Exploring geometric morphology in shape memory textiles: design of dynamic light filters

Thermo-responsive Shape Memory Alloys are able to adopt a temporary configuration and return to their programmed shape when heated to a determined activation temperature. The possibility to integrate them in textile substrates creates potential to develop smart textiles whose shape change explores functional and expressive purposes. The aim of this research is to develop shape memory woven textiles in which dynamic behavior achieves predefined geometric shapes. The requirement of geometric morphology was addressed through origami techniques. Combining foldability properties with shape change, it is possible to design textile structures with a variable number of layers. Difference in light transmittance is analyzed according to layer variation. Experiments conducted explore methodological processes aimed at future developments in dynamic light filters research. The results highlight a process to design textiles with predefined geometric morphologies that can be activated electrically, and delineate a further study in order to improve the shape memory textile behavior.This work was supported by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors – COMPETE and National Funds through FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology (project SFRH/ BD/87196/2012) and FCT and FEDER-COMPETE (project PEst-C/CTM/UI0264/2011)

Finding Cures for Tropical Diseases: Is Open Source an Answer?

The Tropical Disease Initiative will be a Web-based, community- wide effort where scientists from the public and private sectors join together to discover new treatment

Compulsory licensing and access to drugs

Compulsory licensing allows the use of a patented invention without the owner's consent, with the aim of improving access to essential drugs. The pharmaceutical sector argues that, if broadly used, it can be detrimental to innovation. We model the interaction between a company in the North that holds the patent for a certain drug and a government in the South that needs to purchase it. We show that both access to drugs and pharmaceutical innovation depend largely on the Southern country's ability to manufacture a generic version. If the manufacturing cost is too high, compulsory licensing is not exercised. As the cost decreases, it becomes a credible threat forcing prices down, but reducing both access and innovation. When the cost is low enough, the South produces its own generic version and access reaches its highest value, despite a reduction in innovation. The global welfare analysis shows that the overall impact of compulsory licensing can be positive, even when accounting for its impact on innovation. We also consider the interaction between compulsory licensing and the strength of intellectual property rights, which can have global repercussions in other markets beyond the South

Non-tariff and overall protection: evidence across countries and over time

This paper analyzes the evolution of the incidence and intensity of non-tariff measures (NTMs). It extends earlier work by measuring protection from NTMs over time from a newly available database and provides evidence on the evolution of NTMs. In particular, building on Kee, Nicita and Olarreaga (2009), this paper estimates the ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) of NTMs for 97 countries at the product level over the period 1997 to 2015. We show that the incidence and the intensity of NTMs were both increasing over this period, with NTMs becoming an even more dominant source of trade protection. We are also able to investigate the evolution of overall protection derived jointly fromtariffs and NTMs. The results show that the overall protection level, for most countries and products, has not decreased despite the fall in tariffs associated with multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements in recent decades. We also document an increase in overall trade protection during the recent 2008 financial crisis. Overall, this study sheds light on an under-researched aspect of trade liberalization: the proliferation and increase of NTMs

A generative approach for image-based modeling of tumor growth

22nd International Conference, IPMI 2011, Kloster Irsee, Germany, July 3-8, 2011. ProceedingsExtensive imaging is routinely used in brain tumor patients to monitor the state of the disease and to evaluate therapeutic options. A large number of multi-modal and multi-temporal image volumes is acquired in standard clinical cases, requiring new approaches for comprehensive integration of information from different image sources and different time points. In this work we propose a joint generative model of tumor growth and of image observation that naturally handles multi-modal and longitudinal data. We use the model for analyzing imaging data in patients with glioma. The tumor growth model is based on a reaction-diffusion framework. Model personalization relies only on a forward model for the growth process and on image likelihood. We take advantage of an adaptive sparse grid approximation for efficient inference via Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling. The approach can be used for integrating information from different multi-modal imaging protocols and can easily be adapted to other tumor growth models.German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (Fellowship Programme LPDS 2009-10)Academy of Finland (133611)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIBIB NAMIC U54-EB005149)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NCRR NAC P41- RR13218)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NINDS R01-NS051826)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH R01-NS052585)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH R01-EB006758)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH R01-EB009051)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH P41-RR014075)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER Award 0642971