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Increases Productivity (increase + productivity)
Selected AbstractsDo Firms Increase Productivity in Order to Become Exporters?,OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS & STATISTICS, Issue 5 2009Ricardo A. López Abstract Recent studies find that exporters are more productive than non-exporters and that entry into exporting does not increase firms' productivity. Thus, firms self-select into foreign markets. This paper examines productivity before entry into exporting. Using Chilean plant-level data, we find that productivity and investment increase before plants begin to export. Moreover, productivity of entrants to exporting, but not that of non-exporters and exporters, increases in response to increases in foreign income, before entry but not after that. The results suggest that the productivity advantage of future exporters may be the result of firms increasing their productivity in order to export. [source] Uptake of nicotine from suspension culture of Nicotiana tabacum by molecularly imprinted polymersJOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 5 2010Mohamed Salaheldin A. Abdelkader Abstract Objectives The aim was to use molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the selective recovery of nicotine in plant cell cultures. MIPs can selectively uptake nicotine from suspension cultures of N. tabacum, and therefore may be useful for improving levels of secondary metabolites in plant cell cultures. Methods Suspension cultures of N. tabacum were initiated from callus and maintained in liquid Murashige and Skoog (MS) media containing 3% w/v sucrose, 0.1 mg/l ,-naphthaleneacetic acid acid (NAA) and 0.25 mg/l kinetin. Tween 80 at 1% was used for permeabilisation of cell cultures. Pre-weighed XAD-2 and two types of synthesized polymers, MIPs (A and B with one and two functional monomers, respectively) and corresponding non-imprinted polymers (NIPs), A and B, were introduced aseptically into the permeabilised suspension cultures of N. tabacum, the nicotine contents of polymers were determined by gas chromatography and the adsorption yield of polymers were determined. Key findings Cell cultures of N. tabacum accumulated nicotine alkaloid intracellularly in varying levels, 6.8,14.9 mg/l fresh weight. MIPs were able to uptake 50,70% of released nicotine in suspension cultures of N. tabacum, whereas XAD-2 recovered only 30,40%. The total levels of accumulated nicotine were enhanced up to 20 mg/l by simultaneous use of Tween 80 and MIPs. Conclusions The findings indicate the potential use of MIPs to uptake nicotine from suspension cultures of N. tabacum, and increase productivity of secondary metabolites in plant cell cultures. [source] Would transformation of C3 crop plants with foreign Rubisco increase productivity?PLANT CELL & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 2 2004A computational analysis extrapolating from kinetic properties to canopy photosynthesis ABSTRACT Genetic modification of Rubisco to increase the specificity for CO2 relative to O2 (,) would decrease photorespiration and in principle should increase crop productivity. When the kinetic properties of Rubisco from different photosynthetic organisms are compared, it appears that forms with high , have low maximum catalytic rates of carboxylation per active site (kcc). If it is assumed that an inverse relationship between kcc and , exists, as implied from measurements, and that an increased concentration of Rubisco per unit leaf area is not possible, will increasing , result in increased leaf and canopy photosynthesis? A steady-state biochemical model for leaf photosynthesis was coupled to a canopy biophysical microclimate model and used to explore this question. C3 photosynthetic CO2 uptake rate (A) is either limited by the maximum rate of Rubisco activity (Vcmax) or by the rate of regeneration of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, in turn determined by the rate of whole chain electron transport (J). Thus, if J is limiting, an increase in , will increase net CO2 uptake because more products of the electron transport chain will be partitioned away from photorespiration into photosynthesis. The effect of an increase in , on Rubisco-limited photosynthesis depends on both kcc and the concentration of CO2 ([CO2]). Assuming a strict inverse relationship between kcc and ,, the simulations showed that a decrease, not an increase, in , increases Rubisco-limited photosynthesis at the current atmospheric [CO2], but the increase is observed only in high light. In crop canopies, significant amounts of both light-limited and light-saturated photosynthesis contribute to total crop carbon gain. For canopies, the present average , found in C3 terrestrial plants is supra-optimal for the present atmospheric [CO2] of 370 µmol mol,1, but would be optimal for a CO2 concentration of around 200 µmol mol,1, a value close to the average of the last 400 000 years. Replacing the average Rubisco of terrestrial C3 plants with one having a lower and optimal , would increase canopy carbon gain by 3%. Because there are significant deviations from the strict inverse relationship between kcc and ,, the canopy model was also used to compare the rates of canopy photosynthesis for several Rubiscos with well-defined kinetic constants. These simulations suggest that very substantial increases (> 25%) in crop carbon gain could result if specific Rubiscos having either a higher , or higher kcc were successfully expressed in C3 plants. [source] Student attitudes to surgical teaching in provincial hospitalsAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2003Martin H. Bruening ABSTRACT Objective:The ever-increasing pressure on metropolitan teaching hospitals to rationalise budgets and increase productivity has resulted in a dwindling amount of teaching opportunity for the medical student population. One solution to the problem was to utilise a largely untapped resource in South Australia, namely the provincial hospitals, however, student opinion regarding such a radical change had yet to be determined. Design:A questionnaire was circulated among an entire year group of medical students who would be undertaking the revised surgical curriculum with rural attachments. Setting:In October 1997, a decision was made by the Department of Surgery at the University of Adelaide to proceed with optional rural surgical attachments in 1998. Subjects:The survey was distributed to the 125 members of the 1997 fifth year medical student group. Results:A total of 92 questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 75%. Thirty-nine students ranked a rural term in their top half of preferences, while a further 18 indicated that they would go to a rural centre if they had to. Conclusion:Despite having little warning of the impending changes to their surgical