Conversations-on-Innovations

The Future of Books could well lie in the eBooks

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:11:00 +0000

More...

REFERENCES:

1. Digital Textbook Sales in U.S. Higher Education – A Five-Year Projection by Rob Reynolds, Ph.D. and Yevgeny Ioffe.

2. THE ECONOMIST: Apple and digital publishing, A textbook manoeuvre, Jan 19th 2012, 22:26 by M.G. | SAN FRANCISCO

USA's National Center for Manufacturing Sciences practises what many already believe "that collaboration is innovation's incubator"

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:01:00 +0000

As the UK Advanced Manufacturing Consortium kicks into place cf. my blog post "Interdisciplinary Advanced Forming Research Centre, Univ of Strathclyde "The Tech", One of 7 Members of the Advanced Manufacturing Consortium" here is further supportive evidence from SAE International -Automotive Engineering Online 28 Sept. 2011 that Strathclyde and the Consortium are on the right path and true to The Strathclyde Motto as "A Place of Useful Learning.

To quote a few snippets from the SAE Intl's page on the US National Center for Manufacturing Sciences incidentally founded in 1986.

"In the world of discrete manufacturing today, collaboration is a very hot topic. Driven by the reality of global commerce, the most visible manifestation of this important tool is in design as practiced by many extended enterprises—for example an OEM, its geographically dispersed design centers, and its suppliers. Collaborations such as these can pay big dividends in design cycle time compression."

"However, another type of collaboration, created and optimized by theNational Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) 25 years ago, is a model in which two or more companies or organizations work together to achieve shared goals. Guided by NCMS, collaborators develop a statement of work (SOW) that defines a common objective in precompetitive research and development with well-defined deliverables plus a work breakdown structure (WBS) that defines individual organization efforts in support of the shared goal. In collaborations structured this way, participants share the cost and risk associated with traditional R&D models while bringing their innovations to market faster, at less cost."

There is much more to be learned from the US NCMS approach and if I remember correctly from the Germany's Fraunhofer Institute.

More on Materials from SAE
More Materials Matter from this blogger
Original pointers Global Spec.com Metals_Alloys

Useful learning- enjoy

JA

Innovation Start-Up, EU Innovation Scorecard, Industrial Innovation,

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:51:00 +0000

I have just been introduced to a new innovation consultant (Gareth Davies twitter pseudo, "@microsinger") via The Institute, IOM3.

He directs the innovation business at the start-up g2innovation, UK . Hope I got that right, if not drop Gareth a line at the link above.

The site already points to a most useful Benchmark paper on the position of Innovation within the UK. The latter is provocatively, but justifiably,described as a follower rather than a leader in the field of Innovation. Well to be fair the graph of EU innovation countries places UK well above the EU average on a scale 0 to 100 in percentage points. Only four countries lead UK. Two countries (Germany & Finland-Nokia surely!) by 10% or 1 point, and two countries (Denmark & Sweden by 15% or 1.5 points.)

I have dug out the references for my readers and added more important pointers just to keep my fellow country men on their toes, g2innovation is housed in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

Industrial Innovation EU score card

Some EU innovation jargon

Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010

The 2010 Scoreboard draws on 25 research and innovation-related indicators and covers the 27 EU Member States, as well as Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The indicators are grouped into three main categories:

"Enablers", i.e. the basic building blocks which allow innovation to take place (human resources, finance and support, open, excellent and attractive research systems)
"Firm activities" which show how innovative Europe's firms are (firm investments, linkages & entrepreneurship, intellectual assets); and
"Outputs" which show how this translates into benefits for the economy as a whole (innovators, economic effects).

The Scoreboard places Member States into the following four country groups (see figure 1 below):

Innovation leaders: Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden all show a performance well above that of the EU27 average.
Innovation followers: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovenia and the UK all show a performance close to that of the EU27 average.
Moderate innovators: The performance of Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain is below that of the EU27 average.
Modest innovators: The performance of Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania is well below that of the EU27 average.

