Industrial and intellectual capital clusters in the Baltic states

Various recent developments, eg the 'new economic geography' as exemplified by say, Krugman, P. (1991) or work originating in the business literature (Porter 1998), point to industrial and intellectual capital clusters as key factors associated with economic development. Indeed recent evidence suggests that multiple clustering leads to higher regional economic development. This leads to the idea that clusters should be encouraged as for example in the Latvian context in Phare (2001), an idea that is explicitly supported by theoretical argument in Norman and Venables (2001). In this paper we explore and describe the geographic concentration of production and human resources in the three Baltic States and attempt to identify its determinants. In particular, we address the issues of industrial and human resource base restructuring in the Baltic States. For the investigation of the regions or districts of the Baltic countries and their industries a variety of statistical methods and measures are used, including cluster analysis and the location quotient method, which may be used to measure the concentration and importance of an economic activity in cluster regions relative to other selected territories. Work is in progress but the aim is to reveal the pattern and dynamics of industrial and intellectual clusters in the Baltic states since independence. Casual evidence suggests that economic activity is less concentrated in Lithuania than in either Latvia or Estonia. The paper seeks to establish more formally whether there are indeed significant differences between the three Baltic countries with respect to i) the extent of cluster formation in general, ii) differences in the extent to which clusters have emerged in particular industries, and iii) how these have changed over time. The territorial units of analysis employed in the research are counties in Lithuania and Estonia (10 and 15 respectively) and in Latvia districts (26 of them). The descriptive part of the paper develops the work of Francis (2000) and Rivza and Stokmane (2000). Having calculated the descriptive statistics the paper combines several theoretical approaches to measure and evaluate clusters. In particular we modify Davis and Weinstein (1998) model to apply it to the case of the Baltic States. Davis, D.R. and D.E. Weinstein (1998) "Market Access, Economic Geography, and Comparative Advantage: An Empirical Assessment"; NBER Working Paper W6787 Francis, I.(2000),"Basic Analysis of Riga's Economy"; 6th Nordic-Baltic Conference in Regional Science. Riga, Latvia, October 4-7 2000. Reports, pp.111-115 Krugman, P. (1991a) Geography and Trade; Cambridge: MIT Press Norman, V.D. and A.J. Venables (2001) "Industrial Clusters: Equilibrium, Welfare, and Policy"; mimeo, London School of Economics Phare project (2001) Support to Industrial Cluster Restructuring; News Letters, Riga, Latvia Porter, M.E. (1998) "Clusters and the New Economics of Competition"; Harvard Business Review, 76:6 Rivza, B. and I. Stokmane (2000), "Economic and Social Analysis of the Baltic Countries"; 6th Nordic-Baltic conference in Regional Science. Riga, Latvia, October 4-7 2000. Reports, pp.293-296

No gaspažas līdz kundzei: pagodinoši sievietes apzīmējumi latviešu valodā 16.–19. gadsimtā

This article focuses on those modern and historical Latvian words that, in addition to the main component of the meaning ‘adult woman’, also include the components of respect and/or social status, namely, gaspaža, madama, dāma, and kundze. The article discusses the emergence and change of use of these lexemes in the 16th–19th century with a special focus on the processes of the middle and second half of the 19th century. In less than a century, the semantic field of the honorific female designations in the Latvian language has undergone significant changes. From one word gaspaža to four in the 1870s, but the most significant changes took place in the last twenty years of the century. In formal and neutral use, kundze and dāma were strengthened, each occupying a different part of the semantic field, competing synonymously only in the general sense of ‘honorable woman’, as well as in the function of address. However, even in this case, kundze is more often used in the context of the singular and dāma in the plural. In turn, lexemes gaspaža and madama have become characteristic of colloquial language and fiction; they often have an ironic or negative connotation.Rakstā analizētas mūsdienu un vēsturiskās latviešu valodas lietvārdu leksēmas, kas līdzās nozīmes pamatkomponentam ‘pieaugusi sieviete’ ietver arī cieņas izteikšanas un (vai) sociālā stāvokļa raksturojuma komponentus, – gaspaža, madāma, dāma un kundze. Aplūkota minēto leksēmu parādīšanās un lietojuma maiņa 16.–19. gs. laikā, īpašu uzmanību pievēršot procesiem 19. gs. vidū un otrajā pusē. 16.–18. gs. materiāls iegūts galvenokārt no latviešu seno tekstu korpusa SENIE, kā arī leksikogrāfiskiem avotiem. 19. gs. materiāls pētījumam atlasīts, izmantojot Latvijas Nacionālās bibliotēkas digitālo periodikas krājumu un tā meklēšanas iespējas

A Marshallian model of share tenancy

Despite persistent empirical support for the Marshallian model of share tenancy it remains out of favour at the theoretical level. There appear to be two reasons for this: Firstly, earlier attempts at theorizing an endogenous share rent under Marshallian assumptions implied that either the marginal product of land would have to be zero everywhere or that a competitive share rent equilibrium would fail to exist. The second objection to the Marshallian approach has been its failure to explain why inefficient Marshallian type contracts should survive under competitive conditions. ,p\u3eThe aim of this paper is to develop a simple Marshallian model in which the share rent is endogenous and which is free from these objections. It is argued that an explanation for the persistence of ‘inefficient’ sharecropping may be that it allows landlords to appropriate a portion of tenant surpluses even though landlords have no individual market power. Moreover, it is shown that (for a suitable set of parameters) the inefficient share rent equilibrium would survive competition from ‘efficient’ contracts

