THE NEW WAVE OF REGIONALISM: DOES OUTSIDER/INSIDER STATUS AFFECT THE COMPETITIVENESS OF U.S. AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS?

The degree to which countries are pursuing regional trade agreements (RTAs) has been nothing short of extraordinary. The topic of regional integration is “breeding concern” among academics and policymakers as to the intra- and extra-regional effects of these agreements. This study constructs and uses an updated database of agricultural trade flows from 1992-2008 to shed light on the degree to which insider and outsiders status affects U.S. agricultural exporters and its competing suppliers. Regarding outsider status, we modify the existing approach by incorporating region-specific extra-bloc trade flow variables to examine the degree to which RTAs divert trade from specific regions of the world. The results are quite illuminating. While RTAs may not be trade diverting on net, all RTAs considered exhibit trade diversion with respect to at least some regions. The results have important policy implications for nations that are not actively participating in the latest wave of regionalism.International Relations/Trade,

Extending General Equilibrium to the Tariff Line: U.S. Dairy in the Doha Development Agenda

International Relations/Trade,

Extending General Equilibrium to the Tariff Line: U.S. Dairy in the DOHA Development Agenda

Market access has been at the core of eight negotiating rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Yet, agricultural trade remains a heavily protected sector, characterized by higher tariffs relative to industrial goods, large tariff dispersions, numerous specific tariffs and systems of tariff-rate-quotas. This has made the analysis of trade liberalization a formidable task among policy analysts. Previous studies of agricultural trade liberalization have used partial or general equilibrium models of trade. However, each of these modeling strategies has their drawbacks. General equilibrium (GE) models have been criticized because they face serious aggregation issues and miss much of the policy detail that occurs at the tariff line. Partial equilibrium (PE) models on the other hand are often more disaggregated but lack internal consistency and have nothing to say about the economy-wide effects from trade reform. The purpose of this paper is threefold. One, we develop a methodology that combines PE and GE modeling techniques permitting us to extend GE to the tariff line. Two, we introduce a fully disaggregated U.S. dairy sector and compare PE and GE liberalization results from global dairy reform, thereby offering some insight into the potential errors implicit in current GE studies. Finally, we illustrate how our methodology allows for an explicit treatment of tariff rate quotas in the U.S. dairy sector on a bilateral basis for narrowly defined product lines.agricultural trade, mixed-complementarity problem, partial equilibrium, general equilibrium, Doha Development Agenda, WTO, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries, F01, F17, Q17, Q18,

The Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment Tool (CPAx): validation of an innovative new tool to measure physical morbidity in the general adult critical care population; an observational proof-of-concept pilot study.

Objective To develop a scoring system to measure physical morbidity in critical care – the Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment Tool (CPAx). Method The development process was iterative involving content validity indices (CVI), a focus group and an observational study of 33 patients to test construct validity against the Medical Research Council score for muscle strength, peak cough flow, Australian Therapy Outcome Measures score, Glasgow Coma Scale score, Bloomsbury sedation score, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score, Short Form 36 (SF-36) score, days of mechanical ventilation and inter-rater reliability. Participants Trauma and general critical care patients from two London teaching hospitals. Results Users of the CPAx felt that it possessed content validity, giving a final CVI of 1.00 (P < 0.05). Construct validation data showed moderate to strong significant correlations between the CPAx score and all secondary measures, apart from the mental component of the SF-36 which demonstrated weak correlation with the CPAx score (r = 0.024, P = 0.720). Reliability testing showed internal consistency of α = 0.798 and inter-rater reliability of κ = 0.988 (95% confidence interval 0.791 to 1.000) between five raters. Conclusion This pilot work supports proof of concept of the CPAx as a measure of physical morbidity in the critical care population, and is a cogent argument for further investigation of the scoring system

Low significance of evidence for black hole echoes in gravitational wave data

Recent detections of merging black holes allow observational tests of the nature of these objects. In some proposed models, non-trivial structure at or near the black hole horizon could lead to echo signals in gravitational wave data. Recently, Abedi et al. claimed tentative evidence for repeating damped echo signals following the gravitational-wave signals of the binary black hole merger events recorded in the first observational period of the Advanced LIGO interferometers. We reanalyse the same data, addressing some of the shortcomings of their method using more background data and a modified procedure. We find a reduced statistical significance for the claims of evidence for echoes, calculating increased p-values for the null hypothesis of echo-free noise. The reduced significance is entirely consistent with noise, and so we conclude that the analysis of Abedi et al. does not provide any observational evidence for the existence of Planck-scale structure at black hole horizons.Comment: As accepted by Physical Review

Are existing soils data meeting the needs of stakeholders in Europe? An analysis of practical use from policy to field

Soils form a major component of the natural system and their functions underpin many key ecosystem goods and services. The fundamental importance of soils in the environment means that many different organisations and stakeholders make extensive use of soils data and information in their everyday working practices. For many reasons, stakeholders are not always aware that they are reliant upon soil data and information to support their activities. Various reviews of stakeholder needs and how soil information could be improved have been carried out in recent years. However, to date, there has been little consideration of user needs from a non-expert perspective. The aim of this study was to explore the use of explicit and hidden soil information in different organisations across Europe and gain a better understanding of improvements needed in soil data and information to assist in practical use by non-expert stakeholders. An on-line questionnaire was used to investigate different uses of soils data and information with 310 responses obtained from 77 organisations across Europe. Results illustrate the widespread use of soil data and information across diverse organisations within Europe, particularly spatial products and soil functional assessments and tools. A wide range of improvements were expressed with a prevalence for finer scale resolution, trends over time, future scenarios, improved accuracy, non-technical supporting information and better capacity to use GIS. An underlying message is that existing legacy soils data need to be supplemented by new up-to-date data to meet stakeholder needs and information gaps

