The Internationalization of Oil&Gas Family Businesses

The internalization of family businesses– i.e. of the companies that implement it - can be stimulated by numerous reasons: one of these is linked to the target markets, not in terms of market development, but of resource to be used / exploited. What makes the oil companies distinguishing is that: they follow the territory and the exploitation of the underground resources, wherever they are in the world. In the Italian context, this characteristic of oilfield companies is very noticeable due to the scarcity of underground resources, which characterize our territory. We propose an empirical approach. It has been considered the case of a specific Italian Oil&Gas family firm. The study consists of: a first part, in which an analysis of the main economic and managerial literature, both national and international, was made (on internationalization, SMEs and family businesses, industrial districts, oilfield environment); a second part, in which an empirical analysis was developed: interviews have been conducted with the owners and top management of the company, in order to study and analyze the firm development strategies

The Management, Sharing and Transfer of Knowledge in the Oil Districts - The Case Study of An Italian District

Knowledge management is one of the most innovative and effective tools available to companies to manage an economic and organizational ever-changing environment. The chapter is based on an empirical study starting from the classification of oil district and aims to understand how firms’ position affect knowledge transfer process within the district. We support the idea that knowledge transfer is deeply affected by firms’ contractual power as well as by their position within the district. The companies of the industrial districts have the advantage of exploiting and sharing knowledge with each other. The literature generally holds that knowledge transfer requires a sense of equality and fairness among the firms, to create conditions in which firms will share their own knowledge for joint competitive advantage. However, empirical evidence shows that the value chains are often characterized by hierarchical relations and asymmetry between the parties: this feature is particularly evident in the oil districts. For companies attempting to acquire new information, the typologies of their intercompany collaboration and their cultural relationships are crucial

Understanding pain perception through genetic painlessness diseases: The role of NGF and proNGF.

Nerve growth factor (NGF), by binding to TrkA and p75(NTR) receptors, regulates the survival and differentiation of sensory neurons during development and mediates pain transmission and perception during adulthood, by acting at different levels of the nervous system. Key to understanding the role of NGF as a pain mediator is the finding that mutations (namely, R121W, V232fs and R221W) in the NGF gene cause painlessness disease Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy type V (HSAN V). Here we shall review the consequences of these NGF mutations, each of which results in specific clinical signs: R221W determines congenital pain insensitivity with no overt cognitive disabilities, whereas V232fs and R121W also result in intellectual disability, thus showing similarities to HSAN IV, which is caused by mutations in TrkA, rather than to HSAN V. Comparing the cellular, biochemical and clinical findings of these mutations could help in better understanding not only the possible mechanisms underlying HSAN V, but also mechanisms of NGF signalling and roles. These mutations alter the balance between NGF and proNGF in favour of an accumulation of the latter, suggesting a possible role of proNGF as a molecule with an analgesic role. Furthermore, the neurotrophic and pronociceptive functions of NGF are split by the R221W mutation, making NGF variants based on this mutation interesting for designing therapeutic applications for many diseases. This review emphasizes the possibility of using the mutations involved in "painlessness" clinical disorders as an innovative approach to identify new proteins and pathways involved in pain transmission and perception.Outstanding questions: Why do homozygous HSAN V die postnatally? What is the cause of this early postnatal lethality?Is the development of a mouse or a human feeling less pain affecting higher cognitive and perceptual functions?What is the consequence of the HSAN V mutation on the development of joints and bones? Are the multiple fractures observed in HSAN V patients due exclusively to the carelessness consequent to not feeling pain, or also to an intrinsic frailty of their bones?Are heterodimers of NGF(WT) and NGF(R221W) in the heterozygote state formed? And if so, what are the properties of these heterodimeric proteins?How is the processing of proNGF(R221W) to NGF(R221W) affected by the mutation

Acceptability, Waste and Nutritional Adequacy of Primary School Canteen Menus: An Observational Study in Pavia, Northern Italy

The aim of the study was to determine the acceptability, waste and nutritional adequacy of lunches served in all public primary school canteens in Pavia, Northern Italy. School canteens of all public primary schools were investigated to determine the acceptability, waste and nutritional adequacy of their menus. In addiction, the environment of the canteens (brightness, noisiness, size, crowding, cleanliness, attractiveness) was observed. The observations were conducted from April to June 2012. In each school canteen, lunch was supervised for three consecutive days by 5 trained dietitians. In total, 13 schools, 22 classes and 448 schoolchildren aged 7-8.5 years were investigated. The school canteens were found to be hygienically appropriate and homely. The menus offered appeared nutritionally adequate but portion sizes were often too big for the children's age. Consequently a lot of waste was encountered, especially fruit and vegetables (70% of children refused vegetables), but first and main courses were also wasted (50% of children consumed a first course and the same proportion consumed a main course). The meals offered by the school canteens appeared nutritionally appropriate although portion-sizes were often too large for 7-8.5 aged schoolchildren. The quality and variety of the menus were good and the raw materials were usually D.O.P. (Protected Denomination of Origin) as a guarantee of high quality. This study has drawn attention to the need to adapt the menus to the children's age in order to reduce waste

Apparent stiffness of vimentin intermediate filaments in living cells and its relation with other cytoskeletal polymers

The cytoskeleton is a complex network of interconnected biopolymers intimately involved in the generation and transmission of forces. Several mechanical properties of microtubules and actin filaments have been extensively explored in cells. In contrast, intermediate filaments (IFs) received comparatively less attention despite their central role in defining cell shape, motility and adhesion during physiological processes as well as in tumor progression. Here, we explored relevant biophysical properties of vimentin IFs in living cells combining confocal microscopy and a filament tracking routine that allows localizing filaments with ~20 nm precision. A Fourier-based analysis showed that IFs curvatures followed a thermal-like behavior characterized by an apparent persistence length (lp*) similar to that measured in aqueous solution. Additionally, we determined that certain perturbations of the cytoskeleton affect lp* and the lateral mobility of IFs as assessed in cells in which either the microtubule dynamic instability was reduced or actin filaments were partially depolymerized. Our results provide relevant clues on how vimentin IFs mechanically couple with microtubules and actin filaments in cells and support a role of this network in the response to mechanical stress.Fil: Smoler, Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Coceano, Giovanna. Royal Institute of Technology; SueciaFil: Testa, Ilaria. Royal Institute of Technology; SueciaFil: Bruno, Luciana. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Calculo. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Calculo; ArgentinaFil: Levi, Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin

Strategies for Shaping of Different Ceramic Foams

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Disentangling the signaling complexity of nerve growth factor receptors by CRISPR/Cas9

The binding of nerve growth factor (NGF) to the tropomyosin-related kinase A (TrkA) and p75(NTR) receptors activates a large variety of pathways regulating critical processes as diverse as proliferation, differentiation, membrane potential, synaptic plasticity, and pain. To ascertain the details of TrkA-p75(NTR) interaction and cooperation, a plethora of experiments, mostly based on receptor overexpression or downregulation, have been performed. Among the heterogeneous cellular systems used for studying NGF signaling, the PC12 pheochromocytoma-derived cell line is a widely used model. By means of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, we created PC12 cells lacking TrkA, p75(NTR), or both. We found that TrkA-null cells become unresponsive to NGF. Conversely, the absence of p75(NTR) enhances the phosphoiylation of TrkA and its effectors. Using a patch-clamp, we demonstrated that the individual activation of TrkA and p75(NTR) by NGF results in antagonizing effects on the membrane potential. These newly developed PC12 cell lines can be used to investigate the specific roles of TrkA and p75(NTR) in a genetically defined cellular model, thus providing a useful platform for future studies and further gene editing

Chronic heart failure is characterized by altered mitochondrial function and structure in circulating leucocytes

Oxidative stress is currently viewed as a key factor in the genesis and progression of Heart Failure (HF). The aim of this study was to characterize the mitochondrial changes linked to oxidative stress generation in circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from chronic HF patients (HF_PBMCs) in order to highlight the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathophysiology of HF. To assess the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial function and ultrastructure and the mitophagic flux in circulating PBMCs we enrolled 15 patients with HF and a control group of ten healthy subjects. The HF_PBMCs showed a mitochondrial population consisting of damaged and less functional organelles responsible of higher superoxide anion production both at baseline and under in vitro stress conditions, with evidence of cellular apoptosis. Although the mitophagic flux at baseline was enhanced in HF_PBMCs at level similar to those that could be achieved in control PBMCs only under inflammatory stress conditions, the activation of mitophagy was unable to preserve a proper mitochondrial dynamics upon stress stimuli in HF. In summary, circulating HF_PBMCs show structural and functional derangements of mitochondria with overproduction of reactive oxidant species. This mitochondrial failure sustains a leucocyte dysfunctional status in the blood that may contribute to development and persistence of stress conditions within the cardiovascular system in HF