Abstract:As innovation becomes an ever more central issue for the development of firms and world economies, so the need for improved assessments of innovative performance grows more urgent. This paper suggests that trademark analysis can contribute in capturing relevant aspects of innovation phenomena and the process of industrial change. We propose trademarks as a complementary indicator in the portfolio of available empirical tools of innovation studies and industrial dynamics. Our empirical exploration is based on a study of Community Trade Marks, an intellectual property right granted in the European Union, and draws on recent research on trademarking trends in Portugal. Quantitative as well as qualitative data, including survey data from a representative sample of Portuguese manufacturing and services firms, are used to identify the advantages and limitations of this indicator.

Understanding the dynamic solar chromosphere is fundamental in solar physics. Spicules are an important feature of the chromosphere, connecting the photosphere to the corona, potentially mediating the transfer of energy and mass. The aim of this work is to study the properties of spicules over different regions of the sun. Our goal is to investigate if there is more than one type of spicules, and how spicules behave in the quiet sun, coronal holes, and active regions. We make use of high-cadence and high-spatial resolution Ca II H observations taken by Hinode/SOT. Making use of a semi-automated detection algorithm, we self-consistently track and measure the properties of 519 spicules over different regions. We find clear evidence of two types of spicules. Type I spicules show a rise and fall and have typical lifetimes of 150 − 400 s and maximum ascending velocities of 15 − 40 km s −1 , while type II spicules have shorter lifetimes of 50 − 150 s, faster velocities of 30 − 110 km s −1 , and are not seen to fall down, but rather fade at around their maximum length. Type II spicules are the most common, seen in quiet sun and coronal holes. Type I spicules are seen mostly in active regions. There are regional differences between quiet sun and coronal hole spicules, likely attributable to the different field configurations. The properties of type II spicules are consistent with published results of Rapid Blueshifted Events (RBEs), supporting the hypothesis that RBEs are their disk counterparts. For type I spicules we find the relations between their properties to be consistent with a magnetoacoustic shock wave driver, and with dynamic fibrils as their disk counterpart. The driver of type II spicules remains unclear from limb observations.

The dynamical systems found in nature are rarely isolated. Instead they interact and influence each other. The coupling functions that connect them contain detailed information about the functional mechanisms underlying the interactions and prescribe the physical rule specifying how an interaction occurs. A coherent and comprehensive review is presented encompassing the rapid progress made recently in the analysis, understanding, and applications of coupling functions. The basic concepts and characteristics of coupling functions are presented through demonstrative examples of different domains, revealing the mechanisms and emphasizing their multivariate nature. The theory of coupling functions is discussed through gradually increasing complexity from strong and weak interactions to globally coupled systems and networks. A variety of methods that have been developed for the detection and reconstruction of coupling functions from measured data is described. These methods are based on different statistical techniques for dynamical inference. Stemming from physics, such methods are being applied in diverse areas of science and technology, including chemistry, biology, physiology, neuroscience, social sciences, mechanics, and secure communications. This breadth of application illustrates the universality of coupling functions for studying the interaction mechanisms of coupled dynamical systems.

Context.Recently, new solar model atmospheres have been developed to replace classical 1D local thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE) hydrostatic models and used to for example derive the solar chemical composition. Aims. We aim to test various models against key observational constraints. In particular, a 3D model used to derive the solar abundances, a 3D magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) model (with an imposed 10 mT vertical magnetic field), 1D NLTE and LTE models from the PHOENIX project, the 1D MARCS model, and the 1D semi-empirical model of Holweger & Müller. Methods. We confronted the models with observational diagnostics of the temperature profile: continuum centre-to-limb variations (CLVs), absolute continuum fluxes, and the wings of hydrogen lines. We also tested the 3D models for the intensity distribution of the granulation and spectral line shapes. Results. The predictions from the 3D model are in excellent agreement with the continuum CLV observations, performing even better than the Holweger & Müller model (constructed largely to fulfil such observations). The predictions of the 1D theoretical models are worse, given their steeper temperature gradients. For the continuum fluxes, predictions for most models agree well with the observations. No model fits all hydrogen lines perfectly, but again the 3D model comes ahead. The 3D model also reproduces the observed continuum intensity fluctuations and spectral line shapes very well. Conclusions. The excellent agreement of the 3D model with the observables reinforces the view that its temperature structure is realistic. It outperforms the MHD simulation in all diagnostics, implying that recent claims for revised abundances based on MHD modelling are premature. Several weaknesses in the 1D hydrostatic models (theoretical and semi-empirical) are exposed. The differences between the PHOENIX LTE and NLTE models are small. We conclude that the 3D hydrodynamical model is superior to any of the tested 1D models, which gives further confidence in the solar abundance analyses based on it.