Ebooks available from the EU site are:
1. PDF version of the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010 [2 MB]
2. Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010 - Methodology Report [380 KB]
3. Country profiles translation in 22 EU languages [450 KB]

Best of Luck to our colleagues in Glasgow and to the whole Innovation Community - true to say the world needs you more than ever!

Strong Packaging Innovation Push_Starpack Industry Awards 2011_Innovation from the Packaging Division of IOM3

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:12:00 +0000

The Starpack Awards 2011 were presented at the London and South East Packaging Dinner at the Landmark Hotel in London on 22 September.

The event, hosted by Alan Dedicoat, took place in aid of CLIC Sargent, the children and young person’s cancer charity.

There were nine Gold, 12 Silver and 18 Bronze award winners, along with a Special Award for sustainability and one for this year’s Starpack Champion.

The Packaging Professional - IOM3 LINK

The site gives a clear summary with photos of the winning packaging products and their innovators-companies .

Well worth a visit for budding Innovators and Innocentive addicts

INNOVATIONS-Materials Science link and MIT Energy Initiative Video link

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 15:36:00 +0000

MIT Energy Initiative Video link cf . RHS bar.

Energy Sustainability Tops EPSRC List of Six Global Research Challenges

War and Ecology - Extensive Battlefield for Innovation!

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:06:00 +0000

Nature's editorial of 25 Aug. 2011 entitled "Spoils of War is summarized as follows:

"Conflict poisons both land and sea, and lost natural resources lead to more violence. Ecology is an unlikely objective during wartime, but one that can help to secure peace."

Examples given are:
1.Cancer rate on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques higher than that in the surrounding Caribbean due to noxious munitions have been dumped off Vieques during training exercises by the US navy."
2."Bands of toxic mercury in the soils of Slovenia are a chemical legacy of artillery barrages along the Soca Front during the First World War."
3."Active fighting burns and crushes whole landscapes and the chaos generated leaves rules and regulations by the wayside, natural resources are plundered and poaching is rife."
4."Deforestation rates have soared as successive conflicts have raged in Afghanistan, and Pakistani 'timber mafias' have looted valuable woods from the region.

ACTION-INNOVATION.
A new bread of Warfare ecologists has arisen. By studying warfare's effects on the environment, and the environment's effects on war, these researchers hope to short-circuit the cycles of violence leading to natural-resource crises leading to violence. A paper on page 438 links El Niño weather events to civil conflicts, showing that the connections can be strong.

THE STRATEGIC ISSUE:
"It is clear that humanity at the beginning of the twenty-first century is much better at violent conflict than at planet management.

Certainly, the US Department of Defense's budget is 100 times that of the National Science Foundation.

INNOVATION IN FACE OF THE CYNICS AND CYNICISM.
"research the interplay between ecosystems and international aid and relief, and suggest smart technological fixes, such as solar panels in refugee camps, which improve safety there. After a war, they can restore ecosystem services necessary for continued peace, from clean water to locally grown food. And they can promote 'peace parks', protected areas that span borders, preserve nature, provide a feel-good common cause for local and national governments and create economic opportunities through tourism."

COUNTER ARGUMENTS.
"There are troubling aspects to warfare ecology. Peter Smallwood, a biologist at the University of Richmond, Virginia, who has worked to establish a peace park in Afghanistan, points out that such projects are so enthusiastically supported by soldiers trying to win hearts and minds that they can blur the lines between civilian and military acts.

Another uncomfortable truth that war can be a boon to ecosystems and rare species. War zones, military bases and weapons labs around the world serve as de facto protected areas, many of which are now managed with biodiversity in mind. The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea has become a haven for endangered species such as red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis). In Colombia, jungle areas held by guerrilla fighters are safe from development.

CONCLUSIONS
1"The above does not mean that warfare ecologists must wish for conflicts to continue. Instead, they can prepare for peace, by partnering with conservation organizations to raise funds that can be mobilized when war zones open up."

2.Warfare ecology should and will go on. Ecologists are used to making do, and there is always a war somewhere.

