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

The transcriptome of lung tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells reveals a tumor-supporting phenotype and a microRNA signature with negative impact on clinical outcome

Targeting immunomodulatory pathways has ushered a new era in lung cancer therapy. Further progress requires deeper insights into the biology of immune cells in th

Wearable Wireless Networks for Internet of Humans: Trends and Challenges

Interconnected internet of humans (IoH) is a new paradigm in which wearable wireless networks (WWN) are emerging as a key enabling technology. WWN is revolutionizing health-care, sports and fitness, rescue and emergency management, augmented reality, fashion, and many other applications [1]. Wearable wireless networks composed of various types of devices such as sensors, actuator, coordinators, and gateways etc., to realize on-body, body-to-body (B2B) and off-body wireless communication as shown in Figure 1. However, often these devices are severely constrained due to ultra-low power consumption, miniaturization, low processing and storage capabilities as well as low delay requirements, consequently, the reliability and quality-of-service of above mentioned applications are very challenging.This publication was made possible by NPRP grant # [6-1508-2-616] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)

The Risk of Adverse Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Cameroonian Primiparous Women Aged More Than 26 Years

Primiparas with advanced age are predisposed to adverse maternal and neonatal risks. The aim of this retrospective cohort study, conducted between January 1st and December 31st, 2004 in the maternity of the Yaounde University Teaching Hospital, Cameroon, was to identify from what age these adverse risks become significant in Cameroonian women. The medical files of 233 primiparae aged 26 and above (case) and that of 404 primiparae aged between 20 and 25 years (control) were reviewed and some data compared. Cesarean sections, instrumental deliveries, low Apgar scores at 5th minute and early neonatal death rates were significantly higher in primiparae aged 27 years and above. Hence, Cameroonian women should be enlightened about the risks of delaying first delivery. Furthermore, first pregnancies to be carried at term and first deliveries in women aged 27 and above shall be considered at high risk and consequently well followed.Keywords primiparas aged more than 26 years; soft tissue dystocia; increased cesarean section risk; poor neonatal outcom

Bacteria isolated from lung modulate asthma susceptibility in mice

Asthma is a chronic, non-curable, multifactorial disease with increasing incidence in industrial countries. This study evaluates the direct contribution of lung microbial components in allergic asthma in mice. Germ-Free and Specific-Pathogen-Free mice display similar susceptibilities to House Dust Mice-induced allergic asthma, indicating that the absence of bacteria confers no protection or increased risk to aeroallergens. In early life, allergic asthma changes the pattern of lung microbiota, and lung bacteria reciprocally modulate aeroallergen responsiveness. Primo-colonizing cultivable strains were screened for their immunoregulatory properties following their isolation from neonatal lungs. Intranasal inoculation of lung bacteria influenced the outcome of allergic asthma development: the strain CNCM I 4970 exacerbated some asthma features whereas the pro-Th1 strain CNCM I 4969 had protective effects. Thus, we confirm that appropriate bacterial lung stimuli during early life are critical for susceptibility to allergic asthma in young adults

Primary Gastrointestinal Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Presenting with Cold Agglutinin Disease

Cold agglutinin disease (CAD) is an autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) generally caused by IgM autoantibodies which exhibit maximal reactivity at 4°C. CAD can be idiopathic or secondary to some diseases and/or conditions. Only a minority of cases of secondary AIHA in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) are associated with cold antibodies. Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of NHLs with a proportion of nearly 30% of all adult cases. 40% of patients with DLBCL have an extranodal disease or at least disease initially confined to extranodal sites. The most common extranodal site is the gastrointestinal tract. We present a patient with primary gastrointestinal DLBCL who presented with CAD and was treated with a CHOP-Rituximab regimen

Novel Ag(I)-based 1,2,4-oxadiazole complexes: Synthesis, X-ray crystal structure, and biological evaluation as anticancer candidates

Funding: This work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia (Project No. KFU241542).The 3,5-diaryl-1,2,4-oxadiazole scaffolds 2  and 3 were synthesized and used as ligands to obtain three novel Ag(I) complexes 4-6 . The structure of the Ag(I) complexes 4-6 has been confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Complex 4 has the dinuclear formula [Ag(2)(NO3)]2. 5 and 6 are monomeric complexes having the formula [Ag(3)2(NO3)] and [Ag(3)2]ClO4, respectively. In vitro, trypsin, ALDH2, and iNOS inhibition activities were assessed for the free ligands and their Ag(I) complexes. Interestingly, Ag(I) complexes 4-6 revealed more prominent trypsin inhibitory activity than the ligands 2 and 3 . The oxadiazole derivative 3 and its Ag(I) complex (6) showed significant ALDH2 inhibition (45% and 55%, respectively). Complex 6 (IC50 = 35.61 µM) surpassed its 1,2,4-oxadiazole ligand 3 (IC50 = 88 µM) and evidenced the most prominent ALDH2 inhibitory activity. The oxadiazole derivative 3 and its corresponding Ag(I) complexes 5 and 6 showed significant iNOS inhibition (77.77 %, 84.12%, and 84.15%, respectively). With IC50 values of 18.13, 18.15 and 13.96 µM, respectively, complex 6 is the most potent against iNOS, surpassing the reference standard.Peer reviewe

