The sharing economy is seen as an important building block for transitions to sustainability. Although the sharing economy concept is widely used, comprehension varies about what makes a sharing ...economy business model. This study aims to review and categorize the field of sharing economy business model research, by reviewing the fundamentals of the concept of sharing and feeding them back into the business model literature. A comprehensive framework of business model categories is proposed, distinguishing four market segments of the sharing economy: Singular Transaction Models, Subscription-Based Models, Commission-Based Platforms and Unlimited Platforms. The study's framework is grounded in an analysis of sharing economy fundamentals and business model literature, contributing to a better understanding of the potentials of sharing economy for sustainability transitions and the implementation of business model innovations.
Display omitted
•The literature on sharing economy business models is abundant though fragmented.•This research reviews the literature on sharing economy business models.•Analyze sharing literature through Value Proposition, Value Creation, Value Capture.•This work proposes a comprehensive framework of sharing economy business models.•Present four market segments, covering all business models of sharing economies.
Creativity can be considered one of the key competencies for the twenty-first century. It provides us with the capacity to deal with the opportunities and challenges that are part of our complex and ...fast-changing world. The question as to what facilitates creative cognition-the ability to come up with creative ideas, problem solutions and products-is as old as the human sciences, and various means to enhance creative cognition have been studied. Despite earlier scientific studies demonstrating a beneficial effect of music on cognition, the effect of music listening on creative cognition has remained largely unexplored. The current study experimentally tests whether listening to specific types of music (four classical music excerpts systematically varying on valance and arousal), as compared to a silence control condition, facilitates divergent and convergent creativity. Creativity was higher for participants who listened to 'happy music' (i.e., classical music high on arousal and positive mood) while performing the divergent creativity task, than for participants who performed the task in silence. No effect of music was found for convergent creativity. In addition to the scientific contribution, the current findings may have important practical implications. Music listening can be easily integrated into daily life and may provide an innovative means to facilitate creative cognition in an efficient way in various scientific, educational and organizational settings when creative thinking is needed.
Control of thermal radiation at high temperatures is vital for waste heat recovery and for high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic (TPV) conversion. Previously, structural resonances utilizing gratings, ...thin film resonances, metasurfaces and photonic crystals were used to spectrally control thermal emission, often requiring lithographic structuring of the surface and causing significant angle dependence. In contrast, here, we demonstrate a refractory W-HfO2 metamaterial, which controls thermal emission through an engineered dielectric response function. The epsilon-near-zero frequency of a metamaterial and the connected optical topological transition (OTT) are adjusted to selectively enhance and suppress the thermal emission in the near-infrared spectrum, crucial for improved TPV efficiency. The near-omnidirectional and spectrally selective emitter is obtained as the emission changes due to material properties and not due to resonances or interference effects, marking a paradigm shift in thermal engineering approaches. We experimentally demonstrate the OTT in a thermally stable metamaterial at high temperatures of 1,000 °C.
The biomolecule is among the most important building blocks of biological systems, and a full understanding of its function forms the scaffold for describing the mechanisms of higher order structures ...as organelles and cells. Force is a fundamental regulatory mechanism of biomolecular interactions driving many cellular processes. The forces on a molecular scale are exactly in the range that can be manipulated and probed with single molecule force spectroscopy. The natural environment of a biomolecule is inside a living cell, hence, this is the most relevant environment for probing their function. In vivo studies are, however, challenged by the complexity of the cell. In this review, we start with presenting relevant theoretical tools for analyzing single molecule data obtained in intracellular environments followed by a description of state-of-the art visualization techniques. The most commonly used force spectroscopy techniques, namely optical tweezers, magnetic tweezers, and atomic force microscopy, are described in detail, and their strength and limitations related to in vivo experiments are discussed. Finally, recent exciting discoveries within the field of in vivo manipulation and dynamics of single molecule and organelles are reviewed.
An ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Characterization of the histopathology and cellular ...localization of SARS-CoV-2 in the tissues of patients with fatal COVID-19 is critical to further understand its pathogenesis and transmission and for public health prevention measures. We report clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic findings in tissues from 8 fatal laboratory-confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the United States. All cases except 1 were in residents of long-term care facilities. In these patients, SARS-CoV-2 infected epithelium of the upper and lower airways with diffuse alveolar damage as the predominant pulmonary pathology. SARS-CoV-2 was detectable by immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy in conducting airways, pneumocytes, alveolar macrophages, and a hilar lymph node but was not identified in other extrapulmonary tissues. Respiratory viral co-infections were identified in 3 cases; 3 cases had evidence of bacterial co-infection.
Creative thinking is among the most sought-after life and work skills in the 21st century. The demand for creativity, however, exceeds the degree to which it is available and developed. The current ...project aimed to test the effectiveness of a one-year creativity training program for higher education. The creativity of students following the training was measured before, halfway, and after the training. In addition to the within-subjects comparison across time, performance was compared to a matched control group. At each of the measurement points, different versions of seven well-validated creativity tasks (capturing divergent and convergent creative thinking skills) were employed. The creativity training increased students' ideation skills and, more importantly their cognitive flexibility. However, no difference in originality was observed. Finally, an increase in performance was observed for one of the convergent creativity tasks, the Remote Associate Test. Implications for educational settings and directions for future research are discussed.
