Seeing Is Believing: Mathematics Visualization In Economics Education

Visualization through the use of physical objects is an important method that instructors can use to convey and solidify an understanding of economic principles in their novice students of economics. This paper outlines three simple examples which have been successful in the classroom, each taking a question that students frequently ask --- why we build models, what a model looks like, and what we learn from a model --- and answering them with images of airplanes, watermelons and windows

Forced Out of the Closet: The Impact of the American Inventors Protection Act on the Timing of Patent Disclosure

Beginning in November 2000, patent applications filed in the United States are disclosed after 18 months, rather than when the patent is granted. Using U.S. patent data from 1976-1996, we find that major inventions are most likely to be affected, as they take longer to go through the application process. We provide evidence that this change will result in faster knowledge diffusion, and conclude with a simulation of the law's potential effect on patent grants.

Update on fall dormant seeded canola research

Non-Peer Reviewe

Contribution of legume preceding crops to improve economic and non-renewable energy use efficiency of canola production

Non-Peer Reviewe

Economics of preceding crops and nitrogen application rates for canola and barley production in western Canada

Non-Peer ReviewedThe objective of this study was to evaluate the economic effects of a range of legume and non-legume preceding crops and N rates on costs and net revenue (NR) of canola (Brassica napus L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and canola-barley rotation under various environmental conditions. Legumes such as field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) as preceding crop generated higher net revenues for the following crops canola and barley than when wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and canola were the preceding crops. Although faba bean (Vicia faba L.) grown as a green manure produced the highest annual net revenues for the following crops canola and barley, this contribution was not enough to compensate for the loss of income during the green manure production year. Therefore, growing faba bean as a green manure was not economical. Response of net revenue to N rates was mainly linear or quadratic, and N was optimal at 60 to 90 kg ha-1 at most sites. The results indicate that growing legumes for seed prior to canola can increase net revenues of canola and subsequent barley

The β3-integrin endothelial adhesome regulates microtubule-dependent cell migration

Integrin β3 is seen as a key anti-angiogenic target for cancer treatment due to its expression on neovasculature, but the role it plays in the process is complex; whether it is pro- or anti-angiogenic depends on the context in which it is expressed. To understand precisely β3's role in regulating integrin adhesion complexes in endothelial cells, we characterised, by mass spectrometry, the β3-dependent adhesome. We show that depletion of β3-integrin in this cell type leads to changes in microtubule behaviour that control cell migration. β3-integrin regulates microtubule stability in endothelial cells through Rcc2/Anxa2-driven control of active Rac1 localisation. Our findings reveal that angiogenic processes, both in vitro and in vivo, are more sensitive to microtubule targeting agents when β3-integrin levels are reduced

Identifying Rodent Hantavirus Reservoirs, Brazil

Bolomys lasiurus and Oligoryzomys nigripes are rodent reservoirs of Araraquara-like and Juquitiba-like hantaviruses, which cause HPS in Brazil

Testing "microscopic" theories of glass-forming liquids

We assess the validity of "microscopic" approaches of glass-forming liquids based on the sole k nowledge of the static pair density correlations. To do so we apply them to a benchmark provided by two liquid models that share very similar static pair density correlation functions while disp laying distinct temperature evolutions of their relaxation times. We find that the approaches are unsuccessful in describing the difference in the dynamical behavior of the two models. Our study is not exhausti ve, and we have not tested the effect of adding corrections by including for instance three-body density correlations. Yet, our results appear strong enough to challenge the claim that the slowd own of relaxation in glass-forming liquids, for which it is well established that the changes of the static structure factor with temperature are small, can be explained by "microscopic" appr oaches only requiring the static pair density correlations as nontrivial input.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figs; Accepted to EPJE Special Issue on The Physics of Glasses. Arxiv version contains an addendum to the appendix which does not appear in published versio

Effects of Substituting Calcium for Yttrium on the Superconducting Properties of YBa2Cu3Oz Bulk Samples

We report systematic studies of AC magnetic susceptibility and transport properties of Y(1-x)Ca(x)Ba2Cu3Oz bulk samples with 0\leq x\leq 0.4. Single phase materials, reduction of carrier concentration and decrease of Tc to 85 K were obtained at doping levels up to 20%. For Y0.7Ca0.3Ba2Cu3Oz sample the improvement of grains boundary transport and screening capabilities has been observed as a result of the optimal ratio between carrier concentration and impurity phase BaCuO2 presence. The appearence of bulk pinning and nonlinear effects starting at the highest temperature were detected also.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted in Physica