Incubator Environments Research Articles

P-219 Does a dry or humid incubation environment affect continuous and undisturbed culture media protocols?

Abstract Study question Can continuous embryo culture medium maintain a safe and effective osmolality in dry and humidified incubators under both light viscosity and heavy viscosity oil overlay? Summary answer Undisturbed embryo culture is possible in 25uL and 100uL media volumes with both light and heavy oil and in both dry and humidified environments. What is known already Ideal osmolality for pre-implantation embryos is 255-295 mOsm/kg. Much debate surrounds continuous embryo culture, without refreshing of the medium, providing a suitable concentration of osmoles during embryo culture in both humidified and dry incubators. Meanwhile, ideal pH or measure of free hydrogen ions available in the embryo culture medium is 7.20-7.50. Contemporary knowledge that undisturbed embryos are able to regulate their own needs during culture has replaced belief that embryos require specific and varying environmental pH induced at different developmental stages. Thus, environmental pH needs to be maintained and stable in order to optimize health and outcomes of resulting blastocysts. Study design, size, duration Osmolality, pH, and mass were measured in humidified and dry incubators over 8 days of continuous embryo culture conditions. Four dishes each of 25uL and 100uL drops of embryo culture medium (CSCM-NXC) were analyzed per incubator type (Non-humidified – Miri, Humidified – Astec). Additionally, each micro-volume was analyzed under both Light Oil for Embryo Culture and Heavy Oil for Embryo Culture (Irvine Scientific). In total, 2352 data points for osmolality, pH, and mass were examined. Participants/materials, setting, methods A private IVF laboratory conducted the testing with no patient samples introduced to the embryo culture media. To mitigate early evaporative loss, dish preparation was strictly time and temperature controlled. Osmolality was measured in triplicate on days 0-7 using Advanced Micro-Osmometer Model 330 (Advanced Instruments). Mass measures were taken in triplicate on days 0-7 using the Torbal AGZN120 Analytical Balance. pH was measured in triplicate using the i-STAT 300 (Abbott) on days 0,3,5,7. Main results and the role of chance The pH in 25uL and 100uL drops under light oil and heavy oil remained well within suitable ranges and stable when compared day to day, from day 0 (M = 7.276, σ = 0.011) through day 7 (M = 7.303, σ = 0.011). The average aggregate pH overall was 7.290 (σ = 0.012). Aggregate osmolality, measured as milliosmoles per kilogram (mOSM/kg), over the course of incubation in all conditions also remained well within acceptable safety range (M = 277mOsm/kg, σ = 5). Dry incubator incubation exhibits a 7% increase from day 0 to day 6 (M = 270mOsm/kg, σ = 4 and M = 289mOsm/kg, σ = 5) compared to a 2% increase in humidified incubation (M = 269mOsm/kg, σ = 5 and M = 274mOsm/kg, σ = 5) regardless of oil type or microdrop size, both remaining within accepted limits. Additionally, when monitoring mass in grams (g) in 25uL as a function of evaporative loss, humidified incubation reduces from 12.6346g to 12.5566g (day 0 to day 7). In dry incubation, there is negligible change day 0 to day 7 (12.6543g and 12.6538g). Similarly, in 100uL, the change in humidified incubators is 13.37222g to 13.25025g (day 0 to day 7) and dry incubation reduces from 13.3236g to 13.2963g. The changes in mass of prepared culture dishes maintains consistency with the study findings for osmolality. Limitations, reasons for caution As CSCM-NXC is for use through day 6 of embryo culture, the extended simulated embryo culture length is for data collection purposes only. There is no developmental data to include in this study. Additional studies must be conducted in order to explore any differences when embryos are present in culture. Wider implications of the findings The ability to culture embryos continuously in dry incubator environments with micro-volumes of culture medium is widely debated. These many data point study has shown that safe and efficacious embryo culture can be undertaken undisturbed, therefore relaxing some of the burdensome and labor-intensive processes in laboratories employing this equipment. Trial registration number not applicable

Feminist perspectives on gender and technology entrepreneurship in incubator settings

