Technoparks in Turkey: patent system perspective

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Understanding the regional innovation system in LMT industries: the case of Turkey as an emerging market economy

This important book is about the origins and diffusion of innovation, in theory and in practice.Accepted manuscrip

An economic valuation of a biotechnology R&D project in a developing economy

http://www.ejbiotechnology.info/index.php/ejbiotechnology/article/view/v15n3-3/144

An economic valuation of a biotechnology R&D project in a developing economy

Background: Biotechnology complements technological developments in main sectors of economies, such as health, energy, and agriculture, and thus contributes to economic development. It provides solutions to the problems that are frequently faced in developing economies, such as resource constraints, lower productivity and environmental concerns. In order to benefit from biotechnology, its associated markets need to develop and function well to support the developments and transactions of intangible assets, such as technology transfers, license agreements and research and development joint ventures. Economic valuation of the intangible assets is necessary for the development and functioning of these markets. It provides better understanding of value creation at micro scales and its economic and financial dynamics. The literature lacks valuation studies in biotechnology sectors in developing economies. This study performs economic valuation analysis of a research and development project of a Turkish biotechnology company operating in health sector. Turkey, as a developing economy, has slow progress in biotechnology despite its wealth of biological resources and genetic variety. Thus, the study provides an excellent case to analyze valuation issues in developing economies. It uses data from in-depth interviews from the company and employs real options and discounted cash flow (DCF) methods. Results: Developing countries and biotechnology sector introduce additional risks that need to be accounted for in valuation. These risks reduce the value of the project under real options and discounted cash flow methods. Since real options method permits the valuation of options that might arise during the R&D process and provides flexibility to managers to act, it results in higher values compared to discounted cash flow method. The grant from a public institution that partially financed the Project reduces the discount factor and thus increases the value of it. Conclusions: Economic values of biotechnology intangibles in developing countries are affected by country and sector risks and public financing. Thus, both microeconomic and macroeconomic policy interventions are important for the development of biotechnology in these economies. While public financing enables the risky R&D projects to take place, it makes them more valuable than they would be under no intervention. Long run effects of these interventions require diligent analyses

In the Presence of Climate Change, the Use of Fertilizers and the Effect of Income on Agricultural Emissions

This study looks into the factual link between nitrogen fertilizer use and the land annual mean temperature anomalies arising from climate change, incorporating the effect of income and agriculture share to understand better their impact on emissions from agricultural activities along climate indicators. The study unearths causalities associated with this link by employing the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) with back-dated actual panel data specifically constructed for this study by combining four datasets from 2002 to 2010. In the long-run, the causality is significant and unidirectional, indicating that income, agriculture share, and land temperature anomalies cause agricultural emissions, and that disequilibrium from such emissions is not eliminated within a year. In the short-run, the effective use of nitrogen fertilizers and other associated agricultural practices can be achieved as countries approach per capita income of 7000 USD. Changes in the structure of economies have an expected effect on agricultural emissions. Temperature anomalies increase agricultural emissions from nitrogen fertilizers, possibly due to the fact that the potential negative impacts of these anomalies are mitigated by farmers through changes in crop production inputs. Therefore, as part of adoption strategies, to avoid the excessive and inefficient use of nitrogen fertilizers by farmers, economic incentives should be aligned with the national and global incentives of sustainability

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Related Inflammation Presenting as Steroid Responsive Brain Mass

WOS: 000551172600024PubMed: 30649812Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a common but often asymptomatic disease, characterized by the deposition of amyloid proteins within brain parenchyma and leptomeningeal-cortical vessels. It can occur as a sporadic disorder or accompany Alzheimer disease (AD). the usual presentation of CAA is spontaneous lobar hemorrhage, Unlike CAA, cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation (CAA-ri), a subtype of CAA, can show various presentations and responds to steroid (or immuno suppressive) treatment. We report a patient with mixed dementia who showed subacute progression in cognitive impairment and had a mass lesion on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). the lesion was identified as CAA related inflammation and the cognitive status of the patient improved significantly after steroid treatment. in this case report, we aimed to emphasize that CAA-ri is one of the possible diagnoses that should be considered in demented patients with rapid cognitive deterioration and showing brain lesions resembling neoplasms on the MRI. Therefore, steroids or other immunosuppresive treatments, which may lead to a dramatic clinical improvement, could be administered without delay

Effects of valsartan on stress-induced changes of serum vascular endothelial growth factor and nitric oxide in mice

This study investigated the effects of renin- angiotensin system ( RAS) blockade on stress- induced changes of serum vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF) and nitric oxide ( NO) in mice. Chronic stress increased the serum NO levels significantly compared to control group ( p =.0172). Valsartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, alone, did not make significant difference versus control group. In chronic stress + valsartan group, serum NO levels decreased nonsignificantly compared to chronic stress group. There was a nonsignificant increase in serum VEGF levels after chronic stress. Valsartan alone or with chronic stress did not significantly affect the serum VEGF levels. In conclusion, there was no correlation between NO and VEGF changes during the stress response. In this respect, there may be other mechanisms to explain the stress- induced NO increase

Losartan may prevent the elevation of plasma glucose, corticosterone and catecholamine levels induced by chronic stress

Introduction Stress is a stimulus that activates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Increased activity of the SNS causes to increment or impairment in blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature and plasma glucose and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) levels. Angiotensin 11 (Ang 11), which is a product of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), is an important factor affecting the activity of the SNS and responses to stress. We suggest that the blockade of Ang 11 may be worthwhile in the prevention and treatment of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases affected by stress. Therefore, we investigated the effects of immobilisation stress on blood glucose, norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E) and corticosterone levels and the effects of an Ang 11 receptor antagonist, losartan, on these parameters

Prevalance and Clinical Characteristics of Pain in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

WOS: 000579120800007Objective: It has been shown that pain, depression, and fatigue related to Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSAS) results in a significant socioeconomic burden. We aimed to determine the prevalence, demographic, and clinical properties of pain symptoms in OSAS patients. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 84 OSAS patients diagnosed after full-night polysomnography with the Brief Pain Inventory, Beck Depression Rating scale (BDS), Pittsburg Sleep Quality index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness scale (ESS), Fatigue Impact scale (FIS), and Fatigue Severity scale (FSS). Results: A total of 84 patients (62 males, 22 females) with a mean age of 54.37 +/- 11.03 years were included. Headache in 25 (43.1%), myofascial pain in 22 (37.9%), and other types of pain in 11 patients were defined. ESS, FSS, FIS total, physical, cognitive, and psychosocial scores were found to be significantly higher in patients with pain. the presence of pain did not differ according to the severity of OSAS, and no significant difference was found in any parameters between mild, moderate, and severe OSAS except for minimal O-2 saturation. A positive correlation between last week pain severity and BDS scores, a negative correlation between PSQI scores and the decrease in pain rate as a result of the treatment, and a weak positive correlation between FIS-cognitive sub-score and pain intensity scores were found. Conclusion: in our study, excessive daytime sleepiness and the impact and severity of fatigue were found to be higher in patients with pain than in those without pain. the most obvious difference was seen in terms of cognitive, and psychosocial fatigue. Contrary to expectations, it was observed that OSAS severity did not affect pain according to our data