Strategic debt management within the stability and growth pact

Opportunistic politicians use the composition of public debt as a signal for competence. A competent government will not issue long-term nominal debt, as optimal to balance the budget, but long-term inflation-indexed debt. We consider politicians that pursue the objective of a balanced budget subject to the Stability and Growth Pact and reelection. A government's competence is reflected by its ability to produce a public service at a lower cost (taxes). Competence is private information of politicians. --Political Budget Cycle,Debt Management,Inflation-indexed Bonds,Stability and Growth Pact

Modelling and simulation framework for reactive transport of organic contaminants in bed-sediments using a pure java object - oriented paradigm

Numerical modelling and simulation of organic contaminant reactive transport in the environment is being increasingly relied upon for a wide range of tasks associated with risk-based decision-making, such as prediction of contaminant profiles, optimisation of remediation methods, and monitoring of changes resulting from an implemented remediation scheme. The lack of integration of multiple mechanistic models to a single modelling framework, however, has prevented the field of reactive transport modelling in bed-sediments from developing a cohesive understanding of contaminant fate and behaviour in the aquatic sediment environment. This paper will investigate the problems involved in the model integration process, discuss modelling and software development approaches, and present preliminary results from use of CORETRANS, a predictive modelling framework that simulates 1-dimensional organic contaminant reaction and transport in bed-sediments

From waste management to component management in the construction industry

The construction industry uses more resources and produces more waste than any other industrial sector; sustainable development depends on the reduction of both, while providing for a growing global population. The reuse of existing building components could support this goal. However, it is difficult to reclaimcomponents from demolition, and materials remain cheap compared with labour, so new approaches are needed for reuse to be implemented beyond niche projects. This study therefore reviews waste interventions. Multiple case studies, spanning new builds and refurbishment, were undertaken to examine systemic mechanisms that lead to components being discarded. Evidence from fieldwork observations, waste documentation, and interviews indicates that the generators of unwanted components effectively decide their fate, and a failure to identify components in advance, uncertainty over usefulness, the perception of cost and programme risk in reclamation, and the preferential order of the waste hierarchy mean that the decision to discard to waste management goes unchallenged. A triage process is proposed to capture timely information about existing building components to be discarded, make this information visible to a wide community, and determine usefulness by focusing creativity already present in the industry on an exhaustive examination of component reusability and upcyclability

Kryptowochenende 2006 - Workshop über Kryptographie

Das Kryptowochenende ist eine Aktivität der Fachgruppe Angewandte Kryptologie in der Gesellschaft für Informatik (GI) mit dem Ziel, Nachwuchswissenschaftlern, etablierten Forschern und Praktikern auf dem Gebiet der Kryptologie und Computersicherheit die Möglichkeit zu bieten, Kontakte über die eigene Universität hinaus zu knüpfen und sich mit Kollegen aus dem Fachgebiet auszutauschen. Die Vorträge decken ein breites Spektrum ab, von noch laufenden Projekten bis zu abgeschlossenen Forschungsarbeiten, die zeitnah auch auf Konferenzen publiziert wurden bzw. werden sollen. Das erste Kryptowochenende hat stattgefunden vom 01.-02. Juli 2006 im Tagungszentrum der Universität Mannheim im Kloster Bronnbach. Die Beiträge zu diesem Workshop sind im vorliegenden Tagungsband zusammengefasst

Die Entstehung Der Ersten ‘Christlichen Gemeinde' Roms im Kontext der Jüdischen Gemeinden

Üblicherweise spricht man von den Anfängen einer ‘christlichen Gemeinde' in Rom, wenn man von den Anfängen des Christus-glaubens in Rom sprechen will. Wir haben uns im Titel unseres Beitrages dieser Konvention angeschlossen. Wir möchten aber von vornherein darauf aufmerksam machen, daβ diese Terminologie anachronistisch ist. Es ist zwar wahr, daβ Christusgläubige schon früh von auβen als eine eigenständige Gruppe erkannt und als solche auch Opfer von Maβnahmen römischer Machtpolitik werden konnten. Unseres Erachtens geschieht das spätestens unter Nero. Doch ist die Bezeichnung ‘Christianer' (Xριστιανοί lat. Chrestiani oder Christiani) erst in Dokumenten nach 70 faβbar (Acta 11.25; Tacitus Ann. 15.44; Sueton Nero 16.2). Bemerkenswert ist, daβ in Suetons Hinweis auf das Claudiusedikt (‘Da die Juden unter ihrem Anführer Chrestos beständig Unruhe stifteten, vertrieb er sie aus Rom') die Christusgläubigen noch ethnisch und religiös ganz zu den Juden gerechnet werden. Wir kommen auf diese Stelle später zurück, möchten jetzt aber schon darauf aufmerksam machen, daβ Sueton unter Claudius jedenfalls keine ‘Christianer' in Rom erwähnt. Gewiβ stimmen wir denjenigen Gelehrten zu, die annehmen, daβ Chrestus hier gleich Christus ist, d.h. Jesus (Christus) meint. Wir können also auf Grund von Suetons Notiz annehmen, daβ es schon unter Claudius Anhänger des Christus-glaubens in Rom gab. Doch hat M. Stern recht, wenn er schreibt, ‘However, the words of Suetonius could convey the impression that Christus himself was present at Rome at that time, and that the disturbances were instigated by him personally, while Tacitus, indeed, was better informed on the whereabouts of Christus.

