Keeping one PACE ahead of the competition. 2

New product development is perhaps the most important determinant of success for high-technology companies, but becoming fast to market with the right products can require substantial overhaul of the organisation. World-class companies are always looking to improve the ways in which they operate. This article reviews how a market leader introduced a new methodology into its product development process     

Dual Mkk4 and Mkk7 Gene Deletion in Adult Mouse Causes an Impairment of Hippocampal Immature Granule Cells

(1) Background: The c-Jun-NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase involved in regulating physiological processes in the central nervous system. However, the dual genetic deletion of Mkk4 and Mkk7 (upstream activators of JNK) in adult mice is not reported. The aim of this study was to induce the genetic deletion of Mkk4/Mkk7 in adult mice and analyze their effect in hippocampal neurogenesis. (2) Methods: To achieve this goal, Actin-Cre^ERT2 (Cre^+/−), Mkk4^flox/flox, Mkk7^flox/flox mice were created. The administration of tamoxifen in these 2-month-old mice induced the gene deletion (Actin-Cre^ERT2 (Cre^+/−), Mkk4^∆/∆, Mkk7^∆/∆ genotype), which was verified by PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry techniques. (3) Results: The levels of MKK4/MKK7 at 7 and 14 days after tamoxifen administration were not eliminated totally in CNS, unlike what happens in the liver and heart. These data could be correlated with the high levels of these proteins in CNS. In the hippocampus, the deletion of Mkk4/Mkk7 induced a misalignment position of immature hippocampal neurons together with alterations in their dendritic architecture pattern and maturation process jointly to the diminution of JNK phosphorylation. (4) Conclusion: All these data supported that the MKK4/MKK7–JNK pathway has a role in adult neurogenic activity.     

Hand to mouth: Automatic imitation across effector systems.

The effector dependence of automatic imitation was investigated using a stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) procedure during which participants were required to make an open or closed response with their hand or their mouth. The correct response for each trial was indicated by a pair of letters in Experiments 1 and 2 and by a colored square in Experiment 3. Each of these imperative stimuli was accompanied by task-irrelevant action images depicting a hand or mouth opening or closing. In relation to the response, the irrelevant stimulus was movement compatible or movement incompatible, and effector compatible or effector incompatible. A movement compatibility effect was observed for both hand and mouth responses. These movement compatibility effects were present when the irrelevant stimulus was effector compatible and when it was effector incompatible, but were smaller when the irrelevant stimulus and response effectors were incompatible. Consistent with the associative sequence learning (ASL) model of imitation, these findings indicate that automatic imitation is partially effector dependent and therefore that the effector dependence of intentional imitation reflects, at least in part, the nature of the mechanisms that mediate visuomotor translation for imitation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Humanizing a psychiatric ward: Changing from drugs to psychotherapy.

Describes the transition and change of a psychiatric ward from primary reliance on drugs to an intensive psychological approach. There were both strong institutional supports and resistances reflecting the ambivalence attending efforts to develop more personal, humanized ways of relating to mental patients. An open ward community setting evolved in which staff became highly accessible and caring, patients shared major caring and treatment responsibilities, and certain special psychological treatment techniques were developed. Many previously "untreatable" patients were involved, and the improvement criteria were ambitious. Results suggest that such an approach is superior in long-term cost/benefit effectiveness to the prevalent "revolving door" programs that emphasize drugs and "dischargeability." (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

High-performance La-doped BCZT thin film capacitors on LaNiO3/Pt composite bottom electrodes with ultra-high efficiency and high thermal stability

Dielectric capacitors possessing large energy storage density, high efficiency and high thermal stability simultaneously are very attractive in modern electronic devices to be operated in harsh environment. Here, it is demonstrated that large energy storage density (W?～?15.5?J/cm³), ultra-high efficiency (η ～93.7%) and high thermal stability (the variation of both W from 20?°C to 260?°C and η from 20?°C to 140?°C is less than 5%) have been simultaneously achieved in the La-doped (Ba_0.904Ca_0.096)_0.9775+xLa_0.015(Zr_0.136Ti_0.864)O₃ (x?=?0.0075) lead-free relaxor ferroelectric thin film capacitors deposited on LaNiO₃/Pt composite bottom electrodes by using a sol-gel method. The good energy storage property of the thin film capacitors at x?=?0.0075 is mainly ascribed to the diversity of the structure of the nano-clusters around the three-phases coexisting component point (Ba_0.904Ca_0.096)(Zr_0.136Ti_0.864)O₃ where cubic, tetragonal and rhombohedral phases coexisted, as well as the ultra-high quality of thin film due to the utilization of the LaNiO₃/Pt composite bottom electrode, making it a promising candidate for dielectric capacitors working in harsh environments.     

Atomic-resolution imaging of spin-state superlattices in nanopockets within cobaltite thin films

Certain cobalt oxides are known to exhibit ordered Co spin states, as determined from macroscopic techniques. Here we report real-space atomic-resolution imaging of Co spin-state ordering in nanopockets of La(0.5)Sr(0.5)CoO(3-δ) thin films. Unlike the bulk material, where no Co spin-state ordering is found, thin films present a strain-induced domain structure due to oxygen vacancy ordering, inside of which some nanometer sized domains show high-spin Co ions in the planes containing O vacancies and low-spin Co ions in the stoichiometric planes. First-principles calculations provide support for this interpretation.     

Non-lift-off block copolymer lithography of 25 nm magnetic nanodot arrays

Although nanolithographic techniques based on self-assembled block copolymer templates offer tremendous potential for fabrication of large-area nanostructure arrays, significant difficulties arise with both the lift-off and etch processes typically used for pattern transfer. These become progressively more important in the limit of extreme feature sizes. The few techniques that have been developed to avoid these issues are quite complex. Here, we demonstrate successful execution of a nanolithographic process based on solvent annealed, cylinder-forming, easily degradable, polystyrene-b-polylactide block copolymer films that completely avoids lift-off in addition to the most challenging aspects of etching. We report a "Damascene-type" process that overfills the polystyrene template with magnetic metal, employs ion beam milling to planarize the metal surface down to the underlying polystyrene template, then exploits the large etch rate contrast between polystyrene and typical metals to generate pattern reversal of the original template into the magnetic metal. The process is demonstrated via formation of a large-area array of 25 nm diameter ferromagnetic Ni(80)Fe(20) nanodots with hexagonally close-packed order. Extensive microscopy, magnetometry, and electrical measurements provide detailed characterization of the pattern formation. We argue that the approach is generalizable to a wide variety of materials, is scalable to smaller feature sizes, and critically, minimizes etch damage, thus preserving the essential functionality of the patterned material.