Japan and the East Asian financial crisis: patterns, motivations and instrumentalisation of Japanese regional economic diplomacy

At first sight, the East Asian financial crisis represents an instance of Japan failing the test of regional leadership - as evidenced by its abandonment of initial proposals for an Asian Monetary Fund (AMF) in the face of US and Chinese opposition in 1997. However, if a second look is taken, and one which is sensitised to the fundamental characteristics of its diplomacy, then Japan can be seen as far more effective in augmenting its regional leadership role than previously imagined. Indeed, this article demonstrates that Japanese policy-makers have resurrected, over the longer term and in different guises, AMF-like frameworks which provide a potential springboard for further regional cooperation. Hence, the aims of this article are twofold. The first is to demonstrate the overall efficacy of Japanese regional economic diplomacy, and its ability to control outcomes through steering East Asia towards enhanced monetary cooperation. The second is to explain the reasons behind Japan's distinctive policy approach towards the financial crisis and general lessons for understanding its foreign policy. The article seeks to do so by asking three fundamental questions about the 'what', 'why' and 'how' of Japan's regional role: 'what' in terms of the dominant behavioural patterns of Japan's economic diplomacy; 'why' in terms of the motivations for this behaviour; and 'how' in terms of Japan's instrumentalisation of its regional policy

Self-Templated Nucleation in Peptide and Protein aggregation

Peptides and proteins exhibit a common tendency to assemble into highly ordered fibrillar aggregates, whose formation proceeds in a nucleation-dependent manner that is often preceded by the formation of disordered oligomeric assemblies. This process has received much attention because disordered oligomeric aggregates have been associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Here we describe a self-templated nucleation mechanism that determines the transition between the initial condensation of polypeptide chains into disordered assemblies and their reordering into fibrillar structures. The results that we present show that at the molecular level this transition is due to the ability of polypeptide chains to reorder within oligomers into fibrillar assemblies whose surfaces act as templates that stabilise the disordered assemblies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

University-private sector partnerships:assessing long-term collaboration to deliver economic impact in the Northwest of England

