Search

Purpose Multi-rod constructs are used commonly to stabilize pedicle subtraction osteotomies (PSO). This study aimed to evaluate biomechanical properties of different satellite rod configurations and effects of screw-type spanning a PSO. Methods A validated 3D spinopelvic finite element model with a L3 PSO (30°) was used to evaluate 5 models: (1) Control (T10–pelvis + 2 rods); (2) lateral satellite rods connected via offsets to monoaxial screws (LatSat-Mono) or (3) polyaxial screws (LatSat-Poly); (4) in-line satellite rods connected to monoaxial screws (InSat-Mono) or (4) polyaxial screws (InSat-Poly). Global and PSO range of motions (ROM) were recorded. Rods’ von Mises stresses and PSO forces were recorded and the percent differences from Control were calculated. Results All satellite rods (save InSat-Mono) increased PSO ROM and decreased primary rods’ von Mises stresses at the PSO. Lateral rods increased PSO forces (LatSat-Mono:347.1 N; LatSat-Poly:348.6 N; Control:336 N) and had relatively lower stresses, while in-line rods decreased PSO forces (InSat-Mono:280.1 N; InSat-Poly:330.7 N) and had relatively higher stresses. Relative to polyaxial screws, monoaxial screws further decreased PSO ROM, increased satellite rods’ stresses, and decreased PSO forces for in-line rods, but did not change PSO forces for lateral rods. Conclusion Multi-rod constructs using in-line and lateral satellite rods across a PSO reduced primary rods' stresses. Subtle differences in biomechanics suggest lateral satellite rods, irrespective of screw type, increase PSO forces and lower rod stresses compared to in-line satellite rods, which had a high degree of posterior instrumentation stress shielding and lower PSO forces. Clinical studies are warranted to determine if these findings influence clinical outcomes.

Anterior and posterior decompressions for cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy may lead to clinical improvements. However, patients with kyphotic cervical alignment have sometimes shown poor clinical outcomes with posterior decompression. There is a lack on report of mechanical analysis of the decompression procedures for kyphotic cervical alignment.This study employed a three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of the cervical spine (C2-C7) with the pre-operative kyphotic alignment (Pre-OK) model and compared the biomechanical parameters (range of motion (ROM), annular stresses, nucleus stresses, and facet contact forces) for four decompression procedures at two levels (C3-C5); laminectomy (LN), laminoplasty (LP), posterior decompression with fusion (PDF), and anterior decompression with fusion (ADF). Pure moment with compressive follower load was applied to these models.PDF and ADF models' global ROM were 40% at C2-C7 less than the Pre-OK, LN, and LP models. The annular and nucleus stresses decreased more than 10% at the surgery levels for ADF, and PDF, compared to the Pre-OK, LN, and LP models. However, the annular stresses at the adjacent cranial level (C2-C3) of ADF were 20% higher. The nucleus stresses of the caudal adjacent level (C5-C6) of PDF were 20% higher, compared to other models. The PDF and ADF models showed a less than 70% decrease in the facet forces at the surgery levels, compared to the Pre-OK, LN, and LP models.The study concluded that posterior decompression, such as LN or LP, increases ROM, disc stress, and facet force and thus can lead to instability. Although there is the risk of adjacent segment disease (ASD), PDF and ADF can stabilize the cervical spine even for kyphotic alignments.

The Jhelum River basin drains the entire Kashmir valley and is susceptible to floods, surrounded Himalayan Mountain range. The trend analysis of Hydro-meteorological data is crucial for planning and management of various activities (agriculture, design of hydraulic structures) in the basin. The purpose of the present study is to analyze the trends in the annual maximum and annual average discharge, annual maximum, and annual average rainfall for the Jhelum River basin. The trend analysis was performed by using Mann-Kendall (M-K), Sen’s slope, and innovative trend analysis (ITA) at various Hydro-meteorological stations. The outcomes of trend analysis using the ITA test showed non-monotonic trends at various stations for different time series data and bring forth more significant data to analyze changes in Hydro-meteorological data. Moreover, the overall trend shows a significant decreasing trend in annual average rainfall and discharge, while annual maximum rainfall and discharge revealed a significant increasing trend via ITA. The trend analysis depicts changes in Hydro-meteorological data which would be useful for future management of water resources. Moreover, changes in the discharges in the Jhelum River are due to climatic change and anthropogenic activities in the basin.