The current financial climate sees even sacrosanct defence budgets feeling the pinch, and ecological research and nature protection could be among the early casualties. But warfare ecology should and will go on. Ecologists are used to making do, and there is always a war somewhere.

FINALLY
"The field can be a grey area in which to work: a nebulous zone between propaganda and peacemaking, between mitigating harm and being seen as applying a public-relations gloss to violence. But ecology is most relevant to society when it studies the intersection between humans and the environment. And along with romance and music and endless curiosity, war remains one of humanity's most characteristic activities."

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Material Efficiency and Resource Conservation (MaRess) _A German Approach

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:22:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Material Efficiency and Resource Conservation (MaRess) _A German Approach

Material Efficiency and Resource Conservation (MaRess) _A German Approach

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 22:12:00 +0000

Limitations on raw materials and especially so called energy materials, meaning materials used to harness and store energy in renewable, sustainable ways is again high on the policy agendas. This is hardly surprisingly following the ever stronger warnings of climate change (CC):global warming (GW), Greenhouse Gases GHG's, and the estimated peeks in fossil fuels, esp. oil and its domination of power for transportation.

In this post, I present of the German Gov approach to the global materials situation. It is a rich resource explaining in simple language in its introduction the reasons for concern:

--"Environmental damage caused by the extraction and exploitation of resources, the associated emissions and the disposal of waste, all lead directly to environmental problems, and as a result, also to social and economic problems. Other factors, such as the insecurity of supplies, the scarcity of resources, the resulting international conflicts, and high and/or volatile raw materials prices, can also lead to strong economic and social dislocation in every country on Earth".

AND HENCE
--"The need to decoupling economic growth from resource consumption without downsizing the quality of life."

in reference to:

"Environmental damage caused by the extraction and exploitation of resources, the associated emissions and the disposal of waste, all lead directly to environmental problems, and as a result, also to social and economic problems. Other factors, such as the insecurity of supplies, the scarcity of resources, the resulting international conflicts, and high and/or volatile raw materials prices, can also lead to strong economic and social dislocation in every country on Earth."
- Projekt Materialeffizienz & Ressourcenschonung (MaRess) Home (view on Google Sidewiki)

The Economist Ideas Economy Conference on Innovation-Notes by Innocentives

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:28:00 +0000

When arguably The N°1 weekly magazine on economy encounters (and supports) the scientists and engineers N° 1 choice for web based virtual lab "Innocentive Challenges" it is well worth taking note(s). In this case the notes are taken by Gabriel Eichler, Director of Consulting for InnoCentive published on Innocentive's blog.

A list of the most recognizable presenters is given

Hal Varian – Chief Economist at Google,Henry Chesbrough – UC Berkeley – Author and Leading Open Innovation Academic,Peter Schwartz – Co-founder and Chairman of Global Business Network,Scott Cook – Founder and Chairman of Intuit,Aneesh Chopra – CTO of the United States Government, Elon Musk – Found of Paypal, Tesla and SpaceX,Jack Dorsey – Founder of Twitter, and Dwayne Spradlin – InnoCentive’s CEO

Perhaps of more interest were the results of the Economist sponsored innocentive challenge.

Solvers were asked to propose new business plans that were innovative, scalable, viable and impactful. 100+ submissions we received and narrowed down to the best four proposals and brought them to the conference for the final evaluation.

The four finalists and their ideas were as follows:

• Anjai Lal – Agro-Engine

• Alan Klanac – A true Service (Ship) Yard

• Ani Vallabhaneni – Sanergy

• Karle Schlieff – True Blue

Keep tuned to for the over-all winner and better follow up the innovative projects proposed.

NB. Next conf and challenges
The future Economist Ideas Economy events are on Information, June and Human Potential in September. As usual Innocentive will run a special Challenge for each conference.

