Controlling the Transfer of Militarily Significant Technology: COCOM After Toshiba

The Note argues that the Toshiba and Krongsberg sales illustrate the critical need of Western allies to agree on a functional means of promoting international trade without compromising international security. Part I examines the illegal sale of ship building technology to the Soviey Union by Toshiba. Part II discusses how COCOM works. Part III analyzes current coproate, national, and multilateral efforts to enhance the effectiveness of export controls. This Note concludes that to prevent future violations, the member nations of COCOM should adjust their export control policies to reflect changes in technological progress and should strive to achieve greater unification in their policies and goals

Augustinianisms and Thomisms (Chapter Nine of the Cambridge Companion to Political Theology)

Excerpt: The standard linage of Augustine and Aquinas that emerges in twentieth-century textbooks of political philosophy is that of two fundamentally opposed theological approaches to the political. Augustine, in one corner, is the clear-eyed realist, convinced that political society is fallen, mired in the consequences of original sin and the contingent necessity to restrain evil, vice, and sin. Aquinas, in the other corner, is the more cheerful Aristotelian, who emphasizes the inherent goodness and naturalness of political society and its beneficial purposes for human flourishing.\u27 These contrasting visions continue to animate diverse Christian understandings of the limits and possibilities of politics

Degeneration of Dynamical Degrees in Families of Maps

The dynamical degree of a dominant rational map $f:\mathbb{P}^N\rightarrow\mathbb{P}^N$ is the quantity $\delta(f):=\lim(\text{deg} f^n)^{1/n}$. We study the variation of dynamical degrees in 1-parameter families of maps $f_T$. We make a conjecture and ask two questions concerning, respectively, the set of $t$ such that: (1) $\delta(f_t)\le\delta(f_T)-\epsilon$; (2) $\delta(f_t)<\delta(f_T)$; (3) $\delta(f_t)<\delta(f_T)$ and $\delta(g_t)<\delta(g_T)$ for "independent" families of maps. We give a sufficient condition for our conjecture to hold and prove that it is true for monomial maps. We describe non-trivial families of maps for which our questions have affirmative and negative answers.Comment: 18 pages. This is an expanded version of the article publishd in Acta Arithmetica. It contains a corrected statement and full proof of Propostion 11(c

Bundling, Product Choice, and Efficiency: Should Cable Television Networks be Offered A La Carte?

We conduct a numerical analysis of bundling's impact on a monopolist's pricing and product choices and assess the implications for consumer welfare in cable television markets. Existing theory is ambiguous: for a given set of products, bundling likely transfers surplus from consumers to firms but also encourages products to be offered that might not be under a la carte pricing. Simulation of "Full A La Carte" for an economic environment calibrated to an average cable television system suggests that consumers would likely benefit from a la carte sales. If all networks continued to be offered, the average household's surplus is predicted to increase by $6.80 (65.6%) under a la carte sales (despite a total bundle price that almost doubles) and reduced network profits would have to be such that 41 of 50 offered cable networks have to exit the market to make her indifferent. Simulation of a "Theme Tier" scenario provides intermediate benefits. The incremental marginal costs to cable systems of a la carte sales and its impact in the advertising market and on competition are important factors in determining consumer benefits. (JEL L12, L82, L50).

Activity of glucose oxidase functionalized onto magnetic nanoparticles

BACKGROUND: Magnetic nanoparticles have been significantly used for coupling with biomolecules, due to their unique properties. METHODS: Magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by thermal co-precipitation of ferric and ferrous chloride using two different base solutions. Glucose oxidase was bound to the particles by direct attachment via carbodiimide activation or by thiophene acetylation of magnetic nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the size and structure of the particles while the binding of glucose oxidase to the particles was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: The direct binding of glucose oxidase via carbodiimide activity was found to be more effective, resulting in bound enzyme efficiencies between 94–100% while thiophene acetylation was 66–72% efficient. Kinetic and stability studies showed that the enzyme activity was more preserved upon binding onto the nanoparticles when subjected to thermal and various pH conditions. The overall activity of glucose oxidase was improved when bound to magnetic nanoparticles CONCLUSION: Binding of enzyme onto magnetic nanoparticles via carbodiimide activation is a very efficient method for developing bioconjugates for biological application