Formation and effects of UK monetary and macroprudential policies

This thesis consists of two essays on two models: a DSGE (Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium) model and an institutional model. Essay I (Chapters 1 to 7) builds a macro-DSGE model for the UK over 1986-2016. Chapter 1 covers the background and review the literature; Chapter 2 outlines the model setup; chapter 3 tests and estimates the model; Chapter 4 looks at model’s transmission mechanism. Chapter 5 develops a narrative for the UK economy over the sample period; Chapter 6 explores model’s policy implications under alternative monetary regimes; and Chapter 7 concludes. Essay II (Chapters 8 to 12) is built upon the DSGE model set up in Essay I to investigate the behaviours of UK central bank and government. Chapter 8 provides theoretical background and motivation; Chapter 9 lays out assumptions and presents the strategic choices made by policy makers according to our model; Chapter 10 illustrates how, when combined with the macro-DSGE framework formalised in Essay I, the institutional model is able to conform qualitatively with the UK data over 1993-2016; Chapter 11 evaluates the stability under alternative monetary regimes; and Chapter 12 concludes and draws implications. Appendices for Essay I and II are labelled with A and B respectively

Advanced perception and control method of harmful gas during construction period of coal tunnel based on DeepAR

Effective real-time treatment and control of harmful gases are key to ensuring the safety of tunnel construction workers. Currently, the monitoring ability of harmful gases is insufficient to match the processing needs, which poses significant risks to the safety of tunnel construction workers. This paper proposes an advanced perception and treatment method for harmful gases during tunnel construction, utilizing the DeepAR algorithm. Real-time monitoring of the concentration and diffusion of harmful gases is conducted, and a harmful gas concentration prediction model is established using the DeepAR algorithm, achieving advanced perception of harmful gases during tunnel construction. The harmful gas treatment plan is developed in advance, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by simulation testing under realistic field scenarios and comparing with other prediction models. The method was applied in a coal mine tunnel in Qinghai Province, achieving an accuracy rate of 94.3%, which is higher compared to those obtained using RNN and LSTM algorithms. Moreover, the computational time is less than 60 s. The method provides timely perception of the concentration distribution of harmful gases in the tunnel and proposes targeted treatment measures, verifying the effectiveness of the prediction model from the perspective of practical engineering application

Antiarrhythmic and proarrhythmic effects of subcutaneous nerve stimulation in ambulatory dogs

Background High output subcutaneous nerve stimulation (ScNS) remodels the stellate ganglia and suppresses cardiac arrhythmia. Objective To test the hypothesis that long duration low output ScNS causes cardiac nerve sprouting, increases plasma norepinephrine concentration and the durations of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT) in ambulatory dogs. Methods We prospectively randomized 22 dogs (11 males and 11 females) into 5 different output groups for 2 months of ScNS: 0 mA (sham) (N=6), 0.25 mA (N=4), 1.5 mA (N=4), 2.5 mA (N=4) and 3.5 mA (N=4). Results As compared with baseline, the changes of the durations of PAT episodes per 48 hours were significantly different among different groups (sham, -5.0±9.5 s; 0.25 mA 95.5±71.0 s; 1.5 mA, -99.3±39.6 s; 2.5 mA, -155.3±87.8 s and 3.5 mA, -76.3±44.8 s, p<0.001). The 3.5 mA group had greater reduction of sinus heart rate than the sham group (-29.8±15.0 bpm vs -14.5±3.0 bpm, p=0.038). Immunohistochemical studies showed that the 0.25 mA group had a significantly increased while 2.5 mA and 3.5 mA stimulation had a significantly reduced growth-associated protein 43 nerve densities in both atria and ventricles. The plasma Norepinephrine concentrations in 0.25 mA group was 5063.0±4366.0 pg/ml, which was significantly higher than other groups of dogs (739.3±946.3, p=0.009). There were no significant differences in the effects of simulation between males and females. Conclusions In ambulatory dogs, low output ScNS causes cardiac nerve sprouting, increases plasma norepinephrine concentration and the duration of PAT episodes while high output ScNS is antiarrhythmic

Macroprudential regulation in the post-crisis era: has the pendulum swung too far?

