Mexican-American Entrepreneurship

Although business ownership has implications for income inequality, wealth accumulation and job creation, surprisingly little research explores why Mexican-Americans are less likely to start businesses and why the businesses that they start are less successful on average than non-Latino whites. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of Mexican-American entrepreneurship using microdata from the 2000 U.S. Census, the matched and unmatched March and Outgoing Rotation Group Files of the Current Population Survey from 1994 to 2004, and the Legalized Population Survey (LPS). We find that low levels of education and wealth explain the entire gap between Mexican immigrants and non-Latino whites in business formation rates. Nearly the entire gap in business income for Mexican immigrants is explained by low levels of education and limited English language ability. Using the natural experiment created by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), we find that legal status represents an additional barrier for Mexican immigrants. A conservative estimate suggests that the lack of legal status reduces business ownership rates by roughly seven-tenths of a percentage point for both men and women. Human and financial capital deficiencies are found to limit business ownership and business success among second and third-generation Mexican-Americans, but to a lesser extent. These findings have implications for the debates over the selection of immigrants and the assimilation of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. economy.Mexican-Americans, entrepreneurship, inequality

Mexican-American Entrepreneurship

Although business ownership has implications for income inequality, wealth accumulation and job creation, surprisingly little research explores why Mexican-Americans are less likely to start businesses and why the businesses that they start are less successful on average than non-Latino whites. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of Mexican-American entrepreneurship using microdata from the 2000 U.S. Census, the matched and unmatched March and Outgoing Rotation Group Files of the Current Population Survey from 1994 to 2004, and the Legalized Population Survey (LPS). We find that low levels of education and wealth explain the entire gap between Mexican immigrants and non-Latino whites in business formation rates. Nearly the entire gap in business income for Mexican immigrants is explained by low levels of education and limited English language ability. Using the natural experiment created by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), we find that legal status represents an additional barrier for Mexican immigrants. A conservative estimate suggests that the lack of legal status reduces business ownership rates by roughly seven-tenths of a percentage point for both men and women. Human and financial capital deficiencies are found to limit business ownership and business success among second and third-generation Mexican-Americans, but to a lesser extent. These findings have implications for the debates over the selection of immigrants and the assimilation of Mexican-Americans in the U.S. economy.Mexican-Americans, entrepreneurship, self-employment

Revision of the Phyllophaga of Hispaniola (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) — PART 4

With this study, the fauna of Hispaniolan Phyllophaga is now composed of 48 species, all of which are endemic (precinctive), including 22 new species described herein (4 attributed to Woodruff and Sanderson: approxima, bonfils, jimenezi, rex; 18 to Woodruff: aceitillar, alcoa, androw, baoruco, carnegie, davidsoni, eladio, haitiensis, jaragua, larimar, marcano, nunezi, ortizi, pedernales, rawlinsi, rustica, santachloe, toni). Additionally, allotypes are described for 7 species with previously unknown males (aliada, canoa) or females (esquinada, fossoria, imprima, kenscoffi, panicula), and 6 new country records (Dominican Republic) are provided (aliada, leptospica, minutissima, panicula, permagna, recorta). Of the 48, only 1 male remains unknown (barrosa), and 9 females are missing (aceitillar, carnegie, costura, davidsoni, espina, garrota, probaporra, rustica, toni); 32 are recorded only from the Dominican Republic, and 5 are known only from Haiti. The 727 Figures include 50 habitus illustrations for all species, as well as SEM photos of male and female genitalia, and other salient morphological characters. The discovery of “sister species,” on opposite sides of the Enriquillo basin, provides significant data to support the 2 island concept; 15 species are known only from the paleo “south island,” and 23 are restricted to the “north island”. RESUMEN: De acuerdo con este estudio, la fauna de Phyllophaga en la isla Española, en el mar Caribe, está compuesta por 48 especies, todas endémicas (precinctivas), incluyendo a 22 nuevas especies aquí descritas (4 atribuídas a Woodruff y Sanderson: approxima, bonfils, jimenezi, rex; 18 a Woodruff: aceitillar, alcoa, androw, baoruco, carnegie, davidsoni, eladio, haitiensis, jaragua, larimar, marcano, nunezi, ortizi, pedernales, rawlinsi, rustica, santachloe, toni). Adicionalmente, se describen los alotipos de 7 especies, de las cuales no se conocían los machos (aliada, canoa) o las hembras (esquinada, fossoria, imprima, kenscoffi, panicula), y se reportan por primera vez a 6 especies para la República Dominicana (aliada, leptospica, minutissima, panicula, permagna, recorta). De las 48 especies, solo un macho no se conoce (barrosa) y 9 hembras aún no se describen (aceitillar, carnegie, costura, davidsoni, espina, garrota, probaporra, rustica, toni); 32 de estas especies se conocen solo de la República Dominicana y solo se conocen 5 de Haití. Las 727 ilustraciones incluyen a 50 figuras completas de todas las especies, al igual que microfotografías electrónicas (SEM) de las genitalias de machos y hembras. El hallazgo de “especies hermanas” en lados opuestos la cuenca Enriquillo es un indicador significativo que apoya al concepto de dos islas; 15 especies se conocen solo en la “isla sur,” y 23 estan restringidas a la “isla norte.” Because of its large size, this work is broken into 5 parts, with PDF files archived separately as follows: Part .... Pages ........ Figures ...... filesize 1 ........ 1–22 ............ 1–109 ...... 22 Mb 2 ...... 23–47 ........ 110–190 ........ 8 Mb 3 ...... 48–76 ........ 191–332 ...... 14 Mb 4 ...... 77–91 ........ 333–413 ........ 7 Mb 5 ...... 92–112 ...... 414–537 ...... 11 Mb For the convenience of users with very fast connections or sufficient patience, the entire work is archived as an attachment to Part 1 as a supplemental file (60 megabytes)

