Search

This paper investigates the views on competition theory and policy of the American institutional economists during the first half of the 20th century. These perspectives contrasted with those of contemporary neoclassical and later mainstream economic approaches. We identify three distinct dimensions to an institutionalist perspective on competition. First, institutionalist approaches focused on describing industry details, so as to bring theory into closer contact with reality. Second, institutionalists emphasized that while competition was sometimes beneficial, it could also be disruptive. Third, institutionalists had a broad view of the objectives of competition policy that extended beyond effects on consumer welfare. Consequently, institutionalists advocated for a wide range of policies to enhance competition, including industrial self-regulation, broad stakeholder representation within corporations, and direct governmental regulations. Their experimental attitude implied that policy would always be evolving, and antitrust enforcement might be only one stage in the development toward a regime of industrial regulation.

There are three different interpretations of Adam Smith’s trade theory in modern literature: first, the neoclassical theory of absolute advantage; second, an interpretation based on increasing returns; third, an interpretation of uneven development. These interpretations come to widely different conclusions, especially considering the development of the pattern of trade in Smith’s theory. I discuss how these three interpretations emerged. They do not stem from a more detailed analysis of Smith’s works itself but reflect changes within international trade theory. They all result from the fact that economists have imposed nineteenth- and twentieth-century modes of thoughts on Smith’s theory, forcing his writings into later-developed theoretical frameworks. In contrast to classical economists in the nineteenth century, these subsequent interpretations misrepresent Smith’s trade theory in order to portray him as a forerunner of later theories. The differing interpretations can thus be explained only against the backdrop of the development of international trade theory.

This is the introduction a Symposium on Carl Menger on the Centenary of his Death. Our introduction includes a short biographical sketch of Carl Menger's life as well as a summary of the contribtuions to the symposium by Sandra J. Peart, Gunther Chaloupek, Erwin Dekker, and Sandye Gloria.

During the last years of his life, the mathematician Karl Menger worked on a biography of his father, the economist and founder of the Austrian School of Economics, Carl Menger. The younger Menger never finished the work. While working in the Menger collections at Duke University’s David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, we discovered draft chapters of the biography, a valuable source of information given that relatively little is known about Carl Menger’s life nearly a hundred years after his death. The unfinished biography covers Carl Menger’s family background and his life through early 1889. In this chapter, the authors discuss the biography and the most valuable new insights it provides into Carl Menger’s life, including Carl Menger’s family, his childhood, his student years, his time working as a journalist and newspaper editor, his early scientific career, and his relationship with Crown Prince Rudolf.

This article is a comment on Karl Mittermaier’s article The Invisible Hand and Some Thoughts on the Non-Existent in What We Study, written in the early 1990s, but published only now. In this article, Mittermaier attempts to make two contributions. First, he provides a novel interpretation of Adam Smith’s well-known expression of the invisible hand, thereby highlighting a rather neglected method in Smith’s works. He uses this interpretation to introduce a methodological argument that “fictions may play a vital, or even essential, role in economic analysis”, touching on Roy Bhaskar’s New Realism, or Critical Realism, as it would be described today, as well as on Austrian Economics. This is his second contribution. We discuss both contributions, especially in the light of newer scholarship on Adam Smith and in the Philosophy of Economics.

Is trade a promoter of peace? Adam Smith, one of the earliest defenders of trade, worries that commerce may instigate some perverse incentives, encouraging wars. The wealth that commerce generates decreases the relative cost of wars, increases the ability to finance wars through debts, which decreases their perceived cost, and increases the willingness of commercial interests to use wars to extend their markets, increasing the number and prolonging the length of wars. Smith, therefore, cannot assume that trade would yield a peaceful world. While defending and promoting trade, Smith warns us not to take peace for granted.

If war is an inevitable condition of human nature, as David Hume suggests, then what type of societies can best protect us from defeat and conquest? For David Hume, commerce decreases the relative ...

