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The safety and efficacy of pharmacotherapy in children, particularly preterms, neonates and infants, is limited by a paucity of good‐quality data from prospective clinical drug trials. A specific challenge is the establishment of valid biomarkers. OMICs technologies may support these efforts by complementary information about targeted and nontargeted molecules through systematic characterization and quantitation of biological samples. OMICs technologies comprise at least genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and microbiomics in addition to the patient's phenotype. OMICs technologies are in part hypothesis‐generating, allowing an in depth understanding of disease pathophysiology and pharmacological mechanisms. Application of OMICs technologies in paediatrics faces major challenges before routine adoption. First, developmental processes need to be considered, including a subdivision into specific age groups as developmental changes clearly impact OMICs data. Second, compared to the adult population, the number of patients is limited as are the type and amount of necessary biomaterial, especially in neonates and preterms. Thus, advanced trial designs and biostatistical methods, noninvasive biomarkers, innovative biobanking concepts including data and samples from healthy children, as well as analytical approaches (eg liquid biopsies) should be addressed to overcome these obstacles. The ultimate goal is to link OMICs technologies with innovative analysis tools, such as artificial intelligence at an early stage. The use of OMICs data based on a feasible approach will contribute to the identification complex phenotypes and subpopulations of patients to improve the development of medicines for children with potential economic advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate parents' preferences and motivations for receiving and discussing prognostic genetic test results. Method: We used a cross‐sectional, interpretive description qualitative study design. We collected data through semi‐structured interviews with Australian parents, which we analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Parents (n = 32) had a child or children with a genetic neurodevelopmental condition, such as fragile X syndrome, DiGeorge (22q11.2 deletion) syndrome, or Angelman syndrome. Parents of mildly impacted or older children were tolerant to prognostic uncertainty. Parents found conversations about their child's prognosis emotional and preferred to discuss their child's potential strengths and challenges. While most were enthusiastic about prognostic tests and described many motivations for testing, the potential for prognostic information to contribute to a loss of hope and stigmatizing societal views were also discussed. Interpretation: Parents had mixed preferences and motivations for acquiring prognostic genetic information about their child, contrasting evidence in other contexts such as cancer where parents typically have minimal tolerance of uncertainty. Health professionals should consider strength‐based framing of prognostic information gained from current and emerging technologies when returning results to families. What this paper adds: Parents had varied views about receiving prognostic information on their children's neurodevelopmental condition.Some parents preferred prognostic uncertainty about their children's genetic neurodevelopmental condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an emerging technology, virtual coupling improves the efficiency and flexibility of metro services by forming multiple trains (units) as a virtually coupled train set (VCTS) without mechanical couplers. However, to realize the desired VCTS operation in practical metro services, a significant gap to be filled is that the implicit and nonlinear safety constraints are hard to be addressed in real‐time control. Thus, this paper proposes a hierarchical control approach with a two‐layer framework. In the upper layer, a trajectory planning method is designed, which addresses the safety constraints and prescribes a reference trajectory for each unit. In the lower layer, a model predictive control approach is constructed, by which each unit accurately tracks its reference trajectory in real time. Afterward, the proposed hierarchical control approach is employed to realize VCTS inter‐station operation in field tests. The average tracking error of speed is around 8 cm/s and the stopping error is less than 12 cm. The following distance between two units in VCTS is reduced to less than 105 m at the speed of 80 km/h, which is a breakthrough in the development of VCTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past years, multimedia content has improved in realism and plausibility owing to the development of deep learning techniques, particularly the generative adversarial networks and variational auto‐encoders. Though digital content, especially digital movies shot from a certain viewpoint gives a true representation of reality, yet the ubiquitous usage of content manipulation techniques casts doubt on its veracity. Deepfaking an AI based tampering technique, is able to map facial and acoustic features of a source person onto the target with an intention to make target say or enact the things that has not happened in real. Numerous approaches have been proposed in the literature for detection of image and video deepfakes. With technological advancement, researchers have also started to examine audio deepfakes and ways to detect them. As there is currently no comprehensive overview of audio deepfake generation and detection techniques, this paper aims to provide a survey of the relevant literature in this area. This survey paper intends to help research fraternity about the available audio generation and detection approaches for design of reliable detection models in future to classify fake and real audios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This white paper is the outcome of the seventh UC Davis Cardiovascular Research Symposium on Systems Approach to Understanding Cardiovascular Disease and Arrhythmia. This biannual meeting aims to bring together leading experts in subfields of cardiovascular biomedicine to focus on topics of importance to the field. The theme of the 2022 Symposium was 'Cell Diversity in the Cardiovascular System, cell‐autonomous and cell–cell signalling'. Experts in the field contributed their experimental and mathematical modelling perspectives and discussed emerging questions, controversies, and challenges in examining cell and signal diversity, co‐ordination and interrelationships involved in cardiovascular function. This paper originates from the topics of formal presentations and informal discussions from the Symposium, which aimed to develop a holistic view of how the multiple cell types in the cardiovascular system integrate to influence cardiovascular function, disease progression and therapeutic strategies. The first section describes the major cell types (e.g. cardiomyocytes, vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells, fibroblasts, neurons, immune cells, etc.) and the signals involved in cardiovascular function. The second section emphasizes the complexity at the subcellular, cellular and system levels in the context of cardiovascular development, ageing and disease. Finally, the third section surveys the technological innovations that allow the interrogation of this diversity and advancing our understanding of the integrated cardiovascular function and dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry 4.0 refers to the digital transformation in the manufacturing domain through new technology. Currently, it expands well beyond manufacturing, affecting many areas