597 research outputs found
Managing Unsolicited Ideas for R&D
Existing academic and popular literature suggests that unsolicited ideas, the non-contractual and voluntary submission of innovation-related information from external sources to the firm, offer the promise of a bountiful and low-cost tool to sustain and extend firms' R&D efforts. Yet, in practice, many organizations find it difficult to deal with unsolicited ideas because of high quantity, low quality, and the need to transfer IP ownership. This article identifies a range of practices that allow organizations to meet these challenges and therefore realize some of the potential of unsolicited ideas for R&D
Going Off-Piste: The Role of Status in Launching Unsponsored R&D Projects
Many established organizations rely on unsponsored R&D projects to sustain and support corporate renewal. These ideas that emerge from dark corners of the organization are often the result of inventors’ proactive creative efforts. Yet, little is known about the origins of these creative efforts, and what drives individuals to decide for or against engagement in such behavior. Building on the notion of middle-status conformity, we argue for the existence of a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship between inventors’ status and their participation in autonomous inventive efforts. We argue that this effect is further moderated by factors influencing the salience of existing status-granting institutions, specifically the novelty of the technological domain of the invention, the competitive position of the wider organization, and the inventors’ geographic location. Using a unique dataset of invention disclosures from a global technology-based firm, we find general support for our hypotheses. We propose implications for theories of innovation, networks, and status that add to our understanding of proactive forms of creative effort
Recurrent Heart Failure after Left Ventricular Assist Device Placement
A host of complications are common after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) surgery. Perhaps none is more challenging to manage than recurrent heart failure (HF). HF in an LVAD patient is associated with substantial morbidity and increased mortality. HF can occur early or late, can present abruptly or insidiously, and can be due to an array of LVAD-specific problems including pump thrombosis and cannula obstruction, or intrinsic cardiac problems such as right ventricular failure or valvular disease. These disparate etiologies require specific testing and distinct therapeutic strategies. This chapter reviews the causes of recurrent HF after LVAD surgery with particular attention to evaluation and management strategies that can identify and treat these distinct etiologies
Microwave magnon damping in YIG films at millikelvin temperatures
Magnon systems used in quantum devices require low damping if coherence is to
be maintained. The ferrimagnetic electrical insulator yttrium iron garnet (YIG)
has low magnon damping at room temperature and is a strong candidate to host
microwave magnon excitations in future quantum devices. Monocrystalline YIG
films are typically grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrates. In
this work, comparative experiments made on YIG waveguides with and without GGG
substrates indicate that the material plays a significant role in increasing
the damping at low temperatures. Measurements reveal that damping due to
temperature-peak processes is dominant above 1 K. Damping behaviour that we
show can be attributed to coupling to two-level fluctuators (TLFs) is observed
below 1 K. Upon saturating the TLFs in the substrate-free YIG at 20 mK,
linewidths of 1.4 MHz are achievable: lower than those measured at room
temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Association of objectively measured physical activity with body components in European adolescents
Background: Physical activity (PA) is suggested to contribute to fat loss not only through increasing energy expenditure “per se” but also increasing muscle mass; therefore, it would be interesting to better understand the specific associations of PA with the different body’s components such as fat mass and muscle mass. The aim of the present study was to examine the association between objectively measured PA and indices of fat mass and muscle components independently of each other giving, at the same time, gender-specific information in a wide cohort of European adolescents.
Methods: A cross-sectional study in a school setting was conducted in 2200 (1016 males) adolescents (14.7 ±1.2 years). Weight, height, skinfold thickness, bioimpedance and PA (accelerometry) were measured. Indices of fat mass (body mass index, % fat mass, sum of skinfolds) and muscular component (assessed as fat-free mass) were calculated. Multiple regression analyses were performed adjusting for several confounders including fat-free mass and fat mass when possible.
Results: Vigorous PA was positively associated with height (p?<?0.05) in males, whilst, vigorous PA, moderate-vigorous PA and average PA were negatively associated with all the indices of fat mass (all p?<?0.01) in both genders, except for average PA in relation with body mass index in females. Regarding muscular components, vigorous PA showed positive associations with fat-free mass and muscle mass (all p?<?0.05) in both genders. Average PA was positively associated with fat-free mass (both p?<?0.05) in males and females.
Conclusion: The present study suggests that PA, especially vigorous PA, is negatively associated with indices of fat mass and positively associated with markers of muscle mass, after adjusting for several confounders (including indices of fat mass and muscle mass when possible). Future studies should focus not only on the classical relationship between PA and fat mass, but also on PA and muscular components, analyzing the independent role of both with the different PA intensities
A Call for Urgent Monitoring of Food and Water Security Based on Relevant Indicators for the Arctic
This perspective paper argues for an urgent
need to monitor a set of 12 concrete, measurable indicators
of food and water security in the Arctic over time. Such a
quantitative indicator approach may be viewed as representing
a reductionist rather than a holistic perspective, but
is nevertheless necessary for actually knowing what reality
aspects to monitor in order to accurately understand,
quantify, and be able to project critical changes to food and
water security of both indigenous and non-indigenous
people in the Arctic. More relevant indicators may be
developed in the future, taking us further toward reconciliation
between reductionist and holistic approaches to
change assessment and understanding. However, the
potential of such further development to improved holistic
change assessment is not an argument not to urgently start
to monitor and quantify the changes in food and water
security indicators that are immediately available and
adequate for the Arctic context
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