It's still 2%: evidence on convergence from 116 years of the US States panel data

A new debate over the speed of convergence in per capita income across economies is going on. Cross sectional estimates support the idea of slow convergence of about two percent per year. Panel data estimates support the idea of fast convergence of five, ten or even twenty percent per year. This paper shows that, if you ``do it right'', even the panel data estimation method yields the result of slow convergence of about two percent per year.

Description of Micropygomyia (Sauromyia) vonatzingeni sp. nov. (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) from the states of Pará and Tocantins, Brazil

Both sexes of a new phlebotomine sandfly species Micropygomyia (Sauromyia) vonatzingeni sp. nov. (Diptera, Psychodidae), captured in the Serra das Andorinhas, São Geraldo do Araguaia municipality, Pará state, and Cavalcante municipality, Tocantins state, Brazil, are described and illustrated. This new species belongs to the oswaldoi series and its distinction from the other extant species of the series was made by male and female identification keys. The specific geographical distribution of the oswaldoi series by country and department (or state) is presented.

How political parties, rather than member-states, are building the European Union

Political party formation and coalition building in the European Parliament is being a driving force for making governance of the highly pluralistic European Union relatively effective and consensual. In spite of successive enlargements and the very high number of electoral partiesobtaining representation in the European Union institutions, the number of effective European Political Groups in the European Parliament has decreased from the first direct election in 1979 to the fifth in 1999. The formal analysis of national party¹s voting power in different Europeanparty configurations can explain the incentives for national parties to join large European Political Groups instead of forming smaller nationalistic groupings. Empirical evidence shows increasing cohesion of European Political Groups and an increasing role of the European Parliament in EU inter-institutional decision making. As a consequence of this evolution, intergovernmentalism is being replaced with federalizing relations. The analysis can support positive expectations regarding the governability of the European Union after further enlargements provided that new member states have party systems fitting the European PoliticalGroups.

Pi*-pi* bonding interactions generated by halogen oxidation of zirconium(IV) redox-active ligand complexes.

The new complex, [Zr(pda)2]n (1, pda2- = N,N'-bis(neo-pentyl)-ortho-phenylenediamide, n = 1 or 2), prepared by the reaction of 2 equiv of pdaLi2 with ZrCl4, reacts rapidly with halogen oxidants to afford the new product ZrX2(disq)2 (3, X = Cl, Br, I; disq- = N,N'-bis(neo-pentyl)-ortho-diiminosemiquinonate) in which each redox-active ligand has been oxidized by one electron. The oxidation products 3a-c have been structurally characterized and display an unusual parallel stacked arrangement of the disq- ligands in the solid state, with a separation of approximately 3 A. Density functional calculations show a bonding-type interaction between the SOMOs of the disq- ligands to form a unique HOMO while the antibonding linear combination forms a unique LUMO. This orbital configuration leads to a closed-shell-singlet ground-state electron configuration (S = 0). Temperature-dependent magnetism measurements indicate a low-lying triplet excited state at approximately 750 cm-1. In solution, 3a-c show strong disq--based absorption bands that are invariant across the halide series. Taken together these spectroscopic measurements provide experimental values for the one- and two-electron energies that characterize the pi-stacked bonding interaction between the two disq- ligands.

Credible redistributive policies and migration across US States

Does worker mobility undermine governments ability to redistribute income? Thispaper analyzes the experience of US states in the recent decades. We build a tractablemodel where both migration decisions and redistribution policies are endogenous. Wecalibrate the model to match skill premium and worker productivity at the state level,as well as the size and skill composition of migration flows. The calibrated modelis able to reproduce the large changes in skill composition as well as key qualitativerelationships of labor flows and redistribution policies observed in the data. Our resultssuggest that regional di¤erences in labor productivity are an important determinantof interstate migration. We use the calibrated model to compare the cross-section ofredistributive policies with and without worker mobility. The main result of the paperis that interstate migration has induced substantial convergence in tax rates acrossUS states, but no race to the bottom. Skill-biased in-migration has reduced the skillpremium and the need for tax-based redistribution in the states that would have hadthe highest tax rates in the absence of mobility.

Fat oxidation and adiposity in prepubertal children: exogenous versus endogenous fat utilization.

Fat balance plays an important role in fat mass regulation. The mechanisms by which fat intake and fat oxidation are controlled are poorly understood. In particular, no data are available on the origin, i.e. exogenous (meal intake) or endogenous (adipose tissue lipolysis), of fat oxidized during the postprandial period in children and the proportion between these two components. In this study we tested the hypothesis that there is a relationship between adiposity and the oxidative fate of fat taken with a mixed meal in a group of 15 children with a wide range of fat mass (9-64%). The combination of stable isotope analysis ([13C] enriched fatty acids added to a mixed meal) and indirect calorimetry allowed us to differentiate between the exogenous and endogenous resting fat oxidation rate over the 9-h postprandial period. During the 9 hours of the postprandial period, the children oxidized an amount of fat comparable to that ingested with the meal [26.8 (+/-2.31) g vs. 26.4 (+/-2.3) g, respectively, P = ns]. On average, exogenous fat oxidation [2.99 (+/-3.0) g/9 h] represented 10.8% (+/-0.9) of total fat oxidation. Endogenous fat oxidation, calculated as the difference between total fat oxidation and exogenous fat oxidation, averaged 23.4 (+/-1.9) g/9 h and represented 88.2% (+/-0.9) of total fat oxidation. Endogenous fat oxidation as well as exogenous fat oxidation were highly correlated to total fat oxidation (r = 0.83, P < 0.001; r = 0.84, P < 0.001, respectively). Exogenous fat oxidation expressed as a proportion of total fat oxidation was directly related to fat mass (r = 0.56, P < 0.03), while endogenous fat oxidation expressed as a proportion of total fat oxidation was inversely related (r = -0.57, P < 0.03) to the degree of adiposity. The enhanced exogenous fat oxidation observed when adiposity increases in the dynamic phase of obesity may be viewed as a protective mechanism to prevent further increase in fat mass and hence to maintain fat oxidation at a sufficient rate when the body is exposed to a high amount of dietary fat, as typically encountered in obese children.