Cheers
en référence à :

"the future Economist Ideas Economy events such as Information in June and Human Potential in September. We’ll be there, running a special Challenge for each conference."
- Perspectives on Innovation » Blog Archive » Notes from the Economist Ideas Economy Conference on Innovation (afficher sur Google Sidewiki)

This-Above-All: Iodine-131, Xenon 133, Cesium 137 Northern hemisphere - radiation | FLEXPART: dispersion model_This Above All

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:35:00 +0000

This-Above-All: Iodine-131, Xenon 133, Cesium 137 Northern hemisphere - radiation | FLEXPART: dispersion model_This Above All

Innovations or negligencc?

Sounds as thought innovation may have floundered in this case!

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Topics for discussed_Renewable Energy in India, 5th May 2011 - Step towards achieving Climate Change Goals

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:25:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Topics for discussed_Renewable Energy in India, 5th May 2011 - Step towards achieving Climate Change Goals

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Who's Who in Renewable Energy in India, 5th May 2011 - A step towards achieving Climate Change Goals

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 22:22:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Who's Who in Renewable Energy in India, 5th May 2011 - A step towards achieving Climate Change Goals

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Surface chemistry: A close look at hydrophobicity_Wetting_non-Wetting_Bulk Steelmaking Macro to Nanotechnology and Biomimicry

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Surface chemistry: A close look at hydrophobicity_Wetting_non-Wetting_Bulk Steelmaking Macro to Nanotechnology and Biomimicry

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: A Banquet of Consequences: Systems Thinking and Modeling for Climate Policy-Dire Warning

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: A Banquet of Consequences: Systems Thinking and Modeling for Climate Policy-Dire Warning

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: As long as there is coal - Decision makers, People to meet: Scientists, engineers and industrialists. Programmes to Clean-up

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:09:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: As long as there is coal - Decision makers, People to meet: Scientists, engineers and industrialists. Programmes to Clean-up

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Metallic Glasses - Amorphous Metallic Alloys _New Video posted to my Materials Science wall -

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Metallic Glasses - Amorphous Metallic Alloys _New Video posted to my Materials Science wall -

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Innovation Towards Sustainable Materials-Just what the Doctor ordered: meet the People, the Global Movers.

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:29:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Innovation Towards Sustainable Materials-Just what the Doctor ordered: meet the People, the Global Movers.

Big names, concerned scietists, engineers and business executives meet to work on what many consider to be millenium class issues- To Be Treated Fittingly on WWI & II rememberance, Amnesty Day 11-11 1945.

Big meeting - constructive thinking for serious future planning anticipated and expected from such a panel of experienced, highly professional specialist in their respective fields.

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Protect your laptop -

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:55:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Protect your laptop -

NB all main pass words now protected.

This-Above-All: Six Strategic Mental Attitudes Part II - Strategic Mental Attitude N° I - BENCHMARKING

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:09:00 +0000

This-Above-All: Six Strategic Mental Attitudes Part II - Strategic Mental Attitude N° I - BENCHMARKING

Part II of VI

Plants scream posted on Unexplained-Mysteries website

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:08:00 +0000

Not a botanist, this research appeared new to me. This info, posted 11 May 2002, on Unexplained-Mysteries website,was originally brought to me by a fellow blogger.

Quoting Unexplained Mysteries:

"TREAD softly in the garden and pluck that rose with care: flowers cry when cut, cucumbers squeal and even healthy fruit gurgles according to new acoustic research on the stressful life of plants.
The findings, released by the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of Bonn, could have important implications for farmers since, with the proper eavesdropping device, one can now distinguish between healthy and sick vegetables. Talking to plants, it seems, is not as rewarding as listening to them.

The Bonn scientists have developed laser-driven microphones that pick up sounds inaccessible to the human ear. When a leaf or a stem is sliced, the plant signals pain (or perhaps merely dismay) by releasing the gas ethylene over its entire surface.

Doctor Frank Kühnemann of Bonn University has been trapping the ethylene in a bell jar. The gas molecules are later bombarded with calibrated laser beams, which makes them vibrate. This produces a sound-wave picked up by the microphones. “The more a plant is subjected to stress, the louder the signal we get on our microphone,” he said.