of life and posing implications for all types of business. This paper focuses on the relationships between Industry 4.0 and Healthcare which transitions to increased interconnectivity, automation and smart decision making. The integration context of Industry 4.0 into Healthcare is only partly understood. Little was done until now to consolidate what is known on the integration benefits and the challenges. This article reports results of a systematic mapping study that analysed 69 papers to extract knowledge about the concepts of Industry 4.0 and the emerging Healthcare 4.0., and the relationships between them. We found 10 different perspectives of Healthcare 4.0, ranging from strategic to tactical and operational levels. Next, our results show: (i) nine applications of Industry 4.0 in the Healthcare domain: Augmented Reality and Simulation, Autonomous Robotics, Cybersecurity, Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Additive Manufacturing and Systems Integration; and (ii) 10 benefits and nine challenges in Healthcare 4.0. The most frequently mentioned benefits are patients' diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and financial benefits. The most researched challenges are data fragmentation, heterogeneity, complexity, and privacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managed pressure cementing (MPC) is a new technology based on managed pressure drilling, which has a greater advantage in facing narrow density window formations. However, the existing pressure prediction models during MPC injection stage consider fewer factors and have lower accuracy. To this end, combined with the characteristics of the injection stage, a predictive model of the distribution of annular fluid type was first proposed. Then, based on the experimental results, fluid density and rheology as a function of temperature and pressure were fitted. The governing equation of temperature‐pressure field was established. Eventually the fluid performance parameters–temperature–pressure coupling prediction model was developed in this paper. By comparing the predicted pump pressure with the measured pump pressure, the maximum relative error is not more than 10%. Using this model, the fluid type distribution, temperature field distribution, and pressure field distribution were investigated. The results indicated that the distribution of fluid types in the wellbore presented a complex variation, with up to 10 fluids in the casing and up to five fluids in the annulus. The trend of temperature field is complex, with three turning points. The larger the formation temperature gradient, the higher the fluid temperature in the annulus. The influence law of fluid heat conduction coefficient is reversed at 6750 m. Decreasing drilling fluid density will trigger gas channeling, while increasing drilling fluid density will increase the risk of fracturing formation, and safe operation can be realized by MPC. The variation of the static pressure in the casing is more complicated than in the annulus and the annular circulation pressure in the eccentric casing is smaller than that of the concentric casing, which is due to the smaller annular friction pressure. This study can provide a theoretical basis for the prediction of hydrodynamic parameters during the MPC injection stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)—the simplest and most common silicone compound—exemplifies the central characteristics of its class and has attracted tremendous research attention. The development of PDMS‐based materials is a vivid reflection of the modern industry. In recent years, PDMS has stood out as the material of choice for various emerging technologies. The rapid improvement in bulk modification strategies and multifunctional surfaces has enabled a whole new generation of PDMS‐based materials and devices, facilitating, and even transforming enormous applications, including flexible electronics, superwetting surfaces, soft actuators, wearable and implantable sensors, biomedicals, and autonomous robotics. This paper reviews the latest advances in the field of PDMS‐based functional materials, with a focus on the added functionality and their use as programmable materials for smart devices. Recent breakthroughs regarding instant crosslinking and additive manufacturing are featured, and exciting opportunities for future research are highlighted. This review provides a quick entrance to this rapidly evolving field and will help guide the rational design of next‐generation soft materials and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the late 1980s, there has been no explicit regional policy in Canada. Indirectly, though, equalization payments, industrial policies, as well as regional agencies encouraging the adoption of federal industrial and innovation policies, impact regional economies. In 2017, the federal government appeared to alter its approach: the Supercluster initiative was announced, drawing upon the idea that localized networks of interrelated firms can generate innovation and local development. In this paper, we discuss the mechanisms through which spatially focused industrial innovation policy can lead to regional development. We then focus on Canada's Ocean Supercluster initiative. The question we address is as follows: to what extent can this initiative (and, more widely, Canada's Supercluster policy) be understood as a regional development strategy driven by a coherent rationale for regional intervention? Apart from the fact that each Supercluster focuses on a pre‐existing core of firms located within a region, there is little evidence that the Supercluster initiative has regional development objectives or impacts. Key messages: In 2018, Canada's federal government implemented the Supercluster policy. Five regionally focussed clusters were selected for support for business‐led innovation initiatives.Superclusters were presented as a means both to develop regional economies and to enhance Canada's global innovation impact, in a manner similar to Europe's smart specialization.Despite the initial regional dimension, Superclusters are geared towards national, not regional, objectives and do not focus upon regional development processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces several articles published in the April 2001 issue of the `Regional Science' journal concerning innovation and regional development.

This paper exploits triggered lightning as a point source for the basin‐scale electromagnetic tomographic survey to image 3‐D subsurface electrical properties in basins. This paper further develops a new temporal moment approach, overcoming the difficulties in forward and inverse modeling of 3‐D Maxwell's equations with heterogeneous parameter fields. Using this approach, we find that the influence of a single triggered lightning strike covers a radius of 20–70 km with detectable signals. The cross‐correlation analysis between the moment difference of the electric and electric/magnetic property field indicates that the approach is suitable for mapping subsurface electric conductivity (σ $\sigma $) heterogeneity. A numerical experiment with 3‐D spatially random parameter fields demonstrates that the method captures the spatial distribution of electric conductivity over large areas with a sparse monitoring network. It reveals the potential of using triggered lightning as a basin‐scale electric/magnetic tomography survey. Plain Language Summary: Triggered lightning experiments traditionally aim at adverse impacts of lightning phenomena on near‐surface structures (such as buildings, power, communication, and transportation networks). Magnetotellurics surveys have exploited electromagnetic (EM) waves from thunderstorm activities and the interaction of solar wind with the Earth's