100,629 research outputs found
A Survey of the Literature on the WTO Dispute Settlement System
No full textThis paper surveys the law and economics literature on WTO dispute settlement. As a background, we first briefly lay out main features of the legal framework, and discuss possible roles of a dispute settlement mechanism. We then discuss the two main themes in the empirical literature on dispute settlement: (i) the determinants of participation by members as complainants, respondents and third parties; and (ii) the role of the DS system for the settling of disputes. The paper finally points to a number of areas that are in need of further research.WTO; Dispute Settlement; DSU
Use of radiobiological modeling in treatment plan evaluation and optimization of prostate cancer radiotherapy
No full textThere are many tools available that are used to evaluate a radiotherapy treatment plan, such as isodose distribution charts, dose volume histograms (DVH), maximum, minimum and mean doses of the dose distributions as well as DVH point dose constraints. All the already mentioned evaluation tools are dosimetric only without taking into account the radiobiological characteristics of tumors or OARs. It has been demonstrated that although competing treatment plans might have similar mean, maximum or minimum doses they may have significantly different clinical outcomes (Mavroidis et al. 2001). For performing a more complete treatment plan evaluation and comparison the complication-free tumor control probability (P+) and the biologically effective uniform dose (D ) have been proposed (Källman et al. 1992a, Mavroidis et al. 2000). The D concept denotes that any two dose distributions within a target or OAR are equivalent if they produce the same probability for tumor control or normal tissue complication, respectively (Mavroidis et al. 2001)..
Beyond the WTO? An anatomy of EU and US preferential trade agreements. Bruegel Blueprint Series 7, February 2009
No full textThere is a growing concern that Preferential Trading Agreements (PTAs) go far beyond the scope of current WTO agreements, maybe creating unfair trade relations. This Blueprint looks in detail at all the provisions of all the PTAs signed by the EC or the US and other WTO members. Henrik Horn, Petros C. Mavroidis and André Sapri find that Europe and the US have adopted very different approaches to PTAs; however, both powers may also be seeking to protect their global regulatory priorities
Antitrust-based remedies and dumping in international trade
No full textThe authors explore the possibility of government's seeking to agree to apply competition policy based considerations and disciplines in addressing unfair-trade allegations before turning to"standard"antidumping remedies. The premise of proponents of antidumping actions is that the existence of market power in exporter's home markets, or potential market dominance in the importing (host) market, is an important source of perceived"unfairness."But antidumping authorities do not investigate the existence of such situations. The authors propose that allegations of dumping first be investigated by competition authorities to determine the contestability of the relevant markets. Their proposal does not involve harmonization of competition laws. All that would change from the status quo is that a necessary condition for an antidumping action is that competition authorities find that the exporting firm's home market is not contestable, and conclude that no remedial action is possible through the application of competition law. Ideally, agreement along these lines would be sought in the multilateral (GATT) context, but bilateral or regional trade agreements could also be concluded. For example, European Union cooperationor association agreements might be extended along the lines proposed.TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access
Letter, [Author unclear] to Paulina T. Merritt
No full textHandwritten letter to Paulina Merritt from an unknown author, October 1, 1876.
Determination and use of radiobiological response parameters in radiation therapy optimization
No full textOptimization of radiation therapy is critically dependent on the use of patient related information. For this reason, radiobiological models describing the dependence of tumour and normal tissue responses on the irradiated volume and the dose-time-fractionation schedule should be introduced. In addition, the heterogeneity of the delivered dose distribution and tumour or normal tissue sensitivity variations have to be taken into account clinically. In the present study, a treatment optimization procedure is used that considers the shape and the structure of the target tissues and healthy organs at risk, their relative position and their dose-response relations for the individual patient.Mathematical models largely based on the Poisson statistics and the linear-quadratic model of cell kill, have been used to quantify the radiobiological response of normal human tissues and tumours to radiation therapy. The presented models predict a decreasing probability of achieving complication free tumour control with increasing tumour size and increasing volume of normal tissues irradiated. The radiobiological parameters D50, gamma, sigma and Vref of the Poisson and relative seriality models have been estimated for certain normal tissues and targets. The process for determining these dose-response relations was based on clinical materials where the treatment information and follow-up results of the individual patient were available. The statistical methods used, estimated and verified the parameters and their uncertainties. The clinical range of variability of the dose-response relations is important for their correct use in the clinical routine.The clinical use of the derived dose-response relations is demonstrated using radiobiological parameters for different