Mergers and Acquisitions in Latin America: Industrial Productivity and Corporate Governance

This paper examines the impact of industrial productivity on transnationals M&As from OECD countries towards Latin American countries in the period 1996 to 2010. It also analyzes the relationship between external mechanism of corporate governance and transnational M&As. For this purpose we use a gravitational model at the industry level. We find that industry productivity and higher standards of corporate governance in the country of origin promote transnational M&As activity. However, it is also found that higher levels of capital and technological productivity decreases transnational M&As activity

European Atlas of Natural Radiation

Natural ionizing radiation is considered as the largest contributor to the collective effective dose received by the world population. The human population is continuously exposed to ionizing radiation from several natural sources that can be classified into two broad categories: high-energy cosmic rays incident on the Earth’s atmosphere and releasing secondary radiation (cosmic contribution); and radioactive nuclides generated during the formation of the Earth and still present in the Earth’s crust (terrestrial contribution). Terrestrial radioactivity is mostly produced by the uranium and thorium radioactive families together with potassium. In most circumstances, radon, a noble gas produced in the radioactive decay of uranium, is the most important contributor to the total dose. This Atlas aims to present the current state of knowledge of natural radioactivity, by giving general background information, and describing its various sources. This reference material is complemented by a collection of maps of Europe displaying the levels of natural radioactivity caused by different sources. It is a compilation of contributions and reviews received from more than 80 experts in their field: they come from universities, research centres, national and European authorities and international organizations. This Atlas provides reference material and makes harmonized datasets available to the scientific community and national competent authorities. In parallel, this Atlas may serve as a tool for the public to: • familiarize itself with natural radioactivity; • be informed about the levels of natural radioactivity caused by different sources; • have a more balanced view of the annual dose received by the world population, to which natural radioactivity is the largest contributor; • and make direct comparisons between doses from natural sources of ionizing radiation and those from man-made (artificial) ones, hence to better understand the latter.JRC.G.10-Knowledge for Nuclear Security and Safet

Administration of a Salmonella Enteritidis ΔhilAssrAfliG strain by coarse spray to newly hatched broilers reduces colonization and shedding of a Salmonella Enteritidis challenge strain

Consumption of contaminated poultry meat is still an important cause of Salmonella infections in humans. Colonization-inhibition (CI) occurs when a live Salmonella strain is administered to chickens and subsequently protects against challenge with another Salmonella strain belonging to the same serovar. A Salmonella Enteritidis hilAssrAfliG deletion mutant has previously been proven to reduce colonization and shedding of a wild-type Salmonella Enteritidis strain in newly hatched broilers after experimental infection. In this study, we compared two administration routes for this strain. Administering the Salmonella Enteritidis ΔhilAssrAfliG strain through drinking water on the first day of life resulted in a decreased faecal shedding and caecal colonization of a wild-type Salmonella Enteritidis challenge strain administered 24 h later using a seeder-bird model. When administering the CI strain by coarse spray on newly hatched broiler chicks, an even more pronounced reduction of caecal colonisation was observed and faecal shedding of the Salmonella Enteritidis challenge strain ceased during the course of the experiment. These data suggest that administering a Salmonella Enteritidis ΔhilAssrAfliG strain to newly hatched chicks using a coarse spray is a useful and effective method which reduces colonization and shedding of a wild-type Salmonella Enteritidis strain after early challenge

Carbon dioxide inhalation as a human experimental model of panic: the relationship between emotions and cardiovascular physiology

Inhaling carbon dioxide (CO2)-enriched air induces fear and panic symptoms resembling real-life panic attacks, the hallmark of panic disorder. The present study aimed to describe the emotional and cardiovascular effects evoked by inhaling CO2, taking shortcomings of previous studies into account. Healthy volunteers underwent a double inhalation of 0, 9, 17.5, and 35% CO2, according to a randomized, cross-over design. In addition to fear, discomfort, and panic symptom ratings, blood pressure and heart rate were continuously monitored. Results showed a dose-dependent increase in all self-reports. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure rose with increasing CO2 concentration, whereas heart rate results were less consistent. Diastolic blood pressure and heart rate variation correlated with fear and discomfort. Based on this relationship and the observation that the diastolic blood pressure most accurately mimicked the degree of self-reported emotions, it might serve as a putative biomarker to assess the CO2-reactivity in the future.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Carbon dioxide inhalation as a human experimental model of panic: The relationship between emotions and cardiovascular physiology journaltitle: Biological Psychology articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.06.004 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.status: publishe