Time Series Analysis of Export Demand Equations: A Cross-Country Analysis

The paper estimates export demand elasticities for a large number of developing and industrial countries, using time-series techniques that account for the nonstationarity in the data. The average long-run price and income elasticities are found to be approximately -1 and 1.5, respectively. Thus, exports do react to both the trade partners' income and to relative prices. Africa faces the lowest income elasticities for its exports, while Asia has both the highest income and price elasticities. The price and income elasticity estimates have good statistical properties. Copyright 1999, International Monetary Fund

Charged Higgs production from SUSY particle cascade decays at the LHC

We analyze the cascade decays of the scalar quarks and gluinos of the Minimal Supersymmetric extension of the Standard Model, which are abundantly produced at the Large Hadron Collider, into heavier charginos and neutralinos which then decay into the lighter ones and charged Higgs particles, and show that they can have substantial branching fractions. The production rates of these Higgs bosons can be much larger than those from the direct production mechanisms, in particular for intermediate values of the parameter $\tan \beta$, and could therefore allow for the detection of these particles. We also discuss charged Higgs boson production from direct two-body top and bottom squark decays as well as from two- and three-body gluino decays.Comment: 30 pages with 10 figures, latex. Uses axodraw.sty and epsfig.st

The Origin and Biosynthesis of the Benzenoid Moiety of Ubiquinone (Coenzyme Q) in \u3ci\u3eArabidopsis\u3c/i\u3e

It is not known how plants make the benzenoid ring of ubiquinone, a vital respiratory cofactor. Here, we demonstrate that Arabidopsis thaliana uses for that purpose two separate biosynthetic branches stemming from phenylalanine and tyrosine. Gene network modeling and characterization of T-DNA mutants indicated that acyl-activating enzyme encoded by At4g19010 contributes to the biosynthesis of ubiquinone specifically from phenylalanine. CoA ligase assays verified that At4g19010 prefers para-coumarate, ferulate, and caffeate as substrates. Feeding experiments demonstrated that the at4g19010 knockout cannot use para-coumarate for ubiquinone biosynthesis and that the supply of 4-hydroxybenzoate, the side-chain shortened version of para-coumarate, can bypass this blockage. Furthermore, a trans-cinnamate 4-hydroxylase mutant, which is impaired in the conversion of trans-cinnamate into para-coumarate, displayed similar defects in ubiquinone biosynthesis to that of the at4g19010 knockout. Green fluorescent protein fusion experiments demonstrated that At4g19010 occurs in peroxisomes, resulting in an elaborate biosynthetic architecture where phenylpropanoid intermediates have to be transported from the cytosol to peroxisomes and then to mitochondria where ubiquinone is assembled. Collectively, these results demonstrate that At4g19010 activates the propyl side chain of para-coumarate for its subsequent β-oxidative shortening. Evidence is shown that the peroxisomal ABCD transporter (PXA1) plays a critical role in this branch. Includes supplementary files

Verrucous carcinoma arising in an extended giant condyloma acuminatum (Buschke–Löwenstein tumor): a case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Verrucous carcinoma of the external genitalia and perianal region is a rare variant of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. It has been reported to have limited metastatic potential. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 54 year-old Moroccan man who presented with locally advanced giant condyloma acuminatum (Buschke–Löwenstein tumor) after prolonged intervals of neglect (approximately 10 years). The disease covered his suprapubic, external genitalia and perianal region. It was locally aggressive with extensive tissue destruction. After a biopsy of the lesion, the diagnosis of verrucous carcinoma was confirmed. He initially received chemoradiotherapy, followed by extensive local excision, but he developed septic shock and died a few days later. CONCLUSIONS: The purpose of this case report is to present a case of verrucous carcinoma arising in an extensive giant condyloma acuminatum (Buschke–Löwenstein tumor) and discuss the literature on its diagnosis and management

Direct detection of Higgs-portal dark matter at the LHC

We consider the process in which a Higgs particle is produced in association with jets and show that monojet searches at the LHC already provide interesting constraints on the invisible decays of a 125 GeV Higgs boson. Using the existing monojet searches performed by CMS and ATLAS, we show the 95% confidence level limit on the invisible Higgs decay rate is of the order of the total Higgs production rate in the Standard Model. This limit could be significantly improved when more data at higher center of mass energies are collected, provided systematic errors on the Standard Model contribution to the monojet background can be reduced. We also compare these direct constraints on the invisible rate with indirect ones based on measuring the Higgs rates in visible channels. In the context of Higgs portal models of dark matter, we then discuss how the LHC limits on the invisible Higgs branching fraction impose strong constraints on the dark matter scattering cross section on nucleons probed in direct detection experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; v2: references added; v3: monojet and Higgs data updated, version published in EPJ

L’Atlas linguistique sonore des langues indigènes du Brésil : un projet en cours

Cet article offre un panorama des langues indigènes du Brésil classées d’après des critères génétiques en familles linguistiques distribuées selon des critères géographiques. Il s’agit de fournir une idée de l’état de vitalité de ces langues, tout en mettant l’accent sur l’importance des études dialectologiques, historiques, comparatives et sociolinguistiques des langues indigènes au Brésil. On présente par la suite le projet en cours Atlas linguistique sonore des langues indigènes du Brésil (ALSLiB) en soulignant certains de ses impacts, comme l’accès aux bases de données linguistiques des langues indigènes du Brésil qui privilégient une vision claire des variations linguistiques synchroniques et diachroniques, des frontières entre langues et dialectes, des emprunts entre langues génétiquement apparentées ou non, des emprunts entre ces langues d´une part et entre elles et le portugais et l’espagnol de l’autre, sans oublier les emprunts dans le sens inverse.This article provides an overview of indigenous languages of Brazil classified according to genetic criteria into linguistic families distributed on a geographical basis. The paper provides an idea of the state of vitality of languages, while emphasizing the importance of dialectological studies, historical, comparative and sociolinguistic indigenous languages in Brazil. The current project Digital Atlas of Brazil’s indigenous languages (ALSLiB) is presented here to highlight some of its impacts, such as access to language databases of indigenous languages of Brazil which offer a clear vision of synchronic and diachronic linguistic variations, languages and dialects borders, borrowing between languages genetically related or not, loans between these languages one the one hand and between them and Portuguese and Spanish of the other, not to mention the loans in the reverse side

Bilateral testicular self-castration due to cannabis abuse: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The self-mutilating patient is an unusual psychiatric presentation in the emergency room. Nonetheless, serious underlying psychiatric pathology and drug abuse are important background risk factors. A careful stepwise approach in the emergency room is essential, although the prognosis, follow-up, and eventual rehabilitation can be problematic.</p> <p>We present a unique and original case of bilateral self-castration caused by cannabis abuse.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>We report a case of a 40-year-old Berber man, who was presented to our emergency room with externalization of both testes using his long fingernails, associated with hemodynamic shock. After stabilization of his state, our patient was admitted to the operating room where hemostasis was achieved.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The clinical characteristics of self-mutilation are manifold and there is a lack of agreement about its etiology. The complex behavior associated with drug abuse may be one cause of self-mutilation. Dysfunction of the inhibitory brain circuitry caused by substance abuse could explain why this cannabis-addicted patient lost control and self-mutilated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report which presents an association between self-castration and cannabis abuse.</p