Objectives Private and public sector working together for mutual benefit is nothing new and in the context of education, this has historically focussed on areas such as employability-related experiences for students, supply-chains for goods and services, and within higher education specifically, the growing need to demonstrate research impact. In this presentation, we explore the impact of private and public-sector working together to deliver regional economic growth through technology transfer. The objectives of this research stems from a twelve-year collaborative relationship between a higher education institute (HEI) and a private sector, technology value-added reseller (VAR). The authors assess and reflect on this activity, funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to help understand the inputs, processes and outcomes of that relationship. Approach / Methodology The approach undertaken was firstly to identify the ERDF-funded projects since 2002 that the VAR (Quadra Solutions Ltd) has been a part of, as a private sector partner, with the HEI (Lancaster University’s Engineering Department). This is defined as where there is a service level agreement in place and the provision of match-funding is committed-to in that contract. This differs from that of a sub-contractor where the relationship may be better defined as purchaser-supplier and emphasizes the collaborative nature of the relationship being explored. We subsequently identified the ‘interventions’ in which both the knowledge exchange team (Lancaster Product Development Unit) and Quadra Solutions Ltd had worked with a ‘beneficiary’ as part of those ERDF initiatives. Retaining confidential information, these interventions were aggregated and basic company information collected in terms of location, size (by turnover) and sector. Analysis was then undertaken on the results collected as a consequence of that intervention, based on the following economic key performance indicators (KPIs): businesses improving performance; safeguarding of jobs; and the creation of new jobs. Qualitative reflection was carried out to assess wider impacts of the relationship and the development of a model that articulates this way of working. We highlight both the benefits and drawbacks based on extensive experience of providing technology-transfer solutions to SMEs, part-funded by ERDF. Results The results show that 93 interventions have been undertaken between Lancaster University’s Engineering Department and Quadra Solutions Ltd, in-part funded by ERDF between 2003 and 2015, spanning seven major projects. All of these interventions supported technology transfer by the introduction of a new or enhanced design process within the beneficiary, using the Autodesk family of software. All beneficiaries receiving support were SMEs, complying with national and regional eligibility guidelines as defined by the funding body secretariat. Sectoral breakdown unsurprisingly shows that the vast majority were in the engineering/manufacturing sector, accounting for 94.6% of the total. Of those SMEs that were assisted, all received increased functionality via the introduction or improvement to design software than that previously being used, demonstrating clear technology transfer. Where data was obtained, this intervention led to the cumulative safeguarding of 102.1 jobs and the creation of 71 jobs. As noted elsewhere, there is considerable ambiguity in using figures that attempt to provide a unit cost per result, and whilst one can attempt to draw comparison with other initiatives in other areas, this can be problematic due to assumptions made. For the purposes of this investigation, we have benchmarked against ourselves and show that for all cumulative ERDF assistance provided by the Engineering Department, the average job created per intervention is 0.64 and the average job safeguarded is 0.91. For the technology transfer work carried out in partnership with Quadra Solutions Ltd, the figures are 0.76 and 1.10, respectively. More widely, there are other impacts from joint collaboration with private sector partners that have been created, for the HEI: • Clear access to the latest in engineering design functionality, informed by globally-operating OEMs spanning many sectors; • Provision of a match-funding contribution through the time of company representatives contributing towards the objectives of the project; • Sharing of a networks of users and manufactures in close proximity, with a ‘seal-of-approval’ for quality of work; • Local, regional, national and international market intelligence; • Formalisation in the pursuit of similar objectives; • Contribution to the state-of-the-art and hence vital commercial-sector input to other future programmes of business support. The benefits created by such a relationship for private sector partners include: • Promotion of joint-funding opportunities to potential beneficiaries generating in-house advocates, or ‘funding champions’; • Ability to join-up wider business-support allied to technology transfer, which may include time-bound financial incentives, training offers, subscriptions, hardware support and so on. • Increased knowledge and experience of public-funding processes, regulations and conditions; • Externally-visible partnerships with a world-ranked university. Arguably the most important benefits relate to the end-user, which in this case is the beneficiary. The following model outlines a typical journey taken by a beneficiary through the technology acquisition route of intervention. Additional benefits to the beneficiaries in these cases may include: • Increased ability to develop new products • Awareness of how new technology processes can be further exploited, such as through expansion, training, add-ons; • A route into higher education to explore other research and development opportunities that may exist beyond that of the intervention; Implications and Recommendations The authors fully accept that there are a number of issues with the data collected which include that our assessment methods: • Only take account of the reported results when/if engaged with the beneficiary. Some beneficiaries become reluctant to undertake evaluation after the assistance has been delivered. • It does not record the exact time input to each intervention made by either the HEI or the VAR. • The package of support (or agreed solution) has not been specified and will include some differences, in this case in software, including for example upgrades or new packages. Notwithstanding some of the limitations outlined above, we have been able to demonstrate that the work carried-out by the partnership of a private sector VAR and an HEI to support SMEs in technology transfer has clear, demonstrable impact, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Such a model can be applied to future initiatives that have technology transfer as a theme within business support. Areas for development / future research There are a number of important areas underpinned by this work that would be useful to explore further: • Sector transference, for example application in other disciplines requiring software, such as for example architecture, construction, chemicals, food and drink, creative. • Technology transference, for example application of using other technologies beyond software, such as for example, manufacturing hardware. • Longer-term assessment of the impact to beneficiaries of these interventions, which may include aspects related to innovation culture, new product development or increased capacity for R&D. • Exploration of opportunities that may be available beyond the intervention provided, by the HEI, such as access to graduates, and the ‘completion of the circle’

A Cell- and Tissue-Specific Weakness of the Protein Homeostasis System Underlies Brain Vulnerability to Protein Aggregation.

