Does capital mobility reduce the corporate-labor tax ratio?

Previous empirical studies have shown that there is only a small negative (if any) effect of capital mobility on the corporate tax burden. Using data for up to 20 OECD countries in the period 1979–2000 this paper tries to investigate a less rigid hypothesis: Although capital taxes have not substantially declined in the last twenty years the relative burden of corporate to labor taxes may have fallen due to capital mobility. The results suggest that capital mobility has a weak negative impact on the corporate-labor tax ratio. Other factors however, i.e. the size of the country or the share of investment expenditures are more important in explaining the relative tax burden than capital mobility.     

Application of the Suchey-Brooks method to three-dimensional imaging of the pubic symphysis

Age determination is a major field of interest in forensic anthropology. Among the different methods based on macroscopic skeletal study, the Suchey-Brooks method, which analyzes the pubic symphysis, is one of the most reliable. We applied the Suchey-Brooks method to three-dimensional computed tomographic reconstructions of the pubic symphysis. We demonstrated excellent agreement between the results of analysis of bone samples and those of the three-dimensional images, in particular regarding ridges of the articular surface and delimitation of the extremities. The accuracy of age estimation did not significantly differ (Wilcoxon test) between the Suchey-Brooks method applied to bones and the same method applied to CT images. Using high-quality images, this approach seems as reliable as the standard Suchey-Brooks method and offers several advantages: no bone preparation, no damage to bone material, and the possibility of application to living individuals.     

Union Citizenship—Metaphor or Source of Rights?

After nearly ten years of introducing Union Citizenship as a concept into Community law it seems time to draw a preliminary evaluation of its importance in reshaping the legal and social positions of citizens living in the EU, more precisely in its Member States. The balance sheet is however mixed: On the one hand, the prevalent position in legal doctrine seems to be that Union citizenship is merely a derived condition of nationality, while on the other side certain fundamental rights are based on criteria other than citizenship/nationality alone. The European Charter on Fundamental Rights will not overcome this dilemma. This can be shown in conflictual areas which are in the centre of discusion in the paper, namely the (limited!) use of the concept of citizenship to extend existing free movement rights in the new case law of the Court of Justice, the resistance towards granting 'quasi-citizenship' rights to third country nationals lawfully resident in the Union for a longer period of time, and the yet unsolved problem of imposing 'implied duties' based on a doctrine of ' abus de droit ' upon citizens paralleling the rights granted to them. As a conclusion the author is of the opinion that the question asked for in the title can be answered in the positive only to a limited extent. Citizenship appears to be a sleeping fairy princess still be be kissed awake by the direct effect of Community law.     

Short term impact of Tribulus terrestris intake on doping control analysis of endogenous steroids

Tribulus terrestris is a nutritional supplement highly debated regarding its physiological and actual effects on the organism. The main claimed effect is an increase of testosterone anabolic and androgenic action through the activation of endogenous testosterone production. Even if this biological pathway is not entirely proven, T. terrestris is regularly used by athletes. Recently, the analysis of two female urine samples by GC/C/IRMS (gas chromatography/combustion/isotope-ratio-mass-spectrometry) conclusively revealed the administration of exogenous testosterone or its precursors, even if the testosterone glucuronide/epitestosterone glucuronide (T/E) ratio and steroid marker concentrations were below the cut-off values defined by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). To argue against this adverse analytical finding, the athletes recognized having used T. terrestris in their diet. In order to test this hypothesis, two female volunteers ingested 500 mg of T. terrestris, three times a day and for two consecutive days. All spot urines were collected during 48 h after the first intake. The (13)C/(12)C ratio of ketosteroids was determined by GC/C/IRMS, the T/E ratio and DHEA concentrations were measured by GC/MS and LH concentrations by radioimmunoassay. None of these parameters revealed a significant variation or increased above the WADA cut-off limits. Hence, the short-term treatment with T. terrestris showed no impact on the endogenous testosterone metabolism of the two subjects.     

