295 research outputs found
Honolulu: Geneva of the Pacific?
Simply stated, this paper proposes revitalization of a long dormant Hawaiian legislative plan to create a state-of-the-art facility in the Aloha State specializing in avoiding, managing and resolving international commercial conflicts using methods other than traditional litigation. The paper\u27s premise is that a mid-Pacific facility specializing in the use of non-litigation methods for dealing with Pacific Rim transnational commercial disputes would both enhance Pacific Rim commerce, in general, and posture Hawaii as a major player in that valuable and rapidly growing sector of global affairs
Fiscal Competition, Convergence and Agglomeration
This paper analyzes the impact of fiscal competition through infrastructure in a New Economic Geography framework. It is shown that regional competition leads to convergence if the trade costs are high but induces divergence if trade cost have fallen below a certain value. Moreover, fiscal competition yields an overprovision if the trade costs are sizable while it leads to underprovision if the regions are highly integrated. Finally, a trade-off between regional convergence and efficiency arises since the efficient distribution of regional infrastructure requires full agglomeration for sufficiently low trade costs.fiscal competition, infrastructure, agglomeration
EU Regional Policy: Vertical Fiscal Externalities and Matching Grants
Although decision processes at the EU level are highly complex and often require unanimity, explicit side payments among member states are unknown. However, logrolling and redistributive policies are substitutes. This paper considers the EU regional policy as a substitute for explicit side payments and asks - from a normative and a positive point of view - why matching grants instead of unconditional grants are used although at first sight regional policy is a national and not a union-wide task. It argues that the EU system of own resources creates positive vertical fiscal externalities. Hence, matching grants are part of an efficient grant system and, in so far as bargaining in EU bodies is efficient, matching grants are the natural outcome
The quality of child care: A signaling game with incomplete information
This paper analyzes the e ects of asymmetric information between parents and child care centers about the quality of child care. In a dynamic game of incomplete information the child care center sends a signal about its child care quality. The parents cannot observe the true quality. By updating the information the parents decide whether they enforce high quality. We consider policy measures to increase the ex-post probability of high quality. Some measures turn out to have negative e ects on ex-post quality. Furthermore, we determine the welfare in the perfect Bayesian equilibria and the welfare-maximizing e ort to increase the probability of high quality
Fiscal competition, convergence and agglomeration
This paper analyzes the impact of fiscal competition through infrastructure in a New Economic Geography framework. It is shown that regional competition leads to convergence if the trade costs are high but induces divergence if trade cost have fallen below a certain value. Moreover, fiscal competition yields an overprovision if the trade costs are sizable while it leads to underprovision if the regions are highly integrated. Finally, a trade-off between regional convergence and efficiency arises since the efficient distribution of regional infrastructure requires full agglomeration for sufficiently low trade costs
Parasites and Raven Mothers: A German-Japanese Comparison on (Lone) Motherhood
Having a child out of wedlock used to be associated with shame and scorn. This is mostly not the case anymore in the western world. Therefore, freed from social sanctions, single motherhood has become an additional family-choice alternative for women, along with marriage and childlessness. Yet, the institutions that influence women's decisions differ across countries. We compare the institutional frame, in particular labor-market characteristics and family law, in Germany and Japan and, in addition, the interaction between culture and institutions. Both countries had a very traditional (one-earner) family system until the second half of the 20th century. Now we can observe that social changes that happened in Germany decades ago are happening only now in Japan. We analyze if and how the consequences in terms of family structures and fertility rates that resulted in Germany can be transfered to Japan.Dieser Artikel vergleicht die institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen in Deutschland und Japan, die die Fertilitätsentscheidung von Frauen beeinflussen können. Wir richten unser Augenmerk speziell auf Familienrecht, Arbeitsmarktcharakteristika und die Interaktion zwischen Institutionen und kulturellen Faktoren. Daraus leiten wir Implikationen für die relative Attraktivität von Ehe und Mutterschaft in beiden Ländern ab. Wir stellen fest, dass soziale Veränderungen, die in Deutschland vor einigen Jahrzenten vor sich gingen - insbesondere die Aufweichung der traditionellen Alleinverdiener-Familie - in Japan derzeit passieren. Wir analysieren, ob sich die Konsequenzen für Familienstruktur und Geburtenrate von Deutschland auf Japan übertragen lassen
Catching Element Formation In The Act
Gamma-ray astronomy explores the most energetic photons in nature to address
some of the most pressing puzzles in contemporary astrophysics. It encompasses
a wide range of objects and phenomena: stars, supernovae, novae, neutron stars,
stellar-mass black holes, nucleosynthesis, the interstellar medium, cosmic rays
and relativistic-particle acceleration, and the evolution of galaxies. MeV
gamma-rays provide a unique probe of nuclear processes in astronomy, directly
measuring radioactive decay, nuclear de-excitation, and positron annihilation.