Potential material for breakthrough Innovations

By eavesdropping on plants it should be possible to develop an early warning system to detect pests and disease. Knowing the stress level of fruit and vegetables can also be an aid in efficient storing and transporting. Acoustical evidence demonstrates that apples emit higher levels of ethylene, which causes neighbouring plants to wilt. As a result, the scientists urged fruit producers to store apples separately.

When ripe fruit is packed with unripe, a substantial amount of fruit often ends up rotting even when the shipments are separated by type. The scientists in Bonn have solved this mystery: differences in ripeness are often invisible, but can be detected acoustically in the form of ethylene. It should therefore be sufficient to measure fruit with laser microphones to separate it into batches of appropriate ripeness before loading it on to ships and trucks."

Corroborated by research on Trees (ref book in French -to be traced )

"But the Bonn University team believes plants do more than chatter about aches and pains as if passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. The team also thinks plants warn each other about approaching danger. The “alarm signal” is a chemical message transmitted between individual plants: this too can be measured by the new equipment.

"But the Bonn University team believes plants do more than chatter about aches and pains as if passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. The team also thinks plants warn each other about approaching danger. The “alarm signal” is a chemical message transmitted between individual plants: this too can be measured by the new equipment."

REFERENCE_en référence à :

- Plants Scream?? - Unexplained Mysteries Discussion Forums (afficher sur Google Sidewiki)

TREES COMMUNICATE REFERENCEI

Do Trees Talk REFERENCE II

The Cost of Cartilage maintenance, via Glucosamine,Chondroitin , better than surgical repair? II

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:39:00 +0000

A look at Tweet meme app brought my attention to a product (Chondroitin) that I use regularly for more than 3 years despite never ending debates over efficiency and probably poor medical coverage. (I also intend to use the Chondroitin-Glucosamine mix - as yet 3 months experience only).

From my experience, I cannot let such studies, if that is the proper name in this day and age, go without commented.

The latest very bad news comes from Researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland, who conducted a meta-analysis (statistical analysis) of past studies on these popular complementary medicines, which is published in today's edition of British Medical Journal.

QUOTE from BMJ news

"Effects of glucosamine, chondroitin, or placebo in patients with osteoarthritis of hip or knee

Compared with placebo, glucosamine and chondroitin - either alone or in combination - do not reduce joint pain or have an impact on narrowing of joint space, according to this meta-analysis. Health authorities and health insurers should not cover the costs of these preparations, and treating new patients with these drugs should be discouraged, say the authors."

I am neither a medical doctor nor a specialised statistician but from my experience of knee-joint-pain found to be a severe thinning of the cartilage area on one side*. When I say thinning of the cartilage area on one side I mean wafer thin, the other side is substantially thicker. The standard X-Ray radiology is insufficient for more highly detailed precision of what wafer thin can mean-much less indeed than we materials scientists involved say in metallurgical research and development would demand. When I talk of knee-joint-pain I mean enough to fear being force to no longer be able to walk, one of my last sports activities strongly recommended by my general medical practitioner)

[* Main outcome measure Pain intensity. Secondary outcome was change in minimal width of joint space. The minimal clinically important difference between preparations and placebo was prespecified at −0.9 cm on a 10 cm visual analogue scale. (my wafer thin was visually less than .5mm at an uneducated guess!

I have used Chondroitin (sulfate) for more than 3 years. After 1 month I experience less pain, after 3 months practically no pain and was able to resume my 40-45 mn walks with renewed pleasure and great relief - and hope for a continuing maintenance of a certain quality of life.

BONUS
After 3 years, I noticed that I no longer experienced vertebral complaint and could carry weighty items I was forced to avoid for a number of years previously (

Cost here in France where Glucosamine,Chondroitin are very expensive is forcing me to seek other sources.

