2,861 research outputs found
Profile of public laboratories, industrial partnerships and organisation of R & D: the dynamics of industrial relationships in a large research organisation
There is a paucity of papers dealing with the system characteristics of laboratories or, put in another way, the institutional character of research organisations. Neither R & D economics nor the sociology of science, as traditionally conceived, has made much headway in providing insight into sets of R & D laboratories and their evolution. Drawing upon an empirical study in the plant breeding and biochemical industry, this paper presents a typology of public research laboratories which is based on three dimensions: scientific production and visibility, type of funding (public or private) and homogeneity of research themes. Three types of public laboratory emerge: the first, called âresearch centres for the professionâ, is composed essentially of laboratories with close ties with small and medium firms (SMEs) and industry associations. The second, called âdesigners of generic tools and methodsâ, is oriented towards basic research and themes of general interest to the industry as a whole. The third type, called âbasic and specialised laboratoriesâ, strives to develop its scientific visibility. Contracts between this type of laboratory and industry are mainly bilateral and demonstrate the complementarity between public and private research. Each type of laboratory develops specific types of relationship with private partners. The authors have identified three logics underlying these relationships: proximity, market and club. The main objective of contracts based on a proximity logic is to test a hypothesis, while the knowledge produced is mostly tacit and specific. By contrast, knowledge is entirely coded and specific in the market logic, where the aim of the contract is to implement expertise in order to relieve a scientific bottleneck. In a club logic, the aim of contracts is to produce a technical referent. In each kind of contract, the learning trajectories, modes of co-ordination, role of trust and degree to which contracts are complete or not, are different.
How long is co-operation in genomics sustainable?
Publications on the 16 yeast chromosome sequences group together over 400 different authors from Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA. When research is not organised in networks, it is carried out in large sequencing centres such as the Sanger Centre in Britain, the Helix Institute in Japan or Saint Louis University in the USA. Both cases illustrate the collective nature of knowledge creation. Other examples of co-operation between numerous researchers in various countries, more closely related to innovation, might also be mentioned, such as the development of software for comparing proteins or DNA sequences. Collective publications reveal the collective nature of research, whether it is carried out by major consortia (the case of yeast) or around large research facilities (such as the synchrotron or major genome sequencing centres). This collective nature stems from two factors: (1) the advantages of co-ordinating efforts on major projects (e.g. economies of scale and of collection) and (2) very strong interdependency in the creation and utilisation of knowledge (related to cumulativeness).
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Les Américains ont-ils accepté les OGM ?: Analyse comparée de la construction des OGM comme problÚme public en France et aux Etats-Unis
How can one explain that the use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in food and agriculture poses a problem in France, where they are hardly used, yet seems to be taken for granted in the US, where their use is widespread ? Many observers see this as a sign that American consumers have accepted transgenic foods, due to a different attitude to risks, food and nature. The present article rejects that explanation. It presents a comparative analysis of the trajectory of GMOs as a public problem in France and the US, showing that very similar arguments were put forward by opponents to GMOs on both sides of the Atlantic, and that conflicts between opponents and defenders have focussed on the same issues : (i) food labeling ; (ii) the link between the choice of a technique (GMOs) and that of an economic system (intensive agriculture, capitalism) ; and (iii) the appropriate framework for evaluating risks. But whereas in France (and more generally in Europe), opponentsâ arguments crystallized during specific key controversies, and contributed towards the definition of the cognitive and normative dimensions of GMOs as a public problem, this did not occur in the US. Three factors seem to explain this difference : (i) very different regulatory choices made in the late 1980s (based on processes in Europe and on products in the US) ; (ii) the fact that the usefulness of transgenic plants is perceived negatively in France whereas their association with the intensive export agriculture project is perceived positively in the US ; and (iii) the growing influence of a broader, âconstructiveâ framework for risk analysis in Europe, whereas in the US regulatory authorities continue to base their legitimacy on the ideology of âsound science
