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Charting Nano Environmental, Health and Safety Research Trajectories: Does China Converge with the U.S
... The debate has intensified after a nanoparticle exposure accident in a poorly ventilated Chinese paint factory in August 2007, in which seven workers contracted lung disease-two died [43]. After this incident, 'Chinese policymakers shifted focus to the risk management aspects of nanotechnology' [46]; a largescale program began in 2011 for example on factory monitoring for worker exposure. The f 2007 incident realised several questions about whether the casual link between exposure and pulmonary illness can in fact be proven. ...
The following article offers a brief overview of current nanotechnology policy, regulation and ethics in Europe and The People’s Republic of China with the intent of noting (dis)similarities in approach, before focusing on the involvement of the public in science and technology policy (i.e. participatory Technology Assessment). The conclusions of this article are, that (a) in terms of nanosafety as expressed through policy and regulation, China PR and the EU have similar approaches towards, and concerns about, nanotoxicity—the official debate on benefits and risks is not markedly different in the two regions; (b) that there is a similar economic drive behind both regions’ approach to nanodevelopment, the difference being the degree of public concern admitted; and (c) participation in decision-making is fundamentally different in the two regions. Thus in China PR, the focus is on the responsibility of the scientist; in the EU, it is about government accountability to the public. The formulation of a Code of Conduct for scientists in both regions (China PR’s predicted for 2012) reveals both similarity and difference in approach to nanotechnology development. This may change, since individual responsibility alone cannot guide S&T development, and as public participation is increasingly seen globally as integral to governmental decision-making.
... According to the number of patents filed, China currently ranks second to the United States in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology research [1]. Concerning the increase in applications of nanomaterials in medicine, China has begun to pay more attention to the risk analysis and safety evaluation of nanomaterials. ...
More and more applications of nanomaterials have been achieved in the biomedicine field. Numerous nanomedical devices, such as bone grafts with nano-hydroxyapatite and the silver-based anti-bacteria products, have been developed and have been trying to enter into the Chinese market. The State Food and Drug Administration of China (SFDA) is facing a critical challenge of how to explore and supervise the safety assessment of the nanomedical products. This paper briefly introduces the approval status of nanomedical products and the current advances of the safety assessment of nanomaterials in China.
Delineating the emergence of nanotechnologies that offer new functionalities is an important element in an anticipatory approach to the governance of nanotechnology and its potential impacts. This paper examines the transition to next generation active nanotechnologies which incorporate functions that respond to the environment or systems concepts that combine devices and structures that are dynamic and which may change their states in use. We develop an approach to identifying these active nanotechnologies and then use bibliometric analysis to examine the extent of research papers and patents involving these concepts. We also examine references to environmental, health, and safety concepts in these papers, given that these next generation nanotechnologies are likely to have risk profiles that are different from those of first-generation passive nanomaterials. Our results show a steady growth overall in focus on active nanotechnologies in the research literature and in patents over the study period of 1990–2010. We also find an increase in consideration given to environmental, health, and safety topics. While gaps are highlighted in our understanding of research and innovation in active nanotechnologies, the results suggest that there is beginning to be a shift to active nanotechnologies, with the implication that governance processes need to be conscious of this shift and to prepare for it.
This chapter compares regional policies and regulations in China and the EU such as REACH and EU-CoC, before examining attempts at global regulation through bodies such as the OECD Working Party on Nanotechnology (WPN) and the OECD Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN).
Innovation underpins competitiveness, is crucial to addressing societal challenges, and its support has become a major public policy goal. But what really works in innovation policy, and why? This Handbook, compiled by leading experts in the field, is the first comprehensive guide to understanding the logic and effects of innovation polices. The Handbook develops a conceptualisation and typology of innovation policies, presents meta-evaluations for 16 key innovation policy instruments and analyses evidence on policy-mix. For each policy instrument, underlying rationales and examples are presented, along with a critical analysis of the available impact evidence. Providing access to primary sources of impact analysis, the book offers an insightful assessment of innovation policy practice and its evaluation.
The ability to delineate the boundaries of an emerging technology is central to obtaining an understanding of the technology’s
research paths and commercialization prospects. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the case of nanotechnology (hereafter
identified as “nano”) given its current rapid growth and multidisciplinary nature. (Under the rubric of nanotechnology, we
also include nanoscience and nanoengineering.) Past efforts have utilized several strategies, including simple term search
for the prefix nano, complex lexical and citation-based approaches, and bootstrapping techniques. This research introduces
a modularized Boolean approach to defining nanotechnology which has been applied to several research and patenting databases.
