Employment generation by small firms in Spain

Despite the relevance in terms of policy, we still know little in Spain about where and by whom jobs are created, and how that is affecting the size distribution of firms. The main innovation of this paper is to use a rich database that overcomes the problems encountered by other firm-level studies to shed some light on the employment generation of small firms in Spain. We find that small firms contribute to employment disproportionately across all sectors of the economy although the difference between their employment and job creation share is largest in the manufacturing sector. The job creators in that sector are both new and established firms whereas only new small firms outperform their larger counterparts in the service sector. The large annual job creation of the small firm size class is shifting the firm size distribution towards the very small production units, although not uniformly across industries of different technology intensit

Polymeric Micelles in Anticancer Therapy: Targeting, Imaging and Triggered Release

Micelles are colloidal particles with a size around 5–100 nm which are currently under investigation as carriers for hydrophobic drugs in anticancer therapy. Currently, five micellar formulations for anticancer therapy are under clinical evaluation, of which Genexol-PM has been FDA approved for use in patients with breast cancer. Micelle-based drug delivery, however, can be improved in different ways. Targeting ligands can be attached to the micelles which specifically recognize and bind to receptors overexpressed in tumor cells, and chelation or incorporation of imaging moieties enables tracking micelles in vivo for biodistribution studies. Moreover, pH-, thermo-, ultrasound-, or light-sensitive block copolymers allow for controlled micelle dissociation and triggered drug release. The combination of these approaches will further improve specificity and efficacy of micelle-based drug delivery and brings the development of a ‘magic bullet’ a major step forward

Study protocol: adjuvant holmium-166 radioembolization after radiofrequency ablation in early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma patients-a dose-finding study (HORA EST HCC Trial)

Purpose To investigate the biodistribution of holmium-166 microspheres (Ho-166-MS) when administered after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim is to establish a perfused liver administration dose that results in a tumoricidal dose of holmium-166 on the hyperaemic zone around the ablation necrosis (i.e. target volume). Materials and Methods This is a multicentre, prospective, dose-escalation study in HCC patients with a solitary lesion 2-5 cm, or a maximum of 3 lesions of = 120 Gy has been reached on the target volume in 9/10 patients of a cohort. Secondary endpoints include toxicity, local recurrence, disease-free and overall survival. Discussion This study aims to find the optimal administration dose of adjuvant radioembolization with Ho-166-MS after RFA. Ultimately, the goal is to bring the efficacy of thermal ablation up to par with surgical resection for early-stage HCC patients.Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog