Mexican agricultural trade under the GATT

Expected effects from partially lifting tariff barriers on the Mexican agricultural sector are investigated using a restricted profit function (RPF) approach. Short-run and intermediate-run effects of the implementation of GATT minimum tariff provisions on Mexican agricultural trade are examined. Specification tests reveal the appropriateness of the RPF approach, that exports should not be aggregated with non-traded production into a single output, and that the farm sector behaves as an 'almost' price-taking, profit-maximizing firm. Policy simulations suggest important short-run changes in agricultural trade and chemical use and intermediate-run changes in agricultural trade, labour wage, chemical use, capital investments, and net farm income.

Evaporation-Induced Crystallization of Surfactants in Sessile Multicomponent Droplets

Surfactants have been widely studied and used in controlling droplet evaporation. In this work, we observe and study the crystallization of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) within an evaporating glycerol–water mixture droplet. The crystallization is induced by the preferential evaporation of water, which decreases the solubility of SDS in the mixture. As a consequence, the crystals shield the droplet surface and cease the evaporation. The universality of the evaporation characteristics for a range of droplet sizes is revealed by applying a diffusion model, extended by Raoult’s law. To describe the nucleation and growth of the crystals, we employ the 2-dimensional crystallization model of Weinberg [J. Non-Cryst. Solids 134 (1991) 116]. The results of this model compare favorably to our experimental results. Our findings may inspire the community to reconsider the role of high concentration of surfactants in a multicomponent evaporation system

Sensitivity of ultrasound screening for congenital anomalies in unselected pregnancies.

To assess the influence of heart defect frequency and severity on screening sensitivity of the entire spectrum of congenital anomalies (CA) and on detection rate of congenital heart defect (CHD) when performing routine ultrasound screening in unselected pregnant women.Comparative StudyJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin induces cytokine production by human lung macrophages

PosterInternational audienc

Structural relaxation effects on the electronic excitations and optical properties of Ge nanocrystals embedded in a SiC matrix

We propose a combined method to eciently perform ground- and excited-state calculations for relaxed geometries using both a rst-principles approach and a classical molecular-dynamics scheme. We apply this method to calculate the ground state, the optical properties, and the electronic excitations of Ge nanoparticles embedded in a SiC matrix. Classical dynamics is used to relax the large cell system. First-principles techniques are then used to calculate the electronic structure and, in turn, the electronic excitations and optical properties. The proposed procedure is tested with data resulting from a full rst-principles scheme. Good qualitative accordance has been found between the results after the two computational paths regarding the structure, the optical properties and even the electronic excitations

Human lung and monocyte-derived macrophages differ with regard to the effects of β2-adrenoceptor agonists on cytokine release

International audienceBackground: β2-adrenoceptor agonists have been shown to reduce the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytokine release by human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). We compare the expression of β2-adrenoceptors and the inhibitory effect of formoterol and salmeterol on the LPS-induced release of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and a range of chemokines (CCL2, 3, 4, and IL-8) by human lung macrophages (LMs) and MDMs. Methods: LMs were isolated from patients undergoing resection and MDMs were obtained from blood monocytes in the presence of GM-CSF. LMs and MDMs were incubated in the absence or presence of formoterol or salmeterol prior to stimulation with LPS. The effects of formoterol were also assessed in the presence of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor roflumilast. Results: LPS-induced cytokine production was higher in LMs than in MDMs. Salmeterol and formoterol exerted an inhibitory effect on the LPS-induced production of TNF-α, IL-6, CCL2, CCL3, and CCL4 in MDMs. In contrast, the β2-adrenoceptor agonists were devoid of any effect on LMs - even in the presence of roflumilast. The expression of β2-adrenergic receptors was detected on Western blots in MDMs but not in LMs. Conclusions: Concentrations of β2-adrenoceptor agonists that cause relaxation of the human bronchus can inhibit cytokine production by LPS-stimulated MDMs but not by LMs. © 2017 The Author(s)