ICT spillovers, absorptive capacity and productivity performance

We analyse the impact of ICT spillovers on productivity in the uptake of the new technology using company data for the U.S. We account for inter- and intra-industry spillovers and assess the role played by firm’s absorptive capacity. Our results show that intra-industry ICT spillovers have a contemporaneous negative effect that turns positive 5 years after the initial investment. By contrast, inter-industry spillovers are important both in the short and in the long run. In the short run, companies’ innovative effort is complementary to ICT spillovers, but such complementarity disappears with the more pervasive adoption and diffusion of the technology

Literature review of lead-lithium thermophysical properties

Abstract In recent years, the scientific community of nuclear fusion raised the issue of thermophysical properties of lead lithium alloys. These alloys are foreseen to be used in several Breeding Blanket concepts in an almost eutectic composition, but only few data on the properties are available in literature and large differences on the same property exist between different authors. Moreover, apparently each organization used different available properties correlations, making practically pointless every comparison of results with the other organizations involved in the design of Breeding Blankets. The aim of this paper is to identify the properties to be used in the design of the Breeding Blankets, performing a literature review of the available data and suggesting a correlation for each of the main properties. These correlations were chosen based on the accurateness of the paper and on the similarities between different authors, where it was possible (e.g., density). The table with the correlations should represent a starting point for a discussion to reach a general consensus on the property database, which should be mandatory in order to allow a comparison of the results from different organizations. Very likely new experiments will be necessary to definitely measure at least the properties with the biggest scattering of the data (e.g., specific heat), encouraging a consensus and reducing the errors in the design activities

We see ICT spillovers everywhere but in the econometric evidence: a reassessment

Using company-level data for the US we study the productivity effects of knowledge spillovers, induced by the diffusion of ICT in the markets where companies operate. We adopt multiple spillover proxies and account for firms' absorptive capacity and lagged effects. Our results show that intra-industry ICT spillovers have a contemporaneous negative effect while the impact of inter-industry spillovers is positive. The overall productivity effect of ICT is negative, except for those companies with a strong absorptive capacity. However, after a 5-year lag the overall spillover effect turns positive while the role of absorptive capacity diminishes as a consequence of decreasing learning costs and more accessible technology

Numerical solution of the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation with variable coefficients by the radial integration boundary integral and integro-differential equation methods

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis.This paper presents new formulations of the boundary–domain integral equation (BDIE) and the boundary–domain integro-differential equation (BDIDE) methods for the numerical solution of the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation with variable coefficients. When the material parameters are variable (with constant or variable wave number), a parametrix is adopted to reduce the Helmholtz equation to a BDIE or BDIDE. However, when material parameters are constant (with variable wave number), the standard fundamental solution for the Laplace equation is used in the formulation. The radial integration method is then employed to convert the domain integrals arising in both BDIE and BDIDE methods into equivalent boundary integrals. The resulting formulations lead to pure boundary integral and integro-differential equations with no domain integrals. Numerical examples are presented for several simple problems, for which exact solutions are available, to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methods

Numerical solution of the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation with variable coefficients by the radial integration boundary integral and integro-differential equation methods

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2012 Taylor & Francis.This paper presents new formulations of the boundary–domain integral equation (BDIE) and the boundary–domain integro-differential equation (BDIDE) methods for the numerical solution of the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation with variable coefficients. When the material parameters are variable (with constant or variable wave number), a parametrix is adopted to reduce the Helmholtz equation to a BDIE or BDIDE. However, when material parameters are constant (with variable wave number), the standard fundamental solution for the Laplace equation is used in the formulation. The radial integration method is then employed to convert the domain integrals arising in both BDIE and BDIDE methods into equivalent boundary integrals. The resulting formulations lead to pure boundary integral and integro-differential equations with no domain integrals. Numerical examples are presented for several simple problems, for which exact solutions are available, to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed methods

SERPINB3 delays glomerulonephritis and attenuates the lupus-like disease in lupus murine models by inducing a more tolerogenic immune phenotype

Objective: To explore the effects of SERPINB3 administration in murine lupus models with a focus on lupus-like nephritis. Methods: 40 NZB/W F1 mice were subdivided into 4 groups and intraperitoneally injected with recombinant SERPINB3 (7.5 \u3bcg/0.1 mL or 15 \u3bcg/0.1 mL) or PBS (0.1 mL) before (group 1 and 2) or after (group 3 and 4) the development of proteinuria ( 65100 mg/dl). Two additional mice groups were provided by including 20 MRL/lpr mice which were prophylactically injected with SERPINB3 (10 mice, group 5) or PBS (10 mice, group 6). Time of occurrence and levels of anti-dsDNA and anti-C1q antibodies, proteinuria and serum creatinine, overall- and proteinuria-free survival were assessed in mice followed up to natural death. Histological analysis was performed in kidneys of both lupus models. The Th17:Treg cell ratio was assessed by flow-cytometry in splenocytes of treated and untreated MRL/lpr mice. Statistical analysis was performed using non parametric tests and Kaplan-Meier curves, when indicated. Results: Autoantibody levels and proteinuria were significantly decreased and time of occurrence significantly delayed in SERPINB3-treated mice vs. controls. In agreement with these findings, proteinuria-free and overall survival were significantly improved in SERPINB3-treated groups vs. controls. Histological analysis demonstrated a lower prevalence of severe tubular lesions in kidneys of group 5 vs. group 6. SERPINB3-treated mice showed an overall trend toward a reduced prevalence of severe lesions in both strains. Th17:Treg ratio was significantly decreased in splenocytes of MRL/lpr mice treated with SERPINB3, compared to untreated control mice. Conclusions: SERPINB3 significantly improves disease course and delays the onset of severe glomerulonephritis in lupus-prone mice, possibly inducing a more tolerogenic immune phenotype

Mechanistic aspects of thioflavin-T self-aggregation and DNA binding: evidence for dimer attack on DNA grooves

Thioflavin-T (TFT) is a fluorescent marker widely employed in biomedical research but the mechanism of its binding to polynucleotides has been poorly understood. This paper presents a study of the mechanisms of TFT self-aggregation and binding to DNA. Relaxation kinetics of TFT solutions show that the cyanine undergoes dimerization followed by dimer isomerisation. The interaction of TFT with DNA has been investigated using static methods, such as spectrophotometric and spectrofluorometric titrations under different conditions (salt content, temperature), fluorescence quenching, viscometric experiments and the T-jump relaxation method. The combined use of these techniques enabled us to show that the TFT monomer undergoes intercalation between the DNA base pairs and external binding according to a branched mechanism. Moreover, it has also been observed that, under dye excess conditions, the TFT dimer binds to the DNA grooves. The molecular structures of intercalated TFT and the groove-bound TFT dimer are obtained by performing QM/MM MD simulations

Degaussing and Decay Reduction in the Short Superconducting Dipole Models for the LHC

The time decay of field harmonics during current plateaus is a known drawback of superconducting accelerator magnets. The present understanding of this phenomenon refers to a combination of flux creep and of the interaction between the redistribution of currents in Rutherford cables and the filament magnetization. Current cycles of decreasing amplitude, called here degaussing, were found to reduce significantly the decay observed in accelerator magnets. This paper reports on the measured reduction of decay obtained in short dipole models for the LHC and on one experiment with a single LHC strand