Continuous sensing of nutrients and growth factors by the mTORC1-TFEB axis

mTORC1 senses nutrient and growth factor status and phosphorylates downstream targets, including the transcription factor TFEB, to coordinate metabolic supply and demand. The molecular mechanisms of mTORC1 activation are thought to enforce a strict requirement for simultaneous amino acid and growth factor stimuli, but this model has not been evaluated with quantitative or single-cell methods. Here, we develop a series of fluorescent protein-TFEB fusions and investigate how combinations of stimuli jointly regulate signaling from mTORC1 to TFEB at the single-cell level. Live-cell imaging of individual cells revealed that mTORC1-TFEB signaling responds with graded changes to individual amino acid and growth factor inputs, rather than behaving as a logical AND gate. We find that mTORC1 inputs can be sequentially sensed, with responses that vary between mTORC1 substrates and are amplified by input from other kinases, including GSK3β. In physiologically relevant concentrations of amino acids, we observe fluctuations in mTORC1-TFEB signaling that indicate continuous responsiveness to nutrient availability. Our results clarify how the molecular regulation of mTORC1 enables homeostatic processes at the cellular level and provide a more precise understanding of its behavior as an integrator of multiple inputs.

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, Logistics Developments and Economic Growth in Pakistan

The study aims to analyze the impact of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) logistics-related developments on economic growth in Pakistan. The study defined a Cobb–Douglas type of research framework in which the country’s real income level relates to four factor inputs, e.g., employed labor force, logistics development, financial development, and energy consumption in an economy. The study utilized the time series data set for the period 1972–2018. To estimate the long run relationship and short run adjustment mechanism, the study used Johansen’s method of co-integration and error correction model. Estimated results showed that the country’s logistics developments have a significant positive impact on economic growth in both the long run and the short run. It implies that China–Pakistan collaborative efforts for logistics developments will have a strong positive impact on economic growth in Pakistan.

An Analysis of the Cost Structure of Food Industries in Pakistan: An Application of the Translog Cost Function

Given the importance of food industriesin Pakistan, this studyanalyzestheircost structure by estimating thetranscendental logarithmic cost function. The study also considers elasticity of substitution along with own-price elasticity and cross-price elasticity. Four factor inputs,i.e.,labor, capital, energy,and materials,are used toestimatethe cost function. The results indicate that materialsaccount for the highest share of the cost. The elasticity of substitution of materialsfor capital and energy is also weak. The own-price elasticities indicate that the demand for materialsis least responsive to a change in its own price while the demand for other inputs varies with price. The cross-priceelasticities show that labor, capital and energy are substitutes foreach other. The output elasticity of cost demonstrates the presence of economies of scale.

Economics of pears production in Himachal Pradesh a study of Jubbal and Kotkhai block of district Shimla

Farm production is the result of the transformation of various resources such as human labour, bullock power, mechanical power, water for irrigation, seeds, manures and fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides and cultivation practices, etc. As these all factor inputs are costly and scarce, the case for their efficient use is self-evident. Moreover, farm resource endowment and the extent of their use on farms has a direct bearing in determining the overall level of crop production. Therefore, it is necessary to study the extent and magnitude of various farm endowments prevailing on farms in different size classes in the study area.The study was conducted at Jubbal and Kotkhai block of district Shimla from where sample of 200 farmers of different holdings were collected to understand the input-output relationship for pears production and was analyized with the Cobb-Douglas production function. From the study we tried to understand the resource efficiency by calculating the elasticity co-efficient of different inputs (labour man-days, land, manures and fertilizers, seeds and others) with regards tooutput and, therefore, determining the economics of scales of fruit.We have found that land, labour, manures and fertilizersinputs are influencing the pears production across all farm size however, small farm size resource efficiency is good as compare to other farm holdings.

