The Nature of Inventive Activities : Evidence from a Data-Set of R&D Awards

This paper presents an exploratory study on the characteristics of inventive activities as captured on the basis of the analysis of a data-set of R&D awards. Our data source is the "R&D 100 Awards" competition organized by the journal Research and Development. Since 1963, the magazine (which at that time was called Industrial Research) has been awarding this prize to 100 most technologically significant new products available for sale or licensing in the year preceding the judgment. The jury is composed of university professors, industrial researchers and consultants with a certified level of competence in the specific areas they are called to asses. The main criteria for assessment are: i) technological significance (i.e., whether the product can be considered a major breakthrough), ii) competitive significance (i.e., how the product compares to rival solutions available on the market). Throughout the years, key breakthroughs inventions such as Polacolor film (1963), the flashcube (1965), the automated teller machine (1973), the halogen lamp (1974), the fax machine (1975), the liquid crystal display (1980), the printer (1986), the Kodak Photo CD (1991), the Nicoderm antismoking patch (1992), Taxol anticancer drug (1993), lab on a chip (1996), and HDTV (1998) have received the prize. We use these data to study the shifts in the distribution of innovative activities across countries, sectors and types of institutions and the changes in the sources of inventive activities over time. Our preliminary findings show: i) the emergence of a challenge to US technological leadership from other rival nations such as Japan and Germany, ii) the critical role of scientific instrumentation as a powerful source of technological breakthroughs, iii) a change in the institutional arrangements where innovative activities take place, from individual corporations, to partnerships increasingly involving public research organizations and universities, iv) a large chunk of inventive activities undertaken without patent protection.

Optimal investment with intermediate consumption under no unbounded profit with bounded risk

We consider the problem of optimal investment with intermediate consumption in a general semimartingale model of an incomplete market, with preferences being represented by a utility stochastic field. We show that the key conclusions of the utility maximization theory hold under the assumptions of no unbounded profit with bounded risk (NUPBR) and of the finiteness of both primal and dual value functions.Comment: 10 pages, revised version, to appear in the Applied Probability Journal

Shear behaviour of bond lines in glued laminated timber beams at high temperatures

Abstract : A comprehensive research project has been carried out at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) on the fire behaviour of timber-concrete composite slabs (Frangi and Fontana 2000). The glued laminated timber beams used for the fire tests were bonded with a one-component polyurethane (1-K-PUR) adhesive. As one fire test on a slab showed an unexpected shear failure of a glued laminated timber beam, a series of tests was carried out to study the shear behaviour of different types of adhesives at high temperatures. The first part of the paper describes the results of the shear tests at elevated temperatures, in the second part the shear test results are compared to the fire test on a sla

Expression of erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog (erbBS) mRNAs and possible splice variants in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes

Previously, we studied the erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog (erbB) family of tyrosine kinase growth factor receptors in terms of protein expression, modulation and activation in the 3T3-L1 cell line. In the present study, the presence of full-length erbB mRNAs, and splice or proteolytic erbB variants, was evaluated using RT-PCR. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/erbB1 expression was confirmed. Wild-type (wt) ErbB2, human erbB2 (HER2)-extracellular domain (ECD) and herstatin mRNA expression were analyzed. Restriction analysis confirmed wt expression. 3T3-L1 cells exhibited HER2-ECD and herstatin mRNA expression, although at extremely low levels (compared to the control cell lines). ErbB3 cDNA was amplified using mouse mammary tumors and rat acines as positive controls. ErbB4 was not positively identified in these cells. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that 3T3-L1 cells express EGFR/erbB1, erbB2 and erbB3, and possibly, certain erbB2 splice or proteolytic variants, which are worth pursuing.Fil: Pagano, Eleonora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); Argentina. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de Los Buenos Aires"; ArgentinaFil: Fontana, Vanina Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; ArgentinaFil: Calvo, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología y Medicina Experimental (i); Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica; Argentin

Early heat waves over Italy and their impacts on durum wheat yields

In the last decades the Euro-Mediterranean region has experienced an increase in extreme temperature events such as heat waves. These extreme weather conditions can strongly affect arable crop growth and final yields. Here, early heat waves over Italy from 1995 to 2013 are identified and characterised and their impact on durum wheat yields is investigated. As expected, results confirm the impact of the 2003 heat wave and highlight a high percentage of concurrence of early heat waves and significant negative yield anomalies in 13 out of 39 durum wheat production areas. In south-eastern Italy (the most important area for durum wheat production), the percentage of concurrent events exceeds 80%.JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Socially skillful children: How much influence do positive emotions and empathy have?

