How Transparent Are Central Banks?

Central bank transparency has become the topic of a lively public and academic debate on monetary policy. Unfortunately, it has been complicated by the fact that transparency is a qualitative concept that is hard to measure. This paper proposes a comprehensive index for central bank transparency that comprises the political, economic, procedural, policy and operational aspects of central banking. The index is compiled for nine major central banks. It is based on a detailed analysis of actual information disclosure and reveals a rich variety in the degree and dynamics of central bank transparency

Vector wind, horizontal divergence, wind stress and wind stress curl from SEASAT-SASS at one degree resolution

Conventional data obtained in 1983 are contrasted with SEASAT-A scatterometer and scanning multichannel microwave radiometer (SMMR) data to show how observations at a single station can be extended to an area of about 150,000 square km by means of remotely sensed data obtained in nine minutes. Superobservations at a one degree resolution for the vector winds were estimated along with their standard deviations. From these superobservations, the horizontal divergence, vector wind stress, and the curl of the wind stress can be found. Weather forecasting theory is discussed and meteorological charts of the North Pacific Ocean are presented. Synoptic meteorology as a technique is examined

Synoptic scale wind field properties from the SEASAT SASS

Dealiased SEASAT SEASAT A Scatterometer System SASS vector winds obtained during the Gulf Of Alaska SEASAT Experiment GOASEX program are processed to obtain superobservations centered on a one degree by one degree grid. The grid. The results provide values for the combined effects of mesoscale variability and communication noise on the individual SASS winds. These superobservations winds are then processed further to obtain estimates of synoptic scale vector winds stress fields, the horizontal divergence of the wind, the curl of the wind stress and the vertical velocity at 200 m above the sea surface, each with appropriate standard deviations of the estimates for each grid point value. They also explain the concentration of water vapor, liquid water and precipitation found by means of the SMMR Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer at fronts and occlusions in terms of strong warm, moist air advection in the warm air sector accompanied by convergence in the friction layer. Their quality is far superior to that of analyses based on conventional data, which are shown to yield many inconsistencies

Alien Registration- Mcintosh, Sylvester W. (Limestone, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/35425/thumbnail.jp

Space environmental effects on LDEF composites: A leading edge coated graphite epoxy panel

The electronics module cover for the leading edge (Row D 9) experiment M0003-8 was fabricated from T300 graphite/934 epoxy unidirectional prepreg tape in a (O(sub 2), +/- 45, O(sub 2), +/- 45, 90, 0)(sub s) layup. This 11.75 in x 16.75 in panel was covered with thermal control coatings in three of the four quadrants with the fourth quadrant uncoated. The composite panel experienced different thermal cycling extremes in each quadrant due to the different optical properties of the coatings and bare composite. The panel also experienced ultraviolet (UV) and atomic oxygen (AO) attack as well as micrometeoroid and space debris impacts. An AO reactivity of 0.99 x 10(exp -24) cm(sup 3)/atom was calculated for the bare composite based on thickness loss. The white urethane thermal control coatings (A276 and BMS 1060) prevented AO attack of the composite substrate. However, the black urethane thermal control coating (Z306) was severely eroded by AO, allowing some AO attack of the composite substrate. An interesting banding pattern on the AO eroded bare composite surface was investigated and found to match the dimensions of the graphite fiber tow widths as prepregged. Also, erosion depths were greater in the darker bands. Five micrometeoroid/space debris impacts were cross sectioned to investigate possible structural damage as well as impact/AO interactions. Local crushing and delaminations were found to some extent in all of the impacts. No signs of coating undercutting were observed despite the extensive AO erosion patterns seen in the exposed composite material at the impact sites. An extensive microcrack study was performed on the panel along with modeling of the thermal environment to estimate temperature extremes and thermal shock. The white coated composite substrate displayed almost no microcracking while the black coated and bare composite showed extensive microcracking. Significant AO erosion was seen in many of the cracks in the bare composite

A SEASAT SASS simulation experiment to quantify the errors related to a + or - 3 hour intermittent assimilation technique

