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Background Clinical trials represent a significant risk in the commercialization of surgical technologies. There is incentive for companies to mitigate their regulatory risk by targeting 510K over Premarket Approval (PMA) pathways in order to limit the scope, complexity and cost of clinical trials. As such, not all companies will publish clinical data in the scientific literature. Purpose We set out to investigate the relationship between scientific publication by surgical device companies and the impact it has on company valuation. We hypothesize that publishing in the scientific literature correlates with success of the surgical device companies as measured by funding. Research Design We first obtained a list of surgical device startup companies and their financial deals using the Pitchbook database. Those companies were then cross referenced with the FDA database and the Dimensions database for product registrations and peer reviewed publications, respectively. Analysis was then performed using these query results. Study Sample and Data Collection We obtained a list of US surgical device startups financing deals closed between 2010 and 2020 from the Pitchbook database. We queried the Pitchbook for deal dates from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2020 for deal types spanning early stage investment to IPO. Deals were limited to those conducted in the United States and to the surgical device industry. We queried the FDA database for product registration information associated with each of the companies involved in the deals. We tabulated the number of journal articles associated with surgical device companies using the Dimensions Search API as well as a manual confirmation. Results Five hundred thirty five (535) deals from 222 companies were found in Pitchbook that met our criteria. Querying the FDA database resulted in 578 registrations associated with these companies. Publications per company ranged widely. Conclusions Companies that are able to generate a more numerous publications had correspondingly higher valuations during funding rounds. A subset of outstanding companies were analyzed and at least four factors affect: direct value of publications, indirect valve of publications, survivorship bias, and adoption share; each of which will be discussed in this manuscript.

SummaryGenetic backgrounds and risk factors among individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are highly heterogenous, limiting our ability to effectively detect and treat PD. Here we connect several potential PD risk genes and elements to one biological pathway. Elevation of Fe2+-levels causes Ca2+-overflow into the mitochondria, through an interaction of Fe2+with mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU), the Ca2+-import channel in the inner mitochondrial membrane, and resultant MCU oligomerization. This mechanism acts in PD neuron models and postmortem brains. Miro, a Ca2+-binding protein, functions downstream of Ca2+-dysregulation, and holds promise to classify PD status and monitor drug efficacy in human blood cells. Polygenetic enrichment of rare, non-synonymous variants in this iron-calcium-Miro axis influences PD risk. This axis can be targeted by multiple ways to prevent neurodegeneration in PD models. Our results show a linear pathway linking several PD risk factors, which can be leveraged for genetic counseling, risk evaluation, and therapeutic strategies.

Il saggio analizza il progetto artistico di Egle Oddo, Performative Habitats, alla luce dell’estetica dei gesti ordinari. Con Performative Habitats biologia, botanica e scienze naturali incontrano i molteplici linguaggi delle discipline artistiche. In un momento storico in cui il cambiamento climatico è tra le emergenze primarie, l’artista si prefigge l’obiettivo di riconvertire le pratiche quotidiane e stabilire nuove modalità di produzione artistica che siano sostenibili per l’ambiente. The essay explores Egle Oddo's artistic project, Performative Habitats, in light of the aesthetics of ordinary gestures. With Performative Habitats biology, botany and natural sciences meet the multiple languages of artistic disciplines. At a time in history when climate change is among the primary emergencies, the artist aims to reconvert everyday practices and establish new artistic ways that are sustainable for the environment.

Recensione al libro Frugalità che affronta questa categoria da una prospettiva interdisciplinare

Gli oggetti hanno voce, se hanno vita. Bisogna prima interrogarsi sulla vita delle cose per poter ascoltare le loro voci. Mettendo a fuoco un caso esemplare, le scarpe, si prenderanno in considerazione sia gli oggetti narrati nei componimenti letterari, sia gli oggetti narranti, cioè quegli oggetti simbolici che sono capaci di raccontare uno stile di vita. Infine si esaminerà la relazione tra design e narrazione al fine di evidenziare le strategie e dispositivi narrativi attraverso cui il designer riesce a rendere significante la voce degli oggetti nelle istallazioni artistiche. Objects have a voice, if they have a life. We need earlier to think of the life of things in order to listen to their voices. Focusing on shoes as an exemplar case, both objects will be analyzed: those are told in literature and those telling stories, e.g. symbolic objects that are able to tell a life-style. Finally, the relation between design and narration will be point out in order to focus on narrative strategies and tools through which the designer manages to make the voice of objects meaningful in artistic installations.