Mainstreaming genetic testing: current issues in the construction of an ‘external regime’ for the UK

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An Examination of Technology Strategies for the Integration of Bioinformatics in Pharmaceutical R&D Processes

Bioinformatics is the use of computers for the storage, recall and analysis of data derived from scientific research aimed at providing answers to biological questions. Increasingly pharmaceutical firms are choosing to incorporate bioinformatics into their drug research and development (R&D) programs. Based on examination of recent literature and case studies of a cross section of the pharmaceutical industry and research community, this research concludes the following key points: Bioinformatics has been widely accepted as a new core competency for pharmaceutical research. Pharmaceutical firms are broadening their competencies to different extents to access new technologies. Integrated bioinformatics systems are systemic innovations and require strong in-house capabilities, however bioinformatics tools may also be used in an autonomous manner. Thus two groups of industrial users are emerging: those who use bioinformatics tools piecemeal and those who are attempting to integrate these tools into systems. Integration poses a complex set of technical and organisational problems, but may enable high throughput programs for drug discovery that optimise resources more effectively and thus provide competitive advantages. Such integrated systems must be tailor-made and are possible only through gaining competencies that are difficult to replicate. Additionally in this study theoretical frameworks are used to map technological change in the pharmaceutical process, showing how barriers to innovation and limiting steps within the R&D process are changing as a result of bioinformatics.bioinformatics, pharmaceutical industry, R&D, research and development, innovation

The mass-metallicity relation of local active galaxies

We systematically measure the gas-phase metallicities and the mass-metallicity relation of a large sample of local active galaxies for the first time. Observed emission-line fluxes from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) are compared to a four-dimensional grid of photoionization models using the Bayesian parameter estimation code NebulaBayes. For the first time we take into account arbitrary mixing between HII region and narrow-line region (NLR) emission, and the models are also varied with metallicity, ionization parameter in the NLR, and the gas pressure. The active galactic nucleus (AGN) oxygen abundance is found to increase by $\Delta {\rm O/H} \sim 0.1$ dex as a function of host galaxy stellar mass over the range $10.1 < \log M_* / M_\odot < 11.3$. We also measure the metallicity and ionization parameter of 231000 star-forming galaxies for comparison with the sample of 7670 Seyfert 2 galaxies. A systematic offset in oxygen abundance of 0.09 dex is observed between the mass-metallicity relations of the star-forming and active galaxies. We investigate potential causes of the offset, including sample selection and the treatment in the models of diffuse ionized gas, pressure, and ionization parameter. We cannot identify the major cause(s), but suspect contributions due to deficiencies in modeling the ionizing spectra and the treatment of dust physics. Optical diagnostic diagrams are presented with the star-forming and Seyfert data colored by the inferred oxygen abundance, ionization parameter and gas pressure, clearly illustrating the trends in these quantities.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures and 1 table; accepted for publication in Ap

Mapping the de facto governance in the case of emerging science and technologies

Trabajo presentado a la 35th DRUID Celebration Conference on Innovation, Strategy and Entrepreneurship celebrada en Barcelona (España) del 17 al 19 de Junio de 2013.In this study, we discuss the use of novel scientometric mapping techniques as informative and interpretative tools about the rapid dynamics and uncertainties featuring in Emerging Science and Technologies (ESTs). We show how these techniques can provide perspectives on and crosscuts of the geographical, social, and cognitive spaces of the complex emergence process. Shedding light on these spaces the set of, both intentional and un-intentional, institutional arrangements that are established in the emergence of novel science and technologies - that is, as de facto governance - can be revealed. The informative and interpretative power of these tools resides in their transversal flexibility within and across databases, which themselves are characterized by longitudinal and institutional rigidities. Changing informed perspectives can play a crucial role in supporting the design of governance that is ‘tentative’, i.e. forms of governance aiming to address the complexity, interdependencies, and contingencies featuring in ESTs. We discuss the contribution of these mapping techniques to the understanding of the phenomenon of tentative governance of ESTs across three case studies, namely RNA interference (RNAi), Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Thiopurine Methyltransferase (TPMT) testing technologies.Peer Reviewe