Although distraction-based growing rods (GR) are the gold standard for the treatment of early onset scoliosis, they suffer from high failure rates. We have (1) performed a literature search to understand the deficiencies of the current protocols, (2) in vitro evaluation of GRs using our proposed protocol and performed a finite element (FE) model validation, and (3) identified key features which should be considered in mechanical testing setups.PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for articles published on (a) in vivo animal, in vitro cadaveric, and biomechanical studies analyzing the use of GRs as well as (b) failure mechanisms and risk factors for GRs. Both FE and benchtop models of a proposed TGR test construct were developed and evaluated for two cases, long tandem connectors (LT), and side-by-side connectors (SBS). The test construct consisted of five polymer blocks representing vertebral bodies, joined with springs to simulate spinal stiffness. The superior and inferior blocks accepted the pedicle screw anchors, while the three middle blocks were floating. After the pedicle screws, rods, and connectors were assembled onto this construct, distraction was performed, mimicking scoliosis surgery. The resulting distracted constructs were then subjected to static compression-bending loading. Yield load and stiffness were calculated and used to verify/validate the FE results.From the literature search, key features identified as significant were axial and transverse connectors, contoured rods, and distraction, distraction being the most challenging feature to incorporate in testing. The in silico analyses, once they are validated, can be used as a complementing technique to investigate other anatomical features which are not possible in the mechanical setup (like growth/scoliosis curvature). Based on our experiment, the LT constructs showed higher stiffness and yield load compared to SBS (78.85 N/mm vs. 59.68 N/mm and 838.84 N vs. 623.3 N). The FE predictions were in agreement with the experimental outcomes (within 10% difference). The maximum von Mises stresses were predicted adjacent to the distraction site, consistent with the location of observed failures in vivo.The two-way approach presented in this study can lead to a robust prediction of the contributing factors to the in vivo failure.

This paper examines the incentives of firms to bypass the innovation process by not pursuing innovation, focusing specifically on whether FDI enables innovation participation or retards it. This consideration of innovation participation is broader than the impact of FDI on innovation because it captures whether FDI leads to greater concentration in research markets. Using data on more than 50 countries and accounting for possible two-way causality between FDI and non-innovation, our results consistently show that FDI increases the ranks of non-innovators. These spillovers or crowding-out effects of FDI do not seem to have been widely recognized. Another interesting finding is that the main result is sensitive to the size of firms—large firms are less impacted by FDI relative to small and medium firms. Implications for technology policy are discussed.

This study’s objective was to assess biomechanical parameters across fused and contralateral sacroiliac joints (SIJs) and implants during all spinal motions for both sexes. Various SIJ implant devices on the market are used in minimally invasive surgeries. These implants are placed across the joint using different surgical approaches. The biomechanical effects of fusion surgical techniques in males and females have not been studied. The validated finite element models of a male, and a female spine–pelvis–femur were unilaterally instrumented across the SIJ using three screws for two SIJ implants, half threaded and fully threaded screws placed laterally and posteriorly to the joint, respectively. Motion and peak stress data at the SIJs showed that the female model exhibited lower stresses and higher reduction in motion at the contralateral SIJ in all motions than the male model predictions with 84% and 71% reductions in motion and stresses across the SIJ. Implants exhibited higher stresses in the female model compared to the male model. However, chances of SIJ implant failure in the female patients are still minimal, based on the calculated factor of safety which is still very high. Both lateral and posterior surgical approaches were effective in both sexes; however, the lateral approach may provide a better biomechanical response, especially for females. Moreover, implant design characteristics did not make a difference in the implants' biomechanical performance. SIJ stabilization was primarily provided by the implants which were the farthest from the sacrum rotation center.

Adding to the research on the corruption and gender nexus, this paper contributes by several dimensions, including: (a) measurement of corruption across corruption perceptions and corruption experiences; (b) focusing on entrepreneurship level by studying whether female managers and female owners of firms perceived/experienced corruption differently; (c) using survey information at the firm level; and (d) employing a large sample of mostly developing nations covering more than 100 countries. Results show that female owners had greater corruption experience, ceteris paribus, while female managers perceived corruption to be lower. The perceptions of female managers, however, were sensitive when dimensions of gender equality were considered. With regard to firms’ characteristics, including firm’s age, size, and ownership, there was relatively greater support for these factors impacting corruption perceptions than corruption experience. All this underscores the need for effective corruption-control polices to pay attention to how corruption is measured, as well as the identity (gender) and position (owners or managers) of those underlying the relevant data.

Whereas technical standards and Standard Setting Organizations (SSOs) are omnipresent and essential to mass production and communications, relatively little is formally known about the propensity of firms’ decisions to belong to certain SSOs. An understanding of such propensities can explain why some firms join SSOs (and others do not) and have implications for the regulation of SSOs. This paper uses a social network analysis technique to categorize/place firms in SSO communities and then empirically analyzes their propensities to belong to SSOs. We concentrate our study on standard setting organizations’ features and their intellectual property rights (IPR) policies such as licensing rules, disclosure requirements, as well as the features of the decision process of standards. Using data on more than 1060 member firms as participants in 28 SSOs, we are able to uniquely graph the membership of firms in SSOs by highlighting some important characteristics through community detection. The results provide some novel insights into why firms might choose certain SSO communities over others.

There is sparsity of studies evaluating blood pressure in children with sickle cell disease (SCD), which have shown inconsistent results. Few of the studies have documented lower office blood pressure (BP) in SCD patients, whereas, others have shown presence of masked hypertension and abnormal ambulatory blood BP monitoring (ABPM). Thus, the present study was conducted to examine 24 h ABPM parameters and renal dysfunction in children with SCD and compare them with healthy controls. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 56 children (30 children having SCD and 26 controls). ABPM and evaluation of renal functions including serum creatinine, serum urea, urinary creatinine, urinary protein and specific gravity was performed. Spot urinary protein to creatinine ratio was found to be higher in patients with SCD (63.3%) as compared to controls (p

Accuracy of datasets is the prime challenge to climate-resilient water resources planning. The present study proposes a framework that combines deterministic and fuzzy scenario-based methods of ranking datasets. The framework was applied to rank gridded precipitation datasets for the Himalayan basin of the river Satluj using observed station data as reference. The Compromise Programming and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution in Fuzzy field, f-TOPSIS, were applied to carry out the ranking using selected performance indicators. The analysis revealed that the APHRODITE consistently performed better in all the stations (correlation coefficient (CC), root mean square error (RMSE), and skill score (SS) vary from 0.90 to 0.98, 0.44 to 0.56, and 0.87 to 0.96, respectively), followed by gridded and reanalysis rainfall product of IMD and ERA interim, respectively. It was also observed that both the methods provided similar outcomes (Spearman rank correlation, R ≥ 92%), which consequently increased the confidence of the ranking results. Furthermore, the results indicate that the performance indicators used within the f-TOPSIS complement the entropy-based deterministic nature of compromise programming. Finally, it was found that APHRODITE was the best dataset for the whole study area using the Group Decision Making methodology.

The modeling of peak flood discharges and flood frequency analysis at various sites on a river is essential for planning, design, and management of hydraulic structures. The first and the foremost aim of this study is to choose the best-fit flood model among Log Pearson type 3 (LP3), Generalized Extreme Value (GEV), and Gumble (EV1) for each of the eight sites on the Jhelum River and for the same purpose goodness-of-fit tests like Anderson–Darling (A–D) and Kolmogorov–Smirnow (K–S) and distribution graphs (P–P plot and Probability difference graph) were used. The parameters of these models were determined by L-moments. The outcomes of the study reveal that the LP3 model is best-fit for Khanabal, Sangam, Awantipora, Padshahi Bagh, Ram Munshi Bagh, and Asham, and GEV is the best fit for Sopore, and Baramullah sites. Furthermore, peak discharges for 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-year return periods were estimated and the analysis depicts that the discharge rate determined by distribution models at a return period of 5 years or more would surpass the safe carrying capacity (990.85 cumecs) of the Jhelum river. The study further shows that there exists a high positive correlation (R2 = 0.99) between observed and predicted peak discharges of LP3 and GEV models. Thus, indicating LP3 and GEV as best-fit models for modeling and flood frequency analysis of annual peak discharges on the Jhelum River.

The formation and expansion of the European Union (EU) have attracted much attention. However, the impact on corruption in a nation after joining the Union has not been formally studied. Any nation that joins the European Union potentially faces two different and opposite effects on corruption. On the one hand, there are reasons to believe that corruption is going to decrease because of EU initiatives to fight corruption; on the other hand, there are reasons to imagine that corruption may increase due to the increase in bureaucracy and new regulations. Hence, the overall effect on corruption is not entirely clear. This work focuses on the last three rounds of EU entry and empirically studies the effects of joining the EU on corruption. Placing the analysis in the broader literature on the cross-national determinants of corruption, the results suggest that entry into the EU increases corruption. Another insight is that this corruption increase does not hold for nations that are potential EU entrants or that are in the negotiation stage.

Using data on 135 countries, this paper studies the determinants of process innovation introduction, focusing on the impacts of economic and political uncertainties. Greater uncertainty, on the one hand, can lower potential benefits from innovation introductions, while on the other hand, the introduction of innovations might enable firms to hedge against uncertainty. The empirical literature has mostly considered uncertainty-investment nexus, and this study uniquely considers uncertainty-innovation introductions. Employing two different measures of economic and political uncertainty across different time lags, results are consistent with the hedging story—greater economic and political uncertainties induce firms to introduce process innovations to the market. With regard to firms’ attributes, sole proprietorships and R&D-performing firms were more likely to introduce innovations, while firms located in island nations were less likely to do so. Firms’ size and vintage did not have an appreciable influence on the incentives to introduce innovations. Some policy implications of these findings are discussed.

Innovation productivity of expatriate researchers and human capital that empowers them is an important issue; however, with a scarcity of relevant data, formal empirical evidence has been limited. This paper uses a rich dataset of foreign researchers at a leading German research institution to study the drivers of their innovation productivity (measured by patents and invention disclosures). Another contribution is that we examine the relative effectiveness of internal (institution-specific) and external human capital. These findings are compared to the behavior of native researchers. Results, based on a survey sample of nearly 1000 foreign researchers and taking account of the interdependence between invention disclosures and patenting, show that internal administrative leadership positions (especially group leaders) enhanced propensities to innovate, while purely academic positions (professor or guest researcher) did not positively impact innovation. With regard to external human capital, foreign researchers who were business owners or nascent entrepreneurs were more likely to innovate. Internal (institutional) experience mattered more than industry experience. Doctoral degrees seemed relatively more effective for patenting than for invention disclosures. No significant gender differences in innovation productivity were found. In contrast, while many of the influences were similar for domestic researchers, they experienced positive innovation spillovers from being directors, but domestic female researchers faced special innovation challenges. Finally, domestic professors, unlike foreign professors, did not experience negative tendencies towards innovation.