Context. Ellerman bombs (EBs), observed in the photospheric wings of the Hα line, and UV bursts, observed in the transition region Si iv line, are both brightenings related to flux emergence regions and specifically to magnetic flux of opposite polarity that meet in the photosphere. These two reconnection-related phenomena, nominally formed far apart, occasionally occur in the same location and at the same time, thus challenging our understanding of reconnection and heating of the lower solar atmosphere. Aims. We consider the formation of an active region, including long fibrils and hot and dense coronal plasma. The emergence of a untwisted magnetic flux sheet, injected 2.5 Mm below the photosphere, is studied as it pierces the photosphere and interacts with the preexisting ambient field. Specifically, we aim to study whether EBs and UV bursts are generated as a result of such flux emergence and examine their physical relationship. Methods. The Bifrost radiative magnetohydrodynamics code was used to model flux emerging into a model atmosphere that contained a fairly strong ambient field, constraining the emerging field to a limited volume wherein multiple reconnection events occur as the field breaks through the photosphere and expands into the outer atmosphere. Synthetic spectra of the different reconnection events were computed using the 1.5D RH code and the fully 3D MULTI3D code. Results. The formation of UV bursts and EBs at intensities and with line profiles that are highly reminiscent of observed spectra are understood to be a result of the reconnection of emerging flux with itself in a long-lasting current sheet that extends over several scale heights through the chromosphere. Synthetic spectra in the Hα and Si iv 139.376 nm lines both show characteristics that are typical of the observations. These synthetic diagnostics suggest that there are no compelling reasons to assume that UV bursts occur in the photosphere. Instead, EBs and UV bursts are occasionally formed at opposite ends of a long current sheet that resides in an extended bubble of cool gas.

Spontaneous explosive emergent behavior takes place in heterogeneous networks when the frequencies of the nodes are positively correlated to the node degree. A central feature of such explosive transitions is a hysteretic behavior at the transition to synchronization. We unravel the underlying mechanisms and show that the dynamical origin of the hysteresis is a change of basin of attraction of the synchronization state. Our findings hold for heterogeneous networks with star graph motifs such as scale-free networks, and hence, reveal how microscopic network parameters such as node degree and frequency affect the global network properties and can be used for network design and control.

Heterogeneity in the degree distribution is known to suppress global synchronization in complex networks of symmetrically coupled oscillators. Scale-free networks display a great deal of heterogeneity, containing a few nodes, termed hubs, that are highly connected, while most nodes receive only a few connections. Here, we show that a group of synchronized nodes may appear in scale-free networks: hubs undergo a transition to synchronization while the other nodes remain unsynchronized. This general phenomenon can occur even in the absence of global synchronization. Our results suggest that scale-free networks may have evolved to complement various levels of synchronization.

For centuries isolation has been the main control strategy of unforeseen epidemic outbreaks. When implemented in full and without delay, isolation is very effective. However, flawless implementation is seldom feasible in practice. We present an epidemic model called SIQ with an isolation protocol, focusing on the consequences of delays and incomplete identification of infected hosts. The continuum limit of this model is a system of Delay Differential Equations, the analysis of which reveals clearly the dependence of epidemic evolution on model parameters including disease reproductive number, isolation probability, speed of identification of infected hosts and recovery rates. Our model offers estimates on minimum response capabilities needed to curb outbreaks, and predictions of endemic states when containment fails. Critical response capability is expressed explicitly in terms of parameters that are easy to obtain, to assist in the evaluation of funding priorities involving preparedness and epidemics management.