科技期刊与科技智库互动发展的机理与路径研究

[目的]认识科技期刊和科技智库互动发展的必要性和可行性,揭示二者互动发展的机理与路径。[方法]运用逻辑演绎推理方法,阐述双方互动发展的必要性、可行性以及机理与路径。[结果]科技期刊与科技智库互动发展的战略意义显著且可行。从机理上看,科技期刊可为科技智库建设输送知识资源并提供人才团队支持,还可张扬智库研究成果的价值;科技智库则能提高科技期刊学术质量、提升期刊社会影响力和塑造科技期刊品牌。二者互动发展的路径主要有协同创新、资源融合、常态化合作和互为环境与保障等。[结论]互动发展既对双方有利,又能使其更好地履行社会责任、更好地提升国家软实力并强化决策咨询功能。     

Expression,purification and thermal stability evaluation of an engineered amaranth protein expressed in Escherichia coli

BackgroundThe acidic subunit of amarantin (AAC)—the predominant amaranth seed storage protein—has functional potential and its third variable region (VR) has been modified with antihypertensive peptides to improve this potential. Here, we modified the C-terminal in the fourth VR of AAC by inserting four VY antihypertensive peptides. This modified protein (AACM.4) was expressed in Escherichia coli. In addition, we also recombinantly expressed other derivatives of the amarantin protein. These include: unmodified amarantin acidic subunit (AAC); amarantin acidic subunit modified at the third VR with four VY peptides (AACM.3); and amarantin acidic subunit doubly modified, in the third VR with four VY peptides and in the fourth VR with the RIPP peptide (AACM.3.4).ResultsE. coli BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL was the most favorable strain for the expression of proteins. After 6 h of induction, it showed the best recombinant protein titer. The AAC and AACM.4 were obtained at higher titers (0.56 g/L) while proteins modified in the third VR showed lower titers: 0.44 g/L and 0.33 g/L for AACM.3 and AACM.3.4, respectively. As these AAC variants were mostly expressed in an insoluble form, we applied a refolding protocol. This made it possible to obtain all proteins in soluble form. Modification of the VR 4 improves the thermal stability of amarantin acidic subunit; AAC manifested melting temperature (T_m) at 34°C and AACM.4 at 37.2°C. The AACM.3 and AACM.3.4 did not show transition curves.ConclusionsModifications to the third VR affect the thermal stability of amarantin acidic subunit.     

Online Gambling: Challenges to National Sovereignty and Regulation

Online gambling utilises advanced telecommunications technology to provide access to gambling across national borders, presenting unprecedented opportunities for industry and new challenges for government regulation and national sovereignty. It also promises to revolutionise the way people gamble, raising critical issues about social and economic impacts. Nations have taken a variety of approaches to online gambling, ranging from unregulated legalisation to prohibition, creating a perplexing and uncertain legal environment. This paper will examine the development of Internet and interactive gambling, the responses by governments and industry, and the issues for policy-makers and regulators.     

Machine‐mediated instruction for work‐force training and education

Abstract

This paper reviews developments in the work force as they bear on training needs from entry level skills through professional continuing education. It summarizes the state of the art in various categories of information technology as they apply to education and training, including interactive videodisc, satellite communications systems, videotex, and artificial intelligence methods. These technologies and their potential are illustrated through case study examples. Policy recommendations are presented for governmental, industrial, and higher educational institution initiatives.     

Conceptualizing and Measuring the Social Uses of the Internet: The Case of Personal Web Sites

The researchers working on information society measures have recently started to consider how people use the Internet not only as a tool but also as a platform for social relations. As the ultimate objective of information society measures is to provide reliable guidelines for social policy, finding criteria for separating “positive” uses of Internet from “negative” ones is an important task. This article employs the concepts of communicative and strategic action as defined by Habermas for that purpose. A general conceptual typology of three communicative and three strategic social uses of Internet is offered, which can be applied to measure uses of any of the Internet's interactive services. A specific empirical application to social uses of personal web sites demonstrates that the deduced measurement instruments achieve satisfying levels of validity and reliability.     