This paper investigates the views on competition theory and policy of the American institutional economists during the first half of the 20th century. These perspectives contrasted with those of contemporary neoclassical and later mainstream economic approaches. We identify three distinct dimensions to an institutionalist perspective on competition. First, institutionalist approaches focused on describing industry details, so as to bring theory into closer contact with reality. Second, institutionalists emphasized that while competition was sometimes beneficial, it could also be disruptive. Third, institutionalists had a broad view of the objectives of competition policy that extended beyond effects on consumer welfare. Consequently, institutionalists advocated for a wide range of policies to enhance competition, including industrial self-regulation, broad stakeholder representation within corporations, and direct governmental regulations. Their experimental attitude implied that policy would always be evolving, and antitrust enforcement might be only one stage in the development toward a regime of industrial regulation.

For the first time, baryon-antibaryon photoproduction in the reaction γp→ΛΛ¯p has been observed at photon energies from threshold near 4.9 GeV to 11.6 GeV. The measurements are in progress with the GlueX spectrometer in Hall D at Jefferson Lab. We describe here the apparatus and methods used to make these measurements and outline the physics goals of the work. Some of the newly-seen reaction phenomenology is presented.(From an invited talk to the “13th International Conference on Hypernuclear and Strange Particle Physics (HYP2018), 6-26-18”)

Despite his emphasis on economic development, Adam Smith did not participate in the contemporary “rich country–poor country” debate. Some see the absenteeism as a deficiency, while others assume that Smith propounds a theory of uneven development and agrees with the divergence argument. In this article, Smith's own theory is expounded and related to the contentious points of the “rich country–poor country” debate. It is concluded that Smith's theory does not fit easily into the categories of this debate. He rather takes up a third position, being neither a proponent of pure convergence nor of pure divergence.

Relatively little is known about the relationship between Carl Menger, founder of the Austrian school of economics, and his son, Karl Menger, the mathematician, geometer, logician, and philosopher of science, whose mathematical colloquium at the University of Vienna was essential for the development of mathematical economics. Based on Karl Menger’s diaries and correspondence, the present paper considers the development and struggles of the young Karl Menger, focusing on the years 1919–23, when Vienna was a vanquished city. We discuss the various relations within the Menger family and their significance for Karl Menger’s intellectual development. Additionally, we consider his acquaintances with economists such as Knut Wicksell, David Davidson, and Eli Heckscher as well as the younger Menger’s work in economics. We shed new light on his editorship of the second edition of his father’s Grundsätze der Volkswirtschaftslehre.

Overdrainage in shunted patients is a known predisposing factor for the formation of hygromas, but little is known about risk factors in endoscopic third ventriculocisternostomy (ETV). We retrospectively analysed data of 34 patients younger than 1 year with obstructive hydrocephalus, undergoing ETV, with respect to incidence, management, outcome and possible risk factors for the formation of hygromas. Hygromas were arbitrarily defined as a collection of cerebrospinal fluid of more than 10 mm in diameter over the paramedian hemispheric convexities, diagnosed by ultrasonography. They occurred in 9 of 34 (26%) patients 3 to 28 days after ETV. They were on the operated side in four and bi-lateral in five cases. There was no relevant age difference between patients with hygromas (median 127 days) and those without hygromas (median 166 days). Etiology of obstructive hydrocephalus had no impact on the frequency of hygromas. Hygromas occurred somewhat less frequently when a paediatric endoscope with an outer diameter of 3 mm was used for ETV instead of an endoscope with a diameter of 6 mm. Hygromas were asymptomatic and conservatively managed in five cases; 4 of 34 (12%) patients underwent surgery because of clinical symptoms of increasing intracranial pressure or increasing hygroma diameter. Two patients were treated with a temporary external drainage only and another two patients with an external drainage first and eventually a subduro-peritoneal shunt. There were no neurological long-term sequelae. Clear predisposing factors for the formation of hygromas could not be identified, but the outer diameter of the endoscope may play a role.

The beam-spin asymmetry, Σ, for the reaction γd→pn has been measured using the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab) for six photon-energy bins, between 1.1 and 2.3 GeV, and proton angles in the center-of-mass frame, θc.m., between 25∘ and 160∘. These are the first measurements of beam-spin asymmetries at θc.m.=90∘ for photon-beam energies above 1.6 GeV, and the first measurements for angles other than θc.m.=90∘. The angular and energy dependence of Σ is expected to aid in the development of QCD-based models to understand the mechanisms of deuteron photodisintegration in the transition region between hadronic and partonic degrees of freedom, where both effective field theories and perturbative QCD cannot make reliable predictions.

