294 research outputs found
Development of New Venture Support Networks and the Role of "Promoters"
No full textNew Venture Support Networks (NVSN) are a political instrument for the purpose of contributing to regional economic development by fostering more and qualitatively better start-ups. NVSN bundle together different available sources of information and consultation for potential entrepreneurs, including e.g. authorities, universities, financial institutions, trade associations and private consultants. Achieving effective cooperation between such a wide range of institutions is not a simple task. The initial situation is often characterised by conflicts between the varying individual interests of the participants and the politically defined goal of fostering more and better start-ups. Moreover, since the network has been established by a political initiative for a pre-determined funding period, the actor relations within it are “artificial” (as opposed to naturally developed). Thus, the actors lack common experiences, social bonds, values and other common motivators contributing to trust-based cooperative relationships. Such relationships are a crucial factor in turning the “artificial” network into a “real” one, which continues to exist also after the political funding period is over. Our hypothesis is that certain key actors are a critical success factor in developing NVSN into “real” networks. Following the “promoter model” – an expansion of champion models that has established itself in the German innovation management literature – we suggest that there are administrative, organisational and know-how related barriers that are detrimental to the development of NVSN. The overcoming of these barriers requires a combination of different organisational resources, which the promoter model discusses in terms of three different ideal types: promoter by power, promoter by know-how, and relationship promoter. One person can act in one or more of these roles simultaneously and the roles can appear in different combinations, known as promoter structures. The specific research objectives of the proposed paper are to identify a) the types of barriers faced in the different developmental stages of NVSN and b) the roles the key actors play and the resources they use in coping with them. Our sample consists of key actors in five regional NVSN in Germany, which were established in 1998 as part of the governmental initiative “EXIST – Entrepreneurs from Universities”. The author team is also involved in one of these networks. Using a grounded theory based qualitative approach, we intend to map the development process of these NVSN with respect to the above research objectives. The contribution of the study is two-fold: 1) It presents the first application of the promoter model in the context of NVSN and produces tentative results that can be used as a basis for further research. 2) It offers practical implications to NVSN by analysing how their effectiveness and continuity could be improved by an effective use of promoter structures.
Structure-function specialisation of the interfascicular matrix in the human achilles tendon
No full textTendon consists of highly aligned collagen-rich fascicles surrounded by interfascicular matrix (IFM). Some tendons act as energy stores to improve locomotion efficiency, but such tendons commonly obtain debilitating injuries. In equine tendons, energy storing is achieved primarily through specialisation of the IFM. However, no studies have investigated IFM structure-function specialisation in human tendons. Here, we compare the human positional anterior tibial tendon and energy storing Achilles tendons, testing the hypothesis that the Achilles tendon IFM has specialised composition and mechanical properties, which are lost with ageing. Data demonstrate IFM specialisation in the energy storing Achilles, with greater elasticity and fatigue resistance than in the positional anterior tibial tendon. With ageing, alterations occur predominantly to the proteome of the Achilles IFM, which are likely responsible for the observed trends towards decreased fatigue resistance. Knowledge of these key energy storing specialisations and their changes with ageing offers crucial insight towards developing treatments for tendinopathy
Magnetron Sputter Epitaxy of High-quality GaNand Plasma Characterization of the Process : Degree Project–Master’s Thesis
No full textSeveral sputtering depositions were done by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering epitaxy (MSE) techniquefor the goal of improving the growth rate and crystalline quality of GaN thin film on Al2O3 substrate. Thegrowth rate was higher when substrate-to-target distance D = 7 cm compared with D = 9.3 cm with eitherfloating or positive bias on the substrate side. The crystalline quality was improved by raising up the growthtemperature from 700◦C to 900◦C, but the quality was declined from 900◦C to 1000◦C due to strong desorption.Gas composition in the metal mode gives better quality due to its sufficient Ga condition with less N2. Positivesubstrate bias boosted the plasma potential and therefore created higher actual sputtering power comparedwith the condition at floating substrate potential. In general, applying a higher power can elevate the growthrate and film quality. However, there has not been an evident difference of both growth rate and film qualitywhen the actual sputtering power is close for floating substrate potential and positive substrate bias
Author Correction: Inflammasome signalling in brain function and neurodegenerative disease
No full textpeer reviewedIn the originally published version of this article, the competing interests statement indicated that the authors had no competing interests; however, this statement was incorrect. The statement should have read as follows: 'M.H. receives a consultation fee from IFM Therapeutics, LLC for consultations regarding the pathogenesis and interventional strategies of neurodegenerative disease. E.L. is a scientific co-founder and consultant to IFM Therapeutics. R.M.M. declares no competing interests.' This error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article
Mechanism and subpopulation specificity of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species release in the post-ischemic hyperthyroid myocardium
