Innovation in India and China : Challenges and Prospects in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

India and China are important players in an evolving process of globalization of research and development (R&D). Focusing on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries, this paper analyses the challenges and prospects facing the two countries in global innovation. Large supplies of highly skilled professionals and well-established science and technology infrastructures are important assets for India and China in the era of globalization of R&D. At the same time, however, there is a concern that as globalization of R&D gathers steam, the poor in India, China and other developing countries are likely to be left out of the new innovations. A good example is the case of Indias pharmaceuticals industry. The leading Indian pharmaceutical firms have responded well to the challenge of a strict intellectual property rights (IPR) regime by increasing their R&D spending and, simultaneously, targeting their sales to the generic drugs markets in North America and Europe. But even as Indias top drug firms have been growing in technological capabilities and taking part in the globalization of pharmaceuticals R&D, they have also been shifting their focus away from the market for medicines for poor patients.India, China, innovation, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology

Designing an Artifact to Empower Chronic Patients for Monitoring Health During a Pandemic: A COVID-19 Screening App

Chronic diseases have been declared an invisible epidemic by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2005). Over the past fifty years, the prevalence of chronic conditions has increased, leading to the disease burden caused by cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and mental and substance use disorders (DOH, 2021). Chronic patients need to reimagine how they will empower themselves to effectively manage and monitor their health and wellbeing in a COVID-19 era when frequent in-person health care visits will no longer be feasible. In this study, we propose the dimensions for the design of a mobile-based application that will aid chronic patients and end-users in self-managing and monitoring their health during the pandemic era. Based on an empirical investigation involving pharmacists and researchers, we designed and developed a prototype capable of empowering chronic patients. This study particularly focuses on how technological interventions can help chronic patients self-manage and monitor their health and well-being related to COVID-19 where the user expectations are met with less attrition rates

Enhanced optical limiting in nanosized mixed zinc ferrites

Optical limiting performance of zinc ferrite, nickel zinc ferrite, and copper zinc ferrite nanoparticles is investigated at 532 nm using 5 nanosecond laser pulses. Enhanced optical limiting is observed in the mixed zinc ferrites, which is attributed to the relative longevity of self-trapped charge transfer states. Samples exhibit absorption saturation followed by a rapid onset of optical limiting as the input fluence is increased. This is advantageous in applications where detector sensitivity should be retained at the maximum value until the input fluence approaches the detector damage regime. The Z-scan results are compared to those measured in C-60

Labour absorption in Indian manufacturing : the case of the garment industry

A striking feature of the Indian economy has been the relatively small contribution made by the manufacturing sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, more importantly, to employment. In 2013, manufacturing accounted for only 16.5 per cent of India’s GDP, compared to 29.7 per cent of China’s.3 According to the National Sample Survey (NSS) on Employment and nemployment, India’s manufacturing sector provided employment to 61.3 million in 2011-12, which was only 13 percent of the country’s total workforce of 472.5 million in that year (Thomas 2015a)

Dynamic Correction of a Distorted Image Using a Photorefractive Polymeric Composite

We demonstrate, for the first time, the dynamic correction of aberrated images in real-time using a polymeric composite with fast response times. The current novel experimental design is capable of restoring a phase aberrated, image carrying laser beam, to nearly its original quality. The ability to reconstruct images in real-time is demonstrated through the changing of the aberrating medium at various speeds. In addition, this technique allows for the correction of images in motion, demonstrated through the oscillatory movement of the resolution target. We also have demonstrated that important parameters of the materials in the study such as response times, diffraction efficiencies and optical gains all retain high figures of merit values under the current experimental conditions. © 2004 Optical Society of America

Recent Advances in Optical Limiting Properties of Fluorinated Graphene Oxides

There is a substantial interest in finding materials with high nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of materials because of its attractive applications in optical limiting for safety protections. In an effort to develop highly performing optical limiting materials, recently we have found that fluorination of graphene oxides leads to improvement in their NLO properties

Forecasting Freight Logistic Needs and INDOT Plans

This project focused on forecasting freight logistics needs and developing and analyzing capacity plans for INDOT to consider. The forecast timeframe ranges from the 2020 to 2045; the commodities considered are those used in the FHWA framework. We considered five SSP (Shared Socio-Economic Pathways) scenarios that are in sync with those used by the IPCC (International Protocol for Climate Change). We also use the IPCC forecasts of world GDP and FHWA forecasts to develop county-level freight forecasts by commodity. A survey of industry participants, primarily in manufacturing, suggests that Indiana industries are tied to the rest of the country and the world for supply of inputs as well as for demand markets. Finally, we focus on three different industries—the recreational vehicle (RV) industry in Elkhart County, the furniture industry in Dubois County, and the Honda plant in Decatur County—to illustrate the impact of bill of materials and growth forecasts on forecasted congestion and potential capacity mitigation. Our results suggest that proactive capacity planning can enable INDOT to anticipate and ease congestion and ensure continued economic competitiveness for Indiana industries

Planar photonic crystals infiltrated with nanoparticle/polymer composites

© 2007 American Institute of Physics. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2817964DOI: 10.1063/1.2817964Infiltration of planar two-dimensional silicon photonic crystals with nanocomposites using a simple yet effective melt processing technique is presented. The nanocomposites that were developed by evenly dispersing functionalized TiO₂ nanoparticles into a photoconducting polymer were completely filled into photonic crystals with hole sizes ranging from 90 to 500 nm. The infiltrated devices show tuning of the photonic band gap that is controllable by the adjustment of the nanoparticle loading level. These results may be useful in the development of tunable photonic crystal based devices and hybrid light emitting diodes and solar cells

High-performance photorefractive polymer operating at 1550 nm with near-video-rate response time

© 2005 American Institute of Physics. The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2117610DOI: 10.1063/1.2117610The development of a high-performance photorefractive polymer composite operating at 1550 nm is reported. We show 40% internal diffraction efficiency with response time of 35 ms and a net gain of 20 cm ⁻¹ in four-wave mixing and two-beam coupling experiments, respectively. This is more than an order of magnitude improvement in the diffraction efficiency and net two beam coupling gain and two orders of magnitude in the response time than the previously reported photorefractive polymer operating at this technologically important wavelength. The improvement in photorefractive characteristics is accomplished by an enhanced orientation of the nonlinear optical chromophore in the present composit