Globalization and Country-Specific Service Links

The Jones-Kierzkowski model of global fragmentation of production draws attention to the cost and efficiency of “service links” connecting “production blocks” in different countries. Country-specific service links include transport and telecommunications infrastructure and the overall business climate. Mobile factors of production, most prominently foreign direct investment (FDI), can shop around for countries with the most functional and inexpensive service links along with low labor costs. Those countries with favorable business climates and well-functioning service links are able to attract FDI and other mobile inputs, and participate in international production networks. We provide evidence that successful exporters of manufactures, notably in East Asia, have relatively favorable service links. A cross-section analysis of manufactured exports and of FDI in manufacturing confirms the importance of service link infrastructure.Conflicting claims, Division rules, Operators, Minimal rights, Maximal claims, Duality, Convexity.

Globalization and Country-Specific Service Links

The Jones-Kierzkowski model of global fragmentation of production draws attention to the cost and efficiency of “service links” connecting “production blocks” in different countries. Country-specific service links include transport and telecommunications infrastructure and the overall business climate. Mobile factors of production, most prominently foreign direct investment (FDI), can shop around for countries with the most functional and inexpensive service links along with low labor costs. Those countries with favorable business climates and well-functioning service links are able to attract FDI and other mobile inputs, and participate in international production networks. We provide evidence that successful exporters of manufactures, notably in East Asia, have relatively favorable service links. A crosssection analysis of manufactured exports and of FDI in manufacturing confirms the importance of service link infrastructure.

Rehabilitation of the Rocket Vehicle Integration Test Stand at Edwards Air Force Base

Since initial use in 1958 for the X-15 rocket-powered research airplane, the Rocket Engine Test Facility has proven essential for testing and servicing rocket-powered vehicles at Edwards Air Force Base. For almost two decades, several successful flight-test programs utilized the capability of this facility. The Department of Defense has recently demonstrated a renewed interest in propulsion technology development with the establishment of the National Aerospace Initiative. More recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is undergoing a transformation to realign the organization, focusing on the Vision for Space Exploration. These initiatives provide a clear indication that a very capable ground-test stand at Edwards Air Force Base will be beneficial to support the testing of future access-to-space vehicles. To meet the demand of full integration testing of rocket-powered vehicles, the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, the Air Force Flight Test Center, and the Air Force Research Laboratory have combined their resources in an effort to restore and upgrade the original X-15 Rocket Engine Test Facility to become the new Rocket Vehicle Integration Test Stand. This report describes the history of the X-15 Rocket Engine Test Facility, discusses the current status of the facility, and summarizes recent efforts to rehabilitate the facility to support potential access-to-space flight-test programs. A summary of the capabilities of the facility is presented and other important issues are discussed

Ceftaroline activity tested against contemporary Latin American bacterial pathogens (2011)

AbstractA total of 2484 target bacterial pathogens were collected (one per patient episode) from patients in 16 Latin American medical centers located in seven nations during 2011. Isolate identity was confirmed at a coordinating laboratory and susceptibility testing was performed for ceftaroline and comparator agents according to reference broth microdilution methods. A total of 30.0% of isolates were from respiratory tract, 29.4% from skin and skin structure, 21.4% from blood stream, 7.9% from urinary tract and 11.3% from other sites. Ceftaroline was active against Staphylococcus aureus (42.8% MRSA) with 83.6% of the isolates at ≤1mg/L and all isolates at ≤2mg/L (MIC5090, 0.25/2mg/L). National MRSA rates ranged from a low of 28.8% in Colombia to a high of 68.1% in Chile. All Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus agalactiae were susceptible to ceftaroline (MIC50/90 values were at ≤0.015/≤0.015mg/L for both). All Streptococcus pneumoniae were susceptible to ceftaroline, linezolid, tigecycline and vancomycin. Susceptibility to ceftriaxone was at 88.4% (CLSI non-meningitis interpretive criteria) and 73.9% (CLSI meningitis interpretive criteria) for all S. pneumoniae. Ceftriaxone susceptibility was only at 33.3% (CLSI non-meningitis interpretive criteria) and 0.0% (CLSI meningitis interpretive criteria) for penicillin-intermediate (penicillin MIC, 4mg/L) strains. All Haemophilus influenzae (29.4% β-lactamase-positive) isolates were susceptible to ceftaroline, amoxicillin–clavulanate, ceftriaxone, and levofloxacin. For the Latin American region, the ESBL-phenotype rate was 37.6% for Escherichia coli and 53.3% for Klebsiella pneumoniae. Ceftaroline was not active against ESBL-phenotype strains but was active against >90.0% of the non-ESBL-phenotype. The spectrum of activity of ceftaroline against pathogens from Latin America indicates that it merits further study for its potential use in the Latin American region

