American business cycles and innovation

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-36).Economists have long studied innovation and its effects on business cycles. Economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950) was the first economist to thoroughly discuss these ideas in his Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung, published in 1911 (English translation: The Theory of Economic Development, 1934). This paper focuses on three issues: defining innovation, defining and identifying business cycles, and determining which innovations caused which business cycles. The first section introduces the concepts of innovation and invention. The second section discusses the business cycles and highlights general causes of business cycles. The final section details the history of the iron, steel, aluminum, and pharmaceutical industries and incorporates the available business and economic data (output, productivity, inventories, and capital investment) required to answer the central question: which innovations caused which business cycles? The iron industry, examined over the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, reveals that its relationship to the business cycle is likely significant but was difficult to quantify because of limited data. An examination of the steel industry from the post-Civil War period to the early twentieth century follows. The steel industry had a significant effect on the business cycle and seemed to direct the business cycle during the growth in railroad mileage. Steel was a huge and indispensable industry for most of the 20[th] century so it makes a very important case to study. The aluminum industry is relevant to examine because the process for making aluminum has remained the same since the American inventor, Charles Hall, patented his method in 1889. The contribution of aluminum was significant because of the introduction of the large-scale electrical generators needed to produce aluminum. Finally, the paper focuses on the contribution of the pharmaceutical industry to the business cycle. The pharmaceutical industry is important to this study because it has already proved to be a major source of innovation and is an industry that will continue to play a significant role in the American economy. The findings reveal the contribution from this industry was most significant in the post-World War II era of research and development. The paper concludes with suggestions for improving and expanding this innovation and business cycle study

A study of methods to improve the performance of drag bits used to cut hard rock

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Engineering University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg 1977No abstrac

Hood\u27s Theory of Aging

This thesis proposes that the theory of gerotranscendence can be improved by emphasizing life course events that influence the gerotranscendence process. Further, this paper proposes that teaching gerotranscendence to long-term care staff and residents with Hood\u27s theory of aging and with a departmental framework will yield better results in staff following gerotranscendence best practices and thus result in increased resident development towards gerotranscendence

Cationic Cobalt (II) Hydroformylation

While investigating a bimetallic cobalt hydroformylation catalyst a new class of monometallic cationic cobalt (II) hydroformylation catalyst were discovered. These newly discovered catalyst proved to be very unique with high hydroformylation activity under mild conditions. The pre-catalyst were characterized using various methods including NMR, EPR, MS, and X-ray crystallography. Similarly the active catalyst was also investigated using NMR, EPR, FTIR, and X-ray crystallography. Various catalyst modifications were investigated for their effects on hydroformylation activity. Likewise various reaction parameters were probed to determine their effect on hydroformylation activity. Finally the best cationic cobalt (II) catalyst were directly compared to industry standards for various alkenes to establish an idea of the industrial application of this catalyst system

Isolation and amino acid sequence analysis of a 4,000-dalton dynorphin from porcine pituitary

A 4,000-dalton dynorphin was isolated from porcine pituitary. It has 32 amino acids (Mr = 3,986), with the previously described heptadecapeptide (now called dynorphin A) at its amino terminus and a related tridecapeptide, dynorphin B, at its carboxyl terminus. The two peptides are separated by the "processing signal" Lys-Arg

Tourniquetless Total Knee Arthroplasty With Modern Perioperative Protocols Decreases Pain and Opioid Consumption in Women

Background This study examined whether a modern total knee arthroplasty (TKA) protocol without a tourniquet results in less patient-reported pain and in-hospital opioid consumption compared to TKA with a tourniquet. Methods A retrospective study of 203 primary unilateral cemented TKAs consecutively performed with or without tourniquet was performed. Identical perioperative pain and blood loss protocols were used in all cases. In tourniquetless TKAs, the tourniquet was not inflated at any time, and sterile CO2 gas compression maximized cement interdigitation. Results After exclusions for scientific confounds, 184 TKAs (93 with tourniquet; 91 tourniquetless) were analyzed. Controlling for multiple covariates, females with a tourniquet reported significantly more pain (P = .002) and opioid consumption (P < .001) the first 24 hours after surgery compared to females without a tourniquet. There were no differences in pain (P = .192) or amount of opioids consumed (P = .203) among males with and without a tourniquet. Tourniquet use resulted in a significant reduction in blood loss for both females (P ≤ .040) and males (P ≤ .020), although the total blood savings of approximately 200 mL is of unknown clinical significance. Conclusion Avoiding tourniquet use during TKA for females may be a relatively risk-free adjunct to minimize opioid consumption during hospitalization. Further study is warranted to elucidate the factors accounting for different outcomes in females and males

A gas-liquid solid phase peptide and protein sequenator

A new miniaturized protein and peptide sequenator has been constructed which uses gas phase reagents at the coupling and cleavage steps of the Edman degradation. The sample is embedded in a matrix of Polybrene dried onto a porous glass fiber disc located in a small cartridge-style reaction cell. The protein or peptide, though not covalently attached to the support, is essentially immobile throughout the degradative cycle, since only relatively apolar, liquid phase solvents pass through the cell. This instrument can give useful sequence data on as little as 5 pmol or protein, can perform extended sequence runs (greater than 30 residues) on subnanomole quantities of proteins purified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and can sequence hydrophobic peptides to completion. The sequenator is characterized by a high repetitive yield during the degradation, low reagent consumption, low maintenance requirements, and a degradative cycle time of only 50 min using a complete double cleavage program

Batch to Single Piece Flow

Assess the current T1 Snap product line and propose a move from batch production to single piece flow

Programmable Logic Devices in Experimental Quantum Optics

We discuss the unique capabilities of programmable logic devices (PLD's) for experimental quantum optics and describe basic procedures of design and implementation. Examples of advanced applications include optical metrology and feedback control of quantum dynamical systems. As a tutorial illustration of the PLD implementation process, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) controller is used to stabilize the output of a Fabry-Perot cavity