Experimental tests for the validation of active numerical human models

The development of numerical human models is a topic of current interdisciplinary research. In the field of automotive safety these models can be applied for the optimization of protection systems. In forensic research human models can be used for the investigation of injury mechanisms and for the prediction and reproduction of injury patterns. However, up to now human models have been validated on the basis of PMHS tests without considering the effects of muscle activity. This paper shows two experimental volunteer test set-ups for the generation of experimental validation data. In a pendulum set-up the influence of muscle activity on the human kinematics was investigated. A drop test set-up was developed for the analysis of the effects of muscle activity on impact response characteristics of muscle tissue. Experimental results, presented in this paper, can be used for the validation and optimization of active numerical human models.     

"对欧洲一体化和东亚合作的再思考"会议综述

为研究欧洲和亚洲的新形势和地区一体化进程的最新进展,亚欧基金会(ASEF)、外交学院(CFAU)与中国国际关系学会(CNAIS)于2006年11月13-14日在中国北京共同组织了为期两天的题为“对欧洲一体化和东亚合作的再思考”的会议。来自39个亚欧会议成员国的近70名学者、政府官员和记者与会。会议开幕式由外交学院常务副院长秦亚青教授主持,中国外交部国际司吴海龙司长和亚欧基金会执行主席赵源一(Wonil Cho)大使致开幕词。欧洲委员会驻华代表团团长赛日·安博(Serge Abou)大使发表了主旨演讲,论述了欧洲地区一体化进程中政治和制度层面的问题…     

How do Asians evaluate Europe’s strategic involvement in East Asia?

Europe is neither in the centre of Southeast Asia’s nor of Northeast Asia’s strategic interest. For both, Asians and Europeans it has been equally difficult to articulate their visions of each other’s role in security matters. However, Asia recognizes positively the EU’s civilian dominated approach in peacekeeping missions, e.g. in East Timor or in Aceh. Europe’s contribution to the Asia Regional Forum has been rather modest. But due to the increasing importance of comprehensive security, Europe’s experiences as a soft power could well change this position, provided both sides pay more attention to the constraints of the two regions. China as the major power in the region is somehow caught between the devil and the deep blue sea: on one side, it neither wants nor expects Europe to play a strategic role in East Asia. On the other, it would like to see Europe to become a power of its own in a China-US-EU triangle. This paper is based on a speech given by the author in Paris/France on 8th December 2006 at a conference on ‘French and European Strategic Interests in East Asia’ organised by the ‘Asia Centre’ with the support of the Secrétariat général de la défense nationale (SGDN). Mr. Norbert von Hofmann is an independent consultant on Southeast Asian-European co-operation in Germany. Formerly he was the Head of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Office for Regional Cooperation in Southeast Asia in Singapore.     

Acute Aortic Dissection Diagnosed after Embalming: Macroscopic and Microscopic Findings

A 58‐year‐old man died suddenly in Madagascar and poisoning was suspected. The body was embalmed after death and the general state of preservation was good. We found a major aortic dissection with a large false lumen from the aortic root to the common iliac arteries and a hemopericardium with formalinized blood clot. The intimal tear was on the ascending aorta, and an intramural hemorrhage was noted at the right coronary artery, attesting to a retrograde dissection. Microscopic studies confirmed aortic dissection with extensive intramural hemorrhage and also confirmed the retrograde dissection to the right coronary artery with a reduction of 90% of the true lumen. Classically, aortic dissection occurs in individuals with hypertension and individuals with genetic disorders of collagen formation. The diagnosis is often first established at the postmortem examination. Aortic dissection is therefore dealt with largely in necropsy studies. The usual cause of death is rupture into the pericardial sac. One case of bloodless dissection has been reported but the sudden death was explained by acute myocardial ischemia secondary to dissection of the left coronary artery. In our case, we found major hemopericardium and also intramural hemorrhage at the right coronary artery. We were able to make the diagnosis of aortic dissection and exclude the suspicion of homicide 15 days after death and after embalming.