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Ă la recherche dâune « dĂ©mocratie technique ». Enseignements de la confĂ©rence citoyenne sur les OGM en France
This article presents an analysis of the consensus conference on GMOâs held in France in 1998. Centred on the experience of the citizen panel, it also discusses criticisms expressed by various actors in France about this conference, most of which related to the lack of representativeness of a panel of citizens with no prior knowledge or interest in the issue at stake. Our analysis of the deliberations and report of the panel reveals the reflexive endeavour undertaken by these citizens with respect to their own role and representativeness. We show how the members of the panel addressed, from the start, the issue of their role in relation to that of the experts and in the decision-making process; how they constructed their collective identity on the basis of their own definition of their role and how this in turn determined how they interacted with the experts and stakeholders invited to the public conference and the nature of their recommendations. We argue that the work conducted by the citizen panel inaugurates a new form of active representation, which is of a very different nature to representation by elected politicians and to âfigurativeâ representation by professional institutions, trade unions and other non-governmental organisations. This novel form of representation enables the exploration of scientific and technical aspects together with social aspects, from the perspective of âordinary citizensâ. It is indeed the âordinaryâ character of the panel members that is relevant, because the essence of the operation is to inform decision-makers about the views of those who do not speak out and who do not feel represented by political parties, trade unions, or environmental and consumer NGOs. The article demonstrates how these cognitive and political processes were intrinsically intermeshed in the activities of the panel. The extent and nature of this socio-technical exploration was, however, constrained by some aspects of the consensus conference method itself and we discuss ways in which these could be overcome. On the basis of this analysis, the article addresses two more general issues: the relationship between this type of participatory technology assessment initiative and NGO mobilisations and the link with decision-making processes
A striking correspondence between the dynamics generated by the vector fields and by the scalar parabolic equations
The purpose of this paper is to enhance a correspondence between the dynamics
of the differential equations on and those
of the parabolic equations on a bounded
domain . We give details on the similarities of these dynamics in the
cases , and and in the corresponding cases ,
and dim() respectively. In addition to
the beauty of such a correspondence, this could serve as a guideline for future
research on the dynamics of parabolic equations
A Systematic Analysis of Fe II Emission in Quasars: Evidence for Inflow to the Central Black Hole
Broad Fe II emission is a prominent feature of the optical and ultraviolet
spectra of quasars. We report on a systematical investigation of optical Fe II
emission in a large sample of 4037 z < 0.8 quasars selected from the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey. We have developed and tested a detailed line-fitting
technique, taking into account the complex continuum and narrow and broad
emission-line spectrum. Our primary goal is to quantify the velocity broadening
and velocity shift of the Fe II spectrum in order to constrain the location of
the Fe II-emitting region and its relation to the broad-line region. We find
that the majority of quasars show Fe II emission that is redshifted, typically
by ~ 400 km/s but up to 2000 km/s, with respect to the systemic velocity of the
narrow-line region or of the conventional broad-line region as traced by the
Hbeta line. Moreover, the line width of Fe II is significantly narrower than
that of the broad component of Hbeta. We show that the magnitude of the Fe II
redshift correlates inversely with the Eddington ratio, and that there is a
tendency for sources with redshifted Fe II emission to show red asymmetry in
the Hbeta line. These characteristics strongly suggest that Fe II originates
from a location different from, and most likely exterior to, the region that
produces most of Hbeta. The Fe II-emitting zone traces a portion of the
broad-line region of intermediate velocities whose dynamics may be dominated by
infall.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Exposure in utero to maternal diabetes leads to glucose intolerance and high blood pressure with no major effects on lipid metabolism
