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In the political arena, natural resources activities – including mining – are generally viewed as low-tech and are not associated with the technological innovations that serve as the precursors of competition. In old industrialized nations, mining is limited to a few countries and mining-related activities are typically considered low-tech endeavours that rely on old and outdated technologies. In addition, mining districts are seen as lacking the prerequisites of economic development, such as an entrepreneurial spirit, knowledge formation mechanisms and diverse human capital formation. This paper discusses mining in the old industrialized nation of Sweden where mining is an important contributor to national competitiveness. Through a case study of two mines and the mining district, we argue that in order to understand the processes underlying the competitiveness of the natural resource-based sector, that is, mining sector in the context of a high-income nation, Sweden, it is important to dig deepe...

The authors discuss Triple Helix collaborations in the context of regional competitiveness. Through an exploratory case study, they identify and analyse the impact of the establishment of industrial PhD schools for participating industry and universities. The study was conducted in Sweden in 2014 and focuses on three industry–university initiatives involving a total of 57 doctoral students, 9 universities and 39 companies. The results indicate that PhD schools based on the dynamics of the Triple Helix can be of great benefit for both industry and regional universities. In addition, the paper identifies critical success factors for industry–university collaborations involving joint PhD education.

Summary Background Women experience more sore throats than men after endotracheal intubation. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of self-rated sore throat immediately, and 2–4 hours postoperatively, in women after elective gynaecological surgery under general anaesthesia using an endotracheal tube (ETT) size 6.5 or 7.0 mm in inner diameter. Method Eighty-two female participants who had undergone elective gynaecological surgery participated, 44 and 38 were intubated with size 6.5 mm ETT and 7.0 mm ETT respectively. They estimated the occurrence of sore throat preoperatively and postoperatively, according to a 4-point Likert scale. Statistical data were analysed using the Package for Social Science (SPSS) 19. Results Sore throat was present in 29.5% of participants who were intubated with size 6.5 mm ETT immediately postoperatively and in 39.5% of those who were intubated with size 7.0 mm ETT. Conclusion Nurses specialising in the supervision of daily care specific to the intubated patient should note and alleviate sore throat as part of their nursing care.

This chapter discusses localized religious-modernist developments within the Limbu community in the borderlands of Buddhism in the eastern Indian Himalayas. It examines the invention of Yumaism by focusing on the Limbu middle class' agency in relation to their lived contexts, through an actor-oriented and processual approach. Yumaism draws on elements from indigenous religious traditions, Tibetan Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, scholarly and orientalist discourses, and modernism in general. The proponents of Yumaism are similarly attempting to define their religion as such a way of life, a philosophy that is both rational and modern, while at the same time being steeped in the long historical tradition of the Limbus. While the process of modernization involved in the creation of Yumaism and the impact of Buddhism upon this process should not be underestimated, the dynamics of the modernization of the Limbu religion are grounded in local economic changes, politics, and ethnic relations.

Through an exploratory case study, this paper identifies the benefits that industry can draw from participating in collaborative doctoral education. The results show that regional industry-universi ...

Ever since the innovation systems (IS) concept was coined in the late 1980s, it has been accepted as a mechanism of economic and technological development in policy circles. This recognition follow ...

OBJECTIVE—Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) contribute to endothelial cell (EC) migration by producing proteases, thereby paving the way into the tissues for ECs. MSCs were added to our previously described composite EC islets as a potential means to improve their capacity for islet angiogenesis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Human islets were coated with primary human bone marrow–derived MSCs and dermal microvascular ECs. The capacity of ECs, with or without MSCs, to adhere to and grow into human islets was analyzed. The survival and functionality of these composite islets were evaluated in a dynamic perifusion assay, and their capacity for angiogenesis in vitro was assessed in a three-dimensional fibrin gel assay. RESULTS—ECs proliferated after culture in MSC-conditioned medium, and MSCs improved the EC coverage threefold compared with EC islets alone. Islet survival in vitro and the functionality of the composite islets after culture were equal to those of control islets. The EC-MSC islets showed a twofold increase in total sprout formation compared with EC islets, and vascular sprouts emanating from the EC-MSC–islet surface showed migration of ECs into the islets and also into the surrounding matrix, either alone or in concert with MSCs. CONCLUSIONS—EC proliferation, sprout formation, and ingrowth of ECs into the islets were enhanced by MSCs. The use of composite EC-MSC islets may have beneficial effects on revascularization and immune regulation. The technique presented allows for pretreatment of donor islets with recipient-derived ECs and MSCs as a means of improving islet engraftment.

