Non-conventional provisions in regional trade agreements : do they enhance international trade?

The scope of recent regional trade agreements (RTAs) is becoming much wider in terms of including several provisions such as competition policy or intellectual property. This paper empirically examines how far advanced, non-conventional provisions in RTAs increase trade values among RTA member countries, by estimating the gravity equation with more disaggregated indicators for RTAs. As a result, we find that the provision on competition policy has the largest impacts on trade values, following that on government procurement. Our further analysis reveals that the more significant roles of these two provisions can be also observed in the impacts on the intensive and extensive margins.International trade, International agreements, Gravity, RTA, Extensive and intensive margins

Non-conventional provisions in regional trade agreements : do they enhance international trade?

The scope of recent regional trade agreements (RTAs) is becoming much wider in terms of including several provisions such as competition policy or intellectual property. This paper empirically examines how far advanced, non-conventional provisions in RTAs increase trade values among RTA member countries, by estimating the gravity equation with more disaggregated indicators for RTAs. As a result, we find that the provision on competition policy has the largest impacts on trade values, following that on government procurement. Our further analysis reveals that the more significant roles of these two provisions can be also observed in the impacts on the intensive and extensive margins

Photothermally controlled Marangoni flow around a micro bubble

We have experimentally investigated the control of Marangoni flow around a micro bubble using photothermal conversion. Using a focused laser spot acting as a highly localized heat source on Au nanoparticles/dielectric/Ag mirror thin film enables us to create a micro bubble and to control the temperature gradient around the bubble at a micrometer scale. When we irradiate the laser next to the bubble, a strong main flow towards the bubble and two symmetric rotation flows on either side of it develop. The shape of this rotation flow shows a significant transformation depending on the relative position of the bubble and the laser spot. Using this controllable rotation flow, we have demonstrated sorting of the polystyrene spheres with diameters of 2 μm and 0.75 μm according to their size

Photoacoustic emission from Au nanoparticles arrayed on thermal insulation layer

Efficient photoacoustic emission from Au nanoparticles on a porous SiO2 layer was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The Au nanoparticle arrays/porous SiO2/SiO2/Ag mirror sandwiches, namely, local plasmon resonators, were prepared by dynamic oblique deposition (DOD). Photoacoustic measurements were performed on the local plasmon resonators, whose optical absorption was varied from 0.03 (3%) to 0.95 by varying the thickness of the dielectric SiO2 layer. The sample with high absorption (0.95) emitted a sound that was eight times stronger than that emitted by graphite (0.94) and three times stronger than that emitted by the sample without the porous SiO2 layer (0.93). The contribution of the porous SiO2 layer to the efficient photoacoustic emission was analyzed by means of a numerical method based on a one-dimensional heat transfer model. The result suggested that the low thermal conductivity of the underlying porous layer reduces the amount of heat escaping from the substrate and contributes to the efficient photoacoustic emission from Au nanoparticle arrays. Because both the thermal conductivity and the spatial distribution of the heat generation can be controlled by DOD, the local plasmon resonators produced by DOD are suitable for the spatio-temporal modulation of the local temperature

Thermoelectric properties and electronic structure of the Zintl phase Sr_5Al_2Sb_6

The Zintl phase Sr_5Al_2Sb_6 has a large, complex unit cell and is composed of relatively earth-abundant and non-toxic elements, making it an attractive candidate for thermoelectric applications. The structure of Sr_5Al_2Sb_6 is characterized by infinite oscillating chains of AlSb_4 tetrahedra. It is distinct from the structure type of the previously studied Ca_5M_2Sb_6 compounds (M = Al, Ga or In), all of which have been shown to have promising thermoelectric performance. The lattice thermal conductivity of Sr_5Al_2Sb_6 (∼0.55 W mK^(-1) at 1000 K) was found to be lower than that of the related Ca_5M_2Sb_6 compounds due to its larger unit cell (54 atoms per primitive cell). Density functional theory predicts a relatively large band gap in Sr_5Al_2Sb_6, in agreement with the experimentally determined band gap of E_g ∼ 0.5 eV. High temperature electronic transport measurements reveal high resistivity and high Seebeck coefficients in Sr_5Al_2Sb_6, consistent with the large band gap and valence-precise structure. Doping with Zn^(2+) on the Al^(3+) site was attempted, but did not lead to the expected increase in carrier concentration. The low lattice thermal conductivity and large band gap in Sr_5Al_2Sb_6 suggest that, if the carrier concentration can be increased, thermoelectric performance comparable to that of Ca_5Al_2Sb_6 could be achieved in this system