R&D and Patents: an Attempt of Application of the Griliches's Model in a Transitional Economy

The main aim of this paper is to analyze relations between patent activity and R&D activity in Poland being a transitional economy in Central and Eastern Europe. The macro-perspective will be considered here. The paper begins with data on patents and R&D expenditures in the country in 1990-2010. Then the Griliches's model is presented. The next section is devoted to an empirical verification of this model in Poland. Finally, there will be the main conclusions

Six-minute walk distance after coronary artery bypass grafting compared with medical therapy in ischaemic cardiomyopathy

Background: In patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction, coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) may decrease mortality, but it is not known whether CABG improves functional capacity. Objective: To determine whether CABG compared with medical therapy alone (MED) increases 6 min walk distance in patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction and coronary artery disease amenable to revascularisation. Methods: The Surgical Treatment in Ischemic Heart disease trial randomised 1212 patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction to CABG or MED. A 6 min walk distance test was performed both at baseline and at least one follow-up assessment at 4, 12, 24 and/or 36 months in 409 patients randomised to CABG and 466 to MED. Change in 6 min walk distance between baseline and follow-up were compared by treatment allocation. Results: 6 min walk distance at baseline for CABG was mean 340±117 m and for MED 339±118 m. Change in walk distance from baseline was similar for CABG and MED groups at 4 months (mean +38 vs +28 m), 12 months (+47 vs +36 m), 24 months (+31 vs +34 m) and 36 months (−7 vs +7 m), P>0.10 for all. Change in walk distance between CABG and MED groups over all assessments was also similar after adjusting for covariates and imputation for missing values (+8 m, 95% CI −7 to 23 m, P=0.29). Results were consistent for subgroups defined by angina, New York Heart Association class ≥3, left ventricular ejection fraction, baseline walk distance and geographic region. Conclusion: In patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction CABG compared with MED alone is known to reduce mortality but is unlikely to result in a clinically significant improvement in functional capacity

Comparing Genetic Variation among Latin American Immigrants: Implications for Forensic Casework in the Arizona- and Texas-México Borderlands

The humanitarian crisis on the United States-México border is a long standing and evolving crisis in which nearly 8,000 deaths have been reported in the last two decades. These deaths are largely distributed across the Arizona-México and Texas-México border regions where demographic trends for immigrants attempting to cross into the U.S. have shifted dramatically. The demographic change and volume of immigrants seeking shelter in the U.S. presents new challenges for the forensic practitioners entrusted with the identification of individuals who lose their lives during the final segment of their journey. Within this Border context, the present study investigates how genetic variation inferred from forensically significant microsatellites can provide valuable information on regions of origin for unidentified remains on the group level. To explore how we can mobilize these genetic data to inform identification strategies, we conduct a comparative genetic analysis of identified and unidentified immigrant cases from the Arizona- and Texas-México contexts, as well as 27 other Latin American groups. Allele frequencies were utilized to calculate FST, and relationships were visually depicted in a multidimensional scaling plot. A Spearman correlation coefficient analysis assessed the strength and significance of population relationships and an agglomerative clustering analysis assessed population clusters. Results indicate that Arizona-México immigrants have the strongest relationship (\u3e80%) with groups from El Salvador, Guatemala, México, and an indigenous group from Southern México. Texas-México immigrants have the strongest relationships (\u3e80%) with groups from Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. These findings agree with, and are discussed in comparison to, previously reported demographic trends, population genetics research, and population history analyses. We emphasize the utility and necessity of coupling genetic variation research with a nuanced anthropological perspective for identification processes in the U.S-México border context

Preoperative quantification of aortic valve stenosis: comparison of 64-slice computed tomography with transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography and size of implanted prosthesis

