Does the UTTO model of technology transfer fit public sector healthcare services?

Public sector healthcare services are both large users and innovators of health technologies. In the UK's National Health Service (NHS) initiatives have been developed to manage the process of technological innovation more effectively. This has two main aims, to maximize potential commercial returns from innovations developed within the NHS; and to improve levels of patient care through appropriate diffusion of innovations. The initiatives have been devised using approaches and processes already used in other public sector organizations, in particular, universities. Central to the approach taken by many universities is the setting up of a university technology transfer office (UTTO) to provide innovation management services. This paper assesses the extent to which the UTTO-based approach to technology transfer matches the needs of the NHS. Several significant factors are identified that suggest that the two sectors merit different approaches to innovation management. An agenda for further research into health service innovation management processes is suggested that emphasises issues including: the relative roles of formal and informal innovation processes; contingent variables affecting design of innovation processes; limitations of technology-push approaches to managing practice-based innovation; and cultural fit of innovation management models

Quotient Categories and Phases

We study properties of a category after quotienting out a suitable chosen group of isomorphisms on each object. Coproducts in the original category are described in its quotient by our new weaker notion of a 'phased coproduct'. We examine these and show that any suitable category with them arises as such a quotient of a category with coproducts. Motivation comes from projective geometry, and also quantum theory where they describe superpositions in the category of Hilbert spaces and continuous linear maps up to global phase. The quotients we consider also generalise those induced by categorical isotropy in the sense of Funk et al.Comment: Fixed typos, added discussion of isotropy, expanded introductio

Evolutionary Roots of Property Rights; The Natural and Cultural Nature of Human Cooperation

Debates about the role of natural and cultural selection in the development of prosocial, antisocial and socially neutral mechanisms and behavior raise questions that touch property rights, cooperation, and conflict. For example, some researchers suggest that cooperation and prosociality evolved by natural selection (Hamilton 1964, Trivers 1971, Axelrod and Hamilton 1981, De Waal 2013, 2014), while others claim that natural selection is insufficient for the evolution of cooperation, which required in addition cultural selection (Sterelny 2013, Bowles and Gintis 2003, Seabright 2013, Norenzayan 2013). Some scholars focus on the complexity and hierarchical nature of the evolution of cooperation as involving different tools associated with lower and the higher levels of competition (Nowak 2006, Okasha 2006); others suggest that humans genetically inherited heuristics that favor prosocial behavior such as generosity, forgiveness or altruistic punishment (Ridley 1996, Bowles and Gintis 2004, Rolls 2005). We argue these mechanisms are not genetically inherited; rather, they are features inherited through cultural selection. To support this view we invoke inclusive fitness theory, which states that individuals tend to maximize their inclusive fitness, rather than maximizing group fitness. We further reject the older notion of natural group selection - as well as more recent versions (West, Mouden, Gardner 2011) – which hold that natural selection favors cooperators within a group (Wynne-Edwards 1962). For Wynne-Edwards, group selection leads to group adaptations; the survival of individuals therefore depends on the survival of the group and a sharing of resources. Individuals who do not cooperate, who are selfish, face extinction due to rapid and over-exploitation of resources

Management of Trickle Irrigated Orchards for Increased Water Use Efficiency

Trickle irrigation is the most efficient method of irrigating peach orchards in Texas. With a trickle irrigation system, a producer may make full use of a limited or low-volume water supply to apply precise amounts of water to the root zones of individual trees. Improved irrigation scheduling methods offer the potential for further savings in water and energy to pressurize the water since peach trees require less than a fully-watered state for production. This report describes research to determine the crop coefficients for peach trees that would result in an optimum irrigation schedule. One major effort evaluated the physiological response of the peach tree to varying irrigation regimes. This thrust indicated that a crop coefficient as low as 0.53 produced similar physiological responses (leaf water potential, leaf resistance, and transpiration rate) as a crop coefficient of 0.7. The critical period for initiation of stress was during the period before harvest. A large twin weighing lysimeter facility was designed and installed. Preliminary results for mature peach trees showed water use rates at the maximum evapotranspiration rate approached a crop coefficient of 1.0. The research indicates that the peach tree is a luxury consumer of water; improved irrigation scheduling is achievable

Plant Responses of Drip Irrigated Trees to Climate and Water Stress

Past irrigation research has shown that peach (prunus persica) trees vary in their field response to water stress, and the degree of stress is a function of the plants' environment. Water deficits reduce plant growth and crop yields, therefore, measurements of plant water stress are fundamental in understanding how the environment affects plant performance. This in turn will facilitate the irrigator to have very precise water control and to determine optimum irrigation quantities. This research examined the effect of environmental variables on leaf water potential, leaf resistance, canopy resistance and transpiration rate; and evaluated their ultimate effect on yield, water use efficiency and pruning weights for trees under four drip irrigation regimes at Stephenville, Texas. Treatments selected were instrumented with 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-emitters per tree, and single trees from each treatment were instrumented with ground covers. Plant responses were measured hourly on sunlit and shaded leaves of each treatment. Leaf water potentials and leaf resistances were higher in shaded leaves, resulting in reduced transpiration. An increase in early morning leaf water potentials indicated irrigation had decreased stress. Lower leaf water potentials and higher leaf resistance indicated the tress were being severely stressed prior to harvest. Leaf water potentials decreased linearly, whereas leaf resistance decreased exponentially, with increasing solar radiation. In stressed trees critical leaf water potentials were lower suggesting some degree of adaptation to stress. Leaf water potentials decreased linearly with increasing transpiration. Total resistance (sum of plant and soil resistance) increased with increasing severity of stress. The 3-emitter tree was recommended, since yield and water use efficiency are relatively high. Proper irrigation increased total yields and also the number of fruit within a marketable size range, while maintaining high water use efficiency, resulting in economic benefits to the farmer

