A chain rule formula in BV and applications to conservation laws

In this paper we prove a new chain rule formula for the distributional derivative of the composite function $v(x)=B(x,u(x))$, where $u:]a,b[\to\R^d$ has bounded variation, $B(x,\cdot)$ is continuously differentiable and $B(\cdot,u)$ has bounded variation. We propose an application of this formula in order to deal in an intrinsic way with the discontinuous flux appearing in conservation laws in one space variable.Comment: 26 page

On the Quantitative Effects of Unconventional Monetary Policies

I use a unique micro price data to estimate the pass-through from commodity prices to retail prices in several countries. The paper presents and develops a simple methodology to estimate the pass-through from the prices of different commodities into various sectors across several countries. This is the first exercise of this type. As expected, countries respond differently to the different shocks; and sectors respond differently across countries and commodities. A third of all the explained variation is driven by sectoral characteristics, which is a dimension mostly disregarded by the literature.

A formula for the number of days between the winter solstice and the latest sunrise

A simple closed-form expression for the number of days between the winter solstice and the latest sunrise is derived. Formulas for the summer solstice and the sunset are derived as well. These approximate formulas make it easy to see the functional dependence on the latitude of the observer. An approximate expression for the difference in time of day between the latest sunrise and the sunrise on the solstice is also derived. The formulas are not valid in the Arctic, Antarctic or tropics.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figur

Anzellotti's pairing theory and the Gauss--Green theorem

In this paper we obtain a very general Gauss-Green formula for weakly differentiable functions and sets of finite perimeter. This result is obtained by revisiting Anzellotti's pairing theory and by characterizing the measure pairing $(\boldsymbol{A}, Du)$ when $\boldsymbol{A}$ is a bounded divergence measure vector field and $u$ is a bounded function of bounded variation.Comment: 27 page

Evaluation of the activity of the immune system and age-related tissue markers in Turquoise killifish \ud (Nothobranchius furzeri, Jubb 1971) \ud and their role in cell ageing\ud

Currently the Turquoise Killifish is considered the best animal model suitable for aging research. \ud This annual fish, from south east Africa, shows an exceptionally adaptive behaviour to dry periods: indeed, due to this extreme environmental characteristics, the life cycle of Nothobranchius furzeri is very fast, with an average lifespan of just about 8-9 weeks, making this species (more similar to highly developed vertebrates than nematodes or fruit flies) highly practical for aging studies. \ud The present study has evaluated the activity of the immune system as well as the expression of AGE-RAGE system, cell-damage related proteins (Bcl2, p53), mitosis activity marker (PCNA), and pro-apoptosis activity by T.U.N.E.L. method on the liver of four lifespan-specific strains of Turquoise Killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri, Jubb 1971), correlating the results with aging processes and tumor incidence. Some groups underwent caloric restriction in order to module their expected lifespan.\ud The results demonstrated an increase of age-related lesions along with the age in all the strains tested, due to a decrease of cellular-turn-over. This aspect was also influenced by the strain of the fish: longest lifespan strains showed later the similar lesions than short lifespan strains. Moreover caloric restriction groups showed lower incidence and severity of hepatic degeneration than control groups. Furthermore, there was a linear correspondence between the age of the model and its expected lifespan with the incidence and severity of neoplasm. The same relationship could be found in the expression of cell-damage related proteins (p53, Bcl2), age-related markers (AGE-RAGE system) and pro-apoptosis activity, as well as in the development of neoplasms. These results demonstrated the high feasibility of this fish as an excellent model to study the effects of aging processes and cancer genesis.\u

Genetic Studies of Hydrogen Bacteria and Their Applications to Biological Life Support Systems Status Report No. 3, May 1 - Oct. 31, 1966

Genetic cultural stabilities of hydrogen bacteria for application to biological life support system

Modeling Copper Price: A Regime-Switching Approach

This paper explores the virtues of Markov-Switching models to characterize the behavior of copper price. In particular, we study the performance of several univariate specifications of this type of models, both in and out of sample, comparing them also with constant parameter models such as ARMA and GARCH. The main finding is that allowing for a regime-switching variance in the error term is most relevant in explaining the behavior of this price.