Wage rigidity and job creation

Recent research in macroeconomics emphasizes the role of wage rigidity in accounting for the volatility of unemployment fluctuations. We use worker-level data from the CPS to measure the sensitivity of wages of newly hired workers to changes in aggregate labor market conditions. The wage of new hires, unlike the aggregate wage, is volatile and responds almost one-to-one to changes in labor productivity. We conclude that there is little evidence for wage rigidity in the data

Wage Rigidity and Job Creation

Standard macroeconomic models underpredict the volatility of unemployment fluctuations. A common solution is to assume wages are rigid. We explore whether this explanation is consistent with the data. We show that the wage of newly hired workers, unlike the aggregate wage, is volatile and responds one-to-one to changes in labor productivity. In order to replicate these findings in a search model, it must be that wages are rigid in ongoing jobs but flexible at the start of new jobs. This form of wage rigidity does not affect job creation and thus cannot explain the unemployment volatility puzzle.wage rigidity, search and matching model, business cycle

Implementations of translational medicine

New developments in science are rapidly influencing and shaping basic and clinical research and medicine. This has led to the emergence of multiple opportunities and challenges on many levels in the bio-medical and other associated fields. To face these opportunities and challenges, new concepts and strategies are needed. These can be provided by translational research/medicine as an integrative concept based on a multidirectional understanding of research and medicine embedded in a socio-economical environment. Although the implementation of translational research/medicine faces many obstacles, some of its goals have already been part of new programs in local institutions and in medical or scientific societies. These implementations are important in creating a unified national and international system of translational research/medicine

The expansion of supermarkets and the establishment of delivery systems and intermediaries for fresh fruit and vegetables in the Global South – the case of Kenya and Tanzania

In the last three decades, supermarket chains from the countries of the Global North expanded in the Global South. The regions of interest were, in particular, those countries in which new market potentials resulted from economic development. There is also the trend that domestic supermarket chains are developing in the countries of the Global South. A number of studies in the Global South analyzes the impact on agricultural producers by incorporating them into delivery systems to supermarkets. However, little evidence exists yet on how the delivery systems are organized by intermediaries between agricultural producers and the supermarket chains in the Global South. Especially for fresh produce (vegetables, fruit) special challenges occur., e.g. concerning infrastructures This article will examine the relationship between the spatial and temporal expansion of supermarket chains and the establishment of delivery systems/intermediaries using the example of fresh produce in the countries of Kenya and Tanzania

Disposition und Steuerung des Wareneingangs in einem Transportermontagewerk

Die Leistungsfähigkeit produzierender Unternehmen ist maßgeblich von der Steuerung logistischer Prozesse bestimmt. Im Sinne einer Effizienzmaximierung der nachfragebasierten Materialversorgung kommt dem Informationsfluss eine bedeutende Rolle zu. Dabei ist eine einwandfreie Datenerfassung, als Schnittstelle zwischen Informations- und Materialfluss, essentiell. Allerdings kann eine fehlerfreie Erfassung logistikrelevanter Daten entlang der Supply Chain aufgrund manueller Identifizierungsabläufe nicht immer gewährleistet werden. Dies kann die Fähigkeit der effizienten Prozesssteuerung stark einschränken und demzufolge zu empfindlichen Einschnitten bezüglich der Prozessqualität führen. Der Einsatz automatischer Identifizierungssysteme im Unternehmen stellt ein probates Hilfsmittel zur Sicherstellung der logistischen Prozesssicherheit dar. Doch sind bei der Auswahl eines für den jeweiligen Anwendungsfall bestgeeigneten Auto-ID-Systems neben monetären auch qualitative Parameter zu untersuchen. Nur so kann sichergestellt werden, dass aus einer Vielzahl möglicher Technologiealternativen eine Systemvariante ausgewählt wird, die die gegebenen Rahmenbedingungen optimal berücksichtigt. Im Nachfolgenden soll die Auswahl eines Auto-ID-Systems exemplarisch erläutert werden. Dazu wird zunächst eine detaillierte Systemanalyse durchgeführt. Zur Bewertung des qualitativen Nutzens der Implementierung eines Auto-ID-Systems kommt eine Nutzwertanalyse zur Anwendung. Des Weiteren wird eine umfassende Investitionsrechnung durchgeführt, bei der sowohl etwaige Investitions- als auch Betriebskosten einbezogen werden, um ebenso quantitative Aufwandsparameter abschätzen zu können. Die abschließende Systemempfehlung erfolgt mittels einer Nutzwert-Kosten-Analyse, bei der die einzelnen Systemalternativen anhand ihrer qualitativen und quantitativen Eigenschaften gegenübergestellt werden. Vor dem Hintergrund der gegebenen Problemstellung hat sich ein WLAN-gestütztes Auto-ID-System als Vorzugsvariante herausgestellt. Es verfügt unter allen Alternativen über das beste Kosten-Nutzen-Verhältnis und führt zur größtmöglichen Prozessverbesserung.The performance of manufacturers is mainly determined by the control of the logistic processes. To maximize the efficiency of a demand based material fl ow, it is of particular importance to focus on the information fl ow. It is essential to have a perfectly working data recording as interface between the material and information fl ow. However, manual identification procedures in supply chains do not guarantee a faultless recording of relevant data. On the contrary, automatic identification systems are known to ensure logistic process reliability. Against the background of a diversity of available Auto-ID solutions, the choice for an appropriate one needs not only to take into account monetary, but also qualitative parameters. In this way, also on-site conditions are considered. In the following, the selection of an Auto-ID system will be exemplified which is firstly based on a detailed system analysis. Secondly, a value benefit analysis will be conducted that evaluates the qualitative advantages of the implementation of an Auto-ID system. Thirdly, potential expenditures will be estimated by carrying out a comprehensive investment appraisal, focusing both on investment and operating costs. Finally, a system recommendation will be offered as a result from a cost-benefit analysis that compares all system solutions on the basis of their qualitative and quantitative properties. In the given study, a WLAN based Auto-ID system turned out to be the favorable solution. It had the best cost-benefit ratio across all alternatives and led to the largest possible process improvement

