Incidental Catch of Marine Mammals by Foreign and Joint Venture Trawl Vessels in the U.S. EEZ of the North Pacific, 1973-88

During 1973-88, 3,661 marine mammals of 17 species were reported as incidental catch by U.S. fishery observers aboard foreign and joint venture trawl vessels in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Northern sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) accounted for 90% of the reported incidental mortality in the Gulf of Alaska and eastern Bering Sea. Nearly half of these sea lions were taken in trawl nets in the Shelikof Strait, Alaska, joint venture fishery during 1982-84. However, high incidental mortality rates (>25 sea lions per 10,000 metric tons of groundfish catch) also occurred in the foreign fisheries near Kodiak Island and in the Aleutian Islands area in earlier years. Estimated annual mortality of incidentally caught northern sea lions in Alaska declined from 1,000 to 2,000 animals per year during the early 1970s and 1982 to fewer than 100 animals in 1988. In the Bering Sea most sea lions incidentally caught were males, while in the Gulf of Alaska females were more frequently caught. Females may also have been dominant in the incidental catch of sea lions in the Aleutian Islands area, but age and sex composition data are limited. Incidental mortality of adult female sea lions by foreign trawl fisheries in these areas could have partially contributed to the reported declines in northern sea lion populations in Alaska during the 1970s, but it cannot alone account for the present decline in population size. (PDF file contains 64 pages.

On the crossroad between tolerance and posttransplant lymphoma.

The role of the Epstein-Barr virus in the development of post-transplant lymphomas is well established. However, not all lymphomas that arise in these patients contain Epstein-Barr virus, suggesting that other cofactors are involved in tumor pathogenesis. We propose that immunologic interactions that result from the introduction of immunocompetent donor cells during transplantation contribute to a lymphomagenic environment in the host. Murine models of lymphoma that arises following transfer of allogeneic hematopoietic cells are discussed and are related to the transplant setting. One contemporary viewpoint of transplantation immunology holds that interactions between the host and donor components of the immune system determine the ultimate degree of tolerance or reciprocal immunoreactivity (eg, rejection, graft-versus-host disease) within the transplant patient. We conclude that host-donor immunologic microchimerism may also be an over-looked factor in the development of posttransplant lymphomas

On-the-job search and the cyclical dynamics of the labor market

We show how on-the-job search and the propagation of shocks to the economy are intricately linked. Rising search by employed workers in a boom amplifies the incentives of firms to post vacancies. In turn, more vacancies induce more on-the-job search. By keeping job creation costs low for firms, on-the-job search greatly amplifies shocks. In our baseline calibration, this allows the model to generate fluctuations of unemployment, vacancies, and labor productivity whose magnitudes are close to the data, and leads output to be highly autocorrelated. --Search and matching,job-to-job mobility,worker flows,Beveridge curve,business cycle,propagation

Does intra-firm bargaining matter for business cycle dynamics?

We analyse the implications of intra-firm bargaining for business cycle dynamics in models with large firms and search frictions. Intra-firm bargaining implies a feedback effect from the marginal revenue product to wage setting which leads firms to over-hire in order to reduce workers' bargaining position within the firm. The key to this effect are decreasing returns and/or downward-sloping demand. We show that equilibrium wages and employment are higher in steady state compared to a bargaining framework in which firms neglect this feedback. However, the effects of intra-firm bargaining on adjustment dynamics, volatility and comovement are negligible. --Strategic wage setting,search and matching frictions,business cycle propagation

Gender and poverty : a life cycle approach to the analysis of the differences in gender outcomes

The authors study complex interactions between gender and poverty in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina. The goal of their analysis is to uncover how a spectrum of gender differentials at different parts of the life cycle varies across income groups. Using the data from the 2001 Bosniaand Herzegovina Living Standards Measurement Study, the authors find strong gender-poverty interaction in the patterns of labor force participation, gender gap in earnings, individuals'school finances, and school attendance. The main source of gender inequality seems to come from differences in investments in girls'and boys'educations that increase with declines in income levels. Short-term income shocks could lead to long-term increases in gender inequality in households with school age children, unless there is ready access to credit markets. The authors also find that the magnitude of the impact of economic development on gender differences in Bosnia will depend on where the growth is concentrated. If the poor capture at least some benefits of economic growth, the gender differences in household investment in human capital of their children will decline. If, on the other hand, growth is concentrated among the richest, then important gender disparities could remain pervasive.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Policies,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Inequality,Housing&Human Habitats,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies

A connectionist account of the emergence of the literal-metaphorical-anomalous distinction in young children

We present the first developmental computational model of metaphor comprehension, which seeks to relate the emergence of a distinction between literal and non-literal similarity in young children to the development of semantic representations. The model gradually learns to distinguish literal from metaphorical semantic juxtapositions as it acquires more knowledge about the vehicle domain. In accordance with Keil (1986), the separation of literal from metaphorical comparisons is found to depend on the maturity of the vehicle concept stored within the network. The model generates a number of explicit novel predictions

Integrated control/structure optimization by multilevel decomposition

A method for integrated control/structure optimization by multilevel decomposition is presented. It is shown that several previously reported methods were actually partial decompositions wherein only the control was decomposed into a subsystem design. One of these partially decomposed problems was selected as a benchmark example for comparison. The system is fully decomposed into structural and control subsystem designs and an improved design is produced. Theory, implementation, and results for the method are presented and compared with the benchmark example

No ifs, ands or butts: Illinois casinos lost revenue after smoking banned

Gambling industry ; Tobacco industry ; Illinois