Macroprudential policies and income inequality in former transition economies

Economic Change and Restructuring - We study the effects of the adoption of macroprudential policies on income inequality in former transition economies over the period 2002–2014. In general,...     

Prohibition of parallel imports as a vertical restraint: per se approach or a misunderstanding?

This paper attempts, on the one hand, to reveal the main principles of Competition Law (regulatory and case law framework) covering the prevention of parallel trade, mainly the prohibition of parallel imports, and on the other hand to cast light on the main effects of parallel imports prohibition imposed by an upstream supplier on the competitive structure of the downstream market. Especially, the regulatory framework that relates to Block Exemption Regulation 330/2010, (ex Block Exemption Regulation 2790/99), with Block Exemption Regulation 461/2010 (ex Block Exemption Regulation 1400/2002) in order to determine whether prohibition of parallel imports constitutes a hardcore restriction or not, while the economic analysis evaluates it in a geographical vertical market with upstream suppliers and downstream buyers which sell goods to the final (domestic) consumers. Administrative anticompetitive measures are considered as well. The results indicate that the prohibition of parallel imports by upstream firms cause vertical restraints to the domestic customers of the buyers.     

Lethal self administration of propofol (Diprivan). A case report and review of the literature

The death of a female anaesthesiologist is reported. Although the situation at the scene indicated propofol overdose-related death, self-administration of such high doses of propofol was unlikely, given the pharmacological properties of this drug. The analysis of the situation at the scene and the toxicological analysis in which the blood and liver propofol concentrations were 2.40microg/ml and 0.56microg/g, respectively, supported the conclusion that the death was a consequence of propofol self-administration at therapeutic doses from a person who used the drug on chronic basis seeking to its euphoric effects. However, because the toxic concentrations of propofol in non-intubated patients may be different from those intubated and fully supported in the operating room or in the intensive care unit, a mere interpretation of the blood and tissue concentrations of propofol in the toxicological analysis can confirm the drug intake but it may be of limited diagnostic significance without taking into account this difference.     

Influence of environmental variables on fear of crime: Comparing self-report data with physiological measures in an experimental design

Objectives

Self-reports and questionnaires have been the preferred research methods in the criminological field of “fear of crime” (FOC) since its rise in the 1960s. Our study had two main goals: (1) to measure the physiological indicators of fear in real time and (2) to compare these data with those obtained through self-reports, designed also to measure the emotion of fear.

Methods

An experimental study was conducted over the course of a week during late February 2016 in Aarhus (Denmark), in which the focus was on traditional environmental variables in the field of FOC (i.e., poor lighting conditions).

Results

Our results support the ideas that: (1) the absence of good luminosity in an open public space in an urban setting elicits physiological reactions of arousal that can be taken as indicators of experiences of fear and (2) heart rate appears to capture aspects of the emotion of fear that are not reflected in data obtained through self-report questionnaires.

Conclusions

This study, introducing a pioneering approach to the study of FOC, presents great potentials in complementing traditional methods in the crime sciences. The many challenges we faced are significant and reported with the hope that subsequent literature will build upon. We propose that traditional methods and new measurements could be combined to advance research in the field by allowing researchers to more unambiguously constrain the interpretation of their data. This becomes particularly relevant in a field like FOC, which has long suffered from irreconcilable results stemming from different investigations.

     

Forensic evaluation of 13 STR loci in the Roma population (Gypsies) of Greece

Allele frequencies have been calculated in 13 STR loci in a Roma (Gypsy) population sample from Greece. The data can be used in forensic cases. The comparison of the allele frequencies between the Roma and the Greeks showed significant differences for the majority of the loci. Furthermore comparison to another Romany population sample was performed.