THE EXPORT MARKET FOR DIFFERENTIATED PROCESSED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: THE ROLE OF FACTOR PRICES AND FIXED COSTS

The theories of monopolistic competition and ¡°love for variety¡± contend that the differences in firms¡¯ prices and market shares arise from product differentiation, which is linked to firms¡¯ fixed costs. This paper reviews these theories and their implications for prices and market shares of firms from developing countries seeking to expand their exports of processed agricultural goods. The study proposes a model showing the role of the firms¡¯ costs as a source of product differentiation. Using econometric methods, the model estimates the firms¡¯ residual demand elasticities, which indicate the degree of product differentiation and market power. The model also determines the effects of the firms¡¯ own costs and competitors¡¯ costs on the residual demand and market shares. Case studies for cocoa products and roasted coffee in the U.S. import market are examined. Exporters to the U.S. include developing countries that produce the raw cocoa and coffee. The results show that high prices and large market shares are associated with high levels of product differentiation in these markets. Also, market shares increase with the level of fixed costs, which are measured by proxy as advertising expenditures. The implication for small firms in developing countries is that increasing the degree of product differentiation through increased investment in advertising or research and development could increase their market shares and their export revenues.International Relations/Trade,

Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus in Heilongjiang Province, China, 2014

During March 25–May 5, 2014, we investigated 11 outbreaks of peste des petits ruminants in Heilongjiang Province, China. We found that the most likely source of the outbreaks was animals from livestock markets in Shandong. Peste des petits ruminants viruses belonging to lineages II and IV were detected in sick animals

Mild electrochemical synthesis of metal phosphides with dibenzo-7-phosphanorbornadiene derivatives: mechanistic insights and application to proton reduction in water

Transition metal phosphide films were synthesized using a mild electrochemical method. Dibenzo-7-phosphanorbornadiene derivatives (XPA) are introduced as versatile precursors to amorphous metal phosphide electrocatalysts for proton reduction in acidic water. Homogeneous model reactions reveal distinct reactivity between XPA and nickel in different oxidation states, with Ni(0) resulting in Ni_xP_y formation

Scaling of Star Polymers with one to 80 Arms

We present large statistics simulations of 3-dimensional star polymers with up to $f=80$ arms, and with up to 4000 monomers per arm for small values of $f$. They were done for the Domb-Joyce model on the simple cubic lattice. This is a model with soft core exclusion which allows multiple occupancy of sites but punishes each same-site pair of monomers with a Boltzmann factor $v<1$. We use this to allow all arms to be attached at the central site, and we use the `magic' value $v=0.6$ to minimize corrections to scaling. The simulations are made with a very efficient chain growth algorithm with resampling, PERM, modified to allow simultaneous growth of all arms. This allows us to measure not only the swelling (as observed from the center-to-end distances), but also the partition sum. The latter gives very precise estimates of the critical exponents $\gamma_f$. For completeness we made also extensive simulations of linear (unbranched) polymers which give the best estimates for the exponent $\gamma$.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Neurogenic muscular atrophy and low density of large myelinated fibres of sural nerve in chorea-acanthocytosis

In three cases of chorea-acanthocytosis (acanthocytosis and neurological disease, or familial degeneration of the basal ganglia with acanthocytosis), biopsies of short peroneal muscles and sural nerves were studied histologically. The muscles showed groups of atrophic fibres with clumping of sarcolemmal nuclei in all cases. It was concluded that neurogenic muscular atrophy should be included as one of the main pathological findings in chorea-acanthocytosis. The sural nerves showed a small number of large myelinated fibres in two cases. This finding remains to be confirmed in other cases

Coefficient of normal restitution of viscous particles and cooling rate of granular gases

We investigate the cooling rate of a gas of inelastically interacting particles. When we assume velocity dependent coefficients of restitution the material cools down slower than with constant restitution. This behavior might have large influence to clustering and structure formation processes.Comment: 3 figures, Phys. Rev. E (in press

Electronic and optical properties of families of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a systematic (time-dependent) density functional theory study

Homologous classes of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in their crystalline state are among the most promising materials for organic opto-electronics. Following previous works on oligoacenes we present a systematic comparative study of the electronic, optical, and transport properties of oligoacenes, phenacenes, circumacenes, and oligorylenes. Using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT we computed: (i) electron affinities and first ionization energies; (ii) quasiparticle correction to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap; (iii) molecular reorganization energies; (iv) electronic absorption spectra of neutral and $\pm1$ charged systems. The excitonic effects are estimated by comparing the optical gap and the quasiparticle corrected HOMO-LUMO energy gap. For each molecular property computed, general trends as a function of molecular size and charge state are discussed. Overall, we find that circumacenes have the best transport properties, displaying a steeper decrease of the molecular reorganization energy at increasing sizes, while oligorylenes are much more efficient in absorbing low-energy photons in comparison to the other classes.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables, accepted for pubblication in Chemical Physics (14/04/2011

Physiological and Pathophysiological Roles of Metabolic Pathways for NET Formation and Other Neutrophil Functions.

Neutrophils are the most numerous cells in the leukocyte population and essential for innate immunity. To limit their effector functions, neutrophils are able to modulate glycolysis and other cellular metabolic pathways. These metabolic pathways are essential not only for energy usage, but also for specialized effector actions, such as the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), chemotaxis, phagocytosis, degranulation, and the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). It has been demonstrated that activated viable neutrophils can produce NETs, which consists of a DNA scaffold able to bind granule proteins and microorganisms. The formation of NETs requires the availability of increased amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as it is an active cellular and therefore energy-dependent process. In this article, we discuss the glycolytic and other metabolic routes in association with neutrophil functions focusing on their role for building up NETs in the extracellular space. A better understanding of the requirements of metabolic pathways for neutrophil functions may lead to the discovery of molecular targets suitable to develop novel anti-infectious and/or anti-inflammatory drugs