Taxing Intermediate Goods to Compensate for Distorting Taxes on Household Consumption

In contrast to the classic result in Diamond and Mirrlees (1971) that fiscal taxes should not be levied on intermediate use of goods, Newbury (1985) showed that, in a closed economy with Leontief technology, input taxes should be used to indirectly tax commodities that for some reason are untaxed in final consumption. This paper extends the Newbury result to more general cases; i.e., to open economies with substitution possibilities in the production functions. Moreover, it shows that the welfare maximizing proportion between the tax rate for intermediate use by firms and final demand by households declines with higher elasticities of substitution in production functions and with higher price elasticities in import demand functions and export supply functions. It also shows that the welfare maximizing proportion of tax rates between households and firms for one commodity will depend upon the corresponding proportion of tax rates for important substitutes for that commodity. These results are shown both in stylized Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models and in an applied CGE model of the Swedish economy where the tax on electricity is used as an example.Optimal taxation; CGE-analysis

SAINT – a Standardized CGE-model for Analysis of Indirect Taxation

This paper describes a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model that builds on the IFPRI standard model but is more suitable for analysis of taxes on specific commodities. It has a richer structure of taxes and trade margins on commodities than the IFPRI model and a flexible nest structure of production and household demand functions. It may be used for open as well as for closed economies. Also, data for a Swedish implementation is described and this application of the model is compared to some previous Swedish CGE models in terms of the estimated effects of a doubling of the CO2 tax rate.Optimal taxation; CGE-analysis

Авантюризм в степах середньовічної України

Background: The need for new antibiotic drugs increases as pathogenic microorganisms continue to develop resistance against current antibiotics. We obtained samples from Antarctica as part of a search for new antimicrobial metabolites derived from filamentous fungi. This terrestrial environment in the South Pole is hostile and extreme due to a sparsely populated food web, low temperatures, and insufficient liquid water availability. We hypothesize that this environment could cause the development of fungal defense or survival mechanisms not found elsewhere. Results: We isolated a strain of Penicillium nalgiovense Laxa from a soil sample obtained from an abandoned penguin’s nest. Amphotericin B was the only metabolite secreted from P. nalgiovense Laxa with noticeable antimicrobial activity,with minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.125 µg/mL against Candida albicans. This is the first time that amphotericin B has been isolated from an organism other than the bacterium Streptomyces nodosus. In terms of amphotericin B production, cultures on solid medium proved to be a more reliable and favorable choice compared to a liquid. Conclusions: These results encourage further investigation of the many unexplored sampling sites characterized by extreme conditions, and confirm filamentous fungi as potential sources of metabolites with antimicrobial activity

Використання хмарних технологій в освіті

GCVAR in core, accessory and whole genomes. (PDF 31 kb

Genomic comparisons of Brucella spp. and closely related bacteria using base compositional and proteome based methods

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Classification of bacteria within the genus <it>Brucella </it>has been difficult due in part to considerable genomic homogeneity between the different species and biovars, in spite of clear differences in phenotypes. Therefore, many different methods have been used to assess <it>Brucella </it>taxonomy. In the current work, we examine 32 sequenced genomes from genus <it>Brucella </it>representing the six classical species, as well as more recently described species, using bioinformatical methods. Comparisons were made at the level of genomic DNA using oligonucleotide based methods (Markov chain based genomic signatures, genomic codon and amino acid frequencies based comparisons) and proteomes (all-against-all BLAST protein comparisons and pan-genomic analyses).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the oligonucleotide based methods gave different results compared to that of the proteome based methods. Differences were also found between the oligonucleotide based methods used. Whilst the Markov chain based genomic signatures grouped the different species in genus <it>Brucella </it>according to host preference, the codon and amino acid frequencies based methods reflected small differences between the <it>Brucella </it>species. Only minor differences could be detected between all genera included in this study using the codon and amino acid frequencies based methods.</p> <p>Proteome comparisons were found to be in strong accordance with current <it>Brucella </it>taxonomy indicating a remarkable association between gene gain or loss on one hand and mutations in marker genes on the other. The proteome based methods found greater similarity between <it>Brucella </it>species and <it>Ochrobactrum </it>species than between species within genus <it>Agrobacterium </it>compared to each other. In other words, proteome comparisons of species within genus <it>Agrobacterium </it>were found to be more diverse than proteome comparisons between species in genus <it>Brucella </it>and genus <it>Ochrobactrum</it>. Pan-genomic analyses indicated that uptake of DNA from outside genus <it>Brucella </it>appears to be limited.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While both the proteome based methods and the Markov chain based genomic signatures were able to reflect environmental diversity between the different species and strains of genus <it>Brucella</it>, the genomic codon and amino acid frequencies based comparisons were not found adequate for such comparisons. The proteome comparison based phylogenies of the species in genus <it>Brucella </it>showed a surprising consistency with current <it>Brucella </it>taxonomy.</p

