Impacts of agricultural trade liberalization on poverty: sensitivity of results to factors mobility among sectors

The Purposes of this paper are twofold (i) to evaluate changes in welfare gains and their distribution due to trade liberalization when imperfect labor markets are considered, (ii) to evaluate the impact of the recent reforms of the European agricultural policy on the world welfare. The results of two versions of a dynamic world computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, using the GTAP database version 6 are compared. In the first version, a standard world CGE approach is followed with perfect labor mobility across sectors. In the second version we assume that labor shifts freely within the aggregated sectors -agriculture, manufactures, services- but not across them .After a brief description of the two versions, changes in welfare, represented not only by the world GDP but also by the consumption level of two types of households (middle-low and middle-high) in 7 regions (Brazil, China, India, Least developed countries, European Union, United States, Rest of the World) after partial trade liberalization are presented. Theoretical and political consequences of the results are discussed.Food Security and Poverty, International Relations/Trade,

Cumulative risk and youth problem behaviors : the role of IQ, cognitive problem-solving ability, and self-esteem

This study examined the relationships among cumulative environmental risk exposure, youth personal attributes (IQ, cognitive problem-solving ability, and self-esteem) and indicators of youth maladjustment in a nationally representative sample of adolescent youth. Cross-sectional analyses revealed a significant positive, linear association between cumulative risk and both externalizing and internalizing problem behavior. The concurrent association between cumulative risk and internalizing problem behavior was significantly stronger for female and Caucasian youth. A protective effect of self-esteem on both externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors was demonstrated as well as a weak protective effect of cognitive problem-solving ability on externalizing problem behaviors. Longitudinal findings indicated that cumulative risk was a significant predictor of change over time in internalizing problem behavior. Cognitive problem-solving ability and self-esteem demonstrated compensatory roles in the risk-maladjustment relationship, suggesting that the protective quality of these assets is immediate rather than long-term

Fast, adaptive, high order accurate discretization of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation in two dimension

We present a fast direct solver for two dimensional scattering problems, where an incident wave impinges on a penetrable medium with compact support. We represent the scattered field using a volume potential whose kernel is the outgoing Green's function for the exterior domain. Inserting this representation into the governing partial differential equation, we obtain an integral equation of the Lippmann-Schwinger type. The principal contribution here is the development of an automatically adaptive, high-order accurate discretization based on a quad tree data structure which provides rapid access to arbitrary elements of the discretized system matrix. This permits the straightforward application of state-of-the-art algorithms for constructing compressed versions of the solution operator. These solvers typically require $O(N^{3/2})$ work, where $N$ denotes the number of degrees of freedom. We demonstrate the performance of the method for a variety of problems in both the low and high frequency regimes.Comment: 18 page

Amplitude-based Generalized Plane Waves: new Quasi-Trefftz functions for scalar equations in 2D

Generalized Plane Waves (GPWs) were introduced to take advantage of Trefftz methods for problems modeled by variable coefficient equations. Despite the fact that GPWs do not satisfy the Trefftz property, i.e. they are not exact solutions to the governing equation, they instead satisfy a quasi-Trefftz property: they are only approximate solutions. They lead to high order numerical methods, and this quasi-Trefftz property is critical for their numerical analysis. The present work introduces a new family of GPWs, amplitude-based. The motivation lies in the poor behavior of the phase-based GPW approximations in the pre-asymptotic regime, which will be tamed by avoiding high degree polynomials within an exponential. The new ansatz is introduces higher order terms in the amplitude rather than the phase of a plane wave as was initially proposed. The new functions' construction and the study of their interpolation properties are guided by the roadmap proposed in [16]. For the sake of clarity, the first focus is on the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation with spatially-varying wavenumber. The extension to a range of operators allowing for anisotropy in the first and second order terms follows. Numerical simulations illustrate the theoretical study of the new quasi-Trefftz functions

Évaluation des activités du CTA en vue d’encourager les contacts et les échanges d’expérience : résumé : constats et recommandations

Le présent document est un résumé du rapport final de synthèse de l’étude — réalisée par le BIEF (Bureau d’Ingénierie en Éducation et en Formation) entre juin 1998 et janvier 1999 — portant sur l’évaluation des activités du CTA qui se sont déroulées entre 1993 et 1997 en vue d’encourager les contacts et les échanges d’expérience.Evaluation des activités du CTA qui se sont déroulées entre 1993 et 1997 en vue d’encourager les contacts et les échanges d’expérience

Interview with Eleanor E. Gerard & Marie Burner

Discusses Orville Wright, Katherine Wright, Miss Alice Hall and her sisters (Lilah and Agnes), Catherine Hadeler and Carrie Grumbach

Dependence of TIMP-1 plasma levels on preanalytical specimen handling

Background: Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) in blood might be a helpful biomarker in various diseases. However, various authors report that TIMP-1 is dependent on preanalytical procedures. Our study was performed to determine how storage conditions and time to centrifugation influence TIMP-1. Materials and Methods: Twenty-six blood specimens were collected from each of 20 volunteers. Two specimens from each person were centrifuged/measured within 1 h after venipuncture and frozen at -80 degrees C. They were thawed once or twice within 72 h. Eight specimens were stored at 20 degrees C in daylight, 8 at 20 degrees C covered and 8 at 4 C in daylight. Four of each of these 8 specimens were mixed once a day until centrifugation. A mixed and an unmixed specimen of each group was centrifuged/measured after 3, 6, 24 and 72 h. Results: TIMP-1 increased after freeze/ thaw (p < 0.001). Mixing blood specimens more than once caused increased TIMP-1 (p < 0.001). TIMP-1 increased within 3 h of storage (p < 0.001). The increase was lower in specimens covered and refrigerated (p < 0.001). Conclusion: TIMP-1 is unstable and has to be evaluated carefully. Blood should be centrifuged directly after venipuncture. For routine application, specimen handling must be standardized and carefully followed. Research should be done on specimens handled identically. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel