How are global value chains fragmented and extended in China's domestic production networks?

Global value chains are supported not only directly by domestic regions that export goods and services to the world market, but also indirectly by other domestic regions that provide parts, components, and intermediate services to final exporting regions. In order to better understand the nature of a country’s position and degree of participation in global value chains, we need to more fully examine the role of individual domestic regions. Understanding the domestic components of global supply chains is especially important for large developing countries like China and India, where there may be large variations in economic scale and development between domestic regions. This paper proposes a new framework for measuring domestic linkages to global value chains. This framework measures domestic linkages by endogenously embedding a country’s domestic interregional input-output (IO) table in an international IO model. Using this framework, we can more clearly describe how global production is fragmented and extended through linkages across a country’s domestic regions. This framework will also enable us to estimate how value added is created and distributed in both domestic and international segments of global value chains. For examining the validity and usefulness of this new approach, some numerical results are presented and discussed based on the 2007 Chinese interregional IO table, China customs statistics at the provincial level, and World Input-Output Tables (WIOTs).

Domestic and international border effects

Previous studies in the border-effect literature surprisingly found that domestic border effects are larger than international border effects (e.g., in the United States or Brazil). One interpretation of this result is that these estimates include the effects of producer agglomeration. Therefore, in this study, we estimate those border effects exclusively for transactions for final consumption, in which such agglomeration forces will be weak, in China and Japan. As a result, we found larger international border effects and could not find a significant role for producer agglomeration in the estimates of border effects. We also found that China's accession to the World Trade Organization reduces border effects in trading between China and Japan but does not decrease domestic border effects.

Differences in fatty acid metabolisms in domestic animals: some dilemmas and ideas to address body composition and obesity control

Relatively high amounts of fats or oils (mayor que 40-50 g/kg diet) are frequently used in animal nutrition. Vegetables oils are richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids than animal fats. Most of the works studying the effect of different dietary fat sources are focused either on the existing differences on fat digestibility depending on their fatty acid composition (Wiseman et al., 1991) or on their effect on the carcass fat fatty acid profile (Sanz et al., 1999a). lnformation regarding the effect of dietary fat saturation on fat utilization and deposition it is more limited. lt is generally assumed that, apart from differences in digestion, fatty acids of different composition are equally used for metabolic purposes.

ROAD: Domestic Assistant and Rehabilitation Robot

This study introduces the concept design and analysis of a robotic system for the assistance and rehabilitation of disabled people. Based on the statistical data of the most common types of disabilities in Spain and other industrialized countries, the different tasks that the device must be able to perform have been determined. In this study, different robots for rehabilitation and assistance previously introduced have been reviewed. This survey is focused on those robots that assist with gait, balance and standing up. The structure of the ROAD robot presents various advantages over these robots, we discuss some of them. The performance of the proposed architecture is analyzed when it performs the sit to stand activity.

Domestic hot water consumption vs. solar thermal energy storage: the optimum size of the storage tank

Many efforts have been made in order to adequate the production of a solar thermal collector field to the consumption of domestic hot water of the inhabitants of a building. In that sense, much has been achieved in different domains: research agencies, government policies and manufacturers. However, most of the design rules of the solar plants are based on steady state models, whereas solar irradiance, consumption and thermal accumulation are inherently transient processes. As a result of this lack of physical accuracy, thermal storage tanks are sometimes left to be as large as the designer decides without any aforementioned precise recommendation. This can be a problem if solar thermal systems are meant to be implemented in nowadays buildings, where there is a shortage of space. In addition to that, an excessive storage volume could not result more efficient in many residential applications, but costly, extreme in space consumption and in some cases too heavy. A proprietary transient simulation program has been developed and validated with a detailed measurement campaign in an experimental facility. In situ environmental data have been obtained through a whole year of operation. They have been gathered at intervals of 10 min for a solar plant of 50 m2 with a storage tank of 3 m3, including the equipment for domestic hot water production of a typical apartment building. This program has been used to obtain the design and dimensioning criteria of DHW solar plants under daily transient conditions throughout a year and more specifically the size of the storage tank for a multi storey apartment building. Comparison of the simulation results with the current Spanish regulation applicable, “Código Técnico de la Edificación” (CTE 2006), offers fruitful details and establishes solar facilities dimensioning criteria.

Energetic performance of landfill and digester biogas in a domestic cooker

The energetic performance of landfill biogas (LB) and biodigester biogas (BB) from municipal waste was examined in consumption tests. These tests were performed in situ at a gas generation plant associated with a landfill facility in Madrid (Spain) and following the standard UNE-EN 30-2-1 (1999). The jets of a domestic cooker commonly used for natural gas (NG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) were modified to operate with the biogases produced at the facility. The working pressures best suited to the tested gases, i.e., to avoid flashback and flame lift, and to ensure the stability and correct functioning of the flame during combustion, were determined by trial and error. Both biogases returned optimum energetic performance for the transfer of heat to water in a metallic recipient (as required by the above standard) at a supply pressure of 10 mbar. Domestic cookers are normally supplied with NG at a pressure of 20 mbar, at which pressure the energetic performance of G20 reference gas was higher than that of both biogases (52.84% compared to 38.06% and 49.77% respectively). Data concerning these issues involving also unexplored feedstock are required for the correct conversions of domestic cookers in order to avoid risks of serious personal injuries or property damages.