Relative entropy differences in bacterial chromosomes, plasmids, phages and genomic islands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We sought to assess whether the concept of relative entropy (information capacity), could aid our understanding of the process of horizontal gene transfer in microbes. We analyzed the differences in information capacity between prokaryotic chromosomes, genomic islands (GI), phages, and plasmids. Relative entropy was estimated using the Kullback-Leibler measure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Relative entropy was highest in bacterial chromosomes and had the sequence chromosomes > GI > phage > plasmid. There was an association between relative entropy and AT content in chromosomes, phages, plasmids and GIs with the strongest association being in phages. Relative entropy was also found to be lower in the obligate intracellular <it>Mycobacterium leprae </it>than in the related <it>M. tuberculosis </it>when measured on a shared set of highly conserved genes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We argue that relative entropy differences reflect how plasmids, phages and GIs interact with microbial host chromosomes and that all these biological entities are, or have been, subjected to different selective pressures. The rate at which amelioration of horizontally acquired DNA occurs within the chromosome is likely to account for the small differences between chromosomes and stably incorporated GIs compared to the transient or independent replicons such as phages and plasmids.</p

2-Substituted agelasine analogs : synthesis and biological activity, and structure and reactivity of synthetic intermediates

2-Substituted N-methoxy-9-methyl-9H-purin-6-amines were synthesized either from their corresponding 6-chloro-9-methyl-9H-purines or 2-chloro-N-methoxy-9-methyl- 9H-purin-6-amine. Great diversity in the amino/imino tautomeric ratios was observed and calculated based on 1H NMR. The tautomers were identified by 1D and 2D 1H, 13C, and 15N NMR techniques, and showed significant variation both in 13C and 15N shift values. Comparison of the tautomeric ratios with Hammett F values revealed that as the field/inductive withdrawing abilities of the 2-substituent increased, the ratio of amino:imino tautomers was shifted toward the amino tautomer. Computational chemistry exposed the significance of hydrogen bonding between solvent and the compound in question to reach accurate predictions for tautomeric ratios. B3LYP/def2-TZVP density functional theory (DFT) calculations resulted in quantitatively more accurate predictions than when employing the less expensive BP86 functional. N-7-Alkylation of the 2-substituted N-methoxy-9-methyl-9H-purin-6- amines showed that when the field/inductive withdrawing ability of the 2-substituent reached a certain point the reactivity drastically dropped. This correlated with the atomic charges on N-7 calculated using a natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. Biological screening of the final 2-substituted agelasine analogs indicated that the introduction of a methyl group in the 2-position is advantageous for antimycobacterial and antiprotozoal activity, and that an amino function may improve activity against several cancer cell lines

Analysis of intra-genomic GC content homogeneity within prokaryotes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bacterial genomes possess varying GC content (total guanines (Gs) and cytosines (Cs) per total of the four bases within the genome) but within a given genome, GC content can vary locally along the chromosome, with some regions significantly more or less GC rich than on average. We have examined how the GC content varies within microbial genomes to assess whether this property can be associated with certain biological functions related to the organism's environment and phylogeny. We utilize a new quantity <it>GCVAR</it>, the intra-genomic GC content variability with respect to the average GC content of the total genome. A low <it>GCVAR </it>indicates intra-genomic GC homogeneity and high <it>GCVAR </it>heterogeneity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The regression analyses indicated that <it>GCVAR </it>was significantly associated with domain (i.e. archaea or bacteria), phylum, and oxygen requirement. <it>GCVAR </it>was significantly higher among anaerobes than both aerobic and facultative microbes. Although an association has previously been found between mean genomic GC content and oxygen requirement, our analysis suggests that no such association exits when phylogenetic bias is accounted for. A significant association between <it>GCVAR </it>and mean GC content was also found but appears to be non-linear and varies greatly among phyla.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings show that <it>GCVAR </it>is linked with oxygen requirement, while mean genomic GC content is not. We therefore suggest that <it>GCVAR </it>should be used as a complement to mean GC content.</p

Ex Vivo Activity of Cardiac Glycosides in Acute Leukaemia

BACKGROUND: Despite years of interest in the anti-cancerous effects of cardiac glycosides (CGs), and numerous studies in vitro and in animals, it has not yet been possible to utilize this potential clinically. Reports have demonstrated promising in vitro effects on different targets as well as a possible therapeutic index/selectivity in vitro and in experimental animals. Recently, however, general inhibition of protein synthesis was suggested as the main mechanism of the anti-cancerous effects of CGs. In addition, evidence of species differences of a magnitude sufficient to explain the results of many studies called for reconsideration of earlier results. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this report we identified primary B-precursor and T-ALL cells as being particularly susceptible to the cytotoxic effects of CGs. Digitoxin appeared most potent and IC(50) values for several patient samples were at concentrations that may be achieved in the clinic. Significant protein synthesis inhibition at concentrations corresponding to IC(50) was demonstrated in colorectal tumour cell lines moderately resistant to the cytotoxic effects of digoxin and digitoxin, but not in highly sensitive leukaemia cell lines. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that further investigation regarding CGs may be focused on diagnoses like T- and B-precursor ALL