Trade Structure, Economic Development and International Transactions in Services

The goal of this paper is to investigate the empirical significance of trade in services for countries with different levels of economic development. Data are presented that characterize the relative importance of trade in services for countries with widely differing per capita income levels, population, and growh experiences.Research Seminar in International Economics, Department of Economics, University of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100760/1/ECON224.pd

La combustion des terrils

National audienceLa combustion des terrils est une spécificité des régions où du charbon est (ou a été) exploité - nous ne présenterons pas ici la combustion des stériles d'autres exploitations (schistes bitumineux...) ni de la combustion des résidus métallurgiques. Ce phénomène spectaculaire est relativement courant et suivi de près d'une part à cause des risques d'explosion qui lui sont liés et d'autre part à cause des conséquences environnementales. Du point de vue du pétrographe, des paragénèses inhabituelles de ultra-haute température à pression ambiante se développent, ainsi que des efflorescences de minéraux complexes, donnant ainsi des opportunités pour leur étude

Post-Eocene extensional tectonics in Southern New Caledonia (SW Pacific): insights from onshore fault analysis and offshore seismic data

Ductile to brittle extensional deformation following thrusting of the peridotites nappe during the Upper Eocene has been shown to play a major role in the Tertiary tectonic evolution of the northern part of the main island of New Caledonia and its eastern and western margins. In this study, we provide new tectonic data from southern New Caledonia that allow to better constrain the tectonic evolution of the southern part of the main island. We present a kinematic analysis of faults and striations obtained mainly from exposures of sedimentary rocks in the region of Noumea with complements from measurements made farther north at Nepoui within post-obduction Middle-Miocene deposits. We also present additional results of an interpretation of seismic lines from the lagoon south of the Noumea Peninsula which provide constraints on the current tectonic regime of southern New Caledonia. Extensional faults in the Noumea region have been studied within terranes of various ages including pre- and syn-obduction deposits and ophiolites. Hence, we demonstrate that important extensional events have affected the southern part of the New Caledonia block after the obduction of the peridotite nappe. The direction of maximum extension is variable at the scale of the region. Both high angle and low angle normal faults are present and block rotation is observed at some localities. This suggests that detachments accommodating significant displacements are cutting through the sedimentary pile. The average final strain pattern of the region can be regarded as the results of a multidirectional flattening, a hypothesis consistent with vertical uplift associated with regional extension. These results are in good agreement with conclusions of earlier workers showing late extensional evolution of the ophiolites alon

Belief revision and uncertain reasoning

When a new piece of information contradicts a currently held belief, one has to modify the set of beliefs in order to restore its consistency. In the case where it is necessary to give up a belief, some of them are less likely to be abandoned than others. The concept of epistemic entrenchment is used by some AI approaches to explain this fact based on formal properties of the belief set (e. g. , transitivity). Two experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that contrary to such views, (i) belief is naturally represented by degrees rather than in an all-or-nothing manner, (ii) entrenchment is primarily a matter of content and not only a matter of form, and (iii) consequently prior degree of belief is a powerful factor of change. The two experiments used Elio and Pelletier's (1997) paradigm in which participants were presented with full simple deductive arguments whose conclusion was denied, following which they were asked to decide which premise to revise

A portable infrared laser spectrometer for flux measurements of trace gases at the geosphere-atmosphere interface

International audienceA portable infrared laser absorption spectrometer named SPIRIT (SPectrom'etre Infra-Rouge In situ Troposph'erique) has been set up for the simultaneous flux measurements of trace gases at the geosphere-atmosphere interface. It uses a continuous wave distributed feedback room temperature quantum cascade laser and a patented new optical multi-pass cell. The aim of SPIRIT field studies is to get a better understanding of land and water bodies to atmosphere exchange mechanisms of greenhouse gases (GHG). The analytical procedures to derive concentrations and fluxes are described, as well as the performances of the instrument under field conditions. The ability of SPIRIT to assess space and time dependence emissions of two GHG--nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4)--for different types of ecosystems is demonstrated through in situ measurements on peatland, on fertilized soil, and on water body systems. The objectives of these investigations and preliminary significant results are reported

Post-genomic analyses of fungal lignocellulosic biomass degradation reveal the unexpected potential of the plant pathogen Ustilago maydis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Filamentous fungi are potent biomass degraders due to their ability to thrive in ligno(hemi)cellulose-rich environments. During the last decade, fungal genome sequencing initiatives have yielded abundant information on the genes that are putatively involved in lignocellulose degradation. At present, additional experimental studies are essential to provide insights into the fungal secreted enzymatic pools involved in lignocellulose degradation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, we performed a wide analysis of 20 filamentous fungi for which genomic data are available to investigate their biomass-hydrolysis potential. A comparison of fungal genomes and secretomes using enzyme activity profiling revealed discrepancies in carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) sets dedicated to plant cell wall. Investigation of the contribution made by each secretome to the saccharification of wheat straw demonstrated that most of them individually supplemented the industrial <it>Trichoderma reesei </it>CL847 enzymatic cocktail. Unexpectedly, the most striking effect was obtained with the phytopathogen <it>Ustilago maydis </it>that improved the release of total sugars by 57% and of glucose by 22%. Proteomic analyses of the best-performing secretomes indicated a specific enzymatic mechanism of <it>U. maydis </it>that is likely to involve oxido-reductases and hemicellulases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study provides insight into the lignocellulose-degradation mechanisms by filamentous fungi and allows for the identification of a number of enzymes that are potentially useful to further improve the industrial lignocellulose bioconversion process.</p

Development and biological evaluation of 99mTc-sulfonamide derivatives for in? vivo visualization of CA IX as surrogate tumor hypoxia markers

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Selective disruption of Tcf7l2 in the pancreatic β cell impairs secretory function and lowers β cell mass

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by β cell dysfunction and loss. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the T-cell factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) gene, associated with T2D by genome-wide association studies, lead to impaired β cell function. While deletion of the homologous murine Tcf7l2 gene throughout the developing pancreas leads to impaired glucose tolerance, deletion in the β cell in adult mice reportedly has more modest effects. To inactivate Tcf7l2 highly selectively in β cells from the earliest expression of the Ins1 gene (∼E11.5) we have therefore used a Cre recombinase introduced at the Ins1 locus. Tcfl2fl/fl::Ins1Cre mice display impaired oral and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance by 8 and 16 weeks, respectively, and defective responses to the GLP-1 analogue liraglutide at 8 weeks. Tcfl2fl/fl::Ins1Cre islets displayed defective glucose- and GLP-1-stimulated insulin secretion and the expression of both the Ins2 (∼20%) and Glp1r (∼40%) genes were significantly reduced. Glucose- and GLP-1-induced intracellular free Ca2+ increases, and connectivity between individual β cells, were both lowered by Tcf7l2 deletion in islets from mice maintained on a high (60%) fat diet. Finally, analysis by optical projection tomography revealed ∼30% decrease in β cell mass in pancreata from Tcfl2fl/fl::Ins1Cre mice. These data demonstrate that Tcf7l2 plays a cell autonomous role in the control of β cell function and mass, serving as an important regulator of gene expression and islet cell coordination. The possible relevance of these findings for the action of TCF7L2 polymorphisms associated with Type 2 diabetes in man is discusse