CREATIVE POTENTIAL OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT - A COMPOSITE INDEX OF POTENTIAL SIENTIFIC CREATIVITY

Both Lisbon Council in March 2000 and the one in Barcelona in 2002 represent major turning points in science and research activities at European level. At that time there was a formal recognition that science, technology and innovation, coupled with a quality education is the key to development and long-term competitiveness of European space. Moreover, the decade 2000-2010 was declared as a dedicated to the investment in these sectors, and 2009 was named Year of Creativity and Innovation at European level. In a study in the EU States and candidate countries, whose results were published in 2010, it was noted however that, despite the special attention given lately to these issues, index fund allocations for research and development budgets national level of 2007 is 0.67% on average in the EU (27 countries), compared with Japan (0.68%), South Korea (0.80%) and especially the United States (1.03 %). The purpose of this paper is to identify those factors that influence a nation\'s potential of scientific creativity and to find a way to compare different countries in terms of such potential. If until now many attempts were made to create an index of national or regional creativity, our goal is to narrow the field of creativity to scientific research and to compare the performance / potential of Romania compared to other European Union countries. Among the basic elements which have a direct impact on the potential for innovative scientific development, one can identify investment, human resources and current performance. Based on the above factors, a composite index of scientific creativity potential was developed, which takes into account the three main elements described above: human capital (human resources in science and technology and researchers), financial capital (investment in research and development) and scientific performance (Hirsch Index). Data for the first two were extracted from the Eurostat database for comparisons to be made between countries, while the third one has been estimated by specialized research teams based on data available on Essential Science Indicators (ESI) of Web of Knowledge. The main limit is the level of accuracy in data provided by each nation, and the extent to which such data were estimated, not final. The main benefit is that of identifying the position one country compared to others, but also to find the main factors that placed that country at one level or another in the overall classifications, thus allowing for the development of action plans particularly focused on those elements.research and development,human reources, creative potential, investment in research and development

Functional Metal Oxide Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

The aim of this work is to show that material processing by laser-based technologies can lead to the growth of multifunctional thin films with potential in a large area of applications. The synthesis of Hf, Ta, Si, and Al metal oxides described here relies on the use of pulsed laser deposition (PLD), or radiofrequency (RF) assisted PLD. The morphology and structure of the as-grown thin films are investigated by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy, whilst the optical properties are determined by spectroellipsometry. The dielectric behaviour of the deposited layers is investigated by electrical measurements

Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation of Organic Thin Films: Applications in Biology and Chemical Sensors

Polymer and biomolecule processing for medical and electronics applications, i.e. the fabrication of sensors and biosensors, microarrays, or lab on chip devices is a cornerstone field which shows great promise. Laser based thin film deposition techniques such as pulsed laser deposition or matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) are competing with conventional methods for integrating new materials with tailored properties for novel technological developments. Successful polymer and protein thin film deposition requires several key elements for depositing viable and functional thin films, i.e. the characteristics of the laser depositing system, the choice of targets and receiver substrates, etc. This chapter reviews the following topics: brief presentation of the MAPLE process including several examples of polymer materials deposited by MAPLE, thus illustrating the potential of the technique as a gentle laser-assisted deposition method. In particular, the “synthesis” of new materials, their analysis and correlation of the bulk and interface properties to its bio-environment shall be discussed as a method to tackle some bioengineering issues. We will also focus on recent breakthroughs of the MAPLE technique for the fabrication of functional devices, i.e. sensor devices based either on chemoresponsive polymers or on proteins

Optical Properties of Complex Oxide Thin Films Obtained by Pulsed Laser Deposition

The market for thin films of complex oxides obtained by different deposition techniques is increasing exponentially in last decades due to large variety of possible application such as high-efficient solar cell, optoelectronic devices, etc. pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a versatile growth technique and recently became more attractive for industrial applications due to the possibility to obtain crystalline thin films on a large area. Laser processing techniques were successfully used to obtain thin films with good optical properties starting from simple oxides, such as Sm2O3, ZrO2, etc., to more complex lead-free materials: SrxBa1−xNb2O6 (SBN) and Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3−x%BaTiO3, or superconductive oxide YBa2Cu3O7−δ. When oxide thin films are designated for electronic and optoelectronic devices or for solar cells, the optical properties and the thickness must be well known. For this purpose, the spectroscopic ellipsometry technique was developed. Ellipsometry is a powerful technique to determine the optical properties of thin films especially when the thicknesses of thin films are in a nanometer range

