Phosphorylation of chloroplast ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase small subunit by an envelope-bound protein kinase in situ

A new protein kinase of the cAMP independent type was found to be bound to the outer envelope membrane of spinach chloroplasts. While stimulated by Mg2+ and inhibited by ADP, the enzyme showed no response to conventional protein substrates and was essentially independent of pH in the physiological (pH 7 to 8) range. The new protein kinase phosphorylated the mature form of the small subunit of ribulose 1,5- bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and, to a lesser extent, an unidentified 24-kDa polypeptide, both of which were bound to the outer envelope membrane. The results suggest that phosphorylation of cytoplasmically synthesized protein constituents of chloroplasts is involved in their transport through the chloroplast envelope membrane barrier

Difficulties in the privatisation and reorganisation of the agricultural enterprises in Russia

Presently Russia is experiencing the complicated process of transforming the economic system of central planning into a socially oriented market economy. Of great importance for the success of this process is the institutional reshaping of the agricultural sector, particularly the privatisation of land and assets. In this paper the procedure and the problems of privatising Russian agriculture are extensively discussed against the background of the unfavourable development of the Russian agricultural sector. -- G E R M A N V E R S I O N: Gegenwärtig durchläuft Rußland einen komplizierten Prozeß der Transformation des zentral geplanten Wirtschaftssystems in eine soziale Marktwirtschaft. Von großer Bedeutung für den Erfolg dieses Prozesses ist der institutionelle Wandel des landwirtschaftlichen Sektors, insbesondere die Privatisierung von Land und sonstigem Vermögen. Vor dem Hintergrund der ungünstigen Entwicklung der russischen Landwirtschaft werden in dieser Arbeit die Vorgehensweise und die Probleme der russischen Landwirtschaft ausführlich diskutiert.

Portugal and Spain entering the Common Market: Their industrial competitiveness revisited

The purpose of this paper is to assess the overall position as well as the relative strength and weakness of the Iberian manufacturing industries within an enlarged Community. Earlier studies of the authors (Donges, Schatzf 1980; Donges et al., 1982) are up-dated and extended to cover the bilateral trade relations between Portugal and Spain. Following a recapitulation of the major trade patterns of the Iberian countries, we examine the nature of their specialization, both with regard to the EC and among themselves. The increased import competition, employment changes and the adjustment problems faced by the two. countries will be analysed subsequently. The paper concludes with some considerations about an overall strategy to cope with the challenges induced by the accession.

What do deficits tell us about debt? Empirical evidence on creative accounting with fiscal rules in the EU

Fiscal rules, such as the excessive deficit procedure and the stability and growth pact (SGP), aim at constraining government behavior. Milesi-Ferretti (2003) develops a model in which governments circumvent such rules by reverting to creative accounting. The amount of this creative accounting depends on the reputation cost for the government and the economic cost of sticking to the rule. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence of creative accounting in the European Union. We find that the SGP rules have induced governments to use stock-flow adjustments, a form of creative accounting, to hide deficits. This tendency to substitute stock-flow adjustments for budget deficits is especially strong for the cyclical component of the deficit, as in times of recession the cost of reducing the deficit is particularly large. --Fiscal rules,stock-flow adjustments,debt-deficit adjustments,stability and growth pact,excessive deficit procedure,ESA 95

What do deficits tell us about debt? Empirical evidence on creative accounting with fiscal rules in the EU

Fiscal rules, such as the Excessive Deficit Procedure and the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), aim at constraining government behavior. Milesi-Ferretti (2003) develops a model in which governments circumvent such rules by reverting to creative accounting. The amount of this depends on the reputation cost for the government and the economic cost of sticking to the rule. We provide empirical evidence of creative accounting in the European Union. We find that the SGP rules have induced governments to use stock-flow adjustments, a form of creative accounting, to hide deficits. The tendency to substitute stock-flow adjustments for budget deficits is especially strong for the cyclical component of the deficit, as in times of recession the cost of reducing the deficit is particularly large.Fiscal rules; stock-flow adjustments; debt-deficit adjustments; stability and growth pact; excessive deficit procedure; ESA 95

L\'{e}vy-based growth models

In the present paper, we give a condensed review, for the nonspecialist reader, of a new modelling framework for spatio-temporal processes, based on L\'{e}vy theory. We show the potential of the approach in stochastic geometry and spatial statistics by studying L\'{e}vy-based growth modelling of planar objects. The growth models considered are spatio-temporal stochastic processes on the circle. As a by product, flexible new models for space--time covariance functions on the circle are provided. An application of the L\'{e}vy-based growth models to tumour growth is discussed.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.3150/07-BEJ6130 the Bernoulli (http://isi.cbs.nl/bernoulli/) by the International Statistical Institute/Bernoulli Society (http://isi.cbs.nl/BS/bshome.htm

Faraday-rotation fluctuation spectroscopy with static and oscillating magnetic fields

By Faraday-rotation fluctuation spectroscopy one measures the spin noise via Faraday-induced fluctuations of the polarization plane of a laser transmitting the sample. In the fist part of this paper, we present a theoretical model of recent experiments on alkali gas vapors and semiconductors, done in the presence of a {\em static} magnetic field. In a static field, the spin noise shows a resonance line, revealing the Larmor frequency and the spin coherence time $T_2$ of the electrons. Second, we discuss the possibility to use an {\em oscillating} magnetic field in the Faraday setup. With an oscillating field applied, one can observe multi-photon absorption processes in the spin noise. Furthermore an oscillating field could also help to avoid line broadening due to structural or chemical inhomogeneities in the sample, and thereby increase the precision of the spin-coherence time measurement.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure