Shunto, Rational Expectations, and Output Growth in Japan

This paper describes a theoretical and empirical study of the Japanese macroeconomy that focuses on the role of predetermined nominal wages in the relation between monetary policy and aggregate output. The main features of the model are that nominal wage rates set at Shunto are equal to rational expectations of the nominal wage rates that would be consistent with target levels of real output and that firms determine employment and output by equating marginal productivities to real wage rates. The essential implication of the model is that the current deviation of aggregate output from its target level depends only on innovations in inflation and productivity since the last Shunto. The equation derived to implement the model empirically relates current aggregate output growth in a precise way to past values of output growth and inflation since the last Shunto and includes an explicit specification of a white noise error term. The results of econometric analysis of this restricted model equation are consistent with the hypothesis that nominal wages predetermined according to Shunto with rational expectations are important tor the determination of real aggregates. The empirical analysis, however, also suggests that the assumptions about monetary policy used to close the model are not adequate, a result that leads to directions for further research.

METHOD FOR LIGHTWEIGHT REPRESENTATION AND COMPARISON OF CAD FILES

A method and system are proposed to greatly reduce the size of computer aided design (CAD) files. The system represents and stores the CAD files as a sequence of operations to create the end object. The sequence of operations describes the CAD geometry including a range of mathematical descriptions in text form. The CAD file is structured as a hierarchical set of operations. Each change in operation is stored as a delta version taking up very little storage space. Major versions are saved with graphics for quick view, similar to current CAD files storage. The textual representation of the CAD file is used for comparing and merging of parts/features if needed. The lightweight file size is easier for performing meaningful diff operations such as merging of different versions for collaboration and version management. Backups are made possible for every change allowing fine grained return to any previous state

All solid-state high power visible laser

The overall objective of this Phase 2 effort was to develop and deliver to NASA a high repetition rate laser-diode-pumped solid-state pulsed laser system with output in the green portion of the spectrum. The laser is for use in data communications, and high efficiency, short pulses, and low timing jitter are important features. A short-pulse 1 micron laser oscillator, a new multi-pass amplifier to boost the infrared power, and a frequency doubler to take the amplified infrared pulsed laser light into the green. This produced 1.5 W of light in the visible at a pulse repetition rate of 20 kHz in the laboratory. The pulses have a full-width at half maximum of near 1 ns. The results of this program are being commercialized

Obstruction Theory in Model Categories

Many examples of obstruction theory can be formulated as the study of when a lift exists in a commutative square. Typically, one of the maps is a cofibration of some sort and the opposite map is a fibration, and there is a functorial obstruction class that determines whether a lift exists. Working in an arbitrary pointed proper model category, we classify the cofibrations that have such an obstruction theory with respect to all fibrations. Up to weak equivalence, retract, and cobase change, they are the cofibrations with weakly contractible target. Equivalently, they are the retracts of principal cofibrations. Without properness, the same classification holds for cofibrations with cofibrant source. Our results dualize to give a classification of fibrations that have an obstruction theory.Comment: 17 pages. v3 includes improved introduction and several other minor improvement

The medical science DMZ: a network design pattern for data-intensive medical science

Abstract: Objective We describe a detailed solution for maintaining high-capacity, data-intensive network flows (eg, 10, 40, 100 Gbps+) in a scientific, medical context while still adhering to security and privacy laws and regulations. Materials and Methods High-end networking, packet-filter firewalls, network intrusion-detection systems. Results We describe a “Medical Science DMZ” concept as an option for secure, high-volume transport of large, sensitive datasets between research institutions over national research networks, and give 3 detailed descriptions of implemented Medical Science DMZs. Discussion The exponentially increasing amounts of “omics” data, high-quality imaging, and other rapidly growing clinical datasets have resulted in the rise of biomedical research “Big Data.” The storage, analysis, and network resources required to process these data and integrate them into patient diagnoses and treatments have grown to scales that strain the capabilities of academic health centers. Some data are not generated locally and cannot be sustained locally, and shared data repositories such as those provided by the National Library of Medicine, the National Cancer Institute, and international partners such as the European Bioinformatics Institute are rapidly growing. The ability to store and compute using these data must therefore be addressed by a combination of local, national, and industry resources that exchange large datasets. Maintaining data-intensive flows that comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and other regulations presents a new challenge for biomedical research. We describe a strategy that marries performance and security by borrowing from and redefining the concept of a Science DMZ, a framework that is used in physical sciences and engineering research to manage high-capacity data flows. Conclusion By implementing a Medical Science DMZ architecture, biomedical researchers can leverage the scale provided by high-performance computer and cloud storage facilities and national high-speed research networks while preserving privacy and meeting regulatory requirements