magnetosphere to map the subsurface structure, assuming that electromagnetic waves are planar and propagate vertically into the Earth. This paper, in contrast, explores the EM waves generated by flashes of lightning triggered by a lightning rocket at designated locations as EM point sources and their measurements at different depths and distances in the subsurface. Such experiments are tantamount to an EM tomographic survey, viewing the subsurface from different perspectives. This paper further develops a new stochastic methodology to analyze the propagation of EM waves in heterogeneous geologic media over hundreds of kilometers. These accomplishments permit harvesting the lightning signals to image the subsurface over greater depths and areas and address the image's uncertainty. Numerical experiments confirm the robustness of this proposed concept, which could be a new technology to explore subsurface processes and natural resources in basins and mountain terrains. Key Points: An efficient 3‐D forward and inverse model based on the temporal moment is developed to solve Maxwell's equations in random parameter fieldsTriggered lightning tomography yields an excellent subsurface electric conductivity spatial distribution in a basin of several kilometersDeep lightning rods in the subsurface improve vertical resolution and depth of investigation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault analysis is necessary to design a protection system and circuit breakers for a power system network. The multiphase system is a new technology so very little work is found for the fault analysis of a multiphase system contrary, unlike a three‐phase system. The faults in a seven‐phase system may be either symmetrical or non‐symmetrical. A non‐symmetrical fault requires studying the sequence components of a seven‐phase system using Fortescue transformation. In the paper, non‐symmetrical fault analysis of the seven‐phase system has been analysed. For this, a new definition of sequence components of an unbalanced seven‐phase system has been proposed in this paper. Then the proposed sequence components are applied to different faults studies at the input and output sides of a seven‐phase transformer. Further, the effect of the construction of a seven‐phase transformer, that is, core type and shell type on its output is studied. Moreover, the effect of open‐phase input is analysed using simulation and hardware results. From the analysis, it is found that in certain configurations of a seven‐phase transformer, the seven‐phase output is produced even though open‐phase fault is present at the input while in other configurations, seven‐phase is not produced in the case of open‐phase fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) has become a popular method of observing seismic wavefields: backscattered pulses of light reveal strains or strain rates at any location along a fiber‐optic cable. In contrast, a few newer systems transmit light through a cable and collect integrated phase delays over the entire cable, such as the Microwave Frequency Fiber Interferometer (MFFI). These integrated systems can be deployed over significantly longer distances, may be used in conjunction with live telecommunications, and can be significantly cheaper. However, they provide only a single time series representing strain over the entire length of the fiber. This work discusses theoretically how a distributed and integrated system can be quantitatively compared, and we note that the sensitivity depends strongly on points of curvature. Importantly, this work presents the first results of a quantitative, head‐to‐head comparison of a DAS and the integrated MFFI system using pre‐existing telecommunications fibers in Athens, Greece. Plain Language Summary: New technologies are being developed to measure earthquakes using fiber‐optic telecommunications cables. The most popular new method in recent years is "Distributed Acoustic Sensing," (DAS) in which pulses of light are repeatedly sent down a fiber and one measures the signals that reflect back. Shaking from an earthquake will stretch the fiber and the signature of reflected pulses will change. A new method (Microwave Frequency Fiber Interferometer [MFFI] in the paper) sends light from one end to the other and measures differences in optical phase. The new method has many advantages: it is cheaper, can be used on longer cables, and can be used at the same time as active telecommunications. As a disadvantage is lacks the high spatial resolution that DAS offers. This paper discusses the differences between the two methods and shows how to compare them, and then shows the first real‐data, head‐to‐head comparison from an earthquake observed in Athens, Greece. Key Points: We develop and test a theory for the quantitative comparison of distributed and integrated fiber‐optic strain sensingThe sensitivity of integrated measurements depends primarily on local fiber curvature and fiber heterogeneityA data‐based comparison corroborates the theory, thereby demonstrating the geophysical value of our integrated sensor system [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gob‐side entry formation by roof cutting is a new technology for no pillar coal mining, which can maximize coal resources and reduce roadway drivage ratio. However, the mechanical behavior of the formed entry is complex while it is crucial to ensure the stability of the entry for mining safety. This paper proposed a machine learning‐based method for predicting the stability of the formed entry, which combined artificial neural network (ANN) with particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm or genetic optimization (GO) algorithm. The data set from 75 coal mining faces from 2009 to 2022 was employed to train and test the models. A descriptive variable of dynamic unstable distance was introduced to evaluate the stability state of the formed entry and six other parameters were chosen as influence parameters. The two intelligent models were compared with each other to have a comprehensive assessment. Model assessment indices such as R2, mean absolute error, mean absolute percentage error, and root mean square error were used to evaluate the accuracy of the models. The results of both developed models are promising, and the predictive accuracy of the PSO‐ANN model is higher than that of the GO‐ANN model. Through sensitivity analyses, it has been found that the coal seam thickness and roof rock hardness are the most important parameters for influencing entry stability. The developed method provides a practical tool for the prediction of entry stability and the optimization of entry design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock bursts are one of the most common dynamic disasters in coal mines and seriously affect safety production. At present, there are three common types of rock bursts: fault‐structure, fold‐structure, and thick/hard‐roof rock bursts. First, the paper proposed an innovative technology for mine ground fracturing to control those rock bursts. Then, for the new method, its fracturing devices, process, and monitoring technique for cracks were introduced. Next, we analyzed the detailed control procedures for those types of rock bursts and control principles of absorbing energy, blocking stress transmission, and reducing overall rock strength. To illustrate the control effect of ground fracturing for the rock bursts, we proposed a Voronoi block division method (VBDM) and multistrength criteria (MSC) consisting of Mohr–Coulomb Joint, Hoek–Brown Joint, and strain–stress equivalent method. Then, two numerical models using the VBDM and MSC were established. One is fault‐structure rock burst with ground fracturing and another is that without. From the numerical simulation, it