The phenomenon of protein misfolding and aggregation is associated with a wide range of neurodegenerative conditions that cause progressive loss of function in specific regions of the human brain. To understand the causes of the selective cell and tissue vulnerability to the formation of these deposits, we analyzed the ability of different cell and tissue types to respond, in the absence of disease, to the presence of high levels of aggregation-prone proteins. By performing a transcriptional analysis, we found that the protein homeostasis system that regulates protein aggregation is weaker in neurons than in other cell types and in brain tissues than in other body tissues. These results suggest that the intrinsic level of regulation of protein aggregation in the healthy state is correlated with the selective vulnerability of cells and tissues to protein misfolding diseases

Antibodies and protein misfolding: From structural research tools to therapeutic strategies.

Protein misfolding disorders, including the neurodegenerative conditions Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) represent one of the major medical challenges or our time. The underlying molecular mechanisms that govern protein misfolding and its links with disease are very complex processes, involving the formation of transiently populated but highly toxic molecular species within the crowded environment of the cell and tissue. Nevertheless, much progress has been made in understanding these events in recent years through innovative experiments and therapeutic strategies, and in this review we present an overview of the key roles of antibodies and antibody fragments in these endeavors. We discuss in particular how these species are being used in combination with a variety of powerful biochemical and biophysical methodologies, including a range of spectroscopic and microscopic techniques applied not just in vitro but also in situ and in vivo, both to gain a better understanding of the mechanistic nature of protein misfolding and aggregation and also to design novel therapeutic strategies to combat the family of diseases with which they are associated. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Recent advances in molecular engineering of antibody.This is the final version. It was first published by Elsevier in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Proteins and Proteomics at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570963914002222

Exploring the Dynamics of Base-Excited Structures Impacting a Rigid Stop

This paper explores the nonlinear dynamics of a multidegree of freedom (MDoF) structure impacting a rigid stop. The contact mechanics is simplified by continuous sigmoid function idealisation of a lossless spring. By introducing a smooth nonlinear formulation, we avoid the computational expense of event-driven, piecewise, nonsmooth dynamics. A large parametric study using high-performance computing is undertaken. The nondimensional equations of motion suggest one primary structural parameter, contact-to-storey stiffness ratio, and two excitation parameters, nondimensional ground amplitude and frequency. Bifurcation plots indicate an extremely rich and complex behaviour, particularly in the cases where at least two-floor degrees of freedom (DoFs) impact the stop and when the contact-to-storey stiffness ratio is large. When considering interstorey drift as a performance measure, period-1 impacting solutions are generally favourable when compared to an analogous nonimpacting case. This paper also discusses whether chaotic impacting can be favourable. Finally, we consider the question of whether higher modes are significantly excited, at a linear resonance, for impacting solutions to this system

Exploring the Dynamics of Base-Excited Structures Impacting a Rigid Stop

This paper explores the nonlinear dynamics of a multidegree of freedom (MDoF) structure impacting a rigid stop. The contact mechanics is simplified by continuous sigmoid function idealisation of a lossless spring. By introducing a smooth nonlinear formulation, we avoid the computational expense of event-driven, piecewise, nonsmooth dynamics. A large parametric study using high-performance computing is undertaken. The nondimensional equations of motion suggest one primary structural parameter, contact-to-storey stiffness ratio, and two excitation parameters, nondimensional ground amplitude and frequency. Bifurcation plots indicate an extremely rich and complex behaviour, particularly in the cases where at least two-floor degrees of freedom (DoFs) impact the stop and when the contact-to-storey stiffness ratio is large. When considering interstorey drift as a performance measure, period-1 impacting solutions are generally favourable when compared to an analogous nonimpacting case. This paper also discusses whether chaotic impacting can be favourable. Finally, we consider the question of whether higher modes are significantly excited, at a linear resonance, for impacting solutions to this system