The Role of Skolkovo as a Top Priority Initiative of the Russian Innovation Policy

In the face of the ever growing global technological competition and increasing dependency on exports of natural resources, the government of the Russian Federation has recently declared knowledge-driven growth as its key policy objective. Under the Presidency of Dmitry Medvedev economic modernization and innovative development became top priorities of Russia’s political agenda. Thanks to the enthusiasm and personal engagement of Medvedev, a number of strategic initiatives, mainly aimed at overcoming the technological inferiority of Russia, were implemented. The Skolkovo Innovation Centre is one of the most significant of them. It is a technology hub and a research complex being built outside Moscow, often referred to as Russian Silicon Valley. The aim of this research is to analyse the complex of strategic objectives of the newly created Centre, its role in the Russian innovation policy and its current, as well as potential impact on Russia’s overall innovative performance and global competitiveness. The analysis is based on the theoretical framework of national systems of innovation and is complemented by the innovation communication approach, underlining the key role of communication in success of an innovative ecosystem. The study shows that Skolkovo can be considered as one of the most successful innovation communication projects in modern Russia. Skolkovo has managed to draw attention to the numerous problems related to Russia’s technological backwardness and initiated a public discussion about the imperative of the country’s modernization through innovation-driven model of development. However, it is argued that the project has inherited structural disbalances and path dependencies of the Russian innovation system, which the country owes to the Soviet past and its leadership culture. Therefore, unless the Russian government improves the general investment climate, promotes the rule of law, eradicates corruption and fosters fare business competition, Skolkovo risks to be seen as a pure image promotion governmental endeavour rather than a powerful agent of change to boost Russia’s modernization.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Disentangling ADHD's Presentation-Related Decision-Making-A Meta-Analytic Approach on Predominant Presentations

Background: Deficient decision-making (DM) in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is marked by altered reward sensitivity, higher risk taking, and aberrant reinforcement learning. Previous meta-analysis aggregate findings for the ADHD combined presentation (ADHD-C) mostly, while the ADHD predominantly inattentive presentation (ADHD-I) and the predominantly hyperactive/impulsive presentation (ADHD-H) were not disentangled. The objectives of the current meta-analysis were to aggregate findings from DM for each presentation separately. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of the PubMed (Medline) and Web of Science Database took place using the keywords "ADHD," "attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder," "decision-making," "risk-taking," "reinforcement learning," and "risky." Random-effects models based on correlational effect-sizes were conducted. Heterogeneity analysis and sensitivity/outlier analysis were performed, and publication biases were assessed with funnel-plots and the egger intercept. Results: Of 1,240 candidate articles, seven fulfilled criteria for analysis of ADHD-C (N = 193), seven for ADHD-I (N = 256), and eight for ADHD-H (N = 231). Moderate effect-size were found for ADHD-C (r = 0.34; p = 0.0001; 95% CI = [0.19, 0.49]). Small effect-sizes were found for ADHD-I (r = 0.09; p = 0.0001; 95% CI = [0.008, 0.25]) and for ADHD-H (r = 0.1; p = 0.0001; 95% CI = [-0.012, 0.32]). Heterogeneity was moderate for ADHD-H. Sensitivity analyses show robustness of the analysis, and no outliers were detected. No publication bias was evident. Conclusion: This is the first study that uses a meta-analytic approach to investigate the relationship between the different presentations of ADHD separately. These findings provide first evidence of lesser pronounced impairment in DM for ADHD-I and ADHD-I compared to ADHD-C. While the exact factors remain elusive, the current study can be considered as a starting point to reveal the relationship of ADHD presentations and DM more detailed

Social robots in the Swiss healthcare system : possible applications, chances and risks from the perspective of potential user groups

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch)Dieser Beitrag der Zeitschrift Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. (GIO) berichtet und vertieft die Ergebnisse eines interprofessionellen Projektes im Auftrag der TA-SWISS (Stiftung für Technologiefolgen-Abschätzung). In dem Projekt wurde u. a. untersucht, wie soziale Roboter aus der Sicht von Gesundheitsfachpersonen und von Bewohnerinnen und Bewohnern eines Alterszentrums zukünftig in der Schweiz eingesetzt werden können und welche Chancen und Risiken sie bei diesem Einsatz sehen. Hintergrund dieser Fragestellung war, dass soziale Roboter zunehmend im Gesundheitsbereich eingesetzt werden, die Perspektiven der potenziellen Anwenderinnen und Anwender jedoch nur wenig bekannt sind. Daher wurde mit einem explorativen Studiendesign im August 2020 ein Workshop („Round Table Gesundheit“) mit 26 Teilnehmenden durchgeführt, der Roboterszenarien, vier Fokusgruppeninterviews und eine Nachbefragung beinhaltete. Es zeigte sich in der vertieften Analyse, dass sich die von den Teilnehmenden genannten Einsatzmöglichkeiten von sozialen Robotern einerseits in zwei Anwendergruppen („Patientinnen/Patienten“ und „Gesundheitsfachpersonen“) und andererseits in zwei Rollen des sozialen Roboters (persönlich zugeordnet – „persönlicher Buddy/Assistent“ und nicht persönlich zugeordnet – „hilfreicher Kollege“) einteilen liessen. Die Chancen und Risiken sozialer Roboter liessen sich in die drei Spannungsfelder „Selbstbestimmung vs. soziale Isolation“, „Entlastung vs. Belastung & Abhängigkeit“ und „Sicherheit vs. Gefahren“ kategorisieren. Von potenziellen Anwenderinnen und Anwendern werden somit vielfältige Einsatzmöglichkeiten und Chancen für soziale Roboter im Gesundheitsbereich gesehen. Gleichzeitig gilt es auch die Risiken zu berücksichtigen und zu minimieren, damit soziale Roboter zukünftig erfolgreich in der Praxis eingesetzt werden können

Cytotoxicity screening of 23 engineered nanomaterials using a test matrix of ten cell lines and three different assays

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Engineered nanomaterials display unique properties that may have impact on human health, and thus require a reliable evaluation of their potential toxicity. Here, we performed a standardized <it>in vitro </it>screening of 23 engineered nanomaterials. We thoroughly characterized the physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials and adapted three classical <it>in vitro </it>toxicity assays to eliminate nanomaterial interference. Nanomaterial toxicity was assessed in ten representative cell lines.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Six nanomaterials induced oxidative cell stress while only a single nanomaterial reduced cellular metabolic activity and none of the particles affected cell viability. Results from heterogeneous and chemically identical particles suggested that surface chemistry, surface coating and chemical composition are likely determinants of nanomaterial toxicity. Individual cell lines differed significantly in their response, dependent on the particle type and the toxicity endpoint measured.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>In vitro </it>toxicity of the analyzed engineered nanomaterials cannot be attributed to a defined physicochemical property. Therefore, the accurate identification of nanomaterial cytotoxicity requires a matrix based on a set of sensitive cell lines and <it>in vitro </it>assays measuring different cytotoxicity endpoints.</p

Analysis of Structure and Dynamics in Three-Neuron Motifs

Recurrent neural networks can produce ongoing state-to-state transitions without any driving inputs, and the dynamical properties of these transitions are determined by the neuronal connection strengths. Due to non-linearity, it is not clear how strongly the system dynamics is affected by discrete local changes in the connection structure, such as the removal, addition, or sign-switching of individual connections. Moreover, there are no suitable metrics to quantify structural and dynamical differences between two given networks with arbitrarily indexed neurons. In this work, we present such permutation-invariant metrics and apply them to motifs of three binary neurons with discrete ternary connection strengths, an important class of building blocks in biological networks. Using multidimensional scaling, we then study the similarity relations between all 3,411 topologically distinct motifs with regard to structure and dynamics, revealing a strong clustering and various symmetries. As expected, the structural and dynamical distance between pairs of motifs show a significant positive correlation. Strikingly, however, the key parameter controlling motif dynamics turns out to be the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory connections

