Technological agglomeration and the emergence of clusters and networks in nanotechnology

Research and development at the nanoscale requires a large degree of integration, from convergence of research disciplines in new fields of enquiry to new linkages between start-ups, regional actors and research facilities. Based on the analysis of two clusters in nanotechnologies (MESA+ (Twente) and other centres in The Netherlands and Minatec in Grenoble in France), the paper discusses the phenomenon of technological agglomeration: co-located scientific and technological fields associated to coordinated technology platforms to some extent actively shaped by institutional entrepreneurs. Such co-location and coordination are probably a pre-requisite for the emergence of strong nanoclusters.     

Host protective immunity and vaccine development studies in lymphatic filariasis

Lymphatic filariasis caused mainly by infection fromWuchereria bancrofti andBrugia malayi remains as the major cause of clinical morbidity in tropical and subtropical countries. Development of vaccine against filarial infection can act as additional measure to the existing therapeutic and vector control methods in the control of this disease. The main hurdles in the development of anti-filarial vaccine are the strict primate specificity ofWuchereria bancrofti, the paucity of parasite material, the diversity of clinical manifestations and their associated complex immune responses, lack of clear understanding on host-parasite interactions and the mechanisms involved in protective immunity. However in the past few years, the information generated in immuno-epidemiological studies, correlated with observations in experimental animals suggests that a filarial vaccine is feasible. Initially live irradiated infective larvae have been successfully used to induce high level of protective immunity in several animal models. Applying diverse strategies, variety of purified or recombinant filarial antigens have been explored for their ability to induce protection in different host-parasite systems. Some of these targeted filarial antigens induced high level of resistance in experimental animals against challenge infections. More focussed studies on thorough characterization of parasitological and immunological changes associated with resistance induced by such candidate protective antigens and on delivery mechanisms and safety aspects will be crucial in their selection for possible use in humans.     

Using the Content of Online Privacy Notices to Inform Public Policy: A Longitudinal Analysis of the 1998-2001 U.S. Web Surveys

In the United States, Congress has had a long-standing interest in consumer privacy and the extent to which company practices are based on fair information practices. Previously, public policy was largely informed by anecdotal evidence about the effectiveness of industry self-regulatory programs. However, the Internet has made it possible to unobtrusively sample web sites and their privacy disclosures in a way that is not feasible in the offline world. Beginning in 1998, the Federal Trade Commission relied upon a series of three surveys of web sites to assess whether organizations post online privacy disclosures and whether these disclosures represent the U.S. definition of fair information practices. While each year's survey has provided an important snapshot of U.S. web-site practices, there has been no longitudinal analysis of the multiyear trends. This study compares a subset of equivalent individual-level web-site data for the 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001 web surveys. Implications for using this type of research to inform public policy are discussed.     

Coefficient relationship between rook and chromatic polynomials

It is shown that a p+q node graph G_c representation can be drawn for a chessboard C(p,q) i.e. an array of p rows and q columns. It is shown further that the coefficients of the rook polynomial for C(p,q) correspond 1:1 inversely with the coefficients of the chromatic polynomial for G_c written in factorial form.     

The ex ante assessment of knowledge spillovers: Government R&D policy, economic incentives and private firm behavior

This paper investigates the role of government R&D subsidy programs in stimulating knowledge spillovers. R&D subsidies are an effective public policy instrument when knowledge spillovers exist yet ex ante it is difficult to identify projects that have the greatest potential to increase innovation and economic growth. This paper derives a set of project and firm attributes that the literature finds generate knowledge spillovers and uses data on project proposals to estimate the degree to which a government R&D program conforms. We find that projects that were awarded R&D subsidies were more likely to have attributes such as participation in new research joint ventures and connections to universities and other firms. Following the post-award activities of firm, we find that receipt of a government R&D subsidy increased the funding from other sources when compared to firms that were not awarded funding.     

Study of adenosine deaminase activity in various arthritic conditions

Aim of present study was to compare the adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in various types of arthritis conditions with synovial effusion. No. significant difference was observed in ADA activity in serum of control and study groups but results have shown a definite pattern of ADA activity in synovial fluid in various arthritic conditions. The highest value of ADA activity was observed in synovial fluid of patients with tubercular arthritis followed by rheumatoid, septic, osteo and post traumatic arthritis. Thus measurement of ADA activity in synovial fluid can be used as a parameter of differential diagnosis of arthritis specially tubercular in initial stages.     

Robust estimator design with an emphasis balance between performance and robustness

From a number of ML estimators (typically unbiased) of practical interest which include the variance for a Gaussian distribution, the standard deviation for a Laplace distribution, the variance for a Rayleigh distribution and a “spread parameter” for a Cauchy distribution, we design robust estimators according to an emphasis balance between normalized performance and normalized robustness. We measure performance with inverted MSE and robustness with a differential geometric approach.     

Assessment of oxidative stress and antioxidant status in age related cataract in a rural population

Oxidative stress was assesed by estimating lipid peroxidation product (LPO) in the form of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), enzymatic antioxidants in the form of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and nonenzymatic antioxidant vitamins e.g. vitamin C, β carotene and vitamin E in either serum or plasma or erythrocytes in 190 cases of age related cataract in the age group of 50–80 years. 190 cases were grouped into three morphological types namely, 73 cases of cortical, 77 cases of posterior subcapsular and 40 cases of nuclear cataract and values of LPO and antioxidants were compared with 78 cases of age matched healthy control groups. Plasma TBARS levels were cataract cases when compared with control groups. There were no significant differences in the erythrocyte levels of catalase and plasma levels of Vit E between cataract cases and control groups. No significant changes of parameters were seen among three different morphological types of age related cataract. The present study shows that the oxidative stress may play an important role in the age related cataract.     

Effect of low-dose omega-3 fatty acids substitution on blood pressure, hyperinsulinemia and dyslipidemia in Indians with essential hypertension: A pilot study

The present study comprised 100 patients of essential hypertension who were screened for fasting hyperinsulinemia, which was detected in 77% cases. Twenty such hyperinsulinemic cases were subjected to 4 weeks of dietary control phase followed by 6 weeks of omega-3 fatty acids substitution [either 0.6 g/d (group 1) or 1.2 g/d (group 2)]. The mean basal fasting plasma insulin levels were significantly higher (p<0.001) in patients of hypertension when compared to normal controls (126.51±80.36 and 19.35±12.61 μU/ml respectively). At the end of 4 weeks of diet control only, no significant change was observed in any parameter. After substitution of omega-3 fatty acid, a significant reduction of fasting plasma insulin levels in both group 1 (29%) and group 2 (22.8%) was observed (p<0.001). Significant reduction of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (16.4% and 25% respectively), serum cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein was also noted in both groups (p<0.001), while high density lipoprotein increased by ∼8 mg% in both groups. Thus omega-3 fatty acid substituion in low dose along-with curtailment of dietary omega-6 fatty acid may be used as an adjunctive measure in the management of essential hypertension.