A class of colliding waves in metric-affine gravity, nonmetricity and torsion shock waves

By using our recent generalization of the colliding waves concept to metric-affine gravity theories, and also our generalization of the advanced and retarded time coordinate representation in terms of Jacobi functions, we find a general class of colliding wave solutions with fourth degree polynomials in metric-affine gravity. We show that our general approach contains the standard second degree polynomials colliding wave solutions as a particular case.Comment: 13 pages, latex, to appear in J.Math.Phy

Pleba\'nski-Demia\'nski-like solutions in metric-affine gravity

We consider a (non--Riemannian) metric--affine gravity theory, in particular its nonmetricity--torsion sector ``isomorphic'' to the Einstein--Maxwell theory. We map certain Einstein--Maxwell electrovacuum solutions to it, namely the Pleba\'nski--Demia\'nski class of Petrov type D metrics.Comment: 12 pages of a LaTeX-fil

Off-balance sheet activities of commercial banks in the Philippines

This paper is an attempt to shed some light on the major OBS activities of commercial banks in the Philippines. Due to data limitations, the paper focuses on the trust and funds management accounts which have grown most rapidly in recent years, although a brief discussion on trade-related OBS activities is presented in Part II. The implications of the fiduciary facilities on several areas are studied in Part III: First, their possible effect on the solvency and liquidity risks Of banks are looked into. Second, their effect on the structure of the banking industry is studied. Since these are in essence alternatives to the traditional deposits and deposit substitutes in raising funds from surplus units, a competitive structure would be preferred to a set-up where only a few banks dominate. Evidence on this, however, show the opposite. The trust industry is less competitive than the commercial banking industry itself or the industry structure based on balance sheet operations which is already suspected of being oligopolistic (Tan 1989)

Central Bank policies and the behavior of the money market : the case of the Philippines

This study attempts to relate policies of the Central Bank with the behavior of the money market. The money market is defined as the short-term financial market covering instruments that are close substitutes for money. By convention, only instruments with a maturity of less than sixty days are analyzed although data for instruments with longer maturities are presented. Based on the observation of the abovementioned performance measures, it can be generally concluded that regulations prior to 1981 produced a less efficient but more stable market. During the liberalization period, the behavior of the money markets was significantly affected by the Dewey Dee crisis in 1981 and the balance-of-payments (BOP) crisis in 1983 which led to the 1984-1985 recession. Since data on the money market for 1981 were not provided by the Central Bank, the assessment of key events focuses only on the effect of the BOP crisis. The Central Bank's main policy instruments during the crisis were the controversial "Jobo" bills which carried artificially high interest rates to arrest capital outflows. Stability in the monetary system was achieved but at the expense of operating efficiency. Transactions in the money market instruments, excluding Treasury bills and interbank call loans, declined rapidly during the period 1983-'85 and have since not recovered. 'Hiis paper, thus, clearly points out the trade-off between operating efficiency, on one hand, and stability, on the other

Nonlinear spinor field in cosmology

Within the scope of Bianchi type VI (BVI) model the self-consistent system of nonlinear spinor and gravitational fields is considered. Exact self-consistent solutions to the spinor and gravitational field equations are obtained for some special choice of spatial inhomogeneity and nonlinear spinor term. The role of inhomogeneity in the evolution of spinor and gravitational field is studied. Oscillatory mode of expansion of the BVI universe is obtained for some special choice of spinor field nonlinearity.Comment: RevTex4, 19 pages, 4 figure

Faint Radio Sources in the NOAO Bootes Field. VLBA Imaging And Optical Identifications

As a step toward investigating the parsec-scale properties of faint extragalactic radio sources, the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) was used at 5.0 GHz to obtain phase-referenced images of 76 sources in the NOAO Booetes field. These 76 sources were selected from the FIRST catalog to have peak flux densities above 10 mJy at 5'' resolution and deconvolved major diameters of less than 3'' at 1.4 GHz. Fifty-five of these faint radio sources were identified with accretion-powered radio galaxies and quasars brighter than 25.5 mag in the optical I band. On VLA scales at 1.4 GHz, a measure of the compactness of the faint sources (the ratio of the peak flux density from FIRST to the integrated flux density from the NVSS catalog) spans the full range of possibilities arising from source-resolution effects. Thirty of the faint radio sources, or 39{sub -7}{sup +9}%, were detected with the VLBA at 5.0 GHz with peak flux densities above 6 {sigma} {approx} 2 mJy at 2 mas resolution. The VLBA detections occur through the full range of compactness ratios. The stronger VLBA detections can themselves serve as phase-reference calibrators, boding well for opening up much of the radio sky to VLBA imaging. For the adopted cosmology, the VLBA resolution corresponds to 17 pc or finer. Most VLBA detections are unresolved or slightly resolved but one is diffuse and five show either double or core-jet structures; the properties of these latter six are discussed in detail. Eight VLBA detections are unidentified and fainter than 25.5 mag in the optical I band; their properties are highlighted because they likely mark optically-obscured active nuclei at high redshift