The historical heritage of domestic architecture is a reliable model for a satisfactory design. The case of the Mediterranean region

The purpose of this paper is to expose the importance of observing cultural systems present in a territory as a reference for the design of urban infrastructures in the new cities and regions of rapid development. If we accept the idea that architecture is an instrument or cultural system developed by man to act as an intermediary to the environment, it is necessary to understand the elemental interaction between man and his environment to meet a satisfactory design. To illustrate this purpose, we present the case of the Eurasian Mediterranean region, where the architectural culture acts as a cultural system of adaptation to the environment and it is formed by an ancient process of selection. From simple observation of architectural types, construction systems and environmental mechanisms treasured in mediterranean historical heritage we can extract crucial information about this elemental interaction. Mediterranean architectural culture has environmental mechanisms responding to the needs of basics habitability, ethnics and passive conditioning. These mechanisms can be basis of an innovative design without compromising the diversity and lifestyles of human groups in the region. The main fundament of our investigation is the determination of the historical heritage of domestic architecture as holder of the formation process of these mechanisms. The result allows us to affirm that the successful introduction of new urban infrastructures in an area need a reliable reference and it must be a cultural system that entailing in essence the environmental conditioning of human existence. The urban infrastructures must be sustainable, understood and accepted by the inhabitants. The last condition is more important when the urban infrastructures are implemented in areas that are developing rapidly or when there is no architectural culture.

Integration of low-cost supervisory mobile robots in domestic wireless sensor networks

This paper presents a communication interface between supervisory low-cost mobile robots and domestic Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) based on the Zig Bee protocol from different manufacturers. The communication interface allows control and communication with other network devices using the same protocol. The robot can receive information from sensor devices (temperature, humidity, luminosity) and send commands to actuator devices (lights, shutters, thermostats) from different manufacturers. The architecture of the system, the interfaces and devices needed to establish the communication are described in the paper.

Positional enhancer-blocking activity of the chicken β-globin insulator in transiently transfected cells

It is thought that insulators demarcate transcriptionally and structurally independent chromatin domains. Insulators are detected by their ability to block enhancer–promoter interactions in a directional manner, and protect a transgene from position effects. Most studies are performed in stably transformed cells or organisms. Here we analyze the enhancer-blocking activity of the chicken β-globin insulator in transient transfection experiments in both erythroid and nonerythroid cell lines. We show that four tandem copies of a 90-bp fragment of this insulator were able to block an enhancer in these experiments. In circular plasmids, placement on either side of the enhancer reduced activity, but when the plasmid was linearized, the enhancer-blocking activity was observed only when the insulator was placed between the promoter and the enhancer. These observations are consistent with the position-dependent enhancer-blocking activity of the insulator observed in stable transformation experiments.

Chicken Erythroid AE1 Anion Exchangers Associate with the Cytoskeleton During Recycling to the Golgi

Chicken erythroid AE1 anion exchangers receive endoglycosidase F (endo F)-sensitive sugar modifications in their initial transit through the secretory pathway. After delivery to the plasma membrane, anion exchangers are internalized and recycled to the Golgi where they acquire additional N-linked modifications that are resistant to endo F. During recycling, some of the anion exchangers become detergent insoluble. The acquisition of detergent insolubility correlates with the association of the anion exchanger with cytoskeletal ankyrin. Reagents that inhibit different steps in the endocytic pathway, including 0.4 M sucrose, ammonium chloride, and brefeldin A, block the acquisition of endo F-resistant sugars and the acquisition of detergent insolubility by newly synthesized anion exchangers. The inhibitory effects of ammonium chloride on anion exchanger processing are rapidly reversible. Furthermore, AE1 anion exchangers become detergent insoluble more rapidly than they acquire endo F-resistant modifications in cells recovering from an ammonium chloride block. This suggests that the cytoskeletal association of the recycling anion exchangers occurs after release from the compartment where they accumulate due to ammonium chloride treatment, and prior to their transit through the Golgi. The recycling pool of newly synthesized anion exchangers is reflected in the steady-state distribution of the polypeptide. In addition to plasma membrane staining, anion exchanger antibodies stain a perinuclear compartment in erythroid cells. This perinuclear AE1-containing compartment is also stained by ankyrin antibodies and partially overlaps the membrane compartment stained by NBD C6-ceramide, a Golgi marker. Detergent extraction of erythroid cells in situ has suggested that a substantial fraction of the perinuclear pool of AE1 is cytoskeletal associated. The demonstration that erythroid anion exchangers interact with elements of the cytoskeleton during recycling to the Golgi suggests the cytoskeleton may be involved in the post-Golgi trafficking of this membrane transporter.