curriculum, the majority of students who responded to the questionnaire stated that they would be willing to venture to the country locations. Before planning significant changes to an established curriculum, the student group should be consulted to gauge their opinion. What is already known:Within the medical literature, studies have been performed with regard to student opinions regarding postgraduate internships in rural locations, but to our knowledge, this survey represents the first study into student opinion with particular reference to rural surgical attachments prior to their commencement within a medical school curriculum. What this study adds:As a result of this study, it can now be concluded that a considerable amount of interest exists within the student population to undertake rural surgical rotations. [source] The effect of Bcl-2, YAMA, and XIAP over-expression on apoptosis and adenovirus production in HEK293 cell lineBIOTECHNOLOGY & BIOENGINEERING, Issue 4 2009Kalbinder Singh Sandhu Abstract Many viruses induce cell death and lysis as part of their replication and dissemination strategy, and in many cases features of apoptosis are observed. Attempts have been made to further increase productivity by prolonging cell survival via the over-expression of anti-apoptotic genes. Here, we extend the study to investigate the association between virus replication and apoptosis, pertinent to large-scale vector production for gene therapy. Infection of an HEK293 cell line with a replication defective type-5-adenovirus expressing a GFP reporter (Ad5GFP) resulted in rapid decline in viability associated with increased virus titer. The over-expression of bcl-2 resulted in improved cell resistance to apoptosis and prolonged culture duration, but reduced virus specific and total productivity. In contrast, the over-expression of pro-caspase-3 (Yama/CPP32/apopain) resulted in reduced cell survival but increased virus productivity. The treatment of infected cells with caspase inhibitors support the preposition that caspase-3 dependent apoptosis, and to a lesser degree caspase-9 dependent apoptosis, represent important steps in virus production, thus implicating the intrinsic apoptosis pathway in the production of adenovirus from HEK293 cells. The suppression of apoptosis by the over-expression of XIAP (inhibitors of caspase family cell death proteases) further shows that caspase-mediated activation plays an important role in virus infection and maturation. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 752,765 © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Indoor Air Quality in the 21st Century: Search for ExcellenceINDOOR AIR, Issue 2 2000P. OLE FANGER Abstract Field studies demonstrate that there are substantial numbers of dissatisfied people in many buildings, among them those suffering from sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, even though existing standards and guidelines are met. The reason is that the requirements specified in these standards are rather low, allowing a substantial group of people to become dissatisfied and to be adversely affected. A paradigm shift from rather mediocre to excellent indoor environments is foreseen in the 21st century. Based on existing information and on new research results, five principles are suggested as elements behind a new philosophy of excellence: 1) better indoor air quality increases productivity and decreases SBS symptoms; 2) unnecessary indoor pollution sources should be avoided; 3) the air should be served cool and dry to the occupants; 4) "personalized air", i.e. a small amount of clean air, should be served gently, close to the breathing zone of each individual; and 5) individual control of the thermal environment should be provided. These principles of excellence are compatible with energy efficiency and sustainability. [source] Trade and Growth: Reconciling the Macroeconomic and Microeconomic EvidenceJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 4 2005Ricardo A. López Abstract., Many empirical studies based on plant-level data have found that firms that enter the export markets are more productive than non-exporters and that this difference in productivity is achieved before firms become involved in exporting. These findings have challenged the traditional view that openness to trade increases productivity and economic growth. This article reconsiders the literature on trade, growth, and trade policies and argues that a careful examination of these new findings is consistent with the idea that exporting increases productivity and economic growth. [source] The Returns to Education: MacroeconomicsJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 2 2003Barbara Sianesi We offer an extensive summary and a critical discussion of the empirical literature on the impact of human capital on macro-economic performance, with a particular focus on UK policy. We also highlight methodological issues and make recommendations for future research priorities. Taking the studies as a whole, the evidence that human capital increases productivity is compelling, though still largely divided on whether the stock of education affects the long-run level or growth rate of GDP. A one-year increase in average education is found to raise the level of output per capita by between three and six percent according to augmented neo-classical specifications, while leading to an over one percentage point faster growth according to estimates from the new-growth theories. Still, over the short-run planning horizon (four years) the empirical estimates of the change in GDP are of similar orders of magnitude in the two approaches. The impact of increases at different levels of education appear to depend on the level of a country's development, with tertiary education being the most important for growth in OECD countries. Education is found to yield additional indirect benefits to growth. More preliminary evidence seems to indicate that type, quality and efficiency of education matter for growth too. [source] Technology, Labour Characteristics and Wage-productivity Gaps,OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS & STATISTICS, Issue 5 2005Pekka Ilmakunnas Abstract We use plant-level employer,employee data in production functions and wage equations to examine whether wages are based on productivity. We use a stepwise procedure to find out how the results are influenced by the kind of data that is available. The models include shares of employee groups based on age, level and field of education, and sex. The gap between the age-related wage and productivity effects increases with age. Education increases productivity, but wage under-compensates productivity especially for those with the highest level of non-technical education. For women the results depend greatly on the specification and method used. [source] | ||||||||||||||||