Explaining High Economic Growth in Small Tourism Countries with a Dynamic General Equilibrium Model.

This paper shows that tourism specialisation can help to explain the observed high growth rates of small countries. For this purpose, two models of growth and trade are constructed to represent the trade relations between two countries. One of the countries is large, rich, has an own source of sustained growth and produces a tradable capital good. The other is a small poor economy, which does not have an own engine of growth and produces tradable tourism services. The poor country exports tourism services to and imports capital goods from the rich economy. In one model tourism is a luxury good, while in the other the expenditure elasticity of tourism imports is unitary. Two main results are obtained. In the long run, the tourism country overcomes decreasing returns and permanently grows because its terms of trade continuously improve. Since the tourism sector is relatively less productive than the capital good sector, tourism services become relatively scarcer and hence more expensive than the capital good. Moreover, along the transition the growth rate of the tourism economy holds well above the one of the rich country for a long time. The growth rate differential between countries is particularly high when tourism is a luxury good. In this case, there is a faster increase in the tourism demand. As a result, investment of the small economy is boosted and its terms of trade highly improve.High growth, Small tourism countries, Terms of trade, Luxury good, Dynamic general equilibrium.

The commons and anti-commons problems in the tourism economy

Countries specialised in tourism tend to face two problems with contradictory effects: the commons and the anti-commons, which lead to tourism over- and under-production, respectively. This paper develops a two-period model to analyse the joint effects of both problems on a small and remote tourism economy. Congestion and the complementariness between foreign transport and local tourism services are key features in this type of markets. As a result, direct selling and the presence of foreign tour-operators emerge as possible market arrangements with different implications in terms of welfare and public intervention. Four main results are obtained. First, in the direct selling situation the optimal policy depends on the relative importance of the problems. Second, the existence of tour-operators always leads to tourism over-production. Third, the presence of a single tour-operator does not solve the congestion problem. Lastly, the switch from several tour-operators to a single one is welfare reducing.commons, anti-commons, tourism, direct selling, tour-operators, optimal policy

Glycopeptide resistance in enterococci

The selective pressure resulting from the extensive use of antibiotics over the last 50 years has led to the emergence of bacterial resistance and to the dissemination of resistance genes among pathogenic microorganisms. Consequently, we are now at serious risk of suffering intractable, life-threatening infections. The progressive emergence and rapid dissemination of resistance to glycopeptides, the last resort for treating nosocomial infections with enterococci resistant to usual antibiotics, constitute one of the most dramatic examples of such resistance. Enterococci are normal human commensals, but are also a frequent cause of nosocomial urinary tract infections and nosocomial bacteremia. Enterococcus faecalis causes 80 to 90% of human enterococcal infections, while Enterococcus faecium accounts for most of the remainder. During the last decade, our understanding of the genetics and biochemical basis of resistance to glycopeptides has increased greatly. Furthermore, the application of molecular methods for the diagnosis of glycopeptide-resistant enterococci has provided new insights into the epidemiology of enterococcal infections

The optimal method to make inferences about a linear combination of proportions

Asymptotic inferences about a linear combination of K independent binomial proportions are very frequent in applied research. Nevertheless, until quite recently research had been focused almost exclusively on cases of K≤2 (particularly on cases of one proportion and the difference of two proportions). This article focuses on cases of K>2, which have recently begun to receive more attention due to their great practical interest. In order to make this inference, there are several procedures which have not been compared: the score method (S0) and the method proposed by Martín Andrés et al. (W3) for adjusted Wald (which is a generalization of the method proposed by Price and Bonett) on the one hand and, on the other hand, the method of Zou et al. (N0) based on the Wilson confidence interval (which is a generalization of the Newcombe method). The article describes a new procedure (P0) based on the classic Peskun method, modifies the previous methods giving them continuity correction (methods S0c, W3c, N0c and P0c, respectively) and, finally, a simulation is made to compare the eight aforementioned procedures (which are selected from a total of 32 possible methods). The conclusion reached is that the S0c method is the best, although for very small samples (n i ≤ 10, ∀ i) the W3 method is better. The P0 method would be the optimal method if one needs a method which is almost never too liberal, but this entails using a method which is too conservative and which provides excessively wide CIs. The W3 and P0 methods have the additional advantage of being very easy to apply. A free programme which allows the application of the S0 and S0c methods (which are the most complex) can be obtained at http://www.ugr.es/local/bioest/Z_LINEAR_K.EXE

Conditional and Unconditional Tests (and Sample Size) Based on Multiple Comparisons for Stratified 2 × 2 Tables

