Public sector debt, fiscal deficits, and economic adjustment : a comparative study of six EMENA countries

The authors analyzed the experience of six countries (Algeria, Morocco, Pakistan, Portugal, Turkey, and Yugoslavia) and compared it with the experiences of Latin American countries. They conclude that some countries successfully absorbed the external shock of the 1980s by: (a) minimizing the effects of the external shock by combining external and domestic debt strategies; (b) adjusting their fiscal deficits; (c) experiencing a positive external shock; and (d) fostering growth by stimulating export growth and developing domestic financial markets. No single country fully implemented this strategy; those most successful in doing so were Morocco, Portugal, and Turkey. Their experience contrasts with that of some Latin American countries that experienced a similar external shock but failed to undertake fiscal adjustment and financed most of their deficit through money finance - thus experiencing high inflation levels and overburdening their private sector. In some respects, Yugoslavia had the same experience.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Strategic Debt Management,Economic Stabilization,Public Sector Economics&Finance

Superselection Sectors in Asymptotic Quantization of Gravity

Using the continuity of the scalar $\Psi_2$ (the mass aspect) at null infinity through $i_o$ we show that the space of radiative solutions of general relativity can be thought of a fibered space where the value of $\Psi_2$ at $i_o$ plays the role of the base space. We also show that the restriction of the available symplectic form to each ``fiber'' is degenerate. By finding the orbit manifold of this degenerate direction we obtain the reduced phase space for the radiation data. This reduced phase space posses a global structure, i.e., it does not distinguishes between future or past null infinity. Thus, it can be used as the space of quantum gravitons. Moreover, a Hilbert space can be constructed on each ``fiber'' if an appropriate definition of scalar product is provided. Since there is no natural correspondence between the Hilbert spaces of different foliations they define superselection sectors on the space of asymptotic quantum states.Comment: 22 pages, revtex fil

A Female Patient with Down Syndrome and Low-Penetrance Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.

We present the case of a 19-year-old female with a history of Down syndrome (DS) who was referred to our neuro-ophthalmology clinic for evaluation of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). The patient's family history was significant for a known G11778A mutation in a maternal relative, consistent with LHON. The patient was also positive for the G11778A mutation; however, the genotype demonstrated low penetrance in the pedigree, with only 1 out of 10 adult male offspring showing signs or symptoms of the disease. Mitochondrial mutations implicated in LHON have been shown to impair complex I of the electron transport chain and thereby reducing the effective generation of adenosine triphosphate and increasing the production of toxic reactive oxygen species. Although the partial or complete triplicate of chromosome 21 constitutes the etiology of DS, some of the pleiotropic phenotypes of the syndrome have been attributed to oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Given the low penetrance of the mutation and the patient's sex, this case illustrates the possibility that the mitochondrial mutation demonstrated increased penetrance due to pre-existing mitochondrial dysfunction related to DS

Convergence and Cointegration

This paper provides a new, uni¯ed, and °exible framework to measure and characterize convergence in prices. We formally de¯ne this notion and propose a model to represent a wide range of transition paths that converge to a common steady-state. Our framework enables the econometric measurement of such transi- tional behaviors and the development of testing procedures. Speci¯cally, we derive a statistical test to determine whether convergence exists and, if so, which type: as catching-up or steady-state. The application of this methodology to historic wheat prices results in a novel explanation of the convergence processes experienced during the 19th century.Price convergence, cointegration, law of one price.

Some Hadronic Properties from Light Front Holography

Using ideas from Light Front Holography, we discuss the calculation of hadronic properties. In this talk I will pay special attention to hadronic masses and the nucleon helicity-independent generalized parton distributions of quarks in the zero skewness caseComment: Prepared for NSTAR2011. The 8th International Workshop on the Physics of Excited Nucleons. May 17-20, 2011. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. Newport News, Virginia, US

Light-front quark model consistent with Drell-Yan-West duality and quark counting rules

We propose a phenomenological light-front wave function for hadrons with arbitrary twist-dimension (mesons, baryons and multiquark states), which gives the correct scaling behavior of structure functions (parton distributions) and form factors for pions and nucleons. For other hadronic states the proposed wave function produces form factors consistent with quark counting rules, and gives predictions for structure functions (parton distributions). As an application we build a light-front quark model for nucleons based on the proposed wave function.Comment: 5 page

Generalized parton distributions in an AdS/QCD hard-wall model

We use a matching procedure of sum rules relating the electromagnetic form factors to generalized parton distributions (GPDs) and AdS modes. In this way, in the framework of an AdS/QCD hard-wall model, the helicity-independent GPDs of quarks for the nucleon in the zero skewness case are calculated

Agent Based Test and Repair of Distributed Systems

This article demonstrates how to use intelligent agents for testing and repairing a distributed system, whose elements may or may not have embedded BIST (Built-In Self-Test) and BISR (Built-In Self-Repair) facilities. Agents are software modules that perform monitoring, diagnosis and repair of the faults. They form together a society whose members communicate, set goals and solve tasks. An experimental solution is presented, and future developments of the proposed approach are explore