Aplicabilidade da teoria das essential facilities à propriedade industrial no sistema antitruste brasileiro

Orientador: Márcia Carla Pereira RibeiroMonografia (graduação) - Universidade Federal do Paraná,Setor de Ciências Jurídicas, Curso de Graduação em DireitoO presente trabalho apresenta a interação existente entre a propriedade industrial e as normas antitruste e busca demonstrar como a inovação adquire um papel central no processo competitivo. Além disso, analisa a propriedade industrial sob um aspecto funcional, destacando como seus objetivos fundamentais o incentivo económico à inovação e a disseminação de tecnologia, a partir de conceitos derivados da análise económica do direito e da economia da informação. Posteriormente, trata da teoria das essential facilities e descreve seus pressupostos de aplicação, bem como trata da sua compatibilidade com o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. Por fim, versa das características das condutas anticoncorrenciais envolvendo o uso de propriedade industrial e as situações em que se apresenta como uma um bem essencial ao desenvolvimento de uma atividade económica, ponderando-se sobre as possibilidades de aplicação da teoria das essential facilities a estes casos

Association Between Ideal Cardiovascular Health and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness: A Twin Study

Background The American Heart Association (AHA) recently developed the Cardiovascular Health Index (CVHI), a health metric consisting of 7 modifiable risk factors. The relationship of the CVHI with preclinical markers, such as carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) has not been assessed. Methods We examined 490 male monozygotic and dizygotic twins without overt cardiovascular disease. CIMT was measured using B-mode ultrasonography. Each of the 7 CVHI components (blood pressure, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, body mass index, physical activity, healthy diet, and smoking) was given a point score of 0, 1, or 2 to represent poor, intermediate, or ideal health, respectively. A CVHI summation score was computed (range 0 to 14) and categorized as inadequate (0 to 4), average (5 to 9), or optimum (10 to 14) cardiovascular health. Mixed-model regression was used to examine the association of the CVHI with CIMT. Results The mean age of the twins was 55.4 years, and 61% were monozygotic. The mean CIMT was 0.75 (±0.11) mm and the mean CVHI score was 7.7 (±2.1). There was an inverse correlation between CVHI and CIMT (Spearman r=−0.22, P\u3c0.01). For every 5-unit increase in overall CVHI score (indicating better cardiovascular health category), CIMT decreased by 0.045 mm (P\u3c0.001) after adjusting for demographic variables and other confounders. Within monozygotic twin pairs, a 5-unit increment in CVHI score was associated with a 0.05 mm lower CIMT (P\u3c0.001). Conclusions The CVHI is independently associated with CIMT and the association is not confounded by shared genetic and other familial factors

From lithium to sodium: Cell chemistry of room temperature sodium-air and sodium-sulfur batteries

Research devoted to room temperature lithium–sulfur (Li/S8) and lithium–oxygen (Li/O2) batteries has significantly increased over the past ten years. The race to develop such cell systems is mainly motivated by the very high theoretical energy density and the abundance of sulfur and oxygen. The cell chemistry, however, is complex, and progress toward practical device development remains hampered by some fundamental key issues, which are currently being tackled by numerous approaches. Quite surprisingly, not much is known about the analogous sodium-based battery systems, although the already commercialized, high-temperature Na/S8 and Na/NiCl2 batteries suggest that a rechargeable battery based on sodium is feasible on a large scale. Moreover, the natural abundance of sodium is an attractive benefit for the development of batteries based on low cost components. This review provides a summary of the state-of-the-art knowledge on lithium–sulfur and lithium–oxygen batteries and a direct comparison with the analogous sodium systems. The general properties, major benefits and challenges, recent strategies for performance improvements and general guidelines for further development are summarized and critically discussed. In general, the substitution of lithium for sodium has a strong impact on the overall properties of the cell reaction and differences in ion transport, phase stability, electrode potential, energy density, etc. can be thus expected. Whether these differences will benefit a more reversible cell chemistry is still an open question, but some of the first reports on room temperature Na/S8 and Na/O2 cells already show some exciting differences as compared to the established Li/S8 and Li/O2 systems

Interbank Networks and Backdoor Bailouts: Benefiting from other Banks’ Government Guarantees

This paper explains why banks derive a benefit from being highly interconnected. We show that when banks are protected by government guarantees, they can significantly increase their expected returns by channeling funds through the interbank market before these funds are invested in real assets. If banks that are protected by implicit or explicit government guarantees act as intermediaries between other banks and real investments, there is the possibility that these intermediary banks will be rescued by their governments if the real assets fail. This additional hedge increases the likelihood that banks and their creditors are repaid relative to a direct investment in those same real assets. We show that this incentive to exploit the government guarantees of other banks leads to long intermediation chains and a degree of interconnectedness that is above the welfare-optimal level, which justifies regulatory intervention

Three essays on bank risk-taking from a portfolio perspective

This dissertation studies three distinct aspects of bank risk-taking from a novel portfolio perspective. First, I provide compelling evidence demonstrating that banks with high industry exposure adeptly adapt loan contract design to prevent potential adverse effects on loan portfolio value arising from the interaction between rival borrowers. Second, I stress the importance of banks’ pre-existing exposure and asset concentration in characterizing the risk-shifting incentives of banks enjoying government guarantees coverage. Last, I show that government guarantees coverage prompts bank risk-shifting at the intensive margin, and induces borrowers to leverage excessively, overinvest, and engage in low-quality projects. Altogether, I highlight the importance of pre-existing exposure in shaping banks’ risk management incentives and its connection to two key issues: the rise in bank concentration and the extent of government guarantees coverage. These findings carry noteworthy implications for bank lending behavior and loan contract design, ultimately impacting borrowers’ corporate policy and potentially giving rise to unintended policy consequences