The determinants of technology transfer efficiency and the role of innovation policies: a survey

The diversity found in the various Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs), besides being a consequence of the capacities and motives of the different stakeholders involved (public research organisations, industry, consulting firms and public authorities) also reflects the specificities of public incentives or policies and their differing degrees of commitment to technology transfer. Notwithstanding the fact that the literature on technology transfer is voluminous, few studies (up to the present date) have investigated the role of innovation policy on TTOs efficiency and the instruments available for governments to improve technology transfer from publicly funded research. The present paper surveys the literature on the determinants of TTOs efficiency, highlighting in particular the role of innovation policy. Additionally, evidence within the context of the European Union on innovation policies for technology transfer improvement is detailed.Technology transfer, innovation policies, technology transfer efficiency

Standardization of an isolated pig heart preparation with parabiotic circulation: methodological considerations

In the present study we standardized an experimental model of parabiotic circulation of isolated pig heart. The isolated heart was perfused with arterial blood from a second animal as support and submitted to regional ischemia for 30 min, followed by total ischemia for 90 min and reperfusion for 90 min. Parameters for measurement of ventricular performance using different indices measured directly or indirectly from intraventricular pressure were defined as: maximum peak pressure, final diastolic pressure, pressure developed, first derivative of maximum pressure (dP/dt max), first derivative of minimum pressure (dP/dt min), systolic stress of the left ventricle (sigmas), and maximum elastance of the left ventricle. Isolated hearts subjected to regional and global ischemia presented significant worsening of all measured parameters. Less discriminative parameters were dP/dt max and dP/dt min. Elastance was the most sensitive parameter during the reperfusion period, demonstrating an early loss of ventricular function during reperfusion. The model proved to be stable and reproducible and permitted the study of several variables in the isolated heart, such as ischemia and reperfusion phenomena, the effects of different drugs, surgical interventions, etc. The model introduces an advantage over the classical models which use crystalloid solutions as perfusate, because parabiotic circulation mimics heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation.64965

Seleção De Genótipos De Tomateiro Para Processamento Com Alto Teor De Zingibereno Resistentes A Pragas

Tomato cultivars resistant to arthropod pests are an important tool to reduce the use of pesticides. Resistance sources can be found in wild Solanum species such as S. habrochaites, which shows high levels of zingiberene (ZGB). This study aimed to evaluate the resistance of a tomato F2 progeny to spider mite and whitefly by evaluating the ZGB content, in laboratory, in plants from the F2 population of the interspecific crossing Solanum lycopersicum cultivar Redenção x Solanum habrochaites var. hirsutum (PI-127826), F1 plants, susceptible plants (cultivar Redenção) and plants of the wild species (PI-127826). From the F2 population, six plants with high content and three with low content of ZGB were selected. For evaluating the impact of ZGB on the spider mite behavior, the distance walked by spider mites from a central point was measured on the selected plants and their parents. For whitefly, the number of eggs and nymphs were quantified. Spider mites travelled shorter distances in plants with high ZGB content. Also, the number of whitefly eggs and nymphs was lower in these plants. Higher ZBG contents affected negatively both the spider mite and the whitefly behavior. © 2016, Sociedade de Olericultura do Brasil. All rights reserved.34338739

Effects Of 1-mcp Onthe Post-harvest Quality Of The Orange Cv. Pera Stored Under Refrigeration

The aim of this work was to analyse the effects of 1-MCP upon the post-harvest quality of the orange cv. Pera stored for 45 days at a temperature of 7 °C. The fruit was divided into four treatments, and then submitted to the application of three concentrations of 1-methylciclopropene (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0μL.L-1) for a period of 12 hours. The fruitwas again then stored at a temperature of 7 °C. The rate of respiration was determined, together withcoloration of the epidermis, SS, TA, ratio, vitamin C, total carotenoids, phenolic compounds, total and reducing sugars, weight loss and juice yield. The data were submitted to analysis of variance (F-Test), and the averages were analysed by regression (P≤0.05). According to the results, it could be seen that higher doses of 1-MCP may have caused chemical stress to the orangesunder evaluation, being responsible for the increasein the rate of respiration. A change in coloration of the epidermis from green to yellow/orange was delayed by the application of 1-MCP; the application of 1-MCP did not cause any alteration to such chemical characteristics as SS, TA, ratio, carotenoids, phenolic compounds or sugars.47462463

Valorization of used cooking oils through ionic liquid catalyzed biodiesel conversion processes

Why biodiesel? Biodiesel is a source of energy that can replace fossil diesel by reducing environmental impacts. It consists of a mixture of long chain fatty acid alkyl esters and is produced by converting vegetable oils or animal fats by transesterification or esterification processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Systemic release of volatiles by Brassica oleracea var. acephala induced by Pieris brassicae predation.

