Linking competition and trade policies in Central and Eastern European countries

The authors explore options for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) governments to make competition law enforcement more sensitive to trade and investment policy, thereby supporting liberal trade policy. The competition laws of these countries tend to resemble European Union (EU) competition disciplines (Article 85 - 86 of the Treaty of Rome), but give competition authorities great scope for discretion in interpreting the relevant statutes. Much can be done through appropriate wording of criteria and implementation guidelines within the framework of existing legislation to subject trade policy to competition policy scrutiny. A liberal trade policy and active enforcement of competition laws will be crucialnot only for national welfare, but also for eliminating the threat of contingent protection by EU firms. When CEE countries face antidumping threats or action from EU countries, the authors suggest that they seek a link between competition law enforcement and antidumping investigation in the context of the association agreements with the European Union. That is, the European Commission could be asked to apply competition policy criteria in antidumping investigations against products originating in CEE countries, ensuring that there is a threat to competition, not just a threat to a European Union competitor. This treatment could be sought informally during the transitional period. Generally, since the CEE countries have adopted competition legislation comparable to that of the European Union, it seems safe to assume that if they enforce their competition laws vigorously, EU consistent minimum standards will be respected. Until the association agreements are fully implemented, it is important to reduce to a minimum the risk of being treated as an"unfair trader."Safeguard actions will remain possible until EU membership has been attained. But safeguard protection is more difficult to seek and obtain if there is only a weak case for arguing that Central and Easter European firms are benefiting from trade barriers, state aids, or various government maintained entry barriers.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,ICT Policy and Strategies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Markets and Market Access

Competition, competition policy, and the GATT

The authors argue that further moves to liberalize trade and to implement existing GATT rules and principles may have a greater impact on global competition than would the pursuit of harmonization of competition policy. They also suggest that current GATT rules and case law provide scope for disputes to be brought before the GATT that relate to both the application and the nonapplication of existing domestic competition laws of GATT contracting parties. This leads to de facto discrimination between domestic and foreign products. Little use has been made of the GATT in this connection. Perhaps existing indirect avenues for raising competition-related disputes in the GATT should be pursued more actively. This would help identify what specific government policies might be the subject of multilateral negotiations and explicitly incorporated into the GATT framework.Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOMEAND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access

A piezoresponse force microscopy study of CaxBa1-xNb2O6 single crystals

Polar structures of CaxBa1-xNb2O6 (CBN100x) single crystals were investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy. Increasing Ca content results in decreasing domain size and enhancement of the polar disorder. For the composition with x = 0.32 the characteristic domain size is similar to that reported for relaxor Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6 (SBN61). However, decay of an artificial macroscopic domain in CBN32 takes place below the macroscopic transition temperature, contrary to SBN61, where random fields stabilize it above the transition temperature. We can conclude that CBN with 0.26 ≤ x ≤ 0.32 does not display classical relaxor behavior and might be considered as a disordered ferroelectric

The Effect of TDC Temperature and Density on the Liquid-Phase Fuel Penetration in a D. I. Diesel Engine

A parametric study of the liquid-phase fuel penetration of evaporating Diesel fuel jets has been conducted in a directinjection Diesel engine using laser elastic-scatter imaging. The experiments were conducted in an optically accessible Diesel engine of the ``heavy-duty`` size class at a representative medium speed (1200 rpm) operating condition. The density and temperature at TDC were varied systematically by adjusting the intake temperature and pressure. At all operating conditions the measurements show that initially the liquid fuel penetrates almost linearly with increasing crank angle until reaching a maximum length. Then, the liquid-fuel penetration length remains fairly constant although fuel injection continues. At a TDC density of 16.6 kg/m{sup 3} and a temperature of about 1000 K the maximum penetration length is approximately 23 mm. However, it varies significantly as TDC conditions are changed, with the liquid-length being less at higher temperatures and at higher densities. The corresponding apparent heat release rate plots are presented and the results of the liquid-phase fuel penetration are discussed with respect to the ignition delay and premixed bum fraction

Temperature Effect on the Stability of the Polarized State Created by Local Electric Fields in Strontium Barium Niobate Single Crystals

The stability of ferroelectric domain patterns at the nanoscale has been a topic of much interest for many years. We investigated the relaxation of the polarized state created by application of a local electric field using a conductive tip of a scanning probe microscope for the model uniaxial relaxor system SrxBa1−xNb2O6 (SBN) in its pure and Ce-doped form. The temporal relaxation of the induced PFM contrast was measured at various temperatures. The average value of the induced contrast decreases during heating for all investigated crystals. Below the freezing temperature the induced state remains stable after an initial relaxation. Above the freezing temperature the induced state is unstable and gradually decays with time. The stability of the induced state is strongly affected by the measuring conditions, so continuous scanning results in a faster decay of the poled domain. The obtained effects are attributed to a decrease of the induced polarization and backswitching of the polarized area under the action of the depolarization field

