Accession Rules and Trade Agreements: The Case of the WTO

This paper models the accession process to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a two stage game. In the first stage, member countries choose tariff rates to be applied on trade with each other. In the second stage a non-member country applies for membership in the agreement and negotiates with the member countries over the tariff rates to be applied. Based on the rules of the WTO accession process, we model this negotiation using the Nash bargaining solution. The analysis focuses on the question of how the pattern of trade between the acceding country and the member countries affects the distribution of gains from accession between the members and the acceding countries, given the rules of the WTO negotiation process. We consider two n good, n country trade models which highlight features of the WTO tariff negotiations. The first is a model in which each country imports one good from all of the other countries (competing supplier model). This model highlights the role of the MFN principle, since member countries are forced to extend the same tariff treatment to non-members when they join. We show that the non-member will free ride on tariff reductions among the member countries in this case, and that the non-member will gain a larger fraction of the gains from accession if transport costs are sufficiently low. The second model considers a case in which each country exports a single good to the other countries (principal supplier model). We show that in this case tariff reductions by the member countries reduce the welfare of the non-member country, and the member countries gain a larger share of the gains from accession.

Airflow in a Multiscale Subject-Specific Breathing Human Lung Model

The airflow in a subject-specific breathing human lung is simulated with a multiscale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) lung model. The three-dimensional (3D) airway geometry beginning from the mouth to about 7 generations of airways is reconstructed from the multi-detector row computed tomography (MDCT) image at the total lung capacity (TLC). Along with the segmented lobe surfaces, we can build an anatomically-consistent one-dimensional (1D) airway tree spanning over more than 20 generations down to the terminal bronchioles, which is specific to the CT resolved airways and lobes (J Biomech 43(11): 2159-2163, 2010). We then register two lung images at TLC and the functional residual capacity (FRC) to specify subject-specific CFD flow boundary conditions and deform the airway surface mesh for a breathing lung simulation (J Comput Phys 244:168-192, 2013). The 1D airway tree bridges the 3D CT-resolved airways and the registration-derived regional ventilation in the lung parenchyma, thus a multiscale model. Large eddy simulation (LES) is applied to simulate airflow in a breathing lung (Phys Fluids 21:101901, 2009). In this fluid dynamics video, we present the distributions of velocity, pressure, vortical structure, and wall shear stress in a breathing lung model of a normal human subject with a tidal volume of 500 ml and a period of 4.8 s. On exhalation, air streams from child branches merge in the parent branch, inducing oscillatory jets and elongated vortical tubes. On inhalation, the glottal constriction induces turbulent laryngeal jet. The sites where high wall shear stress tends to occur on the airway surface are identified for future investigation of mechanotransduction.Comment: This submission is part of the APS DFD Gallery of Fluid Motio

In vivo imaging reveals transient microglia recruitment and functional recovery of photoreceptor signaling after injury.

Microglia respond to damage and microenvironmental changes within the central nervous system by morphologically transforming and migrating to the lesion, but the real-time behavior of populations of these resident immune cells and the neurons they support have seldom been observed simultaneously. Here, we have used in vivo high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) and scanning laser ophthalmoscopy with and without adaptive optics to quantify the 3D distribution and dynamics of microglia in the living retina before and after local damage to photoreceptors. Following photoreceptor injury, microglia migrated both laterally and vertically through the retina over many hours, forming a tight cluster within the area of visible damage that resolved over 2 wk. In vivo OCT optophysiological assessment revealed that the photoreceptors occupying the damaged region lost all light-driven signaling during the period of microglia recruitment. Remarkably, photoreceptors recovered function to near-baseline levels after the microglia had departed the injury locus. These results demonstrate the spatiotemporal dynamics of microglia engagement and restoration of neuronal function during tissue remodeling and highlight the need for mechanistic studies that consider the temporal and structural dynamics of neuron-microglia interactions in vivo

Discussion on study of knowledge creation, innovation ability and organizational performance for high-tech industries in Taiwan

Taiwan's high-tech industry face intense global competitive environment, strengthening the capacity of its own through the creation of high-quality organizational performance has been the key focus of many studies. This study investigated the creation of knowledge and organizational performance. Information and communication, and electronic products within the high-tech knowledge-intensive industries were selected for this study. The overall effect is concerned, is not knowledge creation, innovation and organizational performance individually influence means that high-tech industries, organizations. Whether knowledge creation, innovation and organizational performance influence means that high-tech industries, organizations to enhance business performance created by knowledge began its maximum effectiveness

Surface characterization and properties of ordered arrays of CeO2 nanoparticles embedded in thin layers of SiO2

