Understanding the price of new lending to households

During the recent financial crisis Bank Rate was reduced sharply, but in general the interest rates charged on new lending to households did not fall by as much and indeed some interest rates rose. This article assesses the factors that have influenced new lending rates using a simple decomposition of new lending rates into lenders’ funding costs, credit risk charges and a residual (which includes both operating costs and the mark-up). Applying the decomposition to two indicative lending products suggests that funding costs have been an important driver of new lending rates and the residual has also risen. The residual needs to be interpreted with caution — by definition it reflects all the remaining unmodelled factors. But among other things, a larger residual is consistent with lenders increasing mark-ups over marginal costs for new lending, which may reflect a need to build higher capital levels within the banking sector.

Role of mechanical stress in regulating airway surface hydration and mucus clearance rates

Effective clearance of mucus is a critical innate airway defense mechanism, and under appropriate conditions, can be stimulated to enhance clearance of inhaled pathogens. It has become increasingly clear that extracellular nucleotides (ATP and UTP) and nucleosides (adenosine) are important regulators of mucus clearance in the airways as a result of their ability to stimulate fluid secretion, mucus hydration, and cilia beat frequency (CBF). One ubiquitous mechanism to stimulate ATP release is through external mechanical stress. This article addresses the role of physiologically-relevant mechanical forces in the lung and their effects on regulating mucociliary clearance (MCC). The effects of mechanical forces on the stimulating ATP release, fluid secretion, CBF, and MCC are discussed. Also discussed is evidence suggesting that airway hydration and stimulation of MCC by stress-mediated ATP release may play a role in several therapeutic strategies directed at improving mucus clearance in patients with obstructive lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Frequency domain model for analysis of paralleled, series-output-connected Mapham inverters

The Mapham resonant inverter is characterized as a two-port network driven by a selected periodic voltage. The two-port model is then used to model a pair of Mapham inverters connected in series and employing phasor voltage regulation. It is shown that the model is useful for predicting power output in paralleled inverter units, and for predicting harmonic current output of inverter pairs, using standard power flow techniques. Some examples are compared to data obtained from testing hardware inverters

forall x: Calgary. An Introduction to Formal Logic

forall x: Calgary is a full-featured textbook on formal logic. It covers key notions of logic such as consequence and validity of arguments, the syntax of truth-functional propositional logic TFL and truth-table semantics, the syntax of first-order (predicate) logic FOL with identity (first-order interpretations), translating (formalizing) English in TFL and FOL, and Fitch-style natural deduction proof systems for both TFL and FOL. It also deals with some advanced topics such as truth-functional completeness and modal logic. Exercises with solutions are available. It is provided in PDF (for screen reading, printing, and a special version for dyslexics) and in LaTeX source code

Differential effects of cyclic and constant stress on ATP release and mucociliary transport by human airway epithelia: Role of cyclic stress in airway mucociliary transport

In the lungs, the first line of defence against bacterial infection is the thin layer of airway surface liquid (ASL) lining the airway surface. The superficial airway epithelium exhibits complex regulatory pathways that blend ion transport to adjust ASL volume to maintain proper mucociliary clearance (MCC). We hypothesized that stresses generated by airflow and transmural pressures during breathing govern ASL volume by regulating the rate of epithelial ATP release. Luminal ATP, via interactions with apical membrane P2-purinoceptors, regulates the balance of active ion secretion versus absorption to maintain ASL volume at optimal levels for MCC. In this study we tested the hypothesis that cyclic compressive stress (CCS), mimicking normal tidal breathing, regulates ASL volume in airway epithelia. Polarized tracheobronchial epithelial cultures from normal and cystic fibrosis (CF) subjects responded to a range of CCS by increasing the rate of ATP release. In normal airway epithelia, the CCS-induced increase in ASL ATP concentration was sufficient to induce purinoceptor-mediated increases in ASL height and MCC, via inhibition of epithelial Na+-channel-mediated Na+ absorption and stimulation of Cl− secretion through CFTR and the Ca2+-activated chloride channels. In contrast, static, non-oscillatory stress did not stimulate ATP release, ion transport or MCC, emphasizing the importance of rhythmic mechanical stress for airway defence. In CF airway cultures, which exhibit basal ASL depletion, CCS was partially effective, producing less ASL volume secretion than in normal cultures, but a level sufficient to restore MCC. The present data suggest that CCS may (1) regulate ASL volume in the normal lung and (2) improve clearance in the lungs of CF patients, potentially explaining the beneficial role of exercise in lung defence

