Political Competition and Convergence to Fundamentals: With Application to the Political Business Cycle and the Size of Government

We address the problem of how to investigate whether economics, or politics, or both, matter in the explanation of public policy. The problem is first posed in a particular context by uncovering a political business cycle (using Canadian data for 130 years) and by taking up the challenge to make this fact meaningful by finding a transmission mechanism through actual public choices. Since the cycle is in real growth, and it is reasonable to suppose that public expenditure would be involved, the central task then is to investigate the role of (partisan and opportunistic) political factors, as opposed to economic fundamentals, in the evolution of government size.We proceed by asking whether the data allow us to distinguish between the convergence and the nonconvergence hypotheses. Convergence means that political competition forces public spending to converge in the long run to a level dictated by endowments, tastes and technology. Nonconvergence is taken to mean that political factors other than the degree of political competition prevent convergence to that long run. The general idea here, one that may be applied in any situation where the key issue is the role of economics versus politics over time, is that an overtly political factor can be said to play a distinct role in the evolution of public choices if it can be shown to lead to departures from a dynamic path defined by the evolution of economic fundamentals in a competitive political system.public expenditure, size of government, long run versus short run, opportunism, partisanship, political competition, cointegration

Cholesteryl isobutylcarbonate

Cholesteryl isobutylcarbonate, C 32H 54O 3, contains two molecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. The isobutylcarbonate chain of molecule A and the isoprenoid tail of molecule B are each conformationally disordered over two positions. The two distinct molecules form separate stacks along the screw axes so that they are arranged in an antiparallel array, forming monolayers with a thickness of d 001 = 19.412 A. The central regions of the monolayers are characterized by efficient molecular packing and are separated by interface regions, which are more loosely packed.open4

Instantonic approach to triple well potential

By using a usual instanton method we obtain the energy splitting due to quantum tunneling through the triple well barrier. It is shown that the term related to the midpoint of the energy splitting in propagator is quite different from that of double well case, in that it is proportional to the algebraic average of the frequencies of the left and central wells.Comment: Revtex, 11 pages, Included one eps figur

Complete Genome Sequence of the Citrobacter freundii Type Strain.

Citrobacter freundii is a species of facultative anaerobic Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae The complete genome is composed of a single chromosomal circle of 4,957,773 bp with a G+C content of 52%

Directional interacting whispering gallery modes in coupled dielectric microdisks

We study the optical interaction in a coupled dielectric microdisks by investigating the splitting of resonance positions of interacting whispering gallery modes (WGMs) and their pattern change, depending on the distance between the microdisks. It is shown that the interaction between the WGMs with odd parity about y-axis becomes appreciable at a distance less than a wavelength and causes directional emissions of the resulting interacting WGMs. The directionality of the interacting WGMs can be understood in terms of an effective boundary deformation in ray dynamical analysis. We also discuss about the oscillation of the splitting when the distance is greater than a wavelength.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure

Aharonov-Bohm-Coulomb Problem in Graphene Ring

We study the Aharonov-Bohm-Coulomb problem in a graphene ring. We investigate, in particular, the effects of a Coulomb type potential of the form $\xi/r$ on the energy spectrum of Dirac electrons in the graphene ring in two different ways: one for the scalar coupling and the other for the vector coupling. It is found that, since the potential in the scalar coupling breaks the time-reversal symmetry between the two valleys as well as the effective time-reversal symmetry in a single valley, the energy spectrum of one valley is separated from that of the other valley, demonstrating a valley polarization. In the vector coupling, however, the potential does not break either of the two symmetries and its effect appears only as an additive constant to the spectrum of Aharonov-Bohm potential. The corresponding persistent currents, the observable quantities of the symmetry-breaking energy spectra, are shown to be asymmetric about zero magnetic flux in the scalar coupling, while symmetric in the vector coupling.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures (V2) 18 pages, accepted in JPHYS

Improving STING Agonist Delivery for Cancer Immunotherapy Using Biodegradable Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) activation by intratumoral STING agonist treatment has been recently shown to eradicate tumors in preclinical models of cancer immunotherapy, generating intense research interest and leading to multiple clinical trials. However, there are many challenges associated with STING agonist‐based cancer immunotherapy, including low cellular uptake of STING agonists. Here, biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticles (bMSN) with an average size of 80 nm are developed for efficient cellular delivery of STING agonists. STING agonists delivered via bMSN potently activate innate and adaptive immune cells, leading to strong antitumor efficacy and prolonged animal survival in murine models of melanoma. Delivery of immunotherapeutic agents via biodegradable bMSN is a promising approach for improving cancer immunotherapy.Biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticles enhance cellular delivery of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonists and achieve greater antitumor therapeutic efficacy than free STING agonists in murine models of melanoma. Biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticles are a promising platform for cancer immunotherapy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163388/3/adtp202000130_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163388/2/adtp202000130.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163388/1/adtp202000130-sup-0001-SuppMat.pd

A condition for first order phase transitions in quantum mechanical tunneling models

A criterion is derived for the determination of parameter domains of first order phase transitions in quantum mechanical tunneling models. The criterion is tested by application to various models, in particular to some which have been used recently to explore spin tunneling in macroscopic particles. In each case agreement is found with previously heuristically determined domains.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Sowing Seeds of Justice: Feminists\u27 Reflections on Teaching for Social Justice in the Southwest

Forming the basis for a provocative dialogue and written to illuminate teaching stories often pushed to the margins, this chapter provides a counter-narrative to the discourse surrounding leaky teacher-of-color pipelines and the national teacher crisis. Employing a critical race analytical lens, critical autoethnographic approach, and narrated through prose, five female educators committed to social justice share how they rely on unique and intersecting identities to sustain themselves in contested school spaces, while simultaneously exploring the cultural wealth they and their students bring into those spaces. Their collective stories reveal important lessons essential to our understanding of how to develop teachers for social justice. They also provide insight for those who teach in schools and classrooms meant to educate our most vulnerable and under-served students, and may answer the question, Why doesn’t anyone want to teach anymore