The persistence of inter‐regional hierarchy in technology transfer networks: An analysis of Chinese patent licensing data

This paper asks whether the technological development of a nation reduces the inter‐regional hierarchy in knowledge flow. We examine two scenarios that are the alternative to each other. The first is what we call the globalization of regional innovation system/weakening of inter‐regional hierarchy scenario: As many regions develop their niches in the global economy, the national “anchor” region loses its relative importance as the importer and distributor of new knowledge, rendering the domestic inter‐regional hierarchy less significant as a result. The second scenario is the globalization of national innovation system/persistence of inter‐regional hierarchy. The nation’s traditional anchor region becomes even more active in importing technology and distributing it to other regions of the country. To test which scenario is closer to reality, we employ social network metrics to analyse inter‐regional technology diffusion networks using Chinese patent licensing data for the 1998–2013 period. Our findings support the second scenario, showing that the influence of the traditional anchor region persists in the hierarchical network structure as new cities enter the network. We found five anchor regions: the three usual suspects—Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen—plus two that were slightly less expected—Dongguan and Suzhou.     

Medial canthoplasty for epiphora in dogs: a retrospective study of 23 cases

The medical records of 23 dogs that underwent medial canthoplasty for treatment of epiphora were reviewed. The most prevalent breed encountered was the shih tzu. Other affected breeds included the Pekingese, Maltese, toy poodle, and pug. All dogs had epiphora associated with medial canthal trichiasis and/or entropion. Other ocular abnormalities included conjunctivitis, keratitis, pigmentary keratitis, corneal ulceration, globe prolapse, and nasal fold trichiasis. After medial canthoplasty, the epiphora resolved in all dogs.     

Effect of dietary nutmeg oil on heat‐stress tolerance‐related parameters in Korean native chicken reared under hot temperature

This study investigated the effect of dietary nutmeg oil (NO) on growth performance, blood parameters, lipid peroxidation and heat shock protein (HSP) 70 expression in Korean native chicken (KNC) reared under hot temperature. We allocated 273 meat‐type KNCs (Hanhyup‐3, 4‐week‐old, body weight [BW] = 539.93 ± 1.75 g) to the following three treatments with seven replicate pens (13 birds/pen) per treatment. Three treatment diets were as follows: (a) Control, basal diet without NO supplementation; (b) NO 250; and (c) NO 500, basal diet supplemented with 250 and 500 ppm NO respectively. Diets and water were provided ad libitum throughout the 6‐week feeding trial. During overall period (0–6 weeks), no differences (p > 0.05) were observed in BW gain (BWG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion rate (FCR) among treatments. However, the FI at 0–3 weeks decreased (p < 0.05) quadratically with increasing NO levels. Most blood parameters did not differ (p > 0.05) among treatments, although the monocyte level of the NO 500 group was considerably lower (p > 0.05) than that of the other groups. Furthermore, dietary NO did not affect serum triglyceride, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphorus and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (p > 0.05); however, it linearly decreased serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level (p < 0.05). Additionally, serum malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration decreased (p < 0.05) and heart MDA concentration was lower (p = 0.08) with increasing dietary NO supplementation. After a 3‐hr heat (35°C) challenge, the rectal temperature (RT) reduced (p < 0.05) linearly with increasing NO levels. Dietary NO did not affect liver HSP70 (p > 0.05) gene expression. In conclusion, NO potentially enhanced the ability of chickens to alleviate heat stress. Furthermore, our findings suggest that lipid oxidation inhibition by dietary NO likely mediated the enhanced heat‐stress tolerance of the chickens.     

Bordetella bronchiseptica aroA mutant as a live vaccine vehicle for heterologous porcine circovirus type 2 major capsid protein expression

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infections cause important respiratory diseases in the pig industry and are associated with many bacterial, mycoplasmal, and viral complications. In this study, a heterologous PCV2 major capsid protein (MCP) was expressed in the Bordetella bronchiseptica aroA mutant strain (BBS-MCP) and used as a live vaccine vehicle. Mice and pigs were immunized with live BBS-MCP via the intranasal route. The antibodies against MCP were induced successfully in the serum as determined by ELISA. In the PCV2 challenge experiment, viral DNA was removed successfully from the lymph nodes of pigs vaccinated with live BBS-MCP. Overall, BBS-MCP is believed to be a good candidate for the development of a live-attenuated vaccine against PCV2 infections.     

Pharmacokinetic study of meropenem in healthy beagle dogs receiving intermittent hemodialysis

Meropenem, a second carbapenem antimicrobial agent with a broad spectrum of activity, is used to treat sepsis and resistant‐bacterial infections in veterinary medicine. The objective of this study was to identify the pharmacokinetics of meropenem in dogs receiving intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) and to determine the proper dosing in renal failure patients receiving IHD. Five healthy beagle dogs were given a single i.v. dose of 24 mg/kg of meropenem and received IHD. The blood flow rate, dialysate flow, and ultrafiltration rate were maintained at 40 mL/min, 300 mL/min, and 40 mL/h, respectively. Blood samples were collected for 24 h from the jugular vein and from the extracorporeal arterial and venous line. Urine samples and dialysate were also collected. The concentrations of meropenem were assayed using HPLC/MS/MS determination. The peak plasma concentration was 116 ± 37 μg/mL at 15 min. The systemic clearance was 347 ± 117 mL/h/kg, and the steady‐state volume of distribution was 223 ± 67 mL/kg. Dialysis clearance was 71.1 ± 34.3 mL/h/kg, and the extraction ratio by hemodialysis was 0.455 ± 0.150. The half‐life (T_1/2) in dogs with IHD decreased compared with those without IHD, and the reduction in T_1/2 was greater in renal failure patients than in normal patients. Sixty‐nine percent and 21% of the administered drug were recovered by urine and dialysate in the unchanged form, respectively. In conclusion, additional dosing of 24 mg/kg of meropenem after dialysis could be necessary according to the residual renal function of the patient based on the simulated data.     

Effects of conditioned media from human amniotic epithelial cells on corneal alkali injuries in rabbits

This study was performed to evaluate the effects of conditioned media (CM) from human amniotic epithelial cells (HAECs) on the corneal wound healing process. Eighteen rabbits (36 eyes) were used and randomly assigned to three groups according treatment: CM from HAECs (group 1), vehicle alone (group 2), and saline (group 3). Corneal alkali injuries were induced with 1 N sodium hydroxide. Each reagent used for treatment evaluation was injected into the dorsal bulbar subconjunctiva and the area of the corneal epithelial defect was measured every other day. Two animals from each group were euthanized at a time on days 3, 7, and 15, and the cornea was removed for histological examination. The sum of the epithelial defect areas measured on day 0 to day 6 as well as day 0 to day 14 in group 1 was significantly smaller than those of other groups. Histological examination revealed that the group 1 corneas had less inflammatory cell infiltration and showed more intact epithelial features compared to the other groups. These results suggest that CM from HAECs promote corneal wound healing in rabbits.     

Estimation of productivity growth,technical progress,and efficiency changes in the Korean offshore fisheries

In this study, changes in total factor productivity of 12 Korean offshore fisheries between 1997 and 2009 were estimated through the Malmquist productivity index, which is a nonparametric method. Also, the cause of such changes in productivity of each fishery was analyzed more specifically by segmenting into factors for technological progress and technical efficiency. As a result of this analysis, the total factor productivity change of the entire offshore fisheries was −6.0 %. Changes in the technical efficiency and technological level factors, respectively, contributed 0.2 and −6.2 % to this rate of decrease in total factor productivity; that is, inactivity of technological progress led to the decrease in productivity of the offshore fisheries. In addition, technological progress and technical efficiency were found to differently influence the change in total factor productivity of each fishery. In order for each fishery to improve productivity, better rational fisheries management policies by the government and efforts by the fishing industry and individual fishing business units must accompany factors that promote productivity increase.     

Steam activation of biochars facilitates kinetics and pH-resilience of sulfamethazine sorption

Purpose

Sulfamethazine (SMT) is increasingly detected in environmental matrices due to its versatile use as antibiotics. We aimed to investigate the benefits and roles of steam activation of biochars with respect to SMT sorption kinetics and equilibrium sorption.

Materials and methods

Biochars were produced from burcucumber plant and tea waste using a pyrolyzer at a temperature of 700 °C for 2 h. The biochar samples were treated with 5 mL min^?1 of steam for an additional 45 min for post-synthesis steam activation. The SMT sorption on the unmodified and steam activated biochars were compared.

Results and discussion

The time taken to reach equilibrium was significantly less for steam activated biochars (～4 h) than non-activated biochars (>24 h). Up to 98 % of SMT could be removed from aqueous solutions by steam activated biochars. The sorption kinetic behaviors were well described by the pseudo-second model and SMT sorption rates of steam activated biochars (k ₂?～?1.11–1.57 mg g^?1 min^?1) were significantly higher than that of the unmodified biochars (k ₂?～?0.04–0.11 mg g^?1 min^?1) because of increased availability of accessible porous structure with averagely larger pore diameters. Moreover, the equilibrium sorption on the unmodified biochars was significantly influenced by increasing solution pH (～30–50 % reduction) because of speciation change of SMT, whereas steam activated biochars manifested much stronger sorption resilience against pH variation (～2–4 % reduction only) because the enhanced porosity offset the effect of unfavorable electrostatic repulsion.

Conclusions

The observed features of steam activated biochars would render their applications more versatile and reliable in field throughout changeable environmental conditions.

     

Host immune responses against hog cholera virus in pigs treated with an ionized alkali mineral complex

To determine the immune responses in pigs to hog cholera virus after treatment with an ionized alkali mineral complex (IAMC), 40 healthy pigs (28-32 days old) from a commercial swine farm were purchased and housed into 4 groups (n=10 each). All pigs were vaccinated intramuscularly (1 ml) with an attenuated live hog cholera virus (HCV, LOM strain) at 28-32 days old and challenged with a virulent hog cholera virus at 8 weeks after vaccination. Each group was treated with PowerFeel sprayed diet as 0.05% (w/w) in a final concentration (T-1, n=10), a diet mixed with SuperFeed as 3% (w/w) in a final concentration (T-2, n=10), or a diluted PowerFeel solution (1:500, v/v) as drinking water (T-3, n=10), respectively. A group (n=10) served as a non-treated control. Proportions of expressing CD2+ and CD8+ cells increased significantly (p<, 0.05) at 8-week post-application. Mean antibody titers of each group against HCV gradually increased to higher levels after vaccination and with challenge of the virulent virus. In conclusion, the IAMC-treated diets can be helpful for the improvement of growth in pigs with proper vaccination program, while the IAMC-treated diets have no effects on the clinical protection against hog cholera.