Investing in the Quantum Future : State of Play and Way Forward for Quantum Venture Capital

Building on decades of fundamental research, new applications of Quantum Science have started to emerge in the fields of computing, sensing and networks. In the current phase of deployment, in which quantum technology is not yet in routine use but is still transitioning out of the laboratory, Venture Capital (VC) is critical. In association with public funding programs, VC supports startups born in academic institutions and has a role to play in structuring the priorities of the ecosystem, guiding it towards applications with the greatest impact on society. This paper illustrates this thesis with a case-study: the experience of the first dedicated quantum fund, Quantonation I, chronicling its impacts on the production of scientific knowledge, job creation and funding of the industry. The paper introduces concepts to support the emergence of new startups and advocates for funding of scale-up quantum companies. The paper concludes with proposals to improve the impact of the industry by taking steps to better involve society-at-large and with a call for collaboration on projects focused on the applications with a large societal benefit.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Educational leadership among the heads of primary schools in the provinces of Malopolska and Mazovia

Cel badań. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest przedstawienie analizy badań własnych dotyczących stylu zarządzania placówkami publicznymi i prywatnymi przez dyrektorów szkół podstawowych, prywatnych oraz publicznych, znajdujących się na terenie województwa małopolskiego oraz mazowieckiego. Metodyka. Grupę osób biorących udział w badaniach stanowiło 82. dyrektorów szkół podstawowych, w tym 26. dyrektorów szkół publicznych w województwie małopolskim, 17. dyrektorów szkół prywatnych w województwie małopolskim, 19. dyrektorów szkół publicznych w województwie mazowieckim, 20. dyrektorów szkół prywatnych w województwie mazowieckim. Badania opierają się na koncepcji przywództwa sytuacyjnego Kena Blancharda (Ken Blanchard, 2007), który wyróżnia cztery style zarządzania: instruowania, konsultowania, partycypacji oraz delegowania. Do badań wykorzystano kwestionariusz ankiety, w którym udzielenie odpowiedzi na pytania miało na celu rozpoznanie stylu zarządzania placówką (elastyczność stylu) przez dyrektora oraz jego efektywność. Wyniki. Na sposób zarządzania placówką przez dyrektorów w dużym stopniu wpływa fakt czy jest ona instytucją publiczną czy prywatną? Najważniejsze jest jednak dopasowanie stylu kierowania do danej grupy pracowników. Lokalizacja, w tym przypadku województwo małopolskie bądź mazowieckie odgrywają mniejszą rolę. W placówkach prywatnych obu województw jednym z dominujących stylów zarządzania prezentowanym przez dyrektorów jest instruowanie, podczas gdy w szkołach publicznych jest to delegowanie. Oznacza to, że styl zarzadzania warunkowany jest rodzajem szkoły. Wnioski. W zależności od różnego stylu zarządzania dyrektorzy placówek prezentują odmienne postawy. Wpływają one na sposób pracy nauczycieli zarówno w placówkach prywatnych, jak i publicznych co w dłuższym czasie znajduje odzwierciedlenie w różnym stopniu satysfakcji i zadowolenia z pracy. Sposób zarządzania placówką determinuje również atmosferę panującą w szkole między nauczycielami co może przyczynić się do efektów nauczania.Purpose of research. The aim of this article is to present, as well as the analysis of own research on the style of management of public and private institutions, presented by directors of private and public primary schools. Methodology. Group of respondents consisted of 82 directors of primary schools: 26 directors of public schools in the Małopolskie voivodship, 17 directors of private schools in the Małopolskie voivodship, 19 directors of public schools in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, and 20 directors of private schools in the Mazowieckie voivodship. The research is based on the concept of situational leadership by Ken Blanchard (Ken Blanchard, 2007), which distinguishes four styles of team management: instructing, consulting, participation and delegation. The aim of the questionnaire, which was used by me during the research, which concerned the attitude of the directors of the outlets, was to determine the management style of the institution (flexibility of style) and the effectiveness of its style. Results. It turns out that the type of facility, public or private, largely affects the way it is managed by directors. The most important thing is matching the style of targeting to a given group of employees.The location, in this case, the Małopolskie or Mazowieckie voivodships, play a smaller role. In private institutions, both in the Mazowieckie and Małopolskie Voivodships, one of the dominant management styles presented by directors is Instructing whereas in public schools it is delegation. The degree of adaptation of the director's style to the type of institutions is also different.This indicates a different way of management and a different specifics of both facilities. Conclusions. Depending on the different management styles, the directors of the branches present various attitudes. They influence the way of working in private and public institutions to a large extent, which in a long time is reflected in the level of satisfaction and job satisfaction presented by employees. The method of managing the institution also determines the atmosphere prevailing in the school between the pedagogical group, which is one of the factors of effective student education