Das Potenzial 3D-gedruckter Gradientenwerkstoffe für pharmazeutische Applikationen

Das Potenzial, welches der 3D-Druck im Tissue Engineering für Weichteilgewebe und Knochenersatz hinsichtlich Formgebung und Materialanpassung bietet, wird zunehmend genutzt, weiterentwickelt und ausgebaut. Die Diversität der dabei betrachteten, biologisch aktiven Biomaterialien setzt voraus, dass unterschiedliche Technologien wie Stereolithographie (STL), Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), Selektives Lasersintern (SLS) in verschiedenen Ausbaustufen zum Einsatz kommen. In medizinischen Anwendungen und besonders im pharmazeutischen Bereich, sind neben den drei räumlichen Dimensionen zusätzlich weitere Dimensionen hinsichtlich der Produkteigenschaften interessant. Einerseits besteht diese Mehrdimensionalität aus strukturellen und geometrischen Gradienten (An, Teoh, Suntornnond & Chua, 2015; Jones et al., 2007; Neri Oxman, Steven Keating & Elizabeth Tsai, 2012). Zusätzlich sind aber auch stoffliche Abstufungen der prozentualen Anteile wichtig. Das betrifft beispielsweise die Einbringung von Wirkstoffen in die generativ aufgebauten Strukturen (Goole & Amighi, 2016; Kalaskar, 2017; Ursan, Chiu & Pierce, 2013). Meist werden dabei scharf abgegrenzte Abstufungen der Materialeigenschaften gezeigt. Dies erfolgt im 3D-Druck beispielsweise durch die Nutzung unterschiedlicher Dosierköpfe in einem Prozess für die jeweiligen Materialien/Materialabstufungen oder durch die getrennte Herstellung der einzelnen Bereiche und anschließendem Fügen der Scaffolds (Diaz-Gomez et al., 2019). Ein allmählich ansteigender/abflachender gradueller Verlauf des zugemischten Anteils (Wirkstoff/Marker) wird bisher nicht beschrieben. Gelingt eine Regelung der Wirkstoffzumischung während des generativen Prozesses, entstehen neue Freiheitsgrade in der Gestaltung der Eigenschaften, wie beispielsweise der pharmazeutischen Wirksamkeit der Produkte. Im biomedizinischen Kontext sind durch Gradientengestaltung innerhalb eines Implantates, unterschiedliche Wirkstoffkonzentrationen oder funktionelle Parameter, wie Festigkeit, Verformbarkeit oder Reaktivität einstellbar. Bei der Zumischung innerhalb des 3D-Drucks ist auch der Einsatz solcher Wirkstoffe denkbar, die bei konventionellen Herstellungsprozessen herausgelöst oder zersetzt würden. Innerhalb der interdisziplinären Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Pharmazeutischen Technologie (Institut für Pharmazie, Medizinische Fakultät) der Universität Leipzig und der Fakultät Maschinenbau und Energietechnik (Maschinenbautechnisches Institut) an der HTWK Leipzig wurde ein miniaturisierter Doppelschneckenextruder (DSE-DK) als Dosierkopf in eine 3D-Druckanlage integriert. Mit der auf dem FDM-Verfahren basierenden Technologie konnte bereits nachgewiesen werden, dass Polymere wie Polycaprolacton (PCL) verarbeitet und mit zugemischten Pulvern homogenisiert werden können (Flath et al., 2016). Es wurden innerhalb eines 3D-Druckprozesses Materialmischungen aus einer aufgeschmolzenen Polymerphase und einem zugeführten Pulver erzeugt. In diesem Aufbau konnten alle Materialien als Pulver zugeführt und dosiert werden. Ziel der hier betrachteten Arbeiten war es, den DSE-DK für pastöse Ausgangsstoffe zur Erweiterung des Einsatzspektrums nutzbar zu machen. Zusätzlich sollten Pasten/Pulver Mischungen und die Möglichkeit der Herstellung von graduellen Zusatzstoffkonzentrationen während der dreidimensionalen Verarbeitung untersucht werden. [... aus der Einleitung

