Economics and Politics: Perspectives on the Goals and Future of Antitrust

This Article examines the roles of economics and politics in U.S. antitrust from several perspectives. It explains why the modern debate over the economic welfare standard that enforcers and courts should pursue is unsatisfying. It connects economics with politics by describing antitrust’s economic goals as the product of a mid-twentieth century political understanding about the nature of economic regulation that continues to be accepted. To protect that understanding, it explains, antitrust rules should now be implemented using a qualified consumer welfare standard. It identifies contemporary political tensions that threaten to create regulatory gridlock or even to undermine that political understanding and uses that framework to sketch several possible futures for competition policy. Notwithstanding these political tensions, the Article concludes, economics plays an indispensable role in shaping and applying modern antitrust

Deformation mechanisms in polylactic acid/natural rubber/organoclay bionanocomposites as revealed by synchrotron X-ray scattering

7 p.: gráf.The micromechanical deformation mechanisms of a polylactic acid (PLA)/natural rubber (NR) blend(PLA/NR 90/10 wt%) and its organoclay filled bionanocomposites have been investigated by small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS–WAXS) under tensile conditions. The addition of NR to a PLA matrix changed the brittle fracture of PLA to a ductile deformation through the debonding of the rubber droplets. Otherwise, the formation of cavities between PLA and NR was hampered by the nanoclays since they were mainly located at the polymer blend interface. In this case, the nanoclays acted as craze nucleation sites. At 1 wt% of filler concentration, the crazes were able to fully develop in the blend and to evolve into stable microvoids, which kept growing and orienting in the tensile direction. These mechanisms also explained the progressive plastic deformation of the polymer chains and the preferential orientation of the nanoclay platelets.© Royal Society of Chemistry 2012Supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation(MICINN) under projects MAT2010-18749, MAT2009-07789 and MAT2008-03232. JAE-Pre grant. Project FIS 2010-15502 (Direccion general de Investigación , Spain).Peer reviewe

Clustering and Filtering Tandem Mass Spectra Acquired in Data-Independent Mode

Data-independent mass spectrometry activates all ion species isolated within a given mass-to-charge window (m/z) regardless of their abundance. This acquisition strategy overcomes the traditional data-dependent ion selection boosting data reproducibility and sensitivity. However, several tandem mass (MS/MS) spectra of the same precursor ion are acquired during chromatographic elution resulting in large data redundancy. Also, the significant number of chimeric spectra and the absence of accurate precursor ion masses hamper peptide identification. Here, we describe an algorithm to preprocess data-independent MS/MS spectra by filtering out noise peaks and clustering the spectra according to both the chromatographic elution profiles and the spectral similarity. In addition, we developed an approach to estimate the m/z value of precursor ions from clustered MS/MS spectra in order to improve database search performance. Data acquired using a small 3 m/z units precursor mass window and multiple injections to cover a m/z range of 400-1400 was processed with our algorithm. It showed an improvement in the number of both peptide and protein identifications by 8% while reducing the number of submitted spectra by 18% and the number of peaks by 55%. We conclude that our clustering method is a valid approach for data analysis of these data-independent fragmentation spectra. The software including the source code is available for the scientific community. Figure

New overlap construction of Weyl fermions

In a recent article Hasenfratz and von Allmen have suggested a fixed point action for two flavors of Weyl fermions on the lattice with gauge group SU(2). The block-spin transformation they use maps the chiral and vector symmetries of the underlying vector theory onto two equations of the Ginsparg-Wilson (GW) type. We show that an overlap Dirac operator can be constructed which solves both GW equations simultaneously. We discuss the properties of this overlap operator and its projection onto lattice Weyl fermions which seems to be free of artefacts, in particular the projection operators are independent of the gauge field.Comment: Abstract extended; Version to appear in Nuclear Physics

Doppelt gekrümmte Schalen und Gitterschalen aus Textilbeton

Doppelt gekrümmte Schalen und Gitterschalen sind Tragsysteme, die, obwohl in Ihrer Wirkungsweise grundsätzlich verschieden, besonders für den Einsatz von Textilbeton geeignet sind. Aufgrund ihrer doppelten Krümmung weisen derartige Tragsysteme zahlreiche Besonderheiten hinsichtlich Formfindung, Lastabtrag und Herstellung auf. Anhand eines Ausführungsbeispiels von monolithischen Schirmschalen und Konstruktionsstudien zu Gitterschalen werden die Strukturkonzepte und ihre Auswirkungen auf das Tragverhalten, das Bewehrungskonzept und die Auswirkungen auf die Herstellung sowie die Bauteilfügung erläutert.Structural systems based on double curved monolithic shells or gridshells are both characterised by their good load bearing behaviour depending on the chosen geometry. Although both systems are different regarding their functionality they are suitable applications for TRC while taking advantage of the main constructive and design characteristics of the material. In describing an execution example of an umbrella-shaped shell-structure and design studies on gridshells the relation between structural concept and load bearing behaviour and the relation between the reinforcement concept and production as well as joining are discussed

