THE TECHNOLOGY FORECASTING OF NEW MATERIALS: THE EXAMPLE OF NANOSIZED CERAMIC POWDERS

New materials have been recognized as significant drivers for corporate growth and profitability in today’s fast changing environments. The nanosized ceramic powders played important parts in new materials field nowadays. However, little has been done in discussing the technology forecasting for the new materials development. Accordingly, this study applied the growth curve method to investigate the technology performances of nanosized ceramic powders. We adopted the bibliometric analysis through EI database and trademark office (USPTO) database to gain the useful data for this work. The effort resulted in nanosized ceramic powders were all in the initial growth periods of technological life cycles. The technology performances of nanosized ceramic powders through the EI and USPTO databases were similar and verified by each other. And there were parts of substitutions between traditional and nanosized ceramic powders. The bibliometric analysis was proposed as the simple and efficient tools to link the science and technology activities, and to obtain quantitative and historical data for helping researchers in technology forecasting, especially in rare historical data available fields, such as the new materials fields.new materials, bibliometric analysis, technology forecasting.

A fuzzy multiple criteria comparison of technology valuation methods for the new materials development

New materials have been recognized as key drivers for corporate profitability and growth in today's fast changing environment. To evaluate the development and gain useful appraising information of new materials thus becomes a critical issue. However, little has been done in discussing the selection of technology valuation methods for the development of new materials. Accordingly, this study adopted the fuzzy AHP method to obtain the opinions of professionals on this issue. These efforts resulted in seven evaluation criteria with one, the “data validity” being given the highest weight, followed by “method adaptability” and “technology development evaluability”. It was concluded that the real option approach and income method are the two most applicable technology valuation methods for evaluating new materials development. In addition, the application of the fuzzy AHP method provided a relevant avenue for corporation policy makers and researchers to evaluate the technology valuation methods for new materials

A study for sustainable development in optoelectronics industry using multiple criteria decision making methods

This study assessed the operational efficiency of the optoelectronics industry in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) between 2007 and 2011 by using multiple criteria decision making methods (data envelopment analysis, Malmquist productivity index and Bootstrap). The data analysis showed that during the study period, meaning that the operational efficiency gap among manufacturers in STSP is widening. Among these manufacturers, eight manufacturers exhibited constant returns to scale, which was more than a half of the overall decision making unit (DMU), indicating that the operational scale of these manufacturers was nearing the optimal scale. Based on Malmquist productivity index (MPI) analysis, the factors that affect the operational efficiencies of optoelectronics manufacturers’ were as follow: operational cost, the number of employees, and the amount of fixed assets. The development should be focused on increasing technological efficiency and technological change in the future. Finally, based on Bootstrap, the results showed that the focus should be on the production technology while improving productive efficiency to ensure sustainable development of the entire domestic optoelectronics industry in the future. First published online: 02 Nov 201

Risk factors for poor outcomes of children with acute acalculous cholecystitis

BACKGROUND: Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is generally considered to be a mild disease in children; however, if left untreated or treated without caution, AAC can lead to severe outcomes, such as death. The objectives of this study were to present the clinical features and identify the predictors of mortality in pediatric AAC. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with AAC between 2005 and 2012 were enrolled. AAC was defined by the presence of fever and an echo-proven thickened gallbladder wall exceeding 4 mm. A poor health outcome was defined as death. Further information related to the demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, ultrasound findings, and pathogens present in the AAC patients was also collected. Predictors of mortality were identified by association analyses and confirmed by multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 147 pediatric AAC patients (male/female = 1.01, mean age = 5.2 years) were included in this retrospective study. The most common clinical presentation was an elevated C-reactive protein level (84%) followed by hepatomegaly (80%) and anorexia (78%). AAC in children was associated with various diseases, including infectious diseases (70%), systemic diseases (13%), and malignancy (11%). Fourteen of the 147 (9.25%) patients died during the study period. The presences of thrombocytopenia, anemia, gallbladder sludge, hepatitis, and/or sepsis plus hepatitis were found to be the important predictors of AAC mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The factors associated with AAC mortality were anemia, thrombocytopenia, gallbladder sludge, hepatitis, and sepsis plus hepatitis. These predictors are likely to help clinicians identify patients who are at a high risk of poor prognoses and make appropriate clinical decisions