Antiarrhythmic and proarrhythmic effects of subcutaneous nerve stimulation in ambulatory dogs

Background High output subcutaneous nerve stimulation (ScNS) remodels the stellate ganglia and suppresses cardiac arrhythmia. Objective To test the hypothesis that long duration low output ScNS causes cardiac nerve sprouting, increases plasma norepinephrine concentration and the durations of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT) in ambulatory dogs. Methods We prospectively randomized 22 dogs (11 males and 11 females) into 5 different output groups for 2 months of ScNS: 0 mA (sham) (N=6), 0.25 mA (N=4), 1.5 mA (N=4), 2.5 mA (N=4) and 3.5 mA (N=4). Results As compared with baseline, the changes of the durations of PAT episodes per 48 hours were significantly different among different groups (sham, -5.0±9.5 s; 0.25 mA 95.5±71.0 s; 1.5 mA, -99.3±39.6 s; 2.5 mA, -155.3±87.8 s and 3.5 mA, -76.3±44.8 s, p<0.001). The 3.5 mA group had greater reduction of sinus heart rate than the sham group (-29.8±15.0 bpm vs -14.5±3.0 bpm, p=0.038). Immunohistochemical studies showed that the 0.25 mA group had a significantly increased while 2.5 mA and 3.5 mA stimulation had a significantly reduced growth-associated protein 43 nerve densities in both atria and ventricles. The plasma Norepinephrine concentrations in 0.25 mA group was 5063.0±4366.0 pg/ml, which was significantly higher than other groups of dogs (739.3±946.3, p=0.009). There were no significant differences in the effects of simulation between males and females. Conclusions In ambulatory dogs, low output ScNS causes cardiac nerve sprouting, increases plasma norepinephrine concentration and the duration of PAT episodes while high output ScNS is antiarrhythmic

Geomechanical Response Of Overburden Caused By CO2 Injection Into A Depleted Oil Reservoir

This study investigates the hydro-mechanical aspects of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into a depleted oil reservoir through the use of coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical modeling. Both single-phase and multiphase fluid flow analyses coupled with geomechanics were carried out at the West Pearl Queen depleted oil reservoir site, and modeling results were compared with available measured data. The site geology and the material properties determined on the basis of available geophysical data were used in the analyses. Modeling results from the coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical analyses show that computed fluid pressures match well with available measured data. The hydro-mechanical properties of the reservoir have a significant influence on computed fluid pressures and surface deformations. Hence, an accurate geologic characterization of the sequestration site and determination of engineering properties are important issues for the reliability of model predictions. The computed fluid pressure response is also significantly influenced by the relative permeability curves used in multiphase fluid flow models. While the multiphase fluid flow models provide more accurate fluid pressure response, single-phase fluid flow models can be used to obtain approximate solutions. The ground surface deformations obtained from single-phase fluid flow models coupled with geomechanics are slightly lower than those predicted by multiphase fluid flow models coupled with geomechanics. However, the advantage of a single-phase model is the simplicity. Limited field monitoring of subsurface fluid pressure and ground surface deformations during fluid injection can be used in calibrating coupled fluid flow and geomechanical models. The calibrated models can be used for investigating the performance of large-scale CO2 storage in depleted oil reservoirs

Multiple uncontrolled conditions and blood pressure medication intensification: an observational study

Abstract Background Multiple uncontrolled medical conditions may act as competing demands for clinical decision making. We hypothesized that multiple uncontrolled cardiovascular risk factors would decrease blood pressure (BP) medication intensification among uncontrolled hypertensive patients. Methods We observed 946 encounters at two VA primary care clinics from May through August 2006. After each encounter, clinicians recorded BP medication intensification (BP medication was added or titrated). Demographic, clinical, and laboratory information were collected from the medical record. We examined BP medication intensification by presence and control of diabetes and/or hyperlipidemia. 'Uncontrolled' was defined as hemoglobin A1c &#8805; for diabetes, BP &#8805; 140/90 mmHg (&#8805; 130/80 mmHg if diabetes present) for hypertension, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) &#8805; 130 mg/dl (&#8805; 100 mg/dl if diabetes present) for hyperlipidemia. Hierarchical regression models accounted for patient clustering and adjusted medication intensification for age, systolic BP, and number of medications. Results Among 387 patients with uncontrolled hypertension, 51.4% had diabetes (25.3% were uncontrolled) and 73.4% had hyperlipidemia (22.7% were uncontrolled). The BP medication intensification rate was 34.9% overall, but higher in individuals with uncontrolled diabetes and uncontrolled hyperlipidemia: 52.8% overall and 70.6% if systolic BP &#8805; 10 mmHg above goal. Intensification rates were lowest if diabetes or hyperlipidemia were controlled, lower than if diabetes or hyperlipidemia were not present. Multivariable adjustment yielded similar results. Conclusions The presence of uncontrolled diabetes and hyperlipidemia was associated with more guideline-concordant hypertension care, particularly if BP was far from goal. Efforts to understand and improve BP medication intensification in patients with controlled diabetes and/or hyperlipidemia are warranted.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78266/1/1748-5908-5-55.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78266/2/1748-5908-5-55.pdfPeer Reviewe