Cognitive load during planned and unplanned virtual shopping: Evidence from a neurophysiological perspective

Rapid adoption of virtual-reality-assisted retail applications is inadvertently reshaping consumer buying patterns, making it crucial for businesses to enhance their shopping experience. This new scenario challenges marketers with unique hurdles in both the commercialization of products and in managing information cues derived via VR retailing. Therefore, this study examined consumers’ impulsive behavior and unplanned purchases in a virtual retail store, using self-reports and electroencephalography. Borrowing assorted perspectives from retailing, virtual reality, and neuromarketing literature, we extended the stimulus-organism-response framework to evaluate how unplanned behavior evolves through conscious and unconscious measures. We found that consumers’ impulsiveness was significantly associated with their unplanned expenditure and the number of unplanned purchases. Using mediation analysis, we observed that flow experience during shopping partially mediated the relationship between the sense of presence and the desire to stay longer in a virtual shopping store. Desire to stay in the virtual store positively influenced store satisfaction, basket-size deviation, and budget deviation. Additionally, cognitive workload obtained via electroencephalogram revealed significant differences during both planned and unplanned purchases. These findings provide fresh opportunities for retailers to leverage the disruptive potential of immersive and interactive virtual technology to transform consumer shopping experiences.     

Search on surfaces: Exploring the potential of interactive tabletops for collaborative search tasks

Collaborative information seeking often takes place in co-located settings; such opportunities may be planned (business colleagues meeting in a conference room or students working together in a library) or spontaneous (family members gathered in their living room or friends meeting at a café). Surface computing technologies (i.e., interactive tabletops) hold great potential for enhancing collaborative information seeking activities. Such devices provide engaging direct manipulation interactions, facilitate awareness of collaborators’ activities, and afford spatial organization of content. However, current tabletop technologies also present several challenges that creators of collaborative information seeking system must account for in their designs. In this article, we explore the design space for collaborative search systems on interactive tabletops, discussing the benefits and challenges of creating search applications for these devices. We discuss how features of our tabletop search prototypes TeamSearch, FourBySix Search, Cambiera, and WeSearch, illustrate different aspects of this design space.     

入选百种杰出学术期刊的特征分析与持续影响力对策

【目的】对2012-2014年高校主办科技期刊入选"百种中国杰出学术期刊" 的典型特征进行研究。【方法】 分析入选期刊重要文献指标的变化。【结果】 指出在所属学科中期刊综合评价总分领先和影响因子、学科影响指标、他引率等文献计量指标居前是科技期刊入选百种杰出学术期刊的关键,用影响因子当量值可预测今后入选的期刊。结合《中国矿业大学学报》蝉联百种杰出学术期刊的工作实践,提出编辑在初审来稿创新时应注重的3个层次和关注的3个方面因素。【结论】 把握期刊组稿优先方向,注重在稿源、评审质量、编辑水平和传播速度4个方面提高期刊的竞争力,有助于期刊今后入选百种杰出学术期刊。     

科技期刊强化宣传推广的若干策略

【目的】针对科技期刊传统的宣传策略大多存在效率低、影响范围小等缺点,提出一套依托网络技术和数字技术的期刊精细化宣传策略和技巧。【方法】 以《自动化学报》和International Journal of Automation and Computing实践为例,从宣传内容和宣传方式两个方面阐述了精细化宣传的实施步骤和方法。【结果】实践证明,自借助网络和数字新技术实施精细化宣传工作以来,两刊实现了精确定位宣传目标和细化宣传工作流程的目的,促进了宣传效果最大化和期刊影响力的提升。【结论】有效地将先进的网络、数字技术及管理理念引入期刊宣传工作中,有利于期刊品牌快速推广。     

打造具有国际影响力的中国编辑出版类学术期刊

[目的]探讨提高中国编辑出版类学术期刊国际影响力的可行性和措施。[方法]调研中国编辑出版类期刊基本情况和产生国际影响力期刊的特征,调研SSCI编辑出版类期刊现状和中国作者发表文章情况。[结果]中国编辑出版类期刊的国际影响力不高,但是有很大的提升空间,为提高国际影响可采取的措施包括:提高编辑出版类期刊的国际化意识、为文章增添国际化信息、出版中英文双语或英语期刊、加强网站和数据库建设、争取被检索机构收录等;还可通过明确自身定位推动中国STM出版格局的完善,借助学术力量加强国际交流,提高编辑素质,在中国编辑"走出去"的同时将国际同行"引进来"。[结论]打造具有国际影响力的中国编辑出版类学术期刊是可行的,而且对促进中国科技期刊整体发展有重要意义。     

Biomineralization of a calcifying ureolytic bacterium Microbacterium sp. GM-1

BackgroundBiomineralization is a significant process performed by living organisms in which minerals are produced through the hardening of biological tissues. Herein, we focus on calcium carbonate precipitation, as part of biomineralization, to be used in applications for environmental protection, material technology, and other fields. A strain GM-1, Microbacterium sp. GM-1, isolated from active sludge, was investigated for its ability to produce urease and induce calcium carbonate precipitation in a metabolic process.ResultsIt was discovered that Microbacterium sp. GM-1 resisted high concentrations of urea up to 60 g/L. In order to optimize the calcification process of Microbacterium sp. GM-1, the concentrations of Ni^2 + and urea, pH value, and culture time were analyzed through orthogonal tests. The favored calcite precipitation culture conditions were as follows: the concentration of Ni^2 + and urea were 50 μM and 60 g/L, respectively, pH of 10, and culture time of 96 h. Using X-ray diffraction analysis, the calcium carbonate polymorphs produced by Microbacterium sp. GM-1 were proven to be mainly calcite.ConclusionsThe results of this research provide evidence that Microbacterium sp. GM-1 can biologically induce calcification and suggest that strain GM-1 may play a potential role in the synthesis of new biominerals and in bioremediation or biorecovery.     