Automatic wireless activation in the presence of saved networks

Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptop computers, wearables, head mounted displays, etc. have the capability to access a wireless local area network as well as a cellular data network. Users often turn off the wireless local network access capability, e.g., by turning Wi-Fi off. Turning off such Wi-Fi capability has benefits such as avoiding automatic connections to slow, unreliable or potentially malicious networks, conserving battery, etc. In some instances, users do not remember to turn Wi-Fi back on, which leads to the device utilizing the cellular data network and potentially higher bills, because of charges for cellular data usage. This disclosure describes techniques that help prevent unintentional overuse of cellular data by automatically re-enabling Wi-Fi in the presence of saved networks

Pharmacological inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases triggers anti-fibrotic effects in hepatic stellate cells in vitro

Liver fibrosis is a wound healing process in response to chronic liver injury, which is characterized by the accumulation of extracellular collagen produced by Hepatic Stellate Cells (HSCs). This process involves cell cycle re-entry and proliferation of normally quiescent HSCs controlled by cyclins and associated cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks). Cdk2 mediates the entry and progression through S-phase in complex with E-and A-type cyclins. We have demonstrated that cyclin E1 is essential for liver fibrogenesis in mice, but it is not known if this is dependent on Cdk2 or related Cdks. Here, we aimed to evaluate the benefit of the pan-Cdk inhibitor CR8 for treatment of liver fibrosis in vitro. CR8-treatment reduced proliferation and survival in immortalized HSC lines and in addition attenuated pro-fibrotic properties in primary murine HSCs. Importantly, primary murine hepatocytes were much more tolerant against the cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects of CR8. We identified CR8 dosages mediating anti-fibrotic effects in primary HSCs without affecting cell cycle activity and survival in primary hepatocytes. In conclusion, the pharmacological pan-Cdk inhibitor CR8 restricts the pro-fibrotic properties of HSCs, while preserving proliferation and viability of hepatocytes at least in vitro. Therefore, CR8 and related drugs might be beneficial for the treatment of liver fibrosis

Tunneling electron induced rotation of a copper phthalocyanine molecule on Cu(111)

The rates of a hindered molecular rotation induced by tunneling electrons are evaluated using scattering theory within the sudden approximation. Our approach explains the excitation of copper phthalocyanine molecules (CuPc) on Cu(111) as revealed in a recent measurement of telegraph noise in a scanning tunneling microscopy experiment. A complete explanation of the experimental data is performed by computing the geometry of the adsorbed system, its electronic structure, and the energy transfer between tunneling electrons and the molecule's rotational degree of freedom. The results unambiguously show that tunneling electrons induce a frustrated rotation of the molecule. In addition, the theory determines the spatial distribution of the frustrated rotation excitation, confirming the striking dominance of two out of four molecular lobes in the observed excitation process. This lobe selectivity is attributed to the different hybridizations with the underlying substrate. © 2013 American Physical Society.J.S., A.S., C.A.B., and R.M. gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft through the SFB616 ‘Energy Dissipation at Surfaces.’ N.L. is supported by the ICT-FET Integrated Project AtMol (http://www.atmol.eu). M.C.C. thanks the Studienstiftung desdeutschen Volkes.Peer Reviewe

Computer simulation of crystallization kinetics with non-Poisson distributed nuclei

The influence of non-uniform distribution of nuclei on crystallization kinetics of amorphous materials is investigated. This case cannot be described by the well-known Johnson-Mehl-Avrami (JMA) equation, which is only valid under the assumption of a spatially homogeneous nucleation probability. The results of computer simulations of crystallization kinetics with nuclei distributed according to a cluster and a hardcore distribution are compared with JMA kinetics. The effects of the different distributions on the so-called Avrami exponent $n$ are shown. Furthermore, we calculate the small-angle scattering curves of the simulated structures which can be used to distinguish experimentally between the three nucleation models under consideration.Comment: 14 pages including 7 postscript figures, uses epsf.sty and ioplppt.st