Mace4 Reference Manual and Guide

Mace4 is a program that searches for finite models of first-order formulas. For a given domain size, all instances of the formulas over the domain are constructed. The result is a set of ground clauses with equality. Then, a decision procedure based on ground equational rewriting is applied. If satisfiability is detected, one or more models are printed. Mace4 is a useful complement to first-order theorem provers, with the prover searching for proofs and Mace4 looking for countermodels, and it is useful for work on finite algebras. Mace4 performs better on equational problems than did our previous model-searching program Mace2.Comment: 17 page

Can Education Save Europe From High Unemployment?

Empirical observations show that education helps to protect against labor market risks. This is twofold: The higher educated face a higher expected wage income and a lower probability of being unemployed. Although this relationship has been analyzed in the literature broadly, several questions remain to be tackled. This paper contributes to the existing literature by looking at the above mentioned phenomena from a purely theoretic perspective and in a European context. We set up a model with search-and-matching frictions, collective bargaining and monopolistic competition in the product market. Workers are heterogeneous in their human capital level. It is shown that higher human capital increases the wage rate and reduces unemployment risks, which is consistent with empirical observations for European countries.human capital, search frictions, collective bargaining, monopolistic competition

Goldman School Advisory

The news and information source for the Henry M. Goldman School of Graduate Dentistr

Liquidity-Profitability Trade-off in Commercial Banks: Evidence from Tanzania

This paper examines the relationship between banks’ profitability and liquidity by using three different models. It is a longitudinal study whereby five banks from Tanzania were taken into consideration for the time period from year 2006 to 2013. By using Hausman test and thereafter fixed effects approach, all the models revealed that there is no statistically significant relationship between banks’ profitability and liquidity. Thus, it can be concluded that the banks can focus on increasing their profitability without affecting their liquidity, and vice versa. However, this is not guaranteed because the situation might change or one might come out with different kind of results if a different sample is used. Keywords: Liquidity, Profitability, Commercial banks, Tanzani

A randomized controlled trial of pretransplant antiviral therapy to prevent recurrence of hepatitis C after liver transplantation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection recurs in liver recipients who are viremic at transplantation. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial to test the efficacy and safety of pretransplant pegylated interferon alpha‐2b plus ribavirin (Peg‐IFN‐α2b/RBV) for prevention of post‐transplant HCV recurrence. Enrollees had HCV and were listed for liver transplantation, with either potential living donors or Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease upgrade for hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients with HCV genotypes (G) 1/4/6 (n = 44/2/1) were randomized 2:1 to treatment (n = 31) or untreated control (n = 16); HCV G2/3 (n=32) were assigned to treatment. Overall, 59 were treated and 20 were not. Peg‐IFN‐α2b, starting at 0.75 μg/kg/week, and RBV, starting at 600 mg/day, were escalated as tolerated. Patients assigned to treatment versus control had similar baseline characteristics. Combined virologic response (CVR) included pretransplant sustained virologic response and post‐transplant virologic response (pTVR), defined as undetectable HCV RNA 12 weeks after end of treatment or transplant, respectively. In intent‐to‐treat analyses, 12 (19%) assigned to treatment and 1 (6%) assigned to control achieved CVR ( P = 0.29); per‐protocol values were 13 (22%) and 0 (0%) ( P = 0.03). Among treated G1/4/6 patients, 23 of 30 received transplant, of whom 22% had pTVR; among treated G2/3 patients 21 of 29 received transplant, of whom 29% had pTVR. pTVR was 0%, 18%, and 50% in patients treated for 16 weeks, respectively ( P = 0.01). Serious adverse events (SAEs) occurred with similar frequency in treated versus untreated patients (68% versus 55%; P = 0.30), but the number of SAEs per patient was higher in the treated group (2.7 versus 1.3; P = 0.003). Conclusion : Pretransplant treatment with Peg‐IFN‐α2b/RBV prevents post‐transplant recurrence of HCV in selected patients. Efficacy is higher with >16 weeks of treatment, but treatment is associated with increased risk of potentially serious complications. (H EPATOLOGY 2013)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97469/1/25976_ftp.pd

Bank profitability: liquidity, capital and asset quality

Article exploring relationship of banks' profitability to their liquidity holdings, capital and asset quality

Semiclassical theory of laser-assisted dissociative recombination

We study the process of laser-assisted dissociative recombination of an electron with a molecular cation using a semiclassical approach. In the region outside a reaction sphere the electron motion in the combined laser and Coulomb fields is treated classically. Within the sphere the laser-field effects are neglected, and the recombination probability is obtained from quantum-mechanical cross sections calculated for the laser-free process. Specific calculations are performed for dissociative recombination of H2+ in the field of the intensity 2.09 GW/cm2 and the wavelength 22.8 μm. In the energy region above 1 meV the cross section is significantly enhanced compared with the field-free case due to the Coulomb focusing effect. The influence of the indirect process due to electron capture into Rydberg states is also investigated. Although the Rydberg resonances are washed out due to the field effects, they influence significantly the magnitude of the dissociative recombination cross section