The development of modern metrology and its role today

Modern metrology is the result of more than 200 years of development that began with the creation of the decimal metric system at the time of the French Revolution and the beginning, at about the same time, of mass production using interchangeable parts. This article traces these developments and describes how world metrology is organized today and gives examples of applications of metrology showing how it concerns us all in many aspects of our daily life.     

The role of diffusion current in the formation of spherical striations

We have experimentally studied spherical dc discharges with opposite polarities of the applied voltage. Under otherwise identical conditions, the phenomenon of spherical stratification takes place only when the central electrode is the anode (positive discharge). An analysis of the experimental data shows that the diffusion current component plays a decisive role in the formation of striations in a spherical glow discharge.     

How to interpret the position of private sector institutions in bibliometric rankings of research institutions

This paper analyzes the positions of institutions from the private domain in bibliometric rankings of as many as 27,000 research institutions and highlights factors that are crucial for a proper interpretation of such positions. It was found that among the institutions with the largest output in terms of published research articles, private firms are underrepresented, whereas in the top quartile of institutions with the largest citation impact firms are overrepresented. A firm’s publication output is not a good indicator of its R&D investment: big firms in Pharmaceutics are both heavy investors in R&D and frequent publishers of scientific articles, whereas in Automobiles firms tend to invest heavily in R&D but their publication output is low. This is ascribed to the fact that the former need a validation of their results by the scientific community, while the latter do less so. Private institutions generating the largest citation impact tend to collaborate with the best public research institutions. This reflects the crucial importance of publicly funded research for the private sector.     

Decoherence and its role in the modern measurement problem

Decoherence is widely felt to have something to do with the quantum measurement problem, but getting clear on just what is made difficult by the fact that the 'measurement problem', as traditionally presented in foundational and philosophical discussions, has become somewhat disconnected from the conceptual problems posed by real physics. This, in turn, is because quantum mechanics as discussed in textbooks and in foundational discussions has become somewhat removed from scientific practice, especially where the analysis of measurement is concerned. This paper has two goals: firstly (§§1-2), to present an account of how quantum measurements are actually dealt with in modern physics (hint: it does not involve a collapse of the wave function) and to state the measurement problem from the perspective of that account; and secondly (§§3-4), to clarify what role decoherence plays in modern measurement theory and what effect it has on the various strategies that have been proposed to solve the measurement problem.     

Studying the international diffusion of a national scientific journal

The purpose of this paper is to apply concepts of the diffusion of innovations research in thestudy of the international diffusion of a formerly national scientific journal, Annales ZoologiciFennici. The study was conducted using bibliometric methodology. The diffusion of the journalwas described through citations of the journal and through the development of the nationaldistribution of its contributors. The compatibility of the journal as well as the decrease ofcomplexity were found to have an influence on diffusion. Bibliometric methods were able torepresent the international diffusion of a scientific journal.     

The role of domestic markets in international technological innovation systems

This paper explores how countries in non-leadership positions can couple onto globally developing technological innovation systems (TISs) for renewable energy. The paper contributes to recent debates on relations between TISs and context, with a focus on how industries located in one country relate to the international TIS. Based on a survey of 102 firms in the offshore wind industry in Norway and semi-structured interviews, we find that even though Norwegian firms link up with international TISs, the lack of a domestic market represents a barrier. However, firms with activities in related industries and large firms are less exposed to this barrier. This poses a challenge as the offshore wind industry in Norway mainly consists of smaller firms. We therefore suggest that policies should aim to stimulate interaction between smaller suppliers and larger firms that potentially can act as intermediaries and provide access to international markets.     

The increasing role of international cooperation in science and technology research in Mexico

Increasing importance is being given to international scientific activities, especially with regard to developing countries. In the present paper, an analysis is made of the studies published by Mexican institutions in coauthorship with foreign colleagues between 1980 and 1990, as registered in mainstream journals. Different characteristics of the collaboration are described, such as research areas, countries and institutions involved, of interest to Mexican policy makers and scientists, as well as to foreign governments and international organizations sponsoring cooperative agreements with Mexico.     

Analysis of the Internet diffusion in the non-profit sector: the social digital divide in Italy

Summary This paper analyzes Internet diffusion among various organizations, based on daily observation of second- level domain name registrations under the “.it”ccTLD. In particular, we analyzed domain names registered by organizations in the non-profit sector.<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language: HU'>The penetration rate, calculated according to the number of organizations, was computed for various widely separated geographic levels (regions). A concentration analysis was performed in order to determine whether the geographical distribution of Internet use in Italy is less concentrated with respect to both the number of existing institutions and income distribution, suggesting a diffusive effect.<span lang=EN-US style='font-size:12.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>Regression analysis was performed using demographic, social, economic and infrastructure indicators. Results show that<span style='font-size:12.0pt;mso-ansi-language:HU'>a “social digital divide”exists, both in terms of geographical distribution (i.e., in macro-areas - Northern, Central, and Southern Italy - and at the regional level) and in terms of the legal status of the organizations, and that this digital divide will probably decrease in the future.     

The role of interlayers in diffusion bonded joints in metal-matrix composites

Solid state bonded joints in a particulate metal-matrix composite containing 17 vol% SiC in Al-Li 8090 alloy had planar bond interfaces with particle-particle (P-P) interfaces and particle-matrix (P-M) interfaces aligned in and parallel to the bond interface. The insertion of a matrix interlayer into the MMC-MMC bond interface changed the type of particle interface and interface area fractions in the two new bond planes created. In these planes P-P interfaces became P-M interfaces and the P-M area fraction either increased or fell to zero depending on the particle symmetry with respect to the bond plane. The implications for the mechanical properties of diffusion bonded joints in MMCs are discussed.     

The role of red cell movement on alveolar gas diffusion

Existing controversy on the effect of blood flow, and more specifically red blood cell (RBC) movement, on the alveolar gas diffusion is considered. Contrary to fundamental understanding of flow (convection) effects, there seems to be a consensus in the negligible role blood flow plays on alveolar gas transport. Notwithstanding, experimental evidence indicates an increase in the efficiency of alveolar gas exchange under high cardiac output (exercising), which could be easily explained as a result of increased blood flow. A theoretical analysis of a simplified capillary blood flow configuration, with blood considered as a homogeneous fluid (no RBCs), is presented to demonstrate the strong blood (plasma) flow effect. The analysis is followed by the realistic modeling and numerical simulations of alveolar gas diffusion in a straight capillary under blood flow, with RBCs represented as discrete circles. Results indicate a substantial increase in the gas diffusion efficiency with blood speed, especially under low hematocrit and high blood speed.     

Exploring the patterns of international technology diffusion in AI from the perspective of patent citations

Scientometrics - This paper presents the findings from a thorough analysis of international technology diffusion (ITD) in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. We construct a novel framework...     

论包装在现代物流中重要作用

现代物流定义及演变在全球化经济竞争日益激烈的今天,物流问题愈加受到人们的重视。物流是一个十分现代化的概念,它对国际商务活动的影响越来越明显,物流公司已经成为新经济社会的焦点。最初,人们把物流称为“physicalDistrbution”,主要侧重于商品物质的移动作用,即发生在商品流通领域中存在一定劳动组织条件下,实现从供应方朝着需求方的商品实体的定向移动。在这种情况下,在商业物流或销售物流过程中,包装已在保护产品和方便运输中发挥出巨大作用。但随着社会的进步,经济的发展和人们生活质量的提高,物流一词在概念上也发生了很大变