7,185 research outputs found
Foreign Direct Investments in Business Services: Transforming the Visegrád Four Region into a Knowledge-based Economy?
Foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the service sector are widely attributed an important role in bringing more skill-intensive activities into the Visegrad Four (V4). This region—comprising Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia—relied heavily on FDIs in manufacturing, which was often found to generate activities with limited skill content. This contribution deconstructs the chaotic concept of “business services” by analysing the actual nature of service sector activities outsourced and offshored to the V4. Using the knowledge-based economy (KBE) as a benchmark, the paper assesses the potential of service sector outsourcing in contributing to regional competitiveness by increasing the innovative capacity. It also discusses the role of state policies towards service sector FDI (SFDI). The analysis combines data obtained from case studies undertaken in service sector outsourcing projects in V4 countries. Moreover, it draws on interviews with senior employees of investment promotion agencies and publicly available data and statistics on activities within the service sector in the region. It argues that the recent inward investments in business services in the V4 mainly utilize existing local human capital resources, and their contribution to the development of the KBE is limited to employment creation and demand for skilled labour
Serendipitous XMM-Newton discovery of a cluster of galaxies at z=0.28
We report the discovery of a galaxy cluster serendipitously detected as an
extended X-ray source in an offset observation of the group NGC 5044. The
cluster redshift, z=0.281, determined from the optical spectrum of the
brightest cluster galaxy, agrees with that inferred from the X-ray spectrum
using the Fe K alpha complex of the hot ICM (z=0.27 +/- 0.01). Based on the 50
ks XMM observation, we find that within a radius of 383 kpc the cluster has an
unabsorbed X-ray flux, f_X (0.5-2 keV) = 3.34 (+0.08, -0.13) x 10^{-13}
erg/cm^2/s, a bolometric X-ray luminosity, L_X = 2.21 (+0.34, -0.19) x 10^{44}
erg/s, kT = 3.57 +/- 0.12 keV, and metallicity, 0.60 +/- 0.09 solar. The
cluster obeys the scaling relations for L_X and T observed at intermediate
redshift. The mass derived from an isothermal NFW model fit is, M_vir = 3.89
+/- 0.35 x 10^{14} solar masses, with a concentration parameter, c = 6.7 +/-
0.4, consistent with the range of values expected in the concordance
cosmological model for relaxed clusters. The optical properties suggest this
could be a ``fossil cluster''.Comment: 5 pages, 4 colour figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Structural motifs of biomolecules
Biomolecular structures are assemblies of emergent anisotropic building
modules such as uniaxial helices or biaxial strands. We provide an approach to
understanding a marginally compact phase of matter that is occupied by proteins
and DNA. This phase, which is in some respects analogous to the liquid crystal
phase for chain molecules, stabilizes a range of shapes that can be obtained by
sequence-independent interactions occurring intra- and intermolecularly between
polymeric molecules. We present a singularityfree self-interaction for a tube
in the continuum limit and show that this results in the tube being positioned
in the marginally compact phase. Our work provides a unified framework for
understanding the building blocks of biomolecules.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure
Analytical and numerical analyses of the micromechanics of soft fibrous connective tissues
State of the art research and treatment of biological tissues require
accurate and efficient methods for describing their mechanical properties.
Indeed, micromechanics motivated approaches provide a systematic method for
elevating relevant data from the microscopic level to the macroscopic one. In
this work the mechanical responses of hyperelastic tissues with one and two
families of collagen fibers are analyzed by application of a new variational
estimate accounting for their histology and the behaviors of their
constituents. The resulting, close form expressions, are used to determine the
overall response of the wall of a healthy human coronary artery. To demonstrate
the accuracy of the proposed method these predictions are compared with
corresponding 3-D finite element simulations of a periodic unit cell of the
tissue with two families of fibers. Throughout, the analytical predictions for
the highly nonlinear and anisotropic tissue are in agreement with the numerical
simulations
Albumin-based hydrogels for regenerative engineering and cell transplantation.
Albumin, the most abundant plasma protein in mammals, is a versatile and easily obtainable biomaterial. It is pH and temperature responsive, dissolvable in high concentrations and gels readily in defined conditions. This versatility, together with its inexpensiveness and biocompatibility, makes albumin an attractive biomaterial for biomedical research and therapeutics. So far, clinical research in albumin has centered mainly on its use as a carrier molecule or nanoparticle to improve drug pharmacokinetics and delivery to target sites. In contrast, research in albumin-based hydrogels is less established albeit growing in interest over recent years. In this minireview, we report current literature and critically discuss the synthesis, mechanical properties, biological effects and uses, biodegradability and cost of albumin hydrogels as a xeno-free, customizable, and transplantable construct for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.EPSRC
Isaac Newton Trust
Rosetrees Trus
Vibrational energy relaxation in proteins
An overview of theories related to vibrational energy relaxation (VER) in
proteins is presented. VER of a selected mode in cytochrome c is studied using
two theoretical approaches. One is the equilibrium simulation approach with
quantum correction factors, and the other is the reduced model approach which
describes the protein as an ensemble of normal modes interacting through
nonlinear coupling elements. Both methods result in estimates of the VER time
(sub ps) for a CD stretching mode in the protein at room temperature. The
theoretical predictions are in accord with the experimental data of Romesberg's
group. A perspective on future directions for the detailed study of time scales
and mechanisms for VER in proteins is presented.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PNA
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