences and challenges as STEM learners ⎯ from their perspectives. The findings confirm that when credence and counterspaces are given to Black girls, they are poised to reveal their luster toward STEM learning. This study provided a space for Black girls to reflect on their STEM learning experiences, formulate new understandings, and make connections between the informal and formal learning environments within the context of their everyday lives, thus offering a more holistic approach to STEM learning that occurs across settings and over a lifetime