Bio-Interfaces Engineering Using Laser-Based Methods for Controlled Regulation of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Response In Vitro

The controlled interfacial properties of materials and modulated behaviours of cells and biomolecules on their surface are the requirements in the development of a new generation of high-performance biomaterials for regenerative medicine applications. Roughness, chemistry and mechanics of biomaterials are all sensed by cells. Organization of the environment at the nano- and the microscale, as well as chemical signals, triggers specific responses with further impact on cell fate. Particularly, human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) hold a great promise in both basic developmental biology studies and regenerative medicine, as progenitors of bone cells. Their fate can be affected by various key regulatory factors (e.g. soluble growth factors, intrinsic, extrinsic environmental factors) that can be delivered by a fabricated scaffold. For example, when cultured on engineered environments that reproduce the physical features of the bone, hMSCs express tissue-specific transcription factors and consequently undergo an osteogenic fate. Therefore, producing smart bio-interfaces with targeted functionalities represents the key point in effective use of hierarchically topographical and chemical bioplatforms. In this chapter, we review laser-based approaches (e.g. Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE), Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT), laser texturing and laser direct writing) used for the design of bio-interfaces aimed at controlling stem cell behaviour in vitro

Study Regarding Gravimetrical Corrosion of the Superficial Layers Obtained through Electrical Discharge

The experimental research was made on superficial layers laid-down through electrical sparking on the steel carbon OLC 45 probes, the used electrode being made from a corrosion resistant material (Copper). The probes was immersed 285 days in static see water at the environments temperature. The corrosion speed was determined through gravimetrical method; the superficial layers subjected to the corrosive agent were analyzed by optical metallographic and atomic force microscopy

The Interaction of Tungsten Dust with Human Skin Cells

In this chapter, we evaluate the tungsten (W) nanoparticle toxicity with respect to the normal human skin fibroblast cell. Tungsten dust formation is expected in the tokamak-type nuclear fusion installations, regarded as future devices for large-scale, sustainable, and carbon-free energy. This dust, composed of tungsten particles of variable size, from nanometers to micrometers, could be harmful to humans in the case of loss of vacuum accident (LOVA). In order to undertake the toxicity studies, tokamak-relevant dust has been deliberately produced in laboratory and afterward analyzed. Following that, cytotoxicity tests were performed using normal human skin fibroblast cell lines, BJ ATCC CRL 2522. Our study concludes that, at a low concentration (until 100 μg/mL), no cytotoxic effect of tungsten nanoparticles was observed. In contrast, at higher concentrations (up to 2 mg/mL), nanometric dust presents toxic effects on the cells

Частота и эволюция случаев силикоза в клинике медицины труда г. Крайова за последние 3 года

UMF Craiova, S.C. WOW SRL, Craiova, Conferinţa știinţifico-practică naţională cu participare internaţională Sănătatea ocupaţională: probleme și realizări prima ediţie 5-7 iunie 2014In the past three years, in the Occupational Medicine Clinic in Craiova, the number of people diagnosed with silicosis increased continuously. The study was performed on a total of 315 patients admitted to the clinic, aged 40-73 years, of both sexes and various professions. Among hospitalized patients, 52% were womwn and 72% of those hospitalized had exacerbation of symptoms and complications requiring two to three hospitalizations in a year. The exposure time of the silica dusts was 5-17 years, and the retention time was 20-33 years. Approximately 72% of hospitalized patients presented exacerbation of symptoms for two to three times during a year and associated with complications such as pulmonary tuberculosis or chronic pulmonary heart or chronic respiratory failure.В течение последних 3-х лет, в Клинике медицины труда г. Крайова, число больных с диагнозом силикоз постоянно растет. Наше исследование было проведeно на 315 пациентов, госпитализированных в клинике, с возрастом 40-73 года, обоих полов и разных профессий, среди них были 52% женщин. У 72% из числа госпитализированных пациентов регистрировались обострения и осложнения, которым требовались две-три госпитализации в год. Проведенный анамнез установил, что длительность воздействия пыли двуокиси кремния на организм заболевших рабочих колебалось от 5 до 17 лет, более поздние случаи встречаются через 20-33 года