was concluded that: (1) The ground fracturing will increase τ/σn, a ratio of shear stress to the normal stress of the fault, from 0.25 to 0.50, especially within 100 m of a working face to a fault. This situation indicates that ground fracturing will induce fault slip in advance, thus releasing energy in advance. (2) Fractured zones with low stress were formed by ground fracturing, which can reduce both upward extrusion pressure and normal stress, thereby triggering the fault slippage in advance. The energy released from the fault can be absorbed by the fractured zone, thereby controlling the advanced stress of the working face, and lowering the danger of rock burst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, 'security challenge' is considered a commonly‐used catchword when it comes to emerging technologies such as the internet of things (IoT). Turning a blind eye to this challenge can sometimes lead to irreparable human and financial damage in everyday life. Threat modelling, despite being time consuming, complex, and error‐prone, is still recognized as a preventative solution in the design phase. The method proposed in this paper, called automatic generation of threat paths, is suggested as an automated solution to the problem of identifying and determining potential threats. The proposed method is the improved and robust development of automated modelling and the introduction of the integration of new features (such as conditional probability and security) with the techniques of previous generations (such as Petri Nets (PNs)). The proposed method is evaluated using different security scenarios, and the results show that the proposed method outperforms other manual methods in this domain in terms of both time and cost (99.9% and 98.05%, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty years after the birth of medical imaging from Röntgen's 1895 discovery, military authorities understood the advantage of visualising injuries of wounded soldiers and monitoring their treatment. In World War One, medical imaging equipment was difficult to use and had to be operated in challenging environments. The most common use of x‐rays was the imaging of metallic foreign bodies such as bullets and shrapnel lodged within a soldier's body. The need to diagnose, manage war injuries and return soldiers to battle, led to medical imaging innovations including alternate means to record an image, better x‐ray tubes and an early form of tomography. Such technological advancements were made by scientists serving their respective countries. With information sourced from the Australian War Memorial archives, this paper also focusses on the experiences of an Australian wartime radiographer. This investigation demonstrates the importance, sacrifice and skills of men and women who took on the difficult task of medical imaging in the first truly world‐based conflict. It highlights how a new profession and associated technology emerged as an important tool in military medicine. Importantly, our profession's history within the context of military history should be preserved, while also honouring the legacy of individuals who contributed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Funding for educational innovations is increasingly scarce in academic medicine. While there is some funding for medical education research, this is often for discovery or application work, and there are few avenues for those with a heavy innovation focus to fund early work. Objective of the Innovation: The objective was to develop an intrapreneurial unit focused on medical education projects and scholarship. Development Process and Implementation: The GridlockED and TriagED games are educational or serious games that seek to teach health care learners about emergency medicine processes. Both games were cocreated with learners and brought to market in the past 3 years. All of the proceeds from the sales of these games have been accrued over time to create a new innovation fund. This fund seeks to support trainees and early career educators in their medical education projects. Outcomes: Sales for GridlockED began in March 2018 and the TriagED began in November 2019. In the first year, sales for GridlockED yielded a total of $9,534. After 18 months of sales, the fund has accrued a total of $14,530. The fund has helped finance the development of new games. Additionally, the fund awarded two internal $500 Kickstarter grants to assist with evaluating and improving two local education projects. The GridlockED and TriagED games have also spurred multiple academic opportunities for junior educators interested in this domain: five workshops, eight conference abstracts, two peer-reviewed papers, and two research protocols are being developed. Conclusions: The GridlockED and TriagED games represent a new academically oriented, intrapreneurial approach to medical education work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advances led to the generation of large scale complex data. Thus, extraction and retrieval of information to automatically discover latent pattern have been largely studied in the various domains of science and technology. Consequently, machine learning experienced tremendous development and various statistical approaches have been suggested. In particular, data clustering has received a lot of attention. Finite mixture models have been revealed to be one of the flexible and popular approaches in data clustering. Considering mixture models, three crucial aspects should be addressed. The first issue is choosing a distribution which is flexible enough to fit the data. In this paper, a model based on multivariate Beta distributions is proposed. The two other challenges in mixture models are estimation of model's parameters and model complexity. To tackle these challenges, variational inference techniques demonstrated considerable robustness. In this paper, two methods are studied, namely, batch and online variational inferences and the models are evaluated on four medical applications including image segmentation of colorectal cancer, multi‐class colon tissue analysis, digital imaging in skin lesion diagnosis and computer aid detection of Malaria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is regarded as a promising emerging technology, which has shown enormous potentials for performance enhancement. This paper investigates the multiple IRS‐aided dual‐hop DF relaying system for both single‐user and multi‐user scenarios over Nakagami‐m fading. Based on a scenario with non‐orthogonal multiple access users, tight upper bounds for the ergodic capacity in perfect channel state information(pCSI) scenario are first derived, and then approximate expressions are obtained in imperfect CSI (ipCSI) mode. Moreover, the performance of multiple IRS‐aided DF relaying system are compared with multi‐IRSs‐only system and DF relaying‐only system. Finally, all the analytical results are verified using Monte Carlo simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneous wireless information power transfer with power splitting is a new technology for energy harvesting that splits the received signal into two streams with adjustable power levels for information decoding and energy saving. Traditionally, decode and forward (DF) and amplify and forward (AF) schemes are used for energy harvesting in three‐step two‐way relay networks (TWRNs). In this paper, piece‐wise and forward (PF) scheme are applied with power splitting for energy harvesting in TWRNs. In PF, the received signal from each source at relay is compared to an adaptive threshold, if the signal strength is above the threshold, the relay functions similar to DF scheme, otherwise, the relay transmits a particular combination of its received signals from the