Incentive Pay or Windfalls: Remuneration for employee inventions in Japan

This paper summarizes historical developments in Japan's legal treatment of firms' invention remuneration policies and examines the impact of such policies on R&D performance using original data from surveys including the 2005 IIP Invention Remuneration Survey, the 2007 RIETI Inventor Survey and its 2008 follow-up survey. Tracking the linkages between remuneration policy and R&D performance is complicated by Japanese firms' reluctance to reveal the details of their policies to their employees before the 2004 amendment of Japan's Patent Law. By matching the data from firm-level and individual-level surveys, we find that nearly 40% of inventors believed that their firms did not have revenue-based remuneration although their employers reported they actually had instituted such policies. We estimate the effect of revenue-based remuneration policies on R&D performance using two policy variables for the incidence of contingent remuneration policies, one of which depends on the firms' responses and the other on individual employees' survey responses.

Factors Affecting Catecholamines in Caregivers of Patients with Dementia

Background: Caregivers of dementia patients have significantly higher levels of serum IL-6 and CRP compared to non-caregivers, and the accumulation of everyday stressors reportedly promotes the induction of inflammatory markers. However, few studies have identified factors that affect catecholamine levels in caregivers who experience a combination of physical and mental stress from caregiving. Purpose: This study aimed to identify physical factors that impact catecholamine levels in caregivers of dementia patients. Methods: Participants were elderly caregivers living together with elderly Alzheimer’s-type dementia patients. We performed logistic regression analysis, with levels of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine (indicators of catecholamine) as dependent variables. Results: Caregiver BMI had a significant impact on adrenaline levels (OR: 0.792; 95%CI: 0.654-0.960) and noradrenaline levels (OR: 1.210; 95%CI: 1.009-1.451), whereas age had a significant impact on dopamine levels (OR: 1.162; 95%CI: 1.019- 1.324). Discussion: While caregiver BMI significantly impacted adrenaline and noradrenaline levels, the mechanism underlying these relationships is unclear. One possibility is that obesity (BMI) and a rise in sympathetic nerve activity contributed to hypertension. Our findings suggest that chronic stress in elderly caregivers may potentially impair the dopaminergic activation system in the brain. Conclusion: There is a need to identify factors which increase BMI in caregivers. Future studies aimed at gaining a better understanding of the lifestyle habits of caregivers and intervention studies aimed at reducing their BMI are warrante

Shoulder pain in patients following lung resection

Aim and objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency, influencing factors, and clinical course of shoulder pain in patients following lung resection. Background: Thoracoscopes have been introduced in the surgical treatment of lung cancer, and allow for less invasive surgery with a minimal incision. However, decubitus position-related shoulder pain on the operated side has not yet been investigated. Design: A longitudinal descriptive study. Methods: Patients who underwent lung resection in the decubitus position. Patients were interviewed 2 days before surgery and once daily for 5 days after surgery. Interview items included background data, the concomitant use of epidural anesthesia, operative duration, presence of preoperative shoulder stiffness (excluding shoulder pain), type of surgery, and site of operation. The intensity of pain was approximately 5 on an 11-point numerical rating scale. Descriptive statistics on patient backgrounds were obtained using SPSS Statistics 22 for Windows. Results: Of the 74 patients who underwent lung resection in a decubitus position, 30(40.5%) developed shoulder pain on the operated side. The highest rating occurred 1 day after surgery and decreased over time. The following two factors were found to influence shoulder pain on the operated side: operative duration(Z=-2·63;p=0·01), and presence of preoperative shoulder stiffness(excluding shoulder pain)(χ2＝4·16;p=0·04). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that approximately 40% of patients who underwent lung resection in the decubitus position developed shoulder pain. Relevance to clinical practice: The presence of postoperative shoulder pain was related to both the duration of the operation and to the presence of preoperative shoulder stiffness. Although the shoulder pain resolves within 4 days, it causes the patient additional discomfort and distress. Therefore, further research is needed on positioning for thoracotomy in order to investigate ways to reduce or eliminate this complication of lung surgery

Head-up Tilt Test May Be Useful for Determining Permission of Flight for Regular Passenger Aircraft Pilots with Vasovagal Syncope

