De contrasterende Holocene sediment successie langsheen het westelijk en oostelijk deel van de Belgische kust: oorzaak en gevolgen = The contrasting Holocene sediment succession along the western and eastern part of the Belgian coast: cause and consequences

A series of drillings and cone penetration tests carried out for the sea wall fortification along the shoreline was subject to a sedimentological and stratigraphical examination, revealing a difference in sediment succession between the western and the eastern part. In the western part, the Holocene sequence along the shoreline is entirely made up of coastal barrier deposits. In the eastern direction, starting from Middelkerke, such deposits are lacking, and the Holocene sequence consists of mudflat clay and peat layers incised by late Holocene tidal channels filled with sand and/or mud. This indicates considerable coastal erosion during the late Holocene in the eastern part. The difference in sediment succession may be caused by the very different morphology of the pre-Holocene subsoil in the west and the east. A fluvial valley characterizes the west. In the east, on the other hand, the Pleistocene subsoil consists of coversands, which may have formed a headland probably extending far to the north. In the palaeovalley, a tidal flat was formed from the start of the Holocene transgression, while the eastern headland did not come under the influence of the Holocene transgression until much later. Less sediment supply by interception of the longshore drift and a lowered shoreface profile caused strong shoreface erosion from the time when, 2400 to 2000 years ago, the tidal environment re-occupied the coastal plain. This shoreface erosion most probably affected the headland in a timespan of 1000 to 2000 years.This situation resulted in the eastern part of the coast still being subject to coastal erosion and consequently much more vulnerable than the western part

Local Runup Amplification By Resonant Wave Interactions

Until now the analysis of long wave runup on a plane beach has been focused on finding its maximum value, failing to capture the existence of resonant regimes. One-dimensional numerical simulations in the framework of the Nonlinear Shallow Water Equations (NSWE) are used to investigate the Boundary Value Problem (BVP) for plane and non-trivial beaches. Monochromatic waves, as well as virtual wave-gage recordings from real tsunami simulations, are used as forcing conditions to the BVP. Resonant phenomena between the incident wavelength and the beach slope are found to occur, which result in enhanced runup of non-leading waves. The evolution of energy reveals the existence of a quasi-periodic state for the case of sinusoidal waves, the energy level of which, as well as the time required to reach that state, depend on the incident wavelength for a given beach slope. Dispersion is found to slightly reduce the value of maximum runup, but not to change the overall picture. Runup amplification occurs for both leading elevation and depression waves.Comment: 10 pages, 7 Figures. Accepted to Physical Review Letters. Other author's papers can be downloaded at http://www.lama.univ-savoie.fr/~dutykh

Metabolic scaling: consensus or controversy?

BACKGROUND: The relationship between body mass (M) and standard metabolic rate (B) among living organisms remains controversial, though it is widely accepted that in many cases B is approximately proportional to the three-quarters power of M. RESULTS: The biological significance of the straight-line plots obtained over wide ranges of species when B is plotted against log M remains a matter of debate. In this article we review the values ascribed to the gradients of such graphs (typically 0.75, according to the majority view), and we assess various attempts to explain the allometric power-law phenomenon, placing emphasis on the most recent publications. CONCLUSION: Although many of the models that have been advanced have significant attractions, none can be accepted without serious reservations, and the possibility that no one model can fit all cases has to be more seriously entertained

The Pros and Cons of Gene Patents

The debate over human gene patents was recently reignited by New York federal Judge Robert Sweet, when he found isolated human gene sequences unpatentable in Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office , 702 F.Supp.2d 181 (S.D.N.Y. 2010). An appeal of the decision is pending, and in October, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus curiae brief in the case arguing that such gene sequences should not be patentable, contradicting long-standing practices of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Given the potent impact of a possible gene patent ban on gene-based medical therapies and the biotechnology industry at large, the arguments for and against patenting human genes must be carefully considered. Unfortunately, much of the current legal debate has centered on technical aspects of patent law doctrine and not the significant policy arguments that also need to be resolved. It is therefore important to evaluate the issue in a fuller context, taking into account health care access, scientific research and ethical concerns

Patenting Human Genes: The Myriad Controversy

The controversy over human gene patents was reignited in March 2010 when a US Federal District Court decided that isolated human gene sequences are not patentable. An appeal is pending, although the US Department of justice filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in late October, arguing that such gene sequences should not be patentable. Because this case may eventually find its way to the US Supreme Court, the ruling could have significant implications for gene-based medical therapies and for the biotechnology industry overall. It is therefore important to assess both the past and present context of this controversy, taking into account scientific research, health care access, and ethical concerns

The Pros and Cons of Gene Patents

The debate over human gene patents was recently reignited by New York federal Judge Robert Sweet, when he found isolated human gene sequences unpatentable in Association for Molecular Pathology v. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office , 702 F.Supp.2d 181 (S.D.N.Y. 2010). An appeal of the decision is pending, and in October, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus curiae brief in the case arguing that such gene sequences should not be patentable, contradicting long-standing practices of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Given the potent impact of a possible gene patent ban on gene-based medical therapies and the biotechnology industry at large, the arguments for and against patenting human genes must be carefully considered. Unfortunately, much of the current legal debate has centered on technical aspects of patent law doctrine and not the significant policy arguments that also need to be resolved. It is therefore important to evaluate the issue in a fuller context, taking into account health care access, scientific research and ethical concerns

