bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dumping: Trade Policy in Need of a Theoretical Make Over*
Authors: Kerr William A. 
Published: February 2006

But sufficient justification is to be found in the usage of the most authoritative writers and in the considerations of economy and precision of terminology for confining the term dumping toprice‐discrimination between national markets(original emphasis).Jacob Viner (1923, p. 3)1Anti‐dumping cases are on the rise internationally and are becoming a major weapon in the protectionist arsenal. The definitions of dumping, however, are not based on theoretically sound economic reasoning meaning firms are often falsely accused of engaging in unfair pricing practices when exporting. The historic bases of the current definitions are outlined and their theoretical deficiencies fully explained. Suggestions are made regarding how the definition of dumping used in international law could be put on a sound economic basis.Les cas d'antidumping sont internationalement à la hausse et deviennent une arme importante dans l'arsenal du protectionniste.Cependant, les définitions de dumping ne sont pas basées sur un raisonnement économique théoriquement sains, c'est à dire les firmes exportatrices sont souvent faussement accusées de s'engager dans des pratiques de tarification favorables. Les bases historiques des définitions courantes sont décrites et leurs insuffisances théoriques sont entièrement expliquées. Des suggestions sont faites concernant la façon dont la définition de dumping dans le droit international pourrait être basée sur des concepts économiques solides.
Tariff‐Rate Quota Liberalization: The Case of World Price Uncertainty and Supply Management
Authors: Rude James I. , Gervais Jean‐Philippe 
Published: February 2006

This paper examines the options for liberalizing tariff‐rate quotas when a marketing board controls domestic production and international prices are stochastic. Lowering over‐quota tariff and increasing import quota volumes are not equivalent. The trade‐offs between the two types of trade reforms are examined through numerical simulations for the Canadian chicken industry. Introducing world price variability results in a distribution of welfare impacts for the different groups in the industry. Consumers and processors gain more with tariff liberalization than with increased import quotas. The difference in producer surplus between liberalization regimes is truncated so that producers only see down‐side risk under the tariff liberalization regime. Le présent article a examiné les options concernant la libéralisation des contingents tarifaires lorsqu'un office de commercialisation encadre la production nationale et que les prix internationaux sont stochastiques. Diminuer le taux de droit hors contingent et augmenter les volumes de contingent d'importation ne sont pas des options équivalentes. Nous avons examiné les deux types de réforme commerciale en effectuant des simulations numériques pour le secteur du poulet au Canada. Incorporer la variabilité du prix mondial provoque une distribution de répercussions sur le bien‐être des divers groupes du secteur. Les consommateurs et les transformateurs gagnent davantage en appliquant une libéralisation des droits hors contingent qu'en appliquant une augmentation des contingents d'importation. La différence quant au surplus des producteurs entre les régimes de libéralisation est tronquée de sorte que les producteurs ne voient que le risque de perte sous un régime de libéralisation tarifaire.
Estimating the Impacts of Government Interventions in the International Rice Market
Authors: Chen Chi‐Chung , McCarl Bruce A. , Chang Ching‐Cheng 
Published: February 2006

A procedure is developed to estimate the distortions and welfare impacts of government interventions in the international rice market. The procedure is based on a spatial equilibrium model and the application of conjectural variations. The model estimates asymmetric price distortions caused by policies in both exporting and importing countries. We find that the measures of price distortion are slightly larger due to actions in importing countries than in exporting countries. The results show that welfare gains of U.S.$1.2 billion or about 14.8% are possible when all trading distortions are removed. Nous avons mis au point une méthode pour estimer les répercussions de l'intervention gouvernementale sur les distorsions et le bien‐être sur le marché international du riz. Cette méthode est fondée sur un modèle d'équilibre spatial et l'application de variations conjecturales. Le modèle estime les distorsions de prix asymétriques causées par les politiques des pays exportateurs et importateurs. Nous avons trouvé que la distorsion des prix est légèrement plus élevée dans les pays importateurs que dans les pays exportateurs, en raison de leurs mesures respectives. Les résultats ont montré qu'il était possible de réaliser des gains de 1,2 milliard $US, soit environ 14.8 %, en éliminant la distorsions des échanges.
Insuring Eggs in Baskets: Should the Government Insure Individual Risks?
Authors: Hart Chad E. , Hayes Dermot J. , Babcock Bruce A. 
Published: February 2006

