Barriers to university–industry collaboration in an emerging market: firm-level evidence from Turkey

University-industry collaborations (UICs) are one of the main sources of external knowledge and technologies for industrial firms, particularly in the context of emerging markets (EMs) and firm development. It is thus highly relevant to identify potential barriers internal to the firm as well as in the regional innovation system that might prevent firms from using UICs for innovation, in particular in an EM context. In order to address this issue, we conduct a firm-level study of the R&D-related segment of the manufacturing industry in Istanbul. Logistic regression analysis is used to test the effect of potential barriers on using UICs for innovative activities. With this approach, we are able to identify barriers that prevent innovation-related UICs and thus form a bottleneck to collaborations in the first place. Our findings show that lack of information about UIC opportunities as well as lack of financial support for UICs are the most relevant barriers that inhibit firms’ usage of UICs for innovation. This firm-level evidence points out the importance of university technology transfer offices in regional innovation systems and for fruitful UICs. We further find that administrative barriers have no significant effect, while barriers related to trust and skill matching with scientific partners even have a reverse effect to what we would have expected from the literature. This finding might point towards an effect of perceived versus deterring barriers that has been observed in innovation studies before and might be relevant for studying UICs as well

Internationalization and domestic political support: A differentiation of R&D-related foreign and domestic firms in Turkey

Purpose – This paper contributes insights into how different firm types in the emerging market (EM) of Turkey respond to upgrading pressures in terms of internationalization and the usage of domestic political support. It seeks to highlight how the usage of and the responses to different strategies, connections and policy instruments vary with firm types. Design/methodology/approach – Binary logistic regression analysis is used to differentiate and identify characteristics of firms regarding market-seeking strategies and their usage of institutional and financial support. The analysis is based on survey data from firms located in the metro-region of Istanbul: advanced market multinational enterprises (AMNEs), Turkish MNEs (TMNEs) and domestic Turkish firms (DTFs). Findings – Different types of firms within the population of innovative firms in the EM setting of Turkey show significant variety regarding the usage of and the responses to key factors affecting internationalization. AMNEs particularly benefit from investment and export incentives as well as from establishing political connections in Turkey. DTFs significantly use tax incentives and primarily seek advanced markets. TMNEs particularly benefit from investment and export incentives and prefer to target advanced markets. Research limitations/implications – Using Turkey as a single-country setting is a limitation to the generalizability of the results. Future studies could use more cases of AMNEs to compare different countries of origin. In addition, the intended focus on R&D-related firms produces specific outcomes for such companies. Practical implications – National and regional policies need to pursue different strategies for the surveyed groups of firms to attract and maintain foreign direct investments (FDIs) of AMNEs as well as to support outward FDIs of domestic firms and EM MNEs. In particular, policies for market entries and knowledge sourcing in advanced markets are becoming a crucial factor for EM firms in overcoming a shortage of resources at home. Originality/value – This paper’s findings challenge existing theories such as the concept of psychic distance or liabilities of foreignness, which do not always provide an adequate explanation for internationalization activities of EM firms. In addition, it is highly relevant to apply an eclectic or multidimensional concept when conducting research in EMs in order to capture the interrelated constructs of upgrading, internationalization and political support.WOS:0008364183000012-s2.0-8513539580

Dyslipidaemia in children on renal replacement therapy

Background Information on lipid abnormalities in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) mainly originates from adult patients and small paediatric studies. We describe the prevalence of dyslipidaemia, and potential determinants associated with lipid measures in a large cohort of paediatric ESRD patients. Methods In the ESPN/ERA-EDTA registry, lipid measurements were available for 976 patients aged 2-17 years from 19 different countries from the year 2000 onwards. Dyslipidaemia was defined as triglycerides >100 mg/dL (2-9 years) or >130 mg/dL (9-17 years), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol 145 mg/dL. Missing data were supplemented using multiple imputation. Results The prevalence of dyslipidaemia was 85.1% in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, 76.1% in haemodialysis (HD) patients and 55.5% among renal allograft recipients. Both low and high body mass index (BMI) were associated with a less favourable lipid profile. Younger age was associated with a worse lipid profile among PD patients. HDL levels significantly improved after transplantation, whereas no significant improvements were found for triglyceride and non-HDL levels. In transplant recipients, use of cyclosporin was associated with significantly higher non-HDL and HDL levels than tacrolimus usage (P 90 mL/min/1.73 m2 (P < 0.0001). Conclusions Dyslipidaemia is common among paediatric ESRD patients in Europe. Young age and PD treatment are associated with worse lipid profiles. Although lipid levels generally improve after transplantation, dyslipidaemia may persist due to decreased graft function, high BMI or to the use of certain immunosuppressant

Adult Height in Patients with Advanced CKD Requiring Renal Replacement Therapy during Childhood.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Growth and final height are of major concern in children with ESRD. This study sought to describe the distribution of adult height of patients who started renal replacement therapy (RRT) during childhood and to identify determinants of final height in a large cohort of RRT children. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: A total of 1612 patients from 20 European countries who started RRT before 19 years of age and reached final height between 1990 and 2011 were included. Linear regression analyses were performed to calculate adjusted mean final height SD score (SDS) and to investigate its potential determinants. RESULTS: The median final height SDS was -1.65 (median of 168 cm in boys and 155 cm in girls). Fifty-five percent of patients attained an adult height within the normal range. Adjusted for age at start of RRT and primary renal diseases, final height increased significantly over time from -2.06 SDS in children who reached adulthood in 1990-1995 to -1.33 SDS among those reaching adulthood in 2006-2011. Older age at start of RRT, more recent period of start of RRT, cumulative percentage time on a functioning graft, and greater height SDS at initiation of RRT were independently associated with a higher final height SDS. Patients with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract and metabolic disorders had a lower final height than those with other primary renal diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Although final height remains suboptimal in children with ESRD, it has consistently improved over time

