The Economic and Strategic Motives for Antidumping Filings

This paper takes a critical look at the trends in worldwide antidumping (AD) case filings during the last two decades. We examine the motives for AD filings by countries in an attempt to identify whether economic or strategic concerns are driving the recent upsurge in AD use. We begin by providing a comprehensive overview of the data on cases initiated in the 1980 to 1998 period. We then use non-parametric methods to identify national motivations for the use of antidumping. Results show considerable support for the importance of strategic concerns in driving AD case filings. This suggests that the rise in AD activity cannot be solely explained by an increase in unfair trading practices.

National Primary Care Day \u2797

No abstract available

Regulation of Pharmaceutical Prices: Evidence from a Reference Price Reform in Denmark

On April 1, 2005, Denmark changed the way references prices, a main determinant of reimbursements for pharmaceutical purchases, are calculated. The previous reference prices, which were based on average EU prices, were substituted to minimum domestic prices. Novel to the literature, we estimate the joint effects of this reform on prices and quantities. Prices decreased more than 26 percent due to the reform, which reduced patient and government expenditures by 3.0 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, and producer revenues by 5.0 percent. The prices of expensive products decreased more than their cheaper counterparts, resulting in large differences in patient benefits from the reform.pharmaceutical markets; regulation; co-payments; reference pricing; asymmetric welfare effects

Tropidosteptes forestierae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirinae): a new species of Plant Bug injuring ornamental Florida Swampprivet, Forestiera segregata (Oleaceae), in South Florida

The mirine plant bug Tropidosteptes forestierae, new species (Hemiptera: Miridae) is described from Collier County, Florida, where it was found causing serious injury to an extensive ornamental hedge of Florida swampprivet, Forestiera segregata (Jacq.) Krug and Urb. (Oleaceae). Adult male and female, fifth instar, and egg are described. Color images of the adults, nymph, egg, and injury; scanning photomicrographs of selected adult structures; and illustrations of male genitalia are provided. A key to help distinguish the 16 species of Tropidosteptes known to occur in the southeastern United States is given

AGRICULTURAL LAND CONVERSION IN THE TWIN CITIES: PART II, THE NATIONAL RESOURCES INVENTORY

We divided the thirteen-county Twin Cities Metropolitan Statistical Area into a core and a fringe of seven and six counties, respectively. The National Resources Inventory estimates that 170 thousand acres of the Core were converted from agriculture to other uses between 1982 and 1987, while only about 46 thousand acres of the Fringe were so converted. The conversion rate was much greater in the Core than on the Fringe according to the NRIbut not according to the Census of Agriculture. The number of acres of agricultural land converted for each new resident ranged from 0.15 in Sherburne County to 2.49 in Pierce County. Viewed another way, the increase in urban land to house new residents ranged from 0.28 in Ramsey County to 1.23 acres per person in Isanti County.Land Economics/Use,

Conservatism implications of shock test tailoring for multiple design environments

A method for analyzing shock conservation in test specifications that have been tailored to qualify a structure for multiple design environments is discussed. Shock test conservation is qualified for shock response spectra, shock intensity spectra and ranked peak acceleration data in terms of an Index of Conservation (IOC) and an Overtest Factor (OTF). The multi-environment conservation analysis addresses the issue of both absolute and average conservation. The method is demonstrated in a case where four laboratory tests have been specified to qualify a component which must survive seven different field environments. Final judgment of the tailored test specification is shown to require an understanding of the predominant failure modes of the test item

Two-generated commutative matrix subalgebras

AbstractLet F be a field, and let Mn(F) be the algebra of n×n matrices over F. Let A, B ∈ Mn(F) with AB = BA, and let A be the algebra generated by A, B over F.A theorem of Gerstenhaber [Ann. Math. 73:324–348 (1991)] states that the dimension of A is at most n. Gerstenhaber's proof uses the methods of algebraic geometry. In this paper, we obtain a purely matrix-theoretic proof of the result. We also examine the case when equality occurs. The case where F is algebraically closed and A is indecomposable (under similarity) holds the key to the general situation, and in the indecomposable case, we obtain a Cayley-Hamilton-like theorem expressing Bk as a polynomial in I,B,…, Bk−1 with coefficients in F[A], where k denotes the number of blocks in the Jordan form of A. If all Jordan blocks of A have the same size, we obtain a nonderogatory-like condition on B which is equivalent to dimFA = n. We also show that in this case dimFA = n is equivalent to the maximality of A as a commutative subalgebra of Mn(F)

Drawing a Line in the Patent Subject Matter Sands: Does Europe Provide A Solution to the Software & Business Method Patent Problem?

In 2010 the Supreme Court decision in Bilski v. Kappos had the potential to completely rewrite patent subject-matter law for business methods and computer-related inventions. Earlier, the EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal delivered a decision on the same subject that had the potential to produce similar changes in Europe. Neither decision provided more than incremental change. Our research explains why patent systems on both sides of the Atlantic are unable or unwilling to produce comprehensive subject matter reform for business methods and software

Post-shock temperatures in minerals

An experimental technique has been developed for the measurement of post-shock temperatures in a wide variety of materials, including those of geophysical interest such as silicates. The technique uses an infrared radiation detector to determine the brightness temperature of samples shocked to pressures in the range 5 to ∼ 30 GPa; in these experiments measurements have been made in two wavelength ranges (4.5 to 5.75 μm; 7 to 14 μm). Reproducible results, with the temperatures in the two wavelength bands generally in excellent agreement, have been obtained for aluminium-2024 (10.5 to 33 GPa; 125 to 260°C), stainless steel-304 (11.5 to 50 GPa; 80 to 350°C), crystalline quartz (5.0 to 21.5 GPa; 80 to 250°C), forsterite (7.5 to 28.0 GPa; ∼ 30 to 160°C) and Bamble bronzite (6.0 to 26.0 GPa; ∼ 30 to 225°C). These results are generally much higher at low pressures (where they may even be in excess of the calculated shock temperatures) than the values calculated assuming a hydrodynamic rheology and isentropic release parallel to the Hugoniot but tend towards them at higher pressures. In aluminium-2024, the theoretical post-shock temperatures, assuming a fluid-like rheology, are 35 to 218°C, for the pressure range 10.5 to 33 GPa. However, the results are in considerably better agreement with values calculated assuming elasto-plastic behaviour (80 to 270°C) which probably also causes the high measured temperatures for stainless steel. In forsterite the measured values ranged from 65°C at 9.6 GPa (there was no detectable rise at 7.5 GPa) to 156° at 28.0 GPa, whereas the ‘hydrodynamic values’ were 30 to 120°C. Values obtained for quartz were in excellent agreement with those calculated by Mashimo et al. using release adiabat data. It is concluded that release adiabat data should be used, wherever available, for calculations of residual temperature, and that adequate descriptions of the shock and release processes in minerals need to be more complex than generally assumed