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Economic sustainability of an alternative form of incentivizing pharmaceutical innovation: Thomas Pogge's proposal.
No full textThe research and development of new drugs and vaccines is costly. Current economic incentives for pharmaceutical research come from intellectual property policies that grant innovators the exclusive monopoly for marketing their discoveries. The existing patent system does not encourage the development of drugs whose sale would not generate high returns. As a result, little is invested in researching and developing medicines that could cure or prevent rampant disease and death among the poorest segments of the global population, particularly in developing countries. Philosopher Thomas Pogge has recently addressed this problem from an ethical point of view, proposing an alternative reward scheme based on the therapeutic effectiveness of new products.
This paper provides an analytical review of Pogge’s reform proposal from an economics perspective. The main question is whether the alternative incentive system is effective enough to promote the discovery of new medicines for neglected diseases. Theoretical models are defined to assess the required reward of pharmaceutical innovation within the framework of Pogge’s proposal. The mathematical approach taken is mainly based on the investment under uncertainty concept. Results from the simulations performed indicate that Pogge’s scheme may be effective mainly for widespread diseases like malaria and HIV
Torque Gap Filler. A Possible Solution for Reducing the 'Shift Torque Hole' in AMT Transmissions
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Automated manual transmission with a torque gap filler Part 1: kinematic analysis and dynamic analysis
No full textThis paper deals with a powershift automated manual transmission, i.e. an automated manual transmission with a torque gap filler, which essentially integrates, in a typical manual transmission layout, a torque gap filler assembly with the aim of reducing the torque gap that occurs during gearshifts. The torque gap filler consists of an additional mechanical link between the engine and the transmission output shaft, thus enabling the engine power to flow through this parallel path also when the launch clutch is disengaged, with clear benefits in terms of both sportiness and passenger comfort. This paper is the first part of a two-part study which, after a general description of the trans- mission architecture and its working principle, examines a practical implementation of the torque gap filler concept; the additional mechanical components and their integration into a traditional automated manual transmission are presented. Then, kinematic analysis and dynamic analysis of the transmission are proposed. The evolution of the transmission speeds are studied in the whole working range of the vehicle; the equations of motion are derived and used to show the effect of the torque gap filler on the torque transmitted to the wheels and consequently on the vehicle acceleration during gearshifts. The companion paper (Part 2) covers control issues and provides experimental validatio
An Objective Evaluation of the Comfort during the Gear Change Process
No full textThis paper presents the methodology adopted by Politecnico di Torino Vehicle Dynamics Research Team to obtain objective indices for the evaluation of the comfort during the gear change process. Some test drivers and different passengers traveled on a test vehicle and assigned marks on the basis of their subjective feeling of comfort during the gearshifts. The comparison between the most significant subjective evaluations and the experimental values obtained by the instruments located on the vehicle is presented. As a consequence, some indices (based on physical parameters) to evaluate the efficiency and the comfort of the gearshift process are obtained. They are in good agreement with the subjective evaluations of the drivers and the passengers. The second part of the paper presents a driveline and vehicle model which was conceived to reproduce the phenomena experimented on the vehicle. The experimental validation of the model is presented. This model can be adopted to evaluate the weight of each parameter of the driveline and the vehicle in determining the performance of the system in terms of comfort during the gearshift process
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