The Mantel-Haenszel test is the most frequent asymptotic test used for analyzing stratified 2x2 tables. Its exact alternative is the test of Birch, which has recently been reconsidered by Jung. Both tests have a conditional origin: Pearson’s chi-squared test and Fisher’s exact test, respectively. But both tests have the same drawback that the result of global test (the stratified test) may not be compatible with the result of individual tests (the test for each stratum). In this paper, we propose to carry out the global test using a multiple comparisons method (MC method) which does not have this disadvantage. By refining the method (MCB method) an alternative to the Mantel-Haenszel and Birch tests may be obtained. The new MC and MCB methods have the advantage that they may be applied from an unconditional view, a methodology which until now has not been applied to this problem. We also propose some sample size calculation methods.This research was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spanish, Grant no. MTM2012-35591

Aplicación de TIG en la generación de indicadores de calidad ambiental de sistemas playa-dunas

Se presentan resultados parciales del subproyecto “Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad: vigilancia de espacios arenosos protegidos de Canarias y África”, incluido en el 'Programa para el desarrollo de redes tecnológicas y de aplicación de datos de teledetección en África Occidental', TELECAN (MAC/3/C181), financiado por el Programa de Cooperación Transnacional Madeira-Azores-Canarias (MAC) 2007/2013. El objetivo principal era definir, mediante el uso de imágenes de satélite, indicadores de calidad ambiental para sistemas playa-dunas, al ser éstos espacios fundamentales en el desarrollo socio-económico de estos territorios, dado su atractivo turístico. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados obtenidos para una de las áreas piloto, Maspalomas (Gran Canaria, islas Canarias). Los indicadores se obtuvieron mediante el procesado de imágenes del satélite WorldView-2, con validación, en 2013, mediante campañas marinas. Asimismo, se utilizaron imágenes de archivo, correspondientes a los años 2010, 2011 y 2012. Estos indicadores se basaron en variables relacionadas con las características físicas y biológicas de las aguas litorales y de las playas y dunas. Los resultados indican una calidad, por lo general, alta y muy alta, tanto para el medio terrestre como para el marino, con superficies dentro de estas categorías del 20,3% y 75,3% y del 26,1% y 70,6%, respectivamente.Esta es una contribución del 'Programa para el desarrollo de redes tecnológicas y de aplicación de datos de teledetección en África Occidental', TELECAN (MAC/3/C181), financiado por el Programa de Cooperación Transnacional Madeira-Azores-Canarias (MAC) 2007/2013

Graphic cryptography with pseudorandom bit generators and cellular automata

In this paper we propose a new graphic symmetrical cryptosystem in order to encrypt a colored image defined by pixels and by any number of colors. This cryptosystem is based on a reversible bidimensional cellular automaton and uses a pseudorandom bit generator. As the key of the cryptosystem is the seed of the pseudorandom bit generator, the latter has to be cryptographically secure. Moreover, the recovered image from the ciphered image has not loss of resolution and the ratio between the ciphered image and the original one, i.e., the factor expansion of the cryptosystem, is $1$.Peer reviewe

Irrigation of Myrtus communis plants with reclaimed water: Morphological and physiological responses to different levels of salinity

The influence of irrigation with different sources of reclaimed water on physiological and morphological changes in Myrtus communis plants was investigated to evaluate their adaptability to such conditions. M. communis plants, growing in a growth chamber, were subjected to four irrigation treatments over 4 months (120 d): a control [tap water (0.8 dS m–1), leaching 10% (v/v) of the applied water] and three reclaimed water irrigation treatments, namely 1.5 dS m–1 leaching 25% (v/v) of the applied water (RW1), 4.0 dS m–1 leaching 40% (v/v) of the applied water (RW2), and 8.0 dS m–1 leaching 55% (v/v) of the applied water (RW3). After treatment, all plants were irrigated with tap water, as for the control plants, for a further 2 months (60 d). At the end of the first period (4 months), none of the myrtle plants showed any adverse change in biomass and the average total dry weight (DW) increased by 53% in treatment RW2. However, at the end of the treatment and recovery period (180 d), accumulations of Cl– ions, and especially Na+ ions, negatively affected the growth of all RW3 plants. Plants irrigated with all three reclaimed water samples had increased difficulty in taking-up water from the substrate (i.e., they had lower leaf water potential and relative water content values). RW2 plants showed a better response in their gas exchange parameters. The use of reclaimed water decreased leaf K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ ratios, but no chlorosis or necrosis were observed. The three reclaimed water samples had different effects on the myrtle plants depending on the specific chemical properties of the water. Leaching was found to be important to minimise the negative effects of salinity in the irrigation water. © 2014 Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe

Hydrogenation of imines catalysed by ruthenium(ii) complexes based on lutidine-derived CNC pincer ligands

The preparation of new Ru(ii) complexes incorporating fac-coordinated lutidine-derived CNC ligands is reported. These derivatives are selectively deprotonated by tBuOK at one of the methylene arms of the pincer, leading to catalytically active species in the hydrogenation of imines.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CTQ2009-11867, CSD2007-00006Junta de Andalucía 2008/FQM-3830, 2009/FQM-483