The aim of this article is to explore the role of creativity for high-performance innovative activity. It is our conjecture that this approach enables us to go beyond the dominant science-focus of the present discourse on the transformation to a knowledge-based society. In line with the first part of the Schumpeterian definition of innovation: creative combination, the ability to be creative draws on dispersed - new and old, external and internal, scientific and non-scientific - knowledge sources. The article is primarily a theoretical and conceptual exercise: however, we relate our discussions to empirical findings from mature manufacturing industries. The discussions are also related to the current industrial transformation in the Iron Ore Belt in Sweden, and the possible challenges this entails for a region characterized by a strong tradition of large-firm domination and natural resource-based industry. In the current transformation, this region must find new ways to both encourage and support economic and technological development - something which may find its base not only in scientific skills in a narrow sense, but also in new attitudes to industrial creativity.

Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are natural products responsible for the anti-inflammatory activity of a variety of medicinal plants, mainly from the Asteraceae family. Here, we investigated whether they also influence the process of exocytosis of pro-inflammatory enzymes, such as the human neutrophil elastase (HNE). Altogether, eight structurally different SLs from the eudesmanolide, guaianolide, pseudoguaianolide, and germacranolide type were studied. Neutrophils were isolated from fresh human blood. After pre-incubation with different concentrations of the respective SL and cytochalasin B, the exocytosis of elastase was initiated either by platelet activating factor or N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine. Inhibition of HNE release was measured by p-nitroaniline formation. The SLs exhibited an inhibitory effect on elastase release from neutrophils challenged either by platelet activating factor or N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine. Concentration-response curves were recorded and the IC(50) values ranged from 2 to 30 microM. Studies on isolated HNE showed that a selective direct inhibition on HNE can be excluded. Interestingly, the inhibitory activity did not correlate with the number of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl functions. The structure-activity relationship and the molecular mechanism are discussed.

This chapter discusses the role of policy induced regional interactions in promoting regional competitiveness in globalized industrial role. The chapter is based on two Swedish regional policy initiatives that are strongly influenced by a regional innovation systems approach and a Triple Helix framework. The highly interrelated concepts of Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) and Triple Helix (TH) have not only contributed with the theoretical foundation for policy to offset global pressure; they also contribute to the theoretical framework for the policy analysis in this chapter. The concept of interaction, as introduced here, may be looked upon as a general term that encompasses all those non-market relations, abstracted from orthodox economic theory but which are necessary for the understanding of the function of the economic system. It may be argued that Coase (1937) with his transaction costs identified the border between interactions in the form of a hierarchy inside the firm and the market outside it. With the exception of Marshall (1890), to which we will return to below, non-market interactions outside the firm, and/or crossing firm borders, were for a long time neglected however in economic and industrial analyses. Today, when the network economy is a widely used concept in characterizing the globalization processes of our time (cf. Castells, 1996, 2000), it should be noted that interactions in the form of industrial networks were in focus among industrial researchers in Uppsala university in Sweden already in the 1980:s. The “Uppsala School”, with its focus on actors, activities and resources, is one important pillar in the development of the family of network approaches (cf. eg. Hakansson, 1982 & 1989; Hakansson & Snehota, 1995 & Axelsson & Easton, 1992). Although with some exceptions, the Uppsala School focused on industrial networks proper; institutions were not part of the system. With the point of departure in an industrial marketing perspective the Uppsala network approach was rather broad; innovations were part of it but, with some exceptions, not in focus. The Uppsala school was far from alone in developing academic theory beyond market relations proper during the 80s and 90s, however. The variety of network approaches is great, including sociological approaches as well as geographical and economic; explicit and intentional approaches as well as externalities and cultural (for an overview cf. Coombs et al, 1996). The approaches used in this chapter are discussed in detail in section two below.

Evolutionary theory predicts the existence of relatively stable sex differences in partner preferences with, for example, males being more concerned with traits predicting high fertility and females with traits predicting high resource availability. We tested three predictions using personal advertisements from both traditional newspapers and internet dating services. In accordance with predictions, men offered resources more often than did women, and women requested resources more often than did men. Males in all age-categories preferred younger partners. Young females preferred older males, but the pattern was reversed for the majority of females past their fertile period. In contrast to predictions, there was no difference between males and females in the degree to which they offered, or asked for, physical attractiveness. Based on our results and a review of previous studies, we suggest that sex differences in factual or advertised preference for physical attractiveness may be more labile than sex differences in preference for resources and status across societies.

It is a general understanding that the advanced economies are currently undergoing a fundamental transformation into knowledge-based societies. There is a firm belief that this is based on the development of high-tech industries. Correspondingly, in this scenario low-tech sectors appear to be less important. A critique of this widely held belief is the starting point of this book. It is often overlooked that many of the current innovation activities are linked to developments inside the realm of low-tech. Thus the general objective of the book is to contribute to a discussion concerning the relevance of low-tech industries for industrial innovativeness in the emerging knowledge economy.