The vast majority of crop and revenue insurance policies sold in North America are single‐crop policies that insure against low yields or low revenues for each crop grown on a particular farm. This practice of insuring one crop at a time runs counter to the traditional risk management practice of diversifying across several enterprises to avoid putting all of one's eggs in a single basket. This paper examines the construction of a whole‐farm crop revenue insurance program to include livestock price risk. The results show that at coverage levels of 95% or lower, the fair insurance premiums for this product on a well‐diversified Iowa farm are far lower than the fair premiums for the corn crop alone on the same farm. The calculation of premium rates for the whole‐farm insurance product is derived from a method for imposing correlations first proposed by Iman and Conover in 1982. The potential income transfer from crop insurance is also examined. We find that the income transfer due to the subsidization of single‐commodity policies is greater than the total premium for whole‐farm policies. La grande majorité de polices d'assurances de récolte et de revenu agricole vendues en Amérique du nord sont des polices de récolte individuelle qui assurent contre des rendements faibles ou bas revenu pour chaque récolte cultivée par une ferme particulière. Cette pratique de n'assurer une récolte à la fois fonctionne à l'opposé de la pratique traditionnelle de gestion des risques par la diversification à travers plusieurs entreprises pour éviter de mettre tous ses oeufs dans un seul panier. Cet article examine la construction d'un programme d'assurance agricole pour l'ensemble des récoltes produites par une ferme y compris le bétail évalue le risque. Les résultats montrent qu'aux niveaux d'assurance plus petits ou égaux à 95 pourcents, les primes d'assurance justes pour ce type de police pour une ferme bien diversifiée de l'Iowa sont bien inférieures aux primes justes pour une police de simple couvrant le maïs et ce pour la même ferme. Le calcul des taux de prime pour une police couvrant l'ensemble des récoltes est dérivé d'une méthode pour imposer des corrélations originalement proposée par Iman et Conover en 1982. Le transfert potentiel de revenu à partir de l'assurance de récolte agricole est également examiné. Nous trouvons que le transfert de revenu dûà la subvention des polices pour récolte singulière est plus grand que la prime entière pour une police couvrant l'ensemble des récoltes.
Verifying Timing and Frequency of Revealed Preference Violations and Application to the BSE Outbreak in Japan
Authors: Jin Hyun J. 
Published: February 2006

This paper proposes a method to differentiate a socioeconomic shock from other transitory shocks in the revealed preference test by verifying the timing and frequency of the demand shifts. If frequency of the revealed preference violations is substantially high in a period that is synchronized with the timing of a socioeconomic shock, it suggests that changes in the demand patterns are because of the socioeconomic shock. Specifically, this paper splits the entire sample into several subperiods and compares the expected probability and realized probability of noting observations involved in the shifts. The method is applied to the Japanese and South Korean meat import demand related to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in Japan. Empirical results show that there are excess violations after September 2001 in the Japanese data but not in the South Korean data, suggesting that the BSE event has influenced Japanese meat import demand, but not South Korean meat import demand. Le présent article propose une méthode pour distinguer un choc socioéconomique d'autres formes de chocs transitoires dans le test des préférences révélées en vérifiant le moment et la fréquence des déplacements de la demande. Si la fréquence des violations de préférences révélées est substantiellement élevée au cours d'une période correspondant à la survenue d'un choc socioéconomique, les changements observés dans les courbes de demande pourraient être liés au choc socioéconomique. Plus particulièrement, nous avons divisé l'échantillon en plusieurs sous‐périodes et avons comparé la probabilité anticipée et la probabilité réalisée d'après les observations notées dans les déplacements. Nous avons appliqué cette méthode à la demande d'importation de viande du Japon et de la Corée du Sud à la suite de la flambée d'ESB au Japon. Les résultats empiriques ont montré de nombreuses violations après septembre 2001 dans les données japonaises, mais non dans les données sud‐coréennes, ce qui porte à croire que l'épisode d'ESB a influencé la demande d'importation de viande du Japon, mais non celle de la Corée du Sud.
The Siting of Livestock Facilities and Environmental Regulations
Authors: Weersink Alfons , Eveland Christin 
Published: February 2006