Identifying critical source areas (CSAs) of a watershed by phosphorus (P) loss assessment tools is essential for optimal placement of beneficial management practices (BMPs) to address diffuse P pollution. However, lack of significant progress in tackling diffuse P pollution could be, in part, associated with inefficacy of P loss assessment tools for accurately identifying CSAs. Phosphorus loss assessment tools have been developed to simulate P loss from the landscape where runoff is mainly driven by rainfall events. Therefore, they may underperform in cold climates where the land is often frozen during winter and runoff is dominated by snowmelt. This paper (i) reviews the strengths and weaknesses of current P loss assessment tools and their underlying assumptions in simulating soil P dynamics and P transfer to runoff, and (ii) highlights a number of challenges associated with modeling P transfer from agricultural land to surface waters in cold climates. Current P loss assessment tools do not appear to fully represent hydrological and biogeochemical processes responsible for P loss from CSAs, particularly in cold climates. Effort should be made to develop P loss assessment tools that are capable of considering P dynamics through the landscape as a result of abiotic perturbations that are common in cold climates, predicting runoff and P movement over frozen/partially frozen soils, and considering material-P connectivity between landscape and surface waters. Evaluating P loss assessment tools with water quality data is necessary to ensure such modifications result in improved identification of CSAs.

This study provides evidence on the nature and extent of the effect of Internet usage or penetration on labor productivity growth, while focusing on the recent experience in OECD countries. The basic model modifies the traditional labor-augmented production function approach by integrating Internet usage as a factor that improves labor quality. Variables on output, capital, and labor are extracted from official OECD publications, and data on the penetration ratio, a proxy for Internet usage, is obtained from an online source. The result is a panel that covers 28 OECD countries, including the U.S., over the time period from 2001 through 2016. Parameter estimates for Internet usage across the models are found to be positive, albeit with low statistical support. Based on a unique historical survey data set for the U.S. that separates Internet use at home from the use at work, a descriptive analysis for the U.S. suggests that growth of Internet use at work lowers productivity growth.

Adding a somewhat new dimension to the substantial body of research on factors driving cross-national corruption, this paper examines the effectiveness of dimensions of enforcement in reducing corruption. The main novelty lies in comparing the relative influences of latent enforcement (police, judicial, and prosecutorial employment) versus actual enforcement (conviction rates) and enforcing institutions. Results show that piecemeal enforcement efforts to combat corruption by increasing enforcement employment would not be effective, rather comprehensive improvements in institutional quality by strengthening the rule of law or regulatory quality bear greater results. These findings are robust across indices of corruption that capture somewhat different aspects. Thus, in terms of the title of the paper, when it comes to corruption control, strong gums (institutions) are more effective than showing teeth (enforcement employment) or the bite (conviction rates).

Using panel data for a large cross-country sample, we consider the influences of FDI inflows, inward development aid, and immigration on the informal sector. Both FDI and immigration increase the informal sector, with the effect of immigration being relatively more robust. Aid inflows reduce the informal sector, but the statistical significance is low. Among the control variables, government size persistently increases the informal economy, while inflation sometimes lowers the informal sector. As a secondary exercise, we consider the effect of globalization and note the informality-increasing role of social and overall globalization, with economic and political globalization being statistically insignificant.

In the present study, the temperature data of 125 stations (1941 to 2012) over parts of India have been analysed to evaluate trends and homogeneity using various statistical tests. The annual average, maximum, and minimum temperature data showed a positive trend of 0.44 °C/100 years, 0.51 °C/100 years, and 0.19 °C/100 years, respectively. All the seasonal temperature variables exhibited a positive trend with exception of the minimum temperature of the monsoon season which showed the negative trend at the rate of 0.05 °C/100 years. The maximum temperature of monsoon season depicted a maximum increase at the rate of 0.80 °C/100 years. The results indicated that the process of urbanisation impacted over the change in temperatures. The homogeneity analysis showed the break years at 1972, 1974, and 1977 for annual average, maximum, and minimum temperatures, respectively, for entire India. The seasonal analysis exhibited that the minimum temperatures of both winter and monsoon seasons and the maximum temperature of the post-monsoon season were homogeneous in nature. The rate of change in magnitude for all annual and seasonal temperature variables showed a considerable increase after the break years.