Substantial hysteresis in emergent temperature sensitivity of global wetland CH4 emissions

Wetland methane (CH4) emissions (FCH4) are important in global carbon budgets and climate change assessments. Currently, FCH4 projections rely on prescribed static temperature sensitivity that varies among biogeochemical models. Meta-analyses have proposed a consistent FCH4 temperature dependence across spatial scales for use in models; however, site-level studies demonstrate that FCH4 are often controlled by factors beyond temperature. Here, we evaluate the relationship between FCH4 and temperature using observations from the FLUXNET-CH4 database. Measurements collected across the globe show substantial seasonal hysteresis between FCH4 and temperature, suggesting larger FCH4 sensitivity to temperature later in the frost-free season (about 77% of site-years). Results derived from a machine-learning model and several regression models highlight the importance of representing the large spatial and temporal variability within site-years and ecosystem types. Mechanistic advancements in biogeochemical model parameterization and detailed measurements in factors modulating CH4 production are thus needed to improve global CH4 budget assessments. Wetland methane emissions contribute to global warming, and are oversimplified in climate models. Here the authors use eddy covariance measurements from 48 global sites to demonstrate seasonal hysteresis in methane-temperature relationships and suggest the importance of microbial processes.Peer reviewe

Shared activity patterns arising at genetic susceptibility loci reveal underlying genomic and cellular architecture of human disease

<div><p>Genetic variants underlying complex traits, including disease susceptibility, are enriched within the transcriptional regulatory elements, promoters and enhancers. There is emerging evidence that regulatory elements associated with particular traits or diseases share similar patterns of transcriptional activity. Accordingly, shared transcriptional activity (coexpression) may help prioritise loci associated with a given trait, and help to identify underlying biological processes. Using cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE) profiles of promoter- and enhancer-derived RNAs across 1824 human samples, we have analysed coexpression of RNAs originating from trait-associated regulatory regions using a novel quantitative method (network density analysis; NDA). For most traits studied, phenotype-associated variants in regulatory regions were linked to tightly-coexpressed networks that are likely to share important functional characteristics. Coexpression provides a new signal, independent of phenotype association, to enable fine mapping of causative variants. The NDA coexpression approach identifies new genetic variants associated with specific traits, including an association between the regulation of the OCT1 cation transporter and genetic variants underlying circulating cholesterol levels. NDA strongly implicates particular cell types and tissues in disease pathogenesis. For example, distinct groupings of disease-associated regulatory regions implicate two distinct biological processes in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis; a further two separate processes are implicated in Crohn’s disease. Thus, our functional analysis of genetic predisposition to disease defines new distinct disease endotypes. We predict that patients with a preponderance of susceptibility variants in each group are likely to respond differently to pharmacological therapy. Together, these findings enable a deeper biological understanding of the causal basis of complex traits.</p></div

The Constrained Maximal Expression Level Owing to Haploidy Shapes Gene Content on the Mammalian X Chromosome.

X chromosomes are unusual in many regards, not least of which is their nonrandom gene content. The causes of this bias are commonly discussed in the context of sexual antagonism and the avoidance of activity in the male germline. Here, we examine the notion that, at least in some taxa, functionally biased gene content may more profoundly be shaped by limits imposed on gene expression owing to haploid expression of the X chromosome. Notably, if the X, as in primates, is transcribed at rates comparable to the ancestral rate (per promoter) prior to the X chromosome formation, then the X is not a tolerable environment for genes with very high maximal net levels of expression, owing to transcriptional traffic jams. We test this hypothesis using The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) and data from the Functional Annotation of the Mammalian Genome (FANTOM5) project. As predicted, the maximal expression of human X-linked genes is much lower than that of genes on autosomes: on average, maximal expression is three times lower on the X chromosome than on autosomes. Similarly, autosome-to-X retroposition events are associated with lower maximal expression of retrogenes on the X than seen for X-to-autosome retrogenes on autosomes. Also as expected, X-linked genes have a lesser degree of increase in gene expression than autosomal ones (compared to the human/Chimpanzee common ancestor) if highly expressed, but not if lowly expressed. The traffic jam model also explains the known lower breadth of expression for genes on the X (and the Z of birds), as genes with broad expression are, on average, those with high maximal expression. As then further predicted, highly expressed tissue-specific genes are also rare on the X and broadly expressed genes on the X tend to be lowly expressed, both indicating that the trend is shaped by the maximal expression level not the breadth of expression per se. Importantly, a limit to the maximal expression level explains biased tissue of expression profiles of X-linked genes. Tissues whose tissue-specific genes are very highly expressed (e.g., secretory tissues, tissues abundant in structural proteins) are also tissues in which gene expression is relatively rare on the X chromosome. These trends cannot be fully accounted for in terms of alternative models of biased expression. In conclusion, the notion that it is hard for genes on the Therian X to be highly expressed, owing to transcriptional traffic jams, provides a simple yet robustly supported rationale of many peculiar features of X's gene content, gene expression, and evolution