I shall not pretend to have delved into the published study in-depth, this will come later but have looked at the definition of the complaint supposed to be under examination here, namely osteoarthritis of hip or knee. As the title says the hip condition appears to be amalgamated with the knee condition, effort subjected to are certainly not equivalent. The definition of Osteoarthritis* is like many medical terms a porridge of number of physico-chemical ills according to wikipedia's list . Herein lies enough basic hotchpotch definition*, of the exact physical (and chemical) , defects as we Metallurgist would call them, to be examined, and corrected.

[*Osteoarthritis (OA) also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a group of mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints,^[1] including articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Symptoms may include joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, locking, and sometimes an effusion. A variety of causes—hereditary, developmental, metabolic, and mechanical—may initiate processes leading to loss of cartilage. When bone surfaces become less well protected by cartilage, bone may be exposed and damaged. As a result of decreased movement secondary to pain, regional muscles may atrophy, and ligaments may become more lax.^[2] ]

Now all this would lead me to feel as I did when I waited three months between the X-ray and requesting my doctors help, that treatment is administered in many cases including mine as being too late. Nothing out of the ordinary was signaled in the "full examination" under radioactive substance intake for whole body radio-isotope scanner detection several years earlier.[REM look-up the dates of the "early bird TBD ]

GOOD and BAD NEWS

"More results needed, [GOOD]

Professor Graeme Jones of Hobart's Menzies Research Institute, and Medical Director of Arthritis Australia, disagrees with some of the findings of the study.

Jones says while is there no evidence that chondroitin is effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis, there's still some debate about the effectiveness of glucosamine. [this refers to the current study and contradicts my experience with chondroitin.- Dubious-Bad?]

"The study concludes that glucosamine doesn't work, however, if you look closely at the study's results, it shows that glucosamine hydrochloride doesn't work, but that glucosamine sulphate does seem to have some benefit," he says.

"We need further large scale studies of glucosamine sulphate to really know."

Jones says the Long Term Evaluation of Glucosamine Sulphate Study (LEGS), currently being conducted by the University of Sydney and funded by the National Health and Medical Council, may provide a clearer answer regarding the effectiveness of glucosamine.

He says many patients with osteoarthritis (of the knee in particular) do report improved symptoms on glucosamine sulphate, although its real mechanism of action remains unknown.

"It's safe, has very few side effects and patients shouldn't be discouraged from trying it," he says.

I am not alone in enjoying the obvious improved quality of life benefits of Chondroitin and am in the process of changing to the mixed Chondroitin-Glucosamine (sulphates) from more cost advantageous sources.

WHICH BRINGS BACK THE QUESTION OF WHAT IS THE LESS EXPENSIVE TREATMENT, THE LEAST INVASIVE, THE LEAST DANGEROUS.....

AND WHEN WILL EARLIER AND MORE PRECISE, MORE DISCERNING DIAGNOSIS TECHNIQUES COME INTO USE?

WHEN WILL THE LABORITORIES REACT TO THE ALTERNATIVE SURGICAL OFFER WHAT APPEERS TO BE MISLEADING STUDIES AND ABUSING THE CLIENTS (both Individuals and government bodies struggling to maintain responsible affordable budgets where France at least this is lagging badly esp behind UK and probably USA) Earlier preventive treatment will mean larger volume at reduced price but over longer periods so it's a good long-term investment.

PS In guise of a personal conclusion: I can also do a bit of running after a 10year stop. I can only atridutte this to my Chondroitin experience. My fairly healthy life style has remained unchanged.

REFERENCES:
ABC Science

BMJ-British Medical Journal 17 Sept 2010.

Innovation-at-Work: Companies who help accelerate innovation and of course social progress and economic growth

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 12:35:00 +0000

I discovered the innovation focused company, Innovia Technology, Cambridge UK, thanks to the Google AdSense on my Materials Science & Engineering focused pages Materials Science and Engineering Defined.

Innova Technologies "Capabilities and Approach" page sums up succinct important messages for innovators and their clients:
QUOTE
"Breakthrough innovation relies on breadth of perspective, insight, agility, and integration.

Our balanced, holistic approach to innovation gives us the flexibility to find a fast and effective route through uncertainty.