The significant variation in the stringency of environmental regulations across Ontario municipalities in the late 1990s created the possibility of pollution havens where expanding livestock operations would locate in those municipalities with the lowest regulatory compliance costs. Using actual building permit data rather than aggregate regional production numbers, the study examined the factors affecting spatial changes. Instead of locating to reduce environmental compliance costs as suggested by the pollution haven hypothesis, barns are being built largely where the livestock sector is concentrated suggesting the existence of agglomeration economies. The result suggests that the normalization of standards across the province through the new Nutrient Management Act will not significantly influence the location decisions of expanding or new livestock facilities which are largely determined by economic factors associated with livestock infrastructure support. L'importante variation de sévérité des règlements environnementaux dans les municipalités de l'Ontario vers la fin des années 1990 a créé la possibilité de refuges pour pollueurs: les fermes d'élevage en expansion allaient s'installer dans les municipalités où les coûts de conformité aux règlements étaient les plus faibles. À l'aide de données sur les permis de construire plutôt que de données agrégées sur la production régionale, la présente étude a examiné les facteurs qui influaient sur les changements spatiaux. Au lieu de s'installer là où les coûts de conformité aux règlements sont faibles comme le laisse supposer l'hypothèse des refuges pour pollueurs, les entreprises choisissent de s'installer là où le secteur de l'élevage est concentré, ce qui laisse supposer l'existence d'économies d'agglomération. Les résultats semblent indiquer que l'uniformisation des normes à l'échelle provinciale en vertu de la Loi sur la gestion des éléments nutritifs n'aura pas d'influence significative sur le choix des endroits où seront construits les bâtiments des exploitations en expansion ou des nouvelles exploitations puisque ce choix est en grande partie motivé par des facteurs économiques liés au soutien à l'infrastructure de l'élevage.
Myofascial force transmission is increasingly important at lower forces: firing frequency‐related length–force characteristics of rat extensor digitorum longus
Authors: Meijer H. J. M. , Baan G. C. , Huijing P. A. 
Published: February 2006

AbstractAim:  Effects of submaximal stimulation frequencies on myofascial force transmission were investigated for rat anterior crural muscles with all motor units activated.Methods:  Tibialis anterior and extensor hallucis longus (TAEHL) muscles were kept at constant muscle–tendon complex length, but extensor digitorum longus muscle (EDL) was lengthened distally. All muscles were activated simultaneously at 10, 20, 30 and 100 Hz within an intact anterior crural compartment.Results:  At lower frequencies, significant proximo‐distal EDL force differences exist. Absolute EDL proximo‐distal active force differences were highest at 100 Hz (ΔFdist‐prox = 0.4 N). However, the normalized difference was highest at 10 Hz (ΔFdist‐prox = 30%Fdist). Firing‐frequency dependent shifts of the ascending limb of the EDL length–force curve to higher lengths were confirmed for a muscle within an intact compartment, although effects of firing frequency assessed at proximal and distal EDL tendons differed quantitatively. As EDL was lengthened distally, TAEHL distal isometric active force decreased progressively. The absolute decrease was highest for 100 Hz (ΔFfrom initial = −0.25 N). However, the highest normalized decrease was found for 10 Hz stimulation (ΔFfrom initial = −40%).Conclusions:  At submaximal stimulation frequencies, myofascial force transmission is present and the fraction of force transmitted myofascially increases with progressively lower firing frequencies. Evidently, the stiffness of epimuscular myofascial paths of force transmission decreases less than the stiffness of serial sarcomeres and myotendinous pathways. It is concluded that low firing frequencies as encountered in vivo enhance the relative importance of epimuscular myofascial force transmission with respect to myotendinous force transmission.
The Global Regulatory Proteins LetA and RpoS Control Phospholipase A, Lysophospholipase A, Acyltransferase, and Other Hydrolytic Activities of
Legionella pneumophila
JR32
Authors: Broich Markus , Rydzewski Kerstin , McNealy Tamara L. , Marre Reinhard , Flieger Antje 
Published: February 2006

