Increasing efficiency of switching type regulator circuits Patent

Switching series regulator with gating control networ

Evaluating House Price Forecasts

House prices, unlike stock prices, appear to be predictable with some degree of accuracy. We use an autoregressive process to model the time series behavior of a city-wide house price index, and then produce one-quarter ahead forecasts for individual properties. Better real estate decisions require forecasting models with desirable properties for prediction errors (PEs). We propose that managers use a battery of tests to compare PEs; in particular, non-parametric smoothing of the empirical distribution of PEs can add important information to statistics that focus on first and second moments. The decision-making framework is fitted with housing transactions from Dade County, Florida, from 1976 through the second quarter of 1997. PEs from two forecasting models, hedonic and repeat sales, show some departure from the desirable properties of any one-step-ahead forecast. Also, both show some informational inefficiency, but the hedonic is more efficient than the repeat. Nonparametric smoothing shows that the hedonic method dominates the repeat over an important range of PEs; thus, a case can be made that many risk-averse managers would prefer a forecast based on the hedonic method.

Chaperone-dependent Ubiquitination of Neuronal Nitric Oxide Synthase.

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS), a cytochrome P450-like hemoprotein enzyme, catalyzes the synthesis of nitric oxide, a critical signaling molecule in a variety of physiological processes. Our lab has found that certain drugs, such as guanabenz, inactivate neuronal NOS (nNOS) and lead to the ubiquitination of the nNOS. To better understand the molecular trigger for nNOS ubiquitination, we characterized the proteins that are involved in nNOS ubiquitination, examined a mutant nNOS that can serve as a model for inactivated nNOS, and identified the sites of ubiquitin attachment to nNOS. Using an in vitro model for ubiquitination containing Fraction II, the DE52-retained fraction of reticulocyte lysates that contains all ubiquitinating enzymes and the proteasome, we found that CHIP (C-terminus of Hsp70-interacting protein) and Hsp70 play a major role in promoting the ubiquitination of nNOS, whereas Hsp90, in concert with calmodulin, protects nNOS from ubiquitination. We found a C331A nNOS mutant that is highly susceptible to CHIP-dependent ubiquitination in cells and in vitro systems. Substrates and other ligands stabilize the C331A nNOS against ubiquitination, suggesting that subtle alterations to the active site cleft are sufficient for triggering the ubiquitination. The C331A nNOS is ubiquitinated in an Hsp70/CHIP-dependent manner, similar to the wildtype enzyme. With the use of an in vitro system containing purified proteins, including E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme, E2 ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, and E3 ubiquitin ligase CHIP, we recapitulated the ubiquitination of nNOS seen in cells. We identified the sites of ubiquitination on nNOS through LC-MS/MS analysis of the ubiquitinated nNOS obtained from the in vitro purified system. Of the twelve sites that were identified, nine are located in the oxygenase domain, two in the calmodulin-binding region, and one in the reductase domain of the enzyme. These data are consistent with studies showing that the oxygenase domain and the calmodulin-binding domain play a major role in regulating the ubiquitination of nNOS. Thus, alterations to the heme active site structure, whether by drug-mediated inactivation or the destabilizing C331A mutation, leads to ubiquitination by Hsp70 and CHIP in the calmodulin-binding region and/or the oxygenase domain of nNOS.Ph.D.PharmacologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91503/1/kclapp_1.pd

Switching-type regulator circuit has increased efficiency

Switching series regulator circuit uses an inductive network to feed most of the current applied to the control circuit to the load. This circuit eliminates resistive losses and the need for heat sinks

Bulletin 61 - Reading Aloud: War-Time Suggestions

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/eiu_bulletin/1161/thumbnail.jp

Photographic quantification of water quality in mixing zones

A method was developed to quantitatively delineate waste concentrations throughout waste effluent mixing zones on the basis of densitometric measurements extracted from aerial photography. A mixing zone is the extent of a receiving water body ultilized to dilute a waste discharge to a concentration characteristic of a totally mixed condition. Simultaneously-acquired color infrared photography and suspended solids water samples were used to quantitatively delineate the mixing zone resulting from the discharge of a paper mill effluent. Digital scanning microdensitometer data was used to estimate and delineate suspended solids concentrations on the basis of a semi-empirical model. Photographic photometry, when predicated on a limited amount of ground sampling, can measure and delineate mixing zone waste distributions in more detail then conventional surface measuring techniques. The method has direct application to: (1) the establishment of definite and rational water quality guidelines; (2) the development of sampling and surveillance programs for use by governmental and private agencies; and (3) the development of design and location criteria for industrial and municipal waste effluent outfalls

DIPL 6106 International Political Economy

This course is a Master\u27s level introduction to international political economy. The objective is to acquaint students with contemporary issues in international political economy with special emphasis on practical policy implications. The course will examine how politics help shape international economic relations and how economic changes and structures affect politics. The study of international political economy will therefore encompass in an integrated way the disciplines of politics, economics, international relations and indeed public administration. This course will examine the contemporary policy issues and institutions which influence global political and economic developments. The phenomenon of globalization will be analyzed in depth including not only political and economic aspects but environmental and social as well. While concentrating on the role of international and regional organizations the course will not neglect the understanding of national policies and economies. The course will begin by looking into the nature of political economy, its comparison to economics and the new theories influencing these disciplines. The important political issue of globalization will receive special attention. The global trading, financial and monetary systems will be examined. The role of multinational companies will be analyzed before looking at processes of regional integration. Special attention will be given to questions of development -the current debate on development assistance and the special case of the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The course will conclude with a discussion of relevant current issues on the United Nations agenda and the overarching theme of global governance for the twenty first century

Intravenous immunoglobulin is a treatment option for refractory dermatomyositis in adult patients

A critical appraisal and clinical application of Dalakas MC, Illa I, Dambrosia JM, et al. A controlled trial of high-dose intravenous immune globulin infusions as treatment for dermatomyositis. N Engl J Med. 1993;329:1993-2000. doi: 10.1056/nejm199312303292704

Interdisciplinary research on the application of ERTS-1 data to the regional land use planning process

The author has identified the following significant results. Although the degree to which ERTS-1 imagery can satisfy regional land use planning data needs is not yet known, it appears to offer means by which the data acquisition process can be immeasurably improved. The initial experiences of an interdisciplinary group attempting to formulate ways of analyzing the effectiveness of ERTS-1 imagery as a base for environmental monitoring and the resolution of regional land allocation problems are documented. Application of imagery to the regional planning process consists of utilizing representative geographical regions within the state of Wisconsin. Because of the need to describe and depict regional resource complexity in an interrelatable state, certain resources within the geographical regions have been inventoried and stored in a two-dimensional computer-based map form. Computer oriented processes were developed to provide for the economical storage, analysis, and spatial display of natural and cultural data for regional land use planning purposes. The authors are optimistic that the imagery will provide revelant data for land use decision making at regional levels