Does Monetary Policy Help Least Those Who Need It Most?

We estimate the impact of U.S. monetary policy on the cross-sectional distribution of state economic activity for a 35-year panel. Our results indicate that the effects of policy have a significant history dependence, in that relatively slow growth regions contract more following contractionarymonetary shocks. Moreover, policy is asymmetric, in that expansionary shocks have less of a beneficial impact upon relatively slow growth areas. As a result, we conclude that monetary policy on average widens the dispersion of growth rates among U.S. states, and those locations initially at the low end of the cross-sectional distribution benefit least from any given change inmonetary policy.Monetary policy, asymmetric effects, state dependence, regional business cycles

BIM Feasibility Study For Housing Refurbishment Projects In The UK

Current existing UK housing stock is responsible for 27% of UK CO2 emission. Refurbishing this housing stock can contribute to the 80% CO2 reduction by 2050 as a UK government target. However, there are barriers to refurbish a house due to high initial cost and lack of knowledge and skills in construction sector. To accomplish the CO2 reduction target, BIM should be utilized because BIM is capable of coping with current barriers. Furthermore the UK government mandates public sector to adopt BIM for construction projects from 2016. Hence, this research aims to explore the feasibilities of BIM adoption for housing refurbishment. This research consists of a desk study, web-based questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The data search used mostly public statistics and government reports. The target for questionnaire survey was chosen from local authorities, architects and constructors, construction professional organizations, and BIM software developers as a focused group. The web-based questionnaire was comprised of 16 questions, and it was distributed to 100 construction professionals via email. The findings revealed that the BIM adoption for housing refurbishment projects is feasible and timely, although the clients’ demand and BIM penetration in the housing sector is low. This research identified that the benefits of BIM should be understood by stakeholders to increase BIM awareness and demand. In addition, BIM education and financial supports were identified as the most critical steps for encouraging BIM adoption. Furthermore, the construction professionals are aware of the benefits of BIM whether they are engaged in BIM or not

Essential BIM input data study for housing refurbishment:Homeowners' preferences in the UK

Construction customers are persistently seeking to achieve sustainability and maximize value as sustainability has become a major consideration in the construction industry. In particular, it is essential to refurbish a whole house to achieve the sustainability agenda of 80% CO2 reduction by 2050 as the housing sector accounts for 28% of the total UK CO2 emission. However, whole house refurbishment seems to be challenging due to the highly fragmented nature of construction practice, which makes the integration of diverse information throughout the project lifecycle difficult. Consequently, Building Information Modeling (BIM) is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore in order to manage construction projects in a collaborative manner, although the current uptake of the housing sector is low at 25%. This research aims to investigate homeowners' decision making factors for housing refurbishment projects and to provide a valuable dataset as an essential input to BIM for such projects. One-hundred and twelve homeowners and 39 construction professionals involved in UK housing refurbishment were surveyed. It was revealed that homeowners value initial cost more while construction professionals value thermal performance. The results supported that homeowners and professionals both considered the first priority to be roof refurbishment. This research revealed that BIM requires a proper BIM dataset and objects for housing refurbishment

Bisphosphonate inhibits the expression of cyclin A2 at the transcriptional level in normal human oral keratinocytes.

Nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates (N-BPs) are the most widely used anti-resorptive agents in the treatment of bone-related diseases. N-BPs inhibit bone resorption by specifically targeting osteoclasts, bone-resorbing cells. However, soft tissue toxicity, such as oral or gastrointestinal (GI) ulcerations has frequently been reported in N-BP users, suggesting that N-BPs may also directly target cells other than osteoclasts. Previously, we reported that BPs inhibit proliferation without inducing the apoptosis of normal human oral keratinocytes (NHOKs). However, the molecular mechanisms through which N-BPs inhibit the proliferation of NHOKs are not yet fully understood. In this study, we performed gene expression profiling in N-BP-treated NHOKs and identified cyclin A2 as one of the most commonly downregulated genes. When the NHOKs were treated with N-BPs, we found that the level of cyclin A2 was suppressed in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the protein level of cyclin A2 was also significantly lower in oral epithelial cells in N-BP-treated oral mucosal tissue constructs. Cyclin A2 promoter reporter assay revealed that N-BPs inhibited the luciferase activity, indicating that the inhibition of cyclin A2 expression occurs at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, N-BPs did not alter the expression of cyclin A2 in normal human oral fibroblasts (NHOFs), suggesting that the effect of N-BPs on cyclin A2 expression may be cell-type specific. Thus, the findings of our study demonstrate that the inhibition of NHOK proliferation by N-BPs is mediated, at least in part, by the suppression of cyclin A2 expression at the transcriptional level, which may explain the underlying mechanisms of soft tissue toxicity by N-BPs

