Characterizing Receiver-Active National System of Innovation

The rise in biomedical research predates the passage of Bayh-Dole Act in the United States. Our measurements of science linkage based on the Japanese patents also show that biotechnology is extremely high in science linkage. We will describe an in-depth case study about how a Japanese sanitary ware company could commercialize a totally new toilet system, by use of scientific findings discovered by university professors. The firm played a more proactive role in technology transfer than the role implied by the term of "absorptive capacity." The Japanese national system of innovation has been built to stimulate absorptive capacity functions proactively.

Which Industries Are Most Science-Based? (Japanese)

Many industrial innovations would not have occurred without substantial delay if there had not been academic research behind them, and the linkage between industrial innovation and academic research is now gaining much more attention because of the increasing complexity of technologies. The authors have shown that a particularly high degree of science linkage is observed in the area of biotechnology, based on an analysis of the number of citations of scientific papers in patents (science linkage) by type of technology (RIETI DP 04-E-034). Building on this previous analysis, the present research project aims to provide quantitative evidence showing the degree to which Japanese technology development is dependent on science by type of industry. The data on the degree of science dependence is extremely important from the viewpoint of formulating science and technology policies, such as support for scientific research, as well as in implementing industrial policies such as those designed to promote new businesses. Conventional discussions of science dependence, however, have mostly been based on the ratio of research and development (R&D) expenditures to total sales. In contrast, our analysis of science linkage directly examines how technology development in each industry is influenced by science. This enables us to get a clear picture of science-based industries. The analysis shows a high degree of science linkage in the pharmaceutical, food, and chemical industries, with the remaining industries showing a relatively low linkage. This result indicates that the characteristics of technology development differ substantially depending on the type of industry, and therefore that such differences need to be taken into account in formulating industrial policies.

Integrating Modular Products beyond Industrial Boundary - Analysis of the integration process of a PC system and NC system (Japanese)

Module integration refers to a process in which two product systems, each having been established as a complete module architecture through a different technological trajectory, are integrated into a new product concept. Is such integration possible? If so, how can it be done? This paper illustrates the possibility of such integration by examining the evolution process of a personal computer (PC) system and numerical control (NC) system. Based on this case study, we have verified to what extent preceding studies explain the dynamics of product architecture and found that the realignment of product architecture is prompted by the porting operator. Based on this finding, we theoretically examine the possibility of module integration.

"Study on Science - Technology - Industry Network" - Analysis of Japanese companies' return to core business and absorption of new technologies - (Japanese)

This paper analyzes the changes in the core technology fields in corporate research and development (R&D) activities, the relationships between and among the different fields of technology, and so forth, focusing primarily on exploitation of patent data, which have finally been developed as a usable research resource in Japan. Although there are certain differences depending on the technology field, significant correlations are generally seen between the composition of patent applications by type of technology and the composition of patent registration by type of technology. In other words, it has been found that "selection and concentration" of technology fields have hardly occurred in the process from patent application to patent registration. This is, we find, a phenomenon that can be observed regardless of sector and time. Moreover, when we focus on core technology areas on a corporate level, rather than on a sectoral level, composition by type of technology remains same in patent applications and registrations, with no notable changes observed in the core technology areas. This indicates that the relationship observed between patent applications and registration on a sectoral level is applicable to analysis on a corporate level. Changes in each technology area are not an independent phenomenon. Instead, they are part of the continuing process of co-evolution in various technology areas. That is, each technology area changes through interaction with other technology areas; these technologies influence one another both within and beyond organizational boundaries. We analyze the relationship among different technology areas, using several new methodologies and focusing on the long-term relationships among different technology areas within a company. Specifically, we demonstrate that the cluster analysis of technology domains within a company and the analysis of relationships among these domains can be done using the concept of IPC Co-occurrence (i.e., by examining the extent to which a single patent is assigned to more than one International Patent Classification code, indicating different technology areas). Then, focusing on a longer time span, we attempt to analyze technology trajectories within the company. With respect to Canon Inc., presented as a first case, we find that the company rapidly expanded its business, in principle, by building on existing core technologies, thereby incrementally developing new technologies in related technology areas, which leads to new business areas. We call such diversification of core technologies the "proximal diversification model." Meanwhile, regarding Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., a second case, we analyze changes in technology trajectories and the process of fusion of these technology trajectories. We find that the company, at least for some time after a new disruptive technology called genetic engineering came into being, intentionally implemented an information shield between the team in charge of new technologies and those in charge of the existing technologies. Then, after a sufficient period of time, the company integrated the newly developed technologies into the existing core technologies. This approach is believed to be effective in overcoming technology gaps. We call this the "venture insert model."

Science linkages in technologies patented in Japan

We constructed an original database concerning science linkages based on text of Japanese Patent Gazette published since 1994. We discovered that Japanese inventers cite many academic papers in the texts of the patent applications in the Japanese Patent System. Based on this finding, we constructed science citation index by data mining the texts of Japanese patent system for the first time. First, more than 880,000 patent data classified into about 600 categories. Then, we extracted non-patent references from all the granted patents and counted the number of them. This number shows the strength of the linkage between science and technology and therefore is called "science linkage index." The science linkage indexes among different patent classifications differ significantly from each other. The technologies related to bio -technology were by far the closest to science. It suggests that the process of creating new technology differs from technology to technology.

Possibility of multivariate function composed of plasma amino acid profiles as a novel screening index for non-small cell lung cancer: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The amino-acid balance in cancer patients often differs from that in healthy individuals, because of metabolic changes. This study investigated the use of plasma amino-acid profiles as a novel marker for screening non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The amino-acid concentrations in venous blood samples from pre-treatment NSCLC patients (<it>n </it>= 141), and age-matched, gender-matched, and smoking status-matched controls (<it>n </it>= 423), were measured using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The resultant study data set was subjected to multiple logistic regression analysis to identify amino acids related with NSCLC and construct the criteria for discriminating NSCLC patients from controls. A test data set derived from 162 patients and 3,917 controls was used to validate the stability of the constructed criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The plasma amino-acid profiles significantly differed between the NSCLC patients and the controls. The obtained model (including alanine, valine, isoleucine, histidine, tryptophan and ornithine concentrations) performed well, with an area under the curve of the receiver-operator characteristic curve (ROC_AUC) of >0.8, and allowed NSCLC patients and controls to be discriminated regardless of disease stage or histological type.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study shows that plasma amino acid profiling will be a potential screening tool for NSCLC.</p

How to Respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or the Second Information Technology Revolution? Dynamic New Combinations between Technology, Market, and Society through Open Innovation

How can we respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution in terms of technology?&rdqu