Blockchain patent landscaping: An expert based methodology and search query

The present study is concerned with the emergence of Blockchain related technologies in terms of patenting activity. Blockchain has captured the attention of the public and research has intensified in this field over the last few years, making it a highly interesting topic of study for a patent analysis in order to obtain insight into the developments of this emerging technology. In this paper we present a unique methodology and exhaustive search strategy for identifying Blockchain patent documents by using a combination of specific keywords and patent classifications. This query was built in cooperation with subject matter experts of the European Patent Office (EPO). Our keyword set was then analysed by relevance and was prioritised. The set of specific relevant patent classifications was furthermore combined with keywords in order to exclude false positives. With our method- ology we present an exhaustive query for retrieving a highly relevant dataset of Blockchain related patents, extracted from the EPO databases that can be used for patent landscaping exercises or any other bibliometric analysis. In a case study we applied the search strategy to analyse worldwide Blockchain patenting from 2008 till 2018. The results are presented in this paper.The present article is based on a patent data study that was commissioned by the European Patent Office, Department 5.4.2.1 Patent Information research, with the aim of demonstrating to readers outside the disci- plines of patent analysis and Blockchain technologies, how patent in- formation can be used to gain insight and competitive advantages about a specific technological field. Additional bibliometric analysis, for the purposes of the present article, was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science Innovation and Universities under the framework R&D project “Detection of Spanish technology for connected Industry 4.0 in Euro- pean patent offices”

Granzyme B; the chalk-mark of a cytotoxic lymphocyte

During cytotoxic lymphocyte (CL) mediated killing of target cells, granzyme B is released from the CL into the immune synapse. Recent studies have found that ELISPOT-detection of granzyme B correlated well with conventional assays for CL mediated killing. In this way, the released granzyme B can be used to mark the spot where a target cell was murdered. We discuss the benefits and potential limitations of using this assay to measure CL mediated killing of target cells

Innovation in 2G Quantum Technologies, a Patent Landscape Study

Patent filings can be a proxy for the intention to exploit research and development activities, and thus are a signal of the innovation process. The present study shows that the number of patent filings for second- generation quantum metrology and sensing devices is still small but has recently started to grow. It also reveals that a large proportion of the patent filings in this field originate from academia, suggesting that these researchers still account for most of the innovative activity in this sector. However there is some evidence that international industry- academia collaboration is becoming a vehicle for innovation directions in these future and emerging technologies. The present study constitutes an instantaneous snapshot of the state of innovation at the time of the research. We provide all necessary materials, search strategy, datasets, and methods to enable third parties to carry out subsequent analyses at their own convenience

Exploring variation in ambulance calls and conveyance rates for adults with diabetes mellitus who contact the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service: a retrospective database analysis

BACKGROUND: People with diabetes frequently contact the ambulance service about acute problems. Overall, treating diabetes and its associated complications costs the NHS 10% of the annual budget. Reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and ambulance attendances is a high priority policy for the NHS across the UK. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of emergency calls for people with diabetes who contact the ambulance service and are subsequently conveyed to hospital by the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS). METHODS: A retrospective dataset from the NIAS was obtained from the NIAS Trust’s Command and Control system relating to calls where the final complaint group was ‘Diabetes’ for the period 1 January 2017 to 23 November 2019. RESULTS: Of a total 11,396 calls related to diabetes, 63.2% of callers to the NIAS were conveyed to hospital. Over half of the calls related to males, with 35.5% of callers aged 60–79. The more deprived areas had a higher frequency of calls and conveyance to hospital, with this decreasing as deprivation decreased. Calls were evenly distributed across the week, with the majority of calls originating outside of GP working hours, although callers were more likely to be conveyed to hospital during working hours. Calls from healthcare professionals were significantly more likely to be conveyed to hospital, despite accounting for the minority of calls. CONCLUSION: This research found that older males were more likely to contact the ambulance service but older females were more likely to be conveyed to hospital. The likelihood of conveyance increased if the call originated from an HCP or occurred during GP working hours. The availability of alternative care pathways has the potential to reduce conveyance to hospital, which has been particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Integration of data is vitally important to produce high quality research and improve policy and practice in this area

Revising Payment for Ecosystem Services in the Light of Stewardship: The Need for a Legal Framework

Since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) highlighted the importance of ecosystem services for human well-being, the payments for such services have increasingly been drawing the attention of governments, the private sector and academia. Nonetheless, there is not yet a specific legal framework which is able to capture the complexity of managing natural resources and, at the same time, deal with the numerous drawbacks that have been identified by critics, who are opposed to using financialisation of the environment as a tool. This paper, after briefly summarizing some of the main features and criticisms of the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), will critically assess the understanding of property rights over natural resources as stewardship, rather than as entitlement, because this interpretation is more coherent with the inherent characteristics of natural resources and, consequently, of ecosystem services. The novel usage of a stewardship dimension to property rights underlines the necessity for a legal framework for PES, constituted by “property-liability rules”

Polymer and spherical nanoparticle diffusion in nanocomposites

Nanoparticle and polymer dynamics in nanocomposites containing spherical nanoparticles were investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the polymer diffusivity decreases with nanoparticle loading due to an increase of the interfacial area created by nanoparticles, in the polymer matrix. We show that small sized nanoparticles can diffuse much faster than that predicted from the Stokes-Einstein relation in the dilute regime. We show that the nanoparticle diffusivity decreases at higher nanoparticle loading due to nanoparticle-polymer interface. Increase of the nanoparticle radius slows the nanoparticle diffusion