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This study explores the relationship between corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disagreements and corporate debt maturity. By examining panel samples from Chinese non-financial listed companies covering 2007 to 2020, we find that ESG disagreements negatively influence corporate debt maturity. Even after conducting a series of robustness tests and addressing endogeneity concerns, the adverse effects of ESG disagreements persisted. A heterogeneity analysis shows that this negative impact is more significant for non-state-owned enterprises, small enterprises, enterprises with high capital intensity, enterprises with low analyst attention, and enterprises in high-tech industries. Through a mechanism analysis, we discovered that ESG disagreements can lead to information asymmetry and heightened default risk, subsequently affecting the maturity of corporate debt. Further analysis confirms that the negative impact of ESG on the debt structure inhibits long-term investment and exacerbates the mismatch between investment and financing terms.

ABSTRACT Context: dynamic and productive linkages between research organizations (ROs) and industry are actively spurred in advanced nations. Conversely, Latin American countries face significant challenges in fostering research-industry interactions. Solid models of research-industry cooperation are of particular interest to emerging economies such as Brazil. Objective: this article aims at presenting a comprehensive study of the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Research and Innovation - Embrapii, an entity focused on addressing barriers to cooperation between research ROs and companies. Methods: data from 63 projects supported by Embrapii involving three ROs and 44 companies was collected employing four sources of primary data: two web questionnaires, interviews and technical visits. The scope of the study is based on Embrapii’s initial phase carried out during 2012-2016. Results: findings revealed that specificities of the model allow the emergence of conditions for effective research-industry cooperation. Conclusion: The Embrapii’s model contributed to overcoming both orientation-related and transaction-related barriers, resulting in positive outcomes. Expected technological results such as new products, processes, and methodologies, were achieved in the majority of projects. RESUMO Contexto: observa-se atualmente grande estímulo ao estabelecimento de interações entre organizações de pesquisa e indústria em países desenvolvidos. Em países da América Latina, este estímulo é acompanhado de desafios significativos. Países emergentes como é o caso do Brasil, tem particular interesse em conhecer e implementar modelos efetivos de interação pesquisa-indústria. Objetivo: Este trabalho apresenta um estudo da Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa e Inovação Industrial - Embrapii, uma entidade orientada ao fomento de relações entre organizações de pesquisa e empresas. Métodos: a pesquisa envolveu a coleta de dados de 63 projetos apoiados pela Embrapii durante sua fase piloto (entre 2012 e 2016) envolvendo três organizações de pesquisa e 44 empresas. Foram empregados quatro instrumentos de coleta de dados: dois questionários, entrevistas e visitas técnicas. Resultados: achados da pesquisa indicaram que as especificidades do modelo Embrapii permitiram a emergência de condições para uma interação pesquisa-indústria efetiva. Conclusão: o modelo Embrapii contribuiu para a superação de barreiras de orientação e de transação na interação pesquisa-indústria, apresentando bons resultados. Efeitos na geração de novas tecnologias, como novos produtos, processos e metodologias foram alcançados na maioria dos projetos.

Decarbonization is often misunderstood in financial studies. Furthermore, its implications for investment opportunities and growth are even less known. The study investigates the link between energy indicators and Tobin's Quotient (TQ) in listed companies globally, finding that the carbon content of energy presents a negative yet modest effect on financial performance. Furthermore, we investigated the effect carbon prices in compliance markets have on TQ for exempted and non-exempt firms, finding that Energy efficiency measures yield greater effects in the latter group. Conversely, it is also true that carbon prices marginally reduce TQ more in non-exempt firms. This implies that auction-mechanisms create burdens that companies are eager to relinquish by reducing emissions. However, reducing GHG yields positive effects on TQ only as long as it results in energy efficiency improvements.

Lumbar disc herniation is a common cause of back and leg pain. Treatment has evolved significantly from traditional open surgery towards minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). Within MISS, unilateral endoscopic spinal surgery (UESS), such as percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy (PTED) and unilateral biportal endoscopy (UBE), has largely replaced older bilateral approaches. Recent innovations like one-hole split endoscopy (OSE) and arthroscopic-assisted uniportal surgery (AUSS) further expand UESS capabilities. This review provides the first comprehensive analysis of UESS evolution and its key surgical approaches. We systematically compare the technical features of major uniportal techniques, including established methods like TESSYS and interlaminar approaches, alongside newer developments such as the 45° puncture technique and Gu’s technique. Looking ahead, intelligent solutions and instrument innovation represent crucial future directions for UESS. Notably, this study formulates conceptual designs for a novel integrated non-coaxial spinal endoscope as potential future directions. These insights provide critical guidance for developing next-generation endoscopic devices in UESS.

This multiple case study focuses on co-creation facilitated with innovation instruments in three different environments - a school, a hospital, and an airport - in which 12 SMEs and startups developed solutions based on predefined needs of customer organizations, and where stakeholders actively participated through user involvement methods facilitated by a living lab. The article provides new knowledge regarding the benefits of the co-creation, user involvement, and use of the living lab approach within different contexts. Our findings show concrete benefits of co-creation for stakeholders such as companies, customer organizations, and end users. Based on our results, we propose a new, generic model for using innovation instruments to facilitate co-creation for the development of needs-based products and services in different service domains.