ABSTRACT

Legionella pneumophila
possesses a variety of secreted and cell-associated hydrolytic activities that could be involved in pathogenesis. The activities include phospholipase A, lysophospholipase A, glycerophospholipid:cholesterol acyltransferase, lipase, protease, phosphatase, RNase, and
p
-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine (p-NPPC) hydrolase. Up to now, there have been no data available on the regulation of the enzymes in
L. pneumophila
and no data at all concerning the regulation of bacterial phospholipases A. Therefore, we used
L. pneumophila
mutants in the genes coding for the global regulatory proteins RpoS and LetA to investigate the dependency of hydrolytic activities on a global regulatory network proposed to control important virulence traits in
L. pneumophila
. Our results show that both
L. pneumophila rpoS
and
letA
mutants exhibit on the one hand a dramatic reduction of secreted phospholipase A and glycerophospholipid:cholesterol acyltransferase activities, while on the other hand secreted lysophospholipase A and lipase activities were significantly increased during late logarithmic growth phase. The cell-associated phospholipase A, lysophospholipase A, and p-NPPC hydrolase activities, as well as the secreted protease, phosphatase, and p-NPPC hydrolase activities were significantly decreased in both of the mutant strains. Only cell-associated phosphatase activity was slightly increased. In contrast, RNase activity was not affected. The expression of
plaC
, coding for a secreted acyltransferase, phospholipase A, and lysophospholipase A, was found to be regulated by LetA and RpoS. In conclusion, our results show that RpoS and LetA affect phospholipase A, lysophospholipase A, acyltransferase, and other hydrolytic activities of
L. pneumophila
in a similar way, thereby corroborating the existence of the LetA/RpoS regulation cascade.
Oxygen Reactivity of PutA from
Helicobacter
Species and Proline-Linked Oxidative Stress
Authors: Krishnan Navasona , Becker Donald F. 
Published: February 2006

ABSTRACT

Proline is converted to glutamate in two successive steps by the proline utilization A (PutA) flavoenzyme in gram-negative bacteria. PutA contains a proline dehydrogenase domain that catalyzes the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent oxidation of proline to Δ
1
-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C) and a P5C dehydrogenase domain that catalyzes the NAD
+
-dependent oxidation of P5C to glutamate. Here, we characterize PutA from
Helicobacter hepaticus
(PutA
Hh
) and
Helicobacter pylori
(PutA
Hp
) to provide new insights into proline metabolism in these gastrointestinal pathogens. Both PutA
Hh
and PutA
Hp
lack DNA binding activity, in contrast to PutA from
Escherichia coli
(PutA
Ec
), which both regulates and catalyzes proline utilization. PutA
Hh
and PutA
Hp
display catalytic activities similar to that of PutA
Ec
but have higher oxygen reactivity. PutA
Hh
and PutA
Hp
exhibit 100-fold-higher turnover numbers (∼30 min
−1
) than PutA
Ec
(<0. 3 min
−1
) using oxygen as an electron acceptor during catalytic turnover with proline. Consistent with increased oxygen reactivity, PutA
Hh
forms a reversible FAD-sulfite adduct. The significance of increased oxygen reactivity in PutA
Hh
and PutA
Hp
was probed by oxidative stress studies in
E. coli.
Expression of PutA
Ec
and PutA from
Bradyrhizobium japonicum
, which exhibit low oxygen reactivity, does not diminish stress survival rates of
E. coli
cell cultures. In contrast, PutA
Hp
and PutA
Hh
expression dramatically reduces
E. coli
cell survival and is correlated with relatively lower proline levels and increased hydrogen peroxide formation. The discovery of reduced oxygen species formation by PutA suggests that proline catabolism may influence redox homeostasis in the ecological niches of these
Helicobacter
species.
Biosynthesis of a Natural Polyketide-Isoprenoid Hybrid Compound, Furaquinocin A: Identification and Heterologous Expression of the Gene Cluster
Authors: Kawasaki Takashi , Hayashi Yutaka , Kuzuyama Tomohisa , Furihata Kazuo , Itoh Nobuya , Seto Haruo , Dairi Tohru 
Published: February 2006