Health Human Capital Investment and Economic Growth

Economic growth depends on factor inputs, and health human capital investment is a very important factor input. We set up a three-period overlapping generation model of personal health investment and government public health investment in the formation of physical capital and human capital and its impact on economic growth. Our findings show that health human capital investment can increase economic growth. We also conducted empirical research on the relationship between health human capital investment and economic growth by using China’s provincial panel data from 1999 to 2016. The robustness test of endogenous and interactive term regression confirms our results. We found that individual health investment has the greatest impact on economic growth. Therefore, China's health strategy is consistent with the policy of economic growth. China should further expand health investment and optimize the structure of health investment to promote its economic growth.

Land Registration, Adjustment Experience, and Agricultural Machinery Adoption: Empirical Analysis from Rural China

Land property security and advanced factor inputs play critical roles in agricultural modernization in developing countries. However, there are unclear relationships between land property security and advanced factor inputs. This study aims to clarify these relationships from the perspective of the differentiation of the realization process of land property security. From the perspective of property rights theory and endowment effects, data from 2934 farming households in rural China are used to determine the quantitative impacts of land registration and adjustment experience on the adoption of agricultural machinery. The results are as follows: (i) Land registration does not affect the adoption of agricultural machinery. (ii) Adjustment experience has a negative impact on the adoption of agricultural machinery. (iii) The interaction of land registration and adjustment experience has a positive impact on the adoption of agricultural machinery. This study provides some policy references with which developing countries can achieve agricultural modernization and revitalize the countryside by improving property rights security.

Livestock product supply and factor demand responsiveness

Despite there being incredible challenges in enhancing livestock development in Kenya, this article isolates product supply and factors input demand responsiveness as the main constraints facing the smallholder. A flexible-Translog profit function permits the application of dual theory in the analysis of livestock product supply and factor demand responsiveness using farm-level household data. The results indicate that own-price elasticities were elastic for cattle, while goat and sheep were inelastic. Cross-price and scale elasticities were found to be within inelastic range in all cases, with the goat being a preferred substitute for cattle. All factor inputs demand elasticities were inelastic with the exception of elastic cattle output prices and labour cost. Thus, the recommended policy option would be supportive pro-pastoral price policies, enhanced investment in pastureland improvement and an increasing wage rate, since these assume key significance in improving the livestock production/marketing.

Research and Innovation in Society: Contextualizing a Society Touch in the Academic Block in Tanzania

In the triad of academic and specialized research institutions, business, and society blocks, the academic and specialized research institutions domain is naturally expected to be the leader or the principal producers in research and innovation for development (R&I for D). The remaining business and society entities on the other hand are expected to be the target consumers of the products. For production to happen however, the producers need resources, incentives and motivations as factor inputs. The factors may originate in intra-domains for the respective domain’s own use of end results such as it is for business organizations, or across domains for mutual benefits. In turn, the origination of the motives and incentives play a role in defining the relevance of the R&I products such as the emergence of appropriate research for appropriate innovations. It is in the observations of this paper that overtime, R&I in Tanzania is becoming undermined by the decline in the cross dimensional flow, specifically the academic (universities) versus society flow. In fact, apart from the specialized institutions, the academics member of the producer block is increasingly becoming too specialized and servicing its own motives in comparison to addressing societal needs. In this paper, we theoretically challenge the phenomenon and use the functional perspectives of the Triple helix model (THM) of university-industry-government cooperation to suggest for innovative education in enhancement of cross border interactions between university and society.

The Role of Oil and Gas in the Economic Development of the Global Economy

This chapter is concerned with the role of oil and gas in the economic development of the global economy. It focuses on the context in which established and newer oil and gas producers in developing countries must frame their policies to optimize the benefits of such resources. It outlines a history of the issue over the last twenty-five years. It considers oil and gas as factor inputs, their role in global trade, the role of oil prices in the macroeconomy and the impact of the geopolitics of oil and gas. It then considers various conventional views of the future of oil and gas in the primary energy mix. Finally, it challenges the drivers behind these conventional views of the future with an emphasis on why they may prove to be different from what is expected and how this may change the context in which producers must frame their policy responses.