Long Run Targets and FOMC Policy Decisions

Monetarists have long been advising policy makers to conform policy decisions to a rule which would set the long-run monetary growth at a rate consistent with real economic growth. The contention is that variability in the rate of growth of the money supply, combined with excessive rates of growth, result in economic havoc accompanied by high rates of inflation and that attempts to employ discretionary counter-cyclical monetary policy are destabilizing. This paper analyzes monetary policy decisions in the years 1980-83 in an attempt to determine the weight given to meeting the announced long-run targets recognizing that departures from that goal might be deemed necessary by changing economic conditions. The first section briefly outlines the much talked about policy change in October 1979 which has been interpreted as a Fed commitment to the monetarists\u27 desired policy. The second section delineates the models which were estimated to analyze policy decisions following the October 1979 policy change and to determine the extent to which policy was made in an attempt to meet the stated long-run targets. The empirical results from estimation of the models in section two are presented in the following section. The fourth section delineates a rationale for the observed policy behavior and the final section presents a conclusion

Economics—A Set of Beliefs

A large number of Economists regard economics to be a science. To quote the opening statement from a recent article in the American Economic Review: Among its practitioners there is a widespread feeling that modern economics has established itself as a science enjoying a high degree of consensus. Science according to Funk and Wagnalls College Standard Dictionary is the knowledge as of facts, laws, and proximate causes, gained and verified by exact observations and correct thinking

New England fishing, processing and distribution

The New England fishing industry is examined in terms of the capacity of the fishing fleet, of the processing plants, and of the transportation system. Limitations on the capacity of the industry, and its capability and flexibility, are explored in terms of social, economic and technical aspects. The study is based on interviews with fishermen, buyers, processors and distributors, and on data made available by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Although the fisheries is in a state of expansion and both vessels and plants have a greater capacity than is now being used, the major problems that may restrict expansion in both fishing and processing are quality control, species selection and market development.This document is the final report for NOAA Contract #03-6-043-35165, which supported most of the research. Research was also supported with funds from the Pew Memorial Trust and from the Department of Commerce, NOAA Office of Sea Grant under Grant #04-8-M01-149, and was sponsored by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Marine Policy and Ocean Management Program

Small-scale commercial fishing in southern New England

This description of the small-scale sector of the Southern New England (Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut) fishery includes information on the fishermen (their ages, education, experience, occupational training, family involvement and reasons for fishing) and the physical characteristics of the fleet (the boats and gear). Fishing patterns are analyzed by species, geographical areas and seasons. The economic structure of small-scale fishing is described in terms of investment, net and gross earnings, fuel costs, crew payments systems and marketing arrangements. Management implications of this information and analyses are included.Prepared for the Pew Memorial Trust, for the Department of Commerce, NOAA, Office of Sea Grant, under Grants 04-8-M01-149, also NA 79AA-D-00102, and for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Marine Policy and Ocean Management Program

The interaction between science and policy in the control of Phragmites in oligohaline marshes of Delaware Bay

Author Posting. © Blackwell, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Blackwell for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Restoration Ecology 13 (2005):223-227, doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2005.00027.xPublic Service Enterprise Group of New Jersey restored Delaware Bay marshes to enhance fish production as part of a mitigation negotiated in a company’s NJPDES permit. Restoration meant control of an introduced type of the common reed, Phragmites, that had displaced Spartina alterniflora and S. patens. Phragmites dominance altered the function and structure of these brackish marshes and reduced habitat value by raising and flattening marsh surface and covering smaller tidal creeks. A common control technique is to use an herbicide – Glyphosate, but public concern about herbicide use resulted in an agreement between PSEG and NJ regulators to test other methods for reed control and limit the amount of herbicide used. Experiments with methods of Phragmites control indicate that herbicide application over three or more growing seasons, concentrating in an area until control was complete, is the most effective control method

Bibliography of socio-economic studies : fisheries of the northeast U.S.