A full participation agreement on global emission reduction through strategic investments in R&D

If an emission reduction agreement with participation of all players is not enforceable because politicians are too myopic or not able to commit themselves to sustainable policies or costs of reducing emissions are too high, strategic investments in research and development (R&D) of green technology, for example sustainable drive-trains, can pave the way for a future treaty. Although no player will rationally reduce emissions on its own, investments in R&D by at least one player can change the strategic situation of negotiations to control emissions: Emission abatement costs will decrease so that a treaty with full participation can be achieved in future periods through time consistent sustainable policies. --emissions,discount factor,commitment,endogenous technical change,repeated prisoner's dilemma

An international agreement with full participation to tackle the stock of greenhouse gases

This paper analyzes greenhouse gas emissions that build up an atmospheric stock which depreciates over time. Weakly renegotiation- proof and subgame perfect equilibria in a game of international emission reduction exist if countries put a sufficiently high weight on future payoffs, even though there is a discontinuity in the required discount factor due to the integrity of the number of punishing countries. Treaties are easier to reach if the gas depreciates slowly. --global warming,international agreement,weak renegotiation-proofness

Simultaneous Application of Interstitial Flow and Cyclic Mechanical Strain to a Three-Dimensional Cell-Seeded Hydrogel

The present study describes the design and validation of a simple apparatus to apply simultaneous mechanical and fluidic stress to three-dimensional (3D) cell-seeded collagen hydrogels. Constructs were formed in wells in a silicone substrate that could be stretched cyclically, and were also fitted with inlet ports to apply fluid flow. Acid etching was used to retain adhesion of the gels to the walls of the well, and an acellular layer of collagen hydrogel was used to distribute flow evenly. Finite element modeling showed that 5% uniaxial strain applied to the entire silicone substrate resulted in -6.5% strain in each of the gel constructs. Permeability testing and flow observation showed that acellular hydrogels were fourfold more permeable than cardiac fibroblast-seeded gels, and that the fluid distributed evenly in the acellular layer before entering the cell-seeded gel. Viability testing and imaging demonstrated that cells remained viable with expected fibroblast morphology for the 120-h duration of the experiments. These results demonstrate that this simple bioreactor can be used to study the effects of mechanical strain and interstitial flow in 3D protein hydrogels. Such 3D tissue models have utility in studying cell and tissue responses to their mechanical environment.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90463/1/ten-2Etec-2E2010-2E0547.pd

Analyse der Störfestigkeit nichtlinearer Schaltungen gegenüber leitungsgebundenen elektromagnetischen Störungen mit multi-input Wiener/Hammerstein-Modellen

In dieser Arbeit wird der Einfluss von leitungsgebundenen Störungen untersucht, welche in einen beliebigen Eingang (Signaleingang, Spannungsversorgung, Masse-Potenzial, etc.) einer Analogschaltung einkoppeln. Die zu untersuchende Schaltung wird dazu durch einen Wiener/Hammerstein-Ansatz als nichtlineares System mit zwei Eingängen modelliert. Mit Hilfe dieses Blockmodells werden analytische Ausdrücke derjenigen Frequenzanteile bestimmt, die durch Intermodulationen zwischen Stör- und Eingangssignal am Ausgang einer Schaltung entstehen.BMBF/03X4604

Carbon nanotubes in neural interfacing applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are remarkable materials with a simple and inert molecular structure that gives rise to a range of potentially valuable physical and electronic properties, including high aspect ratio, high mechanical strength and excellent electrical conductivity. This review summarizes recent research on the application of CNT-based materials to study and control cells of the nervous system. It includes the use of CNT as cell culture substrates, to create patterned surfaces and to study cell–matrix interactions. It also summarizes recent investigations of CNT toxicity, particularly as related to neural cells. The application of CNT-based materials to directing the differentiation of progenitor and stem cells toward neural lineages is also discussed. The emphasis is on how CNT surface chemistry and nanotopography can be altered, and how such changes can affect neural cell function. This knowledge can be applied to creating improved neural interfaces and devices, as well as providing new approaches to neural tissue engineering and regeneration.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90821/1/1741-2552_8_1_011001.pd