Precise measurements of aortic complex diameters are essential for preoperative examinations of patients with aortic stenosis (AS) scheduled for aortic valve (AV) replacement. We aimed to prospectively compare the accuracy of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) measurements of the AV complex and to analyze the role of the multi-modality aortic annulus diameter (AAd) assessment in the selection of the optimal prosthesis to be implanted in patients surgically treated for degenerative AS. 20 patients (F/M: 3/17; age: 69 ± 6.5 years) with severe degenerative AS were enrolled into the study. TTE, TEE and MSCT including AV calcium score (AVCS) assessment were performed in all patients. The values of AAd obtained in the long AV complex axis (TTE, TEE, MSCT) and in multiplanar perpendicular imaging (MSCT) were compared to the size of implanted prosthesis. The mean AAd was 24 ± 3.6 mm using TTE, 26 ± 4.2 mm using TEE, and 26.9 ± 3.2 in MSCT (P = 0.04 vs. TTE). The mean diameter of the left ventricle out-flow tract in TTE (19.9 ± 2.7 mm) and TEE (19.5 ± 2.7 mm) were smaller than in MSCT (24.9 ± 3.3 mm, P < 0.001 for both). The mean size of implanted prosthesis (22.2 ± 2.3 mm) was significantly smaller than the mean AAd measured by TTE (P = 0.0039), TEE (P = 0.0004), and MSCT (P < 0.0001). The implanted prosthesis size correlated significantly to the AAd: r = 0.603, P = 0.005 for TTE, r = 0.592, P = 0.006 for TEE, and r = 0.791, P < 0.001 for MSCT. Obesity and extensive valve calcification (AV calcium score ≥ 3177Ag.U.) were identified as potent factors that caused a deterioration of both TTE and MSCT performance. The accuracy of AAd measurements in TEE was only limited by AV calcification. In multivariate regression analysis the mean value of the minimum and maximum AAd obtained in MSCT-multiplanar perpendicular imaging was an independent factor (r = 0.802, P < 0.0001) predicting the size of implanted prosthesis. In patients with AS echocardiography remains the main diagnostics tool in clinical practice. MSCT as a 3-dimentional modality allows for accurate measurement of entire AV complex and facilitates optimal matching of prosthesis size

Collins and Sivers asymmetries in muonproduction of pions and kaons off transversely polarised protons

Measurements of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries for charged pions and charged and neutral kaons produced in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of high energy muons off transversely polarised protons are presented. The results were obtained using all the available COMPASS proton data, which were taken in the years 2007 and 2010. The Collins asymmetries exhibit in the valence region a non-zero signal for pions and there are hints of non-zero signal also for kaons. The Sivers asymmetries are found to be positive for positive pions and kaons and compatible with zero otherwise. © 2015

Does Innovation Performance Depend on Economic Growth?: The Case of a Country in Transition

This paper is an attempt to analyze a possible influence of economic growth on innovation performance. Econometric model based on principal component analysis is the research tool. Poland, as a country in transition, is here a case-study. The analysis has confirmed an interesting pattern: in 1989-2007, corporate innovation performance was changing, in principle, in the same direction as macro-economic changes but with a one-to-two-year delay. This is some proof that the innovation activity followed the cyclical development of the national economy. Innovation performance was demand-driven, i.e., pulled by demand resulting from the economy's recovery and high economic growth. So, technological innovation appeared to be highly sensitive to the general economic situation in Poland as a transitional economy. Economic growth seems to be a kind of tag-boat pulling innovation activities in the business sector.<br>Este artículo intenta analizar una posible influencia del crecimiento económico en el desempeño de la innovación. La herramienta de investigación empleada es el modelo econométrico basado en un componente principal de análisis. El estudio de caso es Polonia, una economía en transición. El análisis ha confirmado un patrón interesante: durante el periodo 1989-2007, el desempeño de la innovación cambió, en principio, en la misma dirección que los cambios macroeconómicos pero con un retraso de uno a dos años. Esto muestra de algún modo que la actividad innovadora correspondió al desarrollo cíclico de la economía nacional. El desempeño innovador se orientó por la demanda, es decir, una demanda impulsada por la recuperación económica y el alto crecimiento económico. Por lo tanto, la innovación tecnológica parece ser muy sensible a la situación económica en general de Polonia, como economía en transición. El crecimiento económico parece ser una especie de motor que impulsa las actividades innovadoras del sector de negocios