Genetic Relationship Between the United States and Canadian Holstein Bull Populations

The average additive genetic relationship and degree of connectedness between American and Canadian Holstein AI bull populations were estimated. This project was undertaken to determine the feasibility of a joint United States-Canadian sire evaluation to estimate genetic base differences between the two countries‘Holstein bull populations. Data were provided by USDA and Agriculture Canada for bulls evaluated in each country. Bulls were designated as American, Canadian, or dual national origin based on their country of registration and national origin of their parents. A total of 13,079 American, 1683 Canadian, and 256 dual origin bulls were included in the inverse relationship matrix. When both sire and maternal grandsire relationships were included in the matrix, there were 174 disconnected groups; however, 99% of the American bulls and 97% of the Canadian bulls were in a single group. The average aij between the American and Canadian population was 4.6×10−5. Despite the low average additive relationship between the two national populations, the high degree of connectedness in the inverse relationship matrix, when using both sire and maternal grandsire relationships, suggests sufficient genetic ties between the two populations to conduct a meaningful joint sire evaluation

Differences in IMF Data: Incidence and Implications

Data published in IMF country reports and International Financial Statistics (IFS) may differ for seemingly identical variables, and at times users may be unaware of the reasons underlying such differences and may lack the information needed to permit reconciliation. This paper presents a study of the consistency of annual data on core statistical indicators presented in the IFS and a sample of country reports. The paper finds a significant incidence of apparent discrepancies for similarly defined variables. It discusses the reasons for differences and examines the implications for research using an example from the debt sustainability literature. Copyright 2006, International Monetary Fund

Increasing Cultural Participation: An Audience Development Planning Handbook for Presenters, Producers and Their Collaborators

Looks at how people-centered strategies for building public participation in high-quality arts programs can help institutions of varied disciplines and sizes to diversify, broaden, and deepen relationships with their communities

Design of mirrors and apodization functions in phase-induced amplitude apodization (PIAA) systems

Phase-induced amplitude apodization (PIAA) coronagraphs are a promising technology for imaging exoplanets, with the potential to detect Earth-like planets around Sun-like stars. A PIAA system nominally consists of a pair of mirrors which reshape incident light without attenuation, coupled with one or more apodizers to mitigate diffraction effects or provide additional beam-shaping to produce a desired output profile. We present a set of equations that allow apodizers to be chosen for any given pair of mirrors, or conversely mirror shapes chosen for given apodizers, to produce an arbitrary amplitude profile at the output of the system. We show how classical PIAA systems may be designed by this method, and present the design of a novel 4-mirror system with higher throughput than a standard 2-mirror system. We also discuss the limitations due to diffraction and the design steps that may be taken to mitigate them.Comment: 26 pages, 8 figures, accepted to ApJ

Does SDDS Subscription Reduce Borrowing Costs for Emerging Market Economies?

Does macroeconomic data transparency-as signaled by subscription to the IMF's Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS)-help reduce borrowing costs in international capital markets? This question is examined using data on new issues of sovereign foreign-currency-denominated (U.S. dollar, yen, and euro) bonds for several emerging market economies. Panel econometric estimates indicate that spreads on new bond issues declined on average by close to 20 percent, or by an average of about 55 basis points for sample countries, following SDDS subscription. Copyright 2005, International Monetary Fund

Shaped pupil design for the Gemini Planet Imager

The Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is an instrument designed for the Gemini South telescope to image young Jupiter-mass planets in the infrared. To achieve the high contrast needed for this, it employs an apodized pupil Lyot coronagraph (APLC) to remove most of the starlight. Current designs use a partially-transmitting apodizer in the pupil; we examine the use of binary apodizations in the form of starshaped shaped pupils, and present a design that could achieve comparable performance, along with a series of design guidelines for creating shaped pupil versions of APLCs in other systems.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Main tank injection pressurization program

Computer program predicts performance of fluorine-hydrogen main tank injection pressurization system for full range of liquid-hydrogen-fueled space vehicles. Analytical model includes provisions for heat transfer, injectant jet penetration, and ullage gas mixing. Analysis predicts GF2 usage, ullage gas and tank wall temperatures, and LH2 evaporation