Cluster Studies As A Basis For Industrial Policy: The Case Of Denmark

The concept of “resource areas” has been a cornerstone of Danish technology and industry policies since the early 1990s. Cluster studies are central to this approach. While earlier cluster studies were concerned with transactions between firms, frequently in an input-output framework, the more recent studies are based on a demand perspective. The paper discusses the methodologies used in applying the concept of resource areas to Danish industrial clusters, and the strengths and limitations of the approach.     

Nitrate leaching during establishment of willow (Salix viminalis) on two soil types and at two fertilization levels

The production of willow in short rotation is expected to result in low nitrate leaching losses as is the case with other permanent crops. However, there is a risk of leaching of nitrate during establishment when the plant cover is limited. Nitrate leaching was followed for three years from the establishment in 1993 of willow (Salix viminalis) at two sites, a coarse sand at Jyndevad and a loamy sand at Foulum. Two levels of nitrogen, 0 or 75 kg N/ha in NPK, were applied annually, though only 38 N/ha was applied in the first year.

Leaching was calculated from usually weekly measurements of the nitrate concentration in soil solution and relating with the amount of percolation based on measured precipitation and changes in the soil water content over the sampling periods. Mean leaching for the three periods 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96 amounted to respectively 142, 61 and 0 kg N/ha at Foulum and to 130, 9 and 4 kg N/ha at Jyndevad. The high leaching in the first year was caused by an unusually high content of mineral N in the soil at the start of the experiment. The absence of any leaching 1995–96 at Foulum was due to very low precipitation and a consequent lack of percolation. For the first period (1993–94) the fertilized treatment increased leaching by 32 kg N/ha compared to no fertilizer as a mean of the two sites, while the difference for the following two periods was reduced to 1–2 kg N/ha. It is concluded that application of nitrogen should be avoided in the year of planting of willows, while in the following years75 kg N/ha can be given without risk of increased leaching.     

Effect of preventive maintenance intervals on reliability and maintenance costs of wind turbine gearboxes

As many of the installed wind turbines (WTs) get older or approach their design life, there will be a drive to keep extending the lives of the main components especially the gearbox. The challenge of operations and maintenance will potentially be even more as there will be a need to keep the cost to a minimum. Similarly, as years of experience of operating WTs accumulate, knowledge about the behaviour and failure of subsystems is gained as well. Also with good documentation and repository of historical operational, performance and failure data, future decisions of operations and maintenance can be taken on the basis of insights from past experience. This paper presents an approach for implementing preventive maintenance (PM) by using historical failure data to determine the optimal PM interval required to maintain desired reliability of a typical module or subassembly. This paper builds upon previous research in the area of WT gearbox reliability analysis and prediction, taking it further by examining the relationships between the frequency of a PM task and the reliability, availability and maintenance costs. The approach presented demonstrates how historical in‐service failure data can be used in PM task selection based on the minimum maintenance cost and maximum availability. Available historical field failure data of the high speed module of a Vestas 2MW WT gearbox is used to validate the approach and show its practicality. The results of this study are then presented—indicating that choosing the right PM interval based on the minimum unit maintenance cost and maximum availability also improves WT gearbox reliability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of methods for linear prediction of apple flavour from gas chromatographic measurements

A comparative study of linear methods for prediction of sensory profiles from gas chromatography (GC) measurements was performed. The data used came from an experiment on the effect of storing apples at various oxygen concentrations. Partial least-squares regression and continuum regression showed the best performance, measured by a two-step cross-validation principle. The traditional prediction error sum of squares (PRESS) overestimated the predictive ability of a multiple linear regression approach. The quality of the predictions of sensory properties from GC analyses was measured in terms of a ‘panel size equivalent’. Thus, the predictions obtained in the present study were as accurate as predictions from an assessor panel consisting of 4–9 assessors, depending on the sensory property in question.     

Maternal inhalation of carbon black nanoparticles induces neurodevelopmental changes in mouse offspring

Background

Engineered nanoparticles are smaller than 100 nm and designed to improve or creating even new physico-chemical properties. Consequently, toxicological properties of materials may change as size reaches the nm size-range. We examined outcomes related to the central nervous system in the offspring following maternal inhalation exposure to nanosized carbon black particles (Printex 90).

Methods

Time-mated mice (NMRI) were exposed by inhalation, for 45 min/day to 0, 4.6 or 37 mg/m³ aerosolized carbon black on gestation days 4–18, i.e. for a total of 15 days. Outcomes included maternal lung inflammation (differential cell count in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and Saa3 mRNA expression in lung tissue), offspring neurohistopathology and behaviour in the open field test.

Results

Carbon black exposure did not cause lung inflammation in the exposed females, measured 11 or 28–29 days post-exposure. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression levels were dose-dependently increased in astrocytes around blood vessels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus in six weeks old offspring, indicative of reactive astrogliosis. Also enlarged lysosomal granules were observed in brain perivascular macrophages (PVMs) in the prenatally exposed offspring. The number of parvalbumin-positive interneurons and the expression levels of parvalbumin were decreased in the motor and prefrontal cortices at weaning and 120 days of age in the prenatally exposed offspring. In the open field test, behaviour was dose-dependently altered following maternal exposure to Printex 90, at 90 days of age. Prenatally exposed female offspring moved a longer total distance, and especially males spent significantly longer time in the central zone of the maze. In the offspring, the described effects were long-lasting as they were present at all time points investigated.

Conclusion

The present study reports for the first time that maternal inhalation exposure to Printex 90 carbon black induced dose-dependent denaturation of PVM and reactive astrocytes, similarly to the findings observed following maternal exposure to Printex 90 by airway instillation. Of note, some of the observed effects have striking similarities with those observed in mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders.

     

CBack: A simple tool for backtrack programming in C

Backtrack programming is such a powerful technique for problem solving that a number of languages, especially in the area of artificial intelligence, have built-in facilities for backtrack programming. This paper describes CBack, a simple, but general tool for backtrack programming in the programming language C. The use of the tool is illustrated through examples of a tutorial nature. In addition to the usual depth-first search strategy, CBack provides for the more general heuristic best-first search strategy. The implementation of CBack is described in detail. The source code, shown in its full length, is entirely written in ANSI C and highly portable across diverse computer architectures and C compilers.     

Winning combinations: search strategies and innovativeness in the UK

Searching for the most rewarding sources of innovative ideas remains a key challenge in management of technological innovation. Yet, little is known about which combinations of internal and external knowledge sources are triggers for innovation. Extending theories about searching for innovation, we examine the effectiveness of different combinations of knowledge sources for achieving innovative performance. We suggest that combinations involving integrative search strategies – combining internal and external knowledge – are the most likely to generate product and process innovation. In this context, we present the idea that cognitively distant knowledge sources are helpful for innovation only when used in conjunction with knowledge sources that are closer to the focal firm. We also find important differences between product and process innovation, with the former associated with broader searches than the latter. Using a large-scale pooled sample of UK firms, we find overall support for our conjectures, particularly in terms of product innovation.     

Lung inflammation and genotoxicity following pulmonary exposure to nanoparticles in ApoE-/- mice

Background  

The toxic and inflammatory potential of 5 different types of nanoparticles were studied in a sensitive model for pulmonary effects in apolipoprotein E knockout mice (ApoE^-/-). We studied the effects instillation or inhalation Printex 90 of carbon black (CB) and compared CB instillation in ApoE-/- and C57 mice. Three and 24 h after pulmonary exposure, inflammation was assessed by mRNA levels of cytokines in lung tissue, cell composition, genotoxicity, protein and lactate dehydrogenase activity in broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid.     

Electrochemical reaction rates in a dye-sensitised solar cell—the iodide/tri-iodide redox system

The electrochemical reaction rate of the redox couple iodide/tri-iodide in acetonitrile is characterised by impedance spectroscopy. Different electrode materials relevant for the function of dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSC) are investigated. Preferably, the reaction with the iodide/tri-iodide couple should be fast at the counter electrode, i.e. this electrode must have a high catalytic activity towards the redox couple, and the same reaction must be slow on the photo electrode.The catalytic activity is investigated for platinum, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polypyrrole (PPy), and polyaniline (PANI)—all deposited onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass. Both Pt and PEDOT are found to have sufficiently high catalytic activities for practical use as counter electrodes in DSSC. The reaction resistance on FTO and anatase confirmed the beneficial effect of a compact anatase layer on top of the FTO glass in lowering the tri-iodide reduction rate.