A Ricardian Model with Endogenous Comparative Advantage and Endogenous Trade Policy Regimes

This paper develops a general equilibrium model with transaction costs and endogenous and exogenous comparative advantages. In the model, the governments are allowed to choose between tariff war, tariff negotiation, and laissez faire regimes. The model shows that the level of division of labor and the volume of trade increase as transaction conditions improve. In the process of moving to a high level of division of labour, a country may receive more gains from trade even if its terms of trade deteriorate. This is because an expansion of the network size of division of labour can generate productivity gains that outweigh the adverse effect of the terms of trade deterioration. When a high level of division of labor occurs in general equilibrium, if both countries play a Nash tariff game, a tariff war may break out, which can dissipate all the gains from trade. Facing this risk, all governments would prefer trade negotiations to a trade war. A Nash tariff negotiation would result in zero tariff rates. If a medium level of division of labor occurs in general equilibrium, then unilateral tariff protection and unilateral laissez faire policies would coexist. The result provides a plausible story about the evolution of trade policy regimes, and highlights the importance of trade negotiations in achieving trade liberalization.inframarginal analysis of trade theory, Ricardo model, dual structure, underdevelopment

Clinical and radiological presentations of pelvic parachordoma

Parachordoma is an extremely rare entity and there are only about 50 to 60 cases reported, in which there is only one definite pelvic parachordoma. We present a huge well-defined presacral tumor in a 48-year-old woman who has the symptoms of lower abdominal pain and difficulty in defecating. Radiological findings of the tumor on computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are described in detail. The reasons why we report the case are because the patient has rare clinical symptoms and because this is the second pelvic parachordoma. Then, we summarize the radiological features of parachordoma based on our study and the review of literature

Mass predictions of triply heavy hybrid baryons via QCD sum rules

In this article, we study the mass spectrum of the low-lying triply heavy hybrid baryon, which consists of three valence heavy quarks in a color octet and one valence gluon, with spin-parity $J^P=(\frac{1}{2})^+$ via QCD sum rules. This is the first study on the triply heavy hybrid baryons in the framework of QCD sum rules. After performing the QCD sum rule analysis, we find that the mass of $cccg$ hybrid baryon lies in $M_{cccg}= 5.91-6.13$ GeV. As a byproduct, the mass of the triply bottom hybrid baryon state is extracted to be around $M_{bbbg}=14.62-14.82$ GeV. The contributions up to dimension eight at the leading order of $\alpha_s$ (LO) in the operator product expansion are taken into account in the calculation. The triply charmed hybrid baryon predicted in this work can decay into one doubly charmed baryon and one charmed meson. Especially, we propose to search for $cccg$ hybrid baryon with $J^{P}= (1/2)^+$ in the P-wave decay channels $\Xi_{cc}^{++} D^0$, $\Xi_{cc}^{+} D^+$, and $\Xi_{ccs}^{+} D_s^+$, which may be accessible in future BelleII, Super-B, PANDA, and LHCb experiments.Comment: 20pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Side-Effect Localization for Lazy, Purely Functional Languages via Aspects

Many side-effecting programming activities, such as profiling and tracing, can be formulated as crosscutting concerns and be framed as side-effecting aspects in the aspect-oriented programming paradigm. The benefit gained from this separation of concerns is particularly evident in purely functional programming, as adding such aspects using techniques such as monadification will generally lead to crosscutting changes. This paper presents an approach to provide side-effecting aspects for lazy purely functional languages in a user transparent fashion. We propose a simple yet direct state manipulation construct for developing side-effecting aspects and devise a systematic monadification scheme to translate the woven code to monadic style purely functional code. Furthermore, we present a static and dynamic semantics of the aspect programs and reason about the correctness of our monadification scheme with respect to them

A Compilation Model for Aspect-Oriented Polymorphically Typed Functional Languages

