Kohärente Terahertz-Quantenkontrolle und ultraschnelle Hochfeld-Dynamik in Halbleitern

In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die kohärente Vielteilchen-Quantendynamik von Ladungsträgern in Halbleitern in einem Regime nichtperturbativer Optik mit einer Zeitauflösung schneller als eine Lichtschwingung erforscht. Dabei gelingt es erstmals, ein kohärentes Landau-quantisiertes Elektronengas in Galliumarsenid auf ultrakurzen Zeitskalen nichtlinear zu kontrollieren. Des Weiteren wird mit atomar starken THz-Laserimpulsen im hochreinen Volumenmaterial eine extrem nichtperturbative Ladungsträgergeneration ausgelöst. Die gewonnenen Erkenntnisse liefern neue Einblicke in die mikroskopische Dynamik von Elektronen unter dem Einfluss starker THz-Lichtfelder

Dispersal-induced social stress prolongs gestation in wild meerkats

In the majority of mammals, gestation length is relatively consistent and seldom varies by more than 3%. In a few species, females can adjust gestation length by delaying the development of the embryo after implantation. Delays in embryonic development allow females to defer the rising energetic costs of gestation when conditions are unfavourable, reducing the risk of embryo loss. Dispersal in mammals that breed cooperatively is a period when food intake is likely to be suppressed and stress levels are likely to be high. Here, we show that pregnant dispersing meerkats (Suricata suricatta), which have been aggressively evicted from their natal group and experience weight loss and extended periods of social stress, prolong their gestation by means of delayed embryonic development. Repeated ultrasound scans of wild, unanaesthetized females throughout their pregnancies showed that pregnancies of dispersers were on average 6.3% longer and more variable in length (52–65 days) than those of residents (54–56 days). The variation in dispersers shows that, unlike most mammals, meerkats can adapt to stress by adjusting their pregnancy length by up to 25%. By doing so, they potentially rearrange the costs of gestation during adverse conditions of dispersal and enhance offspring survival

The Persistence of Inflation in Switzerland: Evidence from Disaggregate Data

This paper investigates persistence of Swiss consumer price inflation using aggregate and disaggregate inflation data covering 1983-2008. We document that persistence of sectoral inflation rates is below persistence of aggregate inflation. Our main finding is that inflation persistence significantly declines in the early 1990s. An estimated factor model reveals that inflation persistence stems from a persistent component that is common to inflation rates across sectors. Both the relevance and the persistence of the common component decline over time. Depending on the sample period and aggregation level, 70 to 90 percent of the variance in sectoral inflation rates is accounted for by short-lived sectoral factors

Ribavirin Enhances IFN-α Signalling and MxA Expression: A Novel Immune Modulation Mechanism during Treatment of HCV

The nucleoside analogue Ribavirin significantly increases patient response to IFN-α treatment of HCV, by directly inhibiting viral replication. Recent studies indicate that Ribavirin also regulates immunity and we propose that Ribavirin enhances specific interferon sensitive gene (ISG) expression by amplifying the IFN-α-JAK/STAT pathway. We found that IFN-α-induced STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation was increased in hepatocytes co-treated with Ribavirin and IFN-α, compared to IFN-α alone. Ribavirin specifically enhanced IFN-α induced mRNA and protein of the anti-viral mediator MxA, which co-localised with HCV core protein. These novel findings indicate for the first time that Ribavirin, in addition to its viral incorporation, also enhances IFN-α-JAK/STAT signalling, leading to a novel MxA-mediated immuno-modulatory mechanism that may enhance IFN-α anti-viral activity against HCV

Why Don’t People Pay Attention? Endogenous Sticky Information in a DSGE Model

Building on the models of sticky information, we endogenize the probability of obtaining new information by introducing a switching mechanism allowing agents to choose between costly rational expectations and costless expectations under sticky information. Thereby, the share of agents with rational expectations becomes endogenous and timevarying. While central results of sticky information models are retained, we find that the share of rational expectations is positively correlated with the variance of the variable forecasted, providing a link to models of near-rationality. Output expectations in our model are generally more rational than inflation expectations, but the share of rational inflation expectations increases with a rising variance of the interest rate. With regard to optimal monetary policy, we find that the Taylor principle provides a necessary and sufficient condition for the determinacy of the model. However, output and inflation stability are optimized if the central bank does not react too strongly to inflation, but rather also targets the output gap with a relatively large coefficient in the Taylor rule

The Role of Media for Inflation Forecast Disagreement of Households and Professional Forecasters

This paper investigates the effects of media coverage and macroeconomic conditions on inflation forecast disagreement of German households and professional forecasters. We adopt a Bayesian learning model in which media coverage of inflation affects forecast disagreement by influencing information sets as well as predictor choice. Our empirical results show that disagreement of households depends on the content of news stories (tone) but is unaffected by reporting intensity (volume) and by the heterogeneity of story content (information entropy). Disagreement of professionals does not depend on media coverage. With respect to the influence of macroeconomic variables we provide evidence that disagreement of households and professionals primarily depends on the current rate of inflation

