Cluster Performance reconsidered: Structure, Linkages and Paths in the German Biotechnology Industry, 1996-2003

This paper addresses the evolution of biotechnology clusters in Germany between 1996 and 2003, paying particular attention to their respective composition in terms of venture capital, basic science institutions and biotechnology firms. Drawing upon the significance of co-location of "money and ideas", the literature stressing the importance of a cluster's openness and external linkages, and the path dependency debate, the paper aims to analyse how certain cluster characteristics correspond with its overall performance. After identifying different cluster types, we investigate their internal and external interconnectivity in comparative manner and draw on changes in cluster composition. Our results indicate that the structure, i.e. to which group the cluster belongs, and the openness towards external knowledge flows deliver merely unsystematic indications with regard to a cluster's overall success. Its ability to change composition towards a more balanced ratio of science and capital over time, on the other hand, turns out as a key explanatory factor. Hence, the dynamic perspective proves effective illuminating cluster growth and performance, where our explorative findings provide a promising avenue for further evolutionary research

Social Preferences and the Efficiency of Bilateral Exchange

Under what conditions do social preferences, such as altruism or a concern for fair outcomes, generate efficient trade? I analyze theoretically a simple bilateral exchange game: Each player sequentially takes an action that reduces his own material payoff but increases the other player’s. Each player’s preferences may depend on both his/her own material payoff and the other player’s. I identify necessary conditions and sufficient conditions on the players’ preferences for the outcome of their interaction to be Pareto efficient. The results have implications for interpreting the rotten kid theorem, gift exchange in the laboratory, and gift exchange in the field

Technological Diffusion, Spatial Spillovers And Regional Convergence In Europe

In this paper we study two closely related issues. First, the role of technology heterogeneity and diffusion in the convergence of GDP per worker observed across the European regions, in the absence of data on regional TFP. Second, the spatial pattern of the observed regional heterogeneity in technology and the relevance of this pattern for the econometric analysis of regional convergence in Europe. As for the first issue, our aim is to assess whether the convergence observed across European regions is due to convergence in technology as well as to convergence in capital-labor ratios. We first develop a growth model where technology accumulation in lagging regions depends on their own propensity to innovate and on technology diffusion from the leading region, and convergence in GDP per worker is due to both capital deepening and catch-up. We use data (1978-97) on 131 European regions. Propensities to innovate are computed by assigning each patent collected by the European Patent Office to its region of origin. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that technology differs across regions and that convergence is partly due to technological catch-up. As for the second empirical issue, we study to what extent each region's propensity to innovate is correlated with that of the surrounding regions. Our results show, first, that the performance of each region does depend on that of the surrounding areas. Second, that the intensity of such spillovers fades with distance. Taken together, these findings suggest the existence of significant localized spillovers of technological knowledge. Finally, we show that these spillovers are strong enough to play a role that cannot be ignored in the econometric analysis of the convergence process in Europe

6-Chloro-2-methyl-4-phenyl-3-[1-phenyl-5-(2-thien­yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-3-yl]quinoline

In the title mol­ecule, C29H22ClN3S, the quinoline ring system, thio­phene ring and phenyl ring substituents are inclined at angles of 71.70 (7), 59.26 (9) and 81.61 (9)°, respectively, to the 4,5-dihydro­pyrazole ring. In the 4-phenyl­quinoline ring system, the phenyl ring makes a dihedral angle of 62.49 (7)° with mean plane of quinoline ring system. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked via weak inter­molecular C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming an extended one-dimensional chain along the b axis and are further consolidated by C—H⋯π and π–π stacking inter­actions [centroid–centroid distances = 3.7022 (10) Å]

Behavioural Susceptibility Theory: Professor Jane Wardle and the Role of Appetite in Genetic Risk of Obesity

Purpose of Review: There is considerable variability in human body weight, despite the ubiquity of the 'obesogenic' environment. Human body weight has a strong genetic basis and it has been hypothesised that genetic susceptibility to the environment explains variation in human body weight, with differences in appetite being implicated as the mediating mechanism; so-called 'behavioural susceptibility theory' (BST), first described by Professor Jane Wardle. This review summarises the evidence for the role of appetite as a mediator of genetic risk of obesity. Recent Findings: Variation in appetitive traits is observable from infancy, drives early weight gain and is highly heritable in infancy and childhood. Obesity-related common genetic variants identified through genome-wide association studies show associations with appetitive traits, and appetite mediates part of the observed association between genetic risk and adiposity. Summary: Obesity results from an interaction between genetic susceptibility to overeating and exposure to an 'obesogenic' food environment

Is eco-efficiency in greenhouse gas emissions converging among European Union countries?

Eco-efficiency refers to the ability to produce more goods and services with less impact on the environment and less consumption of natural resources. This issue has become a matter of concern that is receiving increasing attention from politicians, scientists and researchers. Furthermore, greenhouse gases emitted as a result of production processes have a marked impact on the environment and are also the foremost culprit of global warming and climate change. This paper assesses convergence in eco-efficiency in greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union. Eco-efficiency is assessed at both country and greenhouse-gas-specific levels using Data Envelopment Analysis techniques and directional distance functions, as recently proposed by Picazo-Tadeo et al. (Eur J Oper Res, 220:798–809, 2012). Convergence is then evaluated using the Phillips and Sul (Econometrica, 75:1771–1855, 2007) approach that allows testing for the existence of convergence groups. Although the results point to the existence of different convergence clubs depending on the specific pollutant considered, they signal the existence of at least four clear groups of countries. The first two groups are core European Union high-income countries (Benelux, Germany, Italy, Austria, the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries). A third club is made up of peripheral countries (Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Greece) together with some Eastern countries (Latvia and Slovenia), while the remaining clubs consist of groups containing Eastern European countries

Work, life and time in the new economy: an introduction

International audienc

Functional Improvement of Regulatory T Cells From Rheumatoid Arthritis Subjects Induced by Capsular Polysaccharide Glucuronoxylomannogalactan

Objective: Regulatory T cells (Treg) play a critical role in the prevention of autoimmunity, and the suppressive activity of these cells is impaired in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present study was to investigate function and properties of Treg of RA patients in response to purified polysaccharide glucuronoxylomannogalactan (GXMGal). Methods: Flow cytometry and western blot analysis were used to investigate the frequency, function and properties of Treg cells. Results: GXMGal was able to: i) induce strong increase of FOXP3 on CD4+ T cells without affecting the number of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Treg cells with parallel increase in the percentage of non-conventional CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ Treg cells; ii) increase intracellular levels of TGF-beta1 in CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ Treg cells and of IL-10 in both CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ and CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ Treg cells; iii) enhance the suppressive activity of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ and CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ Treg cells in terms of inhibition of effector T cell activity and increased secretion of IL-10; iv) decrease Th1 response as demonstrated by inhibition of T-bet activation and down-regulation of IFN-gamma and IL-12p70 production; v) decrease Th17 differentiation by down-regulating pSTAT3 activation and IL-17A, IL-23, IL-21, IL-22 and IL-6 production. Conclusion: These data show that GXMGal improves Treg functions and increases the number and function of CD4+CD25-FOXP3+ Treg cells of RA patients. It is suggested that GXMGal may be potentially useful for restoring impaired Treg functions in autoimmune disorders and for developing Treg cell-based strategies for the treatment of these diseases