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Rivers are cradles of human civilisations and continual innovations in water technologies are the key to sustainable human development. Yet, limited research has explored the interactive dynamics among different technologies, hindering our ability to effectively manage technological transition. This paper presents a framework that conceptualizes water technology as a complex adaptive system containing three interrelated sub-systems: water demand, water supply, and water management. The interactions among these subsystems were measured using three network-based metrics: intensity, brokerage, and efficiency. Patents registered in the World Intellectual Property Organization from 1863 to 2020 were used as the data source. It was found that 40,304 patents from 44 countries were registered, with 40% of them belonging to the water management sub-system, followed by water supply (35%), and water demand (25%). Technological development in the three sub-systems presented linear growth over the past 160 years, focusing on water treatment, hydroelectric power, hydraulic engineering and water monitoring. The water-demand subsystem was identified as the structural "bottleneck" with the highest brokerage value, which was considered crucial for knowledge transfer between the other two sub-systems. Overall, the water technology system is characterized by slow development, skewed spatial coverage, categorical homogeneity, and structural imbalances, limiting our ability to address the escalating global water threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the concept of microreactor was first proposed in the 1980s, it has been entering the chemistry and chemical engineering fields at a high speed and is favored by both scientific and commercial fields. The development of microreactors has been extensively studied in the literature, but less analysis has been carried out from the perspective of industrial technology. This paper aims to identify, analyze, and map the technological profile of microreactors from the perspective of patents. Based on the text mining techniques, a quantitative analysis of 16,327 microreactor‐related patents in the Derwent Innovations Index database was conducted. The analysis reveals a consistent annual increase in the number of microreactor‐related patents from 1982 to 2021. Specifically, China emerges as the leading country in terms of patent disclosures, whereas the United States and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) play a crucial role in knowledge transfer. Moreover, this study identifies the technological evolution path for microreactors and analyzes in detail the key patents along this evolution path. Individuation, modularization, and greening are the developing directions of microreactor technology in the future. This research offers valuable guidance for researchers and industry professionals in decision‐making and driving advancements in microreactor technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum communication is a key to information security, which has a wide range of applications in military, financial, and social development. Understanding the technological emergence in advance would contribute to gain full socio-economic benefits and reducing risk. This research attempts to explore the emergence of quantum communication from the bibliometric perspective. By analyzing the patent from the Derwent Innovation Index, this research analyzes the development phase, the technology emergence, the main contributors' network, the distribution of regions, and technology categories of quantum communication. The results show that quantum communication is in the growth phase according to the theory of the technology life cycle. China, the United States, and Japan are the leading countries. This research also identifies the main patent assignees and their collaboration networks. By introducing the technological emergence indicators, this research identifies four emerging topics in quantum communication and analyzes the layout of main patent assignees within these topics. This research would contribute to the endeavour of scientific communities toward the development of quantum communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on patent data, we revealed the global technical distribution, research topics and competition trend of grain combine harvester technology. It provided reference for the technology mining and industrialization development of grain combine harvester in China. Based on IncoPat patent database, we analyzed the global innovation layout and competitiveness of grain combine harvester from the perspectives of patent overall layout, patent application trend, patent applicant and its research topics. The results showed that the technology of combine harvester entered a new round of innovation activities in recent years. The patents from China, the United States, Japan and Germany accounted for 86. 95% of the total world. The gap between China and advanced technology countries in patent application narrowed. International agricultural machinery giants, such as Kubota, Iseki, Deere Company, CNH Industrial, were the main enterprises of grain combine harvester technology innovation. Great attention had been paid to the control and measurement devices of combine harvesters in China, and further research were needed to catch up with the world’s advanced level in grain separation and cleaning. In addition, China’s grain combine harvester innovation was facing problems like patent blockade from international agricultural machinery giants, low share of high-value patents, insufficient patents distribution overseas, and weak technological innovation competitiveness of domestic enterprises. In the future, China should take the advantage of backwardness, and carry out patent layout with invalid patents. Furthermore, cooperation among universities, research institutions and enterprises should be strengthened to promote the transformation of technological achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By examining pertinent literature and patents jhis study comprchcnsivcly assesses the research and development landscape, as well as the distribution patterns among major countries ami research institutions engaged in this field・ Morcovcr, a thematic anal}*sis is conducted to clucklatc research directions, thcmrs, and emerging tirnds. Th" findings reveal that research paper output in this domain exhibits a fluctuating growth trajectory, while the number of associatrci patents demonstrates a rising trcn

