Growing the Linköping Technopole—A Longitudinal Study of Triple Helix Development in Sweden

In the context of successful examples of regional development in Sweden, the Linköping region is often named. Whilst maintaining a historical reputation for culture and learning, Linköping has developed, during the last thirty years, as a major centre within Sweden for technological growth, especially in the creation and development of new technology-based firms. This high technology environment has been further enhanced by the presence of a growing international university, a number of significant multinational high-technology companies and the location of several public sector research establishments. Previous research on regional development suggests that this milieu could be characterised as a ‘technopole,’ namely an arena where these organisations co-operate with each other in a formal or informal way to develop the technological capability of the region. This paper sets out to examine and describe the different ‘actors’ that have contributed to the recent development of Linköping as one of the fastest growing technological regions in Europe. The linkages between the actors are examined in detail. The results of the study indicate that one of the most important actors behind the positive development is the university. In addition, the development that has taken place over the last thirty years can be likened to a spiral where success begets success to foster a positive entrepreneurial climate.     

Book reviews

Tibor Szamuely, The Russian Tradition. (Edited and with an Introduction by Robert Conquest.) London: Secker & Warburg, 1974. x+443 pp. £5.00.

Mahmoud Abdel‐Fadil, La Planification des prix en économie socialiste, Essai méthodologique. (Préface de Henri Bartoli.) Série: Sciences Economiques —3. Paris: Publications de l'Université de Paris I—Panthéon‐Sorbonne, 1975. 296 pp.

Jan Adam, Wage, Price and Taxation Policy in Czechoslovakia 1948–1970. Veröffentlichungen des Osteuropa‐Institutes, München. Reihe: Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Heft 15. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1974. 231 pp. DM 66.60.

Stephen Osofsky, Soviet Agricultural Policy. Toward the Abolition of Collective Farms. (Praeger Special Studies in International Economics and Development.) New York: Praeger, 1974. xi+300 pp. $20.00.

Peter J. Potichnyj, Soviet Agricultural Trade Unions, 1917–70. Toronto: University of Toronto Press and London: OUP, 1972. xix+258 pp. £6.25.

Roy A. Medvedev, On Socialist Democracy. (Translated from the Russian and edited by Ellen de Kadt.) London: Macmillan, 1975. xxii+405 +xv pp. £12.00.

The Bolsheviks and the October Revolution. Minutes of the Central Committee of the Russian Social‐Democratic Labour Party (bolsheviks) August 1917‐February 1918. Translated from the Russian by Ann Bone. London: Pluto Press, 1974. x+331 pp. £6.60. £2.70 (paperback).

G. I. Tunkin, Theory of International Law. Translated, with an introduction, by William E. Butler. London: Allen & Unwin, 1975. First published in Great Britain in 1974. xxv+497 pp. £8.00.

Bohdan R. Bociurkiw and John W. Strong (eds.), Religion and Atheism in the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe. London: Macmillan, 1975. xviii+412 pp. £10.00.

R. S. Mathieson, The Soviet Union: An Economic Geography. London: Heinemann Educational Books, 1975. xvii+342 pp. £7.50.

Violet Conolly, Siberia Today and Tomorrow. A Study of Economic Resources, Problems and Achievements. London and Glasgow: Collins, 1975. 248 pp. £4–95.

Burton Paulu, Radio and Television Broadcasting in Eastern Europe. Minneapolis: Minnesota UP and London: OUP, 1974. xi+592 pp. £13.25.

John McLeish, Soviet Psychology: History, Theory, Content. London: Methuen, 1975. xii+308 pp. £6.95.

Robin Edmonds, Soviet Foreign Policy 1962–1973: The Paradox of Super Power. London: OUP, 1975. xiv+197 pp. £4.50.

Michael MccGwire, Ken Booth and John McDonnell (eds.), Soviet Naval Policy. Objectives and Constraints. (Praeger Special Studies in International Politics and Government.) New York: Praeger and London: Pall Mall Press, 1975. xxvi+663 pp. $32.50. £14.25.

Jerome M. Gilison, The Soviet Image of Utopia. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins UP, 1975. 192 pp. £4.85.

Victor Serge and Natalia Sedova Trotsky, The Life and Death of Leon Trotsky. London: Wildwood House, 1975. 296 pp. £6.95.     

CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genotypes and amitriptyline metabolite ratios in a series of medicolegal autopsies

In a series of 202 postmortem toxicology cases, the CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genes were genotyped, and the concentrations of amitriptyline (AT) and six metabolites were analyzed. The polymorphic CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genes encode enzymes participating in the metabolism of several potentially toxic drugs, and mutations in these genes may lead to adverse drug reactions, possibly even intoxications. AT was chosen as the substrate of interest because it is mainly metabolized by these enzymes, is considered relatively toxic, and ranks among the major causes of fatal drug poisoning in Finland. Our objective was to evaluate genetically determined interindividual variation in conjunction with metabolite ratios of drugs found in toxicological analysis in a series of medicolegal autopsies. Positive correlations were found between the proportion of trans-hydroxylated metabolites and the number of functional copies of CYP2D6 and between the proportion of demethylated metabolites and the number of functional copies of CYP2C19. None of the accidental or undetermined AT poisonings coincided with the CYP2D6 or CYP2C19 genotype which predicts a poor metabolizer phenotype. However, an unusually high femoral blood concentration of AT, 60mg/l, was found in one suicide case with no functional CYP2D6 genes. Our study shows a concordance of AT metabolite patterns with CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 genotypes in the presence of confounding factors typical for postmortem material. This result demonstrates the feasibility of postmortem pharmacogenetic analysis and supports the dominant role of genes in drug metabolism.     

Influence of blood loss on the pharmacokinetics of citalopram

Extended blood loss results in several compensatory physiological mechanisms, including transfer of extravascular fluid into the blood circulation. If drugs are present in the body, this fluid exchange may imply that blood drug concentrations found in a trauma victim may differ from the concentrations present at the time of the trauma. To address this issue, an animal model was used to investigate the influence of blood loss on pre-existing levels of the antidepressant drug citalopram and its demethylated metabolites. Rats were administered citalopram either acutely (40 mg/kg, orally) or chronically (20 mg/kg daily, subcutaneously) for 6 days using osmotic pumps. In the experimental rats, blood loss was accomplished by withdrawing 0.8 mL blood at 10 min intervals during 70 min. In the control rats, blood was withdrawn at 0 and 70 min only. Blood, brain and lung drug concentrations were analyzed with an enantioselective HPLC method. In the chronically treated rats, the ratios between final and initial citalopram concentrations were 1.08 +/- 0.15 and 1.01 +/- 0.09 in the experimental rats and controls, respectively, indicating no major effect of blood loss. In contrast, acute oral administration resulted in increased ratios in the exsanguinated rats as compared to controls (1.84 +/- 0.50 versus 0.73 +/- 0.07; p = 0.0495). In conclusion, the observation of increased blood drug levels in the acute oral rats indicates that absorption of fluid from the gastrointestinal tract may be important in the intravascular refill. Further, in the interpretation of post-mortem blood levels of drugs, these physiological mechanisms should be taken into account.     

Liberals and nationalism: E. H. Carr,Walter Lippmann and the Baltic States from 1918 to 1944

The Baltic states were among the ‘new’ states that were created after the First World War; they were the only states to lose their sovereignty during the Second World War. Most historians explain the birth and demise of the Baltic states in terms of their relative strength vis-à-vis the great powers. This article places the short-lived independence of the Baltic states into the perspective of intellectual history by focusing on two Western thinkers: E. H. Carr and Walter Lippmann. The analysis assumes that ideas matter in international politics. It adds to our understanding of the forces that led to the creation and later to the extinction of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the period of the two world wars.     

King Wenceslas’ relations with the Teutonic Order in light of the dispute over the Archbishopric of Riga (1392–1397)

King Wenceslas of the Romans (1378–1400) and of Bohemia (1378–1419) supported the Teutonic Knights, but his involvement in the Eastern Baltic region during the 1390s turned him into an enemy of the Knights. This paper argues that the change in Wenceslas’ policy was solely in the interests of his courtier Duke Swantibor of Pomerania-Stettin, who sought to establish his son as Archbishop of Riga. Wenceslas’ support for Swantibor owed to the traditions of courtly favor and instability in Bohemia, not out of any personal grudge against the Knights, as was claimed in earlier historiography.