NAFTA's Implications for EastAsian exports

Several studies have quantified the influence of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the earlier Canada - United States Free Trade Agreement on member countries. Less attention has been paid to their effects on nonmembers. The authors try to quantify NAFTA's third-party effects on East Asia using a partial equilibrium trade model and a gravity flow model. They identify and focus on East Asian export sectors that are especially at risk of trade diversion. Their results suggest that the NAFTA-induced trade diversion losses could range from $380 million to$700 million. The larger figure represents less than 1 percent of East Asia's nonoil exports to the United States. Their analysis also indicates that losses would be concentrated in a few sectors - such as textiles, clothing, and ferrous metals - where high U.S. trade barriers exist. A larger share of Hong Kong and Macau trade would be diverted than trade in other East Asian economies because textiles and clothing represent a larger share of their exports. Economies specializing in such products as machinery and equipment (Singapore) would have relatively little trade diverted. East Asia's trade losses might be reduced by roughly half once the results of the Uruguay Round are implemented because that will lower the preference margins NAFTA members can extend to each other. To put things in perspective: the trade losses East Asian economies might incur because of NAFTA are roughly 1 percent of the gains they will receive from successful implementation of the Uruguay Round results.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade Policy,Trade and Regional Integration,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT

Torn Between the Real Me and the Social Me: Educated Women’s Perspectives of Surviving Marital Abuse

The perspectives of educated women on surviving abusive marital relationships have not been adequately explored, thus implying a gap in the literature regarding the role of education in enhancing or mitigating the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV). In this context, the question is how do educated women perceive surviving abusive relationships? Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), using flexible semi-structured face-to-face interviews, was conducted to understand the experiences of eight highly educated women (master’s, Ph.D.) in abusive marriage. Four superordinate interrelated themes were developed: (a) developing an awareness of self-respect generating role confusion, (b) being torn between traditions and ambitions, (c) normalizing abuse as part of marriage, and (d) challenging abuse by self-promotion. Like other survivors of abuse, educated women tried to justify, blame themselves, work harder to please the perpetrator, and promote themselves; finally, they continued to live their lives by embracing abuse to bring peace and save their marriage. The effect of sociocultural context on educated women’s perspectives seems to play a crucial role in women’s decisions to stay in abusive relationships, despite the assumptions of empowerment and independence

Big Data in Maritime Archaeology: Challenges and Prospects from the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa have witnessed a surfeit of geospatial data collection projects, resulting in big databases with powerful deductive capacities. Despite the valuable insights and expansive evidentiary record offered by those databases, emphasis on anthropogenic threats to cultural heritage, combined with a limited integration of local perspectives, have raised important questions on the ethical and epistemological dimensions of big data. This paper contextualizes maritime cultural heritage (MCH) in those debates through the lens of the Maritime Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa project (MarEA). MarEA is developing a unique for the region database for MCH designed to amalgamate a baseline record emphasizing spatial location, state of preservation, and vulnerability. This record will form a stepping stone toward finer-grained research on MCH and its interdisciplinary intersections. It is also developed as an information resource to facilitate local collaborators in prioritizing site monitoring and developing documentation, management, and mitigation strategies

A QCD Sum Rule Approach to the s→dγs\to d\gamma Contribution to the Ω−→Ξ−γ\Omega^-\to \Xi^-\gamma Radiative Decay

QCD sum rules are used to calculate the contribution of short-distance single-quark transition $s\rightarrow d \gamma$, to the amplitudes of the hyperon radiative decay, $\Omega^-\rightarrow \Xi^-\gamma$. We re-evaluate the Wilson coefficient of the effective operator responsible for this transition. We obtain a branching ratio which is comparable to the unitarity limit.Comment: 15 pages, Revtex, 13 figures available as a uuencoded, gz-compressed ps fil

Comprehensive Characterization of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Human Placenta and Fetal Membrane and Their Response to Osteoactivin Stimulation

