Evaluating the Impact of Technology Development Funds in Emerging Economies: Evidence from Latin-America

Evaluations of government Technology Development Funds (TDFs) in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Panama are surveyed. All the evaluations were done at the recipient (firm) level using data from innovation surveys, industrial surveys, and administrative records of the granting units, together with quasi-experimental econometric techniques to minimize the effects of any selection bias. TDF effectiveness is found to depend on the financing mechanism used, on the presence of non-financial constraints, on firm-university interaction, and on the characteristics of the target beneficiaries. Four levels of potential impact were considered: R&D input additionality, behavioural additionality, increases in innovative output, and improvements in performance. The evidence suggests that TDF do not crowd out private investment and that they positively affect R&D intensity. In addition, participation in TDF induces a more proactive attitude of beneficiary firms towards innovation activities. However, the analysis does not find much statistically significant impact on patents or new product sales and the evidence on firm performance is mixed, with positive results in terms of firm growth, but little corresponding positive impact on measures of firm productivity, possibly because the horizon over which the evaluation was conducted was too short.Innovation and R&D, Policy Evaluation

SME Policy and Firms’ Productivity in Latin America

Very little is known about the effectiveness of SME policies, and a careful look at the structure, mechanisms and incentives provided by these policies suggest caution in their implementation and, most importantly, the need to carefully and closely monitor their results. This paper relies on the microeconometric analysis of a homogeneous dataset of sixteen Latin American and Caribbean countries to analyze the magnitude and determinants of the productivity gap between large and SME firms and to simulate of the impact on productivity of various policy scenarios.SMEs, SME policy, productivity, Latin America

Bridging the Gap between Technology Usage in the Construction Industry and in the Classroom

As construction begins to advance more and more every day, technology is one of the most volatile aspects due to its ever changing nature. Technology, and all the software’s that encompass it, is the future of this industry and if we want to keep improving and growing as an industry we need to better align our future new hires with the most prevalent technology and that starts in the classroom. Specifically, the Construction Management Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, one of the most advanced in Nation, still struggles to align with the expectations and reality of the CM industry. The software’s that are being utilized everyday need to better align with what new hires are expected to know. The main idea is to analyze the most prevalent software’s and technologies in the construction industry and bridge the gap between what is taught inside the classroom and what is used every day at the jobsite

Studio di un algoritmo lineare di ricostruzione analogica della posizione per il rivelatore a pixel di ATLAS

A detailed study of spatial resolution of Atlas pixel sensors prototypes was performed. Charge interpolation was used and allowed for a significant improvement with respect to digital resolution. A simplified algorithm for charge interpolation was developed. Its application to both unirradiated and irradiated sensors is presented and discussed

Approximation algorithms for maximum cut with limited unbalance

AbstractWe consider the problem of partitioning the vertices of a weighted graph into two sets of sizes that differ at most by a given threshold B, so as to maximize the weight of the crossing edges. For B equal to 0 this problem is known as Max Bisection, whereas for B equal to the number n of nodes it is the maximum cut problem. We present polynomial time randomized approximation algorithms with non trivial performance guarantees for its solution. The approximation results are obtained by extending the methodology used by Y. Ye for Max Bisection and by combining this technique with another one that uses the algorithm of Goemans and Williamson for the maximum cut problem. When B is equal to zero the approximation ratio achieved coincides with the one obtained by Y. Ye; otherwise it is always above this value and tends to the value obtained by Goemans and Williamson as B approaches the number n of nodes

Optimizing glycemic control: clinical utility of exenatide prolonged release injection

Giuseppe Derosa, Pamela MaffioliDepartment of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pavia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S Matteo, Pavia, ItalyAbstract: Despite the large variety of antidiabetic drugs currently available, reaching an adequate glycemic control is still difficult. Recently, a new exenatide long acting release (LAR) formulation, which can be administered once a week, has been released. We conducted a review analyzing the clinical utility of this new formulation and its place in antidiabetic therapy, and included the most important studies about exenatide LAR in the latest 10 years. A systematic search strategy was developed to identify randomized controlled trials in both MEDLINE and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials. The terms "exenatide," "exenatide long active release," "GLP-1 agonists," "incretins," and "glycemic control" were incorporated into an electronic search strategy that included the Dickersin filter for randomized controlled trials. We concluded that exenatide LAR can be a valid option for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus because it showed to be effective in reducing HbA1c, and because of its pleiotropic effects, such as the reduction of blood pressure, the improvement of the patient's lipid profile, and the positive effects on body weight and β-cell function. Moreover, exenatide LAR has demonstrated a favorable cost/effectiveness ratio, and its once weekly administration may help to increase patient compliance.Keywords: β-cell, body weight, exenatide long acting release, glycemic contro

Optimizing glycemic control: clinical utility of exenatide prolonged release injection

Giuseppe Derosa, Pamela MaffioliDepartment of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pavia, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico S Matteo, Pavia, ItalyAbstract: Despite the large variety of antidiabetic drugs currently available, reaching an adequate glycemic control is still difficult. Recently, a new exenatide long acting release (LAR) formulation, which can be administered once a week, has been released. We conducted a review analyzing the clinical utility of this new formulation and its place in antidiabetic therapy, and included the most important studies about exenatide LAR in the latest 10 years. A systematic search strategy was developed to identify randomized controlled trials in both MEDLINE and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials. The terms “exenatide,” “exenatide long active release,” “GLP-1 agonists,” “incretins,” and “glycemic control” were incorporated into an electronic search strategy that included the Dickersin filter for randomized controlled trials. We concluded that exenatide LAR can be a valid option for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus because it showed to be effective in reducing HbA1c, and because of its pleiotropic effects, such as the reduction of blood pressure, the improvement of the patient's lipid profile, and the positive effects on body weight and β-cell function. Moreover, exenatide LAR has demonstrated a favorable cost/effectiveness ratio, and its once weekly administration may help to increase patient compliance.Keywords: β-cell, body weight, exenatide long acting release, glycemic contro

Patient considerations and clinical utility of a fixed dose combination of saxagliptin/metformin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Giuseppe Derosa, Pamela MaffioliDepartment of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Pavia, Pavia, ItalyIntroduction: Targeting glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels below 7.0% is considered a primary goal of diabetes care, given its importance in obtaining a sustained reduction in microvascular, and possibly macrovascular complications.Aim: The aim of this review was to evaluate the clinical utility of a fixed dose combination of saxagliptin/metformin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.Evidence review: The combination of saxagliptin/metformin was well tolerated and produced sustained glycemic control for up to 76 weeks, with greater improvements in glycemic parameters compared with either drug alone. The saxagliptin/metformin combination also proved its non-inferiority compared with either sulfonylurea/metformin or sitagliptin/metformin combinations.Place in therapy: Clinical practice recommends lifestyle interventions together with starting metformin at the time that the type 2 diabetes mellitus is diagnosed. Once metformin fails to maintain glycemic control, the addition of DPP-4 inhibitors should be the logical choice because of their effects on HbA1c compared to the addition of a sulfonylurea or glitazone, and because of their positive effects on beta cell function and their neutral effects on body weight. Furthermore, DPP-4 inhibitors prevent the risk of hypoglycemia posed by sulfonylureas.Keywords: DPP-4 inhibitors, saxagliptin, glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, HOMA inde

A characterization of the base-matroids of a graphic matroid

Let $M = (E, \mathcal{F})$ be a matroid on a set $E$ and $B$ one of its bases. A closed set $\theta \subseteq E$ is saturated with respect to $B$ when $|\theta \cap B | \leq r(\theta)$, where $r(\theta)$ is the rank of $\theta$. The collection of subsets $I$ of $E$ such that $| I \cap \theta| \leq r(\theta)$ for every closed saturated set $\theta$ turns out to be the family of independent sets of a new matroid on $E$, called base-matroid and denoted by $M_B$. In this paper we prove that a graphic matroid $M$, isomorphic to a cycle matroid $M(G)$, is isomorphic to $M_B$, for every base $B$ of $M$, if and only if $M$ is direct sum of uniform graphic matroids or, in equivalent way, if and only if $G$ is disjoint union of cacti. Moreover we characterize simple binary matroids $M$ isomorphic to $M_B$, with respect to an assigned base $B$