We demonstrated the surface composite character down to the nanometer scale of SiO2-CeO2 composite high surface area materials, prepared using 5 nm colloidal CeO2 nanoparticle building blocks. These materials are made of a homogeneous distribution of CeO2 nanoparticles in thin layers of SiO2, arranged in a hexagonal symmetry as shown by small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Since the preparation route of these composite materials was selected in order to produce SiO2 wall thickness in the range of the CeO2 nanoparticle diameter, these materials display surface nanorugosity as shown by inverse chromatography. Accessibility through the porous volume to the functional CeO2 nanoparticle surfaceswasevidenced throughanorganic acid chemisorption technique allowing quantitative determination of CeO2 surface ratio. This surface composite nanostructure down to the nanometer scale does not affect the fundamental properties of the functional CeO2 nanodomains, such as their oxygen storage capacity, but modifies the acid-base properties of the CeO2 surface nanodomains as evidenced by Fourier transform IR technique. These arrays of accessible CeO2 nanoparticles displaying high surface area and high thermal stability, along with the possibility of tuning their acid base properties, will exhibit potentialities for catalysis, sensors, etc

Preferences of LGBT Tourists Traveling to Smaller Cities

The global lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) population accounts for about 450 million people, with $3.7 trillion spending power per year2. With the rise of the “pink economy,” LGBT tourism destinations and suppliers have found ways to attract the LGBT tourist through increased target marketing, unique product offerings, and a welcoming environment. Most marketing campaigns targeting LGBT tourists have focused on acquiring LGBT tourists to larger cities with established LGBT communities. Thus, this study discusses the tourism preferences of LGBT tourists traveling to a smaller, regional city. LGBT consumers form their own unique subcultures, and consumption activities reflect their unique lifestyle and identity. These attributes are evident in the gay “servicescape,” which can be defined as physical spaces, such as restaurants, hotels, and events that LGBT consumers often seek while traveling. This report starts the discussion of how smaller cities can reap the economic and non-economic benefits of attracting the LGBT tourist. Data were collected using online-survey procedures in which 208 LGBT local (from the state of the study destination) and regional (from neighboring states) participated. A series of linear regressions analysis was used to examine the relationships between small city destination attributes and LGBT segment intentions to visit the study destination

A note on reducing spurious pressure oscillations in fully conservative discontinuous Galerkin simulations of multicomponent flows

A well-known issue associated with the use of fully conservative schemes in multicomponent-flow simulations is the generation of spurious pressure oscillations at contact interfaces. These oscillations can rapidly lead to solver divergence even in the presence of smooth interfaces that are not fully resolved. In this note, we compare various strategies for reducing such oscillations that do not (a) introduce conservation error, (b) rely on artificial viscosity or limiting, or (c) degrade order of accuracy in smooth regions of the flow. The considered test case is one-dimensional advection of a high-pressure nitrogen/n-dodecane thermal bubble using the thermally perfect gas model. Several results are presented that contradict those corresponding to the more conventional hydrogen/oxygen thermal-bubble case

Elevating Baseline Activation Does Not Facilitate Reading of Unattended Words

Previous studies have disagreed the extent to which people extract meaning from words presented outside the focus of spatial attention. The present study, examined a possible explanation for such discrepancies, inspired by attenuation theory: unattended words can be read more automatically when they have a high baseline level of activation (e.g., due to frequent repetition or due to being expected in a given context). We presented a brief prime word in lowercase, followed by a target word in uppercase. Participants indicated whether the target word belonged to a particular category (e.g., "sport"). When we drew attention to the prime word using a visual cue, the prime produced substantial priming effects on target responses (i.e., faster responses when the prime and target words were identical or from the same category than when they belonged to different categories). When prime words were not attended, however, they produced no priming effects. This finding replicated even when there were only 4 words, each repeated 160 times during the experiment. Even with a very high baseline level of activation, it appears that very little word processing is possible without spatial attention

Manganese Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Nonaqueous Sol-Gel Processing: Preferential Formation of Birnessite

High quality manganese oxide thin films with smooth surfaces and even thicknesses have been prepared with a nonaqueous sol–gel process involving reduction of tetraethylammonium permanganate in methanol. Spin-coated films have been cast onto soft glass, quartz, and Ni foil substrates, with two coats being applied for optimum crystallization. The addition of alkali metal cations as dopants results in exclusive formation of the layered birnessite phase. By contrast, analogous reactions in bulk sol–gel reactions yield birnessite, tunneled, and spinel phases depending on the dopant cation. XRD patterns confirm the formation of well-crystallized birnessite. SEM images of Li-, Na-, and K–birnessite reveal extremely smooth films having uniform thickness of less than 0.5 μm. Thin films of Rb– and Cs–birnessite have more fractured and uneven surfaces as a result of some precipitation during the sol–gel transformation. All films consist of densely packed particles of about 0.1 μm. When tetrabutylammonium permanganate is used instead of tetraethylammonium permanganate, the sol–gel reaction yields amorphous manganese oxide as the result of diluted Mn sites in the xerogel film. Bilayer films have been prepared by casting an overcoat of K–birnessite onto an Na–birnessite film. However, Auger depth profiling indicates considerable mixing between the adjacent layers

Chiral recognition at self-assembled multivalent (SAMul) nanoscale interfaces – enantioselectivity in polyanion binding

Self-assembled multivalent (SAMul) ligands based on palmitic acid functionalised with cationic L/D-lysine bind polyanionic heparin or DNA with no chiral preference. Inserting a glycine spacer unit switches on chiral discrimination – a rare example of controlled chiral recognition at a SAMul nanoscale interface