Recent Trends in Household Income Dynamics for the United States, Germany and Great Britain

This paper examines the recent trends in household income volatility in the United States, Germany and Great Britain, and compares household income volatility with individual income volatility. I estimate a formal error components model using the Cross-national Equivalence File from 1979 to 2004. I find that household income volatility, measured by the transitory variance of household income, accounts for more than half of the total income variance for all three countries. Despite the differences in the total household income variances among the three countries, the permanent variances converges since the late 1990s.Household Income, Income Volatility, Permanent Inequality, Cross-National Comparison

Achieving the Heisenberg limit in quantum metrology using quantum error correction

Quantum metrology has many important applications in science and technology, ranging from frequency spectroscopy to gravitational wave detection. Quantum mechanics imposes a fundamental limit on measurement precision, called the Heisenberg limit, which can be achieved for noiseless quantum systems, but is not achievable in general for systems subject to noise. Here we study how measurement precision can be enhanced through quantum error correction, a general method for protecting a quantum system from the damaging effects of noise. We find a necessary and sufficient condition for achieving the Heisenberg limit using quantum probes subject to Markovian noise, assuming that noiseless ancilla systems are available, and that fast, accurate quantum processing can be performed. When the sufficient condition is satisfied, a quantum error-correcting code can be constructed which suppresses the noise without obscuring the signal; the optimal code, achieving the best possible precision, can be found by solving a semidefinite program.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, see also arXiv:1704.0628

Evaluating Urban Expansion Using Integrated Remote Sensing and GIS technique: A Case Study in Greater Chengdu, China

The overall goal of this thesis is to better understand changes in the spatial pattern of urban growth and its impact on landscape configuration by conducting a case study in Greater Chengdu, an inland megacity in China. The objectives are as follows: 1) Quantifying changes in the spatial pattern of the study area between 2003 and 2013; 2) Evaluating the degree of urban sprawl over that period; 3) Evaluating urban expansion dynamics; and 4) Examining and defining the types of urban growth. Satellite imagery was employed to distinguish and identify different land surface categories. Integrated remote sensing and GIS (Geographic Information System) technique was used to analyse both qualitative and quantitative perspectives regarding the objectives. The results indicate that the urban area of Greater Chengdu doubled from 525.5 km2 to 1191.85 km2 during 2003 to 2013. The geographic footprint demonstrates that the distribution of the built-up area was dispersed and continues to grow more dispersed. The dominant type of urban growth is outward expansion, by which the city grew within a 10 km to 25 km radius surrounding the city center. A substantial infill phenomenon exists between a 5 km and 10 km radius from the city center. The urban core boundary expanded outward by 5 km, while the fringe of suburban area expanded outward by 10 km during the time period, which both indicate a substantial outward expansion over the city. The significant contribution of this study could benefit to many aspects such as comparative studies between cities or continuous studies relevant to urban growth

Less Than Equal: Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation

When it comes to economic gaps between whites and communities of color in the United States, income inequality tells part of the story. But let's not forget about wealth. Wealth isn't just money in the bank, it's insurance against tough times, tuition to get a better education and a better job, savings to retire on, and a springboard into the middle class. In short, wealth translates into opportunity

Private Transfers, Race, and Wealth

Examines racial/ethnic disparities in private transfers of financial support from extended families and friends, large gifts, and inheritances, as well as net support received after transfers given; their impact on wealth disparities; and implications

A High-Frequency, Volumetric Trading Strategy

We test a candidate high-frequency investment strategy, which utilizes the time series of price, volume and a novel interaction term to forecast intra-day returns over a continuous 101 day period from January 4 to May 28, 2010. The strategy uses minute-level data calculate regression coefficients from one-day for the purposes of trading the following day, thereby avoiding data snooping bias. Finally regressing the daily returns against the Fama-French Four Market Factors reveals significant alphas for more than half of the traded stocks

Effectively Settling SMEs financing Difficulty with Warehouse Receipt-a Case from China