Doing Gender: How Stories in an Organization Help to Create and Maintain Gender

This study examines how stories told within an organization help to create and maintain gender within that organization. It focuses on similarities and differences of stories told by males and females in the organization, particularly whether stories indicate a unified culture and if stories indicate a common perception of the rise of men and women through the ranks. Four locations of a major chain of national travel centers participated in the study. Qualitative research methods were used to gather data about the organizational culture, specifically, one Southeastern location was observed and nineteen in-depth interviews were conducted resulting in 136 stories. Stories were analyzed to determine if and how the culture of the organization contributes to the gendering of the organization. This study builds on work in this area that argues that organizational culture creates and maintains gender within the organization. Specifically, the study found that categories of stories told by men and women are generally the same, but the themes running through the stories are not

Antibody- and osteoclast-dependent mechanisms of chronic pain

Chronic pain is a frequent condition that affects approximately 20% of worldwide population with a higher prevalence among women. Due to the lack of optimal treatment, chronic pain leads to decreased life quality as well as significant physical and psychological complications. Consequently, it has become a major socio-economical problem, creating huge expenses in the form of medical care, sick leave and loss of productivity. Recent findings in the fields of immunology and neuroscience have underlined the important effector functions of autoantibodies in the development of several chronic pain conditions. Although pain in autoimmune diseases has been historically associated with inflammation due to the antibody-induced activation of inflammatory pathways, pain in these conditions often occurs before inflammation development or is the only symptom of the disease. Increasing amount of preclinical evidence suggests that autoantibodies engage multiple mechanisms, which give rise to hypersensitivity independent of inflammation. Thus, the aim of this thesis was to explore the mechanisms behind the pronociceptive properties of autoantibodies isolated from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and fibromyalgia patients. In Study I we have used a combination of two RA-associated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) isolated from B cells of RA patients, to study the connection between increased bone erosion and pain in RA. We found that mice injected with 1103:01B02/1325:01B09 mAbs developed long-lasting mechanical hypersensitivity and bone erosion in the absence of overt joint inflammation. Furthermore, we found that pain-like behavior induced by 1103:01B02/1325:01B09 is associated with a moderate increase in the expression of few proinflammatory factors in the joints and is resistant to treatment with conventional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), suggesting it does not depend on classical inflammatory processes. Instead, we demonstrated that inhibiting osteoclast activity and acid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3) signaling prevented the development of 1103:01B02/1325:01B09- induced hypersensitivity. We have also established that secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) and lysophosphatidylcholine 16:0 (LPC 16:0) are critical mediators of B02/B09-induced mechanical hypersensitivity, since treatment with sPLA2 inhibitor reversed pain-like behavior and bone erosion induced by 1103:01B02/1325:01B09 mAbs. Collectively, these findings provide a novel link between bone erosion and pain, in a state of subclinical inflammation, and progress our knowledge about the mechanisms of bone-related pain in RA. In Study II we have used a monoclonal anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) previously reported to stimulate osteoclasts in vitro, but not tested in vivo. We found that intravenous (i.v.) injection of 1325:04C03 IgG into mice induced pain-like behavior in the absence of visible signs of joint inflammation and in a fashion that is insensitive to conventional analgesics like NSAIDs or gabapentin. Instead, 1325:04C03-induced mechanical hypersensitivity was attenuated by nerve growth factor (NGF)-neutralizing antibody and a CXCR1/2 antagonist. Although 1325:04C03 only mildly stimulated osteoclast activity and did not lead to bone erosion in vivo, treatment with osteoclast inhibitor zoledronate partially reversed 1325:04C03-induced mechanical hypersensitivity, indicating a contribution of the bone compartment to pain-like behavior. Furthermore, increased expression of Ngf and neurotrophin 3 (Ntf3) in the ankle joints, as well as increased expression of several pronociceptive factors in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), was prevented by osteoclast inhibition, pointing towards a relationship between altered bone metabolism and NGF-driven nociception. In conclusion, our data point to a concomitant role of NGF and osteoclast-derived ligands in mediating ACPA-induced pain-like behavior. In Study III we have focused on the pronociceptive properties of 1325:01B09 mAb, an antimodified protein antibody (AMPA) with reactivity towards several modified peptides. Intravenous injection of 1325:01B09 into mice induced mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity without any visual, histological or transcriptional signs of inflammation in the joint and was not alleviated by NSAID treatment. Instead, we found that 1325:01B09 caused a global increase in expression of several inflammatory-, macrophage-, satellite-glia cells (SGC)- and nociceptor-related factors in lumbar DRGs. Using transgenic mice that lack activating Fc-gamma receptors (FcgRs) we found that FcgRs are critical for the development of intravenous and intra-articular 1325:01B09-induced mechanical hypersensitivity and partially drive transcriptional changes in the DRGs. Finally, we have observed that 1325:01B09 binds SGCs in vitro, and in synergy with LPS, stimulates cells to release CXCL1. Overall, our findings point to the possibility that 1325:01B09 forms immune complexes and induces mechanical hypersensitivity through stimulation of FcgRs. Further studies are warranted to delineate if 1325:01B09 acts also locally in the DRGs by binding to SGC epitopes or FcgRI located on DRG macrophages. In Study IV we have provided evidence for the pronociceptive properties of IgG isolated from serum of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). We have shown that passive transfer of FMS IgG, but not IgG from healthy controls (HC) or IgG-depleted FMS serum into mice, gave rise to pressure, mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity in mice, accompanied by decreased muscle strength and diminished locomotor activity. Moreover, injection of FMS IgG resulted in enhanced nociceptor responsiveness to mechanical and cold stimulation in the skin as well as loss of intraepidermal innervation. While FMS IgG did not directly activate sensory neurons, it bound to SGCs in vitro and in vivo and stimulated their activity measured by immunohistochemistry and gene expression. Furthermore, FMS IgG did not accumulate in mouse spinal cord or brain. Instead, FMS IgG bound to human DRGs and colocalized with both SGCs and sensory neurons. To conclude, these findings demonstrate that passive transfer of IgG from FMS patients into mice recapitulates key features of the disease. While in-depth studies are required to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of FMS IgG-induced hypersensitivity, we suggest that therapies that reduce IgG titres or decrease IgG binding might be successful in treating symptoms of FMS. In summary, this thesis underlines the urgency of in-depth understanding of mechanisms behind autoantibody-induced pain in diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia syndrome. Studies described here provide evidence that autoreactive antibodies engage several inflammation-independent mechanisms to induce pain and provide novel insights that can aid in designing better pain therapies in the future. Furthermore, only by undertaking translational studies like the ones described above we will be able to understand the complex mechanisms that drive pain in RA or FMS