sources. Next, the outage performance of PF protocol in a three‐step TWRN is studied and optimal lossless energy saving (OLES) method are presented to minimise the outage probability by computing the optimum power splitting ratio. The simulation and analytical results indicate that the outage probability of PF can be significantly improved using OLES technique in comparison with other related relaying schemes. The results show that the outage probability of PF‐OLES is 13, 3, and 5dB$5\nobreakspace \text{dB}$ lower than AF‐OLES, DF‐OLES, and DAPS [1], respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food is the basic necessity for life that always motivated man for its preservation and making it available for an extended period. Food scientists always tried to preserve it with minimum deterioration in quality by employing and investigating innovative preservation techniques. The food sector always remained in search of eco‐friendly and sustainable solutions to tackle food safety challenges. Green technologies (ozone, pulsed electric field, ohmic heating, photosensitization, ultraviolet radiations, high‐pressure processing, ultrasonic, nanotechnology) are in high demand owing to their eco‐friendly, rapid, efficient, and effective nature in controlling microbes with a negligible residual impact on food quality during processing. The use of green technologies would be a desirable substitute for conventionally available preservation techniques. This paper discusses different food preservation techniques with special reference to green technologies to minimize the deleterious impact on the environment and employs these innovative technologies to play role in enhancing the food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In regions of meagre technology and market activities, traditional innovation metrics (patents and trademarks filed at international offices) may provide limited insight of the mechanisms of regional diversification and therefore policies, including smart specialization. We argue that in such regions, innovation activity, of lower value, can become the seed needed to grow to innovation of international calibre. We provide support by examining both domestic and international patent and trademark activity for Greece's NUTS 3 regions during 2000–2016. We further implement the principle of relatedness and show that regions with related technology (market) capabilities are more likely to exhibit new technology (market) specializations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of radical innovations for the economy has received increasing attention by German policy‐makers. This paper investigates how (un‐)related variety and external linkages influence these innovations in German labour market regions. Evidence is found that related and unrelated knowledge capabilities both support the emergence of radical innovations, although strong related capabilities are especially important. External linkages have an inverted u‐shape relation to radically new ideas and can act as substitute for missing unrelated competences in a region. The results shed new light on the emergence of radical innovations and thus have interesting scientific and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The IET Radar, Sonar & Navigation (RSN) journal has a history of publishing special issues focused on new technologies or conference papers. They plan to continue and expand these special issues under the oversight of Professor Alessio Balleri. The journal has also embraced the open access model, with 27 of their hybrid journal programs transitioning to Gold OA in 2020. They now have 43 open access journals in their portfolio. Open access offers benefits such as wider readership, faster impact, and increased recognition for authors. The RSN journal prides itself on its rapid processing and publication times, with an average time of 29 days from submission to first decision and 25 days from acceptance to e-first publication. The editors express their gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their contributions to maintaining the journal's quality and speed. The article concludes with a statement that no new data were created or analyzed during the study. [Extracted from the article]

Sensing and measurement systems are quintessential to the safe and reliable operation of electric power grids. Their strategic placement is of ultimate importance because it is not economically viable to install measurement systems on every node and branch of a power grid, though they need to be monitored. An overwhelming number of strategies have been developed to meet oftentimes multiple conflicting objectives. The prime challenge in formulating the problem lies in developing a heuristic or an optimisation model that, though mathematically tractable and constrained in cost, leads to trustworthy technical solutions. Further, large‐scale, long‐term deployments pose additional challenges because the boundary conditions change as technologies evolve. For instance, the advent of new technologies in sensing and measurement, as well as in communications and networking, might impact the cost and performance of available solutions and shift initially set conditions. Also, the placement strategies developed for transmission grids might not be suitable for distribution grids, and vice versa, because of unique characteristics; therefore, the strategies need to be flexible, to a certain extent, because no two power grids are alike. Despite the extensive literature on the present topic, the focus of published works tends to be on a specific subject, such as the optimal placement of measurements to ensure observability in transmission grids. There is a dearth of work providing a comprehensive picture for developing optimal placement strategies. Because of the ongoing efforts on the modernisation of electric power grids, there is a need to consolidate the status quo while exposing its limitations to inform policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers on the research‐and‐development needs to push the boundaries for innovation. Accordingly, this paper first reviews the state‐of‐the‐art considering both transmission and distribution grids. Then, it consolidates the key factors to be considered in the problem formulation. Finally, it provides a set of perspectives on the measurement placement problem, and it concludes with future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to support regional policy‐makers who seek to understand the determinants of regional innovation dynamics. The challenge is to penetrate the black box of the Regional Innovation System (RIS) by identifying the building blocks and interaction processes that stimulate innovation at the regional level. Thanks to a creative database, the main originality of this study is to analyse regional innovation as a process of competences building. To test this explanatory model, a knowledge production function is estimated at the regional level in France by using a simultaneous equations setting. Our results validate the systemic dimension of regional innovation and identify the most valuate input–output transmission mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to analyse the innovation activity convergence process across European regions from 2002 to 2012. A novel methodology that allows either detection of overall convergence or endogenous identification of groups of regions was applied. The results support the club convergence hypothesis for explaining the convergence process of Europe's regions during the period analysed and seven innovation convergence clubs were identified. In addition, the research results indicate that initial regional R&D expenditure is the most relevant factor driving the formation of the