In general, the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is regarded as more environmentally friendly than other vehicles. However, the commercialization of FCEV technology is hardly fulfilled due to high-cost fuel cells and an inadequate refueling infrastructure. Different technological trajectories of fuel cells are fiercely competitive, and related technologies are iterating quickly. It is an open issue in terms of what are the technological advances achieved or the opportunities for innovators. The paper proposes a novel approach to identify the key components of an FCEV by constructing the directed co-occurrence network of the International Patent Classification (IPC) and then adopts the Natural Language Processing (NLP) to construct the matrix of technology characteristics and functions. It is suitable to analyze the sentence structure of Subject–Action–Object (SAO) in patent documents by utilizing the NLP technology, which can help computers understand the text and communicate with us. The paper finds that the advances achieved in the fuel cell field are fuel cell composition, manufacturing fuel cells, and providing energy using fuel cells, and the advance in electric motors is supplying power for fuel cell vehicles, while the advances in hydrogen storage are to manage and store hydrogen. By contrast, the opportunities for innovators are to develop the control, diagnosis, and performance of the control system and hydrogen filling. This paper will be a contribution towards a better understanding of the advances and opportunities for developing FCEV technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An incomplete understanding of the technical details in a firm's technology selection can lead to a failure in the process of the technology opportunity discovery (TOD) and cause a series of R&D problems. This study proposes an approach for the automated TOD by combining the subject-section-object (SAO) and the generative topographic mapping (GTM), which concentrates on the role of the semantic information in TOD process. First, the semantic information of the technology components in a target field is extracted and the topics of different semantic structures are defined. Second, the GTM-based patent map is established to discover technology opportunities based on a vector matrix composed of patents and topics. Finally, the degree of semantic similarity is applied to measure the technology novelty and to identify promising technology opportunities. The case of the coal-bed methane extraction technology demonstrates that the automated approach based on the semantic information can help understand the concrete details of technology opportunities and improve the accuracy of TOD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative Industrial Clusters (IIC), characterized by geographical aggregation and technological collaboration among technology enterprises and institutions, serve as pivotal drivers of regional economic competitiveness and technological advancements. Prior research on cluster identification, crucial for IIC analysis, has predominantly emphasized geographical dimensions while overlooking technological proximity. Addressing these limitations, this study introduces a comprehensive framework incorporating multiple indices and methods for accurately identifying IIC using patent data. To unearth latent technological insights within patent documents, Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) is employed to generate topics from a collection of terms. Utilizing the applicants' names and addresses recorded in patents, an Application Programming Interface (API) map systems facilitates the extraction of geographic locations. Subsequently, a Multivariate Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (MDBSCAN) algorithm, which accounts for both technological and spatial distances, is deployed to delineate IIC. Moreover, a bipartite network model based on patent geographic information collected from the patent is constructed to analyze the technological distribution on the geography and development mode of IIC. The utilization of the model and methodologies is demonstrated through a case study on the China flexible electronics industry (FEI). The findings reveal that the clusters identified via this novel approach are significantly correlated with both technological innovation and geographical factors. Moreover, the MDBSCAN algorithm demonstrates notable superiority over other algorithms in terms of computational precision and efficiency, as evidenced by the case analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of crowd innovation and the generative design driven by big language models, the exploration of personalized requirements has become a key in significantly improving product innovation, concept feasibility, and design interaction efficiency. To mine a large number of vague and unexpressed implicit requirements of