34,197 research outputs found
A Fresh Look at the VAT
The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine some of the key VAT policy issues that have arisen in the implementation of the tax. Specifically, the paper examines four issues as examples of the specific inefficiencies that arise in actual practice with VATs. The first section examines the effect of registration thresholds, normally allowed to lessen administrative burdens, as an example of structural inefficiencies. The second section examines the tariff effects arising from administration of the VAT at border. The third section considers application of the VAT on financial services as an example of exemptions from the tax. Finally, the problem of distributing the revenues of a destination VAT levied at the subnational level is discussed.Working Paper Number 04-38
Endoscopic Transnasal Versus Open Transcranial Cranial Base Surgery: The Need For A Serene Assessment
BLAME IT ON THE WEATHER: COST AND DESIGN OF MANURE MANAGEMENT UNDER EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS ON NORTH CAROLINA SWINE FARMS
The majority of pig farms in North Carolina use a lagoon-sprayfield system to manage manure. Although economical, the lagoon-sprayfield system is sensitive to weather conditions. This study examines the cost of manure management under extreme weather and scrutinizes National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) design criteria and regulations.Farm Management,
Attitude determination and calibration using a recursive maximum likelihood-based adaptive Kalman filter
An adaptive Kalman filter design that utilizes recursive maximum likelihood parameter identification is discussed. At the center of this design is the Kalman filter itself, which has the responsibility for attitude determination. At the same time, the identification algorithm is continually identifying the system parameters. The approach is applicable to nonlinear, as well as linear systems. This adaptive Kalman filter design has much potential for real time implementation, especially considering the fast clock speeds, cache memory and internal RAM available today. The recursive maximum likelihood algorithm is discussed in detail, with special attention directed towards its unique matrix formulation. The procedure for using the algorithm is described along with comments on how this algorithm interacts with the Kalman filter
Nb3Sn wire shape and cross sectional area inhomogeneity in Rutherford cables
During Rutherford cable production the wires are plastically deformed and
their initially round shape is distorted. Using X-ray absorption tomography we
have determined the 3D shape of an unreacted Nb3Sn 11 T dipole Rutherford
cable, and of a reacted and impregnated Nb3Sn cable double stack.
State-of-the-art image processing was applied to correct for tomographic
artefacts caused by the large cable aspect ratio, for the segmentation of the
individual wires and subelement bundles inside the wires, and for the
calculation of the wire cross sectional area and shape variations. The 11 T
dipole cable cross section oscillates by 2% with a frequency of 1.24 mm (1/80
of the transposition pitch length of the 40 wire cable). A comparatively
stronger cross sectional area variation is observed in the individual wires at
the thin edge of the keystoned cable where the wire aspect ratio is largest.Comment: 6 pages, 11 figures, presented at EUCAS 201
Influence of blade aerodynamic model on prediction of helicopter rotor aeroacoustic signatures
Brownâs vorticity transport model has been used to investigate how the local blade aerodynamic model influences the quality of the prediction of the high-frequency airloads associated with bladeâvortex interactions, and thus the accuracy with which the acoustic signature of a helicopter rotor can be predicted. The vorticity transport model can accurately resolve the structure of the wake of the rotor and allows significant flexibility in the way that the blade loading can be represented. The Second Higher-Harmonic Control Aeroacoustics Rotor Test was initiated to provide experimental insight into the acoustic signature of a rotor in cases of strong bladeâvortex interaction. Predictions of two models for the local blade aerodynamics are compared with the test data. A marked improvement in accuracy of the predicted high-frequency airloads and acoustic signature is obtained when a lifting-chord model for the blade aerodynamics is used instead of a lifting-line-type approach. Errors in the amplitude and phase of the acoustic peaks are reduced, and the quality of the prediction is affected to a lesser extent by the computational resolution of the wake, with the lifting-chord model producing the best representation of the distribution of sound pressure below the rotor
The Boltzmann Equation in Scalar Field Theory
We derive the classical transport equation, in scalar field theory with a
V(phi) interaction, from the equation of motion for the quantum field. We
obtain a very simple, but iterative, expression for the effective action which
generates all the n-point Green functions in the high-temperature limit. An
explicit closed form is given in the static case.Comment: 10 pages, using RevTeX (corrected TeX misprints
Feasibility Test of the MedaCube
Poor adherence is a significant barrier to achieve better patient outcomes. Rates of non-adherence approach 40% resulting in 10% of all emergency department visits and 23% of admissions into skilled nursing facilities. Many factors contribute to medication non-adherence including psychological and memory disorders, aging and pill burden. The MedaCube is a medication management system intended to help solve unintentional medication non-adherence. The device is designed to dispense scheduled and as-needed oral medications. The MedaCube provides audio and visual prompts alerting subjects to administer their medications. Caregivers receive notification of missed doses, late doses and refill requests. The null hypothesis is that use of the MedaCube results in no difference in medication adherence when compared with six month prior adherence in individual subjects
The Cross-Wavelet Transform and Analysis of Quasiperiodic Behavior in the Pearson-Readhead VLBI Survey Sources
We introduce an algorithm for applying a cross-wavelet transform to analysis
of quasiperiodic variations in a time-series, and introduce significance tests
for the technique. We apply a continuous wavelet transform and the
cross-wavelet algorithm to the Pearson-Readhead VLBI survey sources using data
obtained from the University of Michigan 26-m parabloid at observing
frequencies of 14.5, 8.0, and 4.8 GHz. Thirty of the sixty-two sources were
chosen to have sufficient data for analysis, having at least 100 data points
for a given time-series. Of these thirty sources, a little more than half
exhibited evidence for quasiperiodic behavior in at least one observing
frequency, with a mean characteristic period of 2.4 yr and standard deviation
of 1.3 yr. We find that out of the thirty sources, there were about four time
scales for every ten time series, and about half of those sources showing
quasiperiodic behavior repeated the behavior in at least one other observing
frequency.Comment: Revised version, accepted by ApJ. 17 pages, 13 figures, color figures
included as gifs, seperate from the text. The addition of statistical
significance tests has resulted in modifying the technique and results, but
the broad conclusion remain the same. A high resolution version may be found
at http://www.astro.lsa.umich.edu/obs/radiotel/prcwdata.htm
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