Economic Freedom and the Process of Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis Based on a New Measure

This paper, relying on a conceptualization of economic freedom in terms of kinds of government actions, develops a new measure of economic freedom. However, this is not art for art’s sake; instead, it allows us to provide an explanation for how particular institutions of economic freedom enhance economic development, a view upon which scholars agree. We develop two concepts related to economic freedom, namely the freedom-compatible and freedom-non-compatible institutions and use them as tools in an analysis of the process of economic growth, especially the relationship between economic freedom and long-run income. The major argument is that freedom-compatible institutions are primary determinants of income, while freedom-non-compatible institutions depend upon them and are partly the outcomes of the growth process itself, a fact which is explained by the Misesian theory of interventionism. Our regression analyses support our theoretical insights. JEL Classification: B53, H10, O1

Differential effects of endogenous and exogenous nitric oxide on the release of endothelin-1 from the intact perfused rat adrenal gland in situ

AbstractStudies using an inhibitor of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis have suggested that endogenous NO may have a role in regulating endothelin release. We investigated the effect of endogenous and exogenous nitric oxide (NO) on the release of irET-1. l-NAME stimulated, but l-arginine inhibited irET-1 release. Perfusing sodium nitroprusside (SNP), however, did not inhibit irET-1 secretion. CyclicGMP, the second messenger for NO action, was stimulated by SNP but not by l-arginine. These data demonstrate that endogenous NO inhibits of irET-1, in a manner which is independent of cGMP, and suggest that this action may contribute to the vasodilatory effect of NO

Radius of convergence in lattice QCD at finite μB with rooted staggered fermions

In typical statistical mechanical systems the grand canonical partition function at finite volume is proportional to a polynomial of the fugacity eμ/T. The zero of this Lee-Yang polynomial closest to the origin determines the radius of convergence of the Taylor expansion of the pressure around μ=0. The computationally cheapest formulation of lattice QCD, rooted staggered fermions, with the usual definition of the rooted determinant, does not admit such a Lee-Yang polynomial. We show that the radius of convergence is then bounded by the spectral gap of the reduced matrix of the unrooted staggered operator. This is a cutoff effect that potentially affects all estimates of the radius of convergence with the standard staggered rooting. We suggest a new definition of the rooted staggered determinant at finite chemical potential that allows for a definition of a Lee-Yang polynomial and, therefore, of the numerical study of Lee-Yang zeros. We also describe an algorithm to determine the Lee-Yang zeros and apply it to configurations generated with the 2-stout improved staggered action at Nt=4. We perform a finite-volume scaling study of the leading Lee-Yang zeros and estimate the radius of convergence of the Taylor expansion extrapolated to an infinite volume. We show that the limiting singularity is not on the real line, thus giving a lower bound on the location of any possible phase transitions at this lattice spacing. In the vicinity of the crossover temperature at zero chemical potential, the radius of convergence turns out to be μB/T≈2 and roughly temperature independent. Our simulations are performed at strange quark chemical potential μs=0, but the method can be straightforwardly extended to strangeness chemical potential μS=0 or strangeness neutrality

PERANCANGAN ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE FUNGSI KEMAHASISWAAN UNIVERSITAS TELKOM MENGGUNAKAN TOGAF ADM

ABSTRAK Fungsi kemahasiswaan Universitas Telkom merupakan salah satu fungsi utama yang berkontribusi dalam bagian perjalanan kampus untuk mencapai visi Universitas Telkom. Dalam rangka pencapaian visi tersebut, fungsi kemahasiswaan melalui Direktorat Pengelolaan Mahasiswa, membentuk dan menjalankan tugas-tugas dan program yang relevan dengan visi tersebut. Terdapat beberapa program/ proses bisnis yang sudah dijalankan dan sudah didukung oleh sistem dan teknologi sesuai dengan kebutuhan bisnisnya masing-masing. Namun pemanfaatan sistem dan teknologi tersebut masih memiliki kekurangan dan sebagian proses bisnis lainnya masih belum dapat didukung oleh sistem dan teknologi yang tersedia. Dalam hal ini fungsi kemahasiwaan perlu melakukan penyelarasan antara bisnis dan teknologi melalui perancangan Enterprise Architecture untuk menghasilkan suatu integrasi dan dampak yang baik dalam partisipasinya untuk mencapai visi Universitas Telkom. TOGAF ADM merupakan salah satu metode yang dapat digunakan sebagai panduan untuk menyusun rancangan Enterprise Architecture tersebut. Dalam penyusunan ini, TOGAF memiliki beberapa fase yang dapat disesuaikan dengan kondisi dan kebutuhan Enterprise/Institusinya. Perancangan Enterprise Architecture pada fungsi kemahasiswaan ini meliputi fase Preliminary, Architecture Vision , Business Architecture, Information System Architecture yang terdiri dari Data Architecture dan Application Architecture, Technology Architecture, Opportunities and Solutions, Migration Planning. Hasil dari perancangan ini berupa IT Roadmap, Blueprint , dan artefak yang terdapat pada setiap fase perancangan pada Framework TOGAF. Dengan hasil tersebut diharapkan fungsi kemahasiswaan dapat menjalankan fungsinya dengan lebih maksimal . Kata Kunci: IT Roadmap, Perancangan Aplikasi, Perancangan Teknologi, Enterprise Architecture, TOGAF AD

cGMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Type I Is Implicated in the Regulation of the Timing and Quality of Sleep and Wakefulness

Many effects of nitric oxide (NO) are mediated by the activation of guanylyl cyclases and subsequent production of the second messenger cyclic guanosine-3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP). cGMP activates cGMP-dependent protein kinases (PRKGs), which can therefore be considered downstream effectors of NO signaling. Since NO is thought to be involved in the regulation of both sleep and circadian rhythms, we analyzed these two processes in mice deficient for cGMP-dependent protein kinase type I (PRKG1) in the brain. Prkg1 mutant mice showed a strikingly altered distribution of sleep and wakefulness over the 24 hours of a day as well as reductions in rapid-eye-movement sleep (REMS) duration and in non-REM sleep (NREMS) consolidation, and their ability to sustain waking episodes was compromised. Furthermore, they displayed a drastic decrease in electroencephalogram (EEG) power in the delta frequency range (1–4 Hz) under baseline conditions, which could be normalized after sleep deprivation. In line with the re-distribution of sleep and wakefulness, the analysis of wheel-running and drinking activity revealed more rest bouts during the activity phase and a higher percentage of daytime activity in mutant animals. No changes were observed in internal period length and phase-shifting properties of the circadian clock while chi-squared periodogram amplitude was significantly reduced, hinting at a less robust oscillator. These results indicate that PRKG1 might be involved in the stabilization and output strength of the circadian oscillator in mice. Moreover, PRKG1 deficiency results in an aberrant pattern, and consequently a reduced quality, of sleep and wakefulness, possibly due to a decreased wake-promoting output of the circadian system impinging upon sleep