Gene-Gene Interactions in Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Contributes to End-Stage Renal Disease Susceptibility in a Han Chinese Population

Objective. In this study, we investigated whether RAAS gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their interactions were associated with end-stage renal stage (ESRD). Methodology and Results. This was a case-control study for 647 ESRD cases and 644 controls. AGT (M235T (rs699) and T174M (rs4762)), AGTR1 (A1166C (rs5186) and C573T (rs5182)), ACE (I/D (rs1799752) and G2350A (rs4343)), and CYP11B2 C-344T (rs1799998) were genotyped and compared between cases and controls to identify SNPs associated with ESRD susceptibility. Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) was used to identify gene-gene interactions. Several RAAS genes were associated with ESRD: AGT M235T, ACE I/D, ACE G2350A, and CYP11B2 C-344T. By MDR analysis, a three-locus model (ACE ID/ACE G2350A/CYP11B2 C-344T) of gene-gene interaction was the best for predicting ESRD risk, and its maximum testing accuracy was 56.08% and maximum cross-validation consistency was 9/10. ESRD risk was higher with the simultaneous occurrence of ACE I/D DD-ACE G2350A AA. AGT, ACE, and CYP11B2 gene polymorphisms are associated with ESRD. Conclusions. The gene-gene interaction effects of ACE I/D, ACE G2350A, and CYP11B2 C-344T polymorphisms are more important than individual factors for ESRD development among Han Chinese

SiMMap: a web server for inferring site-moiety map to recognize interaction preferences between protein pockets and compound moieties

The protein–ligand interacting mechanism is essential to biological processes and drug discovery. The SiMMap server statistically derives site-moiety map with several anchors, which describe the relationship between the moiety preferences and physico-chemical properties of the binding site, from the interaction profiles between query target protein and its docked (or co-crystallized) compounds. Each anchor includes three basic elements: a binding pocket with conserved interacting residues, the moiety composition of query compounds and pocket–moiety interaction type (electrostatic, hydrogen bonding or van der Waals). We provide initial validation of the site-moiety map on three targets, thymidine kinase, and estrogen receptors of antagonists and agonists. Experimental results show that an anchor is often a hot spot and the site-moiety map can help to assemble potential leads by optimal steric, hydrogen bonding and electronic moieties. When a compound highly agrees with anchors of site-moiety map, this compound often activates or inhibits the target protein. We believe that the site-moiety map is useful for drug discovery and understanding biological mechanisms. The SiMMap web server is available at http://simfam.life.nctu.edu.tw/

Platform Deformation Phase Correction for the AMiBA-13 Coplanar Interferometer

[[abstract]]We present a new way to solve the platform deformation problem of coplanar interferometers. The platform of a coplanar interferometer can be deformed due to driving forces and gravity. A deformed platform will induce extra components into the geometric delay of each baseline and change the phases of observed visibilities. The reconstructed images will also be diluted due to the errors of the phases. The platform deformations of The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) were modeled based on photogrammetry data with about 20 mount pointing positions. We then used the differential optical pointing error between two optical telescopes to fit the model parameters in the entire horizontal coordinate space. With the platform deformation model, we can predict the errors of the geometric phase delays due to platform deformation with a given azimuth and elevation of the targets and calibrators. After correcting the phases of the radio point sources in the AMiBA interferometric data, we recover 50%-70% flux loss due to phase errors. This allows us to restore more than 90% of a source flux. The method outlined in this work is not only applicable to the correction of deformation for other coplanar telescopes but also to single-dish telescopes with deformation problems. This work also forms the basis of the upcoming science results of AMiBA-13.[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[ispeerreviewed]]Y[[booktype]]電子版[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]US