Revision of the Phyllophaga of Hispaniola (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae) — PART 2

With this study, the fauna of Hispaniolan Phyllophaga is now composed of 48 species, all of which are endemic (precinctive), including 22 new species described herein (4 attributed to Woodruff and Sanderson: approxima, bonfils, jimenezi, rex; 18 to Woodruff: aceitillar, alcoa, androw, baoruco, carnegie, davidsoni, eladio, haitiensis, jaragua, larimar, marcano, nunezi, ortizi, pedernales, rawlinsi, rustica, santachloe, toni). Additionally, allotypes are described for 7 species with previously unknown males (aliada, canoa) or females (esquinada, fossoria, imprima, kenscoffi, panicula), and 6 new country records (Dominican Republic) are provided (aliada, leptospica, minutissima, panicula, permagna, recorta). Of the 48, only 1 male remains unknown (barrosa), and 9 females are missing (aceitillar, carnegie, costura, davidsoni, espina, garrota, probaporra, rustica, toni); 32 are recorded only from the Dominican Republic, and 5 are known only from Haiti. The 727 Figures include 50 habitus illustrations for all species, as well as SEM photos of male and female genitalia, and other salient morphological characters. The discovery of “sister species,” on opposite sides of the Enriquillo basin, provides significant data to support the 2 island concept; 15 species are known only from the paleo “south island,” and 23 are restricted to the “north island”. RESUMEN: De acuerdo con este estudio, la fauna de Phyllophaga en la isla Española, en el mar Caribe, está compuesta por 48 especies, todas endémicas (precinctivas), incluyendo a 22 nuevas especies aquí descritas (4 atribuídas a Woodruff y Sanderson: approxima, bonfils, jimenezi, rex; 18 a Woodruff: aceitillar, alcoa, androw, baoruco, carnegie, davidsoni, eladio, haitiensis, jaragua, larimar, marcano, nunezi, ortizi, pedernales, rawlinsi, rustica, santachloe, toni). Adicionalmente, se describen los alotipos de 7 especies, de las cuales no se conocían los machos (aliada, canoa) o las hembras (esquinada, fossoria, imprima, kenscoffi, panicula), y se reportan por primera vez a 6 especies para la República Dominicana (aliada, leptospica, minutissima, panicula, permagna, recorta). De las 48 especies, solo un macho no se conoce (barrosa) y 9 hembras aún no se describen (aceitillar, carnegie, costura, davidsoni, espina, garrota, probaporra, rustica, toni); 32 de estas especies se conocen solo de la República Dominicana y solo se conocen 5 de Haití. Las 727 ilustraciones incluyen a 50 figuras completas de todas las especies, al igual que microfotografías electrónicas (SEM) de las genitalias de machos y hembras. El hallazgo de “especies hermanas” en lados opuestos la cuenca Enriquillo es un indicador significativo que apoya al concepto de dos islas; 15 especies se conocen solo en la “isla sur,” y 23 estan restringidas a la “isla norte.” Because of its large size, this work is broken into 5 parts, with PDF files archived separately as follows: Part .... Pages ........ Figures ...... filesize 1 ........ 1–22 ............ 1–109 ...... 22 Mb 2 ...... 23–47 ........ 110–190 ........ 8 Mb 3 ...... 48–76 ........ 191–332 ...... 14 Mb 4 ...... 77–91 ........ 333–413 ........ 7 Mb 5 ...... 92–112 ...... 414–537 ...... 11 Mb For the convenience of users with very fast connections or sufficient patience, the entire work is archived as an attachment to Part 1 as a supplemental file (60 megabytes)