personalized products, a domain knowledge graph-based method is proposed in this research. First, based on the classical theory of design science, the characteristics and categories of personalized implicit requirements are analyzed, and the theoretical basis of implicit requirement mining is formed. Next, in order to improve the practicability and construction efficiency of the domain knowledge graph, a more informative ontology is constructed, and better-performing natural language processing (NLP) models are proposed. Then, a multi-category personalized implicit requirement mining method based on a knowledge graph is proposed. Finally, a platform was developed based on the technical solution proposed in this study, and an example verification was conducted in the field of electromechanical engineering. The efficiency improvement of the training model proposed in the research was analyzed, and the practicality of implicit requirement mining methods are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Drainage & Irrigation Machinery Engineering / Paiguan Jixie Gongcheng Xuebao is the property of Editorial Department of Drainage & Irrigation Machinery Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The cooling of server components has been developed over the past few years in order to meet increasing cooling requirements. The growth in performance and power density increases the cooling demand. To gain a better understanding of the evolution and possible future technology developments in the field of data center cooling, a patent analysis method was used with a focus on the server and computer room levels. After the patent extraction from the European patent database for the period 2000–2023, the search results were classified and analyzed. Most of the patents deal with air or liquid cooling. Since 2015, a technological shift from air to liquid cooling can be identified on the level of patent activities. In conclusion, from the patent analysis, it can be derived that liquid cooling will continue to gain in importance in the future and could also be combined with other approaches in the form of hybrid cooling. However, air cooling may still be relevant, even if the main cooling load is handled by liquid-based approaches. At the same time, the optimization potential for air cooling seems to have been largely exploited in comparison to liquid cooling, as can be seen from the falling number of the patent applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study discusses the technology development direction of industry–academia collaboration patents derived from government-subsidized programs and uses technology network analysis to pinpoint the key technologies developed in government-subsidized programs that align with market needs. The main technologies that play a key role in the government-subsidized industry–academia collaboration technology network for recent years are revealed to be measurement and chemistry technologies. The technologies that bridge the gap between multiple fields within the field of medicine are found to be diagnosis, surgery, and identification technologies; these technologies require further attention and resources from the government and academia. Additionally, semiconductor technology is revealed to play an increasingly crucial role in the government-subsidized industry–academia collaboration network. The findings can serve as a reference for the government to allocate research resources and for enterprises to promote emerging technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a comprehensive exploration of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft within advanced air mobility (AAM), examining the crucial challenges of integrating these innovative technologies into transportation systems. AAM promises transformational social change by enhancing transportation energy efficiency, safety, and operational effectiveness. This research utilizes a methodical approach that juxtaposes a systematic review of patents with an extensive analysis of the academic literature to map the innovation landscape of VTOL technology. This dual analysis reveals a dynamic progression in VTOL advancements, highlighting significant strides in aerodynamic optimization, propulsion technology, and control systems. The novelty of this study lies in its dual-method approach, combining patent analysis with the academic literature to provide a holistic view of VTOL technological evolution. The patent analysis reveals that companies have been most productive on innovations relating to VTOL aircraft transition efficiency, control enhancement, and energy management. The literature review identifies key trends such as the rise in electric propulsion technologies and the integration of AI-driven control mechanisms. These results provide new engineering knowledge that can guide future VTOL development and policy formulation. The original contributions include a detailed mapping of VTOL innovation trends, identification of key technological advancements, and a predictive lens into future directions. These findings offer a valuable resource for aerospace engineers, policymakers, and urban planners. This study contributes a detailed assessment of both theoretical foundations and practical applications, fostering a holistic view of the challenges and innovations shaping the future of AAM. By connecting research and practical development, this study serves as a critical tool for strategic decision making and policy formulation towards advancing the integration of VTOL aircraft into sustainable urban transportation networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until 2022, the US patent citation network contained almost 10 million patents and over 100 million citations, presenting a challenge in analysing such expansive, intricate networks. To overcome limitations in analysing this complex citation network, we propose a stochastic gradient relational event additive model (STREAM) that models the citation relationships between patents as time events. While the structure of this model relies on the relational event model, STREAM offers a more comprehensive interpretation by modelling the effect of each predictor non-linearly. Overall, our model identifies key factors driving patent citations and reveals insights in the citation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Automotive Digest is the property of Automotive Digest Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