Distortion and regulation characterization of a Mapham inverter

Output voltage Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) of a 20kHz, 6kVA Mapham resonant inverter is characterized as a function of its switching-to-resonant frequency ratio, f sub s/f sub r, using the EASY5 engineering analysis system. EASY5 circuit simulation results are compared with hardware test results to verify the accuracy of the simulations. The effects of load on the THD versus f sub s/f sub r ratio is investigated for resistive, leading, and lagging power factor load impedances. The effect of the series output capacitor on the Mapham inverter output voltage distortion and inherent load regulation is characterized under loads of various power factors and magnitudes. An optimum series capacitor value which improves the inherent load regulation to better than 3 percent is identified. The optimum series capacitor value is different than the value predicted from a modeled frequency domain analysis. An explanation is proposed which takes into account the conduction overlap in the inductor pairs during steady-state inverter operation, which decreases the effective inductance of a Mapham inverter. A fault protection and current limit method is discussed which allows the Mapham inverter to operate into a short circuit, even when the inverter resonant circuit becomes overdamped

Mucus Hyperconcentration as a Unifying Aspect of the Chronic Bronchitic Phenotype

Abnormalities in mucus production and qualitative properties such as mucus hydration are central to the pathophysiology of airway disease including cystic fibrosis, asthma, and chronic bronchitis. In vitro air–liquid interface epithelial cell cultures demonstrate direct relationships between mucociliary transport, periciliary liquid (PCL) height, and mucus concentration (expressed as percent solids or partial osmotic pressure). In health, the osmotic modulus/pressure of the PCL exceeds that of the mucus layer, resulting in efficient, low-friction movement of mucus. In disease, through multiple mechanisms, the osmotic pressure of the mucus begins to exceed basal PCL values, resulting in compression of the cilia and slowing of mucus transport. The in vivo data in both cystic fibrosis and chronic bronchitis parallel in vitro data demonstrating that when mucus osmotic pressure is increased, mucociliary clearance is decreased. In chronic bronchitis, there is a direct correlation between FEV1 and percent solids of mucus, demonstrating a strong relationship between disease progression and mucus abnormalities. Animal models, based mechanistically on raised sodium absorption (and therefore water absorption) from airway surfaces, mimic the pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Collectively, these data suggest the importance of mucus concentration in the pathogenesis of airway disease. It is important to understand the precise mechanisms that result in mucus hyperconcentration, for example, mucin overproduction versus abnormal regulation of ion/water transport, which may be unique to and characteristic of each disease phenotype. The measurement of mucus concentration may be a simple method to diagnose chronic bronchitis, monitor its progression, and serve as a biomarker for development of new therapies

Pain reconceptualisation after Pain Neurophysiology Education in adults with chronic low back pain:A qualitative study

Pain neurophysiology education (PNE) is an educational intervention for patients with chronic pain. PNE purports to assist patients to reconceptualise their pain away from the biomedical model towards a more biopsychosocial understanding by explaining pain biology. This study aimed to explore the extent, and nature, of patients’ reconceptualisation of their chronic low back pain (CLBP) following PNE. Eleven adults with CLBP underwent semistructured interviews before and three weeks after receiving PNE. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed in a framework approach using four a priori themes identified from our previous research: (1) degrees of reconceptualisation, (2) personal relevance, (3) importance of prior beliefs, and (4) perceived benefit of PNE. We observed varying degrees of reconceptualisation from zero to almost complete, with most participants showing partial reconceptualisation. Personal relevance of the information to participants and their prior beliefs were associated with the degree of benefit they perceived from PNE. Where benefits were found, they manifested as improved understanding, coping, and function. Findings map closely to our previous studies in more disparate chronic pain groups. The phenomenon of reconceptualisation is applicable to CLBP and the sufficiency of the themes from our previous studies increases confidence in the certainty of the findings

Investigative private policing beyond the police: an exploratory study

This paper is based on a survey of 331 private investigators predominantly based or working in the UK. It offers findings on the background, roles undertaken, tools used and outcomes of their work. It divides the investigators into four main groups: private investigators (or detectives), investigators working for forensic accountants, in-house private investigators and in-house public investigators (non-police). Given the lack of research on this segment of private policing, important exploratory findings are presented which can be used as the foundations of further research in this rarely investigated sector. The paper illustrates the dominance of older men in second careers among private investigators, the dominance of fraud investigation as the most common work undertaken and limited involvement in surveillance. The paper also presents significant findings on the number of persons who face some form of justice as a result of their investigations