Does technology affect network structure? - A quantitative analysis of collaborative research projects in two specific EU programmes

The promotion of collaborative R&D through Framework Programmes is a top priority of European RTD policy. However, despite the considerable sums involved, surprisingly little is known about the structure of the resulting research networks. Arguing that the underlying technological regime critically affects the structure of collaborative R&D, this article examines the structure and topology of collaborative research networks in the telecommunications and the agro-industrial industry in two specific programmes of the 4th EU Framework Programme. We find systematic differences which we attribute to differences in the underlying knowledge base, the research trajectories pursued in EU-funded R&D and the organisation of knowledge production in the two industries. As expected on the basis of prior research, we show that collaborative research projects involve a larger number of partners and require greater funding in the telecommunications industry, and that actors from science are positioned more prominently in the agro-industrial collaborative R&D network. Contrary to expectations, we find fewer and less intense interactions between science and industry in the agro-industrial industry. We provide a tentative explanation for this result and discuss policy implications.framework programmes, research collaborations, technological regime, sectoral innovation system, social network analysis, science-industry interactions

The Optical Counterpart of the X-ray Transient RX J0117.6-7330: Spectroscopy and Photometry

We conducted spectroscopic and photometric observations of the optical counterpart of the X-ray transient RX J0117.6-7330 in the Small Magellanic Cloud, during a quiescent state. The primary star is identified as a B0.5 IIIe, with mass M = (18 +/- 2) M(sun) and bolometric magnitude M(bol) = -7.4 +/- 0.2. The main spectral features are strong H-alpha emission, H-beta and H-gamma emission cores with absorption wings, and narrow HeI and OII absorption lines. Equivalent width and FWHM of the main lines are listed. The average systemic velocity over our observing run is v(r) = (184 +/- 4) km/s; measurements over a longer period of time are needed to determine the binary period and the K velocity of the primary. We determine a projected rotational velocity v sin i = (145 +/- 10) km/s for the Be star, and we deduce that the inclination angle of the system is i = (21 +/- 3)deg.Comment: submitted to PASA; 6 figure

Why do Firms Co-operate for Innovation? - A comparison of Austrian and Finnish CIS 3 results

This paper analyzes co-operative behavior of innovative firms in Finland and Austria. We use data from the third wave of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS 3). Descriptive statistics indicate that the rate of innovators is quite similar in Austria and Finland, while the number of co-operating enterprises is considerably higher in Finland. Econometric analysis reveals that a number of factors that determine co-operative arrangements are only significant in the one or the other country. We conclude that co-operative behavior in the two countries is much more dependent on national factors and much deeper rooted in the underlying innovation systems than the existing literature may assume.co-operation, CIS 3, Austria, Finland

Constancy regions of mixed multiplier ideals in two-dimensional local rings with rational singularities

The aim of this paper is to study mixed multiplier ideals associated with a tuple of ideals in a two-dimensional local ring with a rational singularity. We are interested in the partition of the real positive orthant given by the regions where the mixed multiplier ideals are constant. In particular we reveal which information encoded in a mixed multiplier ideal determines its corresponding jumping wall and we provide an algorithm to compute all the constancy regions, and their corresponding mixed multiplier ideals, in any desired range.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The effect of metronidazole on Bacteroides fragilis and Escherichia coli

The antibiotic metronidazole is used extensively in the clinical treatment of anaerobic infections, including those caused by the anaerobic pathogen Bacteroides fragilis. Metronidazole is an inert substance that requires reductive activation to become cytotoxic. In its activated form metronidazole induces DNA damage. Relatively little is known about the cytotoxic effects of this drug in vivo. The aim of the work reported in this thesis was to analyze the mode of action of metronidazole in living systems. Furthermore, the potential for bacterial cells to develop resistance mechanisms to metronidazole is largely unknown, and therefore the role played by B. fragilis genes in influencing the potency of metronidazole was investigated. Bibliography: pages 172-201

Multiplicity and Poincaré series for mixed multiplier ideals

Postprint (published version