Science and Technology Cooperation in Cross-border Regions::A Proximity Approach with Evidence for Northern Europe

Given the sheer number of cross-border regions (CBRs) within the EU, their socio-economic importance has been recognized both by policy-makers and academics. Recently, the novel concept of cross-border regional innovation system has been introduced to guide the assessment of integration processes in CBRs. A central focus of this concept is set on analyzing the impact of varying types of proximity (cognitive, technological, etc.) on cross-border cooperation. Previous empirical applications of the concept have, however, relied on individual case studies and varying methodologies, thus complicating and constraining comparisons between different CBRs. Here a broader view is provided by comparing 28 Northern European CBRs. The empirical analysis utilizes economic, science and technology (S&T) statistics to construct proximity indicators and measures S&T integration in the context of cross-border cooperation. The findings from descriptive statistics and exploratory count data regressions show that technological and cognitive proximity measures are significantly related to S&T cooperation activities (cross-border co-publications and co-patents). Taken together, our empirical approach underlines the feasibility of utilizing the proximity approach for comparative analyses in CBR settings

Microphytobenthic extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in intertidal sediments fuel both generalist and specialist EPS-degrading bacteria

Microphytobenthic biofilms contain high concentrations of carbohydrate-rich extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that are important in sediment carbon cycling. Field measurements at two locations in the Colne Estuary, U.K., showed that a significant curvilinear relationship explained 50% of the variability in chlorophyll a and EPS content. Estimates of EPS production, based on field data and published rates of production by diatoms, revealed that EPS turnover of 52% to 369% over the tidal cycle was required to account for field standing stocks. We investigated EPS degradation in sediment slurries using purified 13C-EPS produced by the diatom Nitzschia tubicola. Although EPS constituted only 5% of the sediment dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool, 100% of the added EPS was utilized within 30 h, before decreases in other sediment-carbohydrate fractions and DOC concentrations. A general 13C enrichment of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), representative of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, occurred within 6 h, with the PLFAs a15:0, i15:0, and 18:1?7c being highly enriched. The diatom PLFA 20:5?3 had relatively low but significant 13C enrichment. Stable isotope probing of 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA-SIP) at 30 h revealed 13C-enriched sequences from the diatom genus Navicula; further evidence that diatoms assimilated the EPS, or EPS-breakdown products, from other diatom taxa. RNA-SIP also demonstrated a diverse range of highly 13C-enriched bacterial taxa, including a distinct subset (Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria) found only in the heavily labeled microbial assemblages. Thus, cycling of diatom EPS is rapid, and involves a wide range of microbial taxa, including some apparent specialists

Structural evaluation of concrete expanded polystyrene sandwich panels for slab applications

Sandwich panels are being extensively and increasingly used in building construction because they are light in weight, energy efficient, aesthetically attractive and can be easily handled and erected. This paper presents a structural evaluation of Concrete-Expanded Polystyrene (CEPS) sandwich panels for slab applications using finite element modeling approach. CEPS panels are made of expanded polystyrene foam sandwiched between concrete skins. The use of foam in the middle of sandwich panel reduces the weight of the structure and also acts as insulation against thermal, acoustics and vibration. Applying reinforced concrete skin to both sides of panel takes the advantages of the sandwich concept where the reinforced concrete skins take compressive and tensile loads resulting in higher stiffness and strength and the core transfers shear loads between the faces. This research uses structural software Strand7, which is based on finite element method, to predict the load deformation behaviour of the CEPS sandwich slab panels. Non linear static analysis was used in the numerical investigations. Predicted results were compared with the existing experimental results to validate the numerical approach used

From Barcelona Process to Neighbourhood Policy: Assessments and Open Issues. CEPS Working Documents No. 220, 1 March 2005

The Barcelona process so far has been a valuable systemic/institutional advance in Euro-Med relations and a confidence-building measure on a large scale. But it has not been a sufficient driving force to have created a momentum of economic, political and social advance in the partner states. It is therefore quite plausible that the EU should seek some new advance – through the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) – to build on the positive features of Barcelona and so try to introduce some new driving force. The Action Plans currently being adopted seek to make the often vague intentions of the Association Agreements of the Barcelona process more operational by linking them to either domestic policy programmes of the partner state or to EU policy norms and standards as an external anchor. In this paper we first crystallise alternative approaches for the ENP to become a real driving force under the headings of ‘conditionality’ and ‘socialisation’. The conditionality concept would mean that the EU sets out i) what incentives it offers, and ii) the conditions on which these incentives would be delivered. The socialisation concept relies essentially on a learning process that comes from the extensive interaction between actors in the partner states and the EU, which induces the partner states to engage in policy reforms that are to a degree modelled on EU norms or derive some inspiration from them. For the EU to become a driving force for reform in the region also requires that it does not have to face an uphill struggle against negative tendencies, for example in the widening and deepening of radical Islam – and here the issue of coherence in the approaches of the EU and US together is paramount

The ECB is running out of policy space: Can fiscal policy help? CEPS Policy Insights No 2019-17/December 2019

