Entrepreneurship in New York: The Mismatch between Venture Capital and Academic R&D

The Entrepreneurship in New York study is a joint venture of the SUNY Levin Institute, the Research Foundation of SUNY, and SUNY Geneseo. This study shows that New York now commands a larger share of national venture investment than in past studies. Although, within this picture a significant disconnect is revealed. New York’s strong performance in academic R&D in the sciences stands in contrast with the relatively modest amounts of private investment available to move these innovations forward commercially. In 2012, 85% of the venture capital invested in New York State firms was invested in information technology and creative and commerce services, while 15% was invested in the life and physical sciences. By contrast, 89% of academic R&D expenditures in New York State were in the life and physical sciences, with only small amounts invested in IT. Authors Judith Albers, PhD, and Thomas R. Moebus feature important data and analysis that conclude increased investment in the life and physical sciences are needed. They identify specific opportunities for NYC and other investors that emerge as part of START-UP NY and other state initiatives.https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/geneseo-authors/1002/thumbnail.jp

Model Based Systems Engineering in Modular Design-A Potential Analysis using Portal Type Scraper Reclaimers as an Example

Many industries have to react progressively to the increasing customer requirements regarding the individualization of products. As a consequence, companies are using more and more standardization methods, such as modular, platform or type series design. This leads to an increased complexity of product development processes and thus to the necessity of concepts which allow a consistent representation of constructions kits. Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) can support the development of such systems. A case study carried out in cooperation with thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions shows the potential of the approach using the industrial sector, the machinery and plant engineering industry as an example

Improving distributed collaboration at Porsche Engineering Services GmbH through the application of the EDiT Method

To support development teams with their individual challenges of distributed collaboration in product development, the EDiT method is being developed. This paper contributes to the continuous validation of the EDiT method by a field study at the process team of Porsche Engineering Services GmbH to support the successful transfer into practice. The validation is based on validation by application, validation by evaluation of the contribution to success, and validation by comparison of the requirements. The contribution of the EDiT method could be proven by different measurement criteria, e.g. reducing the average number of days to finish a task by a remarkable amount

Knowledge graph for manufacturing cost estimation of gear shafts - a case study on the availability of product and manufacturing information in practice

Growing cost pressure forces companies to actively manage their product costs to secure profitability. Here, manufacturing cost estimation within product development estimates manufacturing and material costs. As most products are developed in generations, needed product and manufacturing information can origin from reference system elements (RSE), for example similar components of prior product generations. Problematically, this product and manufacturing information as well as the knowledge of its interrelation is often stored in an unstructured way, document based or at least not machine-readable. This makes manufacturing cost estimation an effortful, time consuming and mainly manual activity with low traceability, where a wide manufacturing knowledge is required. Trends in production, like new manufacturing processes and production systems further increase the need for manufacturing information and knowledge. Knowledge graphs as semantic technologies can improve the findability and reusability of reference system elements and enable automatic information processing. Within this research, cost estimation of research and development of a large automotive supplier was used as research environment. Guided by the model of PGE an ontology for the manufacturing cost estimation domain was developed. Then, a knowledge graph was instantiated based on product and manufacturing information from gear shafts of electric axles. A case study was carried out to evaluate process-specific cycle time calculation as exemplary use case of the knowledge graph. Process-specific cycle times are generally effortful estimated based on detailed manufacturing information and then used together with machine hourly rates to estimate manufacturing costs. Here, the structured and machine-readable manufacturing information of identified reference system elements is extracted from the knowledge graph to reduce the effort, increase the traceability and enable future automation. The case study shows exemplary, how a knowledge graph can support manufacturing cost estimation of gear shafts where product and manufacturing information is automatically identified using reference system elements

Origin of eukaryotes: What can be learned from the first successfully isolated Asgard archaeon