The probable extreme rainfall analysis can be of great importance for the development of efficient models of risk management and mitigation. This study involves analyzing the recurrence of yearly rainfall extreme using three important probability distribution models such as Generalized Extreme Value (GEV), Log Pearson-III (LP3), and Gumble (EV1). The parameters of the distribution model were identified using L-moments (LMOs). The maximum precipitation for 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 year recurrence periods was obtained by using annual maximum rainfall data. The available length of data was varying, due to which analysis was performed for four periods: 1969–2018 at Srinagar and Qazigund, 1980–2018 at Pahalgam and Kokernag and 1977–2018 at Kupwara and 1970–2018 at Gulmarg station. Goodness-of-Fit (GoF) such as Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S), Anderson darling (A–D), Chi-square (χ2) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) tests at 5% significance level i.e., α = 0.05, and probability difference graphs such as P–P plot and probability difference graph were applied for identification of best-fit distribution model. The analysis divulges LP3 as the best fit for Qazigund, Kokernag, Pahalgam, Kupwara, and Gulmarg stations and the GEV is most suitable for Srinagar station.

Diagnostic and evidential static image, video clip, and sound multimedia are captured during routine clinical care in cardiology, dermatology, ophthalmology, pathology, physiatry, radiation oncology, radiology, endoscopic procedural specialties, and other medical disciplines. Providers typically describe the multimedia findings in contemporaneous electronic health record clinical notes or associate a textual interpretative report. Visual communication aids commonly used to connect, synthesize, and supplement multimedia and descriptive text outside medicine remain technically challenging to integrate into patient care. Such beneficial interactive elements may include hyperlinks between text, multimedia elements, alphanumeric and geometric annotations, tables, graphs, timelines, diagrams, anatomic maps, and hyperlinks to external educational references that patients or provider consumers may find valuable. This HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community workgroup white paper outlines the current and desired clinical future state of interactive multimedia reporting (IMR). The workgroup adopted a consensus definition of IMR as “interactive medical documentation that combines clinical images, videos, sound, imaging metadata, and/or image annotations with text, typographic emphases, tables, graphs, event timelines, anatomic maps, hyperlinks, and/or educational resources to optimize communication between medical professionals, and between medical professionals and their patients.” This white paper also serves as a precursor for future efforts toward solving technical issues impeding routine interactive multimedia report creation and ingestion into electronic health records.

This paper examines the impact of intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement on the input (R&D spending) and output (patents) of the research process. The extant literature proxies IPR enforcement via composite indices or indicators of institutional quality, whereas this paper employs a direct (hard) measure of IPR crimes. Using data across U.S. states, results show that IPR crimes reduce research spending but do not impact patenting. Upon comparison with a broader measure of weak institutional quality (corruption), we find that greater corruption has a robust negative effect on patenting, but not on R&D spending. Quantitatively, the elasticities of R&D spending with respect to IPR crimes are greater than those of patents with respect to corruption, suggesting that studies that proxy IPR crimes via other measures are likely underestimating their impacts on technological change.

This paper studies the innovation productivity of academic researchers across their career advancement. Taking patents and invention disclosures as indicators of innovation productivity and using survey data from a large German public research organization, researchers’ productivity is examined during early career and early to mid-career across various dimensions, including years since employment, years since terminal degree and age. The extant literature has primarily focused on publishing productivity of researchers. Results show that early leadership position consistently enhances innovation productivity during the life cycle. However, the effects of the other dimensions differ somewhat. Interestingly, having a doctoral degree enables one to overcome the disadvantages of being a female researcher, and German citizen increases productivity for the overall sample and for early to mid-career researchers.

Cigarette smuggling undermines policymakers’ efforts to curb smoking while also leading to tax revenue leakages. Policymakers around the world are trying to obtain a better understanding of how to combat cigarette smuggling. This paper adds to the literature on cigarette demand and related smuggling by considering the cross-border influences of both the price differentials and the shadow economy. While price/tax differentials induce both casual and organized smuggling, the presence of the shadow economy facilitates smuggling and opens up possibilities for arbitrage in smuggled goods. Using data across U.S. states for the years 1997–2008, results show that border price effects are positive and statistically significant, and the average shadow economy in bordering states facilitates smuggling, with own shadow economy sometimes showing signs of facilitating intra- and cross-border smuggling. The other findings regarding the negative own-price elasticities and habit persistence for smoking are in line with the larger literature.

This paper uses firm-level survey for more than 100 countries to examine whether firms’ female managers or female owners were better at bringing innovations to the market than males. In contrast to most of the literature that focuses on the performance of female managers/owners, this paper addresses conduct with regard to innovation. Results show that female owners, rather than female managers, were more likely to introduce innovations. Further, R&D performing firms introduced innovations, as did larger and older firms. The presence of an informal sector and finance availability constraints actually spurred innovation introductions, with economic prosperity leading to complacency in innovation introductions.

