What indicators do (or do not) tell us about Regional Innovation Systems

This paper analyses some of the methodologies and R&D and innovation indicators used to measure Regional Innovative Capacity in Spain for the period 1996–2000. The results suggest that the approaches examined are not sufficiently rigorous; they vary depending on the methodology and indicators employed. Therefore, we would suggest that the right balance between quantitative and qualitative approaches could produce a better evaluation of innovation system performance which would be more useful to policy makers and other stakeholders.     

Mechanical Properties of Melt-Grown Alumina–Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Eutectics up to 1900 K

Alumina/yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) eutectic rods of 1 mm in diameter were grown by the laser-heated floating zone method at different rates to obtain microstructures with the same morphology but of very different domain size. The mechanical properties of the rods (hardness, toughness, strength) were measured at ambient temperature in the longitudinal and transverse directions and, in addition, the longitudinal flexure strength was determined up to 1900 K. The fracture resistance and the hardness of the eutectics at ambient temperature were isotropic and independent of the domain size. On the contrary, the longitudinal strength was significantly higher than the transverse one and increased linearly with the growth rate, reaching almost 2 GPa in the rods grown at 750 mm/h, which presented a submicrometer homogeneous microstructure. The critical defect size was equivalent to that of Al₂O₃ and YAG domains in the microstructure, and the strength was proportional to the inverse of the square root of the domain size. In addition, the strength retention of the eutectics was remarkable, and the rods with the finest microstructure withstood 1.53 GPa at 1900 K. The moderate reduction in strength at very high temperature was induced by the homogeneous coarsening of the microstructure.     

The influence of influent distribution and blood content of slaughterhouse wastewater on the performance of an anaerobic fixed‐film reactor

This paper evaluates the performance of a laboratory‐scale anaerobic fixed‐film reactor (AFFR) with arranged media treating slaughterhouse wastewater. The reactor was operated at 20 °C, its organic loading rate was increased from 1.8 to 9.2 kg COD m^?3 d^?1, and it had a short hydraulic residence time (5–9 h). The influence of wastewater concentrations on its performance was studied by artificially increasing the blood content of the wastewater. The efficiency of the removal of organic matter decreased from 70% to 54% as the superficial velocity increased from 0.12 to 0.97 m h^?1, due mainly to distribution defects, as had been confirmed experimentally by tracer tests. The kinetics of the anaerobic processes was limited by substrate availability, even at high COD concentrations (between 700 and 1100 mg dm^?3) due to a high content of slowly biodegradable and inert compounds present in the wastewater from the slaughterhouse. It was observed that a large amount of the organic matter had accumulated inside the reactor instead of being removed by methanogenic digestion. Furthermore, the fraction of organic matter held inside the reactor varied significantly in relation to the blood content of the wastewater. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Rostering in a rail passenger carrier

In this paper we present an applied study, commissioned by the regional rail passenger carrier EuskoTren, into how the annual workload of drivers can be allocated in an egalitarian fashion. The allocation must meet the constraints arising from working conditions and the preferences of employees, as reflected in collective bargaining agreements. The workload varies over the five periods, into which the year is divided, and according to the day of the week. Moreover, not all morning, evening and night shifts are of equal duration. Reduced services on public holidays are also considered. The solution to the problem proposed is obtained in four linked steps, at each of which a binary programming problem is solved using commercial software. Step one is to build five lists of weekly multi-shift patterns, two of them rotating, that contain all the shifts in the week. Step two consists of the partially rotating annual assignment of patterns to drivers, step three involves the extraction of shifts by reduction of services on public holidays, and step four incorporates the durations in hours into the shifts already assigned. The final solution obtained is quite satisfactory: all drivers are assigned a similar number of morning, evening and night shifts and Sundays off, and they work practically the same number of days and hours per year. The results obtained, the adaptability of the system to new requirements and the computation time used are fully satisfactory to the firm, which has decided to implement the model.     

A control architecture for continuous production processes based on industry 4.0: water supply systems application

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - Industry 4.0 (I4.0) brings together new disruptive technologies, increasing future factories’ productivity. Indeed, the control of production processes...     

Strain rate and loading modes in DMTA experiments on ethylene/propylene block copolymers

A broad experimental programme using Dynamical–Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) was carried out on ethylene/propylene block copolymers (EPBC). The samples were subjected to frequency scans to evaluate the dependence of stored modulus on frequency. Tests were conducted on similar samples using different loading modes such as single cantilever, dual cantilever and tension configurations. If the stored modulus is plotted versus the test frequency, a different trend corresponding to each loading mode is obtained. Similar conclusions can be drawn regarding the glass transition temperature. In this work, strain rate, instead of frequency, is used to compare results provided by different loading modes. If the strain rate is used as the reference variable, a unique trend is observed despite the loading modes used to perform the experiment.     

SLCO1B1 c.388A>G Polymorphism Is Associated with HDL-C Levels in Response to Atorvastatin in Chilean Individuals

The use of statins as the preferred lipid-lowering therapy has clearly demonstrated its efficacy in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, reducing also the risk of coronary events and cardiovascular disease mortality. In this study, we assessed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SLCO1B1 gene and their effect on atorvastatin response. We included 129 Chilean hypercholesterolemic patients undergoing 10 mg/day of atorvastatin therapy during 4 weeks. Lipid profile was determined before and after drug administration. Genotyping of SLCO1B1 rs4149056 (c.521T>C) SNP was performed with allele-specific polymerase chain reaction, whilst polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used for genotyping the SLCO1B1 rs2306283 (c.388A>G) variant. After statin therapy, concentrations of TC, LDL-C and TG had a decrease from baseline (p < 0.05). Also, HDL-C levels increased (p < 0.05). Minor allele frequencies for the rs2306283 and rs4149056 variants were 0.547 and 0.136, respectively. LDL-C response to atorvastatin was not associated with the SLCO1B1 rs4149056 nor the rs2306283 polymorphisms (p > 0.05). However, the latter SNP was associated with HDL-C variability after atorvastatin medication (p = 0.02). This study indicates that LDL-C reduction following atorvastatin therapy is not influenced by the SNPs evaluated. In addition, the polymorphism rs2306283 at the SLCO1B1 gene determines greater HDL-C concentrations in response to atorvastatin medication in Chilean hypercholesterolemic subjects.     

Decompaction waves in falling granular flows

We study the falling of a 2D column of granular material placed initially into a container formed by two lateral vertical walls with a positive friction coefficient by using molecular dynamics simulations. The time evolution of the mean velocity shows an intermediary region where the grains velocity is relatively constant. Follows a decompaction of the granular flow propagating from the bottom to the top of the column with a velocity of approximately 450 cm/s. Just before the flow decompaction an analysis of the forces exhibits a peculiar behavior which can be assimilated to stick-slip. Finally, after the passage of the decompaction wave low and high density regions coexist both descending with relatively the same velocity and the density exhibits a power law spectrum in 1/f ^a , with a≈ 1.51. Received: 9 May 1999     

Epigenetic Modifications of Major Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a chronic disease whose neurological basis and pathophysiology remain poorly understood. Initially, it was proposed that genetic variations were responsible for the development of this disease. Nevertheless, several studies within the last decade have provided evidence suggesting that environmental factors play an important role in MDD pathophysiology. Alterations in epigenetics mechanism, such as DNA methylation, histone modification and microRNA expression could favor MDD advance in response to stressful experiences and environmental factors. The aim of this review is to describe genetic alterations, and particularly altered epigenetic mechanisms, that could be determinants for MDD progress, and how these alterations may arise as useful screening, diagnosis and treatment monitoring biomarkers of depressive disorders.