Introducing aspect orientation to a polymorphically typed functional language strengthens the importance of type-scoped advices; i.e., advices with their effects harnessed by type constraints. As types are typically treated as compile time entities, it is highly desirable to be able to perform static weaving to determine at compile time the chaining of type-scoped advices to their associated join points. In this paper, we describe a compilation model, as well as its implementation, that supports static type inference and static weaving of programs in an aspect-oriented polymorphically typed lazy functional language, AspectFun. We present a type-directed weaving scheme that coherently weaves type-scoped advices into the base program at compile time. We state the correctness of the static weaving with respect to the operational semantics of AspectFun. We also demonstrate how control-flow based pointcuts (such as cflowbelow) are compiled away, and highlight several type-directed optimization strategies that can improve the efficiency of woven code

Novel biomarkers predict liver fibrosis in hepatitis C patients: alpha 2 macroglobulin, vitamin D binding protein and apolipoprotein AI

Abstract Background The gold standard of assessing liver fibrosis is liver biopsy, which is invasive and not without risk. Therefore, searching for noninvasive serologic biomarkers for liver fibrosis is an importantly clinical issue. Methods A total of 16 healthy volunteers and 45 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) were enrolled (F0: n = 16, F1: n = 7, F2: n = 17, F3: n = 8 and F4: n = 13, according to the METAVIR classification). Three serum samples of each fibrotic stage were analyzed by two-dimension difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE). The differential proteins were identified by the cooperation of MALDI-TOF/TOF and MASCOT; then western blotting and Bio-Plex Suspension Array were used to quantify the protein levels. Results Three prominent candidate biomarkers were identified: alpha 2 macroglobulin (A2M) is up regulated; vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) and apolipoprotein AI (ApoAI) are down regulated. The serum concentration of A2M was significantly different among normal, mild (F1/F2) and advanced fibrosis (F3/F4) (p &lt; 0.01). The protein levels of VDBP and ApoAI were significantly higher in normal/mild fibrosis, when compared to those in advanced fibrosis (both p &lt; 0.01). Conclusions This study not only reveals three putative biomarkers of liver fibrosis (A2M, VDBP and ApoAI) but also proves the differential expressions of those markers in different stages of fibrosis. We expect that combination of these novel biomarkers could be applied clinically to predict the stage of liver fibrosis without the need of liver biopsy. </jats:sec

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

A Critical Role of Autophagy in Regulating Microglia Polarization in Neurodegeneration

Neuroinflammation and autophagy dysfunction are closely related to the development of neurodegeneration such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the role of autophagy in microglia polarization and neuroinflammation is poorly understood. TNF-α, which is highly toxic to dopaminergic neurons, is implicated as a major mediator of neuroinflammation in PD. In this study, we found that TNF-α resulted in an impairment of autophagic flux in microglia. Concomitantly, an increase of M1 marker (iNOS/NO, IL-1β, and IL-6) expression and reduction of M2 marker (Arginase1, Ym1/2, and IL-10) were observed in TNF-α challenged microglia. Upregulation of autophagy via serum deprivation or pharmacologic activators (rapamycin and resveratrol) promoted microglia polarization toward M2 phenotype, as evidenced by suppressed M1 and elevated M2 gene expression, while inhibition of autophagy with 3-MA or Atg5 siRNA consistently aggravated the M1 polarization induced by TNF-α. Moreover, Atg5 knockdown alone was sufficient to trigger microglia activation toward M1 status. More important, TNF-α stimulated microglia conditioned medium caused neurotoxicity when added to neuronal cells. The neurotoxicity was further aggravated when Atg5 knockdown in BV2 cells but alleviated when microglia pretreatment with rapamycin. Activation of AKT/mTOR signaling may contribute to the changes of autophagy and inflammation as the AKT specific inhibitor perifosine prevented the increase of LC3II (an autophagic marker) in TNF-α stimulated microglia. Taking together, our results demonstrate that TNF-α inhibits autophagy in microglia through AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, and autophagy enhancement can promote microglia polarization toward M2 phenotype and inflammation resolution