SMEs financing is a difficult problem in the world, and it is more difficult in China. The highlight of our paper is that it offers a route which could settle the difficult problem but loan on credit. There are three platforms which can effectively settle SMEs financing difficulty with warehouse receipt. Platform 1 is a warehouse receipt management platform which manages SMEs movable property. Platform 2 is a P2P platform, or warehouse receipt financing platform. Platform 3 is a transaction platform of warehouse receipt. Future works have been put in the end

Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra, brain inflammatory response and behavior in mice with Parkinson’s disease

Purpose: To examine the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra, intracerebral inflammatory response and ethology in mice with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: Four groups of male C57BL/6 mice (n = 48) were used: normal control, negative control, n3PUFA, and Madopa groups. Except for normal control group, all groups were given 6- hydroxydopamine hydrochloride (6-OHDA) to establish Parkinson’s mice model. The expressions of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and calcium-binding protein (CB) in substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons were determined with immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The contents of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interferon γ (IFN-γ) (indices of intracerebral inflammatory response) were measured. Tremor paralysis, moving grid number, standing times, swimming ability, and the number of rollers in each group were observed as indices of ethology. Results: The number of TH and CB-positive neurons in the substantia nigra of n-3PUFA-treated mice was significantly increased, relative to those in Madopa-treated mice (p < 0.05). The expressions of TH and CB proteins in substantia nigra in n-3PUFA group were markedly higher than the corresponding expressions in Madopa-treated mice (p < 0.05). Decreased levels of NO, TNF-α and IFN-γ levels were seen in 3PUFA group, when compared to mice in Madopa group, but higher behavioral scores were obtained in n-3PUFA-treated mice, relative to Madopa-treated mice (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The n-3PUFAs protect substantia nigra compact dopaminergic neurons against Parkinson’s disease, alleviate immune inflammation, and improve the coordination of limb movement. Thus, n-3PUFAs have potential therapeutic application in the management of Parkinson’s disease

Mechanism and application of Lactobacillus in type 2 diabetes-associated periodontitis

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accelerates the progression of periodontitis through diverse pathways. Abnormal immune responses, excessive activation of inflammation, increased levels of advanced glycation end products, and oxidative stress have defined roles in the pathophysiological process of T2DM-associated periodontitis. Furthermore, in the periodontium of diabetic individuals, there are high levels of advanced glycation end-products and glucose. Meanwhile, progress in microbiomics has revealed that dysbacteriosis caused by T2DM also contributes to the progression of periodontitis. Lactobacillus, owing to its fine-tuning function in the local microbiota, has sparked tremendous interest in this field. Accumulating research on Lactobacillus has detailed its beneficial role in both diabetes and oral diseases. In this study, we summarize the newly discovered mechanisms underlying Lactobacillus-mediated improvement of T2DM-associated periodontitis and propose the application of Lactobacillus in the clinic

Essays on Income Volatility and Household Behavior

Thesis advisor: Peter GottschalkThesis advisor: Shannon SeitzThis dissertation contains two essays in labor economics. It provides a descriptive analysis on income volatility and develops a microeconomic model to study how married couples make joint decisions in response to such income volatility. The first essay examines the recent trends in household income volatility in the United States, West Germany and Great Britain, and compares household income volatility with individual income volatility. I estimate a formal error components model using the Cross-national Equivalence File from 1979 to 2004. I find that household income volatility, measured by the transitory variance of household income, accounts for more than half of the total income variance for all three countries. Despite the differences in the total household income variances among the three countries, the permanent variances converges since the late 1990s. The household earnings volatility is always lower than the individual earnings volatility for married couples, which suggests some evidence of intra-household insurance. In the second essay I examine whether married couples make joint labor supply decisions in response to each other's wage shocks. The study of this question aids in understanding the link between the recent rise in earnings volatility and household joint decisions. I develop an intra-household insurance model based on the collective framework, which allows for insurance against both permanent and transitory wage shocks from both partners. Estimation using Survey of Income and Program Participation shows that individuals increase labor supply in response to spouse's adverse wage shocks and such labor supply responses are larger when shocks are permanent than transitory. A household makes less transfer to the individual with more volatile income, which can be considered as a price for insurance.This intra-household insurance reduces earnings volatility by about 1.2% to 7.7%. These results suggest that joint labor supply decisions provide a smoothing effect on shocks to earnings and household income.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Economics