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the most promising seed cells for cell therapy and can be isolated from various sources of human adult tissues such as bone marrow (BM-MSC) and adipose tissue. However, cells from these tissues must be obtained through invasive procedures. We, therefore, characterized MSCs isolated from fresh placenta (Pl-MSC) and fetal membrane (Mb-MSC) through morphological and fluorescent-activated cell sorting (FACS). MSC frequency is higher in membrane than placenta (2.14%  ± 0.65 versus 15.67%  ± 0.29%). Pl/Mb-MSCs in vitro expansion potential was significantly higher than BM-MSCs. We demonstrated that one of the MSC-specific marker is sufficient for MSC isolation and that culture in specific media is the optimal way for selecting very homogenous MSC population. These MSCs could be differentiated into mesodermal cells expressing cell markers and cytologic staining consistent with mature osteoblasts and adipocytes. Transcriptomic analysis and cytokine arrays demonstrated broad similarity between placenta- and membrane-derived MSCs and only discrete differences with BM-MSCs with enrichment of networks involved in bone differentiation. Pl/Mb-MSCs displayed higher osteogenic differentiation potential than BM-MSC when their response to osteoactivin was evaluated. Fetal-tissue-derived mesenchymal cells may, therefore, be considered as a major source of MSCs to reach clinical scale banking in particular for bone regeneration

Transesophageal Echocardiograph Findings in Patients with Cardiovascular Disorders at Al-Thawrah General Hospital, Sana’a, Yemen

ABSTRACT Objectives: To determine the frequency distribution of different cardiovascular disorders and to describe their associated morphological abnormalities by transesophageal echocardiography among patients referred to the Transesophageal Echocardiography Laboratory of Al-Thawrah General Hospital, Sana’a, in the period 2009– 2011. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study of 856 patients with suspected cardiovascular disorders and referred for transesophageal echocardiography over a two-year period. Data about patients’ sex, their refer- ral site and transesophageal echocardiography findings were collected and analyzed according to the type of cardiovascular disorders, valvular affections and lesions, complications and recommended treatments. Results: Of the 856 patients, 63.4% were females and 36.6% were males. The majority of patients diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography (82.4%) were referred from outpatient departments. Rheumatic heart dis- ease was the most frequent cardiovascular disorder (87.1%), followed by tricuspid valve lesions (62.8%), of which 54% (329/606) were tricuspid regurgitation and 62.6% (114/182) were aortic valve regurgitation. Re- garding the type of valvular lesions detected, mitral valve disease was the most frequent, being found in 69.2% (214/309) of patients. Regarding the severity of valvular lesions, 73.1% (19/26) of mitral valve stenosis cases were severe while 83.3% (35/62) of aortic stenosis cases were mild. Moderate pulmonary hypertension was seen mostly secondary to rheumatic heart disease. The majority of cardiovascular disorder patients (33.6%; 284/844) were recommended for balloon mitral valvotomy. Mitral valve surgery was the most frequently per- formed surgical intervention for affected valves of patients with cardiovascular disorders; being used for the treatment of 31.4% (80/255) of valvular lesions. Conclusions: Transesophageal echocardiography revealed that rheumatic heart disease is the most frequent cardiovascular disorder among Yemeni patients and poses a major health problem. In addition, a high propor- tion of patients with cardiovascular disorders have valvular lesions of the mild degree that require surgical in- tervention

Coadministration of Anti-Viral Monoclonal Antibodies With Routine Pediatric Vaccines and Implications for Nirsevimab Use: A White Paper

Routine childhood vaccinations are key for the protection of children from a variety of serious and potentially fatal diseases. Current pediatric vaccine schedules mainly cover active vaccines. Active vaccination in infants is a highly effective approach against several infectious diseases; however, thus far, for some important viral pathogens, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), vaccine development and license by healthcare authorities have not been accomplished. Nirsevimab is a human-derived, highly potent monoclonal antibody (mAb) with an extended half-life for RSV prophylaxis in all infants. In this manuscript, we consider the potential implications for the introduction of an anti-viral mAb, such as nirsevimab, into the routine pediatric vaccine schedule, as well as considerations for coadministration. Specifically, we present evidence on the general mechanism of action of anti-viral mAbs and experience with palivizumab, the only approved mAb for the prevention of RSV infection in preterm infants, infants with chronic lung disease of prematurity and certain infants with hemodynamically significant heart disease. Palivizumab has been used for over two decades in infants who also receive routine vaccinations without any alerts concerning the safety and efficacy of coadministration. Immunization guidelines (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, National Advisory Committee on Immunization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, The Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany) support coadministration of palivizumab with routine pediatric vaccines, noting that immunobiologics, such as palivizumab, do not interfere with the immune response to licensed live or inactivated active vaccines. Based on the mechanism of action of the new generation of anti-viral mAbs, such as nirsevimab, which is highly specific targeting viral antigenic sites, it is unlikely that it could interfere with the immune response to other vaccines. Taken together, we anticipate that nirsevimab could be concomitantly administered to infants with routine pediatric vaccines during the same clinic visit

