Disaster Relief through the Tax Code: Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Opportunity Zone

This project investigates the impact of geo-graphically targeted Federal tax relief enacted in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. To facilitate administration of relief efforts and define eligibility for the temporary tax law changes, the Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) was created. We estimate the initial impacts of these tax incentives using propensity score matching (PSM) and Mahalanobis metric matching (MM) methods, combined with difference-in-difference (DD) estimation, to limit the confounding influences of observable and fixed unobservable differences between counties affected by these incentives and similarly storm-damaged counties in the region that were not included in the GO Zone. Results show that per capita personal income and net earnings increased more rapidly in GO Zone counties that experienced minimal storm damage than in similar non-GO Zone counties in the GO Zone States and neighboring States., Public Economics, H2, H24, H25,

A study of jet impingment on curved surfaces followed by oblique introduction into a freestream flow

Technology of thrust reversers with particular application to STOL aircraf

Cardiovascular consequences of cortisol excess

Cushing's syndrome is a consequence of primary or, more commonly, secondary oversecretion of cortisol. Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Cushing's syndrome, and excess risk remains even in effectively treated patients. The cardiovascular consequences of cortisol excess are protean and include, inter alia, elevation of blood pressure, truncal obesity, hyperinsulinemia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. This review analyses the relationship of cortisol excess, both locally and at tissue level, to these cardiovascular risk factors, and to putative mechanisms for hypertension. Previous studies have examined correlations between cortisol, blood pressure, and other parameters in the general population and in Cushing's syndrome. This review also details changes induced by short-term cortisol administration in normotensive healthy men

A framework for interpreting functional networks in schizophrenia

Some promising genetic correlates of schizophrenia have emerged in recent years but none explain more than a small fraction of cases. The challenge of our time is to characterize the neuronal networks underlying schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric illnesses. Early models of schizophrenia have been limited by the ability to readily evaluate large-scale networks in living patients. With the development of resting state and advanced structural magnetic resonance imaging, it has become possible to do this. While we are at an early stage, a number of models of intrinsic brain networks have been developed to account for schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders. This paper reviews the recent voxel-based morphometry (VBM), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and resting functional magnetic resonance imaging literature in light of the proposed networks underlying these disorders. It is suggested that there is support for recently proposed models that suggest a pivotal role for the salience network. However, the interactions of this network with the default mode network and executive control networks are not sufficient to explain schizophrenic symptoms or distinguish them from other neuropsychiatric disorders. Alternatively, it is proposed that schizophrenia arises from a uniquely human brain network associated with directed effort including the dorsal anterior and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), auditory cortex, and hippocampus while mood disorders arise from a different brain network associated with emotional encoding including the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbital frontal cortex, and amygdala. Both interact with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and a representation network including the frontal and temporal poles and the fronto-insular cortex, allowing the representation of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of self and others across time

Distinctive 16 PF Personality Traits of Librarians

While there is a fairly extensive literature on core competencies of librarians, there is a paucity of research on personality traits that distinguish them from those in other occupations. The present study compared the personality traits of 88 librarians with a general norm group using the 16 PF, a widely researched normal-personality inventory. We found that librarians are more apprehensive, cautious, flexible, focused, imaginative, open-minded, respectful, self-reliant, serious, tender-minded, and trusting as well as higher on general reasoning skills than those in the norm group. Findings are discussed in terms of consistency with core competences of librarians. Practical implications were noted, including recruitment and coaching of job incumbents

Investigating Electrotactile Feedback on The Hand

Electrotactile feedback can be used as a novel method to evoke different sensations on the skin. However, there is a lack of research exploring electrotactile feedback on the palm. This paper presents two experiments that in- vestigate the effects of manipulating pulse width, amplitude and frequency of electrical stimulation on perceived sensations (urgency, annoyance, valence and arousal) on the palm. In the first study, we manipulated pulse width and frequency. The results showed that both parameters have a significant effect on the perceived sensations, except for frequency not having an effect on valence. Also, frequencies of 30Hz and above did not influence the perceived sensations. In the second study, we manipulated amplitude and frequency. The results showed that both parameters have a significant effect on perceived sensations, especially for frequencies lower than 30Hz. From both experiments, the increment of pulse width and amplitude led to a higher rating for urgency, annoyance and arousal. These results gives us a better understanding of the parameter space of electrotactile feedback to enable designers to create effective electrotactile feedback

Investigating Electrotactile Feedback on The Hand

Electrotactile feedback can be used as a novel method to evoke different sensations on the skin. However, there is a lack of research exploring electrotactile feedback on the palm. This paper presents two experiments that in- vestigate the effects of manipulating pulse width, amplitude and frequency of electrical stimulation on perceived sensations (urgency, annoyance, valence and arousal) on the palm. In the first study, we manipulated pulse width and frequency. The results showed that both parameters have a significant effect on the perceived sensations, except for frequency not having an effect on valence. Also, frequencies of 30Hz and above did not influence the perceived sensations. In the second study, we manipulated amplitude and frequency. The results showed that both parameters have a significant effect on perceived sensations, especially for frequencies lower than 30Hz. From both experiments, the increment of pulse width and amplitude led to a higher rating for urgency, annoyance and arousal. These results gives us a better understanding of the parameter space of electrotactile feedback to enable designers to create effective electrotactile feedback

Quasitransitive Social Choice Without the Pareto Principle

The underlying observation of this paper is that when the Pareto principle fails, the collection X of alternatives may be partitioned into a set X^* of unbeatable (against at least one member of X) elements and its complement X~X^* on which the Pareto axiom holds. It is then instructive to characterize the decisive, antidecisive and blocking coalitions for X~X^*against X~X^*, X~X^* against X^*, X^* against X~X^*, and X^* against X^*. Now X^* itself may contain elements which are unbeatable with respect to alternatives in X^*—this is to say that the Pareto axiom fails again. Thus X^* may be partitioned into 〖〖(X〗^*)〗^*=X^(2*)and X^*~X^(2*), locally on X^*, and then the same analysis that was applied in the case of the partition (X^*,X~X^*) can be employed again. This process is iterated until X^(n*) = Φ or X^(n*)=X^((n+1)*), for some n

An Interval-Censored Proportional Hazards Model

We fit a Cox proportional hazards (PH) model to interval-censored survival data by first subdividing each individual\u27s failure interval into non-overlapping sub-intervals. Using the set of all interval endpoints in the data set, those that fall into the individual\u27s interval are then used as the cut points for the sub-intervals. Each sub-interval has an accompanying weight calculated from a parametric Weibull model based on the current parameter estimates. A weighted PH model is then fit with multiple lines of observations corresponding to the sub-intervals for each individual, where the lower end of each sub-interval is used as the observed failure time with the accompanying weights incorporated. Right-censored observations are handled in the usual manner. We iterate between estimating the baseline Weibull distribution and fitting the weighted PH model until the regression parameters of interest converge. The regression parameter estimates are fixed as an offset when we update the estimates of the Weibull distribution and recalculate the weights. Our approach is similar to Satten et al.\u27s (1998) method for interval-censored survival analysis that used imputed failure times generated from a parametric model in a PH model. Simulation results demonstrate apparently unbiased parameter estimation for the correctly specified Weibull model and little to no bias for a mis-specified log-logistic model. Breast cosmetic deterioration data and ICU hyperlactemia data are analyzed

Apparatus and method for aerodynamic levitation

An apparatus for the levitation of a liquid drop by a fluid flow comprising a profile generator, a fluid flow supply means operatively connected to the profile generator. The profile generator includes an elongate cylindrical shell in which is contained a profiling means for configuring the velocity profile of the fluid flow exiting the profile generator