Gains from Fragmentation at the Firm Level: Evidence from Japanese Multinationals in East Asia

The unprecedented development of production networks in East Asia has been investigated, both theoretically and empirically, employing the conceptual framework of fragmentation theory and its extensions. However, the benefits of production fragmentation at the firm level, particularly benefits deriving from different location advantages, have never been directly measured empirically. This paper presents the very first attempt, to the authorsf knowledge, to empirically capture the benefits of fragmentation. Specifically, using Japanese firm-level data, we find that the larger the gap in the capital-labor ratios between fragmenting firmsf home and overseas activities, the more greatly their cost efficiency improves.Firm heterogeneity, multinational enterprises, fragmentation, factor intensity, micro data

Gains from Fragmentation at the Firm Level: Evidence from Japanese Multinationals in East Asia

The unprecedented development of production networks in East Asia has been investigated, both theoretically and empirically, employing the conceptual framework of fragmentation theory and its extensions. However, the benefits of production fragmentation at the firm level, particularly benefits deriving from different location advantages, have never been directly measured empirically. This paper presents the very first attempt, to the authors' knowledge, to empirically capture the benefits of fragmentation. Specifically, using Japanese firm-level data, we find that the larger the gap in the capital-labor ratios between fragmenting firms' home and overseas activities, the more greatly their cost efficiency improves.Firm heterogeneity; multinational enterprises; fragmentation; factor intensity; micro data.

スミス マーゲニス ショウコウグン ノ ニホンジン カンジャ ニオケル センショクタイ 17p11.2 ケッシツ リョウイキ ニオケル ブンシ イデンガクテキ カイセキ

Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a contiguous gene syndrome caused by an interstitial deletion of chromosome 17p11.2. The clinical SMS spectrums include short stature, brachydactyly, developmental delay, dysmorphic features, mental retardation, hyperactivity, self-injury, seizures, and sleep abnormalities (especially, reduced REM sleep). Here we attempted to define the minimum common deletion at 17p11.2 in 8 Japanese patients with SMS using molecular cytogenetic approaches, including a prophase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) ordering system and a stretched DNA fiber FISH. Our precise deletion mapping constructed by FISH revealed that one patient with SMS showed a much smaller deletion at 17p11.2 as compared with the other 7 patients with SMS. LLGL1 and FLII, previously mapped within the SMS critical deletion, were mutually nested, and retained on both chromosomes 17 in two patients. ZNF179, a RING finger protein family gene, on the SMS critical region was deleted on one of the two homologues 17p11.2 in 6 out of 8 patients with SMS in the present study. ZNF179 is a neuronal gene mapped on the SMS critical deletion and seems to be one of the candidates most likely to be affected with an impairment of the CNS in SMS patients. However, ZNF179 was retained on both 17p11.2 in two SMS patients exhibiting clinical findings characteristic of SMS, suggesting that ZNF179 might not be associated with the neurobehavioral impairments in SMS. Furthermore, DNA fragments from the region at 17p11.2 contained highly repetitive sequences, probably including the low-copy repeats (LCRs) associated with the deletion/duplication mechanism through non-allelic homologous recombination in the patients with SMS.　Key words : Smith-Magenis syndrome, 17p11.2, deletion map, LLGL1, FLII, ZNF17

Proposal And Development Of The Direct Mail Method PMCI-DM For Effectively Attracting Customers

Observations of recent changes in the marketing field reveal that a marketing and sales system that places further emphasis on interaction with the customer must be established. The authors conducted a demonstrative study that focused on creating effective direct mail and promotional advertisements for attracting customers to dealers. We consider these strategies to be elemental technologies vital to “forming ties with the customer.” Finally, the authors established “PMCI-DM” (Practical use Model of Customer Information for Direct Mail) and applied it at Company A, a foreign-funded automobile sales company. We were thus able to demonstrate this strategy’s effectiveness

Increased Intrathecal Chemokine Receptor CCR2 Expression in Multiple Sclerosis

Expression of CCR2, CXCR3 and CCR4 on CD4+ T or CD8+ T cells in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for multiple sclerosis (MS) was measured by 3-color flow cytometry, and compared to blood from healthy controls and CSF from patients with other inflammatory neurological diseases (INDs). CD4+CXCR3+/CD4+CCR4+ ratio (representing Th1/Th2 balance) was higher in both CSF and blood of MS patients than those of IND patients or healthy controls. Percentage of CCR2-positive T cells was significantly higher in CSF from MS patients. Increased CCR2 expression on T cells in CSF and Th1/Th2 imbalance may reflect the pathological processes involved in MS

Theoretical Study of 3D Radiated Sound Field Reproduction System Using Directional Loudspeakers and Boundary Surface Control

ABSTRACT In order to realize a 3D radiated sound field with which multiple listeners can listen to a sound anywhere around the object without having to wear equipment such as headphones, we proposed a near 3D sound field reproduction system using directional loudspeakers and wave field synthesis. The size of the loudspeaker array, however, is the same as that of the microphone array in the conventional system. Thus, when the size of the loudspeaker array differs, the 3D radiated sound field captured by the microphone array cannot be accurately reproduced. In this paper, the mathematical derivation of the reproduced 3D radiated sound field via inverse filtering based on acoustic transfer functions is described and the 3D radiated sound field reproduction system using directional loudspeakers and boundary surface control is newly proposed