Time-dependent gravity in southern California, May 1974 - Apr 1979

Gravity measurements were coordinated with the long baseline three dimensional geodetic measurements of the Astronomical Radio Interferometric Earth Surveying project which used radio interferometry with extra-galactic radio sources. Gravity data from 28 of the stations had a single reading standard deviation of 11 microgal which gives a relative single determination between stations a standard deviation of 16 microgal. The largest gravity variation observed, 80 microgal, correlated with nearby waterwell variations and with smoothed rainfall. Smoothed rainfall data appeared to be a good indicator of the qualitative response of gravity to changing groundwater levels at other suprasediment stations, but frequent measurement of gravity at a station was essential until the quantitative calibration of the station's response to groundwater variations was accomplished

Decomposing the misery index: A dynamic approach

YesThe misery index (the unweighted sum of unemployment and inflation rates) was probably the first attempt to develop a single statistic to measure the level of a population’s economic malaise. In this letter, we develop a dynamic approach to decompose the misery index using two basic relations of modern macroeconomics: the expectations-augmented Phillips curve and Okun’s law. Our reformulation of the misery index is closer in spirit to Okun’s idea. However, we are able to offer an improved version of the index, mainly based on output and unemployment. Specifically, this new Okun’s index measures the level of economic discomfort as a function of three key factors: (1) the misery index in the previous period; (2) the output gap in growth rate terms; and (3) cyclical unemployment. This dynamic approach differs substantially from the standard one utilised to develop the misery index, and allow us to obtain an index with five main interesting features: (1) it focuses on output, unemployment and inflation; (2) it considers only objective variables; (3) it allows a distinction between short-run and long-run phenomena; (4) it places more importance on output and unemployment rather than inflation; and (5) it weights recessions more than expansions

Acute kidney disease and renal recovery : consensus report of the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) 16 Workgroup

Consensus definitions have been reached for both acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) and these definitions are now routinely used in research and clinical practice. The KDIGO guideline defines AKI as an abrupt decrease in kidney function occurring over 7 days or less, whereas CKD is defined by the persistence of kidney disease for a period of > 90 days. AKI and CKD are increasingly recognized as related entities and in some instances probably represent a continuum of the disease process. For patients in whom pathophysiologic processes are ongoing, the term acute kidney disease (AKD) has been proposed to define the course of disease after AKI; however, definitions of AKD and strategies for the management of patients with AKD are not currently available. In this consensus statement, the Acute Disease Quality Initiative (ADQI) proposes definitions, staging criteria for AKD, and strategies for the management of affected patients. We also make recommendations for areas of future research, which aim to improve understanding of the underlying processes and improve outcomes for patients with AKD

U.S. Monetary-Fiscal Regime Changes in the Presence of Endogenous Feedback in Policy Rules

We investigate U.S. monetary and fiscal policy regime interactions in a model, where regimes are determined by latent autoregressive policy factors with endogenous feedback. Policy regimes interact strongly: Shocks that switch one policy from active to passive tend to induce the other policy to switch from passive to active, consistently with existence of a unique equilibrium, though both policies are active and government debt grows rapidly in some periods. We observe relatively strong interactions between monetary and fiscal policy regimes after the recent financial crisis. Finally, latent policy regime factors exhibit patterns of correlation with macroeconomic time series, suggesting that policy regime change is endogenous.A completely revised version of this paper has been published as Chang, Yoosoon; Kwak, Boreum; Qiu, Shi: U.S. Monetary and Fiscal Policy Regime Changes and Their Interactions. IWH Discussion Paper 12/2021. Halle (Saale) 2021: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/24726

Dichloroacetate reverses the hypoxic adaptation to bevacizumab and enhances its antitumor effects in mouse xenografts.

Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor increases response rates to chemotherapy and progression-free survival in glioblastoma. However, resistance invariably occurs, prompting the urgent need for identification of synergizing agents. One possible strategy is to understand tumor adaptation to microenvironmental changes induced by antiangiogenic drugs and test agents that exploit this process. We used an in vivo glioblastoma-derived xenograft model of tumor escape in presence of continuous treatment with bevacizumab. U87-MG or U118-MG cells were subcutaneously implanted into either BALB/c SCID or athymic nude mice. Bevacizumab was given by intraperitoneal injection every 3 days (2.5 mg/kg/dose) and/or dichloroacetate (DCA) was administered by oral gavage twice daily (50 mg/kg/dose) when tumor volumes reached 0.3 cm(3) and continued until tumors reached approximately 1.5-2.0 cm(3). Microarray analysis of resistant U87 tumors revealed coordinated changes at the level of metabolic genes, in particular, a widening gap between glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration. There was a highly significant difference between U87-MG-implanted athymic nude mice 1 week after drug treatment. By 2 weeks of treatment, bevacizumab and DCA together dramatically blocked tumor growth compared to either drug alone. Similar results were seen in athymic nude mice implanted with U118-MG cells. We demonstrate for the first time that reversal of the bevacizumab-induced shift in metabolism using DCA is detrimental to neoplastic growth in vivo. As DCA is viewed as a promising agent targeting tumor metabolism, our data establish the timely proof of concept that combining it with antiangiogenic therapy represents a potent antineoplastic strategy

Fiscal Policy, Inequality and the Poor in the Developing World

Using comparable fiscal incidence analysis, this paper examines the impact of fiscal policy on inequality and poverty in 25 countries for around 2010. Success in fiscal redistribution is driven primarily by redistributive effort (share of social spending to GDP in each country) and the extent to which transfers/subsidies are targeted at the poor and direct taxes targeted at the rich. While fiscal policy always reduces inequality, this is not the case with poverty. Fiscal policy increases poverty in 4 countries using a US$1.25/day PPP poverty line, in 8 countries using a US$2.50/day line, and in 15 countries using a US$4/day line (over and above market income poverty). Net direct taxes are always equalizing and net indirect taxes are equalizing in 17 of the 25 countries. While spending on pre-school and primary school is pro-poor (i.e. the per capita transfer declines with income) in almost all countries, pro-poor secondary school spending is less prevalent, and tertiary education spending tends to be progressive only in relative terms (i.e. equalizing but not pro-poor). Health spending is always equalizing

Regulation and administered contracts revisited: Lessons from transaction-cost economics for public utility regulation

This article reexamines the administered contracts approach to regulation in light of recent empirical research that establishes the importance of transaction-costs in the organizational choice and design decisions. After reviewing the fundamentals of transaction cost reasoning and the franchise bidding-versus-regulation debate, the study surveys the empirical literature on franchise bidding, contracting, and vertical integration. The implications of transaction-cost theories for current policies toward pubic utility regulation and deregulation are also addressed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47841/1/11149_2004_Article_BF00134817.pd