convergence clubs after controlling for the effects of regional structural characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological innovation is essential to achieve simultaneously economic, environmental and social goals (i.e., the green growth). Indeed, many studies found that environmental innovation spurs overall innovation. However, this topic has not been investigated by taking into account the geographical context. Therefore, our paper seeks to investigate whether 'green regions', with an increased public and private commitment in environmental issues, are related to innovation of local firms. Using data on Spanish manufacturing firms and regions, we find that environmental technologies (especially in green energy), environmental investments, and environmental management at the level of regions are positively associated to local firms' innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increasing interactions between the natural gas system (NGS) and electric power system (EPS), the failures of power‐lines or gas pipelines in one system may influence another system and consequently trigger widespread disruptions. Hence, identifying these critical components and protecting them from malfunctions are essential to prevent the collapse of integrated gas and power systems (IGPSs). Considering the effects of both network topologies and operational features on the resiliency evaluation, a novel assessment framework is proposed in this paper to screen out critical power‐lines and gas pipelines. First, the framework of IGPSs is introduced and an optimal energy flow (OEF) model is constructed to quickly obtain the operation states under various disturbances. Furthermore, the resiliency metrics (RMs) are developed from structural and operational perspectives respectively. Specifically, structural RMs consider the coupling topologies to capture the structure‐related resiliency, while operational RMs analyse the resiliency related to gas and power flow to capture physical operation characteristics. Finally, an assessment algorithm synthesizing all the metrics is proposed to quantify the comprehensive resiliency, based on which critical power‐lines and pipelines (CPPs) can be detected. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated by an IGPS test system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effectiveness of Science and Technology Parks (STPs) as instruments of innovation policy has generated thriving debate among academics, practitioners and policy makers. A gap in the existing literature on STPs is that research mostly does not consider STPs' heterogeneity. The present paper aims at filling this gap, analysing the influence of different STP characteristics on their tenants' performance. Using data on 849 firms and 25 STPs from the 2009 Community Innovation Survey for Spain and a survey of STP managers respectively and after controlling for a wide set of firms characteristics, we find that: (i) firms located in very new or longer established STPs show better innovative performance; (ii) the size of the STP and its management company positively affects the innovative performance of tenants while services provision has no effect on firms' achieving better results; and (iii) firms in less technologically developed regions benefit more from location in an STP. Theoretical, policy and managerial contributions of our research are discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we demonstrate the feasibility of an innovative method to fabricate flexibly embedded microchannels in bulk ceramics of complex geometries. This innovative method is an integration of extrusion freeforming (EFF) and picosecond (PS) laser machining. The bulk ceramic green body of complex geometries was fabricated using the extrusion method. After one green layer was extruded, in‐plane microchannels with variable cross‐section sizes and aspect ratios were fabricated using a picosecond laser. After the microchannels were fabricated, a cover layer was extruded. The green state processed structures ceramics were pressurelessly sintered to a bulk density of ~94%. In this paper, sinuous channels, channel networks, and patterns have been demonstrated. Vertical channels can also be drilled using the picosecond laser layer‐by‐layer with uniform diameters. The wall between the neighboring channels can be as thin as ~60 μm without any observable defects after firing. With the correct paste rheology, the cover layer did not sag into the microchannels and the bonding between layers was excellent. We did not observe any debonding between layers. During extrusion, the gaps between the adjacent filaments can be eliminated by controlling the filament spacing and the distance between needle tip and substrate. After firing, microchannels did not distort or collapse. The laser can cut through multiple layers without damage to the bonding between layers. Due to the uniform shrinkage during pressureless sintering, the green shapes of the microchannels were well preserved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the role of regional context on innovation persistency of firms. Using the Community Innovation Survey in Sweden, we have traced firms' innovative behaviour from 2002 to 2012, in terms of four Schumpeterian types of innovation: product, process, organizational, and marketing. Controlling for an extensive set of firm‐level characteristics, we find that certain regional characteristics matter for innovation persistency of firms. In particular, those firms located in regions with: (i) thicker labour market or (ii) higher extent of knowledge spillover exhibit higher probability of being persistent innovators up to 14 percentage points. Such higher persistency is mostly pronounced for product innovators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper begins with a review of the literature on tourism in rural economies, to establish a framework for analyzing large‐scale tourism products in rural and small town regions. The review is followed by the development of a typology of large‐scale attractions in rural and small town regions, including parks, casinos, events, heritage, and cultural products. The typology leads into the example of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre (CFDC) in Manitoba, Canada. Located in an agricultural region of south‐central Manitoba, the community of Morden is located 125 km from the provincial capital city, Winnipeg, which had a population of 811,900 in 2016. Morden is also located 35 km north of the border with North Dakota. Thus, while a small town in a traditionally rural region still dependent upon an agricultural economic base, Morden has been recently successful in diversifying its economy, including through manufacturing, services, hospitality, and tourism. In part, this success is due to a south‐central Manitoba location; however, it is also the result of innovative local leadership, including the prioritization of hospitality and tourism related to the CFDC. This paper describes the case study as an example of successful tourism development within an already economically and socially diversifying region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, the effectiveness of European Cohesion Policy has been evaluated in terms of GDP growth rate. In this paper, we consider the effect of the regional policy in terms of its impacts on two specific fields of intervention, namely 'research, technological development and innovation', and 'transport infrastructure'. Our econometric approach involves the use of a non-parametric regression discontinuity design technique to a uniquely-disaggregated Cohesion Policy dataset broken down according to the specific objectives of each stream of funding. The analysis considers different time