This bibliography of social and economic studies of the fisheries of the Northeast United States (Maine to North Carolina) includes annotated listings for each entry and an index of key words for cross-referencing. We have attempted to include all studies published since 1970, and a selected group of particularly significant studies done earlier. The major focus has been on commercial fisheries, but recreational fishing studies have also been included when possible. In addition to studies of the Northeast United States fisheries, studies of Canadian fishing subsidies, European and other markets, have been included because of their relevance to the regional industry. All stages of the fishing industry's operation - harvesting, processing, distribution, marketing - are included, along with management and policy oriented material.Prepared for the National Marine Fisheries Service Contract NA-81-FA-C-00018 and for The Pew Memorial Trust, also for the Department of Commerce, NOAA Office of Sea Grant under NA-80AA-D-0077 (E/L-1) and the Institution's Marine Policy and Ocean Management Program

Dietary nitrate's effects on exercise performance in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is a deadly and disabling disease. A key derangement contributing to impaired exercise performance in HFrEF is decreased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Scientists recently discovered the inorganic nitrate pathway for increasing NO. This has advantages over organic nitrates and NO synthase production of NO. Small studies using beetroot juice as a source of inorganic nitrate demonstrate its power to improve exercise performance in HFrEF. A larger-scale trial is now underway to determine if inorganic nitrate may be a new arrow for physicians' quiver of HFrEF treatments

Characterization of an Extensive Interface on Vitronectin for Binding to Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1: Adoption of Structure in an Intrinsically Disordered Region

Copyright © 2019 American Chemical Society. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements were pursued to study human vitronectin, a protein found in tissues and the circulation that regulates cell adhesion/migration and proteolytic cascades that govern hemostasis and pericellular proteolysis. Many of these functions occur via interactions with its binding partner, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), the chief inhibitor of proteases that lyse and activate plasminogen. We focused on a region of vitronectin that remains uncharacterized from previous X-ray scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance, and computational modeling approaches and which we propose is involved in binding to PAI-1. This region, which bridges the N-terminal somatomedin B (SMB) domain with a large central β-propeller domain of vitronectin, appears unstructured and has characteristics of an intrinsically disordered domain (IDD). The effect of osmolytes was evaluated using circular dichroism and SANS to explore the potential of the IDD to undergo a disorder-to-order transition. The results suggest that the IDD favors a more ordered structure under osmotic pressure; SANS shows a smaller radius of gyration (Rg) and a more compact fold of the IDD upon addition of osmolytes. To test whether PAI-1 binding is also coupled to folding within the IDD structure, a set of SANS experiments with contrast variation were performed on the complex of PAI-1 with a vitronectin fragment corresponding to the N-terminal 130 amino acids (denoted the SMB-IDD because it contains the SMB domain and IDD in linear sequence). Analysis of the SANS data using the Ensemble Optimization Method confirms that the SMB-IDD adopts a more compact configuration when bound to PAI-1. Calculated structures for the PAI-1:SMB-IDD complex suggest that the IDD provides an interaction surface outside of the primary PAI-1-binding site located within the SMB domain; this binding is proposed to lead to the assembly of higher-order structures of vitronectin and PAI-1 commonly found in tissues

The inorganic NItrate and eXercise performance in Heart Failure (iNIX-HF) phase II clinical trial: Rationale and study design

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a debilitating and often fatal disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Diminished nitric oxide synthesis, signaling, and bioavailability are believed to contribute to poor skeletal muscle function and aerobic capacity. The aim of this clinical trial (iNIX-HF) is to determine the acute and longer-term effectiveness of inorganic nitrate supplementation on exercise performance in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). METHODS: This clinical trial is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-arm design study in which patients with HFrEF (n = 75) are randomized to receive 10 mmol potassium nitrate (KNO DISCUSSION: The iNIX-HF phase II clinical trial will evaluate the effectiveness of inorganic nitrate supplements as a new treatment to ameliorate poor exercise capacity in HFrEF. This study also will provide critical preliminary data for a future \u27pivotal\u27, phase III, multi-center trial of the effectiveness of nitrate supplements not only for improving exercise performance, but also for improving symptoms and decreasing other major cardiovascular endpoints. The potential public health impact of identifying a new, relatively inexpensive, safe, and effective treatment that improves overall exercise performance in patients with HFrEF is significant