The economic and innovation contribution of universities: a regional perspective

Universities and other higher education institutions (HEIs) have come to be regarded as key sources of knowledge utilisable in the pursuit of economic growth. Although there have been numerous studies assessing the economic and innovation impact of HEIs, there has been little systematic analysis of differences in the relative contribution of HEIs across regions. This paper provides an exploration of some of these differences in the context of the UK’s regions. Significant differences are found in the wealth generated by universities according to regional location and type of institution. Universities in more competitive regions are generally more productive than those located in less competitive regions. Also, traditional universities are generally more productive than their newer counterparts, with university productivity positively related to knowledge commercialisation capabilities. Weaker regions tend to be more dependent on their universities for income and innovation, but often these universities under-perform in comparison to counterpart institutions in more competitive regions. It is argued that uncompetitive regions lack the additional knowledge infrastructure, besides universities, that are more commonly a feature of more competitive regions

Ocean-scale footprint of a highly mobile fishing fleet: Social-ecological drivers of fleet behaviour and evidence of illegal fishing.

Managing the footprint of highly mobile fishing fleets is increasingly important due to continuing declines in fish populations. However, social-ecological drivers for fisher behaviour remain poorly understood for many fleets globally. Using the Sri Lankan fleet as a case study, we explored the role of social, environmental and policy drivers of effort distribution and illegal fishing. We used semi-structured interviews and participatory mapping with 95 fishers, combined with explanatory modelling (GLM) and multivariate statistics, including principal component analysis (PCA). Our findings highlighted the broad footprint (~3,800,000 km2) of this fleet, with fishing effort expended in high seas (53.9%), domestic (40.9%) and, illegally, in foreign waters (5.2%). Twenty-six per cent of fishers directly admitted to fishing illegally in foreign waters during interviews, whereas 62% of fishers indicated doing so during participatory mapping. GLMs explained underlying decisions of where to fish (36% of the total deviance in effort distribution) as a function of social variables (14%), notably distance from landing sites (13%), and environmental variables (11%), notably sea surface temperature (10%). Multivariate analysis revealed that individual fisher characteristics associated with illegal fishing, such as a level of reliance on sharks, vary across the fleet. The analysis of qualitative data suggested that the influence of interpersonal and community social networks and perceptions of higher catch value, particularly of sharks, may be important. Our approach demonstrated the utility of mixed methods research, including the collection of qualitative data, for creating a detailed understanding of spatial behaviour, including decisions of whether to fish illegally. Results highlighted the importance of adopting a social-ecological lens to investigate drivers for human behaviour and non-compliance with rules. We advocate for a nuanced approach to monitoring and managing of fleets, including investigating localised social drivers for illegal fishing and enhancing regional transparency in fleet monitoring

TiO2 21 nm nanoparticles as a photocatalytic antimicrobial agent against Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A comparison

 Objectives: To determine and compare the antimicrobial activity of 21 nm TiO2 nanoparticles against Escherichia colii, Candida albicans and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).Methods: Titanium dioxide (TiO2) 21 nm anatase nanoparticles (13.9 g/l) were suspended in miliQ (MQ) water, sonicated (35 MHz for 1 hour) and autoclaved. Sterile glass petriplates were treated with TiO2 suspension or sterile MQ(control). Overnight cultures of E.coli MRSA and C. albicans were added to TiO2 coated plates and control plates and kept at room temperature.   Viable counts were obtained by spread plate method at 0 hours and 24 hours; before and after sunlight exposure for 30 minutes.  Colony forming units (CFU) / ml was calculated to determine percentage reduction of CFU in presence of TiO2. Experiments were done in triplicates.Results: TiO2 nanoparticles demonstrated antimicrobial activity against E.coli, MRSA and C. albicans. Estimated percentage CFU reduction in E.coli (13±8.4), MRSA (12±6.6) and C. albicans (36±4.9 ) was observed at 0 hours of contact in the supernatant. The bactericidal effect was enhanced on exposure of the plates to sunlight. Estimated percentage CFU reductions are E. coli (46±7.9), MRSA (99±0.2 ) and C. albicans (99±0.4). The results for 24 hours were (95±1 ), (35±2.1 ) and (83±4 ) reduction for E. coli, MRSA and C. albicans respectively. When the 24 hour plates were exposed to sunlight (99±0.6), (99±0.6) and (99±0.2) reduction was seen for E.coli, MRSA and C. albicans respectively. Conclusion: Anatase 21 nm TiO2 nanoparticles show enhanced antimicrobial activity against the tested microbial strains following photoactivation by sunlight.  Antimicrobial activity against three different types of microbial strains has varying effects