World law

In the third millennium of the Christian era, which is characterised by the emergence of a world economy and eventually a world society, the concept of world law is needed to embrace not only the traditional disciplines of public international law, and comparative law, but also the common underlying legal principles applicable in world trade, world finance, transnational transfer of technology and other fields of world economic law, as well as in such emerging fields as the protection of the world's environment and the protection of universal human rights. World law combines inter-state law with the common law of humanity and the customary law of various world communities

Telescope to Observe Planetary Systems (TOPS): a high throughput 1.2-m visible telescope with a small inner working angle

The Telescope to Observe Planetary Systems (TOPS) is a proposed space mission to image in the visible (0.4-0.9 micron) planetary systems of nearby stars simultaneously in 16 spectral bands (resolution R~20). For the ~10 most favorable stars, it will have the sensitivity to discover 2 R_E rocky planets within habitable zones and characterize their surfaces or atmospheres through spectrophotometry. Many more massive planets and debris discs will be imaged and characterized for the first time. With a 1.2m visible telescope, the proposed mission achieves its power by exploiting the most efficient and robust coronagraphic and wavefront control techniques. The Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph used by TOPS allows planet detection at 2 lambda/d with nearly 100% throughput and preserves the telescope angular resolution. An efficient focal plane wavefront sensing scheme accurately measures wavefront aberrations which are fed back to the telescope active primary mirror. Fine wavefront control is also performed independently in each of 4 spectral channels, resulting in a system that is robust to wavefront chromaticity.Comment: 12 pages, SPIE conference proceeding, May 2006, Orlando, Florid

CHERI Concentrate: Practical Compressed Capabilities

We present CHERI Concentrate, a new fat-pointer compression scheme applied to CHERI, the most developed capability-pointer system at present. Capability fat-pointers are a primary candidate for enforcing fine-grained and non-bypassable security properties in future computer systems, although increased pointer size can severely affect performance. Thus, several proposals for capability compression have been suggested but these did not support legacy instruction sets, ignored features critical to the existing software base, and also introduced design inefficiencies to RISC-style processor pipelines. CHERI Concentrate improves on the state-of-the-art region-encoding efficiency, solves important pipeline problems, and eases semantic restrictions of compressed encoding, allowing it to protect a full legacy software stack. We analyze and extend logic from the open-source CHERI prototype processor design on FPGA to demonstrate encoding efficiency, minimize delay of pointer arithmetic, and eliminate additional load-to-use delay. To verify correctness of our proposed high-performance logic, we present a HOL4 machine-checked proof of the decode and pointer-modify operations. Finally, we measure a 50%-75% reduction in L2 misses for many compiled C-language benchmarks running under a commodity operating system using compressed 128-bit and 64-bit formats, demonstrating both compatibility with and increased performance over the uncompressed, 256-bit format

The C5a anaphylatoxin receptor CD88 is expressed in presynaptic terminals of hippocampal mossy fibres

Background: In the periphery, C5a acts through the G-protein coupled receptor CD88 to enhance/maintain inflammatory responses. In the brain, CD88 can be expressed on astrocytes, microglia and neurons. Previous studies have shown that the hippocampal CA3 region displays CD88-immunolabelling, and CD88 mRNA is present within dentate gyrus granule cells. As granule cells send dense axonal projections (mossy fibres) to CA3 pyramidal neurons, CD88 expression could be expressed on mossy fibres. However, the cellular location of CD88 within the hippocampal CA3 region is unknown

Phylogenomic Analyses Reveal the Evolutionary Origin of the Inhibin α-Subunit, a Unique TGFβ Superfamily Antagonist

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) homologues form a diverse superfamily that arose early in animal evolution and control cellular function through membrane-spanning, conserved serine-threonine kinases (RII and RI receptors). Activin and inhibin are related dimers within the TGFβ superfamily that share a common β-subunit. The evolution of the inhibin α-subunit created the only antagonist within the TGFβ superfamily and the only member known to act as an endocrine hormone. This hormone introduced a new level of complexity and control to vertebrate reproductive function. The novel functions of the inhibin α-subunit appear to reflect specific insertion-deletion changes within the inhibin β-subunit that occurred during evolution. Using phylogenomic analysis, we correlated specific insertions with the acquisition of distinct functions that underlie the phenotypic complexity of vertebrate reproductive processes. This phylogenomic approach presents a new way of understanding the structure-function relationships between inhibin, activin, and the larger TGFβ superfamily