How innovation intermediaries are shaping the technology market? An analysis of their business model

In an era with abundant and widely distributed knowledge across the globe, technology markets became prominent. As technology transactions suffer from several market imperfections, a rapidly increasing number of various innovation intermediaries are facilitating these transactions. We analyse how a subset of these intermediaries create value in a two-sided market and how they can capture part of the value. A detailed analysis of the business model of 12 innovation intermediaries clarifies how these organizations improve the effectiveness of technology markets providing benefits for both sides of the market. We also look at managerial trade-offs between the use of intermediaries’ services and in-house innovation platforms.innovation intermediaries; open innovation; business model; two-sided markets

Expanded Right to Voluntary Dismissal Upheld

In the noted case, the Florida Supreme Court held that the right to take a voluntary dismissal is absolute and can be had even after the judge has granted defendant\u27s motion for a directed verdict. The author, after reviewing the history and case law on voluntary dismissals, concludes that although the decision was a correct one in light of the Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420 (a)(1), the purpose of the rule would be better served if it were revised so as to put greater limitations on the availability of a voluntary dismissal by a plaintiff

Expanded Right to Voluntary Dismissal Upheld

In the noted case, the Florida Supreme Court held that the right to take a voluntary dismissal is absolute and can be had even after the judge has granted defendant\u27s motion for a directed verdict. The author, after reviewing the history and case law on voluntary dismissals, concludes that although the decision was a correct one in light of the Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420 (a)(1), the purpose of the rule would be better served if it were revised so as to put greater limitations on the availability of a voluntary dismissal by a plaintiff

O&M Models for Ocean Energy Converters: Calibrating through Real Sea Data

Of the cost centres that combine to result in Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE), O&M costs play a significant part. Several developers have calculated component costs, demonstrating how they can become commercially competitive with other forms of renewable energy. However, there are uncertainties relating to the O&M figures that can only be reduced through lessons learned at sea. This work presents an O&M model calibrated with data from real sea experience of a wave energy device deployed at the Biscay Marine energy Platform (BiMEP): the OPERA O&M Model. Two additional case studies, utilising two other O&M calculation methodologies, are presented for comparison with the OPERA O&M Model. The second case study assumes the inexistence of an O&M model, utilising a Simplified Approach. The third case study applies DTOcean’s (a design tool for ocean energy arrays) O&M module. The results illustrate the potential advantages of utilising real sea data for the calibration and development of an O&M model. The Simplified Approach was observed to overestimate LCOE when compared to the OPERA O&M Model. This work also shows that O&M models can be used for the definition of optimal maintenance plans to assist with OPEX reduction.The authors are grateful to the European commission for funding the OPERA and EnFAIT projects as part of the Horizon 2020 framework. The authors also thankful to Oceantec-Idom for providing feedback to OPERA model’s inputs. A special thanks to Shona Pennock and Donald Noble for their diligent proofreading of this paper

Modeling Sustainability of Mass Tourism in Lisbon

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world, growing approximately 7% annually (WTO, 2010). It represents an important income source for developing countries, and developed countries confronting recession commonly exploit it. In Lisbon, tourism is one of the main economic activities and job creation foundations. However, it is also a potential source of cultural and environmental degradation if not managed properly. Our research focuses on the impact of mass tourism on the cultural identity of Lisbon region. System Dynamics is used for policy analysis, intending to raise awareness of local authorities and industry about the consequences that mass tourism might have on the cultural identity of the region, as well as on the destination attractiveness. The quantified model portrays the interplay of environmental, social, economic and cultural sectors. Our research is focused on the cultural identity of the destination, which has been abstracted from three different sectors real estate, tourists’ arrival and attractiveness. Research supports the use of System Dynamics as a suitable methodology to explain the boom and bust in the tourism sector, as well as for sustainable tourism policy analysis. Results suggest feasibility, but not assured eventuality, and aims to raise awareness of negative impacts of mass tourism

Activation of G proteins by GIV-GEF is a pivot point for insulin resistance and sensitivity.

