Interest groups or incentives: the political economy of fiscal decay

One view is that concessions demanded by and granted to interests groups are responsible for steady fiscal decline, and delay in reforms. We argue that negative supply shocks combined with the political objective of protecting the poor can build in incentives leading to these results. Pricing rules for government services, generated in such circumstances, would be equivalent to a fixed price contract that left the government with negative rent. A decline in investment in and quality of government services would follow, since price controls in the presence of cost shocks would lead to systematic incentives to lower quality and investment. Tax capacity and the ability to reduce poverty in the future would fall. The framework helps to understand the Indian experience. Time series based tests of causality support the causal priority of positive cost shocks. If it is accepted that incentives, and not only interest groups are responsible for fiscal decay, a concerted attempt to rationalize user charges and improve quality may be politically feasible

Manas Kr. Mondal

ABSTRACT: A total of 18 lactating multiparous cows (4-6 years aged) were selected from the out patients at the Addl. Block Animal Health Center, Matiali Block, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India and divided into three group, i.e normally cyclic (C), repeat breeder (RB) and post partum anoestrous (A). Blood samples were collected from all these cows for haematological and biochemical parameters. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and total leukocyte count (TEC) count were higher (P<0.05) in repeat breeder and anoestrous cows compared to cyclic ones; however the Hb and PCV values were low (P<0.05). Serum glucose and protein levels were low (P<0.05) repeat breeding cows than the normally cyclic cows. The results indicate that there may not be any specific haemato-biochemical marker for common reproductive disorders in cows

Review on the Role of Microbiota in Successful Fish Breeding and Reproduction

Fish reproduction is intricately linked to microbiota-diverse microbial communities residing in the gut, skin, and reproductive tracts. Beyond their roles in digestion, immunity, and pathogen defense, microbiota actively regulate gonadal development, gametogenesis, hormone balance, and mate selection, directly influencing breeding success. The gut microbiota ensures optimal nutrient assimilation and energy availability, essential for gamete production and embryonic development. Meanwhile, the skin and reproductive tract microbiota contribute to reproductive success by forming protective barriers against infections, ensuring a stable and healthy reproductive environment. These microbial communities are shaped by environmental factors such as water quality, diet, and stressors, which in turn affect reproductive performance. In aquaculture, probiotic and prebiotic supplementation has emerged as a promising approach to optimize microbial communities, leading to improved reproductive outcomes, enhanced disease resistance, and higher larval survival rates. However, challenges persist in fully deciphering the complex interactions between fish, their microbiota, and environmental variables. This review consolidates current knowledge on the role of microbiota in fish reproduction, emphasizing the potential applications of microbiota manipulation in aquaculture to enhance breeding success and overall fish health

Inter-Landau-level Andreev Reflection at the Dirac Point in a Graphene Quantum Hall State Coupled to a NbSe2 Superconductor

Superconductivity and quantum Hall effect are distinct states of matter occurring in apparently incompatible physical conditions. Recent theoretical developments suggest that the coupling of quantum Hall effect with a superconductor can provide a fertile ground for realizing exotic topological excitations such as non-abelian Majorana fermions or Fibonacci particles. As a step toward that goal, we report observation of Andreev reflection at the junction of a quantum Hall edge state in a single layer graphene and a quasi-two dimensional niobium diselenide (NbSe2) superconductor. Our principal finding is the observation of an anomalous finite-temperature conductance peak located precisely at the Dirac point, providing a definitive evidence for inter-Landau level Andreev reflection in a quantum Hall system. Our observations are well supported by detailed numerical simulations, which offer additional insight into the role of the edge states in Andreev physics. This study paves the way for investigating analogous Andreev reflection in a fractional quantum Hall system coupled to a superconductor to realize exotic quasiparticles.Comment: published verio

Design, Performance, and Calibration of the CMS Hadron-Outer Calorimeter

The CMS hadron calorimeter is a sampling calorimeter with brass absorber and plastic scintillator tiles with wavelength shifting fibres for carrying the light to the readout device. The barrel hadron calorimeter is complemented with an outer calorimeter to ensure high energy shower containment in the calorimeter. Fabrication, testing and calibration of the outer hadron calorimeter are carried out keeping in mind its importance in the energy measurement of jets in view of linearity and resolution. It will provide a net improvement in missing \et measurements at LHC energies. The outer hadron calorimeter will also be used for the muon trigger in coincidence with other muon chambers in CMS