intervals and sub-samples. Our results demonstrate a positive impact of Cohesion Policy interventions in these two specific fields of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the paper is to analyse the local determinants of innovation in a small European metropolitan region. First, we examine the extent to which geographic space is a determinant of innovation for five intra-regional units. Second, we investigate whether innovation is dependent on accessibility to the mean centre. In both cases we examine innovation propensity and innovation output using microdata from the Community Innovation Survey carried out in Luxembourg. The paper provides evidence of a link between the effects on innovation at the intra-regional level of firms' profiles and agglomeration externalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: The debate in Europe over how to govern novel techniques of gene editing in plants is fast developing into an impasse with actors rapidly consolidating positions on either side of the debate. Such polemic is not good for science nor for public policy if we are to develop the kinds of socio‐technical innovations that are needed to harness socially resilient solutions to pressing global societal challenges, such as food security and climate change. We analyze how we arrived at this impasse and explore novel ways to move beyond it. Summary: In this paper we examine the controversy surrounding the governance of gene editing in plants in Europe.First, we review social science scholarship, drawing lessons from the public controversy over GM crops and foods. Second, we describe the European policy debate on the gene editing of plants with a particular focus on how the debate is framed by dominant actors. Third, we review solutions other countries have sought, and in particular touch on a level‐based approval system that Norway is proposing, articulated recently in a Dutch Rathenau Instituut report. Fourth, we introduce frameworks of responsible innovation as a way of aligning innovation trajectories with articulations and negotiations of broader societal values.We find that the lessons from the GM debate have been inadequately learnt and that the struggle over whether or not to amend the current GMO Directive has had the effect of reinforcing established positions. As ways forward, we argue that the application of the Norwegian level‐based regulatory framework can help move the focus away from assessments on safety to a tiered assessment of socio‐economic considerations, and that a framework of responsible innovation can help transform the cultures and practices of research.We conclude by setting out some challenges for the plant science community to engage in responsible research and innovation, both to operate as an honest broker and to engage in early, constructive and on‐going public dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) can trigger innovation processes across all sectors of the economy. However, this potential is not available to all regions. As with other enabling technologies, the competences required to develop IoT solutions are numerous and varied, ranging from hardware to software and related services, and are often provided by different companies. To map the application potential of these technologies across European regions, we use textual analysis to identify the NACE codes associated with five main IoT domains. We identify clusters of regions characterized by different mixes of competences in IoT technologies and we discuss the policy implications of our findings at both European and regional levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation has played a decisive role in transforming the economic and social geography of both the United States and Canada and in this context, railways have been prominent. Their extension in both the American and Canadian hinterlands was designed to organize territory, increase the number of settlements, support resource exploitation, and facilitate the development of regional and national markets. While geopolitical protectionism played a somewhat more prominent role in the development of railways in Canada than the United States, rail expansion in both countries was not circumscribed by the international boundary. In fact, in many cases the border actually transcended such development. In other words, the Canada–United States border has historically presented both limitations and opportunities to railway interests. This paper argues that while the basic alignment of borderland rail networks was established during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the nodal structure, hub status, and corridor alignments of railways since the 1930s have changed drastically. It also contends that because such networks responded to changes in technologies, regional development, and market forces, they played different roles in configuring the various regions of the Canadian‐American borderlands. Key Messages: Railways have played a prominent role in the evolution of the Canadian‐American borderlands.Their impact has varied over space and time among different cross‐border regions.Because the nodal structure, hub status, and corridor alignments of railways have changed drastically, so has the configuration of railway borderlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extent and background of establishing international knowledge relations among young academic spin-off firms are explored in this paper. Drawing on survey data of 100 of such firms, the influence of human capital and social networks of these firms is examined, alongside their innovation level. International learning is measured in two ways, adoption of the strategy and spatial reach related to this adoption namely, from Europe to worldwide. The paper fits into a stream of research in which it is recognized that new technology-based firms interact both in local knowledge networks and knowledge networks abroad to remain competitive. A majority of the spin-off firms were found to be engaged in international networks and the most powerful influences tended to be the presence of PhD experience and size of the starting team. Social capital released through social networks is a relatively strong influence only in the spatial reach of knowledge relations, supporting the idea that strong social networks form a solid base from which global learning can be undertaken. The implications of the results of this work and future research steps are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: New technologies enable high‐resolution monitoring techniques and the generation of big data and have been heralded as increasing the depth of our understanding of geomorphic phenomena. These technologies, however, also provide us with a convenient entry point into the increasingly constraining political economy of geomorphology. Building on the work of Stuart Lane and of critical physical geographers, this paper traces and examines the multiple roles that new technologies have played in constraining research questions and directing resources. Using the activity sphere framework outlined by David Harvey, the influence of new technologies can be traced around the spheres and their constraining of existing relations within academia and explanation identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GIScience and GISystems have been successful in tackling many geographical problems over the last 30 years. But technologies and associated theory can become limiting if they end up defining how we see the world and what we believe are worthy and tractable research problems. This paper explores some of the limitations currently impacting GISystems and GIScience from the perspective of technology and community, contrasting GIScience with other informatics communities and their practices. It explores several themes: (i) GIScience and the informatics revolution; (ii) the lack of a community‐owned innovation platform for GIScience research; (iii) the computational limitations imposed by desktop computing and the inability to scale up analysis; (iv) the continued failure to support the temporal dimension, and especially dynamic processes and models with feedbacks; (v) the challenge of embracing a wider and more heterogeneous view of geographical representation and analysis; and (vi) the urgent need to foster an active software development community to redress some of these shortcomings. A brief discussion then summarizes the issues and suggests that GIScience needs to work harder as a community to become more relevant to the broader geographic field and meet a bigger set of representation, analysis, and modelling needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the characteristics of SMEs in less-developed areas in comparison with more advanced economies. The conceptual framework includes different factors making up the so-called 'entrepreneurial quality' of the SME sector: the personal characteristics of the entrepreneurs (motivations and previous experience), different dimensions of the SMEs' entrepreneurial orientation, and the patterns of the SMEs' insertion in national and global value chains. The empirical analysis uses data of SMEs in four different Spanish provinces representing examples of low income economies and comparatively high income ones, respectively. Results show the SMEs in the low income economies to be characterized by a lower entrepreneurial quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent quest for developing new low carbon footprint construction materials to lower the environmental emissions and implications of infrastructure has imposed many challenges and has created many opportunities for research and development in academia and industrial sectors. The present paper, discusses and summaries these challenges and opportunities and provides a synopsis of the ideas presented in the Infrastructure sessions of the Fourth International Congress on Ceramics ( ICC4). This paper also discusses recent advances in the development of sustainable infrastructure materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a 'search and matching' framework is used to examine the impact of advances in information technology on regional inequalities. While the relevant literature analyses the impact of technological progress with respect to changes in regional productivity, we take an alternative perspective: changes in the arrival rate of job offers and employment opportunities. Simulation experiments complement the theoretical framework, while some empirical evidence using a sample of NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 regions in Europe, is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an estimation technique for analyzing the impact of technological change on the dynamics of consumer demand in a differentiated durable products industry. The paper presents a dynamic model of consumer demand for differentiated durable products that explicitly accounts for consumers' expectations of future product quality and consumers' outflow from the market that arises endogenously from their purchase decisions. The timing of consumers' purchases is formalized as an optimal stopping problem. A solution to that problem defines the hazard rate of product adoptions, while the nested discrete choice model determines the alternative-specific purchase probabilities. Integrating individual decisions over the population distribution generates rich dynamics of aggregate and product-level sales. The empirical part of the paper applies the model to data on the U.S. computer printer market for 1998-1999. The estimates support the hypothesis of consumers' forward-looking behavior, allowing for better demand forecasts and improved measures of welfare gains from introducing new products. ( JEL L11, C35, D91) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to efficient markets theory, information is an important factor that affects market performance and serves as a source of first-hand evidence in decision making, in particular with the rapid rise of Internet technologies in recent years. However, a lack of knowledge and inference ability prevents current decision support systems from processing the wide range of available information. In this paper, we propose a common-sense knowledge-supported news model. Compared with previous work, our model is the first to incorporate broad common-sense knowledge into a decision support system, thereby improving the news analysis process through the application of a graphic random-walk framework. Prototype and experiments based on Hong Kong stock market data have demonstrated that common-sense knowledge is an important factor in building financial decision models that incorporate news information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to test the way in which geographical proximity and technological relatedness relate to an industry's innovative output. Two mechanisms are therefore tested, namely, urbanization economies and the regional exploitation of technological relatedness. A new dataset is applied, which includes German patent applications from within the period 1995 to 2006. Four industries are considered, two of which are science-based, whereas the remaining two are specialized supplier industries. While diversity is associated with high innovative output in the specialized supplier industries, the same does not hold for science-based industries. However, both kinds of industries seem to benefit from recombinant innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is manifold literature dealing with co-operative activities of firms. However, no empirical study seems to have investigated the factors leading to malfunctions in co-operation projects in terms of a low likelihood of co-operation, low rate of success, and failed co-operation. Our paper attempts to fill this gap by investigating the possible presence of two problems in co-operation: the lack of intermediation and of reciprocity. Based on data gathered for firms in two German regions and one French region, we find that the success of co-operation projects depends on the perceived importance, rather than on the perceived quality, of intermediate actors. Hence, the major problem for intermediating suitable partners is more related to communication than it is a programmatic issue. Trust and reciprocity in co-operation between firms is found to be relevant ex-post in the sense of being a main determinant of failed co-operation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses developments in the last five to six years in the provision of operational flood forecasting in England, Wales, and Scotland. Before the formation of the Environment Agency EA in England and Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency SEPA, flood forecasting capabilities were fragmented. Just over a decade ago both organisations received governmental mandates for the provision of flood forecasting and warning nationally, and have as a result in recent years established systems providing national coverage: the National Flood Forecasting System, and Flood Early Warning System FEWS Scotland. These have facilitated a rapid expansion of catchments for which forecasts are provided, and the common framework used has enabled a more rapid introduction of scientific advances in forecasting techniques. This paper gives an overview of some of these recent developments, as well as providing an outlook to further developments to be undertaken in the near future. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]