PurposeThe objective of this article is to map and assess current evidence in women's technology entrepreneurship in business incubators with the aim of producing a conceptual framework that will allow us to understand how gender shapes the life of women technology entrepreneurs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a systematic literature review. The data set comprises 49 publications, including peer-reviewed articles and prominent book chapters. These are first categorized according to their feminist approach and second analysed using an inductive thematic approach to map dominant concepts and research methods.FindingsThe authors develop a framework with four dimensions: (1) antecedents, (2) challenges, (3) outcomes and (4) solutions. The authors show that current literature mainly focuses on the challenges faced by women technology entrepreneurs in incubator settings. Although liberal feminist research is present, social feminist perspectives dominate, with poststructuralist research as a close second. Interestingly, current research has not focused much on individual characteristics; in other words, the baggage that women bring with them in terms of prior experiences is hardly investigated, even though there is general agreement that socialization shapes women's experiences of and responses to gender challenges.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the literature in the following ways: The developed framework assists in understanding how gender is an overarching factor that shapes every facet of the life of a women technology entrepreneur, and how incubator environments intensify gender issues. Indeed, being in an incubator environment adds an extra layer of gendered conditions, thus intensifying the challenges that women meet, creating a “triple masculinity trap”. The review highlights that little is known about how early conditioning shapes women technology entrepreneurs' reactions to the gendered conditions they meet and that there is a lack of research on how women “do entrepreneurship”.

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Startup Performance in Technology Business Incubation: Mediating Role of Absorptive Capacity

The entrepreneurial orientation (EO) literature verifies its positive relationship with firm performance; nonetheless, its degree relies on certain factors. This study uses the knowledge-based view to develop and test a model of how start-ups can enhance their entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in incubator environments. Based on the concept of dynamic capabilities and strategic fit, this study proposes that absorptive capacity (ACAP) plays a role in catalyzing EO to yield performance outcomes. Only when start-ups combine existing resources with the absorptive capacity to make use of their strategic decisions, can they achieve a higher EO. The research model is empirically validated using survey data from 304 start-ups of various technology incubators in India. Our research evidence prove that ACAP improves the relationship between EO and performance in incubator environments. Further, we discuss implications for theory and practice.

Instrumented cardiac microphysiological devices via multimaterial three-dimensional printing.

Biomedical research has relied on animal studies and conventional cell cultures for decades. Recently, microphysiological systems (MPS), also known as organs-on-chips, that recapitulate the structure and function of native tissues in vitro, have emerged as a promising alternative1. However, current MPS typically lack integrated sensors and their fabrication requires multi-step lithographic processes2. Here, we introduce a facile route for fabricating a new class of instrumented cardiac microphysiological devices via multi-material 3D printing. Specifically, we designed six functional inks, based on piezo-resistive, high conductance, and biocompatible soft materials that enable integration of soft strain gauge sensors within micro-architectures that guide the self-assembly of physio-mimetic laminar cardiac tissues. We validated that these embedded sensors provide non-invasive, electronic readout of tissue contractile stresses, inside cell incubator environments. We further applied these devices to study drug responses, as well as the contractile development of human stem cell derived laminar cardiac tissues over four weeks.

Optical non-contact pH measurement in cell culture with sterilizable, modular parts

A non-contact real time pH measurement using fully modular optical parts is described for phenol-red medium cell cultures. The modular parts can be sterilized, and once the measurement is started at the beginning of culture, no recalibration or maintenance is needed till the end of the culture. Measurements can be carried out without any special manual attention. The modular assembly of LED and sensor cassettes is unique, robust, reusable and reproducible.pH is measured in an intact closed flow system, without wasting any culture medium. A special pump encapsulation enables the system to be effortlessly functional in extremely humid incubator environments. This avoids lengthy sample tubings in and out of the incubator, associated large temperature changes and CO2 buffering issues.A new correction model to compensate errors caused e.g. by biolayers in spectrometric pH measurement is put-forward, which improves the accuracy of pH estimation significantly. The method provides resolution down to 0.1 pH unit in physiological pH range with mean absolute error 0.02.

Precise Temperature Measurement for Increasing the Survival of Newborn Babies in Incubator Environments.

Precise temperature measurement is essential in a wide range of applications in the medical environment, however the regarding the problem of temperature measurement inside a simple incubator, neither a simple nor a low cost solution have been proposed yet. Given that standard temperature sensors don't satisfy the necessary expectations, the problem is not measuring temperature, but rather achieving the desired sensitivity. In response, this paper introduces a novel hardware design as well as the implementation that increases measurement sensitivity in defined temperature intervals at low cost.