Social representations of HIV/AIDS in five Central European and Eastern European countries: A multidimensional analysis

Cognitive processing models of risky sexual behaviour have proliferated in the two decades since the first reporting of HIV/AIDS, but far less attention has been paid to individual and group representations of the epidemic and the relationship between these representations and reported sexual behaviours. In this study, 494 business people and medics from Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Poland and Russia sorted free associations around HIV/AIDS in a matrix completion task. Exploratory factor and multidimensional scaling analyses revealed two main dimensions (labelled ‘Sex’ and ‘Deadly disease’), with significant cultural and gender variations along both dimension scores. Possible explanations for these results are discussed in the light of growing concerns over the spread of the epidemic in this region

Hierarchical modelling of immunoglobulin coated bacteria in dogs with chronic enteropathy shows reduction in coating with disease remission but marked inter-individual and treatment-response variability

Chronic enteropathies are a common problem in dogs, but many aspects of the pathogenesis remain unknown, making the therapeutic approach challenging in some cases. Environmental factors are intimately related to the development and perpetuation of gastrointestinal disease and the gut microbiome has been identified as a contributing factor. Previous studies have identified dysbiosis and reduced bacterial diversity in the gastrointestinal microbiota of dogs with chronic enteropathies. In this case-controlled study, we use flow cytometry and 16S rRNA sequencing to characterise bacteria highly coated with IgA or IgG in faecal samples from dogs with chronic enteropathy and evaluated their correlation with disease and resolution of the clinical signs. IgA and IgG-coated faecal bacterial counts were significantly higher during active disease compared to healthy dogs and decreased with the resolution of the clinical signs. Characterisation of taxa-specific coating of the intestinal microbiota with IgA and IgG showed marked variation between dogs and disease states, and different patterns of immunoglobulin enrichment were observed in dogs with chronic enteropathy, particularly for Erysipelotrichaceae, Clostridicaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Prevotellaceae and Bacteroidaceae, families. Although, members of these bacterial groups have been associated with strong immunogenic properties and could potentially constitute important biomarkers of disease, their significance and role need to be further investigated

Bisphenol a affects neurodevelopmental gene expression, cognitive function, and neuromuscular synaptic morphology in Drosophila melanogaster

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmentally prevalent endocrine disrupting chemical that can impact human health and may be an environmental risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders. BPA has been associated with behavioral impairment in children and a variety of neurodevelopmental phenotypes in model organisms. We used Drosophila melanogaster to explore the consequences of developmental BPA exposure on gene expression, cognitive function, and synapse development. Our transcriptome analysis indicated neurodevelopmentally relevant genes were predominantly downregulated by BPA. Among the misregulated genes were those with roles in learning, memory, and synapse development, as well as orthologs of human genes associated with neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. To examine how gene expression data corresponded to behavioral and cellular phenotypes, we first used a predator-response behavioral paradigm and found that BPA disrupts visual perception. Further analysis using conditioned courtship suppression showed that BPA impairs associative learning. Finally, we examined synapse morphology within the larval neuromuscular junction and found that BPA significantly increased the number of axonal branches. Given that our findings align with studies of BPA in mammalian model organisms, this data indicates that BPA impairs neurodevelopmental pathways that are functionally conserved from invertebrates to mammals. Further, because Drosophila do not possess classic estrogen receptors or estrogen, this research suggests that BPA can impact neurodevelopment by molecular mechanisms distinct from its role as an estrogen mimic