Pulse combustion: The importance of characteristic times

The response of a valved pulse combustor to changes in the relative timing between the resonant pressure wave and the instantaneous energy release rate has been examined. Experiments were designed to examine the pulse combustor's response to independent changes in the experimental conditions that resulted in nearly independent changes in the fluid dynamic species mixing time, the fluid dynamic mixing time of cold reactants with hot products, the characteristic chemical kinetics time, and the characteristic resonance time. The time scales considered in this study were adjusted independently to modify the coupling between the instantaneous energy release rate and the resonant pressure wave, thereby modifying the magnitude of the pressure oscillations and altering the frequency of operation. All of these experimental observations of the pulse combustor response to variations in characteristic time scales are interpreted in terms of Rayleigh's criterion.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/28111/1/0000560.pd

High Altitude Venus Operations Concept Trajectory Design, Modeling and Simulation

A trajectory design and analysis that describes aerocapture, entry, descent, and inflation of manned and unmanned High Altitude Venus Operation Concept (HAVOC) lighter-than-air missions is presented. Mission motivation, concept of operations, and notional entry vehicle designs are presented. The initial trajectory design space is analyzed and discussed before investigating specific trajectories that are deemed representative of a feasible Venus mission. Under the project assumptions, while the high-mass crewed mission will require further research into aerodynamic decelerator technology, it was determined that the unmanned robotic mission is feasible using current technology

The nonlinear time-dependent response of isotactic polypropylene

Tensile creep tests, tensile relaxation tests and a tensile test with a constant rate of strain are performed on injection-molded isotactic polypropylene at room temperature in the vicinity of the yield point. A constitutive model is derived for the time-dependent behavior of semi-crystalline polymers. A polymer is treated as an equivalent network of chains bridged by permanent junctions. The network is modelled as an ensemble of passive meso-regions (with affine nodes) and active meso-domains (where junctions slip with respect to their positions in the bulk medium with various rates). The distribution of activation energies for sliding in active meso-regions is described by a random energy model. Adjustable parameters in the stress--strain relations are found by fitting experimental data. It is demonstrated that the concentration of active meso-domains monotonically grows with strain, whereas the average potential energy for sliding of junctions and the standard deviation of activation energies suffer substantial drops at the yield point. With reference to the concept of dual population of crystalline lamellae, these changes in material parameters are attributed to transition from breakage of subsidiary (thin) lamellae in the sub-yield region to fragmentation of primary (thick) lamellae in the post-yield region of deformation.Comment: 29 pages, 12 figure

Assessment right atrial thrombus by real-time three dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in patient with dilated cardiomyopathy

We report a case of a 52-year-old patient with dilated cardiomyopathy who presented with worsening heart failure. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography and real-time three dimensional transthoracic echocardiography showed severe dilated cardiac chambers, impaired ejection fraction and a mobile right atrial thrombus 2.6 × 1.0 cm in size, traversing the right atrial cavity during the whole cardiac cycle. After one week therapeutic anticoagulation, echocardiography confirmed no evidence of residual thrombus

Chemical and biomechanical characterization of hyperhomocysteinemic bone disease in an animal model

BACKGROUND: Classical homocystinuria is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by cystathionine β-synthase (CBS) deficiency and characterized by distinctive alterations of bone growth and skeletal development. Skeletal changes include a reduction in bone density, making it a potentially attractive model for the study of idiopathic osteoporosis. METHODS: To investigate this aspect of hyperhomocysteinemia, we supplemented developing chicks (n = 8) with 0.6% dl-homocysteine (hCySH) for the first 8 weeks of life in comparison to controls (n = 10), and studied biochemical, biomechanical and morphologic effects of this nutritional intervention. RESULTS: hCySH-fed animals grew faster and had longer tibiae at the end of the study. Plasma levels of hCySH, methionine, cystathionine, and inorganic sulfate were higher, but calcium, phosphate, and other indices of osteoblast metabolism were not different. Radiographs of the lower limbs showed generalized osteopenia and accelerated epiphyseal ossification with distinct metaphyseal and suprametaphyseal lucencies similar to those found in human homocystinurics. Although biomechanical testing of the tibiae, including maximal load to failure and bone stiffness, indicated stronger bone, strength was proportional to the increased length and cortical thickness in the hCySH-supplemented group. Bone ash weights and IR-spectroscopy of cortical bone showed no difference in mineral content, but there were higher Ca(2+)/PO(4)(3- )and lower Ca(2+)/CO(3)(2- )molar ratios than in controls. Mineral crystallization was unchanged. CONCLUSION: In this chick model, hyperhomocysteinemia causes greater radial and longitudinal bone growth, despite normal indices of bone formation. Although there is also evidence for an abnormal matrix and altered bone composition, our finding of normal biomechanical bone strength, once corrected for altered morphometry, suggests that any increase in the risk of long bone fracture in human hyperhomocysteinemic disease is small. We also conclude that the hCySH-supplemented chick is a promising model for study of the connective tissue abnormalities associated with homocystinuria and an important alternative model to the CBS knock-out mouse