Interação e cooperação de empresas incubadas de base tecnológica: uma análise diante do novo paradigma de inovação

A tecnologia em tempos atuais é entendida não mais como de caráter exógeno, que ocorre no interior da empresa, mas como um fenômeno sistêmico e interativo, marcado por diferentes formas de cooperação e aprendizagem entre os diversos tipos de atores. No Brasil, entre as ações que buscam alavancar a inovação e o desenvolvimento tecnológico está a promoção de empresas de base tecnológica (EBTs), especialmente quando inseridas em ambiente de incubadoras. Considerando o caráter interativo da inovação, o contexto das EBTs e sua importância para o desenvolvimento tecnológico, este artigo tem por finalidade avaliar, em face do novo paradigma de inovação: (i) o grau de importância percebido por essas empresas para as interações e relações de cooperação, em seu estágio atual de incubação, e (ii) a tendência desse comportamento para o período de pós-incubação. Os resultados mostraram que as EBTs, embora apresentem uma tendência (pós-incubação) positiva ao desenvolvimento de ações conjuntas e maior interação no estágio de incubação, caracterizam-se por serem de baixa intensidade, apresentando conceitos ainda incipientes sobre o modelo interativo de inovação.

Exploring business incubation from a family perspective: How start-up family firms experience the incubation process in two Australian incubators

This qualitative study explored how family start-up firms, housed in an incubator during their first three years of operation, experienced the business incubation process. There is limited research conducted on family business experiences during the start-up phase when money is tight, entrepreneurial activity is basic and business know-how is in its infancy (Dyer, 2003). Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the reasons why start-up entrepreneurs choose to locate their firms in an incubator setting and how two incubators assisted the family firms to build their business going through the incubation process.The research sample consisted of twelve start-up entrepreneurial family firms of which seven were located in the Brunswick Business Incubator (BBI) and five located within the Monash Enterprise Centre (MEC) in Melbourne, Australia. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews then analysed using NVivo7 following a grounded theory approach. The findings showed the majority of start-up family firms moved into an incubator environment because they were not familiar with business practices, felt isolated working from home, were hoping to share business ‘know how’, to find other family business entrepreneurs, and hoping to find a small business ‘community in which they could participate and network.In addition, the findings revealed that for family start-ups, the boundaries between personal relationships and business relationships appeared to dissolve or overlap, and relationships with other tenants and the incubator manager developed from a strong trust base and camaraderie.The value of this study is threefold. First, the study’s findings contribute to Habbershon, Williams and MacMillans (2003) assertions that viewing family firms as a meta-system is meaningful, as it sheds light on the organisational behaviour of small family firms based within incubator environments. Secondly, Chua, Chrisman and Steiers (2003) and Dyer’s (2003) concerns that family variables are regularly omitted from the main stream management literature, and third, Hackett and Dilts’(2004a:56) observation that there is a shortage of variables “explaining how and why the incubation process leads to specific incubation outcomes”.The analysis uncovered emerging themes which were similar to each of the family businesses, yet there were subtle differences within each theme. These findings support Melin and Nordqvists (2007) assertion that whilst there is emphasis on similar characteristics displayed by family businesses, there are differences within the categories that researchers often underestimate. Given the lack of studies addressing both the ‘within family category research and family businesses located in incubators’ research, this field study identifies and addresses a gap in the family business literature whilst also contributing to incubation research.

A Microcontroller Based, Low Cost Oxygen Gas Controller for Medical Purposes

In this work, an oxygen gas concentration controller circuit is designed and implemented for use in medical applications such as incubator environments. Since the air of the incubator environment is dried during the control processes, oxygen gas flow is humidified by the designed ultrasonic nebulizer. A polarographic type oxygen gas sensor was used. A signal conditioning circuit was developed to capture the required voltage levels. Control processes have been performed by a high speed PIC microcontroller. Set values can be entered either via an embedded control circuit or via a keyboard. The system is linear, sensitive, and relative error is only about −1 O2%. All of the parts of the system are renewable. As a result, a low cost and effective microcontroller based circuit, modular in structure, has been provided.

Leveraging talent: spin–off strategy at Industrial Research

The formation of new businesses from research organisations has historically been seen as one of the more effective ways in which new knowledge and technology is commercialised. These spin–offs result from the transfer of people and intellectual property from the parent institution. It is the transfer of the tacit knowledge embodied in the human capital that differentiates this technology commercialisation mechanism from technology sale, licensing or joint ventures and alliances.Science parks and cooperative centres associated with universities are examples used internationally of incubator environments designed to nurture spin–offs. In New Zealand, however, there have been very limited attempts to develop such incubators. However, one Crown Research Institute, Industrial Research, has recognised that developing a spin–off strategy is a valid way for it to leverage its intellectual property and motivate its scientific talent, in order to satisfy the institute’s mandate to ‘create benefit for New Zealand’.It is rare to find studies of the spin–off activity focused primarily on the parent. This paper charts the development of Industrial Research’s spin–off strategy over the past eight years from an unintentional consequence of restructuring and changing funding priorities, towards a purposive strategy requiring different management structures and processes. A three–stage model is developed to describe the spin–off strategy evolution and the risks, benefits and components of such a strategy are discussed.