The emergence of molecular biology in the diagnosis of cervical cancer: A network perspective

Trabajo presentado a la Atlanta Conference on Science and Innovation Policy, celebrada en Atlanta (US) del 17 al 19 de septiembre de 2015.Cytology-base technologies have been extensively used for decades to diagnose cervical cancer in women despite the large number of false negative cases those may report. The rise of molecular biology, since mid-1980s, has spurred the emergence of novel diagnostic technologies, which have significantly changed both the research landscape and clinical practices around cervical cancer. Within this context, the present paper examines how different institutional groups of actors (research and higher education, governmental, hospital and care, industrial, and non-governmental organisations) have contributed to the emergence of molecular biology from an inter-organisational network lens (co-authorship data of publications). To do so, we analyse the patterns of network interactions among different institutional groups involved in the emerge process. We specifically examine the formation of ties (dyads) within and between groups as well as the extent to which organisational actors operate in di↵erent brokerage positions (triads) over the emergence process. The analysis is based on a sample of scientific articles published over more than 30 years in the diagnosis domain of cervical cancer research. Findings provide evidence that the process of tie formation as well as the brokerage activity follow different patterns according to the considered institutional group. The process of tie formation and brokerage activity also evolve over emergence.N

The Large Area Radio Galaxy Evolution Spectroscopic Survey (LARGESS): survey design, data catalogue and GAMA/WiggleZ spectroscopy

© 2016 The Authors. We present the Large Area Radio Galaxy Evolution Spectroscopic Survey (LARGESS), a spectroscopic catalogue of radio sources designed to include the full range of radio AGN populations out to redshift z ~ 0.8. The catalogue covers ~800 deg 2 of sky, and provides optical identifications for 19 179 radio sources from the 1.4 GHz Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm (FIRST) survey down to an optical magnitude limit of i mod < 20.5 in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) images. Both galaxies and point-like objects are included, and no colour cuts are applied. In collaboration with the WiggleZ and Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) spectroscopic survey teams, we have obtained new spectra for over 5000 objects in the LARGESS sample. Combining these new spectra with data from earlier surveys provides spectroscopic data for 12 329 radio sources in the survey area, of which 10 856 have reliable redshifts. 85 per cent of the LARGESS spectroscopic sample are radio AGN (median redshift z = 0.44), and 15 per cent are nearby star-forming galaxies (median z = 0.08). Low-excitation radio galaxies (LERGs) comprise the majority (83 per cent) of LARGESS radio AGN at z < 0.8, with 12 per cent being high-excitation radio galaxies (HERGs) and 5 per cent radioloud QSOs. Unlike the more homogeneous LERG and QSO sub-populations, HERGs are a heterogeneous class of objects with relatively blue optical colours and a wide dispersion in mid-infrared colours. This is consistent with a picture in which most HERGs are hosted by galaxies with recent or ongoing star formation as well as a classical accretion disc

Interrogating Seyferts with NebulaBayes: Spatially probing the narrow-line region radiation fields and chemical abundances

