Riding the Roller Coaster: Fiscal Policies of Nonrenewable Resources Exporters in Latin America and the Caribbean .

This paper analyzes recent fiscal policies of nonrenewable resource exporting countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in the context of sharp swings in resource prices. Fiscal policies were predominantly procyclical during the boom period 2003-08 but to significantly differing degrees within the sample. Countries that pursued more conservative fiscal policies during the boom were then able to implement countercyclical fiscal policies during the downturn; moreover, they reduced or maintained their fiscal vulnerability to resource shocks, while their long-term fiscal sustainability positions improved or were broadly unchanged. However, these dimensions of fiscal policy did not seem to be linked to fiscal rules or resource funds, as countries with such institutions displayed a broad range of fiscal responses to the recent cycle.

Agent-Based Aplications for the Smart Grid--A Playground for Agreement Tecnologies

Agreement Technologies (AT) refer to computer systems in which autonomous software agents negotiate with one another, typically on behalf of humans, in order to come to mutually acceptable agreements. The talk first briefly delineates the emerging field of AT, and then points to several case studies showing how findings from the field of AT can be used for building advanced applications for the Smart Grid.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Próba symulacji liczby aborcji w Polsce na podstawie danych w wybranych krajach europejskich

The 1993 Act on Family Planning, Human Fetus Protection and Conditions for Permissibility of Pregnancy Termination is one of the most restrictive in Europe. Despite the fact that the number of abortions reported officially went down from over 123 thousand in 1987 to 1.2 thousand in 1993, when the restricted law came into force, the low figures reported for subsequent years (such as 339 abortions in 2006) are considered to depict only a marginal share of the real numbers. Existing estimates range from 10-15 thousand to 80-200 thousand illegally performed abortions per year. The significant drop in the recorded number of deliberate pregnancy terminations, however, did not coincide with an increase in the number of births. On the contrary, fertility declined considerably to the lowest levels observed since the 1950s. An increasing knowledge on family planning and a better availability of contraception undoubtedly contributed to the downward tendency of induced abortions. However, a question about the actual numbers of abortions remains open. That issue is the main subject of this article. Herewith, an attempt to evaluate the possible numbers of abortions in Poland was undertaken using two approaches. Since the assumptions used can be seen as rather restrictive, the proposed procedures can be best described as simulations. The first approach simulates the number of abortions that would be reported if the legal situation prior to 1990 was restored, and the trends in abortion in Poland and the adjacent countries since 1960 would continue. The simulated figures indicate between 30 and 50 thousand abortions per year. The second approach refers also to a hypothetical situation of no restrictive abortion regulation in Poland and assumes the abortion rate in Poland similar to those found in Sweden, Norway, France, Great Britain, Slovakia and Czech Republic in 2006. Under these conditions, the actual number of abortions would be between 90 and 185 thousand annually

Ethical Dilemmas of Political Marketing. Polish Members of Parliament on Political Communication (analysis of survey results)

Marketing polityczny zmienił nie tylko sposób prowadzenia kampanii wyborczych, lecz również normy i zasady, na których budowany był przez lata liberalno-demokratyczny system polityczny. Na znaczeniu stracił przede wszystkim ideał racjonalnego wyborcy, który z obywatela przekształcił się w konsumenta. Równocześnie przeniesienie mechanizmów marketingu ekonomicznego do sfery polityki jawi się jako jeden z wyznaczników postępującej destrukcji ideałów i zasad demokracji liberalnej. Nie jest jednak łatwo zmierzyć skalę tych zmian. Niniejszy tekst przedstawia próbę nakreślenia skali internalizacji aksjologii rynku w sferze polityki przez polskich parlamentarzystów, w oparciu o wyniki badań ankietowych przeprowadzonych podczas trwania trzech kolejnych kadencji polskiego parlamentu (w latach 2004, 2006, 2008).Political marketing has changed not only the way election campaigns are conducted, but also the standards and principles that have lain at the foundations of the liberal-democratic political system for years. First and foremost, the ideał of the rational voter has lost significance as the Citizen has been transformed into a consumer. At the same time, the mechanisms of economic marketing have been transferred to the realm of politics, which seems to be one of the indicators of the ongoing destruction of the ideals and principles of liberał democracy. It is not an easy task to measure the scalę of these changes, though. This paper is an attempt to outline the degree to which the deputies to the Polish Parliament have intemalized market axiology in the realm of politics assessed on the basis of the results of surveys conducted during three consecutive terms of the Polish parliament (in 2004, 2006 and 2008)

Surface properties of the clean and Au/Pd covered Fe3_3O4_4(111): a DFT and DFT+UU study

The spin-density functional theory (DFT) and DFT+$U$ with Hubbard $U$ term accounting for on-site Coulomb interactions were applied to investigate structure, stability, and electronic properties of different terminations of the Fe$_3$O$_4$(111) surface. All terminations of the ferrimagnetic Fe$_3$O$_4$(111) surface exhibit very large (up to 90%) relaxations of the first four interlayer distances, decreasing with the oxide layer depth. Our calculations predict the iron terminated surface to be most stable in a wide range of the accessible values of the oxygen chemical potential. The adsorption of Au and Pd on two stable Fe- and O-terminated surfaces is studied. Our results show that Pd binds stronger than Au both to the Fe- and O-terminated surface. DFT+$U$ gives stronger bonding than DFT. The bonding of both adsorbates to the O-terminated magnetite surface is by 1.5-2.5 eV stronger than to the Fe-terminated surface

