10,464 research outputs found
The distributional impact of KiwiSaver incentives
New Zealand’s approach to retirement incomes profoundly changed with the recent introduction of KiwiSaver and its associated tax incentives. Previous policy reduced lifetime inequality but KiwiSaver and its tax incentives will increase future inequality and lead to diverging living standards for the elderly. In this paper we evaluate the distributional effects of these tax incentives. Using data from a nationwide survey conducted by the authors, we estimate the value of the equivalent income transfer provided to individuals by the tax incentives for KiwiSaver participation. Concentration curves and inequality decompositions are used to compare the distributive impact of these tax incentives with those for New Zealand Superannuation. Estimates are reported for both initial and lifetime impacts, with the greatest effect on inequality apparent in the lifetime impacts
Fitting Effective Diffusion Models to Data Associated with a "Glassy Potential": Estimation, Classical Inference Procedures and Some Heuristics
A variety of researchers have successfully obtained the parameters of low
dimensional diffusion models using the data that comes out of atomistic
simulations. This naturally raises a variety of questions about efficient
estimation, goodness-of-fit tests, and confidence interval estimation. The
first part of this article uses maximum likelihood estimation to obtain the
parameters of a diffusion model from a scalar time series. I address numerical
issues associated with attempting to realize asymptotic statistics results with
moderate sample sizes in the presence of exact and approximated transition
densities. Approximate transition densities are used because the analytic
solution of a transition density associated with a parametric diffusion model
is often unknown.I am primarily interested in how well the deterministic
transition density expansions of Ait-Sahalia capture the curvature of the
transition density in (idealized) situations that occur when one carries out
simulations in the presence of a "glassy" interaction potential. Accurate
approximation of the curvature of the transition density is desirable because
it can be used to quantify the goodness-of-fit of the model and to calculate
asymptotic confidence intervals of the estimated parameters. The second part of
this paper contributes a heuristic estimation technique for approximating a
nonlinear diffusion model. A "global" nonlinear model is obtained by taking a
batch of time series and applying simple local models to portions of the data.
I demonstrate the technique on a diffusion model with a known transition
density and on data generated by the Stochastic Simulation Algorithm.Comment: 30 pages 10 figures Submitted to SIAM MMS (typos removed and slightly
shortened
Designing the Lunar Regolith Excavation Competition
The project assigned this summer involves designing a lunar regolith mining robotics competition. This process involves consulting several assets available at the Kennedy Space Center. The process involves several steps. The first step is to determine the requirements for the competition. Once these requirements are determined, the dimensions of the playing field are drawn up, first by hand, and then using computer models. After these drawings are tentatively decided upon, the cost of materials must be determined, so as to fit within the allotted budget for the project. The materials are to then be ordered, assembled, broken down, and stored throughout the duration of the competition. We must also design the advertisements and logos for the competition. This is to market and publicize the competition to college level teams. We must also determine the rules for the competition so as to have uniform requirements for all teams. Once these processes are completed, the competition can be finalized and publicized for the public. The contributing parties are Greg Galloway, Robert Mueller, Susan Sawyer, Gloria Murphy, Julia Nething, and Cassandra Liles
Migration, trapping, and venting of gas in a soft granular material
Gas migration through a soft granular material involves a strong coupling
between the motion of the gas and the deformation of the material. This process
is relevant to a variety of natural phenomena, such as gas venting from
sediments and gas exsolution from magma. Here, we study this process
experimentally by injecting air into a quasi-2D packing of soft particles and
measuring the morphology of the air as it invades and then rises due to
buoyancy. We systematically increase the confining pre-stress in the packing by
compressing it with a fluid-permeable piston, leading to a gradual transition
in migration regime from fluidization to pathway opening to pore invasion. We
find that mixed migration regimes emerge at intermediate confinement due to the
spontaneous formation of a compaction layer at the top of the flow cell. By
connecting these migration mechanisms with macroscopic invasion, trapping, and
venting, we show that mixed regimes enable a sharp increase in the average
amount of gas trapped within the packing, as well as much larger venting
events. Our results suggest that the relationship between invasion, trapping,
and venting could be controlled by modulating the confining stress
Long-term in vitro 3D hydrogel co-culture model of inflammatory bowel disease
The in vitro study of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) requires a cell model which closely reflects the characteristics of the in vivo intestinal epithelium. This study aimed to investigate the application of L-pNIPAM hydrogel as a scaffold to develop a long-term 3D co-culture model of Caco-2 and HT29-MTX cells under conditions analogous to inflammation, to determine its potential use in studying IBD. Monocultures and co-cultures were layered on L-pNIPAM hydrogel scaffolds and maintained under dynamic culture conditions for up to 12 weeks. Treatments with IL-1β, TNFα, and hypoxia for 1 week were used to create an inflammatory environment. Following prolonged culture, the metabolic activity of Caco-2 monoculture and 90% Caco-2/10% HT29-MTX co-cultures on L-pNIPAM hydrogels were increased, and finger-like structures, similar in appearance to villi were observed. Following treatment with IL-1β, TNFα and hypoxia, ALP and ZO-1 were decreased, MUC2 increased, and MUC5AC remained unchanged. ADAMTS1 was increased in response to hypoxia. Caspase 3 expression was increased in response to TNFα and hypoxic conditions. In conclusion, L-pNIPAM hydrogel supported long-term co-culture within a 3D model. Furthermore, stimulation with factors seen during inflammation recapitulated features seen during IBD
Securing coherence rephasing with a pair of adiabatic rapid passages
Coherence rephasing is an essential step in quantum storage protocols that
use echo-based strategies. We present a thorough analysis on how two adiabatic
rapid passages (ARP) are able to rephase atomic coherences in an
inhomogeneously broadened ensemble. We consider both the cases of optical and
spin coherences, rephased by optical or radio-frequency (rf) ARPs,
respectively. We show how a rephasing sequence consisting of two ARPs in a
double-echo scheme is equivalent to the identity operator (any state can be
recovered), as long as certain conditions are fulfilled. Our mathematical
treatment of the ARPs leads to a very simple geometrical interpretation within
the Bloch sphere that permits a visual comprehension of the rephasing process.
We also identify the conditions that ensure the rephasing, finding that the
phase of the optical or rf ARP fields plays a key role in the capability of the
sequence to preserve the phase of the superposition state. This settles a
difference between optical and rf ARPs, since field phase control is not
readily guaranteed in the former case. We also provide a quantitative
comparison between -pulse and ARP rephasing efficiencies, showing the
superiority of the latter. We experimentally verify the conclusions of our
analysis through rf ARP rephasing sequencies performed on the rare-earth
ion-doped crystal Tm:YAG, of interest in quantum memories.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figure
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