29 research outputs found
Optimization problem for extremals of the trace inequality in domains with holes
We study the Sobolev trace constant for functions defined in a bounded domain
\O that vanish in the subset We find a formula for the first variation
of the Sobolev trace with respect to hole. As a consequence of this formula, we
prove that when \O is a centered ball, the symmetric hole is critical when we
consider deformation that preserve volume but is not optimal for some case.Comment: 13 page
Revenue decentralization, central oversight and the political budget cycle : evidence from Israel
This paper examines whether revenue decentralization and direct external
financial supervision affect the incidence and strength of political budget
cycles, using a panel of Israeli municipalities during the period 1999-2009.
We find that high dependence on central government transfers—as
reflected in a low share of locally raised revenues in the municipality’s
budget—exacerbates political budget cycles, while tight
monitoring—exercised through central government appointment of
external accountants to debt accumulating municipalities—eliminates
them. These results suggest that political budget cycles can result from
fiscal institutions that create soft budget constraints: that is, where
incumbents and rational voters can expect that the costs of pre-election
expansions will be partly covered later by the central government
The Mark Coventry Award: In Vivo Knee Forces During Recreation and Exercise After Knee Arthroplasty
Knee forces directly affect arthroplasty component survivorship, wear of articular bearing surfaces, and integrity of the bone-implant interface. It is not known which activities generate forces within a range that is physiologically desirable but not high enough to jeopardize the survivorship of the prosthetic components. We implanted three patients with an instrumented tibial prosthesis and measured knee forces and moments in vivo during exercise and recreational activities. As expected, stationary bicycling generated low tibial forces, whereas jogging and tennis generated high peak forces. On the other hand, the golf swing generated unexpectedly high forces, especially in the leading knee. Exercise on the elliptical trainer generated lower forces than jogging but not lower than treadmill walking. These novel data allow for a more scientific approach to recommending activities after TKA. In addition, these data can be used to develop clinically relevant structural and tribologic testing, which may result in activity-specific knee designs such as a knee design more tolerant of golfing by optimizing the conflicting needs of increased rotational laxity and conformity