EU-South Korea FTA – Economic Impact for the EU and Austria

Das Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der EU und Südkorea (EU-Südkorea FHA) ist das erste einer neuen Generation von FHA, die 2007 gestartet wurden und Teil der Initiative „Globales Europa“ sind. Solche Abkommen, die auf fundierten wirtschaftlichen Kriterien basieren, bilden einen wichtigen Schritt für weitere Handelsliberalisierungen, da sie auch Themen behandeln, die noch nicht reif für multilaterale Diskussionen sind und weit über eine bloße Marktöffnung hinausgehen, wie sie im Rahmen der WTO erreicht werden können. In diesem Sinne ist das EU-Südkorea FHA das umfassendste Freihandelsabkommen, das die EU jemals verhandelt hat. Wir evaluieren die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen dieses Freihandelsabkommen für die EU und für Österreich mit dem rechenbaren allgemeinen Weltgleichgewichtsmodell GTAP. Die Ergebnisse sind wie erwartet. Beide Parteien gewinnen von der Beseitigung der Zölle und anderer Handelsbarrieren. Da die Anteile der Exporte und Importe mit Südkorea sowohl von seitens der EU als auch Österreichs nur 2% bis 2 ½% des gesamten Extra-EU-Handels ausmachen, fallen die Handels- und Wohlfahrtsgewinne für die EU und Österreich bescheiden aus. Der gesamte Handel der EU steigt um 0,2%, jener Österreichs nur um 0,1%. Der Extra-EU-Handel steigt sowohl in der EU als auch in Österreich um jeweils 1,2%. Die Wohlfahrt steigt in der EU und in Österreich nur um 0,04% des BIP. In Südkorea sind die Effekte höher, da die EU der zweitgrößte Handelspartner mit einem Anteil von 12% ist. Der Handel nimmt in Südkorea um 5,3% zu und die Wohlfahrt kann um 1,3% des BIP gesteigert werden.

LOGISTICS PERFORMANCE AND EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS: EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE

This article aims to analyse the importance of logistics performance in European Union (EU) exports over a sample period in order to detect possible advances on behalf of Member States. We will estimate several gravity equations using the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and its components as characteristic proxy variables of trade facilitation. In order to avoid the possible heterogeneity caused by sample bias, we will employ the two-stage model proposed by Heckman. The estimations of the gravity models using the two-stage Heckman model for 26 EU countries lead to the conclusion that logistics were more important for exporting nations than importing nations in both 2005 and 2010, reinforcing the interest in the exporter side of the paper. 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αv integrins: key regulators of tissue fibrosis

Chronic tissue injury with fibrosis results in the disruption of tissue architecture, organ dysfunction and eventual organ failure. Therefore, the development of effective anti-fibrotic therapies is urgently required. During fibrogenesis, complex interplay occurs between cellular and extracellular matrix components of the wound healing response. Integrins, a family of transmembrane cell adhesion molecules, play a key role in mediating intercellular and cell-matrix interactions. Thus, integrins provide a major node of communication between the extracellular matrix, inflammatory cells, fibroblasts and parenchymal cells and, as such, are intimately involved in the initiation, maintenance and resolution of tissue fibrosis. Modulation of members of the αv integrin family has exhibited profound effects on fibrosis in multiple organs and disease states. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge of the mechanisms of αv-integrin-mediated regulation of fibrogenesis and show that the therapeutic targeting of specific αv integrins represents a promising avenue to treat patients with a broad range of fibrotic diseases

Investigating in vitro and in vivo αvβ6 integrin receptor-targeting liposomal alendronate for combinatory γδ T cell immunotherapy

The αvβ6 integrin receptor has been shown to be overexpressed on many types of cancer cells, resulting in a more pro-invasive and aggressive phenotype, this makes it an attractive target for selective drug delivery. In tumours that over-express the αvβ6 receptor, cellular uptake of liposomes can be enhanced using ligand-targeted liposomes. It has previously been shown in both in vitro and in vivo studies that liposomal alendronate (L-ALD) can sensitise cancer cells to destruction by Vγ9Vδ2 T cells. It is hypothesised that by using the αvβ6-specific peptide A20FMDV2 as a targeting moiety for L-ALD, the therapeutic efficacy of this therapy can be increased in αvβ6 positive tumours. Targeted liposomes (t-L) were formulated and the targeting efficacy of targeted liposomes (t-L) was assessed by cell uptake and cytotoxicity studies in the αvβ6 positive cells line A375Pβ6. Bio-distribution of both L and t-L were carried out in αvβ6 positive (A375Pβ6 and PANC0403) and αvβ6 negative (A375Ppuro and PANC-1) subcutaneous tumour mouse models. Immuno-compromised mice bearing A375Pβ6 experimental metastatic lung tumours were treated with L-ALD or t-L-ALD as monotherapies or in combination with ex vivo-expanded Vγ9Vδ2 T cells. In vitro, αvβ6-dependant uptake of t-L was observed, with t-L-ALD being more effective than L-ALD at sensitising A375Pβ6 to γδ T cells. Interestingly, t-L-ALD led to slightly higher but not significant reduction in tumour growth compared to L-ALD, when used as monotherapy in vivo. Moreover, both L-ALD and t-L-ALD led to significant reductions in tumour growth when used in combination with γδ T cells in vivo but t-L-ALD offered no added advantage compared to L-ALD

Targeting of Aberrant αvβ6 Integrin Expression in Solid Tumors Using Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Engineered T Cells.

Expression of the αvβ6 integrin is upregulated in several solid tumors. In contrast, physiologic expression of this epithelial-specific integrin is restricted to development and epithelial re-modeling. Here, we describe, for the first time, the development of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that couples the recognition of this integrin to the delivery of potent therapeutic activity in a diverse repertoire of solid tumor models. Highly selective targeting αvβ6 was achieved using a foot and mouth disease virus-derived A20 peptide, coupled to a fused CD28+CD3 endodomain. To achieve selective expansion of CAR T cells ex vivo, an IL-4-responsive fusion gene (4αβ) was co-expressed, which delivers a selective mitogenic signal to engineered T cells only. In vivo efficacy was demonstrated in mice with established ovarian, breast, and pancreatic tumor xenografts, all of which express αvβ6 at intermediate to high levels. SCID beige mice were used for these studies because they are susceptible to cytokine release syndrome, unlike more immune-compromised strains. Nonetheless, although the CAR also engages mouse αvβ6, mild and reversible toxicity was only observed when supra-therapeutic doses of CAR T cells were administered parenterally. These data support the clinical evaluation of αvβ6 re-targeted CAR T cell immunotherapy in solid tumors that express this integrin

Identification and safety effects of road user related measures. Deliverable 4.2 of the H2020 project SafetyCube

Safety CaUsation, Benefits and Efficiency (SafetyCube) is a European Commission supported Horizon 2020 project with the objective of developing an innovative road safety Decision Support System (DSS). The DSS will enable policy-makers and stakeholders to select and implement the most appropriate strategies, measures, and cost-effective approaches to reduce casualties of all road user types and all severities. This document is the second deliverable (4.2) of work package 4, which is dedicated to identifying and assessing road safety measures related to road users in terms of their effectiveness. The focus of deliverable 4.2 is on the identification and assessment of countermeasures and describes the corresponding operational procedure and outcomes. Measures which intend to increase road safety of all kind of road user groups have been considered [...continues]