Using patent citations as an indicator of knowledge flows, this paper examines the effects of firms’ global patent social networks on knowledge flows from business method software patents. Patent social networks are considered along several dimensions, including relative centrality, structural equivalence and brokerage roles. Identifying 19,385 software patents applications to the USPTO by 37 countries during 1995–2012, results show that firms positioned with a relative centrality or situated within the same structural equivalent cluster have more citations to their counterpart firms’ patents. Further, among the different brokerage roles, we find positive promotion to knowledge transfer when the citing and cited firms both serve the role of an itinerant as well as that of a gatekeeper/representative, while firms that act as gatekeeper/representative (alone) cite less patents from firms that do not enact this kind of a role. These unique insights provide a better understanding of channels of knowledge transmission and have implications for the pace of technological change.

Using recent cross-national data, this paper examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on entrepreneurship activity. The impact of FDI on entrepreneurship is not clear a priori, with possibilities of both a negative effect (crowding out) and a positive effect (synergy or complementarity via spillovers). Results find support for the crowding out effect; however, this effect varies across nations with different prevalence of entrepreneurship. Another focus of this work is on gender differences. The crowding out effect is stronger for the full sample rather than the subsample of female entrepreneurship. This finding stands up to a battery of robustness checks. Policy implications are discussed.

This paper provides insights into the behavior of academic patentees who choose to bypass in-house Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs). TTOs have gained favor in recent years as academic institutions have tried to increase commercialization of their inventions. Using a large sample of researchers at a leading German public research organisation (PRO), results show that patentees in physical and life sciences, those with doctoral degrees, and those with greater job experience are more likely to bypass TTOs. Different forms of industry interactions, including working in industry, industry cooperation and industry consulting, all make TTO-bypassing more likely, with some interesting differences across gender. Further, as expected, academics favoring free public access to their research are less likely to bypass TTOs. On the other hand, internal leadership position as a research group leader, German citizenship and risk attitudes do no exert significant influences. Implications for technology transfer policies are discussed.

This paper examines the effect of risk attitudes on innovation behavior of academic researchers. Specifically, using two alternate measures of self-reported risk attitudes, we test the hypothesis that aversion to risk would negatively affect revelation of information in innovations. Results based on a sample of more than 2500 German researchers across both measures of risk aversion show that, consistent with intuition, risk aversion has a significant negative effect on invention disclosures, but not on patenting.

Pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) is multi-factorial and several conventional risk factors have been ascribed; LDL-C being one of the important risk factor. However Indian population studies with established CAD often show LDL levels within normal range in patients with proven CAD. We hypothesized that Small dense low density lipoprotein (sdLDL) being more atherogenic might correlate more strongly to the occurrence and severity of CAD. The aim of the study was to evaluate the association between serum small dense LDL level and angiographically documented coronary artery disease. This is a cross sectional case control study in which sdLDL were measured in 126 patients with CAD and in 64 patients without CAD. Total cholesterol, HDL Cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides were measured by standard methods along with other traditional risk factors. Direct quantitative measurement of sdLDL was done by enzymatic analysis. Mean sdLDL level was higher in patients with coronary stenosis than patients without coronary stenosis (16.3 ± 6.8 vs. 10.1 ± 5.7 mg/dL respectively, (p

The formulation of classical deteriorating inventory models is done with the common unrealistic assumption that all the items start deteriorating as soon as they arrive in the warehouse. On the contrary, in a realistic environment, it has been observed that there are several items that do not deteriorate immediately. Items such as dry fruits, potatoes, yams and even some fruits and vegetables have a shelf life and deteriorate only after a time lag. Apart from this, in today’s competitive business world, the supplier usually offers a trade credit period to his retailers to attract more sales and the retailer considers it as an alternative to price discount. The present research proposes a two warehouse inventory model for non-instantaneous deteriorating items under trade credit based on the above phenomena, where the demand rate is assumed to be a function of the selling price. Further, shortages are completely backlogged and the interest on shortages at the beginning of the cycle has also been considered. The objective of the study is to determine the retailer’s optimal replenishment policies that maximize the average profit per unit time. Conclusively, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed model. Sensitivity analysis on key parameters is provided to reveal the managerial insights.

Output subsidies have been proposed as a policy to rectify inefficiencies in mixed markets with public and private firms. This paper adds to the literature on mixed oligopolies by examining the behavior of firms, with research spillovers, and the government subsidizes output. A key finding is that output subsidies, unlike R&D subsidies, do not necessarily attain efficient resource allocation. Output subsidies are justified only at relatively low R&D spillovers. The rankings of optimal output subsidies, output and profits under alternate scenarios are significantly affected by spillovers. Social welfare ranking, on the other hand, is independent of spillovers, and welfare is largest under R&D competition.

This paper examines the impact of innovation on the underground economy, focusing on differences between informal entrepreneurship and the overall shadow economy. Using cross-national data and measuring innovative activity alternately by patent grants and patent applications, results show that increases in innovative activity spur informal entrepreneurship. The effects of innovation on the overall shadow economy are insignificant. Further, general improvements in government effectiveness seem more effective in checking the underground sector than specific initiatives related to minimum wages or taxes. Transition countries, ceteris paribus, have lower informal entrepreneurship, but higher overall underground economy.

