Some theoretical and methodological comments on the impact of policies on fertility

Theoretically, and for reasons that I will shortly summarise in this presentation, there are strong reasons to expect policies to have a positive impact on fertility. Empirically, however, the evidence regarding the potential impact of policies of fertility is less clear cut. While numerous studies do indeed show a positive impact of policies, there is no consensus regarding the actual magnitude of the impact, nor about its short- or medium-term nature (Gauthier 2007). What I want to do in this presentation is consequently to reflect on the results from empirical studies by raising a number of theoretical and methodological issues.

Can policies enhance fertility in Europe?

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Nouvelles estimations du coût de l’enfant au Canada

Afin de pouvoir évaluer le degré auquel les politiques gouvernementales d’aide et de soutien aux familles compensent les coûts économiques reliés à la prise en charge d’un enfant, il importe de disposer d’une estimation du coût de l’enfant. Dans cet article, l’auteur présente un nouveau modèle d’estimation de ce coût, et l’applique aux données de l’enquête de Statistique Canada sur les dépenses des familles en 1982. La première partie décrit les développements méthodologiques et théoriques ayant permis l’obtention de ce modèle, et la deuxième analyse les estimations du coût de l’enfant selon son âge et son rang, pour des familles de niveaux de vie différents.In order to be able to appraise to what extent policy measures compensate for the cost of rearing a child, one needs an estimate of this cost. In this paper, the author presents a new model which is applied to data obtained from the survey of family expenditures, made in 1982 by Statistics Canada. The first part is devoted to the methodological and theoretical considerations on which the model is based, and the second part analyses the estimates of the cost of a child, according to age and rank of the child, and standard of living of the family.A fin de poder evaluar el grado en el cual las políticas governementales de ayuda y sostén a las familias compensan los costos económicos relacionados a la toma en cargo de un niño es importante disponer de una estimación de su costo. En este artículo, el autor presenta un nuevo modelo de estimación del costo y lo aplica a los datos de la encuesta de Estadísticas Canada sobre los gastos de las familias en 1982. La primera parte describe los desarrollos metodológicos y teóricos que han permitido el logro de este modelo y la segunda analiza las estimaciones del costo del niño segun su edad y su rango para las familias de distintos niveles de vida

A Kaluza-Klein Model with Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking: Light-Particle Effective Action and its Compactification Scale Dependence

We investigate decoupling of heavy Kaluza-Klein modes in an Abelian Higgs model with space-time topologies $\mathbb{R}^{3,1} \times S^{1}$ and $\mathbb{R}^{3,1} \times S^{1}/\mathbb{Z}_{2}$. After integrating out heavy KK modes we find the effective action for the zero mode fields. We find that in the $\mathbb{R}^{3,1} \times S^{1}$ topology the heavy modes do not decouple in the effective action, due to the zero mode of the 5-th component of the 5-d gauge field $A_{5}$. Because $A_{5}$ is a scalar under 4-d Lorentz transformations, there is no gauge symmetry protecting it from getting mass and $A_{5}^{4}$ interaction terms after loop corrections. In addition, after symmetry breaking, we find new divergences in the $A_{5}$ mass that did not appear in the symmetric phase. The new divergences are traced back to the gauge-goldstone mixing that occurs after symmetry breaking. The relevance of these new divergences to Symanzik's theorem is discussed. In order to get a more sensible theory we investigate the $S^{1}/\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ compactification. With this kind of compact topology, the $A_{5}$ zero mode disappears. With no $A_{5}$, there are no new divergences and the heavy modes decouple. We also discuss the dependence of the couplings and masses on the compactification scale. We derive a set of RG-like equations for the running of the effective couplings with respect to the compactification scale. It is found that magnitudes of both couplings decrease as the scale $M$ increases. The effective masses are also shown to decrease with increasing compactification scale. All of this opens up the possibility of placing constraints on the size of extra dimensions.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figure

Supersymmetric free-damped oscillators: Adaptive observer estimation of the Riccati parameter

A supersymmetric class of free damped oscillators with three parameters has been obtained in 1998 by Rosu and Reyes through the factorization of the Newton equation. The supplementary parameter is the integration constant of the general Riccati solution. The estimation of the latter parameter is performed here by employing the recent adaptive observer scheme of Besancon et al., but applied in a nonstandard form in which a time-varying quantity containing the unknown Riccati parameter is estimated first. Results of computer simulations are presented to illustrate the good feasibility of this approach for a case in which the estimation is not easily accomplished by other meansComment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Direct imaging of a digital-micromirror device for configurable microscopic optical potentials

Programable spatial light modulators (SLMs) have significantly advanced the configurable optical trapping of particles. Typically, these devices are utilized in the Fourier plane of an optical system, but direct imaging of an amplitude pattern can potentially result in increased simplicity and computational speed. Here we demonstrate high-resolution direct imaging of a digital micromirror device (DMD) at high numerical apertures (NA), which we apply to the optical trapping of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). We utilise a (1200 x 1920) pixel DMD and commercially available 0.45 NA microscope objectives, finding that atoms confined in a hybrid optical/magnetic or all-optical potential can be patterned using repulsive blue-detuned (532 nm) light with 630(10) nm full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) resolution, within 5% of the diffraction limit. The result is near arbitrary control of the density the BEC without the need for expensive custom optics. We also introduce the technique of time-averaged DMD potentials, demonstrating the ability to produce multiple grayscale levels with minimal heating of the atomic cloud, by utilising the high switching speed (20 kHz maximum) of the DMD. These techniques will enable the realization and control of diverse optical potentials for superfluid dynamics and atomtronics applications with quantum gases. The performance of this system in a direct imaging configuration has wider application for optical trapping at non-trivial NAs.Comment: 9 page

Strongly correlated photons generated by coupling a three- or four-level system to a waveguide

We study the generation of strongly correlated photons by coupling an atom to photonic quantum fields in a one-dimensional waveguide. Specifically, we consider a three-level or four-level system for the atom. Photon-photon bound states emerge as a manifestation of the strong photon-photon correlation mediated by the atom. Effective repulsive or attractive interaction between photons can be produced, causing either suppressed multiphoton transmission (photon blockade) or enhanced multiphoton transmission (photon-induced tunneling). As a result, nonclassical light sources can be generated on demand by sending coherent states into the proposed system. We calculate the second-order correlation function of the transmitted field and observe bunching and antibunching caused by the bound states. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed system can produce photon pairs with a high degree of spectral entanglement, which have a large capacity for carrying information and are important for large-alphabet quantum communication.Comment: 13+ pages, 7 figure

Hypothermia associated with clobazam use in adult epilepsy

AbstractClobazam, a 1,5-benzodiazepine FDA-approved in 2011, is commonly used to treat anxiety and epilepsy. It has not been associated with hypothermia until very recently, in a case report involving two pediatric patients. Here, we report the first case of hypothermia development in an adult patient with epilepsy associated with clobazam use. A couple months after starting clobazam, the patient started developing episodes of hypothermia every several weeks, with temperatures ranging from 90°F–95°F. Normothermia was achieved with Bair Hugger therapy. Thyroid-stimulating hormone and cortisol levels were normal, and there was no evidence of infection in most instances. After 11 total episodes of hypothermia over a year of clobazam use, the drug was discontinued. It has now been 7months after discontinuation, and the patient has not experienced any more episodes of hypothermia. Early recognition of the link between clobazam and hypothermia may prevent avoidable Emergency Department visits and hospitalizations

All-Optical Switching with Transverse Optical Patterns

We demonstrate an all-optical switch that operates at ultra-low-light levels and exhibits several features necessary for use in optical switching networks. An input switching beam, wavelength $\lambda$, with an energy density of $10^{-2}$ photons per optical cross section [$\sigma=\lambda^2/(2\pi)$] changes the orientation of a two-spot pattern generated via parametric instability in warm rubidium vapor. The instability is induced with less than 1 mW of total pump power and generates several $\mu$Ws of output light. The switch is cascadable: the device output is capable of driving multiple inputs, and exhibits transistor-like signal-level restoration with both saturated and intermediate response regimes. Additionally, the system requires an input power proportional to the inverse of the response time, which suggests thermal dissipation does not necessarily limit the practicality of optical logic devices