Looking Beyond AFTA: Prospects and Challenges for Inter-regional Trade

The world-trading environment has witnessed the proliferation of regional trading arrangements during the last decade. This development has been accompanied by the perceived threat this may bring to the rules-based multilateral trading system. The Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), for its part, has not only reaffirmed its commitment to move forward beyond the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and toward a higher level of economic integration, but is also looking at enhanced interaction and closer linkages with other regional groupings. This paper examines the prospects and challenges for expanding AFTA for inter-regional trade by first identifying the elements and principles that should govern such an expansion for it to contribute toward global liberalization. Areas for inter-regional linkages are also identified, highlighting the issues and conflicts that may arise considering the differing objectives and scope that AFTA has with the other trade blocs with which it may want to develop an inter-regional linkage. Some probable arrangements for linking/expanding AFTA with other groupings or non-ASEAN countries are then explored, particularly those involving the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relation (CER), the East Asian Countries and the Andean Community.trade liberalization, trade reforms, trade sector, liberalization, ASEAN, trade policies, Andean Community

Looking Beyond AFTA: Prospects and Challenges for Inter-regional Trade

The world-trading environment has witnessed the proliferation of regional trading arrangements during the last decade. This development has been accompanied by the perceived threat this may bring to the rules-based multilateral trading system. The Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), for its part, has not only reaffirmed its commitment to move forward beyond the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and toward a higher level of economic integration, but is also looking at enhanced interaction and closer linkages with other regional groupings. This paper examines the prospects and challenges for expanding AFTA for inter-regional trade by first identifying the elements and principles that should govern such an expansion for it to contribute toward global liberalization. Areas for inter-regional linkages are also identified, highlighting the issues and conflicts that may arise considering the differing objectives and scope that AFTA has with the other trade blocs with which it may want to develop an inter-regional linkage. Some probable arrangements for linking/expanding AFTA with other groupings or non-ASEAN countries are then explored, particularly those involving the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relation (CER), the East Asian Countries and the Andean Community.trade liberalization, trade reforms, trade sector, liberalization, ASEAN, trade policies, Andean Community

Where is the best site on Earth? Domes A, B, C and F, and Ridges A and B

The Antarctic plateau contains the best sites on earth for many forms of astronomy, but none of the existing bases was selected with astronomy as the primary motivation. In this article, we try to systematically compare the merits of potential observatory sites.We include South Pole, Domes A, C, and F, and also Ridge B (running northeast from Dome A), and what we call "Ridge A" (running southwest from Dome A). Our analysis combines satellite data, published results, and atmospheric models, to compare the boundary layer, weather, aurorae, airglow, precipitable water vapor, thermal sky emission, surface temperature, and the free atmosphere, at each site. We find that all Antarctic sites are likely to be compromised for optical work by airglow and aurorae. Of the sites with existing bases, Dome A is easily the best overall; but we find that Ridge A offers an even better site. We also find that Dome F is a remarkably good site. Dome C is less good as a thermal infrared or terahertz site, but would be able to take advantage of a predicted "OH hole" over Antarctica during spring.Comment: Revised version. 16 pages, 21 figures (22 in first version). Submitted to PASP 16/05/09, accepted 13/07/09; published 20/08/0

Clustering of multiple specific genes and gene-rich R-bands around SC-35 domains: evidence for local euchromatic neighborhoods

Typically, eukaryotic nuclei contain 10–30 prominent domains (referred to here as SC-35 domains) that are concentrated in mRNA metabolic factors. Here, we show that multiple specific genes cluster around a common SC-35 domain, which contains multiple mRNAs. Nonsyntenic genes are capable of associating with a common domain, but domain “choice” appears random, even for two coordinately expressed genes. Active genes widely separated on different chromosome arms associate with the same domain frequently, assorting randomly into the 3–4 subregions of the chromosome periphery that contact a domain. Most importantly, visualization of six individual chromosome bands showed that large genomic segments (∼5 Mb) have striking differences in organization relative to domains. Certain bands showed extensive contact, often aligning with or encircling an SC-35 domain, whereas others did not. All three gene-rich reverse bands showed this more than the gene-poor Giemsa dark bands, and morphometric analyses demonstrated statistically significant differences. Similarly, late-replicating DNA generally avoids SC-35 domains. These findings suggest a functional rationale for gene clustering in chromosomal bands, which relates to nuclear clustering of genes with SC-35 domains. Rather than random reservoirs of splicing factors, or factors accumulated on an individual highly active gene, we propose a model of SC-35 domains as functional centers for a multitude of clustered genes, forming local euchromatic “neighborhoods.

4-Dimensional BF Theory as a Topological Quantum Field Theory

Starting from a Lie group G whose Lie algebra is equipped with an invariant nondegenerate symmetric bilinear form, we show that 4-dimensional BF theory with cosmological term gives rise to a TQFT satisfying a generalization of Atiyah's axioms to manifolds equipped with principal G-bundle. The case G = GL(4,R) is especially interesting because every 4-manifold is then naturally equipped with a principal G-bundle, namely its frame bundle. In this case, the partition function of a compact oriented 4-manifold is the exponential of its signature, and the resulting TQFT is isomorphic to that constructed by Crane and Yetter using a state sum model, or by Broda using a surgery presentation of 4-manifolds.Comment: 15 pages in LaTe