Platforms as entrepreneurial incubators? How online labor markets shape work identity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the process of work identity construction unfolds for gig workers experiencing unstable working relationships in online labor markets. In particular, it investigates how digital platforms, intended both as providers of technological features and online environments, affect this process. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an exploratory field study and collected data from 46 interviews with freelancers working on one of the most popular online labor markets and from online documents such as public profiles, job applications and archival data. Findings The findings reveal that the online environment constrains the action of workers who are pushed to take advantage of the platform’s technological features to succeed. This interplay leads workers to add new characteristics to their work-self and to and to develop an entrepreneurial an entrepreneurial orientation. Practical implications The study offers insights to platform providers interested in improving workers’ experiences in online labor markets, highlighting mechanisms for uncertainty reduction and diversifying a platform’s services according to gig workers’ identities and orientations. Originality/value The study expands the authors’ knowledge on work identity construction processes of gig workers, detailing the relationship between work identity and IT, and documents previously unexplored antecedents of entrepreneurial orientation in non-standard working contexts

Fast MoS 2_2 2 thickness identification by transmission imaging

AbstractDetermining the thickness of a few-layer 2D material is a tough task that often involves complex and time consuming measurements. Here we discuss a rapid method for determining the number of layers of molybdenum disulfide, MoS$$_2$$ 2 , flakes based on microscopic transmission imaging. By analyzing the contrast of the red, blue and green channels of the flake image against the background, we show that it is possible to unequivocally determine the number of layers. The presented method is based on the light absorption properties of MoS$$_2$$ 2 and its validity is confirmed by micro-Raman measurements. The main advantage of this method against traditional methods is to quickly determine the thickness of the material in the early stages of the experimental process with low cost apparatus

Non-contact elastography methods in mechanobiology: a point of view

In recent decades, mechanobiology has emerged as a novel perspective in the context of basic biomedical research. It is now widely recognized that living cells respond not only to chemical stimuli (for example drugs), but they are also able to decipher mechanical cues, such as the rigidity of the underlying matrix or the presence of shear forces. Probing the viscoelastic properties of cells and their local microenvironment with sub-micrometer resolution is required to study this complex interplay and dig deeper into the mechanobiology of single cells. Current approaches to measure mechanical properties of adherent cells mainly rely on the exploitation of miniaturized indenters, to poke single cells while measuring the corresponding deformation. This method provides a neat implementation of the everyday approach to measure mechanical properties of a material, but it typically results in a very low throughput and invasive experimental protocol, poorly translatable towards three-dimensional living tissues and biological constructs. To overcome the main limitations of nanoindentation experiments, a radical paradigm change is foreseen, adopting next generation contact-less methods to measure mechanical properties of biological samples with sub-cell resolution. Here we briefly introduce the field of single cell mechanical characterization, and we concentrate on a promising high resolution optical elastography technique, Brillouin spectroscopy. This non-contact technique is rapidly emerging as a potential breakthrough innovation in biomechanics, but the application to single cells is still in its infancy

Disentangling the Possible Drivers of Indri indri Microbiome: A Threatened Lemur Species of Madagascar

Research on the gut microbiome may help with increasing our understanding of primate health with species’ ecology, evolution, and behavior. In particular, microbiome-related information has the potential to clarify ecology issues, providing knowledge in support of wild primates conservation and their associated habitats. Indri (Indri indri) is the largest extant living lemur of Madagascar. This species is classified as “critically endangered” by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, representing one of the world’s 25 most endangered primates. Indris diet is mainly folivorous, but these primates frequently and voluntarily engage in geophagy. Indris have never been successfully bred under human care, suggesting that some behavioral and/or ecological factors are still not considered from the ex situ conservation protocols. Here, we explored gut microbiome composition of 18 indris belonging to 5 different family groups. The most represented phyla were Proteobacteria 40.1 ± 9.5%, Bacteroidetes 28.7 ± 2.8%, Synergistetes 16.7 ± 4.5%, and Firmicutes 11.1 ± 1.9%. Further, our results revealed that bacterial alpha and beta diversity were influenced by indri family group and sex. In addition, we investigated the chemical composition of geophagic soil to explore the possible ecological value of soil as a nutrient supply. The quite acidic pH and high levels of secondary oxide-hydroxides of the soils could play a role in the folivorous diet’s gut detoxification activity. In addition, the high contents of iron and manganese found the soils could act as micronutrients in the indris’ diet. Nevertheless, the concentration of a few elements (i.e., calcium, sulfur, boron, nickel, sodium, and chromium) was higher in non-geophagic than in geophagic soils. In conclusion, the data presented herein provide a baseline for outlining some possible drivers responsible for the gut microbiome diversity in indris, thus laying the foundations for developing further strategies involved in indris’ conservation