‘Grand challenges' are gaining visibility in the policy agenda of most Member States of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Diagnostic analysis, allowing identification of innovation systems problems and their causes, is needed in order to determine under what conditions public procurement of innovation (PPI) could contribute to the achievement of solutions for grand challenges. Based on a comprehensive review of the innovation policy literature, we propose an analytical framework in order to highlight how PPI can address three categories of failures: demand-side, supply-side, and user–supplier interaction failures. We use these categories as discriminating variables to define PPI ideal-types. Our PPI analytical framework allows us to define and link to each ideal-type elements of the PPI literature that focus on design (its characteristics and instruments). This provides a unified PPI framework which can contribute to better policymaking, evaluation, and analysis. In particular, the framework also allows to mobilise our PPI categories for a better conceptualisation of challenge-oriented policy more generally.

Engineering has been an essential collaborator in biological research and breakthroughs in biology are often enabled by technological advances. Decoding the double helix structure of DNA, for example, only became possible after significant advances in such technologies as X-ray diffraction and gel electrophoresis. Diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis improved as new technologies -- including the stethoscope, the microscope, and the X-ray -- developed. These engineering breakthroughs take place away from the biology lab, and many years may elapse before the technology becomes available to biologists. In this book, David Lee argues for concurrent engineering -- the convergence of engineering and biological research -- as a means to accelerate the pace of biological discovery and its application to diagnosis and treatment. He presents extensive case studies and introduces a metric to measure the time between technological development and biological discovery. Investigating a series of major biological discoveries that range from pasteurization to electron microscopy, Lee finds that it took an average of forty years for the necessary technology to become available for laboratory use. Lee calls for new approaches to research and funding to encourage a tighter, more collaborative coupling of engineering and biology. Only then, he argues, will we see the rapid advances in the life sciences that are critically needed for life-saving diagnosis and treatment.

Focuses on the common recurring physical principles behind sophisticated modern devices This book discusses the principles of physics through applications of state-of-the-art technologies and advanced instruments. The authors use diagrams, sketches, and graphs coupled with equations and mathematical analysis to enhance the reader's understanding of modern devices. Readers will learn to identify common underlying physical principles that govern several types of devices, while gaining an understanding of the performance trade-off imposed by the physical limitations of various processing methods. The topics discussed in the book assume readers have taken an introductory physics course, college algebra, and have a basic understanding of calculus.   * Describes the basic physics behind a large number of devices encountered in everyday life, from the air conditioner to Blu-ray discs * Covers state-of-the-art devices such as spectrographs, photoelectric image sensors, spacecraft systems, astronomical and planetary observatories, biomedical imaging instruments, particle accelerators, and jet engines * Includes access to a book companion site that houses Power Point slides Modern Devices: The Simple Physics of Sophisticated Technology is designed as a reference for professionals that would like to gain a basic understanding of the operation of complex technologies. The book is also suitable as a textbook for upper-level undergraduate non-major students interested in physics.

Global climate change threatens the continued existence of mankind. The rate of warming in Russia, which is 2.5 times higher than the rate of growth of the global average temperature, can lead to huge environmental and financial losses. Thus, it is increasingly necessary to modernise and develop methods and tools for adaptive regulation of national climate policy to increase its efficiency at the regional and federal levels. To this end, the methods of content analysis, grouping, modelling, comparative and correlation analysis, as well as an information asymmetry approach were used in the research. The paper substantiates the necessity of a transition from autarky and directionality to the integration of regions and the federation based on adaptation and preventive measures. The periodic assessment of climate change and relevant contributing factors should be replaced by the continuous management and regional monitoring of climate risks. Stressing the importance of transparency and comparability of information on climate risks, the research distinguished anthropogenic risks, risks of reducing the quality of life and moral climate risks. In order to promote climate preservation, an organisational and economic mechanism for the implementation of climate policy was developed, whose main function is the regional environmental management. Assessment of the decoupling effect and ranking of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in terms of the relationship between energy intensity and climate intensity proved the feasibility of using the proposed indicators to increase the efficiency of the organisational and economic mechanism. Regulatory and financial support for the mechanism can be provided by introducing a quota market, green certificates and bonds, insurance and risk hedging strategies based on a scenario approach and online-management models. The research results can be used for the digitalisation of national climate policy, as well as for the development of regional and municipal climate strategies, programmes, projects.

This paper introduces a new quantitative measurement instrument assessing factors influencing creation, implementation and fate of innovations and their organizations. Limited attention has been paid to fate and no other quantitative measurement instrument on this subject has been published in the literature. Can antecedents and other factors shed light on why some governments created many innovations, while others did not; why some innovations survived, while others did not? Can these factors also help explain the fate of the organizations that created and managed the innovations? This paper introduces and a second paper evaluates an instrument that assesses these factors. Using a five-point Lickert continuous (interval) scale, the instrument was constructed to assess six types of factors: ideology; politics; external support; the economic and fiscal situation; internal support; program and organizational resources; and program and organizational effects. A copy of the instrument is provided.