To determine the permissibility of piloting an aircraft with vasovagal syncope （VVS） is a complex responsibility, because it is difficult to evaluate VVS quantitatively. There are no clear guidelines for aircraft pilots with VVS. In some facilities, Head-up Tilt Test （HUTT） is used to determine its reproducibility and treatment effect. In most cases, permission is dependent on the strict examinations by specialists and judgement of the committee established for each country. Therefore, we assessed pilots with VVS and designed an algorism of permission for piloting an aircraft. Here, we describe 7 consecutive regular passenger aircraft pilots with VVS who were restricted to fly. All patients were men and their mean age was 37 years. All pilots were permitted to fly after at least two or more tilt-tests. The observation period was two years after flight permission. None of the pilots in the present study fainted after receiving flight permission. We can make a risk stratification to determine hypotensive susceptibility by multiple tilt tests. Based on the results of multiple HUTT, we can more quantitatively make the judgement as to whether the pilot’s VVS is well managed

Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation within Three Months after Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation : Analysis Using an External Loop Recorder with Auto-trigger Function

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) via catheter ablation has been shown to be a highly effective option for patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial brillation (AF). The recurrence of AF within 3 months after PVI is not considered a failure of the ablation procedure because early recurrence of AF is not always associated with late recurrence. We examined the usefulness of an external loop recorder with auto-trigger function (ELR-AUTO) to detect AF following PVI to characterize early recurrence and determine the implication of AF within 3 months after PVI. The study included 53 consecutive patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF (age, 61.6 ± 12.6 years ; 77％ male) who underwent PVI, and were fitted with an ELR-AUTO for 7 ± 2 days within 3 months after PVI. Of the 33 patients(62.2％) who did not have AF within the 3-month period, only 1 patient had AF recurrence at 12 months. Seven of 20 patients (35％) who experienced AF within 3 months had symptomatic AF recurrence at 12 months. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of early AF recurrence for late recurrence was 87.5％, 71.1％, 35.0％, and 96.9％, respectively. Thus, AF recurrence detected by ELR-AUTO within 3 months after PVI can predict late AF recurrence. Freedom from AF in the firrst 3 months following ablation significantly predicts long-term freedom from AF. An ELR-AUTO is useful for detecting symptomatic and asymptomatic AF

How Do Inventors Respond to Financial Incentives? Evidence from Unanticipated Court Decisions on Employees’ Inventions in Japan

We use a novel panel data set of corporate inventors matched with their employers in Japan to examine the effects of output-based financial incentives on corporate inventors’ performance. We exploit heterogeneous industry responses to Japanese court decisions that forced Japanese firms to introduce stronger incentives. We show, first, that only industries facing a high risk of employee-inventor lawsuits adopted or significantly strengthened financial incentives based on the commercial success of inventions in response to the court decisions. Our estimations reveal that stronger financial incentives in such industries reduced the number of highly cited patents and significantly decreased the incidence of science-based patents after technology-specific year effects are controlled for. These results show that the compulsion to remunerate employee-inventors on the basis of the commercial success of their inventions could distort the efficiency of corporate research and development and illustrate the importance of contracting freedom

How Do Inventors Respond to Financial Incentives? Evidence from Unanticipated Court Decisions on Employees’ Inventions in Japan

We use a novel panel data set of corporate inventors matched with their employers in Japan to examine the effects of output-based financial incentives on corporate inventors’ performance. We exploit heterogeneous industry responses to Japanese court decisions that forced Japanese firms to introduce stronger incentives. We show, first, that only industries facing a high risk of employee-inventor lawsuits adopted or significantly strengthened financial incentives based on the commercial success of inventions in response to the court decisions. Our estimations reveal that stronger financial incentives in such industries reduced the number of highly cited patents and significantly decreased the incidence of science-based patents after technology-specific year effects are controlled for. These results show that the compulsion to remunerate employee-inventors on the basis of the commercial success of their inventions could distort the efficiency of corporate research and development and illustrate the importance of contracting freedom

Ultrafast carrier relaxation through Auger recombination in the topological insulator Bi1.5Sb0.5Te1.7Se1.3

International audienc