547 research outputs found
The Emilia-Romagna automotive industry in the global value chain
No full textThe paper analyses the automotive in Emilia-Romagna and the regional role of German manufacturers. The study is placed in the context of the global transformations that the sector has undergone from the Nineties on. During this period, substantial processes of reorganization of the social and geographical division of labour has taken place, and have directly and indirectly affected the traditional places of production, such as Emilia-Romagna. The work focuses on the current shape of the sector in the region on the macro and micro levels. First, an analysis of the sectoral trade flows between the region and other countries will be made. Second, a descriptive study on firm-level data drawn from an original database merging financial sheets and patenting data will be realized, with a specific focus on the comparison between Italian, German and other foreign manufacturers. The study suggests that Emilia-Romagna is substantially integrated, on the trade side, with eu12 and specifically Germany, and that German firms play a significant role in terms of employment and innovative activity in the region. It calls for further studies analysing in depth, with ad-hoc data collection, the relation between the local production chains and German actors to evaluate the dynamics of value creation
Application of methods for assessing the geno- and cytotoxicity of Triclosan to C. ehrenbergii
No full textThe toxic effects of Triclosan (2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-hydroxydiphenyl ether) on morphology and sexual and asexual reproduction of C. ehrenbergii were examined. In addition, the genotoxic effects of Triclosan were evaluated on the same alga using the microgel electrophoresis test, also-called Comet assay. Increasing Triclosan concentrations in the range 0.125-5 mg L-1 did not affect size and shape of the cells but had relevant effects on both chloroplast morphology and dimension. Triclosan inhibited the vegetative growth of C. ehrenbergii at 0.5 mg L-1. The effects on sexual reproduction indicate that the number of C. ehrenbergii zygospores was significantly reduced by the application of 0.937 mg L-1. The Comet assay showed that Triclosan treatments led to a dose-dependent DNA damage of C. ehrenbergii; 0.25 mg L-1 caused significant genotoxic effects and higher concentrations irreversibly altered the DNA strands. These results suggest that C. ehrenbergii could represent a useful organism to evaluate the whole toxicity of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), giving valuable information for a risk assessmen
The auto industry in Thailand: value transfer, technological dependence and relations between local and foreign capital
No full textThe paper analyzes the features of Thai auto industry from the late 1980s to the present. It uses an approach consistent with the Global Value Chain analyses, and focuses on three aspects: the relation between local and foreign capital; the role of the local supply base in the process of value creation; value capture and transfer dynamics among countries. The country is a relevant case as it is the largest ASEAN market and a main regional and global export hub. Thailand represents the centre of the regional production networks of all Japanese automakers and, from the Asian crisis (1997‐1998), of the biggest western too. It has also a fundamental role for automakers regional market access strategies. The paper places Thai auto industry origins and development in the context of the expansion of Japanese industrial capital in Southeast Asia. Hence, it assumes that Japanese production organization has both shaped the local automotive manufacturing sector and determined its structural weaknesses. Data from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database from 1989 to 2010 are processed in the paper, in order to analyze trade relations between Thailand on one hand and ASEAN selected countries and “Triad” countries on the other and, hence, to assess value transfer dynamics. In sum, the paper underlines two main problems for local auto industry: the first is a substantial technological dependence from foreign assets and the existence of captive linkages between foreign assemblers or first tier suppliers and Thai suppliers; the second is a partial transfer towards the Triad ‐ mainly Japan ‐ of the value created in the country, which happens through technological dependence and trade deficit mechanisms
Competere in efficienza: un'analisi dei costi e della redditività delle banche
No full textIl lavoro analizza il tema dell'efficienza bancaria attraverso un esame dei costi e della redditività delle banch
Who drives the automotive sector? Thailand selective policies
No full textPurpose: We critically analyse the case of selective industrial policies for automotive industry in Thailand. Approach: Founding on previous literature and official government documents, we describe the implemented policies, dividing them in four phases according to the main trend they followed. We suggest which results the policies have or have not reached by analysing the current state of the sector. Findings: Our main point is that selective policies implemented in the country were successful in helping the development of the sector as a whole, contributing to the role of Thailand as main actor in the international market. However, such policy initiatives were not able to solve some of the main issues of automotive sector in the country related to local development, such as the technology dependence on foreign (mainly Japanese) firms and the weakness of local suppliers
The Name of Cannabis: A Short Guide for Nonbotanists
No full textThe genus Cannabis (Family Cannabaceae) is probably indigenous to wet habitats of Asiatic continent. The long
coexistence between mankind and Cannabis led to an early domestication of the plant, which soon showed an
amazing spectrum of possible utilizations, as a source of textile fibers, as well as narcotic and psychoactive compounds.
Nowadays, the specie(s) belonging to the genus Cannabis are represented by myriads of cultivated varieties,
often with unstable taxonomic foundations. The nomenclature of Cannabis has been the object of
numerous nomenclatural treatments. Linnaeus in Species Plantarum (1753) described a single species of
hemp, Cannabis sativa, whereas Lamarck (1785) proposed two species of Cannabis: C. sativa, the species largely
cultivated in Western Continent, and Cannabis indica, a wild species growing in India and neighboring countries.
The dilemma about the existence of the species C. indica considered distinct from C. sativa continues up to present
days. Due to their prevalent economic interest, the nomenclatural treatment is particularly important as far as
it concerns the cultivated varieties of Cannabis. In this context, we propose to avoid the distinction between sativa
and indica, suggesting a bimodal approach: when a cultivar has been correctly established. It could be advisable
to apply a nomenclature system based on the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants
(ICNCP): it is not necessary to use the species epithets, sativa or indica, and a combination of the genus name and
a cultivar epithet in any language and bounded by single quotation marks define an exclusive name for each
Cannabis cultivar. In contrast, Cannabis varieties named with vernacular names by medical patients and recreational
users, and lacking an adequate description as required by ICNCP, should be named as Cannabis strain,
followed by their popularized name and without single quotation marks, having in mind that their names
have no taxonomical validity
C. Asinius Pollio en el Amadís de Gaula
No full textC. Asinio Pollio fue, por cierto, un perfecto modelo Romano del hombre de armas y de letras, vivo representante de la fortitudo y de la sapientia antiguas. En efecto, había nacido en Roma en el año 76 a.C. y después de destacarse como orador desde la edad temprana, acompañó a César durante la guerra civil; conbatió en Farsalia y luego en África y en España contra Pompeyo. Tras corta estada en Roma retornó a España como gobernador de la Provincia Ulterior para proseguir así la guerra contra Pompeyo
Different characteristics of C-phycocyanin (C-PC) in two strains of the extremophilic Galdieria phlegrea
No full textTo date, the main source for phycocyanin production is the thermophilic cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis, although latest researches are exploring the possibility to exploit the thermoacidophilic Cyanidiophyceae (Rhodophyta) to this purpose. Galdieria phlegrea is a polyextremophilic red alga belonging to Cyanidiophyceae, colonizing, along with G. sulphuraria, acidic and thermal environments and distinguishable from this latter on the base of molecular and ecophysiological traits. In the present paper, a characterization of C-phycocyanin from two strains of G. phlegrea with different geographic provenance (Phlegrean Fields Naples, Italy; Diyadin, Turkey) was provided under autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions. The results showed different optimal pHs and thermostability between the strains and between autotrophic and heterotrophic cells. What is intriguing, a pre-heating at 70 °C of heterotrophic cells from the Italian strain resulted in a highly heat-resistant of C-phycocyanin. We hypothesized that the different features of this pigment, currently widely used for various applicative purposes, are related to the habitat from which the microalga comes from
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