The origin of cellular complexity characterizing eukaryotic cells remains a central unresolved issue in the study of diversification of cellular life on Earth. The isolation by Imachi et al.1 of a member of the Asgard archaea2 – a contemporary relative of organisms thought to have given rise to eukaryotic cells about 2 billion years ago – now promises new insight. The complete genome sequence of the isolated Lokiarchaeum strain confirms that the eukaryotic signature proteins (ESPs) previously identified in the Lokiarchaeota3 and other Asgard archaea2 are indeed encoded by these archaeal genomes and do not represent contamination from eukaryotes. These ESPs encode homologs of eukaryotic actins, small GTPases and the ESCRT complex proteins and are required for the functioning of complex eukaryotic cells. The new, slowly growing, anaerobic laboratory strain allows a first direct look at these organisms and provides key insights into the morphology and metabolism of an Asgard archaeal organism. The work has provided valuable information for other laboratories that aim to isolate and characterize related organisms from other environments

Influencing factors on the retrospective analysis of variation shares with C&C²A-based criteria in Product Generation Engineering

New technical systems are created on the basis of existing systems by different extent of taken over and newly developed and/or adapted subsystems and their linkage. Various approaches aim to characterize these different forms of technical adaptation and to make them formally measurable. The calculation of variation shares according to the model of the PGE is based on the determination of variation types with the help of the C&C²-A modelling of subsystems and the associated reference system element as well as the subsystem structure. Both can generally be selected variably. This contribution investigates the influence of these two parameters on the retrospective analysis of variation shares, using a test bench probe and an actuator in a tooling machine as examples. Variation shares are calculated for different levels of detail of the underlying C&C²-A modelling and subsystem structures with different numbers of subsystems. Observed effects regarding the identification of the variation type of a subsystem as well as regarding the calculation of variation shares for the whole system are discussed. A major conclusion of the investigation is that retrospective analyses of variation shares depend strongly on the two investigated parameters and are mostly not unambiguous

From amaurotic idiocy to biochemically defined lipid storage diseases: the first identification of GM1-Gangliosidosis

On February 23rd 1936, a boy-child (“Kn”) died in an asylum near Munich after years of severe congenital dis-ease, which had profoundly impaired his development leading to inability to walk, talk and see as well as to severe epilepsy. While a diagnosis of “Little’s disease” was made during life, his postmortem brain investiga-tion at Munich neuropathology (“Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie”) revealed the diagnosis of “amaurotic idiocy” (AI). AI, as exemplified by Tay-Sachs-Disease (TSD), back then was not yet understood as a specific inborn error of metabolism encompassing several disease entities. Many neuropathological studies were performed on AI, but the underlying processes could only be revealed by new scientific techniques such as biochemical analysis of nervous tissue, deciphering AI as nervous system lipid storage diseases, e.g. GM2-gangliosidosis. In 1963, Sandhoff & Jatzkewitz published an article on a “biochemically special form of AI” reporting striking differences when comparing their biochemical observations of hallmark features of TSD to tissue composition in a single case: the boy Kn. This was the first description of “GM1-Gangliosidosis”, later understood as resulting from genetically determined deficiency in beta-galactosidase. Here we present illus-trative materials from this historic patient, including selected diagnostic slides from the case “Kn” in virtual microscopy, original records and other illustrative material available. Finally, we present results from genetic analysis performed on archived tissue proving beta-galactosidase-gene mutation, verifying the 1963 interpre-tation as correct. This synopsis shall give a first-hand impression of this milestone finding in neuropathology

The relationship between body mass index and the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome

Increased weignt and, more recently, body mass index (BMI), have been suggested as risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). In an effort to determine the relative risk (RR) of obesity in the development of CTS, 949 patients who had an evaluation of the right upper extremity that included motor and sensory conduction studies of the median and ulnar nerves were reviewed. Of these patients, 261 were diagnosed with a median mononeuropathy at the wrist. Those individuals who were classified as obese (BMI > 29) were 2.5 times more likely than slender individuals (BMI < 20) to be diagnosed with CTS. Forty-three percent of obese women and 32% of obese men had the diagnosis of CTS compared to 21% of slender women and 0% of slender men. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50161/1/880170610_ftp.pd