How Japanese partners help US manufacturers to raise productivity

Cross-border alliances are useful strategies for technological innovation and as a basis for the adaptation of foreign technologies. This study provides evidence that through strategic alliances US automotive firms are effectively adopting manufacturing technologies from Japan, and are adapting them to the US industrial context.

The results show that US firms without foreign affiliations use fewer modern manufacturing technologies than US firms with Japanese strategic alliance partners. Furthermore, US firms with Japanese strategic alliance partners believe that manufacturing cycle times for product introduction are more efficient that US firms without foreign affiliations.     

老年功能性消化不良患者胆囊收缩素与胃电节律的关系

目的探讨老年功能性消化不良患者血浆胆囊收缩素浓度与胃电节律的相关性。方法用体表胃电仪对15例老年FD患者和15例健康老年志愿者静脉输入生理盐水及生理浓度的CCK-8后同时检测胃电节律，用放免法测定空腹和餐后血浆CCK浓度。结果老年FD患者空腹及试餐后慢波频率变异系数及异常节律指数均明显高于正常老年对照组（P〈0．01）；输入CCK-8后，老年FD患者及对照组胃电节律均发生异常；老年FD患者血浆CCK浓度显著高于正常组（P〈0．01）；血浆CCK浓度与慢波频率变异系数和异常节律指数呈显著正相关（r=2．52，P〈0．05）。结论①老年FD患者内源性CCK浓度增加是引发胃电节律失常的重要原因之一；（④老年FD患者血浆CCK浓度与胃电节律有显著相关性。     

Technology management in Indian companies

Since 1966, the Indian Government has progressively restricted imports of technology. Together with constraints on the growth of big business houses and of foreign firms, the next consequence of the Government's policies has been that it takes 3–5 years for a large firm to get a sanction for the import of technology and its utilization; this entails advance planning of technology imports, and advance action for the generation of alternatives within the country, should the imports not be allowed.

The restrictions on technology imports accentuated the need for internal research and development; at the same time, the recession that began in 1966, and whose effects still continue to be felt in some sectors, squeezed industrial profits and limited the resources that could be allocated to R & D. Hence large Indian firms have felt the need for methods of rational allocation of R & D resources among competing projects, and a number of them have been feeling their way towards general criteria of allocation. Some of their efforts are described here. They are essentially exploratory; but since R & D management is still a problematic area even in industrial countries, an analysis of Indian practices is perhaps of more general interest.     

Testosterone and erectile physiology

The role of testosterone deficiency in sexual dysfunction is an important aspect of aging, because it affects such a large proportion of men over 50 years old. A number of age-related factors can cause sexual dysfunction (in particular erectile dysfunction) and testosterone deficiency, such as chronic illness and multiple medications, and the causative link between hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction is still debated. However, studies in castrated animals have proven that addition of testosterone, and its conversion to dihydrotestosterone, can restore erectile function. It appears that testosterone achieves this by peripheral mechanisms (endothelial dependent and independent) and central mechanisms. Testosterone replacement therapy is therefore effective for erectile dysfunction in men with hypogonadism, with success rates of 35–40%. Testosterone supplementation is also important in men who fail on phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors, because a minimum plasma concentration of testosterone is required for the successful restoration of erectile function with these agents. Testosterone gels are now the preferred formulation for testosterone supplementation and they can be highly beneficial in a proportion of men with erectile dysfunction.     

人口转变的储蓄效应和增长效应--论中国增长可持续性的人口因素

人口转变是挑战中国经济持续增长的一个重要因素.在这个过程中,个人的生命周期和代际更替之间的相互叠加,通过劳动供给、储蓄和科技进步等渠道对长期经济增长施加影响.本文分析表明,人口转变使得中国从20世纪60年代中期开始享受人口红利,并一直持续到2015年前后.为了迎接人口老龄化冲击,中国需要通过扩大就业、加快人力资本积累和建立适合于中国国情的可持续的养老保障模式三条途径来充分挖掘未来潜在的人口红利,推动中国经济持续增长.