Conveying Quality and Value in Emerging Industries: Star Scientists and the Role of Learning in Biotechnology

Managers of private entrepreneurial firms face obstacles in raising capital both in placing a value on a firm and conveying value to investors. These problems are exacerbated when the firm is small, has limited assets (except for human capital) and has yet to have a lead product. In such cases metrics are necessary to convey the value of the firm to investors. Here we explore the importance within the biotechnology industry of the non-financial metrics firms used to convey value during two important initial public offerings (IPO) windows (1989 to 1992 and 1996 to 2000). We also examine whether there was a change over time in the importance of various metrics in determining the value of a biotechnology firm. We find that firms with an affiliated Nobel laureate succeeded in raising the value of their firms by more than $30 million compared to firms without a Nobel laureate during the first period, suggesting that a Nobel laureate served as a powerful signal of firm value. Our results also suggest that the biotechnology regime changed and the Nobel Prize lost its luster as a signal of value in the second period. The importance of several other non-financial metrics changed as well. We conclude that these non-financial metrics of value change in relative importance to potential investors and financial markets as learning occurs and as an industry matures.

PAI-1: An Integrator of Cell Signaling and Migration

Cellular migration, over simple surfaces or through complex stromal barriers, requires coordination between detachment/re-adhesion cycles, involving structural components of the extracellular matrix and their surface-binding elements (integrins), and the precise regulation of the pericellular proteolytic microenvironment. It is now apparent that several proteases and protease inhibitors, most notably urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1), also interact with several cell surface receptors transducing intracellular signals that significantly affect both motile and proliferative programs. These events appear distinct from the original function of uPA/PAI-1 as modulators of the plasmin-based proteolytic cascade. The multifaceted interactions of PAI-1 with specific matrix components (i.e., vitronectin), the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein-1 (LRP1), and the uPA/uPA receptor complex have dramatic consequences on the migratory phenotype and may underlie the pathophysiologic sequalae of PAI-1 deficiency and overexpression. This paper focuses on the increasingly intricate role of PAI-1 as a major mechanistic determinant of the cellular migratory phenotype

Measurement and modeling of transfer functions for lightning coupling into the Sago mine.

This report documents measurements and analytical modeling of electromagnetic transfer functions to quantify the ability of cloud-to-ground lightning strokes (including horizontal arc-channel components) to couple electromagnetic energy into the Sago mine located near Buckhannon, WV. Two coupling mechanisms were measured: direct and indirect drive. These transfer functions are then used to predict electric fields within the mine and induced voltages on conductors that were left abandoned in the sealed area of the Sago mine

Channel modelling and over-the-air signal quality at 3.5 GHz for 5G New Radio

With the next generation of mobile communication being trialled across the world, 5G New Radio (NR) promises to provide a flexible radio interface that fits a diverse range of use cases. As trials and pilots progress, propagation studies are required that evaluate electromagnetic (EM) propagation effects for 5G NR signals. In this article, 5G NR signals are used to evaluate the over-the-air (OTA) error vector magnitude (EVM) within a line-of-sight (LoS) rural/urban environment. For the same receiver locations, time dispersion and propagation loss were measured via the root mean square (RMS) delay spread and path loss. The transmitter-receiver distance investigated ranged from 60 m to 450 m. From the measurement campaign, the path loss exponent (PLE) using a directional antenna at the receiver was 1.98, and 1.82 with an omnidirectional antenna. The root mean square error (RMSE) of the floating intercept/close-in (FI/CI) models for the path loss was 4.96/4.74 and 3.84/3.23 for directional and omnidirectional receivers. The delay spread using a cross polar configuration showed significant increase and a dependency of the delay spread on the path loss was observed. For the measurement route, the mean delay spread was 24 ns and 35 ns for directional and omnidirectional measurements. With regards to the EVM, 16 and 64-QAM transmissions were robust along the entire route for directional and omnidirectional antennas, whereas 256-QAM worked in locations where there was minimal obstruction to the propagation path. The average EVM (%) for 16, 64 and 256-QAM measured along the route was 4.5/5.3/3.9 and 3.4/4.3/3.6 for omnidirectional and directional antennas. The OTA results also show that using a directional antenna (as the receiver) significantly improves the obtainable signal quality of 5G NR signals and also reduces outages for higher modulation schemes. With the measurement results presented, system designers can design efficient receivers, estimate coverage and adequately..

GNSS Vulnerabilities and Existing Solutions:A Review of the Literature

This literature review paper focuses on existing vulnerabilities associated with global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs). With respect to the civilian/non encrypted GNSSs, they are employed for proving positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions across a wide range of industries. Some of these include electric power grids, stock exchange systems, cellular communications, agriculture, unmanned aerial systems and intelligent transportation systems. In this survey paper, physical degradations, existing threats and solutions adopted in academia and industry are presented. In regards to GNSS threats, jamming and spoofing attacks as well as detection techniques adopted in the literature are surveyed and summarized. Also discussed are multipath propagation in GNSS and non line-of-sight (NLoS) detection techniques. The review also identifies and discusses open research areas and techniques which can be investigated for the purpose of enhancing the robustness of GNSS

Tools for assessing risk of reporting biases in studies and syntheses of studies:A systematic review