Patenting Human Genes: The Myriad Controversy

The controversy over human gene patents was reignited in March 2010 when a US Federal District Court decided that isolated human gene sequences are not patentable. An appeal is pending, although the US Department of justice filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case in late October, arguing that such gene sequences should not be patentable. Because this case may eventually find its way to the US Supreme Court, the ruling could have significant implications for gene-based medical therapies and for the biotechnology industry overall. It is therefore important to assess both the past and present context of this controversy, taking into account scientific research, health care access, and ethical concerns

Adjunctive quetiapine for serotonin reuptake inhibitor-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled treatment trials

Small studies have shown positive effects from adding a variety of antipsychotic agents in patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder who are unresponsive to treatment with serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The evidence, however, is contradictory. This paper reports a meta-analysis of existing double-blind randomized placebo-controlled studies looking at the addition of the second-generation antipsychotic quetiapine in such cases. Three studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Altogether 102 individuals were subjected to analysis using Review Manager (4.2.7). The results showed evidence of efficacy for adjunctive quetiapine (< 400 mg/day) on the primary efficacy criterion, measured as changes from baseline in total Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale scores (P = 0.008), the clinical significance of which was limited by between-study heterogeneity. The mechanism underlying the effect may involve serotonin and/or dopamine neurotransmission

КОРПОРАТИВНЕ УПРАВЛІННЯ В ДЕРЖАВНИХ БАНКАХ

In the article, based on application of agency theory, the specifics of corporate governance in state-owned banks are highlighted. It is determined that the key distinction of state-owned banks is the fact that a state simultaneously can act as an owner, manager, creditor and regulator. The differences of corporate relations in state-owned banks such as the more complicated multilevel system of agency relations, the higher level of information asymmetry and risk of agent’s opportunism, the another character of trust manifestation are substantiated. It is highlighted that the presence of complicated corporate relations causes the following risks: the state as an agent of population may be ineffective and use the state-owned banks not so for ensuring of socio-economic development, as for financing the state’s projects or state-owned enterprises; in the case of certain political forces’ impact on the formation of the government the state-owned banks activities may be  subordinated by motives of certain politicians, interested in using of state-owned banks for achieving their own political goals; the ineffective multi-level delegation of management, monitoring and regulation functions can lead to inefficiencies of state-owned banks in general; the lobbying of state-owned banks’ interests may lead to the breach of competitive environment of financial market, manipulation of movement of credit and investment resources etc. The hypotheses, regarding to the factors that can be decisive for the effective corporate governance in the state-owned banks, are formulated. As main factors which may determine the efficiency of corporate governance in the state-owned banks are considered follow: the structure and composition of agency contracts of management in the state-owned banks, level of banking regulator independence and character of its relations with state-owned banks and other government structures; the formation of supervisory boards, taking into account the absence of political engagement of supervisory boards, the appropriate level of professionalism and reputation, the presence of independent members, the application other procedures for the selection of state-owned banks managers, based on the balance of all stakeholders’ interests; the appropriate balanced level of transparency.Определено, что ключевым отличием государственных банков является то, что государство может одновременно выступать владельцем, менеджером, кредитором и регулятором. Обоснованно различия корпоративных отношений в государственных банках: более сложную многоступенчатую систему агентских отношений, высокий уровень информационной асимметрии и риска оппортунизма агентов, иной характер проявления фактора доверия. Освещено, что наличие осложненных корпоративных отношений влечет за собой дополнительные риски. На основе использования классических теорий сформулировано гипотезы относительно факторов, которые могут быть определяющими для эффективного корпоративного управления в государственных банках.На основі теорії агентських відносин висвітлено специфіку корпоративного управління в державних банках. Визначено, що ключовою відмінністю державних банків є те, що держава може одночасно виступати власником, менеджером, кредитором і регулятором. Проаналізовано особливості корпоративних відносин у державних банках: більш складну багатоступеневу систему агентських відносин, вищий рівень інформаційної асиметрії та ризику опортунізму агентів, інший характер прояву чинника довіри. Обґрунтовано, що наявність ускладнених корпоративних відносин спричиняє такі ризики: держава як агент населення може бути неефективним і використовувати державні банки не для забезпечення соціально-економічного розвитку, а для фінансування державних проектів чи держпідприємств; на формування уряду під впливом окремих політичних сил функціонування державних банків може бути підпорядковане мотивам окремих політиків зацікавлених у використанні державних банків для досягнення власних політичних цілей; неефективне багатоступеневе делегування функцій управління, моніторингу та регулювання може спричинити неефективність державних банків загалом; лобіювання інтересів державних банків може спричинити порушення конкурентного середовища на ринку фінансових послуг, маніпулювання рухом кредитних та інвестиційних коштів тощо. На основі використання теорії агентських відносин обґрунтовано гіпотези щодо чинників, які можуть бути визначальними для ефективного корпоративного управління в державних банках, а саме: структура і склад агентських контрактів на управління державними банками та рівень незалежності банківського регулятора, характер його взаємовідносин із державними банками та з іншими урядовими структурами; формування наглядових рад з урахуванням відсутності політичної заангажованості наглядових рад, належного рівня професійності та репутації, наявності незалежних членів, застосування процедур відбору керівних кадрів державних банків з урахуванням паритетності інтересів усіх зацікавлених сторін; належний збалансований рівень транспарентності