CMfg is a new service-oriented manufacturing mode integrating new-generation information technologies, and its development promotes the digital transformation of China’s manufacturing industry. Exploring the evolution trend of CMfg's co-innovation networks is essential to the development of manufacturing digitalisation. The research is carried out from three levels: The evolutionary characteristics of the organisational co-innovation network in the CMfg industry are identified through SNA and THA; the evolution of technological co-innovation network is analysed by using FP-Growth and the textual analysis, to recognise the technology convergence trends; the evolution of the factors affecting regional collaborations are discovered by using QAP model to analyse the regional co-innovation network. Following conclusions are achieved: CMfg co-innovation is centred on state-owned enterprises in the power and telecommunication industries, with University–Industry collaboration as the main form; the current hot spots of CMfg technologies are the Resource Perception-and-Access, the Resource Virtualisation-and-Service; the regional collaboration in China's CMfg industry tends to be partnership-led and multi-polar. It suggests that: In the CMfg industry, more enterprises-supporting policy should be made, while the Virtualisation-and-Service technologies need more attention, and the partnerships among regions should be further enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is a significant alternative energy resource in achieving carbon neutrality. The developmental trend and competitive landscape of NGH exploitation and production are crucial for policymakers in government, managers of enterprises, and researchers. This study introduces a novel framework for conducting an in-depth analysis of NGH, integrating patentometrics, technology evolution, and correlation relationships to monitor developmental trends and competitive landscape through patent analysis. The results indicate that China, the USA, and Japan have distinct technology advantages. Current technological developments in the NGH field focus primarily on extraction technologies, equipment, and processing systems. The co-opetition analysis among countries reveals that the most extensive international cooperation network is primarily in Europe and the USA, with national partnerships in Asia concentrated in China and Japan. Institutional cooperation remains limited, primarily within universities in China, while both the USA and Japan foster collaboration between enterprises. The competitive landscapes of key NGH-related technologies among countries and institutions are also examined. This study contributes not only to monitoring the developmental trend and competitive landscape in NGH but also to providing policy recommendations for government and enterprises regarding strategic management and collaborative innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the recent complex intertwining of firms in fierce intellectual property disputes, the formation mechanisms of patent infringement litigation relationships between firms have been little studied from a network science perspective. We construct an inter-firm patent litigation network using longitudinal data on patent infringement litigation and the firms involved in the US, and examine its structural characteristics and the mechanisms of tie formation through network motif analysis, linking it to existing knowledge on negative ties. The results reveal the significant influence of mechanisms such as homophily, popularity, and activity on network formation, with reciprocity emerging as a pivotal factor. The absence of triadic closure is also observed. This distinct structural pattern is consistent across different technological fields and throughout the 20-year period. Furthermore, our analysis delves into the rapid countersuit strategies common within this network and provides valuable insights into patent litigation strategies between firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nasal administration is a non-invasive method of drug delivery that offers several advantages, including rapid onset of action, ease of use, no first-pass effect, and fewer side effects. On this basis, nose-to-brain delivery technology offers a new method for drug delivery to the brain and central nervous system, which has attracted widespread attention. In this paper, the development status and trends of nasal drug delivery and nose-to-brain delivery technology are deeply analyzed through multiple dimensions: literature research, questionnaire surveys, and patent analysis. First, FDA-approved nasal formulations for nose-to-brain delivery were combed. Second, we collected a large amount of relevant information about nasal drug delivery through a questionnaire survey of 165 pharmaceutical industry practitioners in 28 provinces and 161 different organizations in China. Third, and most importantly, we conducted a patent analysis of approximately 700+ patents related to nose-to-brain delivery, both