A monetarist model for economic stabilization

Money supply ; Economic stabilization ; Monetary theory

A monetarist model for economic stabilization

Monetary theory ; Economic stabilization

Environmental Dependence of Masses and Coupling Constants

We construct a class of scalar field models coupled to matter that lead to the dependence of masses and coupling constants on the ambient matter density. Such models predict a deviation of couplings measured on the Earth from values determined in low-density astrophysical environments, but do not necessarily require the evolution of coupling constants with the redshift in the recent cosmological past. Additional laboratory and astrophysical tests of \Delta \alpha and \Delta(m_p/m_e) as functions of the ambient matter density are warranted.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, references added, minor editorial change

Corruption, Seigniorage and Growth: Theory and Evidence

This paper presents an analysis of the effect of bureaucratic corruption on economic growth through a public finance transmission channel. At the theoretical level, we develop a simple dynamic general equilibrium model in which financial intermediaries make portfolio decisions on behalf of agents, and bureaucrats collect tax revenues on behalf of the government. Corruption takes the form of the embezzlement of public funds, the effect of which is to increase the government’s reliance on seigniorage finance. This leads to an increase in inflation which, in turn, reduces capital accumulation and growth. At the empirical level, we use data on 82 countries over a 20-year period to test the predictions of our model. Taking proper account of the government’s budget constraint, we find strong evidence to support these predictions under different estimation strategies. Our results are robust to a wide range of sensitivity tests.corruption, seigniorage, inflation, growth

The Coronal Analysis of SHocks and Waves (CASHeW) Framework

Coronal Bright Fronts (CBF) are large-scale wavelike disturbances in the solar corona, related to solar eruptions. They are observed in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light as transient bright fronts of finite width, propagating away from the eruption source. Recent studies of individual solar eruptive events have used EUV observations of CBFs and metric radio type II burst observations to show the intimate connection between low coronal waves and coronal mass ejection (CME)-driven shocks. EUV imaging with the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly(AIA) instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has proven particularly useful for detecting CBFs, which, combined with radio and in situ observations, holds great promise for early CME-driven shock characterization capability. This characterization can further be automated, and related to models of particle acceleration to produce estimates of particle fluxes in the corona and in the near Earth environment early in events. We present a framework for the Coronal Analysis of SHocks and Waves (CASHeW). It combines analysis of NASA Heliophysics System Observatory data products and relevant data-driven models, into an automated system for the characterization of off-limb coronal waves and shocks and the evaluation of their capability to accelerate solar energetic particles (SEPs). The system utilizes EUV observations and models written in the Interactive Data Language (IDL). In addition, it leverages analysis tools from the SolarSoft package of libraries, as well as third party libraries. We have tested the CASHeW framework on a representative list of coronal bright front events. Here we present its features, as well as initial results. With this framework, we hope to contribute to the overall understanding of coronal shock waves, their importance for energetic particle acceleration, as well as to the better ability to forecast SEP events fluxes.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (SWSC

Nanoscale, Phonon-Coupled Calorimetry with Sub-Attojoule/Kelvin Resolution

We have developed an ultrasensitive nanoscale calorimeter that enables heat capacity measurements upon minute, externally affixed (phonon-coupled) samples at low temperatures. For a 5 s measurement at 2 K, we demonstrate an unprecedented resolution of ΔC ~ 0.5 aJ/K (~36 000 k_B). This sensitivity is sufficient to enable heat capacity measurements upon zeptomole-scale samples or upon adsorbates with sub-monolayer coverage across the minute cross sections of these devices. We describe the fabrication and operation of these devices and demonstrate their sensitivity by measuring an adsorbed ^4He film with optimum resolution of ~3 × 10^(-5) monolayers upon an active surface area of only ~1.2 × 10^(-9) m^2

Kinetics and Inhibition Studies of the L205R Mutant of cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Involved in Cushing’s Syndrome

Overproduction of cortisol by the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal hormone system results in the clinical disorder known as Cushing\u27s syndrome. Genomics studies have identified a key mutation (L205R) in the α‐isoform of the catalytic subunit of cAMP‐dependent protein kinase (PKACα) in adrenal adenomas of patients with adrenocorticotropic hormone‐independent Cushing\u27s syndrome. Here, we conducted kinetics and inhibition studies on the L205R‐PKACα mutant. We have found that the L205R mutation affects the kinetics of both Kemptide and ATP as substrates, decreasing the catalytic efficiency (kcat/KM) for each substrate by 12‐fold and 4.5‐fold, respectively. We have also determined the IC50 and Ki for the peptide substrate‐competitive inhibitor PKI(5–24) and the ATP‐competitive inhibitor H89. The L205R mutation had no effect on the potency of H89, but causes a \u3e 250‐fold loss in potency for PKI(5–24). Collectively, these data provide insights for the development of L205R‐PKACα inhibitors as potential therapeutics

Investigating the source of Planck-detected AME: high resolution observations at 15 GHz

The Planck 28.5 GHz maps were searched for potential Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) regions on the scale of $\sim3^{\circ}$ or smaller, and several new regions of interest were selected. Ancillary data at both lower and higher frequencies were used to construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs), which seem to confirm an excess consistent with spinning dust models. Here we present higher resolution observations of two of these new regions with the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager Small Array (AMI SA) between 14 and 18 GHz to test for the presence of a compact ($\sim$10 arcmin or smaller) component. For AME-G107.1+5.2, dominated by the {\sc Hii} region S140, we find evidence for the characteristic rising spectrum associated with the either the spinning dust mechanism for AME or an ultra/hyper-compact \textsc{Hii} region across the AMI frequency band, however for AME-G173.6+2.8 we find no evidence for AME on scales of $\sim 2-10$ arcmin.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Advances in Astronomy AME Special Issu