We explain our approach to downloading and cleaning data, and report initial results. Comparisons of this approach with other
nanotechnology search formulations are presented. Implications for search strategy development and profiling of the nanotechnology
field are discussed.
This paper examines the rapid growth of China in the field of nanotechnology and the rise of collaboration between China and
the US in this emerging domain. Chinese scientific papers in nanotechnology are analyzed to indicate overall trends, leading
fields and the most prolific institutions. Patterns of China–US nanotechnology paper co-authorship are examined over the period 1990–2009, with an analysis of how these patterns have
changed over time. The paper combines bibliometric analysis and science mapping. We find rapid development in the number of
China–US co-authored nanotechnology papers as well as structural changes in array of collaborative nanotechnology sub-fields. Implications
for both China and the US of this evolving relationship are discussed.
Environmental, health, and safety (EHS) concerns are receiving considerable attention in nanoscience and nanotechnology (nano) research and development (R&D). Policymakers and others have urged that research on nano's EHS implications be developed alongside scientific research in the nano domain rather than subsequent to applications. This concurrent perspective suggests the importance of early understanding and measurement of the diffusion of nano EHS research. The paper examines the diffusion of nano EHS publications, defined through a set of search terms, into the broader nano domain using a global nanotechnology R&D database developed at Georgia Tech. The results indicate that nano EHS research is growing rapidly although it is orders of magnitude smaller than the broader nano S&T domain. Nano EHS work is moderately multidisciplinary, but gaps in biomedical nano EHS's connections with environmental nano EHS are apparent. The paper discusses the implications of these results for the continued monitoring and development of the cross-disciplinary utilization of nano EHS research.
Nanotechnology is expected by many to be one of the next drivers of technology-based business and economic growth. China has emerged as a global player in nanotechnology development, and now ranks second (after the United States) in nanotechnology scientific publications produced annually. The study of nanotechnology offers a lens to examine China's capabilities to move closer to the frontier of technology-led economic development, explore the evolving Chinese innovation system, and assess the effectiveness of policy strategies to modernize and add-value to research and industry in China. Supported by new policy initiatives and funding, hundreds of institutions and thousands of researchers in China are engaged in nanotechnology R&D. Yet, although Chinese nanotechnology research has scale, the pathways from laboratory research to successful commercialization remain problematic. Chinese performance in nanotechnology patenting and product development is weak relative to its research strength, suggesting a significant gap between the research base and industrial development. Drawing on bibliometric research and field interviews with Chinese nanotechnology policymakers, researchers and business representatives, we analyze this gap, explore the factors contributing to it and assess future commercialization trajectories.
AIM: To study the anticarcinogenic effect and acute toxicity of liver targeting mitoxantrone-nanospheres.
METHODS: The anticarcinogenic effect of mitoxantrone-polybutyl cyanoacrylate-nanoparticles ( DHAQ-PBCA-NP ) was investigated by using heterotopic and orthotopic transplantation models of human hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC ) in nude mice and was compared with mitoxantrone (DHAQ) and doxorubicin (ADR). The acute toxicity of DHAQ-PBCA-NP lyophilized injection in mice was also studied.
RESULTS: The tumor inhibition rates of ADR, DHAQ, DHAQ-PBCA-NP to orthotopically transplanted HCC were 60.07%, 67.49% and 99.44%, respectively, but regard to heterotopically transplanted HCC, these were 80.03%, 86.18% and 92.90%, which were concordant with the results acquired by mitosis counting and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). After iv administration to mice with DHAQ-PBCA-NP, the LD50 was 16.9 mg/kg ± 3.9 mg/kg, no obvious local irritation was observed and there was no significant damage to the structure of liver cells, and that of the heart, spleen and kidneys.
CONCLUSION: The effect of DHAQ-PBCA-NP was significantly higher than that of DHAQ and ADR in the anti-orthotopically transplanted HCC and the acute toxicity was relatively low.
Activities related to the health, environmental and societal (EHS) aspects of nanotechnology R&D programs in China are outlined. To create a really harmonious society, China's strategy for science and technology is to achieve sustainable development by implementing clean production of, in particular, nanoproducts. Funding organs in China encourage researchers to take timely and responsible advantage of the new technology for sustainable development, and to initiate studies on societal implications from the beginning of nanotechnology development. The annual governmental investment in health, environmental and societal is now about US$ 2.6 million. We are trying our best to make nanotechnology the first clean technology from which our life can benefit, while harm to human health and the environment is avoided.