domestically and internationally. This analysis was conducted in terms of patent application trends, technology life cycle, technology composition, and technology evolution. The LDA topic model was employed to identify technological topics in each time window (1990–2023), and the five key major evolution paths were extracted. The research results in this paper will provide useful references for relevant researchers and enterprises in the pharmaceutical industry, promoting the further development and application of nasal drug delivery and nose-to-brain delivery technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization has led to manifestation of many novel technologies for predictive and prescriptive analysis in agriculture sector. One of the potential technologies is IoT (Internet of Things) with dynamic innovations for multiple applications in farming. IoT enabled smart greenhouses have increased market potential as these controlled systems help in monitoring a microclimate environment for crops, nutrient management and yield remotely. The current study depicts a systematic approach to assess the trends in IoT based smart greenhouses using patent analytics. Trends indicate a surge in patent filing in IoT based devices in agriculture from 2014 onwards with China in lead and the spread more in private firms than in public universities. The study shows the temporal trends, patent timeline, identity of applicants etc. and provide insights about the development of most relevant IoT technologies for smart greenhouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flavors and fragrances are an important class of specialty chemicals for which interest in biomanufacturing has risen during recent years. These naturally occurring compounds are often amenable to biosynthesis using purified enzyme catalysts or metabolically engineered microbial cells in fermentation processes. In this review, we provide a brief overview of the categories of molecules that have received the greatest interest, both academically and industrially, by examining scholarly publications as well as patent literature. Overall, we seek to highlight innovations in the key reaction steps and microbial hosts used in flavor and fragrance manufacturing. • Biosynthesis of flavors and fragrances provides a green alternative to chemical synthesis and natural product extraction. • Flavors and fragrances are used in a diverse range of products like food and drink, cosmetics and insecticides. • Patent and market analysis illustrates current trends and future interest in biosynthesized flavor and fragrance molecules. • Host optimization, enzyme engineering and bioprospecting can boost yields and improve product retention and selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As global environmental issues become increasingly prominent, the maritime industry faces an urgent imperative to curtail carbon emissions and mitigate environmental impact. Green marine alternative fuels are actively addressing these challenges. Global patent data are collected, and four sub-technologies of green fuel technologies in the maritime field are extracted based on Natural Language Processing. To evaluate the innovation trends and evolutionary paths of these technologies, the Main Path Analysis is employed to identify the evolution path of technologies and the evolution situation of major innovative entities, while the Social Network Analysis was used to present the results visually. These four sub-technologies (Hydrogen & Fuel Cell, Methanol & Ethanol, Ammonia, and LNG & LPG) have occupied the mainstream of fuel technology in maritime over the past five years, with 34.6% of patents, 38.3% of patent citations, and 93.9% of technological influence, accounting for 27.4%, 20.5%, 16.7% and 44.3%, respectively. Ammonia, and Hydrogen & Fuel Cell are springing up like mushrooms after rain, while the development of LNG & LPG, Methanol & Ethanol is relatively mature. Each of these technologies showcases distinct developmental paradigms. We elaborated on developmental paradigms and future research priorities of each technology in the conclusion. In addition, new technological opportunities are also created through the cross-fertilization of technologies. In particular, integrated systems for hydrogen production, storage, and combustion on LNG ships, and maritime hybrid power systems driven by ammonia and hydrogen have opened a new window for the green development of maritime fuels. • Four green fuel technologies account for 93.9% of maritime fuel technological influence in the past five years. • Hydrogen & Fuel Cell and Ammonia rapidly expand, while LNG & LPG and Methanol & Ethanol are relatively mature. • This study details the unique development paradigms and future research priorities for each technology. • Hydrogen systems on LNG ships and hybrid ammonia-hydrogen maritime power open new avenues for green fuel development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an original research methodology that combines insights from patents and academic research, offering a unique perspective on energy recovery technologies for trucks equipped with refrigeration units. The purpose of the study is to perform a functional analysis of existing solutions and to suggest a mechanism for exposing unexplored areas and opportunities for innovation. To achieve this goal, a systematic opportunity scan is presented, investigating patents and conducting a state-of-the-art search of existing technologies. This scan classifies a diverse range of solutions, elucidating their interconnections and providing an overview of the existing technological area, covering system components and technical trends. Thus, the main functions and components are listed, as well as the