AIM: Recent evidence shows that adult metabolic disease may originate from an adverse fetal environment that can alter organ development and function in postnatal life. This study aimed to analyze the effect of exposure in utero to maternal diabetes on the development of the metabolic syndrome in the offspring. METHODS: Pregnant rats were made diabetic (blood glucose was 20mM) with a single streptozotocin injection on day 0 of gestation. Offspring from diabetic mothers (DMO) and control mothers (CMO) were followed from birth to 12 months of age. In these animals, metabolic parameters, such as glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity and plasma lipid levels, as well as pancreatic insulin and morphology were studied. RESULTS: Compared with controls, DMO offspring had normal birth weights, but impaired postnatal growth that persisted throughout life. Metabolic tests revealed that DMO offspring also showed impaired glucose tolerance at six months associated with decreased insulin sensitivity and low insulin secretion. In older animals (12 months old), this phenotype persisted, but to a lesser extent. The DMO offspring also presented with high blood pressure and decreased levels of fasting plasma triglycerides, but normal plasma NEFA, and HDL and total cholesterol. CONCLUSION: Altogether, these results show that our model of exposure in utero to maternal diabetes led to normal birth weights, and induced transient glucose intolerance and increased blood pressure with no major effects on lipid metabolism. It also suggests that a hyperglycaemic fetal environment may be able to \u27programme\u27 hypertension and glucose intolerance, but not alter lipid metabolism
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Lâexperience francaise de lâevaluation technologique interactive des recherche sur les vignes transgeniques
Dans cet article, les auteurs prĂ©sentent une rĂ©flexion sur les jugements de lĂ©gitimitĂ© de lâorganisation de la dĂ©mocratie participative en relatant lâexpĂ©rience originale quâils ont conduite en 2001 et 2002 en France, dans le domaine de la recherche agronomique. Mise sur pied par lâun des trois grands organismes publics de recherche nationaux (lâINRA) qui souhaitait ouvrir la dĂ©libĂ©ration sur sa recherche Ă des acteurs extĂ©rieurs, cette expĂ©rience pilote de coconstruction dâun programme de recherche sur les vignes transgĂ©niques permet dâinterroger non seulement les conditions de la production, par un groupe hybride (chercheurs, professionnels de la vigne et du vin et citoyens ordinaires), dâun avis argumentĂ© sur des questions technoscientifiques, mais aussi les modalitĂ©s de sa rĂ©ception dans lâespace public et dans les milieux concernĂ©s : en lâoccurrence, le monde agricole et plus particuliĂšrement vitivinicole, ainsi que le monde associatif de la lutte anti-OGM
Curvature tensors on distorted Killing horizons and their algebraic classification
We consider generic static spacetimes with Killing horizons and study
properties of curvature tensors in the horizon limit. It is determined that the
Weyl, Ricci, Riemann and Einstein tensors are algebraically special and
mutually aligned on the horizon. It is also pointed out that results obtained
in the tetrad adjusted to a static observer in general differ from those
obtained in a free-falling frame. This is connected to the fact that a static
observer becomes null on the horizon.
It is also shown that finiteness of the Kretschmann scalar on the horizon is
compatible with the divergence of the Weyl component or
in the freely falling frame. Furthermore finiteness of is compatible
with divergence of curvature invariants constructed from second derivatives of
the Riemann tensor.
We call the objects with finite Krestschmann scalar but infinite
``truly naked black holes''. In the (ultra)extremal versions of these objects
the structure of the Einstein tensor on the horizon changes due to extra terms
as compared to the usual horizons, the null energy condition being violated at
some portions of the horizon surface. The demand to rule out such divergencies
leads to the constancy of the factor that governs the leading term in the
asymptotics of the lapse function and in this sense represents a formal analog
of the zeroth law of mechanics of non-extremal black holes. In doing so, all
extra terms in the Einstein tensor automatically vanish.Comment: 21 pages, To appear in Class. Quant. Gra
Doppler optical frequency domain reflectometry for remote fiber sensing
Coherent optical frequency domain reflectometry has been widely used to locate static reflectors with high spatial resolution. Here, we present a new type of Doppler optical frequency domain reflectometry that offers simultaneous measurement of the position and speed of moving objects. The system is exploited to track optically levitated "flying" particles inside a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. As an example, we demonstrate distributed temperature sensing with sub-mm-scale spatial resolution and a standard deviation of similar to 10 degrees C up to 200 degrees C. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreemen
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