Global serum glycoform profiling for the investigation of dystroglycanopathies & Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation

The Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG) are an expanding group of genetic disorders which encompass a spectrum of glycosylation defects of protein and lipids, including N- & O-linked defects and among the latter are the muscular dystroglycanopathies (MD). Initial screening of CDG is usually based on the investigation of the glycoproteins transferrin, and/or apolipoprotein CIII. These biomarkers do not always detect complex or subtle defects present in older patients, therefore there is a need to investigate additional glycoproteins in some cases. We describe a sensitive 2D-Differential Gel Electrophoresis (DIGE) method that provides a global analysis of the serum glycoproteome. Patient samples from PMM2-CDG (n = 5), CDG-II (n = 7), MD and known complex N- & O-linked glycosylation defects (n = 3) were analysed by 2D DIGE. Using this technique we demonstrated characteristic changes in mass and charge in PMM2-CDG and in charge in CDG-II for α1-antitrypsin, α1-antichymotrypsin, α2-HS-glycoprotein, ceruloplasmin, and α1-acid glycoproteins 1&2. Analysis of the samples with known N- & O-linked defects identified a lower molecular weight glycoform of C1-esterase inhibitor that was not observed in the N-linked glycosylation disorders indicating the change is likely due to affected O-glycosylation. In addition, we could identify abnormal serum glycoproteins in LARGE and B3GALNT2-deficient muscular dystrophies. The results demonstrate that the glycoform pattern is varied for some CDG patients not all glycoproteins are consistently affected and analysis of more than one protein in complex cases is warranted. 2D DIGE is an ideal method to investigate the global glycoproteome and is a potentially powerful tool and secondary test for aiding the complex diagnosis and sub classification of CDG. The technique has further potential in monitoring patients for future treatment strategies. In an era of shifting emphasis from gel- to mass-spectral based proteomics techniques, we demonstrate that 2D-DIGE remains a powerful method for studying global changes in post-translational modifications of proteins

A replication study confirms the association of TNFSF4 (OX40L) polymorphisms with systemic sclerosis in a large European cohort

<p><b>Objectives</b> The aim of this study was to confirm the influence of TNFSF4 polymorphisms on systemic sclerosis (SSc) susceptibility and phenotypic features.</p> <p><b>Methods</b> A total of 8 European populations of Caucasian ancestry were included, comprising 3014 patients with SSc and 3125 healthy controls. Four genetic variants of TNFSF4 gene promoter (rs1234314, rs844644, rs844648 and rs12039904) were selected as genetic markers.</p> <p><b>Results</b> A pooled analysis revealed the association of rs1234314 and rs12039904 polymorphisms with SSc (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.31; OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.29, respectively). Significant association of the four tested variants with patients with limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) was revealed (rs1234314 OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38; rs844644 OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.99; rs844648 OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.20 and rs12039904 OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.33). Association of rs1234314, rs844648 and rs12039904 minor alleles with patients positive for anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) remained significant (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.37; OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.25; OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38, respectively). Haplotype analysis confirmed a protective haplotype associated with SSc, lcSSc and ACA positive subgroups (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.96; OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.96; OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.97, respectively) and revealed a new risk haplotype associated with the same groups of patients (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.26; OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.35; OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.42, respectively).</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b> The data confirm the influence of TNFSF4 polymorphisms in SSc genetic susceptibility, especially in subsets of patients positive for lcSSc and ACA.</p&gt

Energy cost associated with vortex crossing in superconductors

Starting from the Ginzburg-Landau free energy of a type II superconductor in a magnetic field we estimate the energy associated with two vortices crossing. The calculations are performed by assuming that we are in a part of the phase diagram where the lowest Landau level approximation is valid. We consider only two vortices but with two markedly different sets of boundary conditions: on a sphere and on a plane with quasi-periodic boundary conditions. We find that the answers are very similar suggesting that the energy is localised to the crossing point. The crossing energy is found to be field and temperature dependent -- with a value at the experimentally measured melting line of $U_\times \simeq 7.5 k T_m \simeq 1.16/c_L^2$, where $c_L$ is the Lindemann melting criterion parameter. The crossing energy is then used with an extension of the Marchetti, Nelson and Cates hydrodynamic theory to suggest an explanation of the recent transport experiments of Safar {{\em et al.}\ }.Comment: 15 pages, RevTex v3.0, followed by 5 postscript figure

Disulfide-activated protein kinase G Iα regulates cardiac diastolic relaxation and fine-tunes the Frank-Starling response.

The Frank-Starling mechanism allows the amount of blood entering the heart from the veins to be precisely matched with the amount pumped out to the arterial circulation. As the heart fills with blood during diastole, the myocardium is stretched and oxidants are produced. Here we show that protein kinase G Iα (PKGIα) is oxidant-activated during stretch and this form of the kinase selectively phosphorylates cardiac phospholamban Ser16-a site important for diastolic relaxation. We find that hearts of Cys42Ser PKGIα knock-in (KI) mice, which are resistant to PKGIα oxidation, have diastolic dysfunction and a diminished ability to couple ventricular filling with cardiac output on a beat-to-beat basis. Intracellular calcium dynamics of ventricular myocytes isolated from KI hearts are altered in a manner consistent with impaired relaxation and contractile function. We conclude that oxidation of PKGIα during myocardial stretch is crucial for diastolic relaxation and fine-tunes the Frank-Starling response