Insulin resistance (IR) is a metabolic disorder characterized by impaired insulin signaling and cellular glucose uptake. The current paradigm for insulin signaling centers upon the insulin receptor (InsR) and its substrate IRS1; the latter is believed to be the sole conduit for postreceptor signaling. Here we challenge that paradigm and show that GIV/Girdin, a guanidine exchange factor (GEF) for the trimeric G protein Gαi, is another major hierarchical conduit for the metabolic insulin response. By virtue of its ability to directly bind InsR, IRS1, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase, GIV serves as a key hub in the immediate postreceptor level, which coordinately enhances the metabolic insulin response and glucose uptake in myotubes via its GEF function. Site-directed mutagenesis or phosphoinhibition of GIV-GEF by the fatty acid/protein kinase C-theta pathway triggers IR. Insulin sensitizers reverse phosphoinhibition of GIV and reinstate insulin sensitivity. We also provide evidence for such reversible regulation of GIV-GEF in skeletal muscles from patients with IR. Thus GIV is an essential upstream component that couples InsR to G-protein signaling to enhance the metabolic insulin response, and impairment of such coupling triggers IR. We also provide evidence that GIV-GEF serves as therapeutic target for exogenous manipulation of physiological insulin response and reversal of IR in skeletal muscles

Enhanced processing of 1-km spatial resolution fAPAR time series for sugarcane yield forecasting and monitoring

A processing of remotely-sensed Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR) time series at 1-km spatial resolution is established to estimate sugarcane yield over the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It includes selecting adequate time series according to the signal spatial purity, using thermal time instead of calendar time and smoothing temporally the irregularly sampled observations. A systematic construction of various metrics and their capacity to predict yield is explored to identify the best performance, and see how timely the yield forecast can be made. The resulting dataset not only reveals a strong spatio-temporal structure, but is also capable of detecting both absolute changes in biomass accumulation and changes in its inter-annual variability. Sugarcane yield can thus be estimated with a RMSE of 1.5 t/ha (or 2%) without taking into account the strong linear trend in yield increase witnessed in the past decade. Including the trend reduces the error to 0.6 t/ha, correctly predicting whether the yield in a given year is above or below the trend in 90% of cases. The methodological framework presented here could be applied beyond the specific case of sugarcane in São Paulo, namely to other crops in other agro-ecological landscapes, to enhance current systems for monitoring agriculture or forecasting yield using remote sensing.JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Comparing gradient boosting machine and Bayesian threshold BLUP for genome-based prediction of categorical traits in wheat breeding

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Riesgos ergonómicos y trastornos músculo esqueléticos en enfermeras(os) que laboran en el Centro de Salud Santa Adriana, Juliaca 2021

El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la relación entre los riesgos ergonómicos y trastornos músculos esqueléticos en Enfermeras(os) que laboran en el Centro de Salud Santa Adriana Juliaca 2021, se realizó un estudio de enfoque cuantitativo, de tipo correlación y con un diseño no experimental de corte transversal. La población y muestra fueron 32 enfermeras del centro de salud Santa Adriana, la técnica del estudio para la variable independiente fue la observación directa (EL MÉTODO REBA), sin embargo para la variable dependiente se usó la encuesta (EL CUESTIONARIO NÓRDICO MUSCULOESQUELÉTICO). Los resultados muestran que, el 47% de las enfermeras tienen un nivel muy alto de riesgo ergonómico, el 34% tiene un nivel alto de riesgo y el 19% tiene un nivel medio de riesgo según el método Reba aplicado a la población de estudio. El 100% de la población estudiada tienen problemas musculo esqueléticos, y estos problemas se encuentran con mayor frecuencia en la zona dorsal/lumbar 91%, seguido de muñeca/mano 84%, cuello 78%, Hombro 59%, rodilla 50%, tobillo/pie 34%, cadera/pierna 25% y finalmente tenemos molestias en codo/antebrazo con 19%. Finalmente se observa que existe una relación estadísticamente significativa por lo tanto se rechaza la hipótesis nula; se acepta que existe relación entre los riesgos ergonómicos y trastornos músculos esqueléticos, (Chi2 = 7.91, p=0,02<0,05)