Euros and Zeros: The Common Currency Effect on Trade in New Goods

This paper tests whether trade in new goods is partially responsible for the pro-trade effects of the euro and provides a measure of the size of the effect. It works with a very large data set (about 16 million observations) covering twenty countries at the most disaggregated level of trade data that is publicly available. Using predictions from a heterogeneous-firms trade model in a multi-country environment to structure our empirical model, we find that the euro had a positive impact on trade overall. Our findings provide supportive but not conclusive evidence for the new-goods hypothesis. We also determined the pro-trade effect of euro-usage on non-Euroland nations trading with euro-users. We confirmed the absence of trade diversion for non-Eurozone EU members with sizeable overall increase comparable to that of members.

Improved tabu search and simulated annealing methods for nonlinear data assimilation

Nonlinear data assimilation can be a very challenging task. Four local search methods are proposed for nonlinear data assimilation in this paper. The methods work as follows: At each iteration, the observation operator is linearized around the current solution, and a gradient approximation of the three dimensional variational (3D-Var) cost function is obtained. Then, samples along potential steepest descent directions of the 3D-Var cost function are generated, and the acceptance/rejection criteria for such samples are similar to those proposed by the Tabu Search and the Simulated Annealing framework. In addition, such samples can be drawn within certain sub-spaces so as to reduce the computational effort of computing search directions. Once a posterior mode is estimated, matrix-free ensemble Kalman filter approaches can be implemented to estimate posterior members. Furthermore, the convergence of the proposed methods is theoretically proven based on the necessary assumptions and conditions. Numerical experiments have been performed by using the Lorenz-96 model. The numerical results show that the cost function values on average can be reduced by several orders of magnitudes by using the proposed methods. Even more, the proposed methods can converge faster to posterior modes when sub-space approximations are employed to reduce the computational efforts among iterations

Orfalea College of Business- Fire & Life Safety Analysis

This report details the prescriptive and performance based analyses performed on the Orfalea College of Business building, located on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. Designed in accordance with the 1985 Uniform Building Code (UBC), this building is evaluated for compliance with the requirements prescribed under relevant codes in place as of 2016. The main function of this building is to serve both academic and administrative purposes, including classrooms and staff offices. Aspects of the building analyzed include: Egress Systems, Structural Fire Protection, Smoke Management, Fire Detection, Fire Notification, and Fire Suppression The prescriptive analysis demonstrates the lack of compliance in two general areas: egress systems and passive fire protection. Obstructions in corridors will impede egress travel, while propped open doors compromise the designed passive fire protection. The rest of the building features were deemed compliant based on the 2013 CBC. A performance based analysis was performed on the building using tenability criteria justified by relevant scientific research. Thresholds for visibility, temperature, and toxicity were considered in determining the Available Safe Egress Time (ASET). This analysis intended to evaluate the building based on Method 2 found in the 2015 Life Safety Code (LSC), where ASET must be greater than the Required Safe Egress Time (RSET). The results of the analysis revealed that both temperature and toxicity were not a concern for a fire scenario in what is deemed one of the most potentially hazardous areas in the building. Visibility, however, would drop below its minimum threshold at 300 seconds after fire ignition. The RSET was determined using justified pre-movement times and calculated egress times. The RSET proved to be 444 seconds, which is more than 2 minutes greater than the ASET. Thus, the performance criterion is not met. The building will maintain an acceptable level of protection if obstructions are removed from paths of egress and all fire and smoke doors are maintained in their proper position. The installation of sprinklers would greatly reduce the impact of a hazardous scenario, as it is nearly impossible to ensure that all doors required to be closed are closed due to the nature of the building

Proposal for Cal Poly Livestock Judging Team Golf Tournament

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Livestock Judging Team was founded in 1948. Since then, there had consistently been a team competing for Cal Poly until 2002. Unfortunately, the judging team was cut due to budget constraints placed on the Animal Science Department. In 2017, Mr. Lee Rincker spearheaded the reinstatement of the team, recruiting five members to compete for the season. Intercollegiate livestock judging is a co-curricular activity where competitors apply their knowledge of animal science to determine the quality of livestock animals for use in real-world situations. Research has determined that this program develops both life and professional skills. These skills include, but are not limited to, the ability to make quick, informed decisions, understand the industry, and defend their reasoning (Rusk et. al). It is the hope of the Animal Science Department that the University will have a team to compete for years to come. There are numerous travel and registration costs for a livestock judging team, sometimes up to $25,000 annually, and, therefore, a significant budget is required to make competing possible (Culp, 2015). Alumni support is a beneficial and untapped funding source for the livestock judging team at Cal Poly. With their support, it is more likely that Cal Poly will continue to be able to justify a judging program for its students. In order to raise the funds and support of alumni, the first annual Cal Poly Livestock Judging Alumni Golf Tournament will be implemented in Spring of 2019

Radio Detection of SN 1986E in NGC 4302

Radio observations of SN 1986E have shown a clear detection of emission at 6 cm wavelength about 8 months after optical discovery. Combined with a number of new upper limits and a study of the possible models, it appears that SN 1986E was probably a fairly normal Type IIL supernova, somewhat similar to SN 1980K, with radio emission at roughly expected levels. This detection continues the correlation between radio detection and late time optical emission.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX (AASTeX), 2 PostScript figures, to appear in ApJ (Letters

Lossy Multi/Hyperspectral Compression HW Implementation at high data rate

Image compression is becoming more and more important, as new multispectral and hyperspectral instruments are going to generate very high data rates due to the increased spatial and spectral resolutions. Transmitting all the acquired data to the ground segment is a serious bottleneck, and compression techniques are a feasible solution to this problem. The CCSDS has established a working group (WG) on multispectral and Hyperspectral Data Compression (MHDC), which has the purpose of standardizing compression techniques to be used onboard. The WG has already standardized a lossless compression algorithm for multispectral and hyperspectral images, and has started working on a lossy compression algorithm. The complexity of lossless compression algorithms is typically larger than that of lossy ones, leading to potentially lower throughputs. Therefore, a careful assessment is required in order to identify techniques that are able to sustain very high data rates. The increased complexity can also lead to increased resource occupancy on a hardware device such as an FPGA. Lossy compression introduces information losses in the images, and these losses must be accurately characterized, and their effect on the applications investigated. For these reasons, developing a lossy algorithm requires a more elaborate process. Under an ESA contract primed by Politecnico of Torino, TSD is currently designing an IP core for FPGA and/or ASIC implementation of a lossy compression algorithm that is being proposed for CCSDS standardization. In addition to the IP core, TSD is developing a HW platform based on the Xilinx Virtex-5 XQR5VFX130, the industry's first high performance rad-hard reconfigurable FPGA for processing-intensive for space systems. Advanced results along with details of electronic platform design will be presented in this paper

Visualization of a Small Jet Synthetic Using a Particle Image Velocimetry and Background-Oriented Schlieren Techniques

This work reports the results of experimental investigations carried out on a submerged synthetic jet obtained through the use of a headset speaker piloted with an appropriate sinusoidal signal at a frequency of 380 Hz. The study begins with the construction of a device that, exploiting the well-known transport properties of impacting jets, was able to improve local ventilation and the removal of excess moisture, due to the natural transpiration of human skin in people forced to assume the same position for prolonged periods such as professional drivers; bedridden patients; etc… Subjects are substantially forced to have parts of their own body in contact with fabrics and coverings that hinder the normal conditions of skin transpiration. The experimental activity was first based on the study of the structure of the synthetic jets, then moving on to the creation of a sponge mat equipped with 80 individual jets. On this sponge mat, semi-empirical tests were carried out in order to remove moisture from a fabric soaked in distilled water. The experimental investigations were first carried out using the PIV technique, and, subsequently, the synthetic jet was visualized using the Background-Oriented Schlieren (BOS) technique which allowed to test the presence of the jets, installed directly on the mattress, in a relatively simple and fast way, requiring a very simplified set-up

Oximetry signal processing identifies REM sleep-related vulnerability trait in asthmatic children

Rationale. The sleep-related factors that modulate the nocturnal worsening of asthma in children are poorly understood. This study addressed the hypothesis that asthmatic children have a REM sleep-related vulnerability trait that is independent of OSA. Methods. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of pulse-oximetry signals obtained during REM and NREM sleep in control and asthmatic children (n=134). Asthma classification was based on preestablished clinical criteria. Multivariate linear regression model was built to control for potential confounders (significance level p ≤ 0.05). Results. Our data demonstrated that (1) baseline nocturnal respiratory parameters were not significantly different in asthmatic versus control children, (2) the maximal % of SaO2 desaturation during REM, but not during NREM, was significantly higher in asthmatic children, and (3) multivariate analysis revealed that the association between asthma and REM-related maximal % SaO2 desaturation was independent of demographic variables. Conclusion. These results demonstrate that children with asthma have a REM-related vulnerability trait that impacts oxygenation independently of OSA. Further research is needed to delineate the REM sleep neurobiological mechanisms that modulate the phenotypical expression of nocturnal asthma in children