Does participation make sense? : effective methods of including people in biodiversity conservation

Though current conservation policy in Poland refl ects world trends and approaches to action, compliance with all of its assumptions would entail the Polish authorities remodelling both the system and the methods by which natural resources are managed. On the one hand this requires a change of approach to the management of natural resources from the traditional, purely nature-related one, to a more modern inter-disciplinary one that takes in social and economic conditioning. On the other hand, a system need to be put in place to allow these ideas to be introduced in practice. The work described here deals with the participation of different stakeholder groups in nature management, with this regarded as a method of increasing the latter’s effi ciency. The many examples (of good practice) presented by the author well illustrate the wisdom of the approach, which often seems to achieve success where it is attempted. Though current conservation policy in Poland refl ects world trends and approaches to action, compliance with all of its assumptions would entail the Polish authorities remodelling both the system and the methods by which natural resources are managed. On the one hand this requires a change of approach to the management of natural resources from the traditional, purely nature-related one, to a more modern inter-disciplinary one that takes in social and economic conditioning. On the other hand, a system need to be put in place to allow these ideas to be introduced in practice. The work described here deals with the participation of different stakeholder groups in nature management, with this regarded as a method of increasing the latter’s effi ciency. The many examples (of good practice) presented by the author well illustrate the wisdom of the approach, which often seems to achieve success where it is attempted

Leadership Ability Based on Communication Style: A Quantitative Study of the Effects of Sex and Gender on Perception of Leadership

Work to date on masculine and feminine communication styles in leadership roles is limited. Much of the leadership research reflects an interest in the differences between the styles of men and women, but relatively little has been done focusing on feminine and masculine communication styles. This study seeks to fill in some of the gaps. The quantitative design of this study is based on Goldberg\u27s (1968) experimental paradigm and used an Internet-linked survey consisting of four different sex and gender combinations. The survey included Renzetti\u27s (1987) Sex Role Attitudinal Inventory, a brief description of a leader, and a Likert-type scale with 20 items that rated leaders on five dimensions: task, relationship, organizational identity, qualifications, and dynamism. A factor analysis of these dimensions resulted in combining them into three factors: task/dynamism, relationship/organizational ID/qualifications, and an overall item with the two previous factors combined. Participants were selected using a convenience and a snowball approach. The convenience sample included a community college, resulting in 189 usable surveys, and the snowball sample was a general sample accessed via the Internet by the researcher sending an email to a personal address book and frequently used listservs and asking those recipients to pass it on, resulting in 213 usable surveys. Expectation states theory and role congruity theory were the foundations for this study. Contrary to expectations, males and leaders using a masculine communication style were not rated more positively than females or those using a feminine communication style