Altered fibrin clot structure and dysregulated fibrinolysis contribute to thrombosis risk in severe COVID-19

The high incidence of thrombotic events suggests a possible role of the contact system pathway in COVID-19 pathology. Here, we demonstrate altered levels of factor XII (FXII) and its activation products in critically ill COVID-19 patients in comparison to patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome due to influenza virus (ARDS-influenza). Compatible with this data, we report rapid consumption of FXII in COVID-19, but not in ARDS-influenza, plasma. Interestingly, the lag phase in fibrin formation, triggered by the FXII activator kaolin, was not prolonged in COVID-19 as opposed to ARDS-influenza. Using confocal and electron microscopy, we showed that increased FXII activation rate, in conjunction with elevated fibrinogen levels, triggers formation of fibrinolysis-resistant, compact clots with thin fibers and small pores in COVID-19. Accordingly, clot lysis was markedly impaired in COVID-19 as opposed to ARDS-infleunza subjects. Dysregulatated fibrinolytic system, as evidenced by elevated levels of thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, tissue-plasminogen activator, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in COVID-19 potentiated this effect. Analysis of lung tissue sections revealed wide-spread extra- and intra-vascular compact fibrin deposits in COVID-19 patients. Together, compact fibrin network structure and dysregulated fibrinolysis may collectively contribute to high incidence of thrombotic events in COVID-19

Slip-Flow and Heat Transfer of a Non-Newtonian Nanofluid in a Microtube

The slip-flow and heat transfer of a non-Newtonian nanofluid in a microtube is theoretically studied. The power-law rheology is adopted to describe the non-Newtonian characteristics of the flow, in which the fluid consistency coefficient and the flow behavior index depend on the nanoparticle volume fraction. The velocity profile, volumetric flow rate and local Nusselt number are calculated for different values of nanoparticle volume fraction and slip length. The results show that the influence of nanoparticle volume fraction on the flow of the nanofluid depends on the pressure gradient, which is quite different from that of the Newtonian nanofluid. Increase of the nanoparticle volume fraction has the effect to impede the flow at a small pressure gradient, but it changes to facilitate the flow when the pressure gradient is large enough. This remarkable phenomenon is observed when the tube radius shrinks to micrometer scale. On the other hand, we find that increase of the slip length always results in larger flow rate of the nanofluid. Furthermore, the heat transfer rate of the nanofluid in the microtube can be enhanced due to the non-Newtonian rheology and slip boundary effects. The thermally fully developed heat transfer rate under constant wall temperature and constant heat flux boundary conditions is also compared

Adaptive and Behavioral Changes in Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase Knockout Mice:Relevance to Psychotic Disorders

BACKGROUND: Kynurenine 3-monooxygenase converts kynurenine to 3-hydroxykynurenine, and its inhibition shunts the kynurenine pathway-which is implicated as dysfunctional in various psychiatric disorders-toward enhanced synthesis of kynurenic acid, an antagonist of both α7 nicotinic acetylcholine and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. Possibly as a result of reduced kynurenine 3-monooxygenase activity, elevated central nervous system levels of kynurenic acid have been found in patients with psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia. METHODS: In the present study, we investigated adaptive-and possibly regulatory-changes in mice with a targeted deletion of Kmo (Kmo-/-) and characterized the kynurenine 3-monooxygenase-deficient mice using six behavioral assays relevant for the study of schizophrenia. RESULTS: Genome-wide differential gene expression analyses in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of these mice identified a network of schizophrenia- and psychosis-related genes, with more pronounced alterations in cerebellar tissue. Kynurenic acid levels were also increased in these brain regions in Kmo-/- mice, with significantly higher levels in the cerebellum than in the cerebrum. Kmo-/- mice exhibited impairments in contextual memory and spent less time than did controls interacting with an unfamiliar mouse in a social interaction paradigm. The mutant animals displayed increased anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze and in a light/dark box. After a D-amphetamine challenge (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal), Kmo-/- mice showed potentiated horizontal activity in the open field paradigm. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, these results demonstrate that the elimination of Kmo in mice is associated with multiple gene and functional alterations that appear to duplicate aspects of the psychopathology of several neuropsychiatric disorders