Given persistently low inflation, sluggish growth and global uncertainties, the ECB needs to provide even more monetary stimulus. However, with interest rates already negative and strong opposition to further asset purchases (Financial Times, 13 September 2019), it seems to have run out of ammunition. This is why former ECB President Draghi, in his last press conference, called for fiscal policy ‘to do its part’ (Draghi, 2019). A further argument in favour of fiscal stimulus concerns the strident complaints of German savers about negative rates (Bindseil et al., 2015). An expansionary fiscal policy would presumably drive interest rates higher. According to this line of argument ‘the Germans’ should thus favour a fiscal stimulus in their own interest. Evaluating the Impact of Fiscal Expansion on inflation and interest rates To understand whether an expansionary fiscal policy can provide significant support to the ECB (and relief for German savers) a quantitative model is needed. There exist many different macroeconomic models making it possible to study the effect of fiscal policies. We use the mainstream models used by central banks and international institutions. This allows us to test the proposition, made by ECB representatives, that a fiscal expansion would materially help in achieving the inflation target within the type of models used by the ECB itself

Circular economy for climate neutrality: Setting the priorities for the EU. CEPS Policy Brief No 2019/04, 22 November 2019

The previous Commission policy on resources management was part of the priority for jobs and growth and economic competitiveness. The circular economy will be no less important for the new political priority of climate neutrality; it will become one of the indispensable elements for meeting the EU’s ambitions. EU climate policy and the circular economy are by and large complementary and mutually reinforcing. The circular economy is more than just another ‘product standards’ policy. In order for this to happen, • there is a need for a framework that is able to systematically address trade-offs, such as between the circular and the bioeconomy, but also between material efficiency and energy use, as well as • a mechanism to steer and monitor progress, touching upon the question of whether and if so, how to increase ambition and develop tools to monitor progress, for example via targets, and • the new Commission will need to develop and then scale up successful products and processes to create opportunities for new value chains while addressing risks, such as dependency on raw materials. Circular economy products for the foreseeable future will require both technology push and market pull policies. Both the circular economy and low-carbon economy will require new and often yet unknown business models. This will also require new methods of regulation. The principal challenge will be to create ‘lead markets’ for the circular economy in combination with lowcarbon products. Many ideas for this exist. They include, for example, ‘carbon contracts for difference’, carbon budgets for projects, consumption charges, taxes and tax exemptions, sustainable finance, product standards and public procurement. Ideas now need to be tested to see whether they could work in practice. Finally, the EU circular economy will need to be underpinned by a robust and transparent carbon accounting system. If effective, such as system can at the same time act as a catalyst for investment in the circular economy and low-carbon products and processes

Matrix modification for enhancing the transport properties of the human cartilage endplate to improve disc nutrition.

Poor solute transport through the cartilage endplate (CEP) impairs disc nutrition and could be a key factor that limits the success of intradiscal biologic therapies. Here we demonstrate that treating the CEP with matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) reduces the matrix constituents that impede solute uptake and thereby improves nutrient diffusion. Human CEP tissues harvested from four fresh cadaveric lumbar spines (age range: 38-66 years old) were treated with MMP-8. Treatment caused a dose-dependent reduction in sGAG, localized reductions to the amount of collagen, and alterations to collagen structure. These matrix modifications corresponded with 16-24% increases in the uptake of a small solute (376 Da). Interestingly, the effects of MMP-8 treatment depended on the extent of non-enzymatic glycation: treated CEPs with high concentrations of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) exhibited the lowest uptake compared to treated CEPs with low concentrations of AGEs. Moreover, AGE concentrations were donor-specific, and the donor tissues with the highest AGE concentrations appeared to have lower uptake than would be expected based on the initial amounts of collagen and sGAG. Finally, increasing solute uptake in the CEP improved cell viability inside diffusion chambers, which supports the nutritional relevance of enhancing the transport properties of the CEP. Taken together, our results provide new insights and in vitro proof-of-concept for a treatment approach that could improve disc nutrition for biologic therapy: specifically, matrix reduction by MMP-8 can enhance solute uptake and nutrient diffusion through the CEP, and AGE concentration appears to be an important, patient-specific factor that influences the efficacy of this approach

Stock Prices and Monetary Policy. CEPS Working Document No. 304, September 2008

The question of whether central banks should target stock prices so as to prevent bubbles and crashes from occurring has been hotly debated. This paper analyses this question using a behavioural macroeconomic model. This model generates bubbles and crashes. It analyses how ‘leaning against the wind’ strategies, which aim to reduce the volatility of stock prices, can help in reducing volatility of output and inflation. We find that such policies can be effective in reducing macroeconomic volatility, thereby improving the trade-off between output and inflation variability. The strength of this result, however, depends on the degree of credibility of the inflation-targeting regime. In the absence of such credibility, policies aiming at stabilising stock prices do not stabilise output and inflation

Unconventional monetary policy and inflation expectations in the Euro area. CEPS Working Document No 2020/01, January 2020

With the ECB's policy rate having reached the zero lower bound, traditional monetary policy tools became ineffective and the ECB was forced to adopt a set of unconventional monetary policy (UMP) measures. This paper examines the effects of the ECB's UMP on inflation expectations in the Euro area as inflation expectations play a key role for achieving the inflation target of below, but close to 2%. Quantifying the impact of UMP is not straightforward, as standard empirical tools such as VAR cannot be applied. Hence, we use the Qual VAR approach pioneered by Dueker (2005) to overcome this problem. We indeed find that UMP leads to a rise in inflation expectations in the short run but that this effect appears to evaporate in the medium term. Our results put some doubt on the common claim that UMP has consistently contributed to a re-anchoring and a stabilisation of inflation expectations at the zero lower bound. Nevertheless, they indicate a rise in mediumterm real GDP growth triggered by UMP