4,086 research outputs found
Policies And International Integration: Influences On Trade And Foreign Direct Investment
This paper assesses the importance of border and non-border policies for global economic integration. The focus is on four widely-advocated policies: removing explicit restrictions to trade and FDI; promoting domestic competition; improving the adaptability of labour markets; and ensuring adequate levels of infrastructure capital. The analysis covers FDI and trade in both goods and services, thus aiming to account for the most important channels of globalisation and dealing with most modes of cross-border services supply. It first describes trends in trade, FDI and the four sets of policies using a large set of structural policy indicators recently constructed by the OECD, including the new summary indicators for FDI-specific regulations described in Golub (2003). It then estimates the impact of policies on bilateral trade and bilateral and multilateral FDI. The results highlight that, despite extensive liberalisation over the past two decades, there is scope for further reducing policy barriers to integration of OECD markets. Remaining barriers have a significant impact on trade and FDI, with anticompetitive domestic regulations and restrictive labour market arrangements estimated to curb integration as much as explicit trade and FDI restrictions. Simulating the removal of such barriers suggests that the quantitative effects of further liberalisation of trade, FDI and domestic product and labour markets on global integration could be substantial
Far-infrared absorption and the metal-to-insulator transition in hole-doped cuprates
By studying the optical conductivity of BSLCO and YCBCO, we show that the
metal-to-insulator transition (MIT) in these hole-doped cuprates is driven by
the opening of a small gap at low T in the far infrared. Its width is
consistent with the observations of Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy
in other cuprates, along the nodal line of the k-space. The gap forms as the
Drude term turns into a far-infrared absorption, whose peak frequency can be
approximately predicted on the basis of a Mott-like transition. Another band in
the mid infrared softens with doping but is less sensitive to the MIT.Comment: To be published on Physical Review Letter
Magnetic-Field Tuning of Light-Induced Superconductivity in Striped LaBaCuO
Optical excitation of stripe-ordered LaBaCuO has been shown
to transiently enhance superconducting tunneling between the CuO planes.
This effect was revealed by a blue-shift, or by the appearance of a Josephson
Plasma Resonance in the terahertz-frequency optical properties. Here, we show
that this photo-induced state can be strengthened by the application of high
external magnetic fields oriented along the c-axis. For a 7-Tesla field, we
observe up to a ten-fold enhancement in the transient interlayer phase
correlation length, accompanied by a two-fold increase in the relaxation time
of the photo-induced state. These observations are highly surprising, since
static magnetic fields suppress interlayer Josephson tunneling and stabilize
stripe order at equilibrium. We interpret our data as an indication that
optically-enhanced interlayer coupling in LaBaCuO does not
originate from a simple optical melting of stripes, as previously hypothesized.
Rather, we speculate that the photo-induced state may emerge from activated
tunneling between optically-excited stripes in adjacent planes.Comment: 35 pages, 13 figure
Analysis of food supplement with unusual raspberry ketone content
In recent years food supplement market increased constantly, including slimming products and against obesity. The case of rasberry ketone (RK) is here reported. HPTLC and HPLC-DAD analyses on a marketed product containing raspberry juice evidenced an abnormal quantity of RK, not in accordance with the juice natural content. The reported data confirm the need of adequate controls on marketed food supplements and the necessity of a complete adherence between labelling and real constitution of the product. Practical Applications: Determining the natural origin and assuring the consumers' safety for raspberry-based food supplement
Dynamical decoherence of the light induced interlayer coupling in YBaCuO
Optical excitation of apical oxygen vibrations in
YBaCuO has been shown to enhance its c-axis
superconducting-phase rigidity, as evidenced by a transient blue shift of the
equilibrium inter-bilayer Josephson plasma resonance. Surprisingly, a transient
c-axis plasma mode could also be induced above T by the same apical
oxygen excitation, suggesting light activated superfluid tunneling throughout
the pseudogap phase of YBaCuO. However, despite the
similarities between the above T transient plasma mode and the
equilibrium Josephson plasmon, alternative explanations involving high mobility
quasiparticle transport should be considered. Here, we report an extensive
study of the relaxation of the light-induced plasmon into the equilibrium
incoherent phase. These new experiments allow for a critical assessment of the
nature of this mode. We determine that the transient plasma relaxes through a
collapse of its coherence length rather than its carrier (or superfluid)
density. These observations are not easily reconciled with quasiparticle
interlayer transport, and rather support transient superfluid tunneling as the
origin of the light-induced interlayer coupling in
YBaCuO.Comment: 27 pages (17 pages main text, 10 pages supplementary), 5 figures
(main text
High-temperature optical spectral weight and Fermi liquid renormalization in Bi-based cuprates
The optical conductivity and the spectral weight W(T) of two superconducting
cuprates at optimum doping, Bi2Sr2-xLaxCuO6 and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8, have been first
measured up to 500 K. Above 300 K, W(T) deviates from the usual T2 behavior in
both compounds, even though the zero-frequency extrapolation of the optical
conductivity remains larger than the Ioffe-Regel limit. The deviation is
surprisingly well described by the T4 term of the Sommerfeld expansion, but its
coefficients are enhanced by strong correlation. This renormalization is due to
strong correlation, as shown by the good agreement with dynamical mean field
calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Physical Review Letters in pres
N-acetyl-cysteine, a drug that enhances the endogenous activation of group-II metabotropic glutamate receptors, inhibits nociceptive transmission in humans.