The substantial information carried by gamma-ray photons allows us to see
deeper into these objects, the bulk of the power is often emitted at gamma-ray
energies, and radioactivity provides a natural physical clock that adds unique
information. New science will be driven by time-domain population studies at
gamma-ray energies. This science is enabled by next-generation gamma-ray
instruments with one to two orders of magnitude better sensitivity, larger sky
coverage, and faster cadence than all previous gamma-ray instruments. This
transformative capability permits: (a) the accurate identification of the
gamma-ray emitting objects and correlations with observations taken at other
wavelengths and with other messengers; (b) construction of new gamma-ray maps
of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies where extended regions are
distinguished from point sources; and (c) considerable serendipitous science of
scarce events -- nearby neutron star mergers, for example. Advances in
technology push the performance of new gamma-ray instruments to address a wide
set of astrophysical questions.Comment: 14 pages including 3 figure
Presence of papillomavirus sequences in condylomatous lesions of the mamillae and in invasive carcinoma of the breast
BACKGROUND: Viruses including Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), a human equivalent of murine mammary tumour virus (MMTV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) have been implicated in the aetiology of human breast cancer. We report the presence of HPV DNA sequences in areolar tissue and tumour tissue samples from female patients with breast carcinoma. The presence of virus in the areolar–nipple complex suggests to us a potential pathogenic mechanism. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was undertaken to amplify HPV types in areolar and tumour tissue from breast cancer cases. In situ hybridisation supported the PCR findings and localised the virus in nipple, areolar and tumour tissue. RESULTS: Papillomavirus DNA was present in 25 of 29 samples of breast carcinoma and in 20 of 29 samples from the corresponding mamilla. The most prevalent type in both carcinomas and nipples was HPV 11, followed by HPV 6. Other types detected were HPV 16, 23, 27 and 57 (nipples and carcinomas), HPV 20, 21, 32, 37, 38, 66 and GA3-1 (nipples only) and HPV 3, 15, 24, 87 and DL473 (carcinomas only). Multiple types were demonstrated in seven carcinomas and ten nipple samples. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate the occurrence of HPV in nipple and areolar tissues in patients with breast carcinoma. The authors postulate a retrograde ductular pattern of viral spread that may have pathogenic significance
Myelin insulation as a risk factor for axonal degeneration in autoimmune demyelinating disease
Axonal degeneration determines the clinical outcome of multiple sclerosis and is thought to result from exposure of denuded axons to immune-mediated damage. Therefore, myelin is widely considered to be a protective structure for axons in multiple sclerosis. Myelinated axons also depend on oligodendrocytes, which provide metabolic and structural support to the axonal compartment. Given that axonal pathology in multiple sclerosis is already visible at early disease stages, before overt demyelination, we reasoned that autoimmune inflammation may disrupt oligodendroglial support mechanisms and hence primarily affect axons insulated by myelin. Here, we studied axonal pathology as a function of myelination in human multiple sclerosis and mouse models of autoimmune encephalomyelitis with genetically altered myelination. We demonstrate that myelin ensheathment itself becomes detrimental for axonal survival and increases the risk of axons degenerating in an autoimmune environment. This challenges the view of myelin as a solely protective structure and suggests that axonal dependence on oligodendroglial support can become fatal when myelin is under inflammatory attack
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