New Perspectives on Institutionalist Pattern Modeling: Systemism, Complexity, and Agent-Based Modeling

This paper focuses on the complementarity between original institutional economics, Mario Bunge’s framework of systemism, and the formal tools developed by complexity economists, especially in the context of agent-based modeling. Thereby, we assert that original institutional economics might profit from exploiting this complementarity

Dendritic cells are crucial for maintenance of tertiary lymphoid structures in the lung of influenza virus–infected mice

Tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) are organized aggregates of B and T cells formed in postembryonic life in response to chronic immune responses to infectious agents or self-antigens. Although CD11c+ dendritic cells (DCs) are consistently found in regions of TLO, their contribution to TLO organization has not been studied in detail. We found that CD11chi DCs are essential for the maintenance of inducible bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (iBALT), a form of TLO induced in the lungs after influenza virus infection. Elimination of DCs after the virus had been cleared from the lung resulted in iBALT disintegration and reduction in germinal center (GC) reactions, which led to significantly reduced numbers of class-switched plasma cells in the lung and bone marrow and reduction in protective antiviral serum immunoglobulins. Mechanistically, DCs isolated from the lungs of mice with iBALT no longer presented viral antigens to T cells but were a source of lymphotoxin (LT) β and homeostatic chemokines (CXCL-12 and -13 and CCL-19 and -21) known to contribute to TLO organization. Like depletion of DCs, blockade of LTβ receptor signaling after virus clearance led to disintegration of iBALT and GC reactions. Together, our data reveal a previously unappreciated function of lung DCs in iBALT homeostasis and humoral immunity to influenza virus

Productive integration, economic recession and employment in Europe: an assessment based on vertically integrated sectors

The Covid-19 crisis has revamped the discussion about the redefinition of GVC. This paper contributes to the debate, analysing the productive relationships between European countries in four key manufacturing activities. In particular, the paper addresses two objectives. First, it maps the degree of productive integration in Europe, focusing on the generation of employment in the production of exported intermediate inputs and final goods. Second, it provides a preliminary assessment of the potential impact on employment that the current economic crisis will have on some manufacturing activities across Europe. The analysis is realised employing the concept of vertically integrated labour (Pasinetti 1973) which allows to account for the employment directly and indirectly involved in the production of final goods. The estimations are derived from Multi-Regional Input–Output tables to map the supply chain and to differentiate between the employment involved in the production of exported intermediate inputs and final goods. The results show that most of the employment involved in the production of final output of the activities studied in the paper is linked to international trade. Although Europe shows a high degree of productive links, there are important differences in the modality of insertion in the productive structure of European countries. Moreover, the impact on the level of employment due to the current economic crisis can be significant, affecting more than 1.3 million of people in Europe. These results are relevant to policy makers, who should consider carefully the high degree of linkages of the European economies when designing industrial policies and measure of support to the economy

Werkstoffkennwerte additiv gefertigter Strukturen

In der additiven Fertigung erschließen sich für das seit über 30 Jahren durchgeführte robotergestützte Metallschutzgasschweißen durch neue Technologien weitere Entwicklungsfelder. Stetig steigende Anforderungen an höhere Abschmelzleistungen und sicherheitsrelevante Bauteilkonzepte verstärken den Fokus auf die mechanischen Eigenschaften additiv gefertigter Bauteile. Durch den fertigungsbedingten Aufbau von generativ gefertigten Strukturen erfahren bereits aufgebrachte Lagen mit jeder neuen Lage eine Wärmebeeinflussung, die sich auf die mechanischen Eigenschaften auswirkt. Um diese Beeinflussung charakterisieren zu können, werden im Rahmen dieses Beitrags die mechanischen Eigenschaften von jeweils zwei Bauteilen miteinander verglichen. Dabei wird zum einen untersucht, welchen Einfluss die Zwischenlagentemperatur bei hohem Energieeintrag aufweist. Zum anderen werden zwei modifizierte Kurzlichtbögen angewendet, um dünnwandige Bauteile mit geringem Energieeintrag zu fertigen