Understanding the motivations that stimulate green consumption can promote environmental thinking to increase demand, especially because the current estimated market share for green products is less ...than 4% worldwide. In this scenario, emerging countries have contributed to the increasing levels of consumption and environmental effects. Culture and socio-economic status play a significant role in environmental impacts and influences the consumption of green products. The current body of literature lacks studies focused on the attitude of Brazilian consumers in relation to these products. This research evaluates the elements that motivate the consumption of green product. A survey targeting individuals who have consumed these products was performed in the largest city in Southern Brazil. Data were analyzed using a factorial analysis, and a causal structural equation model was created to evaluate the drivers that promote green consumption. The elements of Information and Knowledge, Environmental Attitude, Social Context and Environmental Consciousness were strongly correlated with green consumption. However, the Quality and Price of green products has shown a weaker relationship with consumption. These elements indicated that the individuals in the survey recognize and seek information covering environmental issues, are concerned with the health effects associated with the consumption of the goods, and reject a brand or company that might have demonstrated inappropriate environmental behaviours. Also indicate that the relation price versus quality does not play a central role in the decision of consuming green products. Finally, information about these products and their point-of-sale availability were highlighted as enhancing green consumption. This outcome suggests that education might increase green consumption. This research contributed to understand the main drivers that support the decision about the green products option made for the surveyed sample. From a managerial standpoint, improvements in ethical transactions, the promotion of socially responsible actions, the distribution of appropriate information about green products, and the structure of the green supply chain could create new businesses focused on sustainable production and consumption. The findings of this research could support future policies and actions focused on providing information and knowledge about environmental and health contribution of the green products to the consumers, producers, companies, and society.
•Green consumers tend to punish companies that are not environmentally responsible.•Education might increase green consumption.•The quality of green products is satisfactory and the price was not significant variable.•Provide information about green products contribute to increase green consumption.
Recent experiments with metallic nanowires devices seem to indicate that superconductivity can be controlled by the application of electric fields. In such experiments, critical currents are tuned ...and eventually suppressed by relatively small voltages applied to nearby gate electrodes, at odds with current understanding of electrostatic screening in metals. We investigate the impact of gate voltages on superconductivity in similar metal nanowires. Varying materials and device geometries, we study the physical mechanism behind the quench of superconductivity. We demonstrate that the transition from superconducting to resistive state can be understood in detail by tunneling of high-energy electrons from the gate contact to the nanowire, resulting in quasiparticle generation and, at sufficiently large currents, heating. Onset of critical current suppression occurs below gate currents of 100fA, which are challenging to detect in typical experiments.
The amyloid fibril deposits that cause systemic amyloidosis always contain the nonfibrillar normal plasma protein, serum amyloid P component (SAP). The drug ...(R)-1-6-(R)-2-carboxy-pyrrolidin-1-yl-6-oxo-hexanoylpyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid (CPHPC) efficiently depletes SAP from the plasma but leaves some SAP in amyloid deposits that can be specifically targeted by therapeutic IgG anti-SAP antibodies. In murine amyloid A type amyloidosis, the binding of these antibodies to the residual SAP in amyloid deposits activates complement and triggers the rapid clearance of amyloid by macrophage-derived multinucleated giant cells.
We conducted an open-label, single-dose-escalation, phase 1 trial involving 15 patients with systemic amyloidosis. After first using CPHPC to deplete circulating SAP, we infused a fully humanized monoclonal IgG1 anti-SAP antibody. Patients with clinical evidence of cardiac involvement were not included for safety reasons. Organ function, inflammatory markers, and amyloid load were monitored.
There were no serious adverse events. Infusion reactions occurred in some of the initial recipients of larger doses of antibody; reactions were reduced by slowing the infusion rate for later patients. At 6 weeks, patients who had received a sufficient dose of antibody in relation to their amyloid load had decreased liver stiffness, as measured with the use of transient elastography. These patients also had improvements in liver function in association with a substantial reduction in hepatic amyloid load, as shown by means of SAP scintigraphy and measurement of extracellular volume by magnetic resonance imaging. A reduction in kidney amyloid load and shrinkage of an amyloid-laden lymph node were also observed.
Treatment with CPHPC followed by an anti-SAP antibody safely triggered clearance of amyloid deposits from the liver and some other tissues. (Funded by GlaxoSmithKline; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01777243.).
We experimentally investigate the stochastic phase dynamics of planar Josephson junctions (JJs) and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) defined in epitaxial InAs/Al ...heterostructures, and characterized by a large ratio of Josephson energy to charging energy. We observe a crossover from a regime of macroscopic quantum tunneling to one of phase diffusion as a function of temperature, where the transition temperature T^{*} is gate-tunable. The switching probability distributions are shown to be consistent with a small shunt capacitance and moderate damping, resulting in a switching current which is a small fraction of the critical current. Phase locking between two JJs leads to a difference in switching current between that of a JJ measured in isolation and that of the same JJ measured in an asymmetric SQUID loop. In the case of the loop, T^{*} is also tuned by a magnetic flux.
PDF