For design of various types of hydraulic structures as well as for taking different flood management measures flood frequency estimates are required. Regional flood frequency analysis is carried out employing L-moments and soft computing techniques viz. artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy inference system (FIS) for the lower Godavari subzone 3(f) of India. The study area covers an areal extent of 174,201 km2 and annual maximum peak flood data of 17 catchments ranging in size from 35 to 824 km2 are used. The data screening is carried out employing L-moments based Discordancy measure (Di) and regional homogeneity is examined based on the heterogeneity measure (H). On the basis of the L-moment ratio diagram and Zidist –statistic criteria, Pearson Type III (PE3) distribution is chosen as the suitable frequency distribution for the region. For the region under study, a relationship is developed between mean annual maximum peak flood and area of the catchment using the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) iteration and the same is coupled with the PE3 based regional flood frequency relationship developed for estimation of floods of various frequencies for the ungauged catchments of the region. The regional flood frequency relationships developed based on L-moments and soft computing techniques are compared.

Background Growth rods allow regular distraction of the spine to compensate for growth. Traditionally such distractions are performed every 6 months via open surgery. However with the advent of minimally invasive techniques like magnetically controlled growing rods, the distractions can be performed non-surgically. This also implies that the interval of distraction could be changed or customized based on individual patient's need. Hypothesis In this study we have hypothesized that the distraction at shorter intervals reduces the stresses on the rods which in turn reduces the chance of rod failure. Objective A finite element model of a juvenile spine was instrumented with growth rods and distractions were applied at different frequencies (2 months, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months) for a period of two years to study the effects of frequency of distraction on maximum von Mises stresses on the rods for different loading conditions were studied. Results The stresses on the rods were highest for 12-month distraction (2 distractions in 2 years) and lowest for 2-months distraction (12 distractions in 2 years). Conclusion It was found that the shorter intervals of distraction led to reduction of stresses on the rod for same spinal height gain in two years.

Using survey data from a large public research organization, this study examines entrepreneurship propensities of academic researchers, focusing on gender differences. Although sample means of female and male propensities toward entrepreneurship are fairly similar, regression estimates show significant gender differences in the association of several factors with propensities to start businesses. In particular, prior record of researchers’ patenting and institutional leadership promote tendencies towards entrepreneurship among male researchers, but not among female researchers. Also, unlike the male scientists, doctoral degrees and preference for open access of research results do not significantly influence the entrepreneurial attitudes of female researchers. The results for the full sample are similar to those for the male subsample, with a negative coefficient on the variable identifying females.

This paper examines the effects of different competitions for favors on the prevalence and perceptions of corruption across Russian regions. Results show that while greater general competition (measured by regional population size), increases both perceived and actual corruption, competition among enterprises only increases corruption perceptions, while competition among government employees increases actual, but not perceived, corruption. Privatization activity and unemployment fail to affect either measure of corruption. Finally, the effects of urbanization differ on perceived and actual corruption. Besides Russia, these findings are somewhat unique to the broader literature.

The primary aim of this paper is to indicate that partitioning allocation methods yields only a small subset of solutions to an ill-posed problem that has potentially infinitely many exact solutions. It will be shown that each of the existing partitioning methods arrives at just one particular solution from among infinitely many solutions of an underdetermined system of linear equations. Some life cycle inventories fall into a class of functions called estimable functions in linear model framework, in which case they are invariant to allocation assumptions. This class of functions unites results described by Heijungs and Frischknecht (Int J Life Cycle Assess 3:321–332, 1998) and Heijungs and Suh (2002, Conjecture 1, p. 91). The inventories for non-estimable functions obtained through allocation are, in fact, derived under a set of additional implicit equality constraints called side conditions, often resulting in inventory results which differ greatly from one allocation to the next. This paper explicates (1) identification of all estimable functions from any given technology matrix and (2) recovery of side conditions imposed on non-estimable functions through partitioning. These methods are illustrated in a simple example, and their relation to least squares techniques for allocation explored by Marvuglia et al. (Int J Life Cycle Assess 15:1020–1040, 2010) ;(Int J Agr Environ Inf Syst 3:51–71, 2012) are discussed. Recommendations are made that may lead to more meaningful ways to obtain additional data or include additional information in life cycle inventories in the future.

In this communication we reexamine the use of various least squares techniques (namely ordinary least squares (OLS), data least squares (DLS), and total least squares (TLS)) for the purposes of allocation as proposed in an earlier article in this journal (Marvuglia et al. (Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 15:1020-1040, 2010)). These methods are placed within the context of traditional methods of partitioning allocation. An equivalence between least squares techniques and traditional partitioning is noted and demonstrated on previously published brick production data. A short summary of the relevant least squares techniques is provided followed by a description of the problem of inventory calculation for the case of more products than processes. This is presented in terms of non-unique solutions to underdetermined systems of linear equations with intensity matrix as unknown. We provide another analysis of the Sicilian brick production case study. Upon reexamination of the brick data, a number of disparities in the published inventories for brick can be more fully explained in terms of (1) data quality, (2) additional assumptions made to extract a solution of an underdetermined system of equations, and (3) discrepancy vectors. Like other types of partitioning, inventories produced by least squares techniques correspond to one of the non-unique solutions of an underdetermined system of linear equations. Based on this insight, we advise against the use of least squares techniques as a black-box approach to the allocation problem and conclude that the recommendation of TLS on the basis of its asymptotic properties is not theoretically justified.