Hostile environmental jolts, transaction set, and new business

In this exploratory study, we examine empirically the effects of environmental jolts on the evolution of the set of relationships that entrepreneurs have with their customers and suppliers (which we call the transaction set). We believe that understanding how turbulence in the environment affects the ability of entrepreneurs to hold on to their existing relationships or to add new relationships is fundamental to understanding the evolution and growth of an organization from a start-up to a stable, wealth-creating enterprise in the long-run. Using longitudinal data spanning 7 to 10 years from five start-up firms, we investigate three questions on the connection between environmental jolts and changes in the transaction set of the firm. First, do environmental jolts during the early life of the firm induce significant reductions in the set of relationships of a new, small firm? Second, are entrepreneurs able to add new relationships in greater numbers than the exit of old relationships following a jolt? And, third, do start-ups enjoy a “honeymoon” period when environmental jolts do not induce significant reductions in the set of relationships after a jolt? Our study yielded several findings that may be of interest to entrepreneurs, academics, and incubator managers. First, environmental jolts have a significant impact on the exits of relationships from the transaction set of a new, small firm, but not necessarily on the entry of new relationships into the set. Thus, although liabilities of newness and small size seem to affect the ability of entrepreneurs to hold on to their existing relationships during environmental jolts, these jolts do not seem to affect the entrepreneur's ability to add ties, at least in the very early life of the firm. Second, the level of reduction after environmental jolts seems to be less severe during the early life and greatest during the adolescent period. Further, entries of new relationships decrease with each succeeding jolt. One implication of our findings is that environmental selection pressures are more severe after an incubation period, called the “honeymoon” period. A second implication of our findings is the way in which liability of adolescence manifests itself. The honeymoon does not provide incubation against exits of relationships. Rather, the incubation manifests itself in the form of the willingness of new customers and suppliers to join the entrepreneur's transaction set even during a jolt. However, this goodwill shown by new customers and suppliers decreases with each succeeding jolt, thus making the firm very vulnerable to failure during its adolescent phase of life. We believe our study emphasizes the role that chance plays in the early survival and growth of firms. Firms “lucky” to avoid hostile jolts after their honeymoon period will be in a better position to grow rapidly, other things being equal. Despite sound management and superior exercise of enterprise, jolts appear in the life of firms in a stochastic, often unpredictable fashion. Although, it is not clear that firms who have superior enterprise, ability, or slack are more likely to succeed than those who don't, what is clear is that the ability to survive and grow is seriously affected with each succeeding jolt, whatever the ability. If our findings and our inference from the findings are general, they have an important public policy implication for new, small companies. Conventional wisdom holds that given liabilities of newness and small size, incubator environments are best provided to start-up firms. We would recommend a different strategy. Incubator environments are best provided not at the start-up stage to new business, but at the adolescent stage. Incubators should be provided to companies that show during the honeymoon phase that their ideas and products have merit and that they can attract customers and investors to their venture. It is during the adolescent stage that firms are most vulnerable to environmental disturbances, and where ability may not be a sufficiently good discriminator between survival and failure.

Private business sales environments in the United Kingdom

When an owner-manager of a business firm decides to sell the company, it is not a trivial decision. Whether it is a sale forced by circumstances outside company control, or a positive, strategic choice, it is certainly significant. Moreover, the method of “exit,” the advice taken, and the deal that is eventually struck will clearly affect the nature of the owner's eventual lifestyle. In such circumstances, there are four choices open to the owner: (1) Sale to a third party; (2) Sale to the management and/or employees; (3) Public quotation on the Stock Exchange; (4) Liquidation. This research first analyzes the magnitude of activity in the United Kingdom in each of the above categories during the five-year period 1983–1987. The results show very clearly that there is a strategic loosening taking place in the corporate marketplace—more firms are being sold, and more owner-managers are choosing to exit from ownership of their firms. Moreover, the most frequently used exit route by far is that of the private advertized sale. The second part of this paper analyzes in detail the data for the private advertized sale. By means of principal-component analysis and cluster analysis seven, ecological incubator environments were constructed at a county level. Significant differences were observed between the environments in respect to private advertized sales, private advertized sales rates, and industrial structure. These results show clearly that the nature of the supply of owner-managers wishing to realize their ownership is geographically biased and is, in part, a reflection of the existing industrial and commercial base.