The Internet and the Consumer: Countervailing Power Revisited

The Internet is a tool with the potential to enable consumers to effectively participate in collective bargaining in the marketplace. The purpose of this paper is to address the viability of the concept of countervailing power in the Internet era. First, some theoretical perspectives on how on-line consumer networks have the potential to be a new source of countervailing power are introduced. Next, the potential for consumer countervailing power in the Internet era is discussed. A case study that illustrates the viability of the propositions is then presented. Finally, implications and limitations of the paper are briefly discussed: if the potential for countervailing power can be established, then the circumstances under which collective bargaining would occur and the determinants of its outcome would be of vital interest to consumer economists and policy makers.     

How U.S. cities compete through information technology: Securing an urban advantage

Abstract

The information age is bringing about a change in the world division of labor. Many of the great trading cities that arose during the Industrial Revolution as shipping, railroad, and financial centers are now facing new challenges, challenges brought about by global telecommunications. Information technology and the changing nature of business and government offer new opportunities and threats to these and other cities as they strive to acquire or retain treasured economic activity. Telecommunications and computation capacity are among the tools cities can use as they vie with one another for this commerce.

This study describes how U. S. cities are affected by these trends and summarizes some of the key technological and policy issues involved. Several case studies are reported, which show the various strategies used by large cities such as New York and Boston, progressive Midwest cities such as Omaha, and small cities such as Heathrow, Florida. Some preliminary principles of success are adduced.     

Coping with Illness Online: The Case of Patients'Online Communities

This article identifies and analyzes characteristics of patients' online communities (POC) in Sweden. Using a qualitative approach, it presents a fine-grained picture of the communities covering both the structural and cultural factors. Acknowledging the debate about quality of health information online and the potential risks of e-health, the article argues that a deeper understanding of the dynamics of POC, which offer unique aides for the coping process of chronically ill patients, can contribute to the design of the emergent forms of Internet-based health care resources.     

ENCODE项目科学数据出版模式创新

【目的】以ENCODE项目为例,探讨数字环境下科学数据的出版模式。【方法】从Nature ENCODE Explorer、Thread(线程)和ENCODE analysis virtual machine三个方面分析 ENCODE项目的出版模式创新方案,并介绍引导工具的呈现效果,展望其后续发展状况。【结果】ENCODE项目基于可视化技术和数据挖掘技术,创造易于使用的可视化工具,对项目成果进行有效整合;引入分析工具帮助用户进行数据集重用和计算。【结论】数字环境下应该重视整合不同出版平台的数据资源加以分析利用,探索实现科学数据开放和共享的有效方法。     

Expression,purification and biological effect of a novel single chain Fv antibody and protamine fusion protein for the targeted delivery of siRNAs to FGFR3 positive cancer cells

BackgroundGain-of-function of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) is involved in the pathogenesis of many tumors. More and more studies have focused on the potential usage of therapeutic single-chain Fv (ScFv) antibodies against FGFR3. RNA interference (RNAi) has been considered as a promising therapeutic method against cancer. A tool which can deliver small interference RNAs (siRNAs) into FGFR3 positive cancer cells is very promising for anti-tumor therapy.ResultsIn this study, a novel fusion protein R3P, which consists of FGFR3-ScFv and protamine, was generated in Escherichia coli by inclusion body expression strategy and Ni-NTA chromatography. Its yield reached 10 mg per liter of bacterial culture and its purity was shown to be higher than 95%. 1 μg of R3P could efficiently bind to about 2.5 pmol siRNAs and deliver siRNAs into FGFR3 positive RT112 and K562 cells. Annexin V staining results showed that R3P can deliver the amplified breast cancer 1 (AIB1) siRNAs to induce RT112 cell apoptosis.ConclusionThese results indicated that R3P was a promising carrier tool to deliver siRNAs into FGFR3 positive cancer cells and to exert anti-tumor effect.     