This paper presents an institutional model to investigate the cooperation between a government and a central bank. The former selects the monetary policy and then delegates the organization of macroprudential policy to the latter. Their policy stances are the result of sequential constrained utility maximization. Using indirect inference, we find a set of coefficients that can capture the UK policy stances for 1993-2016. This suggests post-crisis regulation has been overly intrusive. Finally, we show that this regulatory dilemma can be avoided by committing to a highly stabilizing monetary regime that uses QE extensively

Skin sympathetic nerve activity and the temporal clustering of cardiac arrhythmias

BACKGROUND: Simultaneous noninvasively recorded skin sympathetic nerve activity (SKNA) and electrocardiogram (neuECG) can be used to estimate cardiac sympathetic tone. We tested the hypothesis that large and prolonged SKNA bursts are associated with temporal clustering arrhythmias. METHODS: We recorded neuECG in 10 patients (69 ± 10 years old) with atrial fibrillation (AF) episodes and in 6 patients (50 ± 13 years old) with ventricular tachycardia (VT) or fibrillation (VF) episodes. Clustering was defined by an arrhythmic episode followed within 1 minute by spontaneous recurrences of the same arrhythmia. The neuECG signals were bandpass filtered between 500-1000 Hz to display SKNA. RESULTS: There were 22 AF clusters, including 231 AF episodes from 6 patients, and 9 VT/VF clusters, including 99 VT/VF episodes from 3 patients. A total duration of SKNA bursts associated with AF was longer than that during sinus rhythm (78.9 min/hour [interquartile range (IQR) 17.5-201.3] vs. 16.3 min/hour [IQR 14.5-18.5], P = 0.022). The burst amplitude associated with AF in clustering patients was significantly higher than that in nonclustering patients (1.54 μV [IQR 1.35-1.89], n = 114, vs. 1.20 μV [IQR 1.05-1.42], n = 21, P < 0.001). The SKNA bursts associated with VT/VF clusters lasted 9.3 ± 3.1 minutes, with peaks that averaged 1.13 ± 0.38 μV as compared with 0.79 ± 0.11 μV at baseline (P = 0.041). CONCLUSION: Large and sustained sympathetic nerve activities are associated with the temporal clustering of AF and VT/VF. FUNDING: This study was supported in part by NIH grants R42DA043391 (THE), R56 HL71140, TR002208-01, R01 HL139829 (PSC), a Charles Fisch Cardiovascular Research Award endowed by Suzanne B. Knoebel of the Krannert Institute of Cardiology (TK and THE), a Medtronic-Zipes Endowment, and the Indiana University Health-Indiana University School of Medicine Strategic Research Initiative (PSC)

Macroprudential regulation in the post-crisis era: has the pendulum swung too far?

This paper presents an institutional model to investigate the cooperation between a government and a central bank. The former selects the monetary policy and then delegates the organization of macroprudential policy to the latter. Their policy stances are the result of sequential constrained utility maximization. Using indirect inference, we find a set of coefficients that can capture the UK policy stances for 1993-2016. This suggests post-crisis regulation has been overly intrusive. Finally, we show that this regulatory dilemma can be avoided by committing to a highly stabilizing monetary regime that uses QE extensivel

UK monetary policy in an estimated DSGE model with financial frictions

This paper develops a dual-state monetary DSGE model that accommodates a refined financial accelerator to analyze UK monetary policy. Unconventional monetary policy (QE) is interpreted as expanding the central bank’s purchases of bonds using M0 to offset financial disruptions at the ZLB. Within a collateral-augmented costly state verification framework, M0 enters the financial accelerator as the cheapest collateral and reduces the cost of credit. The model is tested and estimated using indirect inference and found to fit the UK data for key variables over 1993-2016. We find that while financial shocks are significant, it is productivity shocks that had slowed down the recovery for 2009-2012. Alternative monetary regimes are evaluated and compared

Establishment and Optimization of Two-dimensional Electrophoresis Technique in Hydatid Fluid Proteome of Echinococcus granulosus

Abstract -The aim of this study was to establish and optimize the two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) technology for hydatid fluid proteome of the Echinococcus granulosus, and obtain 2-DE map of hydatid fluid proteome. Total proteins of hydatid fluid were extracted by lyophilization. A series of important factors, such as sample preparation, protein quantities, pH range of immobilized pH gradient (IPG) strip and extraction methods, were optimized to improve the resolution and repeatability. Two-dimensional electrophoresis maps were analyzed after staining. The 2-DE profiles with high resolution and good repeatability were obtained, when the hydatid fluid dealt with ReadyPrep TM 2-D Cleanup Kit were analyzed with the established 2-DE using 400µg of quantitative loading and IPG strips pH7-10. We identified 30 protein spots using PDQuest 8.0 2D analysis software. The molecular weight of most of these proteins ranged from 43 to 97kDa and the isoelectric points of these proteins ranged from 5 to 9. An optimized 2-DE system is set up successfully in this study, electrophoresis pattern of which shows a high resolution and good repeatability, and can be used for the study of E. granulosus proteomics effectively