The Scandinavian contribution to national accounting

Paper for The IARIW twenty-second general conference Rims, Switzerland August 30 - September 5, 1992. Session 8 A - History of National Accounts and the Development of National Accounting concepts.This paper surveys developments in national accounting theory and methodology in Scandinavia, with the focus on the period from around 1930 to around 1955 when modern national accounting was born. Sections 2-4 provide a chronology by countries and authors, with particular attention paid to the pioneering efforts of Ragnar Frisch and Erik Lindahl. Drawing on these, sections 5 and 6 summarize by subject matter the ideas contributed to national accounting by Scandinavian economists. Developments since 1955 are noted briefly in section 7

Why Our Next President May Keep His or her Senate Seat: A Conjecture on the Constitution’s Incompatibility Clause

Heart diseases are common and significant contributors to worldwide mortality and morbidity. During recent years complement mediated inflammation has been shown to be an important player in a variety of heart diseases. Despite some negative results from clinical trials using complement inhibitors, emerging evidence points to an association between the complement system and heart diseases. Thus, complement seems to be important in coronary heart disease as well as in heart failure, where several studies underscore the prognostic importance of complement activation. Furthermore, patients with atrial fibrillation often share risk factors both with coronary heart disease and heart failure, and there is some evidence implicating complement activation in atrial fibrillation. Moreover, Chagas heart disease, a protozoal infection, is an important cause of heart failure in Latin America, and the complement system is crucial for the protozoa-host interaction. Thus, complement activation appears to be involved in the pathophysiology of a diverse range of cardiac conditions. Determination of the exact role of complement in the various heart diseases will hopefully help to identify patients that might benefit from therapeutic complement intervention

How word decoding, vocabulary and prior topic knowledge predict reading comprehension. A study of language-minority students in Norwegian fifth grade classrooms

This study examined the contribution of word decoding, first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) vocabulary and prior topic knowledge to L2 reading comprehension. For measuring reading comprehension we employed two different reading tasks: Woodcock Passage Comprehension and a researcher-developed content-area reading assignment (the Global Warming Test) consisting of multiple lengthy texts. The sample included 67 language-minority students (native Urdu or native Turkish speakers) from 21 different fifth grade classrooms in Norway. Multiple regression analyses revealed that word decoding and different facets of L2 vocabulary explained most of the variance in Woodcock Passage Comprehension, but a smaller proportion of variance in the Global Warming Test. For the Global Warming Test, prior topic knowledge was the most influential predictor. Furthermore, L2 vocabulary depth appeared to moderate the contribution of prior topic knowledge to the Global Warming Test in this sample of language minority students

Cytokines as new treatment targets in chronic heart failure

Inflammatory cytokines may negatively influence contractility and contribute to the remodelling process in the failing myocardium. Traditional cardiovascular drugs appear to have little influence on the overall cytokine network in chronic heart failure (CHF). Increased interest in anticytokine therapy has therefore evolved. Several small studies have used tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α as a target, resulting in improved functional capacity and myocardial performance. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) represents another therapeutic approach in which the impact on myocardial performance appears to be correlated with anti-inflammatory effects. These studies demonstrate potential for immunomodulation as a therapy in addition to conventional cardiovascular treatment in CHF, but the most effective drugs in this regard have yet to be identified

Statistical models of diffusion and aggregation for coke formation in a catalyst pore

We simulated models of diffusion and aggregation in long pores of small widths in order to represent the basic mechanisms of coke deposition in catalysts' pores. Coke precursors are represented by particles injected at the pore entrance. Knudsen diffusion, which is usually expected inside the pores, is modeled by ballistic motion of those particles. The regime of molecular diffusion is also analyzed via models of lattice random walks biased along the pores. The aggregation at the surface or near previously aggregated particles was modeled by different probabilistic rules, accounting for the possibilities of more compact or more ramified deposits. In the model of Knudsen diffusion and in some cases of molecular diffusion, there is an initial regime of uniform deposition along the pore, after which the deposits acquire an approximately wedge shape, with the pore plugging near its entrance. After the regime of uniform deposition and before that of critical pore plugging, the average aggregation position slowly decreases with the number N of deposited particles approximately as N^{-0.25}. The apparently universal features of deposits generated by microscopic models are compared with those currently adopted in continuum models.Comment: 14 pages (figures included), to appear in Physica