Pieris brassicae is a specialist on crucifers and its interactions with some of its host plants have been increasingly studied given their importance in pest management, chemical ecology and entomology. Plants are known to respond to insect attack by releasing volatiles that can either warn neighbour plants to the presence of a predator or attract insect parasitoids, thus reducing the attack efficiency. The influence of P. brassicae feeding on Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala (kale) was investigated, namely, its effect in the volatiles released by the plant through time. Substantial differences, mainly quantitative, were found between the volatiles composition of B. oleracea var. acephala before the attack and after insect feeding. More than 40 compounds were found, between terpenes (monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes) and lipoxygenase pathway byproducts (alcohols and aldehydes), ketones, norisoprenoids, among others. After insect attack, monoterpenes like limonene, eucalyptol, camphor and caryophyllene increased noticeably. These compounds have been regarded as markers in local tissue responses and in this study an increase in their concentration was detected at 1 and 4 hours after feeding, with subsequent reduction after 8 hours. Menthol, menthone, phenol and sabinene were found only in the time following the attack. A considerable increase in hexenyl acetate, a well known semiochemical, was also found, with this compound being the major peak in all experiments, rising with time. These findings provide further knowledge of the ecological interactions between these two species and, given the chemical diversity of these matrices, they may constitute a good source of health promoting compounds.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for financial support (PTDC/AGRAAM/ 64150/2006). F. Fernandes (SFRH/BD/37963/2007

A Bovine Pericardium Rigid Prosthesis For Left Ventricle Restoration: 12 Years Of Follow-up [prótese Rígida De Pericárdio Bovino Para Remodelamento Ventricular Esquerdo: 12 Anos De Seguimento]

