The dimension of the Incipient Infinite Cluster

We study the Incipient Infinite Cluster (IIC) of high-dimensional bond percolation on $\mathbb{Z}^d$. We prove that the mass dimension of IIC almost surely equals $4$ and the volume growth exponent of IIC almost surely equals $2$.Comment: 9 page

Los olores de Buchenwald. Memoria olfativa de Jorge Semprún en La escritura o la vida

La literatura de los supervivientes de los campos se expresa como una tensión entre la exigencia ética del testimonio y la búsqueda de la palabra precisa que sepa dar cuenta de él. Este trabajo aborda uno de los clásicos de la literatura concentracionaria, La escritura o la vida (1994) de Jorge Semprún, a partir del análisis de los mecanismos descriptivos mediante los cuales el autor se acerca a los olores que era posible percibir en Buchenwald. La memoria olfativa se constituye como una forma de construcción de la otredad cuya pregnancia queda fijada en la escritura. La persistencia de ese recuerdo sensorial simboliza para Semprún la vivencia directa de la muerte y la condición inefable de su paso por el Lager.  Palabras clave: Jorge Semprún; literatura concentracionaria; memoria olfativa; inefabilidad; otredad.The literature of the nazi camp survivors is usually expressed as a tension between the ethical requirement of testimony and the search for the right word. This paper analyses one of the classic books of Concentrationary Literature, Literature or Life (1994) by Jorge Semprún, from the study of the techniques that the author uses to describe the smells that it was possible to perceive in Buchenwald. The olfactory memory represents a form of construction of otherness whose reminiscence is fixed in writing. The persistence of the sensory memory symbolizes for Semprún the direct experience of death and the ineffable condition of his imprisonment in the Lager.  Keywords: Jorge Semprún; Concentrationary Literature; Olfactory Memory; Ineffability; Otherness

Economic, Environmental and International Trade Effects of the EU Directive on Energy Tax Harmonization

In October 2003, the European Union introduced a Directive which widens the scope of the EU's minimum taxation system from mineral oils to all energy products including coal, natural gas and electricity. It aims at reducing distortions that currently exist between Member States as well as between energy products. In addition, it increases previous minimum tax rates and thus the incentive to use energy more efficiently. The Directive will lead to changes in the energy tax schemes in a number of countries, in particular some southern Member Countries (Greece, Spain, Portugal) and most of the Eastern European EU candidate countries. In this paper, we analyze the effects of the EU energy tax harmonization with GTAP-E, a computable general equilibrium model. Particular focus is placed on the Eastern European countries which became new members of the EU in May 2004. We investigate the effects of the tax harmonization on overall economic growth and sectoral development. Special attention is paid to international trade in order to analyze if competitiveness concerns which have been forwarded in the context of energy taxation are valid. Furthermore, the effect on energy consumption and emissions and thus the contribution to the EU's climate change targets is analyzed.

A summary index of feeding practices is positively associated with height-for-age, but only marginally with linear growth, in rural Senegalese infants and toddlers

Several studies have shown an association between an infant and young child feeding index (ICH) and height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) in Latin America and Africa. A previous study was unable to reproduce these findings in 500 rural Senegalese 12-42-mo-old children. The relationship of ICFI, dietary diversity index (DDI), food variety index (FVI), meal frequency index (MFI), and breastfeeding (BF) to HAZ and growth in height/length over 6 mo was studied in 1060 6-36-mo-old Senegalese children during 2 visits. List-based food frequencies were recalled for the past 24 h, and height/length and weight measurements were taken. Indicators were transformed into tertiles in age-specific subgroups. DDI, FVI, MFI, and ICFI were poorly concordant across visits at all ages (weighted kappa: 0.02-0.25). In cross-sectional analyses that pooled children from the 2 visits, HAZ was positively associated with DDI and FVI at 6-12, 12-18, and 18-24 mo and with ICFI at 6-12 and 18-24 mo (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively) but was negatively associated with BF at 12-18, 18-24, and 24-30 mo. The length increment between visits was positively associated with MFI and ICFI, measured during the first visit in 18-24-mo-olds (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively) but not with DDI, FVI, or BF at any age. In conclusion, ICFI, DDI, and FVI were associated with HAZ, particularly during infancy, whereas no indicator was associated with linear growth in this age group. Therefore, the strong association between HAZ and ICFI during infancy may be partly due to maternal adaptation to infant clues, i.e., greater appetite for and interest in non-breast-milk foods among taller infants. J. Nutr. 142: 1116-1122, 2012