Evidence-based Kernels: Fundamental Units of Behavioral Influence

This paper describes evidence-based kernels, fundamental units of behavioral influence that appear to underlie effective prevention and treatment for children, adults, and families. A kernel is a behavior–influence procedure shown through experimental analysis to affect a specific behavior and that is indivisible in the sense that removing any of its components would render it inert. Existing evidence shows that a variety of kernels can influence behavior in context, and some evidence suggests that frequent use or sufficient use of some kernels may produce longer lasting behavioral shifts. The analysis of kernels could contribute to an empirically based theory of behavioral influence, augment existing prevention or treatment efforts, facilitate the dissemination of effective prevention and treatment practices, clarify the active ingredients in existing interventions, and contribute to efficiently developing interventions that are more effective. Kernels involve one or more of the following mechanisms of behavior influence: reinforcement, altering antecedents, changing verbal relational responding, or changing physiological states directly. The paper describes 52 of these kernels, and details practical, theoretical, and research implications, including calling for a national database of kernels that influence human behavior

Technological elites, the meritocracy, and postracial myths in Silicon Valley

Entre as modernas elites tecnológicas digitais, os mitos da meritocracia e da façanha intelectual são usados como marcadores de raça e gênero por uma supremacia branca masculina que consolida recursos de forma desproporcional em relação a pessoas não brancas, principalmente negros, latinos e indígenas. Os investimentos em mitos meritocráticos suprimem os questionamentos de racismo e discriminação, mesmo quando os produtos das elites digitais são infundidos com marcadores de raça, classe e gênero. As lutas históricas por inclusão social, política e econômica de negros, mulheres e outras classes desprotegidas têm implicado no reconhecimento da exclusão sistêmica, do trabalho forçado e da privação de direitos estruturais, além de compromissos com políticas públicas dos EUA, como as ações afirmativas, que foram igualmente fundamentais para reformas políticas voltadas para participação e oportunidades econômicas. A ascensão da tecnocracia digital tem sido, em muitos aspectos, antitética a esses esforços no sentido de reconhecer raça e gênero como fatores cruciais para inclusão e oportunidades tecnocráticas. Este artigo explora algumas das formas pelas quais os discursos das elites tecnocráticas do Vale do Silício reforçam os investimentos no pós racialismo como um pretexto para a re-consolidação do capital em oposição às políticas públicas que prometem acabar com práticas discriminatórias no mundo do trabalho. Por meio de uma análise cuidadosa do surgimento de empresas de tecnologias digitais e de uma discussão sobre como as elites tecnológicas trabalham para mascarar tudo, como inscrições algorítmicas e genéticas de raça incorporadas em seus produtos, mostramos como as elites digitais omitem a sua responsabilidade por suas reinscrições pós raciais de (in)visibilidades raciais. A partir do uso de análise histórica e crítica do discurso, o artigo revela como os mitos de uma meritocracia digital baseados em um “daltonismo racial” tecnocrático emergem como chave para a manutenção de exclusões de gênero e raça.Palavras-chave: Tecnologia. Raça. Gênero.Among modern digital technology elites, myths of meritocracy and intellectual prowess are used as racial and gender markers of white male supremacy that disproportionately consolidate resources away from people of color, particularly African Americans, Latino/as and Native Americans. Investments in meritocratic myths suppress interrogations of racism and discrimination even as the products of digital elites are infused with racial, class, and gender markers. Longstanding struggles for social, political, and economic inclusion for African Americans, women, and other legally protected classes have been predicated upon the recognition of systemic exclusion, forced labor, and structural disenfranchisement, and commitments to US public policies like affirmative action have, likewise, been fundamental to political reforms geared to economic opportunity and participation. The rise of the digital technocracy has, in many ways, been antithetical to these sustained efforts to recognize race and gender as salient factors structuring technocratic opportunity and inclusion. This paper explores some of the ways in which discourses of Silicon Valley technocratic elites bolster investments in post-racialism as a pretext for re-consolidations of capital, in opposition to public policy commitments to end discriminatory labor practices. Through a careful analysis of the rise of digital technology companies, and a discussion of how technology elites work to mask everything from algorithmic to genetic inscriptions of race embedded in their products, we show how digital elites elide responsibility for their post-racial re-inscriptions of racial visibilities (and invisibilities). Using historical and critical discourse analysis, the paper reveals how myths of a digital meritocracy premised on a technocratic colorblindness emerge key to perpetuating gender and racial exclusions.Keywords: Technology. Race. Gender

A Service of zbw Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre for Economics The Persistence of Inflation in Switzerland: Evidence from Disaggregate Data The Persistence of Inflation in Switzerland: Evidence from Disaggregate Data *

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may July 2009 Abstract This paper investigates persistence of Swiss consumer price inflation using aggregate and disaggregate inflation data covering 1983-2008. We document that persistence of sectoral inflation rates is below persistence of aggregate inflation. Our main finding is that inflation persistence significantly declines in the early 1990s. An estimated factor model reveals that inflation persistence stems from a persistent component that is common to inflation rates across sectors. Both the relevance and the persistence of the common component decline over time. Depending on the sample period and aggregation level, 70 to 90 percent of the variance in sectoral inflation rates is accounted for by short-lived sectoral factors. JEL classification: E31, E52, C2