Hla Myint interpreted Adam Smith's “two distinct benefits” from foreign trade as a vent-for-surplus gain and a productivity gain. This classification has been adopted widely, but the vent-for-surplus gain has caused some debates. In this article, I show that Myint's categorization is based on a misinterpretation. Smith's two distinct benefits consist of exports and imports. Additionally, Smith does not expound a vent-for-surplus theory. Besides Smith's true benefits from trade, I discuss reasons for their modern misinterpretation and David Ricardo's and John Stuart Mill's criticism of Smith's theory, which is often misunderstood as well.

Background. It has been suggested that tungsten coils (TCs) may corrode 30 months after transcatheter embolisation (TCE). The aim of this study was to follow up children after TCE of aorto-pulmonary collaterals (APCs) with TCs. Materials and methods. Successful TCE of 99 APCs was performed in children using 152 TCs. Chest radiographs were obtained on the day after the procedure, after 3–6 months and 9–12 months, and yearly thereafter. Results. Mean follow-up was 39.3 months. After 9–12 months, radiographs revealed a decrease in radio-opacity and reduction of coil width in 29 (37.6%) of 77 APCs. After a mean of 25 months (range 13–51 months), there was loss of visibility in 44 (57.2%) of 77 TCs and a reduction in 29 (37.6%) of 77. After a mean of 39.3 months, all TCs showed decrease or loss of radio-opacity. Exponential function predicts complete biodegradation of 95% of TCs within 10 years after TCE (r2=0.923). After a mean of 28.4 months, repeat catheterisation was performed in 24 APCs with TCs with decreased or lost radio-opacity. Recanalisation had occurred in 58.3%. Conclusions. Dissolution occurred in 57.2% of TCs within a mean of 25 months, and within 39.3 months all TCs showed decrease or loss of radio-opacity. Recanalisation of closed APCs occurred in 58.3%.

In order to investigate the diagnostic properties of MRI of the brain and spine in achondroplastic children with regard to decompressive surgery, 25 patients were examined by conventional morphological and by "functional" imaging of CSF flow and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) of the veins and sinuses at the cranial base following a special protocol. The results were compared to those from age-matched controls and were correlated with each other and retrospectively with the neurological findings. Measurements of distances and angulations at the cranio-cervical junction (CCJ) from MR scans showed similar values to those from conventional radiographs and CTs and thus can be used without correction for spatial distorsion. Signs of cervical medullary compression, myelomalacia and intramedullary cyst formation were found in six, seven and three children respectively. These alterations correlated significantly with each other (P0.05). Semiquantitative evaluation of CSF flow demonstrated interruption of CSF pathways at the CCJ, which correlated with CCJ narrowing (P0.05). MRA showed a significant narrowing of the jugular foramina with a variable compensatory enlargement of the emissary veins and a significant reduction of the total outflow area (P0.01). There were no significant correlations between these MR changes and neurological deficits.Due to this unexpectedly poor correlation between magnetic resonance and clinical findings in achondroplastic children, the present role of magnetic resonance in the clinical setting is limited to the demonstration of spinal cord compression in individual cases. In three of our patients with prominent neurological abnormalities, the severe changes demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging strongly supported the indication for surgical decompression.

Coronal clefts—a radiolucent band running through at least one vertebral body, visualized in the lateral spinal radiograph and discussed as a physiological variation of the fetal vertebral ossification pattern—are often found in fetal autopsies with trisomies. Published studies are missing concerning the question of whether this finding could serve as a diagnostic radiological or even ultrasonographic sign. We studied the incidence of radiological coronal clefts and their association with chromosomal aberrations in 443 fetuses (mostly medically induced abortions). In 42 of the 443 fetuses (9.5%), coronal clefts were visualized. The majority (71%) were localized in the lumbar spine. No cervical or singular sacral clefts were detected. Twenty-five of the 42 fetuses (60%) displaying coronal clefts had chromosomal aberrations, either as a trisomy (13 or 21) or as monosomy X. Histologically, coronal clefts showed a missing central ossification of the vertebral body. Remnants of the notochord could be excluded. Hence, coronal clefts represent a variant ossification of vertebral bodies in fetal development that is found almost exclusively in fetuses with chromosomal aberrations or severe congenital malformations. This finding could be a helpful supplement to prenatal diagnostics and fetal autopsy. On the other hand, the genetic diagnosis of chromosomal aberration, especially trisomy, does not automatically imply the presence of coronal clefts.

The electroproductio of K+ Λ(1405) was studied by analyzing the EIF data set collected in Hall B at Jefferson Lab. The analysis utilized the decay channel Σ+π− of the Λ(1405) and pπ0 of the Σ+. Simulations of background, Λ(1405) and Λ(1520) production according to PDG values were performed by using standard CLAS anlaysis tools adapted for the EIF run. Fits of the acceptance-corrected simulations were made to the acceptance-corrected data to determine contributions from signal and background processes. The line shape of Λ(1405) varies with the four momentum transfer, Q2, and does not match the line shape based on PDG resonance parameters. It corresponds approximately to predictions of a recent two-pole meson-baryon picture of this state.

The Λ(1405) has been a subject of controversy for decades, and its nature as a hyperon resonance has yet to be cestablished firmly. Its peculiar lineshape, i.e., its Σπ invariant mass spectrum has lead to various theoretical studies, and some cof these show that it may possess strong dynamical components which are not seen in other well-known baryons. With the CLAS detector system in Hall B at Jefferson Lab, we have measured the photoproduction reaction γ + p → K+ Λ(1405) with chigh statistics over different Σπ decay channels. The reconstructed invariant mass distribution has been measured, as well cas the differential cross sections for the nearby Λ(1405), Σ(1385), and Λ(1520). Our analysis method is discussed and our cnear-final results for the Λ(1405) lineshape is presented.

In the diagnostic evaluation and treatment control of scoliosis, radiographic diagnosis plays an integral role, which is confirmed by the numerous radiographs accompanying the article. Many of the radiographs are easily identified as originating from (presumably) the United States, rather than Germany. For radiographic diagnostic evaluation of children, particular standards need to be adhered to for radiation protection and image quality. The German Medical Association has published a guideline (1). Adherence to this guideline, especially its paragraph relating to the specific requirements in pediatric setting is monitored by medical institutions. If the guidelines are not adhered to, measures taken range from advice to withdrawal of the license to conduct radiographic studies. In any case, an investigation will be undertaken at the affected party’s expense. The images reproduced in the article have severe deficiencies in terms of the guideline. In pediatric radiography, coning down is important. The borders of the irradiated field should be visible in the film. None of the images show a recognizable display of the irradiated area. This is particularly important in children, since they still have radiation-sensitive, hematopoietic bone marrow in almost all sections of the skeleton and should not unnecessarily be exposed to radiation due to a lack of coning down. No right or left indicator appear on the film. In several images, no or indadequate gonadal protection was applied. In the quality control for radiological diagnostic evaluation of statutory health insurance physicians (2), this would be categorized as breaking the rules relating to gonadal protection and therefore as a severe deficiency in terms of the required quality. A rule furthermore imposes a stronger obligation to adhere to it than a guideline, which allows for deviation when the reasons are sound. Since this CME article appeared in the journal of the German Medical Association, existing rules and guidelines should be adhered to, especially in the interests of children.

The nature of the Λ(1405) with its peculiar mass distribution is not well understood, and studies have shown that it may posess strong dynamical components. Using the CLAS detector system in Hall B at Jefferson Lab, we have performed a high statistics measurement of the photoproduction of K+Λ(1405) using a proton target. The reconstructed invariant mass distribution seen in the various ∑π decay modes has been measured, as well as the differential cross section dσdt. Various aspects of our analysis are discussed, as well as future prospects to further enhance the precision of the results.

The fetal skeleton ossifies in a time-dependent sequence of patterns. The elements of these patterns — foci of mineralization within preformed mesenchymal templates — can be recognized by radiography and ultrasound.

