The effect of bank structure and profitability on firm openings

An examination of the effects of price and availability of credit from commercial lending organizations on the start-up rates of new businesses within specific markets, finding that profitable and competitive banking markets are associated with higher rates of firm births.Banking structure ; Industrial location

A Monte Carlo examination of bias tests in mortgage lending

An exploration of the effectiveness of testing procedures in uncovering discrimination by mortgage lenders, reflecting perceived shortcomings in the scope of data provided by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which indicates that the rejection rate for black mortgage applicants is much higher than for whites. The authors find that for plausible levels of bias, the sample size is critical, but that low levels of bias can be difficult to detect even with large sample sizes.Mortgages ; Discrimination in mortgage loans

Master of Arts

thesisIn this work, I deal with the question of how one ought to live and raise children in the context; of environmental catastrophe. I tell several stories about my experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Republic of Kiribati and about the process of becoming a father. I find that while disasters like climate change are too far advanced for human beings to avoid some very disturbing consequences, we can, through storytelling, deal with those losses by making sure they are not forgotten. I conclude that personal stories about fear, loss, tragedy and hope are part of the process of healing wounds inflicted by tragedy and that it is imperative that these stories be passed on to younger generations lest they lose their capacity for empathy

Influence of Microbes in Mediating Sorghum Resistance to Sugarcane Aphids

Gut microbiomes profoundly influence insect health and mediate interactions between plant hosts and their environments. Insects, including aphids, harbour diverse obligate symbionts that synthesize essential nutrients and facultative symbionts that enhance host fitness in specific ecological contexts. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a significant cereal crop cultivated worldwide that has been negatively affected by the presence of an invasive piercing-sucking insect pest, the sugarcane aphid (SCA; Melanaphis sacchari). We previously identified SC265 and SC1345 as the resistant and susceptible sorghum lines, respectively, among the founder nested association mapping (NAM) population. Here, using these resistant and susceptible lines, we explored variations in the SCA gut microbiome when they feed on two different sorghum lines with varied resistance levels. Analyses after excluding the obligate endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola from the dataset showed a significant difference in microbial diversity and composition between resistant and susceptible sorghum lines 7- and 14 days post aphid infestation. Our results indicate that the SCA fed on susceptible and resistant sorghum lines had Pseudomonadaceae and Rhizobiaceae, respectively, as the most abundant bacterial families. Differences in gut microbial community composition were underscored by alpha diversity metrics and beta diversity compositional analyses. These findings contribute to our understanding of the intricate interplay between plant and aphid microbiomes, shedding light on potential avenues to bolster sorghum resistance to SCA

Using Experience and Case History Data to Enhance the Design of Piled Foundations and Predict Behaviour Characteristics

This paper explores the process of piled foundation design and how it can benefit from the inclusion of previous test data and case histories from nearby or geologically similar sites. The interaction between the soil and the structure is critical to the behaviour of a pile and is a function of both the ground conditions and the method of pile construction. An accurate model of the ground conditions is required for the design, as is a detailed knowledge of the method of pile installation and its subsequent interaction with the soil. Where case histories are available they can be utilised to refine the design or to reduce the risk associated with a solution. This is currently often done in a subjective manner by the application of engineering judgement and personal experience. This paper discusses a quantitative method which can be used to employ data from case histories and provide an objective approach to the inclusion of existing knowledge and experience. Bayesian updating is utilised to improve the model of the ground conditions and subsequently the degree of uncertainty is reduced. The probability of failure has been seen to be reduced by this process, as demonstrated through the application an example situation

Refining shear strength characteristic value using experience

Determination of characteristic values for soil properties forms a critical step in the foundation design process. The refinement of such values to account not only for site-specific data but also for existing knowledge and previous experience can result in more efficient design and increased confidence. This paper presents a logical, pragmatic approach for the selection of characteristic values of shear strength for the design of piled foundations within the context of Eurocode 7. The process of refining conceptual models of geotechnical properties in a quantitative, objective manner to include previous knowledge and wider experience is described and demonstrated through case study examples. The result of applying the updating methods is to achieve a revised mean that is a weighted average of the site data and the prior knowledge; the weighting is a function of the variability of each set of data. Such refinement relies upon a quantification of previous knowledge: mean values, trends, variations and distributions of data are required, and in this paper a dataset for undrained shear strength of London Clay is presented and applied to case study examples. Application of the techniques described leads to a better estimate of the ground properties and a reduction in the risk attached to a design solution

Generalized Gauss maps and integrals for three-component links: toward higher helicities for magnetic fields and fluid flows, Part 2

We describe a new approach to triple linking invariants and integrals, aiming for a simpler, wider and more natural applicability to the search for higher order helicities of fluid flows and magnetic fields. To each three-component link in Euclidean 3-space, we associate a geometrically natural generalized Gauss map from the 3-torus to the 2-sphere, and show that the pairwise linking numbers and Milnor triple linking number that classify the link up to link homotopy correspond to the Pontryagin invariants that classify its generalized Gauss map up to homotopy. This can be viewed as a natural extension of the familiar fact that the linking number of a two-component link in 3-space is the degree of its associated Gauss map from the 2-torus to the 2-sphere. When the pairwise linking numbers are all zero, we give an integral formula for the triple linking number analogous to the Gauss integral for the pairwise linking numbers, but patterned after J.H.C. Whitehead's integral formula for the Hopf invariant. The integrand in this formula is geometrically natural in the sense that it is invariant under orientation-preserving rigid motions of 3-space, while the integral itself can be viewed as the helicity of a related vector field on the 3-torus. In the first paper of this series [math.GT 1101.3374] we did this for three-component links in the 3-sphere. Komendarczyk has applied this approach in special cases to derive a higher order helicity for magnetic fields whose ordinary helicity is zero, and to obtain from this nonzero lower bounds for the field energy.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1101.337

The Constitutional Amending Process

Since the failure to ratify the Meech Lake Accord in June 1990, the constitutional future of Canada has been the topic of increasingly urgent debate. So far, a consensus has emerged on two things. First, federalism as it is enshrined in the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982 no longer meets the needs and aspirations of the majority. Second, the means used in the past to achieve major constitutional revision are no longer acceptable to the majority of Canadians. Put simply, constitutional revision is essential if Canada is to survive and the means of achieving this revision must be more open and more consultative in nature than in the past. We have not yet reached a consensus on issues of constitutional substance or form, including the form public input should take in the future. But one thing is clear: if an agreement is reached on changes to the Constitution, the issues of how these changes can be achieved under the existing amending process and how future amendments can be accomplished will have to be addressed. Attention will also have to be given to the formal amending procedure involving the rules for ratification and the informal procedure involving how proposals for amendment are formulated and initiated. To that end, the federal and provincial governments have been studying these various aspects of the amending process from initiation to ratification, past, present, and future. This report contributes to that undertaking

Characterization of a Novel Clade of Transporters in Phytophthora

The oomycete Phytophthora parasitica has a worldwide distribution and is an economically important pathogen of more than 100 species4. RNA-seq analysis showed that one gene, PPTG_16698 has the 5th highest level of expression of all transport proteins in the zoospore stage, and is highly conserved throughout Phytophthora species. This project attempts to characterize the important biological role that PPTG_16698 plays in P. parasitica and other oomycetes. Three strategies have been implemented to accomplish this goal: growth analysis by heterologous expression in yeast, metabolite analysis in yeast, and construction of a GFP fusion protein to enable localization of the gene in oomycete hyphae by confocal microscopy. Confocal microscopy is expected to confirm the vacuolar localization of this gene. If this gene is localized to a vacuolar membrane, then heterologous expression in yeast should result in differential accumulation of metabolites mobilized by this transporter. In preliminary growth assays, expression of this gene did not inhibit the growth of yeast. Therefore, expression of the gene does not result in sequestering of a growth-limiting metabolite. To determine whether expression of the transporter results in the accumulation of polyamines, which are organic compounds necessary for growth in eukaryotes, polyamine levels will be measured by dansylation of amines and separation by HPLC. Other metabolites will be assayed by liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy analysis

The prevalence of blinding trachoma in northern states of Sudan.

BACKGROUND: Despite historical evidence of blinding trachoma, there have been no widespread contemporary surveys of trachoma prevalence in the northern states of Sudan. We aimed to conduct district-level surveys in this vast region in order to map the extent of the problem and estimate the need for trachoma control interventions to eliminate blinding trachoma. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Separate, population based cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 88 localities (districts) in 12 northern states of Sudan between 2006 and 2010. Two-stage cluster random sampling with probability proportional to size was used to select the sample. Trachoma grading was done using the WHO simplified grading system. Key prevalence indicators were trachomatous inflammation-follicular (TF) in children aged 1-9 years and trachomatous trichiasis (TT) in adults aged 15 years and above. The sample comprised 1,260 clusters from which 25,624 households were surveyed. A total of 106,697 participants (81.6% response rate) were examined for trachoma signs. TF prevalence was above 10% in three districts and between 5% and 9% in 11 districts. TT prevalence among adults was above 1% in 20 districts (which included the three districts with TF prevalence >10%). The overall number of people with TT in the population was estimated to be 31,072 (lower and upper bounds = 26,125-36,955). CONCLUSION: Trachoma mapping is complete in the northern states of Sudan except for the Darfur States. The survey findings will facilitate programme planning and inform deployment of resources for elimination of trachoma from the northern states of Sudan by 2015, in accordance with the Sudan Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) objectives