The Behavior of Kasner Cosmologies with Induced Matter

We extend the induced matter model, previously applied to a variety of isotropic cases, to a generalization of Bianchi type-I anisotropic cosmologies. The induced matter model is a 5D Kaluza-Klein approach in which assumptions of compactness are relaxed for the fifth coordinate, leading to extra geometric terms. One interpretation of these extra terms is to identify them as an ``induced matter'' contribution to the stress-energy tensor. In similar spirit, we construct a five dimensional metric in which the spatial slices possess Bianchi type-I geometry. We find a set of solutions for the five dimensional Einstein equations, and determine the pressure and density of induced matter. We comment on the long-term dynamics of the model, showing that the assumption of positive density leads to the contraction over time of the fifth scale factor.Comment: 14 page

Novel FGFR1 mutations in Kallmann syndrome and normosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism: evidence for the involvement of an alternatively spliced isoform

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) mutations and their predicted functional consequences in patients with idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Multicentric. PATIENT(S): Fifty unrelated patients with IHH (21 with Kallmann syndrome and 29 with normosmic IHH). INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Patients were screened for mutations in FGFR1. The functional consequences of mutations were predicted by in silico structural and conservation analysis. RESULT(S): Heterozygous FGFR1 mutations were identified in six (12%) kindreds. These consisted of frameshift mutations (p.Pro33-Alafs*17 and p.Tyr654*) and missense mutations in the signal peptide (p.Trp4Cys), in the D1 extracellular domain (p.Ser96Cys) and in the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase domain (p.Met719Val). A missense mutation was identified in the alternatively spliced exon 8A (p.Ala353Thr) that exclusively affects the D3 extracellular domain of FGFR1 isoform IIIb. Structure-based and sequence-based prediction methods and the absence of these variants in 200 normal controls were all consistent with a critical role for the mutations in the activity of the receptor. Oligogenic inheritance (FGFR1/CHD7/PROKR2) was found in one patient. CONCLUSION(S): Two FGFR1 isoforms, IIIb and IIIc, result from alternative splicing of exons 8A and 8B, respectively. Loss-of-function of isoform IIIc is a cause of IHH, whereas isoform IIIb is thought to be redundant. Ours is the first report of normosmic IHH associated with a mutation in the alternatively spliced exon 8A and suggests that this disorder can be caused by defects in either of the two alternatively spliced FGFR1 isoform

Depression and health related quality of life among HIV-infected people

Producción CientíficaLittle is known about the impact of comorbid psychiatric symptoms in health related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with HIV infection. The aim of this investigation was to describe depressive symptoms and the impact in HRQL in HIV infected people. A cross-sectional study over 150 HIV-outpatients in a tertiary hospital was designed. Depression data were obtained using the Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II) inventory. HRQL data were collected by disease-specific questionnaire MOS-HIV. Researchers' team designed a specific template to get rest of the data. Almost three-quarters of the population were men. After adjusting for gender and age, HIV-related symptoms and presence of depression were found to be negatively associated with all the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV) general domains and in the Physical Health Summary score and Mental Health Summary score. Optimization of HRQL is particularly important now that HIV is a chronic disease with the prospect of long-term survival. Quality of life and depression should be monitored in follow-up of HIV infected patients. Comorbid psychiatric conditions may serve as markers for impaired functioning and well-being in persons with HIV

Digestibilidade aparente dos nutrientes em dietas contendo resíduo desidratado de uva de vitivinícolas associado à palma forrageira "in natura" e diferentes níveis de uréia para ovinos.

A ovinocultura no semi-árido nordestino encontra bareiras geradas pela escassez de alimento, principalmente na época seca do ano. A busca por alimentos alternativos que forneçam teores de nutrientes adequados para estes animais é uma necessidade freqüente na região. A palma forrageira, o resíduo de uva de vitivinícolas e a uréia mostram potencial para tal incumbência nesta região. O atual trabalho objetivou avaliar dietas para ovinos com resíduo de uva de vitivinícolas desidratado, palma forrageira "in natura" e níveis crescentes de uréia por meio da digestibilidade aparente dos nutrientes. Foram utilizados 16 ovinos Santa Inês machos, não castrados com peso médio se 36,9 kg e idade média de 11 meses. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi de blocos ao acaso usando o peso como referência e o experimento conteve dois períodos experimentais, com 15 dias de adaptação e cinco dias de coleta cada. Ao final do segundo período somaram-se quatro tratamentos e oito repetições por cada tratamento. As dietas foram compostas por 60% de resíduo de uva desidratado e 40% de palma forrageira e níveis crescentes de uréia na MS (0; 1; 3%). A inclusão de uréia nas dietas propostas possibilitou um aumento linear nos CDMS. Os CDPB, CDCNF e CDFDN não foram influenciados pelos níveis crescentes de uréia