Background: Myocardial infarction might result in dilated left ventricle and numerous techniques have been described to restore the original left ventricle shape and identify tools for late survival assessment. The aim of this study is to compare our experience with a modified Dor procedure using a rigid prosthesis to the septal anterior ventricular exclusion procedure (SAVE) for left ventricle restoration. The EuroScore index for prediction of late follow up survival was evaluated. Methods: We evaluated 80 patients who underwent left ventricle restoration between 1999 to 2007 and eight patients were excluded with incomplete data. A modified Dor procedure with rigid prosthesis (MD group) was performed on 53 patients and 19 underwent the septal anterior ventricular exclusion procedure (SAVE group). The patients were classified according their left ventricle shape as type I, II or III. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard ratio regressions analysis were performed to assess survival after both techniques and expected surgical mortality using EuroScore index ranking after 12 years of follow up. Results: The operative mortality was comparable in both groups ranked by EuroScore index. The groups were comparable for all clinical data, except the MD group had more patients using intra-aortic balloon pumps before surgery, (5.7% vs. 0; P<0.01). Kaplan Meier analysis by left ventricle shape showed comparable survival for all patients, with slightly higher survival for type I. Kaplan Meier analysis of all death showed equivalent survival curves for both techniques after 12 years of follow up (71.5 ± 12.3 vs. 46.6 ±20.5 years; P=0.08). Kaplan Meier analysis of EuroScore index for all patients showed a difference between the three ranked categories, i.e., 0 to 10%, 11 to 49% and higher than 50% expected surgical mortality after 12 years of follow up (70.9 ± 16.2 vs. 67.5 ± 12.7 vs. 53.0 ± 15.5; P=0.003). Conclusion: The MD procedure showed consistent ejection fraction improvements after long term follow up. Survival was comparable for all ventricular types and for the MD and SAVE procedures. The EuroScore index is a useful index for late survival assessment of ventricular restoration techniques.262164172Cooley, D.A., Hallman, G.L., Henly, W.S., Left ventricular aneurysm due to myocardial infarctionexperience with 37 patients undergoing aneurysmectomy (1964) Arch Surg, 88, pp. 114-121Jatene, A.D., Left ventricular aneurysmectomy. Resection or reconstruction (1985) J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 89 (3), pp. 321-331Dor, V., Saab, M., Coste, P., Kornaszewska, M., Montiglio, F., Left ventricular aneurysm: A new surgical approach (1989) Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 37 (1), pp. 11-19Dor, V., Sabatier, M., di Donato, M., Montiglio, F., Toso, A., Maioli, M., Efficacy of endoventricular patch plasty in large postinfarction akinetic scar and severe left ventricular dysfunction: Comparison with a series of large dyskinetic scars (1998) J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 116 (1), pp. 50-59Braile, D.M., Mustafa, R.M., Ardito, R.V., Zaiantchick, M., Coelho, W.M., (1991) Correction of the Left Ventricle Geometry with Semi Rigid Bovine Pericardial Prosthesis Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 6 (2), pp. 109-115Isomura, T., Horii, T., Suma, H., Buckberg, G.D., Septal anterior ventricular exclusion operation (Pacopexy) for ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy: Treat form not disease (2006) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 29 (SUPPL. 1), pp. S245-S250. , RESTORE GroupJones, R.H., Velazquez, E.J., Michler, R.E., Sopko, G., Oh, J.K., O'Connor, C.M., Coronary bypass surgery with or without surgical ventricular reconstruction (2009) N Engl J Med, 360 (17), pp. 1705-1717di Donato, M., Castelvecchio, S., Kukulski, T., Bussadori, C., Giacomazzi, F., Frigiola, A., Surgical ventricular restoration: Left ventricular shape influence on cardiac function, clinical status, and survival (2009) Ann Thorac Surg, 87 (2), pp. 455-461Najafi, M., Sheikhvatan, M., Montazeri, A., Sheikhfathollahi, M., Predictors of quality of life among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (2008) Acta Cardiol, 63 (6), pp. 713-721Messaoudi, N., de Cocker, J., Stockman, B.A., Bossaert, L.L., Rodrigus, I.E., Is EuroSCORE useful in the prediction of extended intensive care unit stay after cardiac surgery? (2009) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 36 (1), pp. 35-39Santarpino, G., Onorati, F., Rubino, A.S., Abdalla, K., Caroleo, S., Santangelo, E., Preoperative intraaortic balloon pumping improves outcomes for high-risk patients in routine coronary artery bypass graft surgery (2009) Ann Thorac Surg, 87 (2), pp. 481-488Nashef, S.A., Roques, F., Michel, P., Gauducheau, E., Lemeshow, S., Salamon, R., European system for cardiac operative risk evaluation (EuroSCORE) (1999) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 16 (1), pp. 9-13Dor, V., Sabatier, M., di Donato, M., Maioli, M., Toso, A., Montiglio, F., Late hemodynamic results after left ventricular patch repair associated with coronary grafting in patients with postinfarction akinetic or dyskinetic aneurysm of the left ventricle (1995) J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 110 (5), pp. 1291-1299Athanasuleas, C.L., Buckberg, G.D., Stanley, A.W., Siler, W., Dor, V., Didonato, M., RESTORE Group. Surgical ventricular restoration: The RESTORE Group experience (2004) Heart Fail Rev, 9 (4), pp. 287-297Salati, M., di Biasi, P., Paje, A., Santoli, C., Left ventricular geometry after endoventriculoplasty (1993) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 7 (11), pp. 574-578Buckberg, G.D., Coghlan, H.C., Torrent-Guasp, F., The structure and function of the helical heart and its buttress wrapping. VI. Geometric Concepts of Heart Failure and Use For Structural Correction (2001) Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 13 (4), pp. 386-401di Donato, M., Sabatier, M., Dor, V., Gensini, G.F., Toso, A., Maioli, M., Effects of the Dor procedure on left ventricular dimension and shape and geometric correlates of mitral regurgitation one year after surgery (2001) J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 121 (1), pp. 91-96Suma, H., Horii, T., Isomura, T., Buckberg, G., A new concept of ventricular restoration for nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (2006) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 29 (SUPPL. 1), pp. S207-S212. , RESTORE GroupForm versus disease: Optimizing geometry during ventricular restoration (2006) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 29 (SUPPL. 1), pp. S238-S244. , RESTORE GroupKieser, T.M., The left ventricle: To reconstruct or not: Lessons from the STICH trial (2009) J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 138 (3), p. 784Suma, H., Isomura, T., Horii, T., Buckberg, G., Role of site selection for left ventriculoplasty to treat idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (2004) Heart Fail Rev, 9 (4), pp. 329-336. , RESTORE GroupDancini, J.L., Rodrigues, J.J., Santos, J.S., Pinto, R.F.A., Burgos, F.J.C., Conforti, C.A., Left ventricular aneurysmectomy: Late followup (1996) Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 1 (11), pp. 23-29Almeida, R.M.S., Lima, J.D., Bastos, L.C., Carvalho, C.T., Loures, D.R., Endoventricular circular patch plasty with septal exclusion: Initial experience (2000) Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 4 (15), pp. 302-307Campagnucci, V.P., Rivetti, L.A., Pinto e Silva, A.M.R., Gandra, S.M.A., Pereira, W.L., Aneurismectomia de ventrículo esquerdo com o coração batendo ininterruptamente: Resultados imediatos (2006) Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 21 (1), pp. 55-61Herrera, C.B., Insalralde, A., Brandi, A.C., Santos, C.A., Herrera, D.D., Soares, M.J.F., Correção de aneurisma de ventrículo esquerdo em paciente chagásico empregando prótese de pericárdio bovino (2000) Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 15 (1), pp. 72-74Sgarbi, C.J., Ardito, R.V., Santos, R.C., Bogdan, R.A.B., Arruda Jr., F.V., Silva, E.M., Correção cirúrgica do aneurisma de ventrículo esquerdo: Comparação entre as técnicas de sutura linear e reconstrução geométrica (2000) Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 15 (4), pp. 293-301Versteegh, M.I., Lamb, H.J., Bax, J.J., Curiel, F.B., van der Wall, E.E., de Roos, A., MRI evaluation of left ventricular function in anterior LV aneurysms before and after surgical resection (2003) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 23 (4), pp. 609-613Use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in surgical ventricular restoration (2006) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 29 (SUPPL. 1), pp. S216-S224. , Buckberg GD;RESTORE GroupWalker, J.C., Guccione, J.M., Jiang, Y., Zhang, P., Wallace, A.W., Hsu, E.W., Helical myofiber orientation after myocardial infarction and left ventricular surgical restoration in sheep (2005) J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg, 129 (2), pp. 382-39