Background Growth rods are used to limit the progression of scoliosis without restraining the opportunity for the spine to grow. The growth is sustained by consecutive distraction at intervals of 6 months. The optimal distraction force for a scoliotic patient is not defined adequately and rod breakage, screw loosening, stimulation of growth and altered sagittal contour has been observed. Hypothesis The hypothesis of this study is that for every patient with dual growth rods treatment there exists a distraction force that will sustain the growth of that patient’s spine equal to normal growth with minimum changes in sagittal contours, results in lower von Mises stresses on the rods and minimum force at the pedicle screw-bone interface at 6 months. Objective In this finite element study, we undertook an objective to identify the effect of magnitude of distraction forces on the T1-S1 growth, maximum von Mises stresses on the rods, sagittal contours, and the load at the pedicle screw-bone interface. Results An optimal distraction force exists for which the growth is sustained with minimum stress on the rod, lower loads at screw-bone interface and unaltered sagittal contours. Another observation was that higher distraction forces (in the given range) didn’t produce stresses on rod or load on screw that could result in failure of the implant. Conclusion Restoration of sagittal contour along with height restoration could guide the clinical practice, for the given range of distraction force.

This study uses state-level data for nearly four decades to study the dynamic demand for cigarettes, focusing especially on the long-run equilibrium relationship between cigarette consumption and its determinants as well as the short-run and long-run causal dynamics. We find the presence of cointegration with the long-run equilibrium, indicating the price elasticity of cigarette demand to be negative and inelastic, the income elasticity is positive and the border smuggling effects are significant, with substantial variations across individual states. Of the various smoking control policies considered, questions remain as to the effectiveness of aggregate anti-smoking initiatives that treat all states alike. Furthermore, the causal dynamics reveal bi-directional causality between cigarette consumption and its determinants. Some policy implications are discussed.

Using a large sample of nations, this paper examines the relation between corruption and the shadow economy, focusing especially on geographic spillovers. The results point to complementarity between corruption and the shadow economy. We find evidence of own contagion across nations in both corruption and shadow economy activity, while cross-contagion mostly points to substitution between own shadow economy (corruption) and neighboring corruption (shadow economy). These findings are fairly robust across different estimation techniques and measures of the shadow economy.

Using recent cross-state U.S. data, this paper estimates the demand for calls to smoking quitlines. Besides formal insights into the determinants of quitline demand, another key contribution is to provide unique insights on the role of related internet resources, using two novel measures. Results show that higher cigarette prices, lower income, and greater government resources increase the demand for quitline calls, with the internet measures having positive but statistically insignificant effects. In terms of magnitude, the elasticity of quitline calls with respect to cigarette prices was about four times greater than that with respect to public funds for quitlines. Policy implications are discussed.

Trichloroacetic acid (TCA), a common water disinfection byproduct and a persistent metabolite of trichloroethylene (TCE), has been examined for its genotoxic potential in human lymphocytes. Chromosomal aberration (CA) and cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay were employed to assess the toxicity of TCA. Lymphocytes obtained from three healthy donors were exposed to 25, 50, and 100 μg/ml concentration of TCA separately. TCA exposure resulted in chromosomal anomalies and the formation of micronuclei in lymphocytes. Chromosome analysis revealed the dose-dependent and significant induction of CA. Chromatid break/chromosome break, fragments, and chromatid exchanges were commonly observed. Exposure of higher concentration (50 and 100 μg/ml) significantly inhibited mitotic index. Data obtained with CBMN assay indicated that the induction of micronucleus (MN) formation was greater than that of CA. At 25 μg/ml, TCA induced significant frequencies of MN as compared to control cells. Significant induction of MN at the lowest concentration indicates TCA may also interact with mitotic spindles. Lower percentage of CA and MN at 100 μg/ml as compared to 50 μg/ml indicates occurrence of severe cytotoxicity on exposure of 100 μg/ml TCA in lymphocytes. Collectively, results of both cytogenetic assays indicate that exposure of TCA can induce significant genotoxic and cytotoxic effects.

The genotoxic effects of oxidative metabolites of trichloroethylene (TCE), namely chloral hydrate, trichloroacetic acid (TCA), dichloroacetic acid (DCA), and trichloroethanol (TCEOH) were examined in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. In this context, lymphocytes were exposed in vitro to 25, 50, and 100 μg/ml concentrations of these metabolites separately for a period of 48 h and examined for micronucleus (MN) induction through flow cytometer. At 50 μg/ml TCE metabolites, TCA (6.33 ± 0.56 %), DCA (5.06 ± 0.55), and TCEOH (4.70 ± 1.73) induced highly significant (p