Three year naturalistic outcome study of panic disorder patients treated with paroxetine

BACKGROUND: This naturalistic open label follow-up study had three objectives: 1) To observe the course of illness in Panic Disorder patients receiving long-term versus intermediate-term paroxetine treatment 2) To compare the relapse rates and side-effect profile after long-term paroxetine treatment between patients with Panic Disorder and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. 3) To observe paroxetine's tolerability over a 24 month period. METHODS: 143 patients with panic disorder (PD), with or without agoraphobia, successfully finished a short-term (ie 12 week) trial of paroxetine treatment. All patients then continued to receive paroxetine maintenance therapy for a total of 12 months. At the end of this period, 72 of the patients chose to discontinue paroxetine pharmacotherapy and agreed to be monitored throughout a one year discontinuation follow-up phase. The remaining 71 patients continued on paroxetine for an additional 12 months and then were monitored, as in the first group, for another year while medication-free. The primary limitation of our study is that the subgroups of patients receiving 12 versus 24 months of maintenance paroxetine therapy were selected according to individual patient preference and therefore were not assigned in a randomized manner. RESULTS: Only 21 of 143 patients (14%) relapsed during the one year medication discontinuation follow-up phase. There were no significant differences in relapse rates between the patients who received intermediate-term (up to 12 months) paroxetine and those who chose the long-term course (24 month paroxetine treatment). 43 patients (30.1%) reported sexual dysfunction. The patients exhibited an average weight gain of 5.06 kg. All patients who eventually relapsed demonstrated significantly greater weight increase (7.3 kg) during the treatment phase. CONCLUSIONS: The extension of paroxetine maintenance treatment from 12 to 24 months did not seem to further decrease the risk of relapse after medication discontinuation. Twenty-four month paroxetine treatment is accompanied by sexual side effects and weight gain similar to those observed in twelve month treatment

An Integrated Microfluidic Device for Monitoring Changes in Nitric Oxide Production in Single T-Lymphocyte (Jurkat) Cells

A considerable amount of attention has been focused on the analysis of single cells in an effort to better understand cell heterogeneity in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Although microfluidic devices have several advantages for single cell analysis, few papers have actually demonstrated the ability of these devices to monitor chemical changes in perturbed biological systems. In this paper, a new microfluidic channel manifold is described that integrates cell transport, lysis, injection, electrophoretic separation, and fluorescence detection into a single device, making it possible to analyze individual cells at a rate of 10 cells/min in an automated fashion. The system was employed to measure nitric oxide (NO) production in single T-lymphocytes (Jurkat cells) using a fluorescent marker, 4-amino-5-methylamino-2',7'-difluorofluorescein diacetate (DAF-FM DA). The cells were also labeled with 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate (6-CFDA) as an internal standard. The NO production by control cells was compared to that of cells stimulated using lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is known to cause the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in immune-type cells. Statistical analysis of the resulting electropherograms from a population of cells indicated a twofold increase in NO production in the induced cells. These results compare nicely to a recently published bulk cell analysis of NO

Regional heterogeneity and firms’ innovation: the role of regional factors in industrial R&D in India

This study makes an early attempt to estimate the magnitude and intensity of manufacturing firms’ R&D by Indian states during the period 1991‒2008 and analyses the role of regional factors on firm-level R&D activities. As there is little research on state-wise R&D performance of firms in India, this study serves an important contribution to the academic and policy realm. It has brought out the fact the total manufacturing R&D investment in India is unevenly distributed regionally with a few states accounting for disproportionate share of it. Regional heterogeneity or inter-state disparities in R&D has increased between the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty-first century. In view of this persistent regional heterogeneity in R&D, the study has developed and estimated an empirical model for a sample of 4545 Indian manufacturing firms with R&D facilities located in single state and that explicitly includes regional factors as probable factors affecting R&D. The three-step Censored Quantitle Regression results confirm that regional factors play an important role in shaping the R&D intensity of the sample of firms. This led us to some useful policy suggestions for regional governments to promote local firms’ R&D activities