Adapting to the Rise of China: How can Latin American Companies Succeed?

As China becomes a global economic power, Latin American companies will need to adopt winning strategies to succeed in an increasingly competitive landscape. This paper explains the main implications that the shifting power equation will have on Latin America’s economies, analysing the myths and realities concerning China’s impact on the region. It also assesses some innovative business strategies Latin American companies are adopting to respond to China’s rise, distilling an agenda for action on how companies and governments together can maximize the opportunities offered by the new international context.Latin America, China, Shifting wealth, investment, trade

Alergia : una enfermedad muy singular

Fil: Alonso, Angel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Clínicas; Argentina.¿Qué es la alergia? ¿Por qué se produce? ¿Qué la origina? ¿Cómo podemos evitarla? A continuación,\nun completísimo informe sobre este fenómeno que cada vez afecta a más personas en todo el mundo

Dynamic analysis of employment trajectories through the concept of fl exicurity

El artículo realiza un análisis dinámico para conocer si el mercado laboral español responde a las características de los mercados de trabajo transicionales, desde un enfoque de flexiguridad. A través de la Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales se estudian las trayectorias de los trabajadores españoles durante el período 2007-2010, que abarca el final de la expansión de la economía española y el comienzo de la actual crisis de empleo. De la conjunción del tema elegido, el enfoque y la base de datos utilizada, resulta una perspectiva novedosa en nuestro país. Se ofrece evidencia empírica de la evolución de los episodios de empleo y paro, del grado de rotación del mercado laboral español y de las dificultades de determinados colectivos para realizar transiciones en y hacia el empleo. Los resultados muestran un mercado de trabajo en el que a) las transiciones se encuentran bloqueadas,  y b) existe una alta inseguridad laboral.The paper presents a dynamic study of the Spanish labour market which tries to determine if it matches the characteristics of transitional labour markets from a fl exicurity approach. Employment trajectories of Spanish workers during the years 2007-2010 are studied using the Continuous Sample of Working Lives. This period covers the end of the expansion of the Spanish economy and the beginning of the current employment crisis. From the combination of the chosen topic, the approach, and the database used, this is a novel perspective in our country. The article shows evidence of the evolution of the employment and unemployment spells, the Spanish labour market turnover degree, and the diffi culties of some groups for carrying out transition between employment and unemployment. The results obtained show a labour market in which a) transitions have come to a halt, and b) there is high job insecurity

Fine Gating Properties of Channels Responsible for Persistent Sodium Current Generation in Entorhinal Cortex Neurons

The gating properties of channels responsible for the generation of persistent Na+ current (INaP) in entorhinal cortex layer II principal neurons were investigated by performing cell-attached, patch-clamp experiments in acutely isolated cells. Voltage-gated Na+-channel activity was routinely elicited by applying 500-ms depolarizing test pulses positive to −60 mV from a holding potential of −100 mV. The channel activity underlying INaP consisted of prolonged and frequently delayed bursts during which repetitive openings were separated by short closings. The mean duration of openings within bursts was strongly voltage dependent, and increased by e times per every ∼12 mV of depolarization. On the other hand, intraburst closed times showed no major voltage dependence. The mean duration of burst events was also relatively voltage insensitive. The analysis of burst-duration frequency distribution returned two major, relatively voltage-independent time constants of ∼28 and ∼190 ms. The probability of burst openings to occur also appeared largely voltage independent. Because of the above “persistent” Na+-channel properties, the voltage dependence of the conductance underlying whole-cell INaP turned out to be largely the consequence of the pronounced voltage dependence of intraburst open times. On the other hand, some kinetic properties of the macroscopic INaP, and in particular the fast and intermediate INaP-decay components observed during step depolarizations, were found to largely reflect mean burst duration of the underlying channel openings. A further INaP decay process, namely slow inactivation, was paralleled instead by a progressive increase of interburst closed times during the application of long-lasting (i.e., 20 s) depolarizing pulses. In addition, long-lasting depolarizations also promoted a channel gating modality characterized by shorter burst durations than normally seen using 500-ms test pulses, with a predominant burst-duration time constant of ∼5–6 ms. The above data, therefore, provide a detailed picture of the single-channel bases of INaP voltage-dependent and kinetic properties in entorhinal cortex layer II neurons

Biophysical Properties and Slow Voltage-Dependent Inactivation of a Sustained Sodium Current in Entorhinal Cortex Layer-II Principal Neurons: A Whole-Cell and Single-Channel Study

The functional and biophysical properties of a sustained, or “persistent,” Na+ current (INaP) responsible for the generation of subthreshold oscillatory activity in entorhinal cortex layer-II principal neurons (the “stellate cells”) were investigated with whole-cell, patch-clamp experiments. Both acutely dissociated cells and slices derived from adult rat entorhinal cortex were used. INaP , activated by either slow voltage ramps or long-lasting depolarizing pulses, was prominent in both isolated and, especially, in situ neurons. The analysis of the gating properties of the transient Na+ current (INaT) in the same neurons revealed that the resulting time-independent “window” current (INaTW) had both amplitude and voltage dependence not compatible with those of the observed INaP , thus implying the existence of an alternative mechanism of persistent Na+-current generation. The tetrodotoxin-sensitive Na+ currents evoked by slow voltage ramps decreased in amplitude with decreasing ramp slopes, thus suggesting that a time-dependent inactivation was taking place during ramp depolarizations. When ramps were preceded by increasingly positive, long-lasting voltage prepulses, INaP was progressively, and eventually completely, inactivated. The V1/2 of INaP steady state inactivation was approximately −49 mV. The time dependence of the development of the inactivation was also studied by varying the duration of the inactivating prepulse: time constants ranging from ∼6.8 to ∼2.6 s, depending on the voltage level, were revealed. Moreover, the activation and inactivation properties of INaP were such as to generate, within a relatively broad membrane-voltage range, a really persistent window current (INaPW). Significantly, INaPW was maximal at about the same voltage level at which subthreshold oscillations are expressed by the stellate cells. Indeed, at −50 mV, the INaPW was shown to contribute to >80% of the persistent Na+ current that sustains the subthreshold oscillations, whereas only the remaining part can be attributed to a classical Hodgkin-Huxley INaTW. Finally, the single-channel bases of INaP slow inactivation and INaPW generation were investigated in cell-attached experiments. Both phenomena were found to be underlain by repetitive, relatively prolonged late channel openings that appeared to undergo inactivation in a nearly irreversible manner at high depolarization levels (−10 mV), but not at more negative potentials (−40 mV)