International Trade

Values of net oil imports(-)/exports for Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, the United States and Australia. Updated on a monthly basis. Number of imports for Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Other EU-15 (EU-15), Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, and Other Europe (OECD Europe), Canada, Chile, Mexico, and the United States (OECD Western Hemisphere), and Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, (OECD Asia-Pacific), and Total OECED. Current data for Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Other EU-15 (EU-15), Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, and Other Europe (OECD Europe), Canada, Mexico, and the United States (OECD Western Hemisphere), Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and New Zealand (OECD Asia-Pacific). Updated on a monthly basis. Current data for principal importers of natural gas and the amount in which they import from United States, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, Germany and Spain (Table 19.1). Current data for principal exporters of natural gas and the amount they export to Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Turkmenistan, Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia (Table 19.2). Updated on a monthly basis.     

结合时间戳的指纹密钥数据加解密传输方案

目的 对于生物密钥而言，生物特征数据的安全与生物密钥的管理存储都很关键。为了构造能够应用在通信数据传输场景的生物密钥，同时保证生物特征本身的模糊性与密码学的精确性处于一种相对平衡状态，提出一种基于时间戳与指纹密钥的数据加解密传输方案。方法 利用发送方指纹特征点之间的相对信息，与保密随机矩阵生成发送方指纹密钥；借助通信双方的预先设定数与时间戳，生成接收方恢复指纹密钥时所需的辅助信息；利用发送方指纹密钥加密数据，实现密文数据的传输。结果 本文方法在仿真通信双方数据加解密的实现中，测试再生指纹密钥的识别率（GAR）与误识率（FAR）。通过实验数据分析，表明了本文提出的指纹密钥生成方法的可用性，以及指纹密钥作为数字身份所具备的可认证性，其中真实发送方的再生指纹密钥识别率可高达99.8%，并且本方案还可用于即时通信、对称加密等多种场景当中。结论 本文方法利用时间戳确定了通信事件的唯一性与不可否认性，同时实现了指纹密钥恢复时的"一次一密"。此外，方案通过保密随机矩阵实现了发送方指纹密钥的可撤销，极大程度保障了指纹数据的安全性。     

Is open innovation always the best for SMEs? An exploratory analysis at the project level

Open innovation (OI) projects are increasingly adopted by small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Yet, undertaking OI is not only a source of opportunities for SMEs as it can, at the same time, present risks. How SMEs manage the balance between the potential benefits and the emerging challenges of OI is still an overlooked topic in the literature. Using evidence gathered through multiple case studies and drawing upon the relational view of the firm, we explore how and why value creation opportunities and different managerial challenges emerge for SMEs pursuing OI projects. We analyze different stages of OI projects in several different contexts of their implementation. Our analysis sheds light on the different nature and dynamics of knowledge involved within OI projects as important boundary conditions affecting successful search paths, learning processes, and the development of appropriability mechanisms. By offering a contextualized view of OI in SMEs, this study also provides insights to business managers on the situational opportunities and constraints of OI, including managerial suggestions on actions to manage tensions within differing OI projects.     

Towards efficient device-to-device multicast content delivery with social awareness

Frequent content retrieval leads to significant energy consumption in cellular networks. Thereby, device-to-device (D2D) communication is used for proximal content delivery. Be aware that social friends may have common content interests, D2D content delivery is further improved by considering social network. However, how to implement efficient D2D multicast with the aid of social relationship needs further consideration. In this paper, with a proposed architecture on combined networks, the cooperation range of content sharing is investigated for D2D multicast to minimize the average energy consumption of serving a content request. Based on combined networks, a cooperation group formation scheme is proposed. Simulation results verify our analyzes and the advantage of proposed scheme.     

Multidirectional focus measure for accurate three-dimensional shape recovery of microscopic objects

Shape from focus (SFF) is a technique to recover the shape of an object from multiple images taken at various focus settings. Most of conventional SFF techniques compute focus value of a pixel by applying one of focus measure operators on neighboring pixels on the same image frame. However, in the optics with limited depth of field, neighboring pixels of an image have different degree of focus for curved objects, thus the computed focus value does not reflect the accurate focus level of the pixel. Ideally, an accurate focus value of a pixel needs to be measured from the neighboring pixels lying on tangential plane of the pixel in image space. In this article, a tangential plane on each pixel location (i, j) in image sensor is searched by selecting one of five candidate planes based on the assumption that the maximum variance of focus values along the optical axis is achieved from the neighborhood lying on tangential plane of the pixel (i, j). Then, a focus measure operator is applied on neighboring pixels lying on the searched plane. The experimental results on both the synthetic and real microscopic objects show the proposed method produces more accurate three-dimensional shape in comparison to conventional SFF method that applies focus measures on original image planes.     