tumours and normal tissues that were also calculated based on data clinical trials. A biological evaluation procedure is introduced and applied on clinical cases. This procedure uses the biological models and dose-response data of the involved organs and optimizes the dose level of the treatment technique under study. This is done by evaluating the plan using the P+, objective, which estimates the probability to achieve tumour cure without having severe complications to the healthy tissues. The clinical value of biologically based treatment planning was compared with alternative physical criteria (e.g. tolerance doses) and with the judgment of personnel on particular clinical cases.It is demonstrated that the radiobiological objective functions allow a much higher conformity and a more clinically relevant scoring of the treatment outcome. The probability of achieving tumour control without fatal complications in normal tissues is increased and the dose delivery optimized. Recent developments can reduce or even eliminate the need for intracavitary treatment by delivering more conformal dose distributions using intensity modulated external dose delivery. In these cases the reliability of the patient setup becomes critical for the effectiveness of the treatment. It is realized that accurate information concerning the response of different organs to fractionated intensity modulated radiation therapy is the key to true optimization of the delivered dose distribution.List of scientific papersI. Mavroidis P, Laurell G, Kraepelien T, Fernberg JO, Lind BK, Brahme A (2001). "Dose response parameters for esophageal stricture from head & neck radiotherapy." Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys (Submitted)II. Mavroidis P, Theodorou K, Lefkopoulos D, Nataf F, Karlsson B, Lax I, Kappas C, Lind BK, Brahme A (2001). "Prediction of AVM obliteration after stereotactic radiotherapy using radiobiological modelling." Radiother Oncol (Submitted)III. Mavroidis P, Axelsson S, Hyodynmaa S, Rajala MA, Lind BK, Brahme A (2001). "Positioning uncertainty and breathing effects on dose delivery and radiation pneumonitis prediction in breast cancer." Acta Oncol (Submitted)IV. Mavroidis P, Kappas C, Lind BK (1997). "A computer program for evaluating the probability of complication-free tumor control incorporated in a commercial treatment planning system." J Balcan Union Oncol 3: 257-64V. Lind BK, Mavroidis P, Hyodynmaa S, Kappas C (1999). "Optimization of the dose level for a given treatment plan to maximize the complication-free tumor cure" Acta Oncol 38(6): 787-98 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10522770VI. Mavroidis P, Lind BK, Van Dijk J, Koedooder K, De Neve W, De Wagter C, Planskoy B, Rosenwald JC, Proimos B, Kappas C, Claudia D, Benassi M, Chierego G, Brahme A. (2000). "Comparison of conformal radiation therapy techniques within the dynamic radiotherapy project Dynarad. " Phys Med Biol 45(9): 2459-81 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11008949VII. Mavroidis P, Lind BK, Brahme A (2001). "Biologically effective uniform dose (D) for specification, report and comparison of dose response relations and treatment plans. " Phys Med Biol 46(10): 2607-30 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11686278</p
Handwritten biographical information on Paulina T. McClung Merritt
No full textA handwritten biography of Paulina T. McClung Merritt by an unknown author, 1892.
Heterogeneous and tissue-specific regulation of effector T cell responses by IFN-gamma during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection.
No full textIFN-γ and T cells are both required for the development of experimental cerebral malaria during Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection. Surprisingly, however, the role of IFN-γ in shaping the effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cell response during this infection has not been examined in detail. To address this, we have compared the effector T cell responses in wild-type and IFN-γ(-/-) mice during P. berghei ANKA infection. The expansion of splenic CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells during P. berghei ANKA infection was unaffected by the absence of IFN-γ, but the contraction phase of the T cell response was significantly attenuated. Splenic T cell activation and effector function were essentially normal in IFN-γ(-/-) mice; however, the migration to, and accumulation of, effector CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the lung, liver, and brain was altered in IFN-γ(-/-) mice. Interestingly, activation and accumulation of T cells in various nonlymphoid organs was differently affected by lack of IFN-γ, suggesting that IFN-γ influences T cell effector function to varying levels in different anatomical locations. Importantly, control of splenic T cell numbers during P. berghei ANKA infection depended on active IFN-γ-dependent environmental signals--leading to T cell apoptosis--rather than upon intrinsic alterations in T cell programming. To our knowledge, this is the first study to fully investigate the role of IFN-γ in modulating T cell function during P. berghei ANKA infection and reveals that IFN-γ is required for efficient contraction of the pool of activated T cells
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Pelevin’s Trinity in the novel “t”: author – protagonist – reader
No full textThe article attempts to interpret Pelevin's artistic strategy in the novel "T" by exploring its subject organization and addressing the key problems of the author, the protagonist, and the reader as they are seen by the researcher. The article analyzes the peculiarities of constructing the narrative reality in the novel "T", and goes on to discuss Pelevin's philosophic models of the development of the humankind, and the emergence of his new anthropology
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