Semipermeable Polyurethane Membrane as an Artificial Skin for the Premature Neonate

A thin and semipermeable polyurethane membrane adherently applied to premature neonates as an artificial skin was investigated as an atraumatic surface barrier sufficient to reduce transepidermal water loss without inhibiting natural infant skin development during the first few days of life. A sample group of 18 neonates (birth weight [mean +/- SEM] 1.39 +/- 0.12 kg, gestation [mean +/- SEM] 31 +/- 1 weeks) received two 3 X 3-cm polyurethane patches adherent over the chest and abdomen. Transepidermal water loss was measured before and after application and after membrane removal. During longitudinal study, seven infants were treated day 1 through day 4 of life and were evaluated for skin integrity 24 hours after patch removal on day 5. Polyurethane membranes produced an acute and significant reduction in transepidermal water loss for the 18 subjects: 21.1 +/- 2.0 g/m2/h before application v 10.5 +/- 1.4 g/m2/h with membranes in place (P less than .001). Immediately after patch removal, transepidermal loss returned to 22.8 +/- 3.0 g/m2/h. Throughout the first four days of life, daily measurements of water loss were significantly less: 53% to as much as 72% reduction from polyurethane-covered sites when compared with adjacent naked skin. After polyurethane membrane removal, skin development of transepidermal barrier function was comparable over both sites. Dressings did not lose adhesive or plastic properties during an extended time in either radiant warmer or incubator environments, electronic monitoring through membranes was not impeded, and adhesive injuries were not observed. An adherent, semipermeable polyurethane membrane may be effective as an atraumatic artificial barrier to prevent large transepidermal water loss and protect the skin of the premature neonate.

The Founders of New Manufacturing Firms: A Note on the Size of their `Incubator' Plants

IN an article in this journal in 1955 Beesley [2] put forward the proposition that larger plants may provide better incubator environments than smaller ones for stimulating the growth of entrepreneurial aspirations in their work forces. Employees of such plants would thus be more likely to set up in business on their own account. In comparing the north-west and south-west zones of the West Midlands, he suggested that the higher rate of formation in the metal industries in the former might have been attributable in part to the fact that they had relatively more larger plants; this 'may have given the zone as a whole more experience of management techniques'.' On the other hand, however, other writers (e.g. Cooper [3]) have suggested that there are good grounds for holding the opposite view. It is, for example, more likely that employees of smaller plants will have greater contact with individuals who have themselves set up in business. They will gain greater familiarity with the types of market that could be served by a new business, which in the early years at least is almost inevitably going to be small. They are also likely to obtain greater all-round experience in the running of a business. While these arguments in favour of the small unit as an incubator have been put forward mainly in the context of technological spin-off, i.e. the formation of new enterprises in science-based industries, they are not specific to it and could have more general applicability. The effect of plant size on fertility in terms of new business formation is not of academic interest only. The absolute size of plants has been increasing in the UK over a fairly long period (Prais [9, pp. 5i-4]) and it would be useful to know whether this trend is likely to have any effect on the rate of

The Founders of New Manufacturing Firms: A Note on the Size of their `Incubator' Plants

IN an article in this journal in 1955 Beesley [2] put forward the proposition that larger plants may provide better incubator environments than smaller ones for stimulating the growth of entrepreneurial aspirations in their work forces. Employees of such plants would thus be more likely to set up in business on their own account. In comparing the north-west and south-west zones of the West Midlands, he suggested that the higher rate of formation in the metal industries in the former might have been attributable in part to the fact that they had relatively more larger plants; this 'may have given the zone as a whole more experience of management techniques'.' On the other hand, however, other writers (e.g. Cooper [3]) have suggested that there are good grounds for holding the opposite view. It is, for example, more likely that employees of smaller plants will have greater contact with individuals who have themselves set up in business. They will gain greater familiarity with the types of market that could be served by a new business, which in the early years at least is almost inevitably going to be small. They are also likely to obtain greater all-round experience in the running of a business. While these arguments in favour of the small unit as an incubator have been put forward mainly in the context of technological spin-off, i.e. the formation of new enterprises in science-based industries, they are not specific to it and could have more general applicability. The effect of plant size on fertility in terms of new business formation is not of academic interest only. The absolute size of plants has been increasing in the UK over a fairly long period (Prais [9, pp. 5i-4]) and it would be useful to know whether this trend is likely to have any effect on the rate of