Photoactivable Elimination of Tumorigenic Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells by Using a Lectin–Doxorubicin Prodrug Conjugate

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are attractive resources for regenerative medicine, but medical applications are hindered by their tumorigenic potential. Previously, a hPSC-specific lectin probe, rBC2LCN, was identified through comprehensive glycome analysis by using high-density lectin microarrays. Herein, a lectin–doxorubicin (DOX) prodrug conjugate, with controllable photolysis activation for the elimination of tumorigenic human induced pluripotent stem cells, has been developed. rBC2LCN was fused with a biotin-binding protein, tamavidin (BC2Tama), and the fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by means of affinity chromatography. BC2Tama was then conjugated with doxorubicin-photocleavable biotin (DOXPCB). The BC2Tama–DOXPCB conjugates were observed to bind to hPSCs followed by internalization. Upon exposure to ultraviolet light, DOX was released inside the cells, which allowed specific killing of the hPSCs. Thus, BC2Tama–DOXPCB should be useful for the targeted elimination of hPSCs contained in hPSC-derived cell therapy products. This is the first report of the generation of lectin–prodrug conjugates. BC2Tama should be applicable for the targeted delivery of various types of biotinylated compounds into hPSCs.     

Modular Self‐Assembling Peptide Platform with a Tunable Thermoresponsiveness via a Single Amino Acid Substitution

The introduction of a stimulus‐responsive property is an effective way to increase the applicability of functional materials in the field of nanobiotechnology. Herein, a peptide platform is devised for constructing elastin‐like peptide amphiphiles (ELPAs) that exhibit a temperature‐responsiveness that can be easily tuned via a single N‐terminal amino acid substitution at the final step of peptide synthesis. Due to the modular property of peptides, the platform based on a miniaturized elastin‐like peptide (MELP) can be conjugated with various bioactive peptide sequences in diverse macromolecular topologies. First, the MELP platform is coupled with a short linear RGD peptide. The ELPAs of the peptide conjugates exhibit rapid aggregation (coacervation) and retard disaggregation in response to heating and cooling, respectively. Second, the platform is grafted with an α‐helical guest peptide in a lariat‐type structure, which forms ELPAs that undergo faster disassembly than the ELPAs without the guest peptide in response to temperature increases. Interestingly, the critical temperatures for the thermoresponsive behaviors are commonly dependent on the hydrophobic and aromatic properties of the N‐terminal amino acid residues. These results suggest that this peptide platform possesses great potential for use in the development of smart materials in wide‐ranging applications related to temperature change.     

Controlled release of fluorouracil (5-FU) from chitosan-co-poly(ethylene glycol)/ poly(glycerol sebacate)-co-poly(ethylene glycol)-coated iron oxide

A blend of polyglycerol sebacate-poly ethylene glygol/chitosan-poly ethylene glycol-coated iron oxide (PGS-PEG/CS-PEG@Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles for 5FU delivery was prepared by reverse ultrasonic emulsification method. To enhance polymers’ solubility, PEG was grafted. Chemical characterization was performed through Fourier transformed infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. In vitro assay revealed that release profile of 5FU-loaded PGS-PEG/CS-PEG@Fe₃O₄ is sustained. Moreover, cytotoxicity was analyzed on HT29 cell line at the presence of external magnetic field using the lactate dehydrogenase and Alamar Blue. Results illustrate that (PGS-PEG/CS-PEG@Fe₃O₄) is promising to use as a carrier for 5FU anticancer agent with sustained tailored release.     

Calcium phosphate-based nanosystems for advanced targeted nanomedicine

Synthetic calcium phosphates (CaPs) are the most widely accepted bioceramics for the repair and reconstruction of bone tissue defects. The recent advancements in materials science have prompted a rapid progress in the preparation of CaPs with nanometric dimensions, tailored surface characteristics, and colloidal stability opening new perspectives in their use for applications not strictly related to bone. In particular, the employment of CaPs nanoparticles as carriers of therapeutic and imaging agents has recently raised great interest in nanomedicine. CaPs nanoparticles, as well as other kinds of nanoparticles, can be engineered to specifically target the site of the disease (cells or organs), thus minimizing their dispersion in the body and undesired organism-nanoparticles interactions. The most promising and efficient approach to improve their specificity is the ‘active targeting’, where nanoparticles are conjugated with a targeting moiety able to recognize and bind with high efficacy and selectivity to receptors that are highly expressed only in the therapeutic site. The aim of this review is to give an overview on advanced targeted nanomedicine with a focus on the most recent reports on CaP nanoparticles-based systems, specifically designed for the active targeting. The distinctive characteristics of CaP nanoparticles with respect to the other kinds of nanomaterials used in nanomedicine are also discussed.