Wills, Trusts, and Estates, A Contemporary Approach

This casebook is designed to present in a comprehensive yet streamlined fashion the law of Wills, Trusts, and Future Interests to 21st “century law students. It assists the student in developing an understanding of the core legal concepts critical to a grasp of wills, trusts and future interests in a novel format that is clear and easy to understand, while maintaining the intellectual rigor of the subject. The book covers the standard topics, but is organized in an innovative fashion. It begins with an estate planning problem which introduces the student to the craft of the practitioner, providing context for the introduction of substantive law. It then presents the law of wills law by reference to the law governing the testator, the document and the property. Attention is given to non-probate transfers, and in particular, the law of trusts, private and charitable. A simple will, model trust instrument and a pourover will is provided. These documents can be introduced in Chapter 2 “ in a general discussion of estate planning “ or can be used in Chapter 3 and Chapter 8 when the substantive discussion focuses on wills and then trusts. The book concludes with a comprehensive look at future interests and the rule against perpetuities. As with other books in the Interactive Casebook Series, it challenges students to think about issues raised by the cases as they are considered in the opinion through the use of text boxes. The accompanying electronic version allows students immediate access to the full text of cited cases, statutes, articles, and other relevant materials.https://scholar.smu.edu/facbooks/1068/thumbnail.jp

Protective effect of prostacyclin on postischemic acute renal failure in the rat

Protective effect of prostacyclin on postischemic acute renal failure in the rat. Infusion of prostacyclin (PGI2) reportedly attenuates renal ischemic injury in the dog and the rat. In the dog, PGI2 is a potent renal vasodilator; in the rat a direct action on the renal vasculature is not always apparent. To determine whether or not the protective effect of PGI2 on postichemic ARF was hemodynamically mediated, studies were performed in uninephrectomized Sprague–Dawley rats before and after a 40 minute period of complete renal artery occlusion. In response to the preischemic infusion of PGI2 for 30 minutes at 160 ng/kg body wt/min i.v. (N = 7), MAP and RBF fell to 86 ± 7% (P < 0.0001) and 84 ± 9% (P < 0.05) of baseline values, respectively. RVR initially declined to 81 ± 9% of baseline values (P < 0.025) but returned to 102 ± 13% of baseline values prior to the period of ischemia. Following the period of ischemia, reflow of blood in the rats receiving PGI2 was delayed when compared to rats not receiving PGI2 (N = 1). RBF returned to only 76 ± 19% of the initial values in PGI2-treated rats (P < 0.01) but to 90 ± 12% of the initial values in rats receiving buffer alone (NS). Observations made during the ensuing 48 hours in animals treated with either 80 (N = 8) or 160 ng/kg/body wt/min (N = 7) for 30 minutes before and four hours after the period of ischemia indicated that renal function improved to a greater extent in the PGI2-treated animals than in buffer–treated animals (N = 15) as judged by significantly–greater mean values of V, UOsm, UCr and CCr. On the second day after ischemia, CInwas significantly greater in PGI2-treated animals than in the postischemic animals receiving buffer alone (77 ± 45 vs. 33 ± 20 µl/min/100 g body wt; P < 0.05) despite the fact that no differences were found in the mean values of RBF (3.59 ± 1.08 vs. 3.43 ± 0.32 ml/min/100 body wt. Blinded analysis of the histological sections revealed significantly less evidence of tublar epithelial cell necrosis in the PGI2-treated animals (P < 0.005). The data indicate that the protective effect of PGI2 on the renal response to ischemic injury in the Sprague–Dawley rat is not related to changes in RBF or RVR. Instead, the beneficial effect of PGI2may be a result of cytoprotective properties as has been demonstrated in other tissues

FINITE-DIFFERENCE ALGORITHMS FOR INVISCID, INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW OVER AN ARBITRARY SYMMETRIC PROFILE.

This thesis studies steady, two dimensional flow of an inviscid, incompressible fluid over an arbitrary symmetric profile. Flows with zero and variable vorticity are considered. In the present work a numerical algorithm is given for a class of lows that can also be solved by perturbation techniques. However, reliable solutions by the perturbation technique, especially in the case of rotational flows, require complicated analytical methods even in the case of the circle. Thus, one of the goals of this thesis is to provide a fast and efficient algorithm from which a solution to several standard problems can be obtained with less effort. The equations of motion based on a transformation of coordinate systems are derived. The approach is new in that the computational domain consists of the streamlines (psi)(x,y) = constant and an arbitrary family of curves (phi)(x,y) = constant such that the ((phi),(psi)) coordinate system forms a curvilinear net. To solve the flow the transformed equations are simplified based on the flow assumptions. Boundary conditions of the mixed type are then applied to the computational domain. Results are presented for several aerodynamic profiles and compared with those obtained by other methods. The proposed method is found to be fast, efficient and reliable. Accurate results can be obtained with a minimum of numerical calculation. A stability analysis of the ADI (Alternating-Direction-Implicit) iteration method is carried out, based on a Fourier series method. A new equation for the error is obtained. It is found possible to obtain a precise interval where convergence is optimized for a certain class of elliptic partial differential equations.Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1986 .G767. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-05, Section: B, page: 2016. Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1986