El análisis de los factores que propician el desarrollo de habilidades sociales en la niñez constituye un reto de gran relevancia para la psicología actual. El objetivo del estudio realizado fue analizar si la empatía y la experiencia de emociones positivas impactan significativamente sobre la ejecución de habilidades sociales en la niñez media, y en qué medida lo hace cada una. Se seleccionó una muestra no aleatoria de 406 niños (227 niñas y 179 varones), comprendidos mayor mente entre los 10 y 12 años de edad, quienes completaron los siguientes instrumentos, previo consentimiento de sus padres: (a) la Subescala de Habilidades Sociales Adecuadas (Matson, Rotatori & Helsel, 1983), validada a la Argentina por Schulz (2008), (b) la Escala Multidimensional de Empatía para niños argentinos (Richaud de Minzi, Lemos & Oros, 2013) y (c) el Cuestionario Infantil de Emociones Positivas (Oros, 2014). Para analizar la acción conjunta de las emociones positivas y la empatía sobre las habilidades sociales apropiadas, se ejecutó un ANOVA factorial con un diseño 3 (alta, moderada y baja emocionalidad positiva) x 3 (alta, moderada y baja empatía). La variable dependiente estuvo constituida por los valores brutos de la Subescala de Habilidades Sociales Adecuadas. Los resultados indicaron que las emociones positivas y la empatía facilitan el despliegue de conductas socialmente habilidosas, siendo mayor el impacto de las emociones positivas en comparación a la empatía. Es tos resultados son importantes a la hora de comprender la dinámica de los procesos implicados y de diseñar programas de intervención para promover habilidades sociales en la niñez.The implementation of social skills, such as maintaining eye contact with another person during a conversation, giving and receiving compliments, helping others, sharing something, giving thanks, asking for permission, apologizing, asking for favors, etc. enables the suitable expression of feelings, desires or opinions, promotes successful management of criticism, and minimizes the probability of interpersonal conflict, allowing people to relate to others in an effective and mutually satisfactory way. As social skills are learned and have radical consequences on the social-emotional health of children and adolescents, psychological research has devoted considerable effort to study what factors may facilitate their development and consolidation, as well as other dimensions of social competence such as assertiveness and prosociality. Reviewing the available literature, it can be seen that empathy has been one of the most largely studied personal precursor in relation to child and adolescent social functioning. Empirical research has shown that this variable acts as a strong motivator of prosocial behavior, social responsibility, cooperative conflict resolution, altruistic behavior and general help; while it negatively correlates with social inadequacy, antisocial behavior, aggression and isolation of children and adolescents. Probably for this reason, it is argued that empathy can also be the basis for the establishment of the social skills, and a requirement to properly master these interaction skills. However, although there exists ample evidence of the relationship between empathy and some negative aspects of social skills, such as aggression, there are very few studies that have specifically explored the dynamics between empathy and appropriate social skills. On the other hand, although the predominance of empathy on social functioning is undeniable and its study has been favored by many researchers, some evidence suggets that positive emotions may have a similar powerful influence on the development of certain skills and social skills. Specifically, in the stages of childhood and adolescence, it has been found that joy and sympathy prevent peer rejection; that sympathy and serenity ease assertive and prosocial responses, while decreasing aggressive behaviors; that gratitude is also negatively related to aggression, and that together with personal satisfaction and serenity, it predicts a successful management of interpersonal conflicts. However, while the motivational role of empathy has been widely discussed, the influence of positive emotions on social skills, and specifically on the social skills has not yet reached the attention it deserves. The aim of this study was to include both variables in a model of analysis of variance to investigate the statistical weight that each of them has, and their possible interaction on the appropriate social skills in childhood. A empirical comparative and cross study was developed. This work included 406 Argentine children (227 females and 179 males), mainly between the ages of 10 and 12 years old (M = 11.11; DE = 1.04), who completed the Appropriate Social Skills Subscale of The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills of Youngsters (MESSY) of Matson, Rotatori and Helsel (1983), adapted in Argentinean population by Schulz (2008); The Multidimensional Scale of Empathy for Argentine children, developed by Richaud de Minzi, Lemos & Oros (2013); and the Child Questionnaire of positive emotions, created by Oros (2014). To analyze the joint action of positive emotions and empathy on the appropriate social skills, 3 (high, moderate and low positive emotionality) x 3 (high, moderate and low empathy) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) factorial designs were used. The results indicated that positive emotions and empathy facilitate the performance of socially skilled behaviors, being greater the impact of positive emotions compared to empathy. These results are important in understanding the dynamics of the processes involved, and for the further design of intervention programs to promote social skills in childhood.Fil: Oros, Laura Beatriz. Universidad de la Cuenca del Plata. Secretaria de Politicas del Conocimiento. Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas (sede Posadas); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fontana Nalesso, Andrea. Instituto Superior Adventista de Misiones; Argentin

