Revisiting Rose's common currency debate

The main objective of this research is to revisit the estimation of the effect of a common currency on international trade by applying the new methodology proposed by Helpman, Melitz and Rubistein (2008) and incorporating tourism to the theoretical framework. Rose (2000) estimates an empirical model of bilateral trade, finding a significant coefficient for a currency union variable of 1.2, suggesting an effect of currency unions on trade of over a 200%. Rose (2000)’s finding did not receive full acceptance and further research was consequently devoted to find reasons of such high effect. This still remains as a major puzzle in the International Economics. Rose and Van Wincoop (2001) hold that there may still be some omitted factors that drives countries to both participate in currency unions and trade more. In this research a gravity equation for trade is estimated controlling by international tourism.Common currency, tourism, gravity equation

On the impact of exchange rate regimes on tourism

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the effect of the exchange rate arrangements on international tourism. The ambiguity of literature about the effect of exchange rate volatility contrasts with the magnitude of the impact of a common currency on trade. On the basis of a gravity equation we estimate a moderate effect of a currency union on tourism of almost 12%. Furthermore, we estimate a gravity equation for international trade, obtaining that the common currency effect on trade is reduced when tourism is introduced as a regressor. This suggests that tourism flows may contribute to explain the excessive magnitude of the estimated effect of a common currency on trade in this literature. Finally, we analyze the impact of several de facto exchange rate arrangements on tourism, finding that less flexible exchange rates promotes tourism flows.Tourism, Exchange Rate Regime, Common Currency

Propiedades mecánicas de mezclas bituminosas en caliente fabricadas con áridos reciclados de residuos de construcción y demolición

The mix design for asphalt mixtures containing recycled aggregates from construction and demolition debris was evaluated. The tests conducted to characterize the mechanical behaviour of these mixtures showed that the mechanical properties of mixtures with recycled and virgin aggregate are similar. The asphalt mixtures containing recycled aggregate proved to have lower resistance to water action. Nonetheless, recycled aggregate was found to be potentially usable in asphalt mixtures if higher quality materials are selected and such low resistance is corrected. This will call for expanding upon the preliminary work described in the present article.En este trabajo se dosificaron mezclas bituminosas fabricadas con áridos reciclados de residuos de construcción y demolición. Se realizaron una serie de ensayos que permitieron caracterizar el comportamiento mecánico de estas mezclas. Los parámetros mecánicos de las mezclas con áridos reciclados son similares a los de las mezclas fabricadas únicamente con áridos naturales de cantera. Sin embargo, las mezclas bituminosas con áridos reciclados tuvieron un mal comportamiento frente a la disminución de la resistencia por pérdida de cohesión por la acción del agua. No obstante, mediante la selección de materiales de mejor calidad y corrección de este mal comportamiento, existen posibilidades de utilizar áridos reciclados en mezclas bituminosas. Para ello será necesario ampliar la primera aproximación realizada en este artículo

Improving psychological wellbeing with robots

Robot users that receive psychological or psy-chotherapeutic support from robots (e.g. robots that motivate users to perform certain tasks) are usually aware of participating in a psychological intervention. The present paper aims to ascertain whether robot users should indeed remain aware, or rather unaware, of participating in such type of interventions. We present an experiment with two conditions. In one condition (direct) the robot made participants aware of being subjected to a psychological intervention, the three good things exercise from positive psychology, whereas in the other condition (indirect) participants were not made aware of the intervention. Our results show that the robot succeeded in improving participants' positive affect in the direct condition but their affect worsened in the indirect condition.</p

Optical photometry of the UCM Lists I and II. II-B band surface photometry and morphological discussion

We present Johnson B surface photometry for the UCM Survey galaxies. One-dimensional bulge-disk decomposition is attempted, discussing on fitting functions and computational procedures. The results from this decomposition, jointly with concentration indices and an asymmetry coefficient, are employed to study the morphological properties of these galaxies. We also compare our results with the previous morphological classification established using Gunn r imaging data and with other samples of galaxies. No major statistical differences in morphology are found between red and blue data, although some characteristics such as size and luminosity concentration vary. We find a correlation between luminosity and size. Several parameters are used to segregate the objects according to their morphological type.Comment: 19 pages, 20 PostScript figures, accepted for publication in A&A, also available via anonymous ftp at ftp://cutrex.fis.ucm.es/pub/OUT/pag/PAPERS/AA0

Present and future of the OTELO project

OTELO is an emission-line object survey carried out with the red tunable filter of the instrument OSIRIS at the GTC, whose aim is to become the deepest emission-line object survey to date. With 100% of the data of the first pointing finally obtained in June 2014, we present here some aspects of the processing of the data and the very first results of the OTELO survey. We also explain the next steps to be followed in the near future.Comment: Oral contribution presented in the XI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society held on September 8-12, in Teruel, Spain (7 pages, 2 figures, 1 table). To appear in Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VIII, Proceedings of the XI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society. Eds. A. J. Cenarro, F. Figueras, C. Hern\'andez-Monteagudo, J. Trujillo, L. Valdiviels

Lupinus mariae-josephii (Leguminosae) en la comarca de Camp de Turia (Valencia)

Se aporta para la comarca valenciana de Camp de Túria una nueva población de Lupinus mariae-josephae (Leguminosae), especie endémica de la Comunidad Valenciana (España), catalogada como Vulnerable en el Catálogo Valenciano de Especies de Flora Amenazadas. La población se localiza en el término municipal de Riba-roja de Túria y representa hasta el momento la más septentrional de su área de distribución.A new population of Lupinus mariae-josephae (Leguminosae) from Camp de Túria region is provided. This species is an endemic plant of Valencian Community (Spain) and it is listed as Vulnerable in the Valencian Catalog of Threatened Plant Species. This population is located in Riba-roja de Túria and constitutes the most northern of this species

The Evolution of Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies: Disks or Spheroids?

Luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs) are a diverse class of galaxies characterized by high luminosity, blue color, and high surface brightness that sit at the critical juncture of galaxies evolving from the blue to the red sequence. As part of our multi-wavelength survey of local LCBGs, we have been studying the HI content of these galaxies using both single-dish telescopes and interferometers. Our goals are to determine if single-dish HI observations represent a true measure of the dynamical mass of LCBGs and to look for signatures of recent interactions that may be triggering star formation in LCBGs. Our data show that while some LCBGs are undergoing interactions, many appear isolated. While all LCBGs contain HI and show signatures of rotation, the population does not lie on the Tully-Fisher relation nor can it evolve onto it. Furthermore, the HI maps of many LCBGs show signatures of dynamically hot components, suggesting that we are seeing the formation of a thick disk or spheroid in at least some LCBGs. There is good agreement between the HI and H-alpha kinematics for LCBGs, and both are similar in appearance to the H-alpha kinematics of high redshift star-forming galaxies. Our combined data suggest that star formation in LCBGs is primarily quenched by virial heating, consistent with model predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 277, "Tracing the Ancestry of Galaxies on the Land of our Ancestors", eds. C. Carignan, K.C. Freeman, and F. Combe

Cartografía geomorfológica y procesos de activos en la cuenca media-alta del río Eria mediante técnicas de SIG.( Provincia de León, España)

El objetivo es la elaboración de la cartografía geomorfológica y de procesos geológicos activos de un tramo del curso medio de la cuenca del río Eria, en el sector suroccidental de la provincia de León utilizando técnicas de SIG. El trabajo se ha basado en la fotointerpretación de fotos aéreas en visión estereoscópica, estudio bibliográfico y aplicación de técnicas de SIG para el análisis de modelos digitales de terreno y mapas derivados (pendientes, alturas…) y para la representación cartográfica. Como resultado se distinguen tres dominios de relieve caracterizados por diferentes procesos geológicos: dominio de los relieves sobre sustrato paleozoico, dominio de los relieves de origen fluvial y dominio de las formas de origen antrópico. En el primero tienen gran relevancia las formas del relieve relacionadas con la estructura geológica hercínica, en donde aparecen procesos activos ligados a procesos gravitacionales, originando formas del relieve como canchales, coluviones, depósitos de piedemonte y. Debido a lo escarpado de este dominio, apenas existen infraestructuras humanas, por lo que la interferencia de los procesos activos con las mismas es baja. En el segundo dominio aparecen formas del relieve originadas por procesos activos relacionados con el encajamiento de la red fluvial y de sedimentación, pudiendo afectar a infraestructuras humanas. En el tercero aparecen actuaciones susceptibles de interferir con los procesos activos naturales, provocando efectos adversos para la población. La información cartográfica obtenida supone la base para un análisis de susceptibilidad espacial de los distintos peligros de origen geológico, útil para la planificación territorial.The aim of this work is to represent by means of GIS techniques the geomorphological and active geological processes map of the middle course of the Eria river, located in the southwestern León province, Spain. This study is based on aerial photointerpretation, bibliographic analysis of previous works, and on the application of GIS techniques. These techniques were used for the representation of the mapping units, and for analyzing a DTM and derived maps (slop, aspect, etc.), creating a spatial and attribute database.Three main relief domains were differentiated based on the predominant active geological processes: the domain of landforms developed on the Palaeozoic metamorphic rocks, the domain of fluvial landforms, and the domain of anthropogenic landforms. The first one is mainly related to active gravitational processes, but because of the low human occupation, the interaction with human infrastructures is almost negligible. The second one is mainly related to incision and sedimentation of the drainage network, interacting with some human infrastructures developed on the floodplains, alluvial fans and close to the river side. The third one is formed by human elements affecting and modifying at different levels the strength of the active geological processes. The resulting map act as a basis for further spatial susceptibility for geological hazards analysis, which is useful for land use planning

Topical treatment of actinic keratoses with potassium dobesilate 5% cream. A preliminary open-label study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) is involved in skin tumorigenesis: it promotes cell viability, induces angiogenesis and stimulates invasiveness. Dobesilate is a drug that blocks the activity of FGF. The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of potassium dobesilate 5% cream in the treatment of actinic keratoses.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Potassium dobesilate 5% cream was applied twice daily for 16 weeks to actinic keratosis lesions in 30 patients. The lesions were evaluated clinically at an initial baseline visit, at intermediate visits, and at 16 weeks of treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The use of potassium dobesilate 5% cream for 16 weeks induced complete regression in 70% of evaluated actinic keratoses, corresponding to grade I, II and III clinical variants, and a partial response (at least 75% reduction of lesions) in 20% of the cases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our preliminary trial shows that potassium dobesilate exerts anti-tumorigenic effects and may play a useful role in the chemoprevention of skin cancers.</p