The balance between the potential benefits and risks of nanotechnology is discussed based on judgments expressed by leading industry, academe and government experts at a U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) sponsored meeting. The results are summarized in various themes related to: economic impacts and commercialization; social scenarios; technological convergence; quality of life; ethics and law; governance, public perceptions, and education.
Nanoscience and nanotechnology has been attracting wide attention and is becoming an active frontier area. Chinese scientists have followed with the main stream interest in the development of Nanoscience and nanotechnology since its initial stage. In the present paper, the achievements and present status of China in relative researches such as nanomaterials, nanodevices and characterization of nanostructure are described.
China is becoming a leading nation in terms of its share of the world’s publications in the emerging nanotechnology domain.
This paper demonstrates that the international rise of China’s position in nanotechnology has been underwritten by the emergence
of a series of regional hubs of nanotechnology R&D activity within the country. We develop a unique database of Chinese nanotechnology
articles covering the period 1990 to mid-2006 to identify the regional distribution of nanotechnology research in China. To
build this database, a new approach was developed to clean and standardize the geographical allocation of Chinese publication
records. We then analyze the data to understand the regional development of nanotechnology research in China over our study
period and to map interregional and international research collaboration linkages. We find that the geographical distribution
of China’s domestic nanotechnology research is characterized by regional imbalance, with most of the leading regions located
in eastern China, including not only Beijing and Shanghai but also a series of other new regional hubs. There is much less
development of nanotechnology research in central and western China. Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong are among the leading
Chinese regions for international nanotechnology research collaboration. Other Chinese nanotechnology regions are less focused
on international collaboration, although they have developed domestic interregional collaborations. Although new regional
research hubs have emerged in the nanotechnology domain, the paper notes that their concentration in eastern China reinforces
existing imbalances in science and technology capabilities in China, and in turn this may further reinforce the dominant position
of eastern China in the commercialization of new technologies such as nanotechnology.
In this innovative account of the way policy issues rise and fall on the national agendaâthe first detailed study of so many issues over an extended periodâFrank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones show that rapid change not only can but does happen in the hidebound institutions of government. Short-term, single-issue analyses of public policy, the authors contend, give a narrow and distorted view of public policy as the result of a cozy arrangement between politicians, interest groups, and the media. Baumgartner and Jones upset these notions by focusing on several issuesâincluding civilian nuclear power, urban affairs, smoking, and auto safetyâover a much longer period of time to reveal patterns of stability alternating with bursts of rapid, unpredictable change. A welcome corrective to conventional political wisdom, Agendas and Instability revises our understanding of the dynamics of agenda-setting and clarifies a subject at the very center of the study of American politics.
Nano materials generate great benefits as well as new potential risks. Animal studies and in vitro experiments show that nanoparticles can result in lung damage and other toxicity, but no reports on the clinical toxicity in humans due to nanoparticles have yet been made.
The present study aimed to examine the relationship between a group of workers' presenting with mysterious symptomatic findings and their nanoparticle exposure.
Seven young female workers (aged 18–47 yrs), exposed to nanoparticles for 5–13 months, all with shortness of breath and pleural effusions were admitted to hospital. Immunological tests, examinations of bacteriology, virology and tumour markers, bronchoscopy, internal thoracoscopy and video-assisted thoracic surgery were performed. Surveys of the workplace, clinical observations and examinations of the patients were conducted.
Polyacrylate, consisting of nanoparticles, was confirmed in the workplace. Pathological examinations of patients' lung tissue displayed nonspecific pulmonary inflammation, pulmonary fibrosis and foreign-body granulomas of pleura. Using transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticles were observed to lodge in the cytoplasm and caryoplasm of pulmonary epithelial and mesothelial cells, but are also located in the chest fluid. These cases arouse concern that long-term exposure to some nanoparticles without protective measures may be related to serious damage to human lungs.
We follow the careers 1981-2004 of 5401 star scientists listed in ISI HighlyCitedSM as most highly cited by their peers. Their number in a US region or a top-25 science and technology (S&T) country significantly increases the probability of firm entry in the S&T field in which they are working. Stars rather than their disembodied discoveries are key for high-tech entry. Stars become more concentrated over time, moving disproportionately from areas with few peers in their discipline to many, except for a countercurrent of some foreign-born American stars returning home. High impact articles and university articles all tend to diffuse. America has 62 percent of the world’s stars as residents, primarily because of its research universities which produce them. Migration plays a significant role in some developing countries.
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