Emerging research seeking novel analgesic drugs focuses on agents targeting group-II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGlu2 and mGlu3 receptors). N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) enhances the endogenous activation of mGlu2/3 receptors by activating the glial glutamate:cystine membrane exchanger. Here, we examined whether NAC inhibits nociceptive responses in humans and animals. We tested the effect of oral NAC (1.2Â g) on thermal-pain thresholds and laser-evoked potentials in 10 healthy volunteers, according to a crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, and the effect of NAC (100Â mg/kg, i.p.) on the tail-flick response evoked by radiant heat stimulation in mice.In healthy subjects, NAC treatment left thermal-pain thresholds unchanged, but significantly reduced pain ratings to laser stimuli and amplitudes of laser-evoked potentials. NAC induced significantly greater changes in these measures than placebo. In the tail-flick test, NAC strongly reduced the nocifensive reflex response to radiant heat. The action of NAC was abolished by the preferential mGlu2/3 receptor antagonist, LY341495 (1Â mg/kg, i.p.).Our findings show for the first time that NAC inhibits nociceptive transmission in humans, and does the same in mice by activating mGlu2/3 receptors. These data lay the groundwork for investigating the therapeutic potential of NAC in patients with chronic pain
Pharmacogenetics of Bisphosphonate-associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw
Osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ) is a potentially severe disorder that develops in a subgroup of individuals who have used bisphosphonate (BP) medications. Several clinical risk factors have been associated with the risk of ONJ development, but evidence is limited and in most instances ONJ remains an unpredictable adverse drug reaction. Interindividual genetic variability can contribute to explaining ONJ development in a subset of BP users and the discovery of relevant associated gene variants could lead to the identification of individuals at higher risk. No genetic variant has been found to be robustly associated with susceptibility to ONJ
Long-term changes in a benthic assemblage associated with artificial reefs
The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term development of a hard bottom benthic assemblage over a period of 20 years in an area off the mouth of a large river. The artificial reef of Fregene was selected because benthic assemblage data were available for the period 1981-1992. This artificial reef is located in the mid Tyrrhenian Sea, 5 nautical miles north of the two mouths of the Tevere River (Latium, Italy) and 1.5 nautical miles offshore from Fregene (Rome, Italy). The artificial reef was deployed in March 1981 for fisheries enhancement in 10-14 m of water on a sandy-silty seabed. The Tevere River carries suspended materials and a heavy load of organics since it transports Rome's effluent, resulting in the eutrophic state of area waters. Benthic sampling was conducted in 2001 by SCUBA diving; two standard surfaces of 400 cm 2 were scraped from the vertical walls of the same uppermost block in four different periods. All organisms were identified and counted. The methodology used is the same as that adopted in the previous periods, so that the 2001 data could be compared with past collected data. The benthic assemblage was analysed by cluster analysis using the Bray-Curtis index and clustered using the group average clustering algorithm. The SIMPER procedure was used to identify those taxa that characterize each station group identified by cluster analysis. Changes in benthic assemblages and hydrological trends of the Tevere River were investigated using the cumulative sum series method. The 20-year development of the benthic community, starting from the new substratum, is composed of different phases characterised by different benthic assemblages. In particular five different phases were distinguished: 1. Pioneer species recruitment (May 1981-June 1981); 2. Mytilus galloprovincialis (mussel) dominance (August 1981-November 1983); 3. M. galloprovincialis regression (July 1984-October 1985); 4. M. galloprovincialis absence (91-92); 5. Bryozoans bioconstruction dominance (2001). The dynamic succession of the observed benthic assemblages exhibited a good relation with the Tevere River flow. The Tevere River flow, and the subsequent sedimentation process, seems to have strongly influenced the benthic assemblage succession of the Fregene artificial reef
Glial metabotropic glutamate receptor-4 increases maturation and survival of oligodendrocytes
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