Researchers from the Entrepreneurship Institute of the School of Business and Economics, Dr. José Ernesto Amorós and Dr. Vesna Mandakovic, have focused their research on the impact of country level formal institutions, on the individual’s entrepreneurial efforts.

Using multilevel data on 956,925 individuals from 51 countries for the period of 2005–2013, combining primary data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), with country level secondary data from different sources, the authors contribute to the literature on the contextual determinants of entrepreneurship.

Connexins (Cxs) are a group of transmembrane proteins that assemble to form gap junction channels (GJCs). Each GJC is composed of two hemichannels or connexons, which in turn are constructed of six Cxs. These GJCs directly communicate the cytoplasm of two cells in contact, while the hemichannels permit an exchange of metabolites between the cytoplasm and the intracellular space.  Thus, Cxs connect the cells with each other and their environment.  In this context, mutations in Cx-encoding genes can relate to functional and developmental abnormalities.