Potent In Vitro Activity of Citrus aurantium Essential Oil and Vitis vinifera Hydrolate Against Gut Yeast Isolates from Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients\u2014The Right Mix for Potential Therapeutic Use

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Relevant length scales in Brillouin imaging of biomaterials: the interplay between phonons propagation and light focalization

Recent advances in photonics technologies pushed optical microscopy towards new horizons in materials characterization. In this framework, Brillouin microscopy emerged as an innovative method to provide images of materials with mechanical contrast without any physical contact, but exploiting the light-matter interaction. Brillouin imaging holds a great promise; to allow mechanical analysis inside soft and heterogeneous materials, addressing the pivotal role played by viscoelastic properties in the physiology and pathology of living tissues and cells. Nevertheless, extending the approach of Brillouin imaging to characterize elastic heterogeneities of micro and nanostructured samples is especially challenging, and it poses a critical question about the actual spatial resolution reachable in the mechanical characterization. We focus this critical review on the key quantities that define the spatial resolution in the Brillouin scattering process, and we highlight that not only the optical focalization of the light, but also the acoustic excitations present in the material, influence the information collected from a sample by Brillouin imaging. Referring to the body of knowledge gained in the field of material science, we review new results and recently obtained progresses in the more unexplored context of life science. In future developments, a comprehensive strategy to tackle both the acoustic and optical aspects of the measurement will be required to maximize the efficacy of the technique

High charge density silica micro-electrets fabricated by electron beam

International audienceElectret based smart materials have been attracting increasing attention for their versatility combined with easy fabrication. In particular, electret microparticles can be embedded in micro- and nano-electronic devices, enabling applications such as sensing, actuating, biological transducers and energy harvesting. In this work, silica micro-electrets are charged by electron injection in a SEM environment. The particle charge distribution is precisely controlled adjusting the energy of the primary beam. The surface potential, measured in the SEM chamber by the shift of the Duane–Hunt limit and by secondary electron spectroscopy reaches up to 200 V for 1 micron particles. The increase of the particle surface potential with the electron penetration depth is explained by a theoretical model, which also provides the value of about 0.1 C cm−3 for the charge concentration. The charge decay is studied in time monitoring the secondary electron emission by an in–lens SEM detector, showing that most of the charge injected deeper than 200 nm is retained in the particles for several months after the charging process. The capability to reach high values of surface potential stable over time on micrometric scale makes these materials as ideal candidates for applicative purposes and strategic elements in nanotechnology

Design and implementation of a new contactless triple piezoelectrics wind energy harvester

WOS: 000406726000025The features of the new designed and constructed harvester are examined. The harvested power of three piezoelectric layers having different masses (i.e. different natural frequencies) has been explored. These layers have the same length around the harvester body, whereas a permanent magnet (PM) attached to the shaft rotates by low speed wind and this PM repels these three piezoelectric layers with a 120 phase shift. Since PM and the PMs located to the tip of the layers do not contact, this system improves the lifetime of the harvester. The measured harvested power in the low wind speeds (i.e. 1.75 m/s) is of the order of 0.2 mu W. The waveform includes many subharmonic and superharmonic components, hence the total harmonic distortion (THD) is found around 130%, which is fairly high due to nonlinear effects. Although the system shows an high THD, the 20% of the signal can be rectified and stored in the capacitor for the use of harvested energy. A scenario has also been created for a resistive load of R-L, =1 M Omega and 100 k Omega for various wind speeds and it has been proven that the harvester can feed the load at even lower wind speeds. In addition, extra power beyond the usage of the load can be stored into the capacitor. The proposed harvester and its rectifying unit can be a good solution for the energy conversion procedures of low-power required machines. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Mardin Artuklu University Scientific Research Unit Council [MAU-BAP-16-MYO-19]; Ministry for European Affairs National Agency of Turkey [2015-1-TR01-1CA203-021342]; European Commission under the EU Horizon Programme [644852]This research has been supported by Mardin Artuklu University Scientific Research Unit Council under the Grant No: MAU-BAP-16-MYO-19, by The Ministry for European Affairs National Agency of Turkey under the Grant No: 2015-1-TR01-1CA203-021342 (Innovative European Studies on Renewable Energy Systems) and by European Commission under the EU Horizon 2020 Programme Grant Agreement No: 644852, PROTEUS