system requirements. Once the functions have been surveyed, a morphological matrix is proposed, and five main functions are analyzed. This methodology makes it possible to list the majority of the possible solutions for the functions analyzed, taking into account the components observed in the literature review and patents, including new components raised by the research group. Finally, with the morphological matrix structure, it was possible to combine unexplored elements, achieving innovative solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of global patent trends in battery recycling, focusing on secondary batteries and related technologies across Korea, China, and the United States. The methodology involved collecting data from various patent databases, followed by quantitative analysis to identify technology trends and guide future development. The research employed statistical tools to analyze patent activities, including the frequency and scope of patent filings, and comparative analysis to highlight differences between countries. This study reveals distinct emphases on technologies such as lithium-ion and waste battery recycling, highlighting notable differences in patent activities among key companies and countries. China's large number of patents in battery manufacturing processes contrasts with the USA's focus on electrochemical cell construction and storage systems, while Korea shows significant activity in waste battery technology. The novelty of this paper lies in its detailed comparative analysis of patent trends across these three major economies, providing insights into the technological focuses and priorities of each country. The study also identifies key challenges, such as the need for consistent innovation and broader geographic coverage in Korea, enhancing patent influence and international presence in China, and ensuring high patent quality and fostering innovation in lagging sectors in the United States. Addressing these challenges through enhanced collaboration, increased R&D investments, and supportive policies is crucial for strengthening the global position and driving further innovation in the battery recycling sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is now a cornerstone technology to curb carbon emission by enabling electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage. However, LIBs are highly materials-intensive, the cost and availability of the key materials, especially the lithium-containing cathode materials, are critical for the goal of decarbonization. High-voltage spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) is a promising cobalt-free cathode material to cater to the surging demand for low-cost and high-energy-density LIBs. In this paper, the advantages of LNMO are quantified in terms of performance and sustainability, then the growing interest in the research and development (R&D) of LNMO is assessed by analyzing 559 related patents registered across 22 authorities. The analysis paints a comprehensive picture, including geographical distribution of patenting activities, major developers, and influential patents. Furthermore, the patents are categorized into four key innovation directions. A gradual shift from materials engineering to electrolyte design indicates that the development of novel high-voltage compatible electrolytes is expected to unlock LNMO for next-generation, sustainable, and high-performance batteries.

Background Tissue engineering research aims to address the global shortage of donated corneal tissue, yet challenges persist in clinical translation. This study assesses the pathway from basic research to clinical adoption in corneal tissue engineering. Methods Bibliometric and patent analyses were conducted using the Web of Science-Core Collection and Lens databases to identify top authors, countries, journals, publication trends, inventors, patent statuses, and affiliated companies. A quality-adjusted life year (QALY) analysis compared engineered corneal endothelium to full keratoplasty. A pilot study surveyed thirty ophthalmologist surgeons from eight Latin American countries. Results A strong upward publication trend (R2 = 0.89, p = 1.53x10^-9) in corneal endothelium engineering was observed over the past decade, led by the USA, China, and Japan. Among 614 research papers, 26 patents and 10 companies were identified. Engineered corneal endothelium showed a QALY gain of 0.74 versus 0.07 of corneal transplants. Most survey respondents (97%) expressed interest in adopting engineered corneal endothelium for transplantation if affordability, biocompatibility, and functionality were assured. Conclusions While tissue engineering offers promise in alleviating corneal scarcity, a significant gap remains between scientific advancements and clinical adoption, presenting “death valleys.” Addressing this requires more efficient navigation of the interplay between scientific progress, technology adoption, and clinical practice.

Information extraction is an important foundation for automated patent analysis. Deep learning methods show promising results for information extraction, the performance of such methods heavily depends on the available corpus. To promote research on Chinese information extraction and evaluate the performance of related systems, we present a novel dataset, named CPIE, and make it publicly available. The dataset consisting of five thousands records of Chinese patent documents. The data were annotated by a tagging team using an on-line annotation tools. The dataset was evaluated using a state-of-the-art information extraction method that involves named entity recognition and relationship classification. The results shed light on new challenges and promote information extraction research.