BackgroundSeveral scales, checklists and domain-based tools for assessing risk of reporting biases exist, but it is unclear how much they vary in content and guidance. We conducted a systematic review of the content and measurement properties of such tools.MethodsWe searched for potentially relevant articles in Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid PsycINFO and Google Scholar from inception to February 2017. One author screened all titles, abstracts and full text articles, and collected data on tool characteristics.ResultsWe identified 18 tools that include an assessment of the risk of reporting bias. Tools varied in regard to the type of reporting bias assessed (eg, bias due to selective publication, bias due to selective non-reporting), and the level of assessment (eg, for the study as a whole, a particular result within a study or a particular synthesis of studies). Various criteria are used across tools to designate a synthesis as being at ‘high’ risk of bias due to selective publication (eg, evidence of funnel plot asymmetry, use of non-comprehensive searches). However, the relative weight assigned to each criterion in the overall judgement is unclear for most of these tools. Tools for assessing risk of bias due to selective non-reporting guide users to assess a study, or an outcome within a study, as ‘high’ risk of bias if no results are reported for an outcome. However, assessing the corresponding risk of bias in a synthesis that is missing the non-reported outcomes is outside the scope of most of these tools. Inter-rater agreement estimates were available for five tools.ConclusionThere are several limitations of existing tools for assessing risk of reporting biases, in terms of their scope, guidance for reaching risk of bias judgements and measurement properties. Development and evaluation of a new, comprehensive tool could help overcome present limitations.</jats:sec

A prospective cohort study examining the association of claw anatomy and sole temperature with the development of claw horn disruption lesions in dairy cattle

Foot characteristics have been linked to the development of sole lesions (sole hemorrhage and sole ulcers) and white line lesions, also known as claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL). The objective of this study was to examine the association of claw anatomy and sole temperature, with the development of CHDL. A cohort of 2,352 cows was prospectively enrolled from 4 UK farms and assessed at 3 time points; before calving (T1-Precalving), immediately post-calving (T2-Calving), and in early lactation. At each time point body condition score was recorded, a thermography image of each foot was taken for sole temperature measurement, the presence of CHDL was assessed by veterinary surgeons, and an ultrasound image was taken to retrospectively measure the digital cushion and sole horn thickness. Additionally, at the post-calving time point, foot angle and heel depth were recorded. Four multivariable logistic regression models were fit to separately examine the relationship of pre-calving and post-calving explanatory variables with the development of either white line lesions or sole lesions. Explanatory variables tested included digital cushion thickness, sole horn thickness, sole temperature, foot angle, and heel depth. Farm, parity, body condition score, and the presence of a lesion at the time of measurement were also included in the models. A thicker digital cushion shortly after calving was associated with decreased odds of cows developing sole lesions during early lactation (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.65 – 0.84). No association was found between digital cushion thickness and the development of white line lesions. Sole temperature post-calving was associated with increased odds of the development of sole lesions (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02 – 1.05), and sole temperature before and post-calving was associated with the development of white line lesions (T1-Precalving; OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.07, T2-Calving; OR: 0.96 95% CI: 0.93 – 0.99). Neither foot angle nor heel depth was associated with the development of either lesion type. However, an increased sole horn thickness after calving reduced the odds of cows developing sole lesions during early lactation (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.83 – 0.93), highlighting the importance of maintaining adequate sole horn when foot trimming. Before calving, animals with a lesion at the time of measurement and a thicker sole were more likely to develop a sole lesion (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.09 – 1.40), compared with those without a sole lesion. The results presented here suggest that white line and sole lesions may have differing etiopathogenesis. Results also confirm the association between the thickness of the digital cushion and the development of sole lesions, highlight the association between sole horn thickness and sole lesions, and challenge the potential importance of foot angle and heel depth in the development of CHDL

Body mass index relates weight to height differently in women and older adults

This study was partly supported by the University of Manchester’s Health eResearch Centre (HeRC) funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Grant MR/K006665/1 and partly funded by the ESRC Obesity eLab Grant (RES-149-25-1076).Background Body mass index (BMI) tends to be higher among shorter adults, especially women. The dependence of BMI–height correlation on age and calendar time may inform us about temporal determinants of BMI. Methods Series of cross-sectional surveys: Health Survey for England, 1992–2011. We study the Benn Index, which is the coefficient in a regression of log(weight) on log(height). This is adjusted for age, gender and calendar time, allowing for non-linear terms and interactions. Results By height quartile, mean BMI decreased with increasing height, more so in women than in men (P < 0.001). The decrease in mean BMI in the tallest compared with the shortest height quartile was 0.77 in men (95% CI 0.69, 0.86) and 1.98 in women (95% CI 1.89, 2.08). Regression analysis of log(weight) on log(height) revealed that the inverse association between BMI and height was more pronounced in older adults and stronger in women than in men, with little change over calendar time. Conclusions Unlike early childhood, where taller children tend to have higher BMI, adults, especially women and older people, show an inverse BMI–height association. BMI is a heterogeneous measure of weight-for-height; height may be an important and complex determinant of BMI trajectory over the life course.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

On-campus over-the-air millimeter-wave channel evaluation for connected and automated mobility

High throughput wireless communication between vehicles and infrastructure will rely on millimeter-wave carriers and technology, which provide access to large bandwidths whilst still being able to establish stable links over distances of hundreds of meters. The work presented here, evaluates the quality of such signals in a mini-urban campus environment, by comparing detailed channel sounding results with signal quality parameters such as the error vector magnitude and the established data throughput. This provides insights into the relationships between fundamental parameters used to establish channel models and the quality of service parameters used in applications and standards. For the environment investigated, a strong threshold dependence of the signal quality on the received power is observed and explained in detail