A new non-Fermi liquid fixed point

We study a new exchange interaction in which the conduction electrons with pseudo spin $S_c=3/2$ interact with the impurity spin $S_I=1/2$. Due to the overscreening of the impurity spin by higher conduction electron spin, a new non-trivial intermediate coupling strength fixed point is realized. Using the numerical renormalization group (NRG), we show that the low-energy spectra are described by a non-Fermi liquid excitation spectrum. A conformal field theory analysis is compared with NRG results and excellent agreement is obtained. Using the double fusion rule to generate the operator spectrum with the conformal theory, we find that the specific heat coefficient and magnetic susceptibility will diverge as $T^{-2/3}$, that the scaling dimension of an applied magnetic field is $5/6$, and that exchange anisotropy is always relevant. We discuss the possible relevance of our work to two-level system Kondo materials and dilute cerium alloys, and we point out a paradox in understanding the Bethe-Ansatz solutions to the multichannel Kondo model.Comment: Revised. 20 page

Different proportion of root cutting and shoot pruning influence the growth of citronella plants

Environment concern, sustainable products demand, and natural components conscious are currently global movement factors. Related to the global movement factors, citronella grass (Cymbopogon nardus L.) is being widely used in folk medicine, and has insect repellent activity, fungal and bactericidal action. Its essential oil has high content of citronellal, citronellol, geraniol. The essential oil is mostly extracted from leaves which turns this plant with high commercial demand. However, to obtain the best therapeutic quality and productivity of medicinal plants, which culminates in greater quantity and quality of the active compounds, the proper management of the crop is fundamental, as several factors can interfere during its growth and development. Thus, we analyzed the growth of citronella plants submitted to different levels of shoot and root cuts. Five different proportions of root pruning (0, 25, 50, 75, 100%), after 145 days of seedling planting and four cuttings in the shoots: blunt; a cut at 145 DAP (days after planting) along with the root cut; a cut at 228 DAP; and cuts at 145 and 228 DAP (two cuts). Four harvesting for dry matter accumulation and photoassimilate partition data were performed. The treatment with 100% root cut, but without leaf cut, increased the total dry mass accumulation of the plant in relation to the other treatments, for the last analysis period, demonstrating a recovery. Thus, the application of two leaf cuts or no leaf cutting within the 100% root cut treatment for leaf dry mass accumulation is more effective when compared to the blunt root treatment

Space-time inhomogeneity, anisotropy and gravitational collapse

We investigate the evolution of non-adiabatic collapse of a shear-free spherically symmetric stellar configuration with anisotropic stresses accompanied with radial heat flux. The collapse begins from a curvature singularity with infinite mass and size on an inhomogeneous space-time background. The collapse is found to proceed without formation of an even horizon to singularity when the collapsing configuration radiates all its mass energy. The impact of inhomogeneity on various parameters of the collapsing stellar configuration is examined in some specific space-time backgrounds.Comment: To appear in Gen. Relativ. Gra