Local anaesthesia efficacy as postoperative analgesia for open shoulder instability surgery. a prospective randomised controlled study

Background and objectives: The aim of present study was to evaluate for the first time, the clinical effect of local anaesthetic infiltration as postoperative analgesia in open shoulder surgery for anterior-inferior instability. The comparison of the local infiltration and interscalenic brachial plexus block to a control group test the local anaesthetic efficacy in this surgery. Methods: 78 patients scheduled for open shoulder surgery were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of three groups: local infiltration anaesthesia (LIA), interscalenic brachial plexus block (IBPB) and control (C). All patients received standardized general anaesthesia and all injections were performed with the same dose and volume of anaesthetic. The number boluses delivered by a PCA pump applied at the end of surgery and the visual analogue score (VAS) at 0, 2, 4, 6, 12, 18 and 24 hours after intervention were recorded. A patient satisfaction score was also assessed. Results: Mean bolus consumption of the rescue analgesic, compared to C, was significantly less both in the LIA and IBPB groups (P<0.05). The IBPB group showed VAS scores that were significantly better than C group at all time points (P<0.05). The VAS scores for LIA group were clinically comparable to IBPB, and only at the 2 and 6 hours, postoperative time points there were no significant differences found in respect to the C group. IBPB and LIA showed comparable patient satisfaction scores. Conclusion: The local anaesthetic infiltration as postoperative analgesia appears to be a clinically valid alternative, statistically comparable to IBPB, with no clinical meaningful adverse effects

Serum resistin is causally related to mortality risk in patients with type 2 diabetes: Preliminary evidences from genetic data

Resistin has been firmly associated with all-cause mortality. We investigated, whether, in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), this association is sustained by a cause-effect relationship. A genotype risk score (GRS), created by summing the number of resistin increasing alleles of two genome-wide association studies (GWAS)-derived single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), serum resistin measurements and allcause death records were obtained in 1,479 (403 events/12,454 person-years), patients with T2D from three cohorts, Gargano Heart Study-prospective design (n = 350), Gargano Mortality Study (n = 698) and Foggia Mortality Study (n = 431), from Italy. GRS was strongly associated with serum resistin in a non-linear fashion (overall p = 3.5 ∗ 10-7) with effect size modest for GRS = 1 and 2 and much higher for GRS &gt;3, with respect to GRS = 0. A significant non-linear association was observed also between GRS and all-cause mortality (overall p = 3.3 ∗ 10-2), with a low effect size for GRS = 1 and 2, and nearly doubled for GRS ≥ 3, with respect to GRS = 0. Based on the above-reported associations, each genetic equivalent SD increase in log-resistin levels showed a causal hazard ratio of all-cause mortality equal to 2.17 (95%CI: 1.22-3.87), thus providing evidence for a causal role of resistin in shaping the risk of mortality in diabetic patients