Budżet obywatelski jako forma partycypacji mieszkańców czy narzędzie PR urzędu? Przykład Poznańskiego Budżetu Obywatelskiego

The paper discusses the Civic Budget of the City of Poznań (CBP). The analysis focuses on the nature of the CBP and the extent to which it is a participatory budget or rather a PR instrument. The hypothesis is proposed that participatory budgets in Poland are more of a PR instrument than participatory budgets in the strict sense. In order to verify this hypothesis the example of Poznań is analyzed, including the evaluation report of the CBP16. It is concluded that such civic budgets as the CBP can hardly be described as participatory budgets in the strict sense. They do not involve enough consultation, deliberation or actual co-deciding. Too few people are involved in the idea of civic budgets and a clear majority of those who do, only take part in the vote. There are only a few people involved on a long-term basis. All this makes the CBP more of a contest and plebiscite, rather than a participatory budget, which is confirmed by the comparison of the principles and practice of the CBP with the definitions of participatory budgets.W artykule omówiono instytucję Poznańskiego Budżetu Obywatelskiego. Przeprowadzona analiza dotyczy istoty PBO – ile w nim z budżetów partycypacyjnych a ile z public relations. Postawiona hipoteza uznaje polskie budżety partycypacyjne w większym stopniu za narzędzie PR niż budżet partycypacyjny sensu stricto. Weryfikując hipotezę posłużono się przykładem poznańskim, w tym raportem z ewaluacji PBO16. W efekcie należy stwierdzić, że budżety obywatelskie takie jak PBO trudno zaliczyć do budżetów partycypacyjnych sensu stricto. Za mało w nich konsultacji, deliberacji, faktycznego współdecydowania. Za mało ludzi angażuje się w tę ideę, a jeśli już to zdecydowana większość tylko podczas głosowania. Osób dłużej działających jest niewielu. Dlatego też PBO to w większym stopniu konkurs, rodzaj plebiscytu, niż budżet partycypacyjny, jeżeli zestawimy zasady i praktykę PBO z definicjami budżetów partycypacyjnych

Novel molecular insights about lactobacillar sortase-dependent piliation

One of the more conspicuous structural features that punctuate the outer cell surface of certain bacterial Gram-positive genera and species is the sortase-dependent pilus. As these adhesive and variable-length protrusions jut outward from the cell, they provide a physically expedient and useful means for the initial contact between a bacterium and its ecological milieu. The sortase-dependent pilus displays an elongated macromolecular architecture consisting of two to three types of monomeric protein subunits (pilins), each with their own specific function and location, and that are joined together covalently by the transpeptidyl activity of a pilus-specific C-type sortase enzyme. Sortase-dependent pili were first detected among the Gram-positive pathogens and subsequently categorized as an essential virulence factor for host colonization and tissue invasion by these harmful bacteria. However, the sortase-dependent pilus was rebranded as also a niche-adaptation factor after it was revealed that “friendly” Gram-positive commensals exhibit the same kind of pilus structures, which includes two contrasting gut-adapted species from the Lactobacillus genus, allochthonous Lactobacillus rhamnosus and autochthonous Lactobacillus ruminis. This review will highlight and discuss what has been learned from the latest research carried out and published on these lactobacillar pilus types.Peer reviewe

Conditional Sox9 ablation 30 days after spinal cord injury: Testing the therapeutic value of a successful acute strategy to increase neuroplasticity in a model of chronic spinal cord injury

Many individuals who have suffered from spinal cord injury (SCI) have longstanding damage. The molecular environment of the spinal cord is not permissive to axonal growth and neuroplasticity after injury is limited. Perineuronal nets containing chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) are major inhibitors of axonal sprouting. Our laboratory has identified that the transcription factor SOX9 regulates a battery of genes involved in CSPG biosynthesis. Using Sox9 conditional knockout mice, we have shown that ablating Sox9 before injury decreases CSPG levels in the cord, increases reparative sprouting, and leads to improved locomotor recovery. However, it is unknown whether Sox9 ablation following SCI leads to similar recovery. To investigate this, Sox9 was ablated in mice 30 days after SCI. This ablation did not decrease levels of perineuronal nets, increase neuroplasticity or improve locomotor recovery compared to controls. These results will be discussed in the context of CSPG turnover rate and matrix metalloproteinase activity

Engineering Agent Systems for Decision Support

This paper discusses how agent technology can be applied to the design of advanced Information Systems for Decision Support. In particular, it describes the different steps and models that are necessary to engineer Decision Support Systems based on a multiagent architecture. The approach is illustrated by a case study in the traffic management domain

Knowledge Modelling in Multiagent Systems: The Case of the Management of a National Network

This paper presents the knowledge model of a distributed decision support system, that has been designed for the management of a national network in Ukraine. It shows how advanced Artificial Intelligence techniques (multiagent systems and knowledge modelling) have been applied to solve this real-world decision support problem: on the one hand its distributed nature, implied by different loci of decision-making at the network nodes, suggested to apply a multiagent solution; on the other, due to the complexity of problem-solving for local network administration, it was useful to apply knowledge modelling techniques, in order to structure the different knowledge types and reasoning processes involved. The paper sets out from a description of our particular management problem. Subsequently, our agent model is described, pointing out the local problem-solving and coordination knowledge models. Finally, the dynamics of the approach is illustrated by an example