Economic, Environmental and International Trade Effects of the EU Directive on Energy Tax Harmonization

In October 2003, the European Union introduced a Directive which widens the scope of the EU?s minimum taxation system from mineral oils to all energy products including coal, natu-ral gas and electricity. It aims at reducing distortions that currently exist between Member States as well as between energy products. In addition, it increases previous minimum tax rates and thus the incentive to use energy more efficiently. The Directive will lead to changes in the energy tax schemes in a number of countries, in particular some southern Member Countries (Greece, Spain, Portugal) and most of the Eastern European EU candidate countries. In this paper, we analyze the effects of the EU energy tax harmonization with GTAP-E, a computable general equilibrium model. Particular focus is placed on the Eastern European countries which became new members of the EU in May 2004. We investigate the effects of the tax harmonization on overall economic growth and sectoral development. Special atten-tion is paid to international trade in order to analyze if competitiveness concerns which have been forwarded in the context of energy taxation are valid. Furthermore, the effect on energy consumption and emissions and thus the contribution to the EU?s climate change targets is analyzed

Active malaria morbidity management has limited impact on height status of preschool senegalese children

Although infections contribute to growth faltering in preschool children, malaria prevention seems to have limited impact on height status. In 2002-2003, a malaria intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) trial was conducted in Senegal, including randomly selected preschool children from 11 villages, A rapid decrease in stunting prevalence (from 28.3 to 16.3%; P < 0.0001) was reported in both intervention and placebo groups. During this 15-mo period, both groups of children benefited from active detection and prompt treatment of malaria attacks. In this study, we investigated whether management of malaria morbidity could explain the improvement of height status. An anthropometric survey, conducted in September 2004 in the area, included 929 2- to 5-y-old children, Some 539 children, previously included in the 2002-2003 IPT trial, benefited from active malaria morbidity management and formed the malaria trial group. The remaining 390 children constituted the control group. Mean height-for-age and stunting prevalence in September 2004 were compared between groups adjusting for age and mother's activity. Mean height-for-age Z-scores did not differ between trial (-1.17 +/- 0.93) and control children (-1.24 +/- 1.00; P = 0.25). Only 36- to 47-mo-old malaria trial children had a lower prevalence of stunting than controls of similar age (19.4 vs. 28.7%; P = 0.044). Compared with the usually slow progression of height status related to better living conditions, it seems very likely that the rapid improvement observed among IPT study children resulted from the trial. These findings suggest that improved health services provided by the trial may also have benefited children not included living in study villages. J. Nutr. 140: 625-629, 2010

Quantification of airborne road-side pollution carbon nanoparticles

Roadside diesel particulate matter (DPM) has been collected using a P-Trak particle counter with modified inlet filter. The P-Trak monitor assesses ultrafine particle number in real-time rather than accumulated PM mass over a period of time, which is important for DPM where the particles are often <100nm in size. Collected pollution particulate matter was analysed by SEM and TEM, quantifying particle size, morphology and size distribution. The primary carbon nanoparticles form complex fractal aggregates with open porous morphologies and evidence of secondary carbon deposition. For the chosen collection sites, occasional but significantly larger mineral and fibrous particles were identified. The assessment of airborne particles by mass collection (TEOM), particle-number (P-Trak) and TEM methods is discussed