Diastematomyelia (DM) in the upper thoracic spine is a rare congenital abnormality. The case presented is a comparison of CT, CT myelography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and high resolution ultrasound imaging (US) in a female newborn.

Ophthalmological complications in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) are clouding of the cornea, glaucoma, optic neuropathy, and degeneration of the retina. These changes may impair visual function to the point of total loss of vision. To document the ophthalmological changes demonstrated by grey-scale US in patients with MPS. A total of 65 patients with MPS (18 type I, 12 type II, 35 type VI) including a subgroup of 30 undergoing enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) were studied by US of the globe and optic nerve. Average scleral thickness at the posterior pole of the globe measured 2.02–2.58 mm (normal range 1.4–1.7 mm), the average diameter of the optic nerve and its sheath measured 5.35–6.71 mm (normal

Definition. Der Begriff der konnatalen Huftgelenkdysplasie umfasst ein Spektrum von Befunden an der Huftgelenkpfanne, das von leichter Deformierung des Pfannenerkers uber die Steilstellung mit Subluxation bis zur Luxation des Huftkopfes mit Hypoplasie des Acetabulums reicht. Wahrend der im deutschen Sprachraum ubliche Begriff „konnatal“ eher den statischen Charakter einer Fehlbildung des Gelenkes vermittelt, wird in der aus dem Amerikanischen ubernommenen Bezeichnung „entwicklungsbedingte Huftgelenkdysplasie“ (developmental dysplasia of the hip) der dynamische Charakter der Erkrankung betont, wie er sich aus Studien zur Pathogenese der Huftgelenkluxation entwickelt hat. In der sonographischen Diagnostik wird von Reifungsverzogerungen und dezentrierten Huftgelenken gesprochen.

Background: Movements of the spinal cord are induced by arterial pulsation and breathing. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse these oscillations in more detail and to classify them using one-dimensional fast Fourier transformation (1D-FFT). Materials and methods: A total of 153 M-mode studies in 53 patients (age 1 month to 14 years) were undertaken using a 5-MHz linear transducer (B- and M-mode). 1D-FFT was applied to the M-mode areas of digitized images. Results: 1D-FFT shows characteristic patterns of spectra for groups of normal, reduced and missing cord motility. For normal cord motility, 1D-FFT peak frequency corresponded to the heart rate, and additional four to five harmonic maxima up to 11 Hz could be found. Reduced cord motility was characterised by one to three harmonic maxima; an immobile cord showed only zero to one maximum. The maximum speed of transverse motion of the neural structures in the lumbar region reached 25 mm/s. Conclusions: Using 1D-FFT, characteristic frequency patterns of spinal cord motions can be analysed. In patients with meningomyelocoele individual classification of cord motility is possible. This method of analysis may assist with recognising those at risk of developing secondary tethered cord syndrome.

This section focuses on the radiographic differential diagnosis of single defects of the fetal skeleton. Complying with the character of this book as a radiographic tool, the number of conditions in the differential lists has been limited in two ways: 1. The disorder should have at least one radiographic sign in addition to the key feature, thus allowing one to make a diagnosis or suspect a diagnosis by radiographic analysis alone. For instance, the combination of an amputated limb with anencephaly — both recognizable on a fetogram — leads to a diagnosis of the ADAM complex. On the other hand, isolated vertebral segmentation defects in the upper thoracic spine without additional radiographic findings are relatively unspecific and can be seen in a great number of disorders. As radiology does not help in the differential diagnostic process, these isolated defects have not been included. 2. The disorder should be relatively common, i.e., have an entry in the OMIM database. Isolated case reports without an OMIM number have not been included in the differential diagnostic lists. Comprehensive lists of all possible disorders associated with a given defect are available in databases such as POSSUM or the London dysmorphology database.

Abgesehen davon, dass die gesamte sonographische Bildgebung ein Artefaktogramm ist, werden speziell beim Ultraschall Abbildungsprodukte als Artefakte bezeichnet, die nicht real sind, also keine anatomischen Strukturen abbilden, unvollstandig, am falschen Ort, mit unkorrekter Helligkeit, in unkorrekter Form und unkorrekter Grose erscheinen.