Signal peptide-CUB-EGF-like repeat-containing protein 1-promoted FLT3 signaling is critical for the initiation and maintenance of MLL-rearranged acute leukemia

A hallmark of mixed lineage leukemia gene-rearranged (MLL-r) acute myeloid leukemia that offers an opportunity for targeted therapy is addiction to protein tyrosine kinase signaling. One such signal is the receptor tyrosine kinase Fms-like receptor tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) upregulated by cooperation of the transcription factors homeobox A9 (HOXA9) and Meis homeobox 1 (MEIS1). Signal peptide-CUB-EGF-like repeat-containing protein (SCUBE) family proteins have previously been shown to act as a co-receptor for augmenting signaling activity of a receptor tyrosine kinase (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor receptor). However, whether SCUBE1 is involved in the pathological activation of FLT3 during MLL-r leukemogenesis remains unknown. Here we first show that SCUBE1 is a direct target of HOXA9/MEIS1 that is highly expressed on the MLL-r cell surface and predicts poor prognosis in de novo acute myeloid leukemia. We further demonstrate, by using a conditional knockout mouse model, that Scube1 is required for both the initiation and maintenance of MLL-AF9-induced leukemogenesis in vivo. Further proteomic, molecular and biochemical analyses revealed that the membrane-tethered SCUBE1 binds to the FLT3 ligand and the extracellular ligand-binding domains of FLT3, thus facilitating activation of the signal axis FLT3-LYN (a non-receptor tyrosine kinase) to initiate leukemic growth and survival signals. Importantly, targeting surface SCUBE1 by an anti-SCUBE1 monomethyl auristatin E antibody-drug conjugate led to significantly decreased cell viability specifically in MLL-r leukemia. Our study indicates a novel function of SCUBE1 in leukemia and unravels the molecular mechanism of SCUBE1 in MLL-r acute myeloid leukemia. Thus, SCUBE1 is a potential therapeutic target for treating leukemia caused by MLL rearrangements

Attitudes and Practices Among Internists Concerning Genetic Testing

Many questions remain concerning whether, when, and how physicians order genetic tests, and what factors are involved in their decisions. We surveyed 220 internists from two academic medical centers about their utilization of genetic testing. Rates of genetic utilizations varied widely by disease. Respondents were most likely to have ordered tests for Factor V Leiden (16.8 %), followed by Breast/Ovarian Cancer (15.0 %). In the past 6 months, 65 % had counseled patients on genetic issues, 44 % had ordered genetic tests, 38.5 % had referred patients to a genetic counselor or geneticist, and 27.5 % had received ads from commercial labs for genetic testing. Only 4.5 % had tried to hide or disguise genetic information, and <2 % have had patients report genetic discrimination. Only 53.4 % knew of a geneticist/genetic counselor to whom to refer patients. Most rated their knowledge as very/somewhat poor concerning genetics (73.7 %) and guidelines for genetic testing (87.1 %). Most felt needs for more training on when to order tests (79 %), and how to counsel patients (82 %), interpret results (77.3 %), and maintain privacy (80.6 %). Physicians were more likely to have ordered a genetic test if patients inquired about genetic testing (p  < .001), and if physicians had a geneticist/genetic counselor to whom to refer patients (p  < .002), had referred patients to a geneticist/genetic counselor in the past 6 months, had more comfort counseling patients about testing (p  < .019), counseled patients about genetics, larger practices (p  < .032), fewer African‐American patients (p  < .027), and patients who had reported genetic discrimination (p  < .044). In a multiple logistic regression, ordering a genetic test was associated with patients inquiring about testing, having referred patients to a geneticist/genetic counselor and knowing how to order tests. These data suggest that physicians recognize their knowledge deficits, and are interested in training. These findings have important implications for future medical practice, research, and education