Accuracy of three automated systems (MicroScan WalkAway, VITEK, and VITEK 2) for susceptibility testing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa against five broad-spectrum beta-lactam agents

One hundred recent clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were used to assess the quantitative (MIC) and qualitative (susceptibility category) accuracies of the MicroScan WalkAway, VITEK, and VITEK 2 automated susceptibility test systems when five-broad spectrum beta-lactams, aztreonam, cefepime, ceftazidime, imipenem, and piperacillin-tazobactam, were tested. Isolates were selected so that the MICs for the isolates over-represented the MICs near the breakpoints to assess precisely the agreement between the results obtained with the automated systems and the results obtained by the reference tests. the categorical and MIC results from the automated systems were compared to the consensus result of three reference methods: broth microdilution, agar dilution, and disk diffusion. the consensus categorical testing (susceptibility and resistance) rates were 47 and 27%, respectively, for aztreonam; 59 and 14%, respectively, for cefepime; 44 and 43%, respectively, for ceftazidime; 71 and 19%, respectively, for imipenem; and 50 and 50%, respectively, for piperacillin-tazobactam. All systems tested exhibited a high, unacceptable level of very major (false-susceptible) errors for piperacillin-tazobactam (19 to 27%). Major (false-resistant) error rates were generally acceptable (0 to 3%), but minor error rates were elevated (8 to 32%) for cefepime (VITEK 2 and VITEK) and for aztreonam (all three systems), leading to consistent trends toward false resistance. Manufacturer reevaluation of these automated systems for the testing of selected beta-lactams with current clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa that exhibit contemporary resistance mechanisms would be prudent to minimize the potential for serious reporting errors.JMI Labs Inc, N Liberty, IA 52317 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, São Paulo, BrazilTufts Univ, Sch Med, Boston, MA 02111 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Productivity of 10 Warm-Season Perennial Grasses Over Several Years in Central Texas.

12 p

Potency and Bactericidal Activity of Iclaprim against Recent Clinical Gram-Positive Isolates

The in vitro activity of iclaprim, a novel diaminopyrimidine derivative, was evaluated against 5,937 recent gram-positive clinical isolates collected in the United States and Europe. Iclaprim demonstrated potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant S. aureus [MRSA]), beta-hemolytic Streptococcus spp., and Enterococcus faecalis strains tested. in addition, iclaprim exhibited bactericidal activity against all S. aureus strains tested, including MRSA.Arpida AG (Reinach, Switzerland)JMI Labs, Beaver Kreek Ctr 345, N Liberty, IA 52317 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilTufts Univ, Sch Med, Boston, MA 02111 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Ceftobiprole Activity against over 60,000 Clinical Bacterial Pathogens Isolated in Europe, Turkey, and Israel from 2005 to 2010

Ceftobiprole medocaril is a newly approved drug in Europe for the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) (excluding patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia but including ventilated HAP patients) and community-acquired pneumonia in adults. the aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro antimicrobial activity of ceftobiprole against prevalent Gram-positive and -negative pathogens isolated in Europe, Turkey, and Israel during 2005 through 2010. A total of 60,084 consecutive, nonduplicate isolates from a wide variety of infections were collected from 33 medical centers. Species identification was confirmed, and all isolates were susceptibility tested using reference broth microdilution methods. Ceftobiprole had high activity against methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) (100.0% susceptible), methicillin-susceptible coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), beta-hemolytic streptococci, and Streptococcus pneumoniae (99.3% susceptible), with MIC90 values of 0.25, 0.12, 80% inhibited at 8 mu g/ml; 64.6% at MIC values of 16 mu g/ml; 75.4% susceptible), but limited activity was observed against Acinetobacter spp. and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. High activity was also observed against all Haemophilus influenzae (MIC90, <= 0.06 mu g/ml) and Moraxella catarrhalis (MIC50/90, <= 0.06/0.25 mu g/ml) isolates. Ceftobiprole demonstrated a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity against this very large longitudinal sample of contemporary pathogens.Basilea Pharmaceutica International AG (Basel, Switzerland)AchaogenAiresAmerican Proficiency Institute (API)AnacorAstellasAstraZenecaBayerbioMerieuxCempraCerexaContrafectCubist PharmaceuticalsDaiichiDipexiumEnantaFuriexGlaxoSmithKlineJohnson JohnsonLegoChem Biosciences Inc.Meiji Seika KaishaMerckNabrivaNovartisParatekPfizerPPD TherapeuticsPremier Research GroupRempexRib-X PharmaceuticalsSeachaidShionogiThe Medicines Co.TheravanceThermo FisherJMI Labs, North Liberty, IA 52317 USAUniv Toronto, Dept Lab Med & Pathobiol, Toronto, ON, CanadaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, São Paulo, BrazilTufts Univ, Sch Med, Boston, MA 02111 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Infect Dis, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc