The longevity of expansions

As the current expansion nears its eighth anniversary, it becomes tempting to wonder whether the second-longest expansion in U.S. economic history is nearing an end. The only U.S expansion to last longer was a nearly nine-year expansion that occurred during the Vietnam War. Thus, the current expansion is heading into uncharted territory as the longest peacetime expansion in U.S. history. The length of the current expansion might be viewed by some analysts as worrisome.> Haimowitz examines whether there has been a systematic shift in the behavior and length of expansions in the post-World War II period. Understanding whether there has been such a shift may help policymakers, businesses, and consumers evaluate the upside and downside risks to the economic outlook. The author argues that the length of the current expansion does not signal a downside risk to the economy. When viewed in the context of all other postwar expansions, the length of the current expansion should not be seen as worrisome.Economic history

Are Contact Lenses an Effective Vehicle for Ocular-Disease Drug Delivery?

Due to numerous drawbacks with current modes of treatment for various ocular diseases, researchers are synthesizing drug dispensing contact lenses. The lenses will contribute to greater bioavailability of the drug, the minimization of negative side effects, and increased patient compliance. As treatment for glaucoma, in vivo studies have been conducted with latanoprost, timolol maleate, and brimonidine tartrate-eluting lenses, and have succeeded in reducing intraocular pressure to desired values (Ciolino et al., 2016), (Schultz and Mint, 2002). As treatment for fungal keratitis, in vitro studies prove that econazole and natamycin-eluting contact lenses have been successful in killing 100% of fungi for sustained periods of time (Ciolino et al., 2011), (Phan et al., 2013). Finally, for allergic conjunctivitis, contact lenses containing nanoparticles of prednisolone have been synthesized and demonstrate effective drug-releasing capabilities (ElShaer et al., 2016)

Knowledge-based trend detection and diagnosis

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1994.Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-181) and index.by Ira Joseph Haimowitz.Ph.D

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 : business access, and implications for integrated carriers

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-70).by Bruce Haimowitz.M.S

Expertise and the interpretation of computerized physiological data: implications for the design of computerized monitoring in neonatal intensive care

This paper presents the outcomes from a cognitive engineering project addressing the design problems of computerized monitoring in neonatal intensive care. Cognitive engineering is viewed, in this project, as a symbiosis between cognitive science and design practice. A range of methodologies has been used: interviews with neonatal staff, ward observations and experimental techniques. The results of these investigations are reported, focusing specifically on the differences between junior and senior physicians in their interpretation of monitored physiological data. It was found that the senior doctors made better use of the different knowledge sources available than the junior doctors. The senior doctors were able to identify more relevant physiological patterns and generated more and better inferences than did their junior colleagues. Expertise differences are discussed in the context of previous psychological research in medical expertise. Finally, the paper discusses the potential utility of these outcomes to inform the design of computerized decision support in neonatal intensive care

A Retrospective Look at the U.S. Productivity Growth Resurgence

It is now widely recognized that information technology (IT) was critical to the dramatic acceleration of U.S. labor productivity growth in the mid-1990s. This paper traces the evolution of productivity estimates to document how and when this perception emerged. Early studies concluded that IT was relatively unimportant. It was only after the massive IT investment boom of the late 1990s that this investment and underlying productivity increases in the IT-producing sectors were identified as important sources of growth. Although IT has diminished in significance since the dot-com crash of 2000, we project that private sector productivity growth will average around 2.5 percent per year for the next decade, a pace that is only moderately below the average for the 1995-2005 period