No full text2012 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Hyperthyroidism (HT) augments release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from cardiac mitochondria following myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). The present study examined the mechanisms of this phenomenon and determined whether subsarcolemmal (SSM) and intermyofibrillar mitochondria (IFM) are differentially affected. Male SD rats received 10 daily injections of thyroid hormone (30ug/kg i.p.; HT) or vehicle (CON) before hearts were excised and exposed to a 20/25 min global I/R protocol ex vivo. Following I/R, ROS release was assessed in freshly isolated SSM and IFM using the Amplex Red assay with a variety of substrate and inhibitor combinations to examine sites and mechanisms of release. ROS release from SSM exceeded IFM in CON and HT hearts by 25-50% following I/R (P < 0.01). Surprisingly, HT augmented ROS release from SSM, but decreased ROS release from IFM (P < 0.05 for both). Blocking electron flow from respiratory complex 1 to 3 abolished the effect of HT on SSM, but not IFM. Inhibition of uncoupling proteins with GDP abolished the HT-induced reduction in IFM, but had little effect in SSM. Maximally uncoupling mitochondria with FCCP abolished effects of HT in IFM and SSM. Collectively, results indicate that 1) complex 3 in SSM is the primary source of mitochondrial ROS release following I/R in HT, and 2) enhanced activity of uncoupling proteins limits ROS release from IFM under these conditions
Public-private partnership: european practices, and italian applications in the road infrastructure industry
No full textAutologous stem cell transplantation for malignancy: a systematic review of the literature
No full textA systematic review of the literature was undertaken to assess what published evidence is currently available to support the increasing use of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), and to evaluate the published data with regard to the comparative cost of high-dose and conventional therapy. The review aimed to identify all published, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing high-dose therapy (HDT) with ASCT versus conventional chemotherapy (CC) in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, and breast, lung, testicular and ovarian cancer. The review also aimed to identify all studies that had compared the cost of the two treatment strategies. Reports were identified by systematic searches of Cancerlit, Embase and Medline, and handsearching of several conference proceedings. Where possible, pooled odds ratios (ORs) were calculated according to the fixed-effect model. A total of 18 randomized trials were identified in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, and breast, lung and testicular cancer. Trials were generally small and no disease site had sufficient information to determine reliably whether high-dose therapy with autologous transplant is more effective than CC. Five studies were identified that compared the cost of the two treatments. These found the cost of HDT to be between one and four times higher than that of CC. Further randomized trials are required. Where appropriate, these should include economic assessment and assessments of long-term toxicity
Diseño de un sistema de granallado para reducir costos de preparación de superficies en la Empresa IFM S.A.C
No full textEl presente Proyecto tiene como propósito la reducción de costos en la
preparación de superficies de estructuras metálicas fabricadas por IFM S.A.C.
mediante la sustitución del actual sistema de arenado por un sistema de
granallado, el mismo que utilizará máquinas, equipos de aire comprimido, y
parte de las instalaciones que actualmente se vienen empleando en dicha
actividad.
El presente trabajo de investigación será de carácter descriptivo y no
experimental, transeccional en la que el objetivo es observable medible y no se
realizan manipulación de variables teniendo como propósito describir variables
y analizar su interrelación de un momento determinado por lo que recoge datos
estadísticos tanto del proceso de arenado como de granallado, lo cual nos
permitirá conocer la magnitud de la importancia de sustitución de la limpieza de
superficies mediante chorro abrasivo de arenado por el granallado.
Una meta importante es superar al sistema de arenado tanto en la calidad del
anclaje del recubrimiento protector de la superficie preparada, así como en los
costos de preparación de superficie por metro cuadrado de superficie
procesada, aparte de lograr una reducción severa de la polución generada en
el arenado
The Latin American experience in pension system reform: Coverage, fiscal issues and possible implications for China
No full textIn the past two decades, Latin American countries reformed their pension systems focusing mainly on addressing the weaknesses of the contributory schemes - fiscal unsustainability, low coverage levels and a high degree of segmentation- and barely addressed the non-contributory element. The reform experiences show however that the intended reforms did not manage to meet their objectives. Firstly, to this day, a large proportion of the population remains inadequately covered by the contributory system. Secondly, the fiscal performance and outcome of the reform was worse than originally planned. The possibilities for the success of these reforms faced several constraints of a structural nature that are independent of the pension system itself and that as a result can not be overcome by a pension reform including mainly the limited savings capacity of some population groups and the instability and precariousness of the labor markets in the region. The Latin American experience shares similarities with that of China in terms of coverage, labor market informality. Both cases attest to the importance of combining contributory and non-contributory components in pension reform design.Pension reform; contributory schemes; coverage; Fiscal unsustainability; Contributory coverage; contribution density; fragmentation; transition costs; pension reform in Latin America; pension reform in China
Vida ignota en lo más profundo (I)
No full textEn el vídeo se muestra un pequeño recorrido dentro del cañón del cabo de Creus. Estas imágenes fueron grabadas a 250 metros de profundidad por el equipo del Jago Team del IFM/GEOMAR y por los biólogos del ICM-CSIC que participaron en la campaña LIFE+ INDEMARESLa dificultad que entraña la observación directa y la realización de estudios sobre la vida marina de las zonas profundas hace que todavía no se conozcan muchos aspectos de la vida en el mar. Un buen ejemplo de ello es la gran cantidad de especies que todavía quedan por descubrir, principalmente dentro de las formas de vida más simples.
Para observar y obtener imágenes reales de los fondos marinos a profundidades que superen los 100 metros se requiere de aparatos y tecnologías especiales. Básicamente los equipos son de dos tipos, uno son los denominados ROV, vehículos dirigidos desde la superficie y que van provistos de cámaras y sensores para el registro de datos oceanográficos y toma de muestras, por otra parte, están los submarinos de observación e investigación tripulados por una o por varias personas.
Este es el caso del Jago, un submarino científico del equipo IFM/GEOMAR que, dentro del proyecto Life+ Indemares, el Instituto de Ciencias del Mar de Barcelona ha utilizado en distintas ocasiones para estudiar los fondos de la Costa Brava, especialmente el cañón submarino del Cabo de Creus y el de Palamós. [...]Peer reviewe
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