Does global liquidity help to forecast US inflation?

We construct a measure of global liquidity using the growth rates of broad money for the G7 economies. Global liquidity produces forecasts of US inflation that are significantly more accurate than the forecasts based on US money growth, Phillips curve, autoregressive and moving average models. The marginal predictive power of global liquidity is strong at three years horizons. Results are robust to alternative measures of inflation.

Order parameter fluctuations and thermodynamic phase transitions in finite spin systems and fragmenting nuclei

We show that in small and low density systems described by a lattice gas model with fixed number of particles the location of a thermodynamic phase transition can be detected by means of the distribution of the fluctuations related to an order parameter which is chosen to be the size of the largest fragment. We show the correlation between the size of the system and the observed order of the transition. We discuss the implications of this correlation on the analysis of experimental fragmentation data.Comment: 9 pages including 5 figures. Final version to appear in PL

Color in context: psychological context moderates the influence of red on approach- and avoidance-motivated behavior.

A basic premise of the recently proffered color-in-context model is that the influence of color on psychological functioning varies as a function of the psychological context in which color is perceived. Some research has examined the appetitive and aversive implications of viewing the color red in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts, respectively, but in all existing empirical work approach and avoidance behavior has been studied in separate tasks and separate experiments. Research is needed to directly test whether red influences the same behavior differently depending entirely on psychological context. The present experiment was designed to put this premise to direct test in romance- and achievement-relevant contexts within the same experimental paradigm involving walking behavior. Our results revealed that exposure to red (but not blue) indeed has differential implications for walking behavior as a function of the context in which the color is perceived. Red increased the speed with which participants walked to an ostensible interview about dating (a romance-relevant context), but decreased the speed with which they walked to an ostensible interview about intelligence (an achievement-relevant context). These results are the first direct evidence that the influence of red on psychological functioning in humans varies by psychological context. Our findings contribute to both the literature on color psychology and the broader, emerging literature on the influence of context on basic psychological processes

The influence of gas expulsion and initial mass-segregation on the stellar mass-function of globular star clusters

Recently de Marchi, Paresce & Pulone (2007) studied a sample of twenty globular clusters and found that all clusters with high concentrations have steep stellar mass-functions while clusters with low concentration have comparatively shallow mass-functions. No globular clusters were found with a flat mass-function and high concentration. This seems curious since more concentrated star clusters are believed to be dynamically more evolved and should have lost more low-mass stars via evaporation, which would result in a shallower mass-function in the low-mass part. We show that this effect can be explained by residual-gas expulsion from initially mass-segregated star clusters, and is enhanced further through unresolved binaries. If gas expulsion is the correct mechanism to produce the observed trend, then observation of these parameters would allow to constrain cluster starting conditions such as star formation efficiency and the time-scale of gas expulsion.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS, 10 pages, 6 figure

From Beam to Chassis: How to Increase NVH Performances with an Optimized Moment of Inertia Distribution

Car weight reduction is becoming more and more important for every kind of vehicle: minor mass implies, in fact, minor consumption, makes easier to fulfill homologation rules and assures a better handling behavior. Despite that, several vehicle missions have always been solved by adding more mass, e.g. NVH. In this paper, a methodology to optimize the stiffness distribution is proposed in order to obtain better vibrational performances without increasing the mass. At first, the problem has been solved for a simple beam using finite element and optimization algorithms. At a second stage, the optimal moment of inertia distribution found has been applied to a chassis thanks to a topometry optimization. Finally, the improvement in NVH performances has been verified comparing the inertances of the optimized model with those of the non-optimized one

BIM-ORIENTED ALGORITHMIC RECONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING COMPONENTS FOR EXISTING HERITAGE

Abstract. This study is part of a more complex research aimed at establishing guidelines to simplify the digitalization process used to manage existing building heritage. Working in a BIM environment, this paper will present two different algorithms: a modelling algorithm, a data analysis algorithm, and relative applications in the digitalization of a contemporary building. All the archival data required for the digitalization process was collected and those in two-dimensional digital vector format have aroused particular interest because they enabled initiation of the reconstruction process of the BIM model. One of the two algorithms allowed us to identify recurrent elements in a CAD drawing, based on geometric 2D primitives. The final outcome of the first phase involves quadrilateral or circular surfaces and can be viewed in algorithmic environment. The next phase involves applying a unique coloured sign to the identified sections and then export them all in a BIM software. This tool produced unexpected positive results: the presence of a small coloured grid emphasized the discrepancies created between the two-dimensional drawings and the vertical elements. We were thus able to identify the objects with these inconsistencies: they were verified using accurate surveys and then corrected.</p

Size and asymmetry of the reaction entrance channel: influence on the probability of neck production

The results of experiments performed to investigate the Ni+Al, Ni+Ni, Ni+Ag reactions at 30 MeV/nucleon are presented. From the study of dissipative midperipheral collisions, it has been possible to detect events in which Intermediate Mass Fragments (IMF) production takes place. The decay of a quasi-projectile has been identified; its excitation energy leads to a multifragmentation totally described in terms of a statistical disassembly of a thermalized system (T$\simeq$4 MeV, E$^*\simeq$4 MeV/nucleon). Moreover, for the systems Ni+Ni, Ni+Ag, in the same nuclear reaction, a source with velocity intermediate between that of the quasi-projectile and that of the quasi-target, emitting IMF, is observed. The fragments produced by this source are more neutron rich than the average matter of the overall system, and have a charge distribution different, with respect to those statistically emitted from the quasi-projectile. The above features can be considered as a signature of the dynamical origin of the midvelocity emission. The results of this analysis show that IMF can be produced via different mechanisms simultaneously present within the same collision. Moreover, once fixed the characteristics of the quasi-projectile in the three considered reactions (in size, excitation energy and temperature), one observes that the probability of a partner IMF production via dynamical mechanism has a threshold (not present in the Ni+Al case) and increases with the size of the target nucleus.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication on Nuclear Physics

Perturbations of the local gravity field due to mass distribution on precise measuring instruments: a numerical method applied to a cold atom gravimeter

We present a numerical method, based on a FEM simulation, for the determination of the gravitational field generated by massive objects, whatever geometry and space mass density they have. The method was applied for the determination of the self gravity effect of an absolute cold atom gravimeter which aims at a relative uncertainty of 10-9. The deduced bias, calculated with a perturbative treatment, is finally presented. The perturbation reaches (1.3 \pm 0.1) \times 10-9 of the Earth's gravitational field.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Definition of a Protocol for the Experimental Monitoring of Rising Damp in Three Different Masonry Models with Tuff, Carparo, and Lecce Stone

This work presents a new protocol for monitoring rising damp, which is applied to three masonry models made of tuff, carparo, and Lecce stone. First, the physical characteristics of each stone were derived in the laboratory, which included porosity, imbibition, drying index, permeability, capillarity, and sorptivity. In this case, the protocol provided three columns, one for each material, consisting of five blocks. A layer of cotton tissue was interposed between columned blocks to simulate the hygroscopic behavior of a mortar, allowing a quick disassembly and reassembly of the multiblock columns for a quick weighing. The bottoms of the columns were immersed in water to a level of about three centimeters, providing a constant replenishment for the phenomena of evaporation and rising in the stone. The maximum height achieved by the rising damp depends on the characteristics of the building materials, i.e., the amount and size of pores, pore connectivity, etc. Since these materials have different physical characteristics, the objective was to quantify the rising moisture level of the three materials tested, block by block, in a controlled indoor microclimate environment. The three columns were periodically weighed, the quantity of collected water was evaluated, and a thermographic survey was performed. The results show that at the end of the test, the highest level of rising damp is reached by tuff with a height of 43 cm, followed by Lecce stone and carparo with a height of 40 cm and 21 cm, respectively. The innovation of this study is the proposal of a new flexible and easy‐to‐apply method for monitoring this phenomenon. It gives clear and numerically comparable results. Moreover, it is applicable to any type of stone, allowing the user to evaluate both the existing state and different design solutions

Genome-wide SNP discovery and population structure analysis in pepper (Capsicum annuum) using genotyping by sequencing

BACKGROUND: Knowledge on population structure and genetic diversity in vegetable crops is essential for association mapping studies and genomic selection. Genotyping by sequencing (GBS) represents an innovative method for large scale SNP detection and genotyping of genetic resources. Herein we used the GBS approach for the genome-wide identification of SNPs in a collection of Capsicum spp. accessions and for the assessment of the level of genetic diversity in a subset of 222 cultivated pepper (Capsicum annum) genotypes. RESULTS: GBS analysis generated a total of 7,568,894 master tags, of which 43.4% uniquely aligned to the reference genome CM334. A total of 108,591 SNP markers were identified, of which 105,184 were in C. annuum accessions. In order to explore the genetic diversity of C. annuum and to select a minimal core set representing most of the total genetic variation with minimum redundancy, a subset of 222 C. annuum accessions were analysed using 32,950 high quality SNPs. Based on Bayesian and Hierarchical clustering it was possible to divide the collection into three clusters. Cluster I had the majority of varieties and landraces mainly from Southern and Northern Italy, and from Eastern Europe, whereas clusters II and III comprised accessions of different geographical origins. Considering the genome-wide genetic variation among the accessions included in cluster I, a second round of Bayesian (K = 3) and Hierarchical (K = 2) clustering was performed. These analysis showed that genotypes were grouped not only based on geographical origin, but also on fruit-related features. CONCLUSIONS: GBS data has proven useful to assess the genetic diversity in a collection of C. annuum accessions. The high number of SNP markers, uniformly distributed on the 12 chromosomes, allowed the accessions to be distinguished according to geographical origin and fruit-related features. SNP markers and information on population structure developed in this study will undoubtedly support genome-wide association mapping studies and marker-assisted selection programs. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3297-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users