We combine creative skills to make leaps of imagination with the systematic analytical thinking needed to turn dreams into vivid, manufacturable reality.

In addition to our in-house skills, we actively develop and maintain an extensive network of associates, including leading academics and industry specialists."

CASE STUDIES.
Innovia proposes an most instructive list of case studies via an easy to scan web page.

BOOKS ON INNOVATION AT AMAZON for example from a numerous collection:

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Creativity, Invention, Innovation - Innovation Sells

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:29:00 +0000

Materials Science and Engineering Defined: Creativity, Invention, Innovation - Innovation Sells

This series of posts arise from a pointer from my latest September 2010 Issue of Materials World, Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (IOM3) house journal, Materials World (MW). Our professional development p.19, reported on (improving) "Connecting research with creativity" the article title.

Top Invention and Innovators Class, FREE too, online WW and at the Exhibition at The British Library, London, UK

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:32:00 +0000

A MUST for Scientists and Engineers of all walks.

TAKE HEED; Managers of the Big corporations and the Small business a like take heed, especially relevant in our current troubled employment and economical circumstances.

STIMULATING EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE: for young and old, not to be missed.
"Inventing the 21st Century" is open daily from 6 September to 28 November 2010 at the British Library, London. Admission free.

INTRODUCTION:
Every year the UK generates over 25,000 patents, trademarks, and design rights for new products and services - with the British Library helping inventors protect their ideas and explore the business potential.

To celebrate innovation - and hopefully inspire budding entrepreneurs - the Library is hosting a new exhibition exploring the journey behind 15 of the most ingenious inventions to come out of Britain in the past ten years. Take a look at some of the patented products - and get some advice from their creators.

REFERENCES: (en référence à) :

1. ""Inventing the 21st Century" is open daily from 6 September to 28 November 2010 at the British Library, London. Admission free."
- BBC News - Audio slideshow: 21st Century inventors (afficher sur Google Sidewiki)

2. Well ranked on new twitter app Tweetmeme

Efficient Air conditioning discussed

noreply@blogger.com (James Alexander) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 17:17:00 +0000

Will the answer to lower energy, efficient air conditioning systems come from the computing industry?

The big increasing number of data centres that house computer servers could be among the first to benefit from some of these developments in cooling technology. These data centres use a lot of energy. IBM reckons that in some centres about half of all the electricity consumed is spent cooling equipment. Mr Collins’s company, Synergetics, is working on what it calls a “surgical ventilation” system which uses small tubes with fans that whisk heat away from hot components inside servers before it warms nearby parts. This heat could then be used to power thermal air-conditioning. And, of course, the fans will be aerodynamically perfect.

(eg. If blades were designed for better aerodynamic efficiency, instead of for being stamped from sheet metal as cheaply as possible, the electricity consumption of many cooling systems could, he says, be cut by a third. )

Or again "Nature's best-Water beats all contenders"

Evaporative coolers are a cheap alternative to refrigerative air-conditioning. The air near a splashing waterfall or fountain is cooler than the surrounding area because water droplets remove heat as they evaporate. Spraying water inside a cooling tower while air is blown through will have the same effect. Whereas refrigerative systems reduce the humidity of air (because some water vapour condenses and is drained away), evaporative coolers increase humidity. This means they tend to be more popular in dry climates.

However, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado have designed an evaporative system that sprays ambient-temperature water into warm air to cool it, but in a way that also lowers the humidity. NREL uses syrupy liquids which contain salty desiccants to soak up the humidity. Hot water is used to heat the syrups and dry them out. NREL’s technology, known as “desiccant-evaporative cooling”, is still being developed, but it requires little power, not least because the hot water can be obtained from solar panels. Ron Judkoff of NREL thinks the process will consume only about a fifth of the energy of conventional air-conditioners, depending how dry the climate is to begin with.

More from the Economist Science & Technology pages...

Water beats all contenders"

Product	Latent Heat of Evaporation ^*)
	(kJ/kg)	(Btu/lb)

Water

2257

970.4