The Evolving Integration in East Asia - Too many reservations? CEPS Essay No. 5, 29 April 2013

East Asian economic integration is less well known in Europe than is desirable in the EU’s own enlightened self-interest. It is also badly understood, not least because a range of ‘soft’ cultural, historical and political aspects are insufficiently appreciated in Europe. This CEPS Essay offers a deeper personal reflection on the emergence and development of East Asian economic cooperation and market-driven integration. It attempts to address some of the lingering reservations on both sides and to render the reservations in East Asia more intelligible to Europeans

Is the ‘American lake’ drying up in the China Sea? CEPS Commentary, 31 July 2014

Following an upsurge in tensions over islands and territories in the South China Sea, Wolfgang Pape considers both the history both the history of the 'American lake' and the possible outcome of the recent claims made on this long-disputed area by the countries of South-East Asia. This Commentary complements a recent piece written by the same author, entitled: “Care for the old rather than sleepwalk into war in East Asia” at: (http://www.ceps.eu/book/care-old-rather-sleepwalk-war-east-asia)

Care for the old rather than sleepwalk into war in East Asia. CEPS Commentary, 23 June 2014

In view of the demographic dynamics of East Asia, in this commentary Wolfgang Pape makes a plea for a kind of ‘geriatric peace’ in the region rather than further territorial disputes and expensive military build-up

Les Dolmens du Bas-Vivarais

Cette année, le nombre de dolmens recensés dépasse la centaine. Ils offrent une relativement grande diversité de formes, de dimensions, de plans, de tertres, et, surtout, de conservations. La classification en trois grandes catégories architecturales retenues jusqu’à présent (dolmens caussenards, languedociens et bas-rhodaniens), semble toujours d’actualité, bien qu’en Ardèche, les limites entre types restent assez floues. Il en est de même pour leur chronologie. En fait, en Ardèche, ou du mo..

Economic Integration and National Identity in Northeast Asia: A European Perspective

The “Asian Paradox” in the Northeast of the continent appears to be particularly evident if seen through European eyes. While one of the tightest networks of intra-regional trade binds the economies of China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan, their political leaders hardly ever connect with each other in substantive exchanges. Cold images of frozen faces and of an “icy lady” seem to contrast with the warm embraces that businesspeople enjoy after successful deals over borders. However, is this the view only in the eyes of the European beholder, who is used to the myriad of regular institutionalised meetings at all political and bureaucratic levels of the EU? Northeast Asia comprises two of the three biggest national economies in the world and on the basis of its interdependence flourishes economically – with the exception of Japan – with GDP growth-rates above OECD average. At the same time, in view of unresolved historical legacies their leading politicians still feel forced to keep frozen faces because of voters’ gazes of self-instilled nationalisms back home. Homogeneous cultures of Confucianism and shame rather than guilt, notably on the islands and the peninsula, maintain a very high level of national identity, in spite of a growing awareness of economic interdependence and globalisation that even conservative schoolbooks and dominant mainstream media cannot refute anymore. Nevertheless, fledgeling attempts to facilitate the flow of goods and services across national borders through bilateral and plurilateral free trade agreements seem to advance, albeit only slowly. China, Japan and South Korea have managed to institutionalise at the level of rotating ambassadors at the tri-lateral secretariat in Seoul some forms of cooperation. “Hot-lines” of emergency communications have been installed at the highest level to fend off sudden misunderstandings related to still looming territorial disputes. This paper will explore the above issues with concrete evidence and examples, notwithstanding the author’s perspective as an observer from Europe

Relation between homocysteine and biochemical bone turnover markers and bone mineral density in peri- and post-menopausal women

Background: Recently, increased plasma homocysteine (Hcy) has been suggested as an independent risk factor for osteoporotic fractures. Therefore, it is tempting to speculate that Hcy adversely affects bone metabolism. This study aimed to analyze the relation between Hcy and biochemical markers of bone metabolism and bone mineral density (BMD). Materials and methods: We investigated 143 peri- and post-menopausal women [median age (25th-75th percentile), 67 (57-75) years]. All subjects underwent a detailed medical examination, measurement of bone mineral density at lumbar spine (BMD-LS) and total hip (BMD-HIP), and fasting venous blood and urine sampling. Osteocalcin (OC), serum calcium (Ca), urinary desoxypyridinoline cross-links (DPD), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and soluble receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (sRANKL) were studied. Results: According to BMD subjects were classified as normal (n=24), osteopenic (n=51) or osteoporotic (n=68). Median Hcy did not differ between normal, osteopenic and osteoporotic subjects (p=0.647). Partial correlation analysis, controlling for the major confounders, age, creatinine, menopause and previous fractures, revealed significant correlations between Hcy and DPD (r=0.193, p=0.022), as well as between Hcy and Ca (r=0.170, p=0.045). After adjustment for the same confounders, subsequent regression analysis confirmed significant associations of Hcy with DPD and Ca. No significant relations could be observed between Hcy and BMD-LS, BMD-HIP, OC, OPG or sRANKL. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate weak, but significant, relations between Hcy and markers of organic and inorganic bone resorption, suggesting a mechanistic role of Hcy in bone metabolism. The relation between Hcy and bone resorption was not dependent on OPG or sRANK

Are We There Yet? Simple Language Implementation Techniques for the 21st Century

Research on language implementation techniques has regained importance with the rise of domain-specific languages (DSLs). Although DSLs can help manage a domain’s complexity, building highly optimizing compilers or virtual machines is rarely affordable. So, performance remains an issue. Ideally, you would implement a simple interpreter and still be able to achieve acceptable performance. RPython and Truffle are implementation techniques based on simple interpreters; they promise to perform at the same order of magnitude as highly optimizing virtual machines. This case study compares the two techniques to identify their similarities, weaknesses, and areas for further research