Inhomogeneous Kondo destruction by RKKY correlations

The competition between the indirect exchange interaction (IEC) of magnetic impurities in metals and the Kondo effect gives rise to a rich quantum phase diagram, the Doniach Diagram. In disordered metals, both the Kondo temperature and the IEC are widely distributed due to the scattering of the conduction electrons from the impurity potential. Therefore, it is a question of fundamental importance, how this Doniach diagram is modified by the disorder, and if one can still identify separate phases. Recently, it has been investigated the effect of Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) correlations on the Kondo effect of two magnetic impurities, renormalizing the Kondo interaction based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation and performing the poor men's renormalization group (RG) analysis with the RKKY-renormalized Kondo coupling. In the present study, we extend this theoretical framework, allowing for different Kondo temperatures of two RKKY-coupled magnetic impurities due to different local exchange couplings and density of states. As a result, we find that the smaller one of the two Kondo temperatures is suppressed more strongly by the RKKY interaction, thereby enhancing their initial inequality. In order to find out if this relevance of inequalities between Kondo temperatures modifies the distribution of the Kondo temperature in a system of a finite density of randomly distributed magnetic impurities, we present an extension of the RKKY coupled Kondo RG equations. We discuss the implication of these results for the interplay between Kondo coupling and RKKY interaction in disordered electron systems and the Doniach diagram in disordered electron systems

Cdk5 Phosphorylates Dopamine D2 Receptor and Attenuates Downstream Signaling

The dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) is a key receptor that mediates dopamine-associated brain functions such as mood, reward, and emotion. Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) is a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase whose function has been implicated in the brain reward circuit. In this study, we revealed that the serine 321 residue (S321) in the third intracellular loop of DRD2 (D2i3) is a novel regulatory site of Cdk5. Cdk5-dependent phosphorylation of S321 in the D2i3 was observed in in vitro and cell culture systems. We further observed that the phosphorylation of S321 impaired the agonist-stimulated surface expression of DRD2 and decreased G protein coupling to DRD2. Moreover, the downstream cAMP pathway was affected in the heterologous system and in primary neuronal cultures from p35 knockout embryos likely due to the reduced inhibitory activity of DRD2. These results indicate that Cdk5-mediated phosphorylation of S321 inhibits DRD2 function, providing a novel regulatory mechanism for dopamine signaling.X111111sciescopu

BIM Feasibility Study For Housing Refurbishment Projects In The UK

Current existing UK housing stock is responsible for 27% of UK CO2 emission. Refurbishing this housing stock can contribute to the 80% CO2 reduction by 2050 as a UK government target. However, there are barriers to refurbish a house due to high initial cost and lack of knowledge and skills in construction sector. To accomplish the CO2 reduction target, BIM should be utilized because BIM is capable of coping with current barriers. Furthermore the UK government mandates public sector to adopt BIM for construction projects from 2016. Hence, this research aims to explore the feasibilities of BIM adoption for housing refurbishment. This research consists of a desk study, web-based questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. The data search used mostly public statistics and government reports. The target for questionnaire survey was chosen from local authorities, architects and constructors, construction professional organizations, and BIM software developers as a focused group. The web-based questionnaire was comprised of 16 questions, and it was distributed to 100 construction professionals via email. The findings revealed that the BIM adoption for housing refurbishment projects is feasible and timely, although the clients’ demand and BIM penetration in the housing sector is low. This research identified that the benefits of BIM should be understood by stakeholders to increase BIM awareness and demand. In addition, BIM education and financial supports were identified as the most critical steps for encouraging BIM adoption. Furthermore, the construction professionals are aware of the benefits of BIM whether they are engaged in BIM or not