Universality Class of Two-Offspring Branching Annihilating Random Walks

We analyze a two-offspring Branching Annihilating Random Walk ($n=2$ BAW) model, with finite annihilation rate. The finite annihilation rate allows for a dynamical phase transition between a vacuum, absorbing state and a non-empty, active steady state. We find numerically that this transition belongs to the same universality class as BAW's with an even number of offspring, $n\geq 4$, and that of other models whose dynamic rules conserve the parity of the particles locally. The simplicity of the model is exploited in computer simulations to obtain various critical exponents with a high level of accuracy.Comment: 10 pages, tex, 4 figures uuencoded, also available upon reques

Low YKL-40 in Chronic Heart Failure may predict beneficial effects of statins: Analysis from the Controlled Rosuvastatin Multinational Trial in Heart Failure (CORONA)

Context and objective: To evaluate if YKL-40 can provide prognostic information in patients with ischemic heart failure (HF) and identify patients who may benefit from statin therapy. Materials and Methods: The association between serum YKL-40 and predefined outcome was evaluated in 1344 HF patients assigned to rosuvastatin or placebo. Results: YKL-40 was not associated with outcome in adjusted analysis. In YKL-40 tertile 1, an effect on the primary outcome (HR 0.50, p = 0.006) and CV death (HR 0.54 p = 0.040) was seen by rosuvastatin in adjusted analysis. Conclusions: A beneficial modification of outcome was observed with statin therapy in patients with low YKL-40 levels

AISI Direct Steelmaking Program

Pilot plant trials with the horizontal vessel were completed. Design of a third pressurized vessel and an offgas cleaning and tempering system was completed. Installation is now underway. A basic study and a pre-engineering design of a 350,000-metric ton/y demonstration plant were completed, and efforts are underway to develop such a demonstration plant at a host steel company. Foreign filings have been prepared for the two-zone countercurrent smelter (patent applied for). Work with a water model of two-zone smelter was completed. The horizontal smelter program was completed. Trials were conducted to determine how sulfur is partitioned among the hot metal, slag, and offgas. Design of offgas cleaning and tempering loop was completed

Fra Dybbøl til trøbbel. Christopher Bruun som biografisk utfordring

Christopher Bruun (1839â1920) was one of the main figures within the Folk High School movement in Norway. This article has two main goals: First: to show how this movement has created Bruun both as a hero and as the opposite. Second: To launch an alternative and a much broader approach to the biographical construction of Christopher Bruun. By doing this, the article will deal with two opposite positions: the ideological one, which has promoted one specific picture of Bruun at the expense of other possible perspectives â and the more critical one, which rejected the character that the ideological interpretation had cultivated

Le spectacle de la corruption dans Le Mespris de la vie et consolation contre la mort (1594) de Jean-Baptiste Chassignet

Cet article propose d’analyser quelques poèmes emblématiques du recueil Le Mespris de la vie et consolation contre la mort (1594) du poète Jean-Baptiste Chassignet. Dans ce recueil, traversé par une présence quasi obsessionnelle du corps fragmenté et ouvert, Chassignet s’inscrit dans la lignée d’Ignace de Loyola, où l’appel au sens et à l’imaginaire de la corruption dominent le cheminement spirituel : il s’agit de suivre le travail de la décomposition physiologique dans un but salutaire. Chassignet adopte ici la même approche, en convoquant notamment le principe rhétorique de l’enargeia et en mettant l’accent sur la défiguration progressive du corps, mise en scène à la manière d’un spectacle anatomique où le poète, imitant le geste de la dissection, ouvre le corps mort pour faire ressortir la pourriture, la vermine, les odeurs et les parties du squelette. Ainsi, le corps corrompu apparaît comme un élément indispensable à la leçon ultime de l’œuvre : amener son lecteur à mépriser la vie terrestre, et donc son propre corps