The development of electric vehicles (EVs) has been expanding rapidly in recent years to meet the demand of energy conservation and environmental protection. However, despite the promotion of EV, consumers are reluctant to buy EV because of issues such as charging anxiety and charging safety. For companies to break into the fierce competitiveness of the EV industry, it is imperative that those companies understand the evolutionary trajectory of EV technology to help them choose the right technology development path, and then focus on R&D objectives and improve R&D efficiency. This study proposes a patent-based framework to understand key characteristics, evolutionary trajectories and research development of EV charging technology. The results show that key technological developments in EV charging are concentrated on circuit arrangement, battery, safety device and charging station technologies. According to our co-opetition situation analysis, giant institutions do not cooperate closely with each other but compete mainly in the fields of electric traction, circuit arrangements, EV system control and charging stations. The findings not only contribute to monitoring the developmental trends and co-opetition situations in the EV charging field, but also provide managemental implications for policymakers in governments and managers in enterprises on the how to focus on research and development for EV based on the evolutionary trajectory from the patent analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to predict the commercialization of lithium-based solid-state battery (LSSB) technology and identify the solid electrolyte type that will dominate the market. This study analyzed LSSB patents filed from 2000 to 2020 to determine the current stage of the technology life cycle, and examined the patent quality and competitiveness of three types of solid electrolytes (oxide-, sulfide-, and polymer-based) to identify the most promising. We found that LSSB technology is moving from the emerging to the growth phase, while the oxide-based solid electrolyte is the most promising technology, followed by sulfide- and polymer-based electrolyte technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Heavy metal soil pollution severely threatens human health and food safety. This study used PRISMA to systematically review heavy metal-contaminated soil remediation patents in the Derwent Patent Database from 2003 to 2023. A total of 1744 patents were selected. The results of the analysis show that related patent applications are growing around the world. Among them, China has the most significant number of patents, but the layout of transnational patents needs to be revised. Countries have different preferences in transnational patent technology. Technological development is generally balanced, and there is no apparent monopoly. However, the need for continuous in-depth research on inventors is an obstacle to technological development. In addition, the technology in this field is concentrated in chemistry and engineering. Currently, the mainstream technology is soil remediation agents, and thermal desorption technology has also attracted much attention. Future technologies will use new polymer materials and advanced machinery to improve efficiency and control repair costs. In addition, remediation has shifted from the total amount of heavy metals to the control of practical parts. This study summarizes the current status of heavy metal-contaminated soil remediation technology and analyzes future development trends, providing a reference for technology development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today’s highly competitive markets, firms can no longer ensure competitive advantage through the development of highly complex technologies or differentiation based solely on technological and functional factors. Simultaneously, there is growing recognition that design and aesthetic factors can contribute to firms’ competitive advantage. Hence, this study examines the relationship between technology complexity, design innovation, and firm performance to uncover the role of design innovation in exploiting complex technologies. Our main hypothesis is that design innovation positively moderates the negative effect that technology complexity has on firm performance. We used a unique dataset that aggregates all patent data published by US-headquartered publicly-traded firms to the parent company level. We combined this dataset with the Computat and PATSTAT databases based on their matching firm identifier. Focusing on 1,743 firms from 1980 to 2015, the results support our hypotheses. This study contributes to the resource-based view of firms by recognising design as a strategic resource that firms can utilise to gain a competitive advantage, especially in the presence of high technology complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catastrophic oil spill is one of the major issues to the environment. Various methods have been used to treat oil spillage including in situ burning, the use of skimmers, dispersants, bioremediation, dispersing agents, oil sorbents, and biological agents. Application of oil sorbent is one of the effective solutions in oil spill clean-up. Polymers are sustainable extraordinary materials for the treatment of oil spillage due to their special physicochemical characteristics such as high porosity, good hydrophobicity, and reusability. Polymers are modified using suitable chemical reagents and their hydrophobicity is enhanced, making them suitable for oil spill clean-up. The present manuscript is an attempt to summarize the study of chemical modifications done on a polymer polyurethane (PU) for achieving the desirable properties, for efficient oil spill clean-up. A patent analysis has been carried out for the leading countries, top inventors, leading assignees, trends of patent publications, citation analysis, and summary of granted patents in the area of the use of a polymer Polyurethane (PU) for oil spill clean-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]