How cyclical do cyclically-adjusted balances remain? An EU study

Observed budget balances are an imperfect indicator of the fiscal policy stance, because fluctuations in economic activity induce automatic changes in the balance, hence the use of cyclically-adjusted balances (CAB). However, this paper shows that CABs (as measured through one of the two methods currently used by the Commission) tend to be systematically overestimated during downturns and underestimated during expansions. The dominant source of this distortion arises from the filtering of revenues deemed to be cyclical, possibly signalling a problem with the computation of elasticities. The effect of the items which are assumed not to move with the cycle is non significant, but this overall result conceals offseting effects: public investment turns to be significantly procyclical and interest payments and transfers to firms are countercyclical. Classification-JEL : H6, E6.. cyclically adjusted balances, fiscal policy, EU.

How to distinguish between a block cipher and a random permutation by lowering the input entropy

IEEE 35th International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology. Londres, 16-19 October 2001A novel cryptanalysis technique is presented, and its suitability for distinguishing a block cipher algorithm or a hash function from a random permutation is explained. Additionally, we propose a genetic algorithm based implementation and show some preliminary results of these ideas on reduced rounds versions of the block cipher TEA

Osteoblastoma del sacro. A propósito de dos casos clínicos.

El osteoblastoma es un tumor óseo primitivo de frecuente localización en los elementos posteriores de la columna vertebral, aunque raro en el sacro. Se presentan dos osteoblastomas del sacro, con un seguimiento medio de ocho años, tratados mediante resección intralesional que, sin morbilidad, deparó un excelente resultado. El curetaje sería un procedimiento de resección válido en osteoblastomas sacros no agresivos, si bien obliga a un seguimiento prolongado del paciente para vigilar la posibilidad de recidivas locales.Osteoblastoma is a primary neoplasm of bone fre- quently located in the posterior elements of the spine, alt- hough rarely affecting the sacrum. Two cases in this location are reported, with a mean follow-up of eight years, treated with an intralesional resection that, without any morbidity, has provided an excellent result. Curettage should be a valid re- section procedure for nonagressive osteoblastomas of the sacrum, although it makes necessary a long follow-up in or- der to watch over the possibility of a local recurrence

Improvement of olive oil quality: Metabolic, biochemical and molecular analysis of squalene biosynthesis in olive

The virgin olive oil (VOO) is a natural olive juice of special importance in Mediterranean diet due to both its beneficial effects on human health [1] and its exceptional organoleptic properties. These characteristics are due to the presence of the major components, which are the triacylglycerols, and certain groups of compounds encompassed under the term of minor components. Among the minor compounds of VOO, squalene is a polyunsaturated triterpene which is an intermediate metabolite in the synthesis of steroids and terpenoids [2]. In recent years, special attention has been paid to squalene because of the benefits that its ingestion contributes to health. Squalene is considered a natural antioxidant and has been frequently used as an additive to lipid emulsions and as drug carrier in pharmaceutical and vaccine applications. In addition, clinical studies indicate that as a component of olive oil it also has a preventive effect on breast cancer, possesses tumor-protective and a cardio-protective properties [3]. The richest source of squalene is shark liver oil (60% fresh weight), but because of the care protection of marine species concerns, the production of squalene from shark liver oil has been questioned. For this reason, the extraction of squalene from plant species would be of great interest to have a sustainable source of squalene.In this study, the identification of olive genes with a high degree of similarity with the squalene synthase (SQS) genes of the model plant Arabidopsis was carried out from the olive transcriptome and also through the olive genome, both deposited in GenBank  [4, 5]. From the identified sequences, a pair of specific oligonucleotides for each sequence were designed and used to obtain  the full-length cDNA clones  encoding for olive SQS. In addition, we are analyzing the olive SQS genes expression levels in mesocarp and seed during the olive fruit development and ripening by QPCR. Finally, in order to confirm the functional identity of olive SQS cloned genes, we are going to carry out their  functional expression in the bacteria E. coli followed by the biochemical characterization of the corresponding recombinants enzymes.Therefore, the general objetive of this study is to improve the VOO nutritional and technological quality by increasing the squalene content of olive fruit. To achieve this, we focus on the isolation and characterization of the main genes involved in squalene synthesis in olive mesocarp

Rheology of Water-in-water emulsions: Caseinate-pectin and caseinatealginate systems

Conventional models developed for oil-water emulsions do not fit viscosity of caseinate-pectin and caseinatealginate water-in water emulsions, which is always lower than predicted, except for high viscosities of disperse phase. These models do not consider strong deformations, prevented by the high interfacial tension of oil-water interphases. The ultra-low interfacial tension of water-in-water emulsions facilitates the creation of interphase and very elongated droplets. Capron model considers interfacial tension, fitting results when the dispersed phase is the most viscous, but, for other cases, lower experimental values are obtained related to the shear-induced stratification. Even values below the stratification model are observed for some samples, related to the influence of the interphase in the viscosity of the emulsion. A model that takes into account the presence of a relatively thick interphase poor in both polymers is proposed. Intermediate structures between highly elongated and stratified fluids, with influence of interphase viscosity could explain results

Printers are dangerous

Proceeding of: IEEE 35th International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology, London , UK, 16 - 19 october 2001In the last years, many new intelligent full-featured peripherals that assist information systems have appeared. Those peripherals, such as printers, copiers, PDA organizers, Web cameras, etc. usually have a very friendly way of configuration and management (via http, ftp or telnet servers) and offer more networked services everyday. Their computation, memory and networking capabilities have also increased in the last years. Nowadays, many of them are comparable to workstations and run complete operating systems such as Linux or Solaris. All those factors imply that these devices could represent a real threat to the security of information systems. This problem is even worse because most of those peripherals have been considered inoffensive and not many administrators are aware of their security risks. The most representative example is printers, which have been traditionally considered totally harmless devices. At the present time, that idea is difficult to defend because many security incidents related with networked printers have arisen in the last years. System and security administrators have traditionally focused their efforts in fortifying servers and hosts only, but it seems that this view is not enough for assuring security nowadays.Publicad

Phylogeography of Drosophila subobscura from north Atlantic islands inferred from mtDNA A+T rich region sequences

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Paleo and historical seismicity in Mallorca (Baleares, Spain): a preliminary approach

The island of Mallorca is subject to low seismic activity. The instrumental record shows that current seismicity is surficial (La isla de Mallorca presenta una actividad sísmica baja. El registro instrumental muestra que la sismicidad actual es superficial