Do Multinational enterprises push up wages of domestic firms in the Italian Manufacturing sector?

This paper analyzes the effects of foreign direct investment on wages paid by domestic firms in the Italian manufacturing sector over the period 2002–2007. In particular, the authors investigate the im-pact of multinational enterprises on wages paid by local firms which operate in the same industry, known and horizontal wage spillovers, or have linkages with multinational enterprises in both downstream and upstream industries, known as vertical wage spillovers. By using a large panel dataset, consisting of 551,000 observations, the authors find evidence of wage spillovers only at inter-industry level and, more specifically, for those firms who supply their goods to multinational enterprises, described as backward wage spillovers. Moreover, findings suggest that the wage spillover effect is strongly affected by the technological gap between local and foreign firms: only workers employed in domestic firms with a low-medium technological absorptive capacity seem to benefit from the presence of multinational enterprises in terms of higher wages

Hepatic encephalopathy

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a prognostically relevant neuropsychiatric syndrome that occurs in the course of acute or chronic liver disease. Besides ascites and variceal bleeding, it is the most serious complication of decompensated liver cirrhosis. Ammonia and inflammation are major triggers for the appearance of HE, which in patients with liver cirrhosis involves pathophysiologically low-grade cerebral oedema with oxidative/nitrosative stress, inflammation and disturbances of oscillatory networks in the brain. Severity classification and diagnostic approaches regarding mild forms of HE are still a matter of debate. Current medical treatment predominantly involves lactulose and rifaximin following rigorous treatment of so-called known HE precipitating factors. New treatments based on an improved pathophysiological understanding are emerging

Adaptation to climate change - Potentials of social science research in Germany

[No abstract available

Deficiency of the clock gene Bmal1 affects neural progenitor cell migration

We demonstrate the impact of a disrupted molecular clock in Bmal1-deficient (Bmal1−/−) mice on migration of neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Proliferation of NPCs in rostral migratory stream (RMS) was reduced in Bmal1−/− mice, consistent with our earlier studies on adult neurogenesis in hippocampus. However, a significantly higher number of NPCs from Bmal1−/− mice reached the olfactory bulb as compared to wild-type littermates (Bmal1+/+ mice), indicating a higher migration velocity in Bmal1−/− mice. In isolated NPCs from Bmal1−/− mice, not only migration velocity and expression pattern of genes involved in detoxification of reactive oxygen species were affected, but also RNA oxidation of catalase was increased and catalase protein levels were decreased. Bmal1+/+ migration phenotype could be restored by treatment with catalase, while treatment of NPCs from Bmal1+/+ mice with hydrogen peroxide mimicked Bmal1−/− migration phenotype. Thus, we conclude that Bmal1 deficiency affects NPC migration as a consequence of dysregulated detoxification of reactive oxygen species

Caveolin-1–eNOS signaling promotes p190RhoGAP-A nitration and endothelial permeability

Caveolin-1–mediated inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthase signaling is essential for adherens junction integrity and endothelial permeability homeostasis

Strategies of Foreign Direct Investment in the Presence of Technological Spillovers

Dawid H, Zou B. Strategies of Foreign Direct Investment in the Presence of Technological Spillovers. Working Papers in Economics and Management. Vol 12-2013. Bielefeld: Bielefeld University, Department of Business Administration and Economics; 2013.In this paper we present a differential game model of two firms with different technologies producing the same good and selling in the same world market. The firm equipped with advanced technology is deciding whether to outsource parts of its production to the home country of its competitor, where wages and the level of technology are lower. Outsourcing reduces production costs but is associated with spillovers to the foreign competitor. The degree to which the foreign competitor can absorb these spillovers depends on its absorptive effort. Using numerical methods the properties of a Markov Perfect Equilibrium of this game are characterized and the implications of the variation of different key parameters are examined