ABSTRACT

Furaquinocin (FQ) A, produced by
Streptomyces
sp. strain KO-3988, is a natural polyketide-isoprenoid hybrid compound that exhibits a potent antitumor activity. As a first step toward understanding the biosynthetic machinery of this unique and pharmaceutically useful compound, we have cloned an FQ A biosynthetic gene cluster by taking advantage of the fact that an isoprenoid biosynthetic gene cluster generally exists in flanking regions of the mevalonate (MV) pathway gene cluster in actinomycetes. Interestingly,
Streptomyces
sp. strain KO-3988 was the first example of a microorganism equipped with two distinct mevalonate pathway gene clusters. We were able to localize a 25-kb DNA region that harbored FQ A biosynthetic genes (
fur
genes) in both the upstream and downstream regions of one of the MV pathway gene clusters (MV2) by using heterologous expression in
Streptomyces lividans
TK23. This was the first example of a gene cluster responsible for the biosynthesis of a polyketide-isoprenoid hybrid compound. We have also confirmed that four genes responsible for viguiepinol [3-hydroxypimara-9(11),15-diene] biosynthesis exist in the upstream region of the other MV pathway gene cluster (MV1), which had previously been cloned from strain KO-3988. This was the first example of prokaryotic enzymes with these biosynthetic functions. By phylogenetic analysis, these two MV pathway clusters were identified as probably being independently distributed in strain KO-3988 (orthologs), rather than one cluster being generated by the duplication of the other cluster (paralogs).
Nickel Represses the Synthesis of the Nickel Permease NixA ofHelicobacter pylori
Authors: Wolfram Lutz , Haas Elvira , Bauerfeind Peter 
Published: February 2006

ABSTRACTNickel acquisition is necessary for urease activity, a major virulence factor of the human gastric pathogenHelicobacter pylori. NixA was identified as a specific nickel uptake system in this organism. Addition of small amounts of nickel to media strongly stimulates urea hydrolysis. On the other hand, high nickel concentrations are deleterious to cell growth. As a possible protective reaction, nickel uptake seems to be reduced inH. pylorigrown in nickel-rich media. These observations led to investigations of regulation of the expression of the nickel permease NixA. We found that increasing the nickel concentration in media reduced the amount of NixA. In order to address the question of whether this phenomenon was subject to transcriptional or translational regulation, we quantifiednixAmRNA fromH. pyloriby real-time PCR. The amount ofnixAmRNA was gradually reduced five- to sevenfold in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Repression could be measured as soon as 5 min after nickel addition, and the maximum repression occurred after 20 to 30 min. The maximum repression was obtained with an external nickel concentration of 100 μM. The observed nickel repression of NixA was dependent onnikRencoding the nickel-responsive regulatory protein NikR. In conclusion, we demonstrated that synthesis of the NixA nickel permease ofH. pylorishows nickel-responsive regulation mediated by NikR to maintain the balance between effective nickel acquisition and a toxic overload.
Archaeal and Bacterial SecD and SecF Homologs Exhibit Striking Structural and Functional Conservation
Authors: Hand Nicholas J. , Klein Reinhard , Laskewitz Anke , Pohlschröder Mechthild 
Published: February 2006

ABSTRACT

The majority of secretory proteins are translocated into and across hydrophobic membranes via the universally conserved Sec pore. Accessory proteins, including the SecDF-YajC
Escherichia coli
membrane complex, are required for efficient protein secretion.
E. coli
SecDF-YajC has been proposed to be involved in the membrane cycling of SecA, the cytoplasmic bacterial translocation ATPase, and in the stabilizing of SecG, a subunit of the Sec pore. While there are no identified archaeal homologs of either SecA or SecG, many archaea possess homologs of SecD and SecF. Here, we present the first study that addresses the function of archaeal SecD and SecF homologs. We show that the SecD and SecF components in the model archaeon
Haloferax volcanii
form a cytoplasmic membrane complex in the native host. Furthermore, as in
E. coli
, an
H. volcanii
Δ
secFD
mutant strain exhibits both severe cold sensitivity and a Sec-specific protein translocation defect. Taken together, these results demonstrate significant functional conservation among the prokaryotic SecD and SecF homologs despite the distinct composition of their translocation machineries.