Novel Ag(I) and Zn(II) complexes based on benzenesulfonamide ligand : synthesis, characterization, and biological evaluation as multitarget antidiabetic agents

Funding: This work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia (Project No. KFU250713).Three novel d10-metal complexes of the antidiabetic sulfonamide ligand (HPPS) were synthesized and characterized using elemental analysis, FTIR, NMR spectra, and single-crystal X-ray structure. The two Ag(I) complexes share the common cationic formula [Ag(HPPS)2]+, abbreviated as [1]. The structure of the /studied Ag(I) complexes could be represented by the formula [1]ClO4·2H2O and [1]NO3·CH3CN. Both complexes are mononuclear, where Ag(I) is tetra-coordinated with two neutral HPPS units as bidentate ligands via the pyrazole and pyridine N-atoms. In both cases, the coordination geometry around Ag(I) is a twisted form that is intermediate between tetrahedral and square planar geometry. The Zn(II) complex [Zn4(PPS)2Cl6(H2O)2]·2EtOH, 2, is tetra-nuclear in which the Zn(II) ions are tetra- and penta-coordinated. The anionic PPS- ligand acts as a bis-bidentate ligand, bridging both independent Zn(II) sites, which are then further bridged by chloride ions to adjacent zincs. The synthesized complexes were evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities and glucose uptake. The results revealed that the synthesized Ag(I) and Zn(II) complexes showed remarkably excellent antidiabetic potential. Interestingly, α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activities and glucose uptake efficacy of Ag(I) and Zn(II) complexes highly surpassed their free ligand HPPS. Ag(I) complexes )[1]ClO4·2H2O and [1]NO3·CH3CN ( and Zn(II) complex )2( showed excellent inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 3.68, 5.22, and 3.93 µM, respectively (2.13, 1.5, and 2 times more potent than acarbose). Ag(I) complex, [1]ClO4·2H2O and Zn(II) complex, 2 (IC50 values of 2.78 and 4.93 µM) exhibited significant α-amylase inhibitory potential, 4.8- and 2.7- fold more potent than acarbose. Ag(I) and Zn(II) complexes showed 3.38- to 3.89-fold more glucose uptake efficacy than berberine with EC50 values of 12.01, 11.15, and 10.45 µM, for [1]ClO4·2H2O, [1]NO3·CH3CN and 2, respectively. Docking studies were conducted for the synthesized silver and zinc complexes using α-glucosidase protein (PDB:2QMJ) and α-amylase (PDB:1XCW) complexed with acarbose. Keywords: Ag(I) and Zn(II) complexes; Sulfonamide; α-Glucosidase; α-Amylase; Glucose uptake; Antidiabetic.Peer reviewe

Tnfaip3 expression in pulmonary conventional type 1 Langerin‐expressing dendritic cells regulates T helper 2‐mediated airway inflammation in mice

BACKGROUND: Conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s) control antiviral and antitumor immunity by inducing antigen-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T-cell responses. Controversy exists whether cDC1s also control CD4+ T helper 2 (Th2) cell responses, since suppressive and activating roles have been reported. DC activation status, controlled by the transcription factor NF-κB, might determine the precise outcome of Th-cell differentiation upon encounter with cDC1s. To investigate the role of activated cDC1s in Th2-driven immune responses, pulmonary cDC1s were activated by targeted deletion of A20/Tnfaip3, a negative regulator of NF-κB signaling METHODS: To target pulmonary cDC1s, Cd207 (Langerin)-mediated excision of A20/Tnfaip3 was used, generating Tnfaip3fl/fl xCd207+/cre (Tnfaip3Lg-KO ) mice. Mice were exposed to house dust mite (HDM) to provoke Th2-mediated immune responses. RESULTS: Mice harboring Tnfaip3-deficient cDC1s did not develop Th2-driven eosinophilic airway inflammation upon HDM exposure, but rather showed elevated numbers of IFNγ-expressing CD8+ T-cells. In addition, Tnfaip3Lg-KO mice harbored increased numbers of IL-12-expressing cDC1s and elevated PD-L1 expression in all pulmonary DC subsets. Blocking either IL-12 or IFNγ in Tnfaip3Lg-KO mice restored Th2-responses, whereas administration of recombinant IFNγ during HDM sensitization in C57Bl/6 mice blocked Th2-development. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the activation status of cDC1s, shown by their specific expression of co-inhibitory molecules and cytokines, critically contributes to the development of Th2-cell-mediated disorders, most likely by influencing IFNγ production in CD8+ T-cells