Robot carers,ethics, and older people

This paper offers an ethical framework for the development of robots as home companions that are intended to address the isolation and reduced physical functioning of frail older people with capacity, especially those living alone in a noninstitutional setting. Our ethical framework gives autonomy priority in a list of purposes served by assistive technology in general, and carebots in particular. It first introduces the notion of “presence” and draws a distinction between humanoid multi-function robots and non-humanoid robots to suggest that the former provide a more sophisticated presence than the latter. It then looks at the difference between lower-tech assistive technological support for older people and its benefits, and contrasts these with what robots can offer. This provides some context for the ethical assessment of robotic assistive technology. We then consider what might need to be added to presence to produce care from a companion robot that deals with older people’s reduced functioning and isolation. Finally, we outline and explain our ethical framework. We discuss how it combines sometimes conflicting values that the design of a carebot might incorporate, if informed by an analysis of the different roles that can be served by a companion robot.     

Information technology in rural emergency management

Abstract

Rural communities face a multitude of hazardous conditions—from blizzards, floods, droughts, and insect infestations caused by nature to hazardous material spills, transportation accidents, and dam failures that result from human activities. Information technology offers to rural emergency managers potentially important tools with which to better plan, alert, and respond to disasters.

Three case studies are presented about uses of different technologies. Each technology is currently in place, but not in widespread use. The first case is the use of a microcomputer in a rural Minnesota county to manage emergency resources, aid planning, and other important tasks. The second case uses cable television as a two‐way alerting link to fire, emergency medical, and police systems. The third case involves the use of satellites to form a statewide communication system among emergency service offices. Each use of information technology clearly contributes to improved emergency management, but widespread application is necessary before the full impact of information technology in rural emergency management can be felt.     

Evaluating impact from research: A methodological framework

BackgroundInterest in impact evaluation has grown rapidly as research funders increasingly demand evidence that their investments lead to public benefits.AimsThis paper analyses literature to provide a new definition of research impact and impact evaluation, develops a typology of research impact evaluation designs, and proposes a methodological framework to guide evaluations of the significance and reach of impact that can be attributed to research.MethodAn adapted Grounded Theory Analysis of research impact evaluation frameworks drawn from cross-disciplinary peer-reviewed and grey literature.ResultsRecognizing the subjective nature of impacts as they are perceived by different groups in different times, places and cultures, we define research impact evaluation as the process of assessing the significance and reach of both positive and negative effects of research.Five types of impact evaluation design are identified encompassing a range of evaluation methods and approaches: i) experimental and statistical methods; ii) textual, oral and arts-based methods; iii) systems analysis methods; iv) indicator-based approaches; and v) evidence synthesis approaches.Our guidance enables impact evaluation design to be tailored to the aims and context of the evaluation, for example choosing a design to establish a body of research as a necessary (e.g. a significant contributing factor amongst many) or sufficient (e.g. sole, direct) cause of impact, and choosing the most appropriate evaluation design for the type of impact being evaluated.ConclusionUsing the proposed definitions, typology and methodological framework, researchers, funders and other stakeholders working across multiple disciplines can select a suitable evaluation design and methods to evidence the impact of research from any discipline.     

The rise in preanalytical errors during COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has posed several challenges to clinical laboratories across the globe. Amidst the outbreak, errors occurring in the preanalytical phase of sample collection, transport and processing, can further lead to undesirable clinical consequences. Thus, this study was designed with the following objectives: (i) to determine and compare the blood specimen rejection rate of a clinical laboratory and (ii) to characterise and compare the types of preanalytical errors between the pre-pandemic and the pandemic phases.Materials and methodsThis retrospective study was carried out in a trauma-care hospital, presently converted to COVID-19 care centre. Data was collected from (i) pre-pandemic phase: 1^st October 2019 to 23^rd March 2020 and (ii) pandemic phase: 24^th March to 31^st October 2020. Blood specimen rejection rate was calculated as the proportion of blood collection tubes with preanalytical errors out of the total number received, expressed as percentage.ResultsTotal of 107,716 blood specimens were screened of which 43,396 (40.3%) were received during the pandemic. The blood specimen rejection rate during the pandemic was significantly higher than the pre-pandemic phase (3.0% versus 1.1%; P < 0.001). Clotted samples were the commonest source of preanalytical errors in both phases. There was a significant increase in the improperly labelled samples (P < 0.001) and samples with insufficient volume (P < 0.001), whereas, a significant decline in samples with inadequate sample-anticoagulant ratio and haemolysed samples (P < 0.001).ConclusionIn the ongoing pandemic, preanalytical errors and resultant blood specimen rejection rate in the clinical laboratory have significantly increased due to changed logistics. The study highlights the need for corrective steps at various levels to reduce preanalytical errors in order to optimise patient care and resource utilisation.