A series of SEASAT repeat orbits over a sequence of best Low center positions is simulated by using the Seatrak satellite calculator. These Low centers are, upon appropriate interpolation to hourly positions, Located at various times during the + or - 3 hour assimilation cycle. Error analysis for a sample of best cyclone center positions taken from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans reveals a minimum average error of 1.1 deg of Longitude and a standard deviation of 0.9 deg of Longitude. The magnitude of the average error seems to suggest that by utilizing the + or - 3 hour window in the assimilation cycle, the quality of the SASS data is degraded to the Level of the background. A further consequence of this assimilation scheme is the effect which is manifested as a result of the blending of two or more more juxtaposed vector winds, generally possessing different properties (vector quantity and time). The outcome of this is to reduce gradients in the wind field and to deform isobaric and frontal patterns of the intial field

γ-Tocotrienol Reversal of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Human Breast Cancer Cells is Mediated through a Suppression of Canonical Wnt and Hedgehog Signaling

γ-Tocotrienol, a natural isoform within the vitamin E family of compounds, displays potent antiproliferative, apoptotic and reversal of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) activity against breast cancer using treatment doses that have little or no effect on normal cell viability. EMT is a route by which epithelial cells undergo various biochemical alterations leading to the acquisition of mesenchymal traits. Several aberrant signaling pathways are involved in EMT-dependent cancer metastasis. Specifically, dysregulation of the canonical Wnt and Hedgehog pathways are intimately involved in promoting breast cancer EMT and metastasis. Therefore, studies were conducted to examine effects of γ-tocotrienol on Wnt and Hedgehog signaling. Results from these studies demonstrate that γ-tocotrienol significantly inhibits canonical Wnt and Hedgehog signaling by inhibiting receptors, co-receptors and ligand expression, as well as inhibiting expression of cytosolic and nuclear signaling proteins within these pathways. Additional studies showed that γ-tocotrienol treatment increased the expression of negative regulators of both the Wnt and Hedgehog pathways. These findings demonstrate that γ-tocotrienol reversal of EMT is mediated, at least in part, through the inhibition of canonical Wnt and Hedgehog signaling, and strongly suggest that this form of vitamin E may provide significant benefit in the prevention and treatment of metastatic breast cancer

Discovery of Reflection Nebulosity Around Five Vega-like Stars

Coronagraphic optical observations of six Vega-like stars reveal reflection nebulosities, five of which were previously unknown. The nebulosities illuminated by HD 4881, HD 23362, HD 23680, HD 26676, and HD 49662 resemble that of the Pleiades, indicating an interstellar origin for dust grains. The reflection nebulosity around HD 123160 has a double-arm morphology, but no disk-like feature is seen as close as 2.5 arcsec from the star in K-band adaptive optics data. We demonstrate that uniform density dust clouds surrounding HD 23362, HD 23680 and HD 123160 can account for the observed 12-100 micron spectral energy distributions. For HD 4881, HD 26676, and HD 49662 an additional emission source, such as from a circumstellar disk or non-equilibrium grain heating, is required to fit the 12-25 micron data. These results indicate that in some cases, particularly for Vega-like stars located beyond the Local Bubble (>100 pc), the dust responsible for excess thermal emission may originate from the interstellar medium rather than from a planetary debris system.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in press for March, 2002 (32 pages, 13 figures

D=2 N=(2,2) Semi Chiral Vector Multiplet

We describe a new 1+1 dimensional N=(2,2) vector multiplet that naturally couples to semi chiral superfields in the sense that the gauged supercovariant derivative algebra is only consistent with imposing covariantly semi chiral superfield constraints. It has the advantages that its prepotentials shift by semi chiral superfields under gauge transformations. We also see that the multiplet relates the chiral vector multiplet with the twisted chiral vector multiplet by reducing to either multiplet under appropriate limits without being reducible in terms of the chiral and twisted chiral vector multiplet. This is explained from the superspace geometrical point of view as the result of possessing a symmetry under the discrete supercoordinate transformation that is responsible for mirror copies of supermultiplets. We then describe how to gauge a non linear sigma model with semi chiral superfields using the prepotentials of the new multiplet.Comment: 15 page