509 research outputs found
Consumer Inventory and the Cost of Living Index : Theory and Some Evidence from Japan
This paper examines the implications of consumer inventory for cost-of-living indices (COLIs) and business cycles. We begin by providing stylized facts about consumer inventory using scanner data. We then construct a quasi-dynamic model to describe consumers\u27 purchase, consumption, and inventory behavior. A key feature of our model is that inventory is held by household producers, not by consumers, which enables us to construct a COLI in a static manner even in an economy with storable goods. Based on this model, we show that stockpiling during temporary sales generates a substantial bias, or so-called chain drift, in conventional price indices, which are constructed without paying attention to consumer inventory. However, the chain drift is greatly mitigated in our COLI, which is based on consumption prices (rather than purchase prices) and quantities consumed (rather than quantities purchased). We provide empirical evidence supporting these theoretical predictions. We also show empirically that consumers\u27 inventory behavior tends to depend on labor market conditions and the interest rate.Publisher\u27s another name: JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S) Central Bank Communication DesignJEL classication number : C43, D15, E3
Local SiC photoluminescence evidence of non-mutualistic hot spot formation and sub-THz coherent emission from a rectangular BiSrCaCuO mesa
From the photoluminescence of SiC microcrystals uniformly covering a
rectangular mesa of the high transition temperature superconductor
BiSrCaCuO, the local surface temperature
was directly measured during simultaneous sub-THz emission from the
intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs) in the mesa. At high bias currents and
low bath temperatures K, the center of a large
elliptical hot spot with jumps dramatically with little
current-voltage characteristic changes. The hot spot doesn't alter the
ubiquitous primary and secondary emission conditions: the ac Josephson relation
and the electromagnetic cavity resonance excitation, respectively. Since the
intense sub-THz emission was observed for high K in
the low bias regime where hot spots are absent, hot spots can not provide
the primary mechanisms for increasing the output power, the tunability, or for
promoting the synchronization of the IJJs for the sub-THz emission, but can
at best coexist non-mutualistically with the emission. No standing
waves were observed
Kyphectomy for severe kyphosis with pyogenic spondylitis associated with myelomeningocele: a case report
A 32-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for a refractory ulcer on her back. She had a history of myelomeningocele with spina bifida that was treated surgically at birth. The ulcer was located at the apex of the kyphosis. An X-ray film revealed a kyphosis of 154° between L1 and 3 and a scoliosis of 60° between T11 and L5. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and laboratory data indicated the presence of a pyogenic spondylitis at L2/3. To correct the kyphosis and remove the infected vertebrae together with the skin ulcer, kyphectomy was performed. Pedicle screws were inserted from T8 to T12 and from L4 to S1. The dural sac was transected and ligated at L2, followed by total kyphectomy of the L1-L3 vertebrae. The spinal column was reconstructed by approximating the ventral wall of the T12 vertebral body and the cranial endplate of the L4 vertebra. Postoperatively, the kyphosis was corrected to 61° and the scoliosis was corrected to 22°. In the present case, we treated the skin ulcer and pyogenic spondylitis successfully by kyphectomy, thereby, preventing recurrence of the ulcer and infection, and simultaneously obtaining sufficient correction of the spinal deformity
Extracting the exponential behaviors in the market data
We introduce a mathematical criterion defining the bubbles or the crashes in
financial market price fluctuations by considering exponential fitting of the
given data. By applying this criterion we can automatically extract the periods
in which bubbles and crashes are identified. From stock market data of
so-called the Internet bubbles it is found that the characteristic length of
bubble period is about 100 days.Comment: revtex4, 7 pages, 5 figures, proceedings of Apfa5 Conferenc
Perineal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Arising in an Epidermal Cyst
A 90-year-old Japanese woman who had been aware of a subcutaneous mass on the right perineal region for 5 years was referred to our hospital for further examination and treatment because of the rapid growth of the mass and bleeding that began 3 months earlier. A biopsy of the mass revealed a diagnosis of well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. On preoperative examination, the tumor was 90×40 mm in size and was suspected to have partially invaded the levator ani muscle and external sphincter. Since a preoperative cardiac evaluation indicated severe aortic stenosis, we performed transcatheter aortic valve implantation. A radical resection was then performed with general anesthesia. The skin and subcutaneous tissue defects were reconstructed with a posterior gluteal-thigh propeller flap, and a sigmoid colostomy was created. The patient had a good postoperative course and was transferred to a rehabilitation facility 28 days after the surgery. Epidermal cysts are a common benign tumor, and clinicians should keep in mind that these cysts can become malignant
The first record of Chaoborus punctipennis (Say, 1823), an invasive phantom midge (Diptera, Chaoboridae), in Japan
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