Suchergebnisse

Empirical studies on economic convergence have typically paid poor attention to the role played by the structural characteristics of the economy. Using OECD data for the period 1995–2007, the relationship between structural change and the convergence process of the Italian regions is analysed by integrating two approaches. A modified version of shift-and-share analysis is first used in order to break the average growth rate of labour productivity into its infra-sectoral and structural components. The existence of a relationship between the components of the growth rate and the presence of regional convergence is then assessed econometrically. Unlike in most studies reported in the literature, the regression coefficient is broken up in two separate parts to assess how much of the observed regional growth can be referred to the infra-sectoral and the structural components. The empirical results confirm the existence of a (slow) convergence, but also that only structural change has played a statistically significant support role. The regional disparities are, in most cases, unchanged or even worsened when the infra-sectoral productivity growth is considered. In terms of policy implications, strong emphasis must remain on sectoral policies: 'place-based' and 'sectoral smart specialisation' policies are crucial for the convergence process to be sustainable in the long term.

Referred to by: Musto, Pietro Parisse, Maria Pachetti, Christian Memo, Giuseppe Di Mauro, Belen Ballesteros, Neus Lozano, Kostas Kostarelos, Loredana Casalis, Laura Ballerini. Corrigendum to Shedding plasma membrane vesicles induced by graphene oxide nanoflakes in brain cultured astrocytes [CARBON 176 (2021) 458–469] Carbon, Volume 178, 30 June 2021, Pages 824. ; Microvesicles (MVs) generated and released by astrocytes, the brain prevalent cells, crucially contribute to intercellular communication, representing key vectorized systems able to spread and actively transfer signaling molecules from astrocytes to neurons, ultimately modulating target cell functions. The increasing clinical relevance of these signaling systems requires a deeper understanding of MV features, currently limited by both their nanoscale dimensions and the low rate of their constituent release. Hence, to investigate the features of such glial signals, nanotechnology-based approaches and the applications of unconventional, cost-effective tools in generating MVs are needed. Here, small graphene oxide (s-GO) nanoflakes are used to boost MVs shedding from astrocytes in cultures and s-GO generated MVs are compared with those generated by a natural stimulant, namely ATP, by atomic force microscopy, light scattering, attenuated total reflection–fourier transform infra-red and ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy. We also report the ability of both types of MVs, upon acute and transient exposure of patch clamped cultured neurons, to modulate basal synaptic transmission, inducing a stable increase in synaptic activity accompanied by changes in neuronal plasma membrane elastic features. ; We acknowledge the financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 785219 and no. 881603 Graphene Flagship. MM, PP and LC acknowledge CERIC-ERIC proposal grant n. 20167063 for the IR measurements, performed at the SISSI-Bio beamline of Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste. PP and LC acknowledge also the European Regional Development Fund and Interreg V-A Italia-Austria 2014–2020 project EXOTHERA (ITAT1036). ; Peer reviewed