NebulaBayes is a new Bayesian code that implements a general method of comparing observed emission-line fluxes to photoionization model grids. The code enables us to extract robust, spatially resolved measurements of abundances in the extended narrow line regions (ENLRs) produced by Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). We observe near-constant ionization parameters but steeply radially-declining pressures, which together imply that radiation pressure regulates the ENLR density structure on large scales. Our sample includes four `pure Seyfert' galaxies from the S7 survey that have extensive ENLRs. NGC2992 shows steep metallicity gradients from the nucleus into the ionization cones. An {\it inverse} metallicity gradient is observed in ESO138-G01, which we attribute to a recent gas inflow or minor merger. A uniformly high metallicity and hard ionizing continuum are inferred across the ENLR of Mrk573. Our analysis of IC5063 is likely affected by contamination from shock excitation, which appears to soften the inferred ionizing spectrum. The peak of the ionizing continuum E_peak is determined by the nuclear spectrum and the absorbing column between the nucleus and the ionized nebula. We cannot separate variation in this intrinsic E_peak from the effects of shock or HII region contamination, but E_peak measurements nevertheless give insights into ENLR excitation. We demonstrate the general applicability of NebulaBayes by analyzing a nuclear spectrum from the non-active galaxy NGC4691 using a HII region grid. The NLR and HII region model grids are provided with NebulaBayes for use by the astronomical community.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ; 29 pages with 10 figures and 3 table

Intercellular Friction and Motility Drive Orientational Order in Cell Monolayers

Spatiotemporal patterns in multicellular systems are important to understanding tissue dynamics, for instance, during embryonic development and disease. Here, we use a multiphase field model to study numerically the behavior of a near-confluent monolayer of deformable cells with intercellular friction. Varying friction and cell motility drives a solid-liquid transition, and near the transition boundary, we find the emergence of nematic order of cell deformation driven by shear-aligning cellular flows. Intercellular friction endows the monolayer with a finite viscosity, which significantly increases the spatial correlation in the flow and, concomitantly, the extent of nematic order. We also show that hexatic and nematic order are tightly coupled and propose a mechanical-geometric model for the colocalization of +1/2 nematic defects and 5-7 disclination pairs, which are the structural defects in the hexatic phase. Such topological defects coincide with regions of high cell-cell overlap, suggesting that they may mediate cellular extrusion from the monolayer, as found experimentally. Our results delineate a mechanical basis for the recent observation of nematic and hexatic order in multicellular collectives in experiments and simulations and pinpoint a generic pathway to couple topological and physical effects in these systems

Evolved galaxies in high-density environments across 2.0≤z<4.22.0\leq z<4.2 using the ZFOURGE survey

To explore the role environment plays in influencing galaxy evolution at high redshifts, we study $2.0\leq z<4.2$ environments using the FourStar Galaxy Evolution (ZFOURGE) survey. Using galaxies from the COSMOS legacy field with ${\rm log(M_{*}/M_{\odot})}\geq9.5$, we use a seventh nearest neighbour density estimator to quantify galaxy environment, dividing this into bins of low, intermediate and high density. We discover new high density environment candidates across $2.0\leq z<2.4$ and $3.1\leq z<4.2$. We analyse the quiescent fraction, stellar mass and specific star formation rate (sSFR) of our galaxies to understand how these vary with redshift and environment. Our results reveal that, across $2.0\leq z<2.4$, the high density environments are the most significant regions, which consist of elevated quiescent fractions, ${\rm log(M_{*}/M_{\odot})}\geq10.2$ massive galaxies and suppressed star formation activity. At $3.1\leq z<4.2$, we find that high density regions consist of elevated stellar masses but require more complete samples of quiescent and sSFR data to study the effects of environment in more detail at these higher redshifts. Overall, our results suggest that well-evolved, passive galaxies are already in place in high density environments at $z\sim2.4$, and that the Butcher-Oemler effect and SFR-density relation may not reverse towards higher redshifts as previously thought.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, final version published in PAS

Measuring the Quality of Ski Edges

The objective of this project is to design and manufacture an instrument for measuring the quality of ski and snowboard edges. Over the course of even one run, edges can start to dull, thus decreasing their ability to perform. Although methods including running your thumb or thumb nail against the edge of the ski are current methods for checking the sharpness of a ski edge, no products yet exist to qualitatively measure the sharpness of a ski edge. The design functions were decomposed with the design solution in a hierarchical manner consistent with axiomatic design. The resulting product appears to have satisfied the parameters of a working ski tester prototype and was fully manufactured in order to begin further testing