Southern enlargement of the European Union and capital account liberalization: Lessons for Central and Eastern Europe

The integration of the central and eastern European countries into the international capital markets has been and will be determined by the process of European Union (EU) integration. Our analysis shows that southern and eastern European countries already appear to be surprisingly similar regarding FDI flows from EU members. The central and eastern European countries, however, are likely to attract increased portfolio flows in the years to come. We argue that membership alone in a regional arrangement like the EU is neither sufficient for sustained capital inflows nor is it the guarantee for increased investment activities. Rather, domestic economic policy has to change in accordance: Liberalization matters, not only membership.Capital Account Liberalization,European Union Enlargement,Capital Flows,Eastern Europe,Economic Growth

On modeling and measuring viscoelasticity with dynamic Atomic Force Microscopy

The interaction between a rapidly oscillating atomic force microscope tip and a soft material surface is described using both elastic and viscous forces with a moving surface model. We derive the simplest form of this model, motivating it as a way to capture the impact dynamics of the tip and sample with an interaction consisting of two components: interfacial or surface force, and bulk or volumetric force. Analytic solutions to the piece-wise linear model identify characteristic time constants, providing a physical explanation of the hysteresis observed in the measured dynamic force quadrature curves. Numerical simulation is used to fit the model to experimental data and excellent agreement is found with a variety of different samples. The model parameters form a dimensionless impact-rheology factor, giving a quantitative physical number to characterize a viscoelastic surface that does not depend on the tip shape or cantilever frequency.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Radium-223 in asymptomatic patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases treated in an international early access program

Radium-223; mCRPC, asymptomatic; Bone metastasesRadio-223; mCRPC, asintomático; Metástasis de huesoRadi-223; mCRPC, asimptomàtic; Metàstasis d'osBACKGROUND: Radium-223, a targeted alpha therapy, is used to treat symptomatic patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and bone metastases. Data for radium-223 in asymptomatic CRPC patients with bone metastases are lacking. METHODS: This was a prospective, single-arm phase 3b study. Patients with metastatic CRPC (malignant lymphadenopathy not exceeding 6 cm was allowed, visceral disease was excluded) received radium-223, 55 kBq/kg intravenously, every 4 weeks for up to 6 cycles. Co-primary endpoints were safety and overall survival. Post hoc analyses were performed according to baseline asymptomatic or symptomatic disease status. Asymptomatic status was defined as no pain and no opioid use at baseline. RESULTS: Seven hundred eight patients received ≥1 radium-223 injection: 548 (77%) were symptomatic to various degrees, and 135 (19%) were asymptomatic. Asymptomatic patients had more favorable baseline disease characteristics than symptomatic. A lower proportion of asymptomatic versus symptomatic patients had received prior abiraterone (25% vs 35%) and prior docetaxel (52% vs 62%). A higher proportion of asymptomatic (71%) versus symptomatic (55%) patients completed radium-223 treatment. Overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.486), time to disease progression (HR 0.722) and time to first symptomatic skeletal event (HR 0.328) were better in asymptomatic than symptomatic patients. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) response rates were similar (46% vs 47%), and ALP normalization (44% vs 25%) and prostate-specific antigen response rates (21% vs 13%) were higher in asymptomatic than symptomatic patients. A lower proportion of asymptomatic patients reported treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs, 61% vs 79%), grade 3-4 TEAEs (29% vs 40%) and drug-related TEAEs (28% vs 44%). There were two treatment-related deaths, both in patients with baseline symptomatic disease. CONCLUSIONS: Using radium-223 earlier in the disease course, when patients are asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, may enable patients to complete treatment and optimize treatment outcome compared to symptomatic patients, and therefore may allow sequencing with other life-prolonging therapie

Antibodies from a DNA peptide vaccination decrease the brain amyloid burden in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

The neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid peptide Aβ in the brain derived from proteolytic cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Vaccination of mice with plasmid DNA coding for the human Aβ42 peptide together with low doses of preaggregated peptide induced antibodies with detectable titers after only 2weeks. One serum was directed against the four aminoterminal amino acids DAEF and differs from previously described ones. Both immune sera and monoclonal antibodies solubilized preformed aggregates of Aβ42 in vitro and recognized amyloid plaques in brain sections of mice transgenic for human APP. Passive immunization of transgenic AD mice caused a significant and rapid reduction in brain amyloid plaques within 24h. The combined DNA peptide vaccine may prove useful for active immunization with few inoculations and low peptide dose which may prevent the recently described inflammatory reactions in patients. The monoclonal antibodies are applicable for passive immunization studies and may lead to a therapy of A

Force Distribution in a Granular Medium

We report on systematic measurements of the distribution of normal forces exerted by granular material under uniaxial compression onto the interior surfaces of a confining vessel. Our experiments on three-dimensional, random packings of monodisperse glass beads show that this distribution is nearly uniform for forces below the mean force and decays exponentially for forces greater than the mean. The shape of the distribution and the value of the exponential decay constant are unaffected by changes in the system preparation history or in the boundary conditions. An empirical functional form for the distribution is proposed that provides an excellent fit over the whole force range measured and is also consistent with recent computer simulation data.Comment: 6 pages. For more information, see http://mrsec.uchicago.edu/granula

Memory Effects in Granular Material

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of memory effects in vibration-induced compaction of granular materials. In particular, the response of the system to an abrupt change in shaking intensity is measured. At short times after the perturbation a granular analog of aging in glasses is observed. Using a simple two-state model, we are able to explain this short-time response. We also discuss the possibility for the system to obey an approximate pseudo-fluctuation-dissipation theorem relationship and relate our work to earlier experimental and theoretical studies of the problem.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, reference list change