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE MARKETING FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Cities are an important resource for the socio-economic and regional development of the state. Urban development depends on resources, capital, labour force, which mobility from the impact of scientific and technological progress increases all the time. Resources don't belong largely to the concrete place anymore as it was before. That is why cities could think about the possibilities of increase of their attraction and competitiveness at the context of sustainable development. It means that one of the most important goals of the urban development and management is to create such kind of the urban environment which will be in line with the needs and requirements of the city inhabitants, which will be attractive for the foreign investors and tourists, which could compete with other cities. But the most important is that urban environment could give us all an opportunity to be active, participate and enjoy. The world practice shows that the use of the principles and instruments of the marketing for provision of sustainable urban development has positive impact on the socioeconomic and regional development of the state – it improves the investment environment, increases the rate of the economic investments, promotes business and tourism, improves the quality of education, increases welfare and mental development. The necessity of more detailed analysis of the importance of place marketing for sustainable urban development determines actuality of this research

Long-Term Outcome of Cataract Surgery in Eyes with Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome Associated with Weak Zonules : a Case Report.

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel. Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.A cataract surgery in both eyes was scheduled for an 81-year-old female patient. However, ophthalmic examination revealed marked iridodonesis, phacodonesis and pseudoexfoliative material on the surface of the lens in both eyes indicating weak zonules caused by pseudoexfoliation syndrome, which was more pronounced in the left eye. Cataract surgery was performed initially in the left eye by phacoemulsification. Additionally, iris hooks and capsular tension ring (CTR) were used to stabilize the capsular bag, and the haptic of the intraocular lens (IOL) was sutured to the iris at the end of the surgery. The same procedure except haptic suturing was performed in the right eye after 6 months. The left eye remained stable, whereas the right eye developed considerable anterior capsular contraction 2 months postoperatively. Neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy was performed to treat the condition. Moreover, 3 years after the initial surgery, late IOL-CTR-capsular-bag complex dislocation developed in the right eye, and reposition surgery was performed. Three days after IOL-CTR-capsular-bag complex reposition surgery, endophthalmitis developed; the eye responded well to 1 mg intravitreal vancomycin treatment. IOL in the right eye remained stable 3 years postoperatively.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Anaesthesia and Stress Response to Surgery

The body reaction to surgery ranges from minor to massive both locally and generally. General response is in the form of widespread endocrinal, metabolic and biochemical reactions throughout the body. Neuro-endocrinal hormone system and inflammation mediators are involved and this process is called “stress response”. The response has a compensatory mechanism and provides a maximum chance of survival because of increased cardio-vascular functions, fluid preservation and supply of increased demands for energy generating substrates. If the stress response is prolonged, it may result in exhaustion of essential components of the body, fatigue, decreased resistance, delayed ambulation and increased morbidity and mortality. Suppression of immune defense mechanisms has been demonstrated in the postoperative period. Such immune compromise can affect the postoperative infection rate, healing process, and the rate and size of tumour metastases disseminated during surgery. The mechanism of immunosuppression in the postoperative period is not fully understood. The known mediators of immune depression are neuroendocrine response as well as intravenous opioids and inhalational agents, which have shown to increase the susceptibility to infection through a significant cautions in choosing anaesthetic agents, to minimise harm to the patients. In this paper we review the data about the influence of different anaesthetic agents on neuroendocrine, immune and inflammatory response to surgical stress.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Anterior capsule opening contraction and late intraocular lens dislocation after cataract surgery in patients withweak or partially absent Zonular support

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Background and objectives: To evaluate anterior capsule opening (ACO) contraction and late intraocular lens (IOL) dislocation after cataract surgery in patients with weak or partially absent zonular support and assess methods of reducing these complications. Materials and methods: For this prospective study, we enlisted cataract surgery patients in our hospital with preoperative diagnoses of weak zonules. All patients received phacoemulsification surgery with implantation of a hydrophobic acrylic IOL and capsular tension ring (CTR). ACO reductions were measured for six months after enrolment. Data on late IOL dislocations were collected five years after enrolment of the last patient. Results: Fifty-three patients were enrolled from 2011 to 2015. Over the six-month active follow-up period, ACO area reduction was 23% in patients receiving CTRs of 11 mm diameter and 8% for patients with CTRs of 12 mm, with an overall mean of 15% reduction. Five years after the last patient was enrolled, seven patients (13%) had experienced late IOL-CTR-capsular bag dislocation. For these patients, the mean ACO reduction in the first six months of follow-up was 33%, including for those who had received neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd: YAG) anterior capsulotomies. Conclusion: Use of hydrophobic acrylic lenses and CTR reduces ACO contraction, with rates comparable to those after cataract surgery without ocular comorbidity. Our patients experienced a relatively high rate of late IOL-CTR-capsular bag dislocation. However, dislocated complexes were easily repositioned and few patients required IOL exchange. Frequent visits are warranted to promptly detect late complications of cataract surgery in patients with weak zonular support.publishersversionPeer reviewe