PROTEIN STRUCTURE REPORT Solution structure of the E3 ligase HOIL-1 Ubl domain

Abstract: The E3 ligases HOIL-1 and parkin are each comprised of an N-terminal ubiquitin-like (Ubl) domain followed by a zinc-binding region and C-terminal RING-In-between-RING-RING domains. These two proteins, involved in the ubiquitin-mediated degradation pathway, are the only two known E3 ligases to share this type of multidomain architecture. Further, the Ubl domain of both HOIL-1 and parkin has been shown to interact with the S5a subunit of the 26S proteasome. The solution structure of the HOIL-1 Ubl domain was solved using NMR spectroscopy to compare it with that of parkin to determine the structural elements responsible for S5a intermolecular interactions. The final ensemble of 20 structures had a b-grasp Ubl-fold with an overall backbone RMSD of 0.59 6 0.10 Å in the structured regions between I55 and L131. HOIL-1 had a unique extension of both b1 and b2 sheets compared to parkin and other Ubl domains, a result of a four-residue insertion in this region. A similar 15-residue hydrophobic core in the HOIL-1 Ubl domain resulted in a comparable stability to the parkin Ubl, but significantly lower than that observed for ubiquitin. A comparison with parkin and other Ubl domains indicates that HOIL-1 likely uses a conserved hydrophobic patch (W58, V102, Y127, Y129) found on the b1 face, the b3-b4 loop and b5, as well as a C-terminal basic residue (R134) to recruit the S5a subunit as part of the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathway

The osteopetrotic mutation toothless (tl) is a loss-of-function frameshift mutation in the rat Csf1 gene: Evidence of a crucial role for CSF-1 in osteoclastogenesis and endochondral ossification

The toothless (tl) mutation in the rat is a naturally occurring, autosomal recessive mutation resulting in a profound deficiency of bone-resorbing osteoclasts and peritoneal macrophages. The failure to resorb bone produces severe, unrelenting osteopetrosis, with a highly sclerotic skeleton, lack of marrow spaces, failure of tooth eruption, and other pathologies. Injections of CSF-1 improve some, but not all, of these. In this report we have used polymorphism mapping, sequencing, and expression studies to identify the genetic lesion in the tl rat. We found a 10-base insertion near the beginning of the open reading of the Csf1 gene that yields a truncated, nonfunctional protein and an early stop codon, thus rendering the tl rat CSF-1null. All mutants were homozygous for the mutation and all carriers were heterozygous. No CSF-1 transcripts were identified in rat mRNA that would avoid the mutation via alternative splicing. The biology and actions of CSF-1 have been elucidated by many studies that use another naturally occurring mutation, the op mouse, in which a single base insertion also disrupts the reading frame. The op mouse has milder osteoclastopenia and osteopetrosis than the tl rat and recovers spontaneously over the first few months of life. Thus, the tl rat provides a second model in which the functions of CSF-1 can be studied. Understanding the similarities and differences in the phenotypes of these two models will be important to advancing our knowledge of the many actions of CSF-1

An MPEG-7 scheme for semantic content modelling and filtering of digital video

Abstract Part 5 of the MPEG-7 standard specifies Multimedia Description Schemes (MDS); that is, the format multimedia content models should conform to in order to ensure interoperability across multiple platforms and applications. However, the standard does not specify how the content or the associated model may be filtered. This paper proposes an MPEG-7 scheme which can be deployed for digital video content modelling and filtering. The proposed scheme, COSMOS-7, produces rich and multi-faceted semantic content models and supports a content-based filtering approach that only analyses content relating directly to the preferred content requirements of the user. We present details of the scheme, front-end systems used for content modelling and filtering and experiences with a number of users