Trade credit linkages along the supply chain: evidence for the Italian textile sector

We examine the trade credit linkages among firms within a supply chain to reckon the effect of such linkages on the propagation of liquidity shocks from downstream to upstream firms. We choose a sample appropriate for this task, consisting of a large data set of Italian firms from the textile industry, a well known example of a comprehensive manufacturing cluster featuring a large number of small and specialized firms at each level of the supply chain. The results of the analysis indicate that the level of trade credit that firms provide to their suppliers is positively related to the level of trade credit granted to their clients: when the level of trade credit granted to clients divided by sales goes up by 1, the level of trade credit provided to suppliers divided by cost-of goods-sold goes up by an amount that varies between 0,22 and 0,52. Since all firms along the chain are linked by trade credit relationships, an increase in the level of trade credit granted by wholesalers generates a liquidity cascade throughout the chain. We designate the overall increase in the level of trade credit among all firms in the chain as a result of a unitary impulse in the level of trade credit granted by wholesalers as the multiplier effect of trade credit for the industry chain. We estimate such multiplier to vary between 1.28 and 2.04. We also investigate the effect of final demand on the level of trade credit sourced by firms at various levels of the chain and, in particular, whether such effect is amplified for firms further up in the chain as a result of liquidity propagation via trade credit linkages. We uncover evidence of such amplification when the links of liquidity transmission along the chain are individually modeled and estimated. An unitary increase in wholesalers’ sales is found to produce an effect on trade payables among firms at the top of the chain (i.e., Preparers and Spinners) that is more than twice as big as the corresponding effect among firms at the bottom of the chain (i.e., Wholesalers).

Developing global trade union "space"

International unions and international solidarity strategies have been changing partly as a response to changes in the global economy. Global union federations have played an important role in expanding communication and developing alliances with other social movements. One of the issues facing trade unions wanting to be effective at an international level is to what extent national concerns can inform and even be transcended by international perspectives. Proposals for studying the global labor force "horizontally", that is, according to different categories and forms of work rather than on a nation-by-nation basis, demonstrates a recognition of global- national dimensions (Harrod and O'Brien 2002:49). This paper will discuss the development of a global trade union "space", which enables national and global unions to work together effectively, using a series of case studies drawn from the experience of global and European public service unions.

Breast milk levels of zinc and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and growth of healthy Chinese infants

AIM: To examine the concentrations of zinc and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-6 PUFAs) in breast milk, the impact of zinc on omega-6 PUFA metabolism, and the growth rate of infants. METHODS: Forty-one mother-term infant pairs from a rural area of northern Beijing, China, who were 1 month (n = 18, group I) and 3 months (n = 23, group II) old and exclusively breastfed, were studied. The dietary records and the concentrations of zinc and omega-6 PUFAs in the milk of lactating women and the increase in weight and length of their infants during 1 and 3 postnatal months were analysed. RESULTS: The dietary intakes of mothers in the two groups were the same, i.e. high in carbohydrate and low in fat, protein and energy. The maternal zinc intake was 7.5mg/d and thus reached only 34.6% of the current Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI). The levels of zinc and arachidonic acid (AA, C20:4 omega-6) in the milk of group I were significantly higher than those in group II. Furthermore, significant positive correlations were found between the concentrations of zinc and AA in the breast milk and between the level of milk AA and weight gain. CONCLUSION: Zinc may be a co-factor and essential for essential fatty acids (EFA) metabolism. Thus suboptimal zinc intake may cause EFA imbalance. Further studies of Chinese rural mother-infant pairs are necessary to determine whether zinc supplementation should be recommended when lactation exceeds 3 months.

Pathogenic challenge reveals immune trade-off in mussels exposed to reduced seawater pH and increased temperature

Mussels tolerant to seawater pH's that are projected to occur by 2300 due to ocean acidification.•Exposure to pH 6.50 reduced mussel immune response, yet in the absence of a pathogen.•Subsequent pathogenic challenge led to a reversal of immune suppression at pH 6.50.•Study highlights the importance of undertaking multiple stressor exposures.•Shows a need to consider physiological trade-offs and measure responses functionally

Phenotypic variation in shell form in the intertidal acorn barnacle Chthamalus montagui: distribution, response to predators and life history trade-offs.

The acorn barnacle Chthamalus montagui can present strong variation in shell morphology, ranging from flat conic to a highly bent form, caused by a substantial overgrowth of the rostrum plate. Shell shape distribution was investigated between January and May 2004 from geographical to microhabitat spatial scales along the western coast of Britain. Populations studied in the north (Scotland and Isle of Man) showed a higher degree of shell variation compared to those in the south (Wales and south-west England). In the north, C. montagui living at lower tidal levels and in proximity to the predatory dogwhelk, Nucella lapillus, were more bent in profile. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine behavioural responses, and vulnerability of bent and conic barnacles to predation by N. lapillus. Dogwhelks did not attack one morphotype more than the other, but only 15 % of attacks on bent forms were successful compared to 75 % in conic forms. Dogwhelk effluent reduced the time spent feeding by C. montagui (11 %), but there was no significant difference between conic and bent forms. Examination of barnacle morphology indicated a trade-off in investment in shell structure and feeding appendages associated with being bent, but none with egg or somatic tissue mass. These results are consistent with C. montagui showing an induced defence comparable to that found in its congeners Chthamalus anisopoma and Chthamalus fissus on the Pacific coast of North America, but further work to demonstrate inducibility is required.

Chapter 11: Human activities and ecosystem service use: impacts and trade-offs

Ecosystem services provided by the marine environment are fundamental to human health and well-being. Despite this, many marine systems are being degraded to an extent that may reduce their capacity to provide these ecosystem services. The ecosystem approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, 2000). Its application to marine management and spatial planning has been proposed as a means of maintaining the economic and social value of the oceans, not only in the present but for generations to come. Characterising the susceptibility of services (and combinations of services) to particular human activities based on knowledge of impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (as described in preceding chapters) is a challenge for future management of the oceans. In this chapter, we highlight the existing, but limited knowledge of how ecosystem services may be impacted by different human activities. We discuss how impacts on one service can impact multiple services and explore how the impacts on services can vary both spatially and temporally and according to context. We focus particularly on the effects on ecosystem services of activities whose impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning have already been considered in previous chapters. Some of these activities are associated with poor management of ecosystem benefits, for example, from provisioning services (aquaculture and fisheries), or with excessive input of wastes, fertilisers and contaminants into the system overburdening the waste treatment and assimilation services. Other impacts are associated with the construction of structures or use of space designed to generate benefits from environmental services such as the presence of water as a carrier for shipping, or sources of wind, wave and tidal power. We discuss the trade-offs that are made, consciously or otherwise, between different ecosystem services, which arise from human activities to optimise or manage specific ecosystem services.

Investigation of the impact of simulated commercial centrifugation and microfiltration conditions on levels of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk

The potential for physical removal of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (M. paratuberculosis) from milk by centrifugation and microfiltration was investigated by simulating commercial processing conditions in the laboratory by means of a microcentrifuge and syringe filters, respectively. Results indicated that both centrifugation of preheated milk (60 degrees C) at 7000 x g for 10 s, and microfiltration through a filter of pore size 1.2 mu m, were capable of removing up to 95-99.9% of M. paratuberculosis cells from spiked whole milk and Middlebrook 7H9 broth suspensions, respectively. Centrifugation and microfiltration may therefore have potential application within the dairy industry as pretreatments to reduce M. paratuberculosis contamination of raw milk.

Inactivation of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in milk during commercial pasteurisation

Four studies have been published relating to the inactivation of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) by commercial HTST pasteurization. Three of these were large surveys of commercially pasteurized milk at processing/retail level in the UK and Ontario, Canada, and the fourth a pasteurization study involving naturally infected milk and commercial-scale pasteurizing plant. Evidence that Map is capable of surviving commercial pasteurization was obtained in two of the studies: viable Map was cultured from 50 ml aliquots of commercially pasteurized milk after decontamination with 0.75% cetylpyridinium chloride for 5 h and then culture on Herrold's egg-yolk medium without antibiotics. In both studies culture did not commence until 24-72 h post-pasteurization and samples were stored at 4 degrees C in the interim period. In the other two milk surveys smaller volumes of milk were tested (1-5 ml and 15 ml) and no firm evidence of surviving Map was obtained. The three milk surveys differed in other respects - chemical decontamination, culture media used and use of antibiotics. Recent findings suggest that sub-lethally heat-injured Map in pasteurized milk have the potential to recover viability if stored at 4 degrees C for 48 h between heating and testing.