Maternal and fetal indicators of oxidative stress in various obstetric complications

The present study demonstrates the incidence of increased lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation in both maternal and fetal erythrocytes as markers of oxygen radical activity in different complications of pregnancy. In fetuses born after premature rupture of membranes, lipid peroxidation was significantly elevated as indicated by increased malondialdehyde levels (p<0.05) as compared to controls. Proteolytic activity in the erythrocytes of mothers in this group was also significantly high (p<0.01). In patients delivered by lower segment cesarian section, lipid peroxidation and proteolytic activity in maternal erythrocytes were significantly high (p<0.05 and p<0.001 respectively). In patients with prolonged second stage of labour, lipid peroxidation and proteolytic activity in maternal erythrocytes was significantly higher than in controls (p<0.001 and p<0.05 respectively). In this group, endogenous protein damage due to oxidative stress was significantly high both in the mother and the fetus (p<0.001 and p<0.05 respectively).     

Semiconductor Research Corporation: A Case Study in Cooperative Innovation Partnerships

In the study of innovation institutions, it is important to consider how different institutional models can affect a research organization in conducting or funding successful work. As an industry collaborative, Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) provides an example of a privately funded institution that leverages the inputs of several member companies, along with federal funding, to accomplish innovation in its mission area. SRC has several component programs, all attempting to find innovative solutions to semiconductor problems, but on different time scales, and in different technology areas. But how does SRC use its resources to ensure these goals? Through data gathered from semi-structured qualitative interviews and SRC documentation, this paper addresses that question. SRC has found a way to leverage industry money to motivate and develop a robust field of university research for over 30 years. SRC uses several mechanisms for maintaining an application focused, member-centered decision process, institutional flexibility, and strong ties between industry contributors and university researchers. SRC has continued to keep its members satisfied by training thousands of graduate students for employment in their member companies, by focusing on precompetitive research that addresses industry requirements, and doing so in a manner that operates leanly, with low overhead to its funders. Given these successes, we identify aspects of SRC operations, such as a focus on its member company needs, frequent interactions between funders and researchers, flexible funding mechanisms, and focus on workforce development, that may be diffusible to innovation institutions, including federal research efforts.     

Simultaneous pursuit of discovery and invention in the US Department of Energy

There is a sharp boundary between basic and applied research in the organizational structure of the US Department of Energy (DOE). In this work, we consider a branch of DOE that was designed to operate across this boundary: the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). We hypothesize that much of energy research cannot be neatly categorized as basic or applied and is more productive outside of the confines of the basic/applied dichotomy; ARPA-E gives us an opportunity to test that hypothesis. We construct a novel dataset of nearly 4000 extramural financial awards given by DOE in fiscal years 2010 through 2015, primarily to businesses and universities. We collect the early knowledge outputs of these awards from Web of Science and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Compared to similar awards from other parts of DOE, ARPA-E awards are significantly more likely to jointly produce both a publication and a patent. ARPA-E has been highly productive in creating new technology, while also contributing new scientific knowledge. This observation points to the productive overlap of science and technology in energy research and, more generally, for mission-oriented research funding organizations.