Dispersion of natural arsenic in the Malcantone watershed, Southern Switzerland: field evidence for repeated sorption-desorption and oxidation-reduction processes

In recent years, elevated arsenic concentrations have been found in waters and soils of many, countries, often resulting in a health threat for the local population. Switzerland is not an exception and this paper deals with the release and subsequent fate of arsenic in a 200-km(2) mountainous watershed, characterized by crystalline silicate rocks (gneisses, schists, amphibolites) that contain abundant As-bearing sulfide ore deposits, some of which have been mined for iron and gold in the past. Using analytical methods common for mineralogical, ground water and soil studies (XRD, XRF, XAS-XANES and -EXAFS, electron microprobe, extraction, ICP, AAS with hydride generator, ion chromatography), seven different field situations and related dispersion processes of natural arsenic have been studied: (1) release by rock weathering, (2) transport and deposition by water and ice; (3) release of As to the ground and surface water due to increasing pH; (4) accumulation in humic soil horizons; (5) remobilization by reduction in water-saturated soils and stagnant ground waters; (6) remobilization by using P-rich fertilizers or dung and (7) oxidation, precipitation and dilution in surface waters. Comparison of the results with experimental adsorption studies and speciation diagrams from the literature allows us to reconstruct and identify the typical behavior of arsenic in a natural environment under temperate climatic conditions. The main parameters identified are: (a) once liberated from the primary minerals, sorption processes on Fe-oxy-hydroxides dominate over Al-phases, such as Al-hydroxides or clay minerals and limit the As concentrations in the spring and well waters between 20 and 300 mug/l. (b) Precipitation as secondary minerals is limited to the weathering domain, where the As concentrations are still high and not yet too diluted by rain and soils waters. (c) Although neutral and alkaline pH conditions clearly increase the mobility of As, the main factor to mobilize As is a low redox potential (Eh close or below 0 mV), which favors the dissolution of the Fe-oxy-hydroxides on which the As is sorbed. (d) X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of As in water-logged humic forest soils indicates that the reduction to As III only occurs at the solid-water interface and that the solid contains As as As V (e) A and Bh horizons of humic cambisols can effectively capture As when As-rich waters flow through them. Complex spatial and temporal variation of the various parameters in a watershed results in repeated mobilization and immobilization of As, which continuously transports As from the upper to the lower part of a watershed and ultimately to the ocean. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison and evaluation of states of health

Starting from a finite or countable set of states of health, and assumingthe existence of an objective transitive preference relation on that set,we propose a way of performing interpersonal comparisons of states ofhealth. In so doing, we first consider the population divided into types,and consider that two individuals of a different type have a comparablestate of health whenever they sit at the same centile of their respectivetype. A way of comparing and evaluating states of health for differentgroups is then proposed and rationalized. This can be viewed as both analternative and an extension of the traditional QALY approach.

Electron microscopy of RecA-DNA complexes: Two different states, their functional significance and relation to the solved crystal structure

Seven different electron microscopy techniques habe been employed to study the RecA protein of E. coli. This review provides a summary of the conclusions that have been drawn from these studies, and attempts to relate these observations to models for the role of RecA protein in homologous recombination.

Fat oxidation in nonobese and obese adolescents: effect of body composition and pubertal development.

OBJECTIVES: To measure postabsorptive fat oxidation (F(ox)) and to assess its association with body composition (lean body mass [LBM] and body fat mass [BFM]) and pubertal development. DESIGN: We studied 235 control (male/female ratio = 116/119; age [mean +/- SD]: 13.1 +/- 1.7 years; weight: 45.3 +/- 10.5 kg; LBM: 34.3 +/- 7.1 kg; BFM: 11.0 +/- 4.5 kg) and 159 obese (male/female ratio = 93/66; age: 12.9 +/- 2.1 years; weight: 76.2 +/- 19.1 kg; LBM: 47.4 +/- 10.9 kg; BFM: 28.8 +/- 9.2 kg) adolescents. Postabsorptive F(ox) was calculated from oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and urinary nitrogen as measured by indirect calorimetry and Kjeldahl's method, respectively. Body composition was determined by anthropometry. RESULTS: Postabsorptive F(ox) (absolute value and percentage of resting metabolic rate) was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the obese adolescents (76.7 +/- 26.3 gm/24 hours, 42.3% +/- 18.7%) than in the control subjects (40.0 +/- 26.3 gm/24 hours, 28.7% +/- 17.0%), even if adjusted for LBM. F(ox) corrected for BFM was similar in control and in obese children, but was significantly lower in girls compared with boys (control male subjects: 62.1 +/- 29.1 gm/24 hours, control female subjects: 51.6 +/- 28.4 gm/24 hours, obese male subjects: 57.3 +/- 29 gm/24 hour, obese female subjects: 45.0 +/- 28.4 gm/24 hours). BFM and LBM showed a significant positive correlation with F(ox). By stepwise regression analysis the most important determinant of F(ox) was BFM in obese and LBM in control children. There was a significant rise in F(ox) during puberty; however, it was mainly explained by changes in body composition. CONCLUSIONS: Obese adolescents have higher F(ox) rates than their normal-weight counterparts. Both LBM and fat mass are important determinants of F(ox).