Do Local Governments Engage in Strategic Property-Tax Competition?

This paper uses spatial econometric methods to investigate property-tax competition among local governments. The theoretical model is drawn from the literature on tax competition, in which local jurisdictions choose property-tax rates taking into account the migration of mobile capital in response to tax differentials. Using a "spatial lag" econometric model, the paper estimates the reaction function of the representative community, which relates the community's property-tax rate to its own characteristics and to the tax rates in competing communities. A nonzero reaction-function slope indicates the presence of strategic interaction in the choice of tax rates. The estimation uses cross-section data on property taxes and other socio-economic variables for cities in the Boston metropolitan area. The results, which are presented for two periods before and after imposition of Proposition 2 1/2 (a tax limitation measure), indicate the presence of strategic interaction.

Revisiting the Hugenholtz-Van Hove theorem in nuclear matter

An assessment of the magnitude of the rearrangement contribution to the Fermi energy and to the binding energy per particle is carried out in symmetric nuclear matter by extending the G-matrix framework. The restoration of the thermodynamic consistency or, equivalently, the fulfillment of the Hugenholtz-Van Hove theorem, is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure

Dirac-Brueckner Hartree-Fock Approach: from Infinite Matter to Effective Lagrangians for Finite Systems

One of the open problems in nuclear structure is how to predict properties of finite nuclei from the knowledge of a bare nucleon-nucleon interaction of the meson-exchange type. We point out that a promising starting point consists in Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock (DBHF) calculations us- ing realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions like the Bonn potentials, which are able to reproduce satisfactorily the properties of symmetric nuclear matter without the need for 3-body forces, as is necessary in non-relativistic BHF calculations. However, the DBHF formalism is still too com- plicated to be used directly for finite nuclei. We argue that a possible route is to define effective Lagrangians with density-dependent nucleon-meson coupling vertices, which can be used in the Relativistic Hartree (or Relativistic Mean Field (RMF)) or preferrably in the Relativistic Hartree- Fock (RHF) approach. The density-dependence is matched to the nuclear matter DBHF results. We review the present status of nuclear matter DBHF calculations and discuss the various schemes to construct the self-energy, which lead to differences in the predictions. We also discuss how effective Lagrangians have been constructed and are used in actual calculations. We point out that completely consistent calculations in this scheme still have to be performed.Comment: 16 pages, to be published in Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics, special issue

Report from solar physics

A discussion of the nature of solar physics is followed by a brief review of recent advances in the field. These advances include: the first direct experimental confirmation of the central role played by thermonuclear processes in stars; the discovery that the 5-minute oscillations of the Sun are a global seismic phenomenon that can be used as a probe of the structure and dynamical behavior of the solar interior; the discovery that the solar magnetic field is subdivided into individual flux tubes with field strength exceeding 1000 gauss. Also covered was a science strategy for pure solar physics. Brief discussions are given of solar-terrestrial physics, solar/stellar relationships, and suggested space missions

Single particle spectrum and binding energy of nuclear matter

In non-relativistic Brueckner calculations of nuclear matter, the self-consistent single particle potential is strongly momentum dependent. To simplify the calculations, a parabolic approximation is often used in the literature. The variation in the binding energy value introduced by the parabolic approximation is quantitatively analyzed in detail. It is found that the approximation can introduce an uncertainty of 1-2 MeV near the saturation density.Comment: 6 Latex pages, 3 postscript figure

Short-term acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) use for pain, fever, or colds - Gastrointestinal adverse effects: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Background and Aim: Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA [aspirin]) is a commonly used over-the-counter drug for the treatment of pain, fever, or colds, but data on the safety of this use are very limited. The aim of this study was to provide data on the safety of this treatment pattern, which is of interest to clinicians, regulators, and the public. Methods: A meta-analysis of individual patient data from 67 studies sponsored by Bayer HealthCare was completed. The primary endpoints were patient-reported gastrointestinal (GI) adverse events (AEs); the secondary endpoints were the incidence of patient-reported non-GI AEs. Event incidence and odds ratios (ORs) based on Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel estimates are reported. In total, 6181 patients were treated with ASA, 3515 with placebo, 1145 with acetaminophen (paracetamol), and 754 with ibuprofen. Exposure to ASA was short term (82.5% of patients had a single dose). Results: GI AEs were more frequent with ASA (9.9%) than with placebo (9.0%) [OR 1.3; 95% CI 1.1, 1.5]. Dyspeptic symptoms were infrequent (4.6% in placebo subjects). The ORs for ASA were 1.3 (95% CI 1.1, 1.6) versus placebo; 1.55 (95% CI 0.7, 3.3) versus ibuprofen; and 1.04 (95% CI 0.8, 1.4) versus acetaminophen. There were very few serious GI AEs (one ASA case; three placebo cases). No differences were found for non-GI AEs and no cases of cerebral hemorrhage were reported. Conclusion: Short-term, mostly single-dose exposure to ASA for the treatment of pain, fever, or colds was associated with a small but significant increase in the risk of dyspepsia relative to placebo.No serious GI complications were reported

Two-Pion Exchange Nucleon-Nucleon Potential: Model Independent Features

A chiral pion-nucleon amplitude supplemented by the HJS subthreshold coefficients is used to calculate the the long range part of the two-pion exchange nucleon-nucleon potential. In our expressions the HJS coefficients factor out, allowing a clear identification of the origin of the various contributions. A discussion of the configuration space behaviour of the loop integrals that determine the potential is presented, with emphasis on cancellations associated with chiral symmetry. The profile function for the scalar-isoscalar component of the potential is produced and shown to disagree with those of several semi-phenomenological potentials.Comment: 16 pages, 9 embedded figures, Latex 2.09, Revtex.sty, epsf.st