Forecasting School Districts’ Revenues and Expenditures

Nicholas Warner, a research associate, presented research on forecasting for school district revenues and expenditures at the Georgia Association of […

Wheel of Fortune: What Pat Sajack Didn’t Tell You

On May 21, 2018, Nicholas Warner, a research associate with the Center for State and Local Finance, presented the basics of revenue forecasting to public finance professionals at the Dunwoody Accounting Conference. He discussed why a municipality of county might use forecasting, how government staff might approach the task, and the elements of a healthy revenue forecast

Georgia’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education: Review of Trends and Policy Implications – ABFM 2017

Nick Warner, Ross Rubenstein and Youngwan Son presented “Georgia’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education: Review of Trends and Policy Implications” during the September 2017 Association for Budgeting and Financial Management conference. The presentation focused on ESPLOST finding inequities, debt levels, and whether ESPLOST has had an effect on the condition of school facilities

Role of COX-1 and COX-2 in the release of prostanoids in murine lung and isolated lung fibroblasts

Cyclooxygenase (COX) is the first enzyme in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostanoids. There are two isoforms of COX; COX-1, which is constitutively expressed with a homeostatic role in most tissues, and COX-2, which while constitutively expressed in some discreet sites is generally inducible by growth factors and during inflammation. In the current study, we have used tissues and cells from knock-out mice to investigate the relative contributions of COX-1 and COX-2 to PGE2 production by lung tissue ex vivo and by proliferating lung fibroblasts in vitro. Lung tissues from WT (C57Bl6), COX-1-/- and COX-2-/- mice were immediately dissected (<15 min after death) and incubated (37 °C) for 30 min in DMEM containing 50 µM calcium ionophore (A23187). Release of PGE2 was determined by competitive immunoassay. In parallel studies, murine lung fibroblasts from COX-1-/- and COX-2-/- mice were explanted and cultured before being seeded in 96-well plates at sub-confluence (5000-8000/well) and incubated for 24-48 hours in the presence of 10% FCS. Accumulated release of PGE2 was then measured as above. Over 30 min PGE2 was released by lung pieces from wild type (1117 ± 55 pg/ml) and COX-2-/- (2013 ± 255 pg/ml) but not from COX-1-/- (<61pg/ml) mice (n=4). In contrast, proliferating lung fibroblasts from COX-1-/- (4978.9 ± 1392 pg/ml) mice released higher levels of PGE2 than cells from COX-2-/- (1194 ± 617 ng/ml) mice (n=4 using cells from 2-3 separate mice for each genotype). These results show that COX-1 activity underpins the stimulated release of PGE2 in healthy mouse lung tissue. Conversely, COX-2 activity predominates in proliferating lung fibroblasts, which may be important as COX-derived PGE2 mediates proliferation of lung fibroblasts (Trends Immunol.2004;25(1):40-6). Our results suggest a switch in COX isoform in lung cells during proliferation which could be relevant to our understanding of conditions such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.Non peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

The complex geometry of holographic flows of quiver gauge theories

We argue that the complete Klebanov-Witten flow solution must be described by a Calabi-Yau metric on the conifold, interpolating between the orbifold at infinity and the cone over T^(1,1) in the interior. We show that the complete flow solution is characterized completely by a single, simple, quasi-linear, second order PDE, or "master equation," in two variables. We show that the Pilch-Warner flow solution is almost Calabi-Yau: It has a complex structure, a hermitian metric, and a holomorphic (3,0)-form that is a square root of the volume form. It is, however, not Kahler. We discuss the relationship between the master equation derived here for Calabi-Yau geometries and such equations encountered elsewhere and that govern supersymmetric backgrounds with multiple, independent fluxes.Comment: 26 pages, harvmac + amssy

Configuration development study of the OSU 1 hypersonic research vehicle

In an effort to insure the future development of hypersonic cruise aircraft, the possible vehicle configurations were examined to develop a single-stage-to-orbit hypersonic research vehicle (HRV). Based on the needs of hypersonic research and development, the mission goals and requirements are determined. A body type is chosen. Three modes of propulsion and two liquid rocket fuels are compared, followed by the optimization of the body configuration through aerodynamic, weight, and trajectory studies. A cost analysis is included