5-Methylcytosine-DNA glycosylase activity is present in a cloned G/T mismatch DNA glycosylase associated with the chicken embryo DNA demethylation complex

We previously have shown that DNA demethylation by chicken embryo 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylase (5-MCDG) needs both RNA and proteins. One of these proteins is a RNA helicase. Further peptides were sequenced, and three of them are identical to the mammalian G/T mismatch DNA glycosylase. A 3,233-bp cDNA coding for the chicken homologue of human G/T mismatch DNA glycosylase was isolated and sequenced. The derived amino acid sequence (408 aa) shows 80% identity with the human G/T mismatch DNA glycosylase, and both the C and N-terminal parts have about 50% identity. As for the highly purified chicken embryo DNA demethylation complex the recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli has both G/T mismatch and 5-MCDG activities. The recombinant protein has the same substrate specificity as the chicken embryo 5-MCDG where hemimethylated DNA is a better substrate than symmetrically methylated CpGs. The activity ratio of G/T mismatch and 5-MCDG is about 30:1 for the recombinant protein expressed in E. coli and 3:1 for the purified enzyme from chicken embryos. The incubation of a recombinant CpG-rich RNA isolated from the purified DNA demethylation complex with the recombinant enzyme strongly inhibits G/T mismatch glycosylase while slightly stimulating the activity of 5-MCDG. Deletion mutations indicate that G/T mismatch and 5-MCDG activities share the same areas of the N- and C-terminal parts of the protein. In reconstitution experiments RNA helicase in the presence of recombinant RNA and ATP potentiates the activity of 5-MCDG.

Characterization of serum amyloid A protein mRNA expression and secondary amyloidosis in the domestic duck

Secondary amyloidosis is a common disease of water fowl and is characterized by the deposition of extracellular fibrils of amyloid A (AA) protein in the liver and certain other organs. Neither the normal role of serum amyloid A (SAA), a major acute phase response protein, nor the causes of secondary amyloidosis are well understood. To investigate a possible genetic contribution to disease susceptibility, we cloned and sequenced SAA cDNA derived from livers of domestic ducks. This revealed that the three C-terminal amino acids of SAA are removed during conversion to insoluble AA fibrils. Analysis of SAA cDNA sequences from several animals identified a distinct genetic dimorphism that may be relevant to susceptibility to secondary amyloid disease. The duck genome contained a single copy of the SAA gene that was expressed in liver and lung tissue of ducklings, even in the absence of induction of acute phase response. Genetic analysis of heterozygotes indicated that only one SAA allele is expressed in livers of adult birds. Immunofluorescence staining of livers from adult ducks displaying early symptoms of amyloidosis revealed what appear to be amyloid deposits within hepatocytes that are expressing unusually high amounts of SAA protein. This observation suggests that intracellular deposition of AA may represent an early event during development of secondary amyloidosis in older birds.

Isolation and characterization of the chicken m2 acetylcholine receptor promoter region: Induction of gene transcription by leukemia inhibitory factor and ciliary neurotrophic factor

We have isolated the promoter region and determined the start sites of transcription for the gene encoding the chicken m2 (cm2) muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. Transfection experiments, using cm2-luciferase reporter gene constructs, demonstrated that a 789-bp genomic fragment was sufficient to drive high level expression in chicken heart primary cultures, while an additional 1.2-kb region was required for maximal expression in mouse septal/neuroblastoma (SN56) cells. Treatment of SN56 cells with the cytokines ciliary neurotrophic factor and leukemia inhibitory factor increases expression of endogenous muscarinic acetylcholine receptors and results in a 4- to 6-fold induction of cm2 promoter driven luciferase expression. We have mapped a region of the cm2 promoter that is necessary for induction by cytokines.

Ectopic bone morphogenetic proteins 5 and 4 in the chicken forebrain lead to cyclopia and holoprosencephaly

Proper dorsal–ventral patterning in the developing central nervous system requires signals from both the dorsal and ventral portions of the neural tube. Data from multiple studies have demonstrated that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and Sonic hedgehog protein are secreted factors that regulate dorsal and ventral specification, respectively, within the caudal neural tube. In the developing rostral central nervous system Sonic hedgehog protein also participates in ventral regionalization; however, the roles of BMPs in the developing brain are less clear. We hypothesized that BMPs also play a role in dorsal specification of the vertebrate forebrain. To test our hypothesis we implanted beads soaked in recombinant BMP5 or BMP4 into the neural tube of the chicken forebrain. Experimental embryos showed a loss of the basal telencephalon that resulted in holoprosencephaly (a single cerebral hemisphere), cyclopia (a single midline eye), and loss of ventral midline structures. In situ hybridization using a panel of probes to genes expressed in the dorsal and ventral forebrain revealed the loss of ventral markers with the maintenance of dorsal markers. Furthermore, we found that the loss of the basal telencephalon was the result of excessive cell death and not a change in cell fates. These data provide evidence that BMP signaling participates in dorsal–ventral patterning of the developing brain in vivo, and disturbances in dorsal–ventral signaling result in specific malformations of the forebrain.