Price-Output Dynamics and Returns to Scale

I consider the dynamics of an economy where prices move in response to excess demand, and outputs change according to the difference between price and cost. If there are economies of scale in production, these adjustment processes lead the economy to one of two regimes. In one regime, output, productivity, and profits all rise, while prices fall. In the other, output, productivity, and profits all fall, while prices rise. Depending on initial conditions which are policy-amenable, the economy moves to self-reinforcing growth, or to stagflation. An exogenous shock, such as a rise in the price of an imported input or a sharp restriction of demand, may transfer a previously healthy economy from the growth-with-price-stability regime to the stagflationary regime

Production Technologies and the Phillips Curve

In an economy with increasing returns to scale in production, wage changes and unemployment levels are shown to fluctuate systematically. Such fluctuations are part of the stable long-run configuration of the economy. They generate data sets in which wage changes show a negative Phillips-type correlation with the level of unemployment. This negative correlation is a reflection of the conventional Walrasian price adjustment process in the labor market, and does not imply that across equilibria there is a negative relation between wage changes and unemployment. In particular, it does not imply the existence of a trade-off between inflation and unemployment

Energy-Capital Substitution: A General Equilibrium Analysis

We consider an economy which imports energy from a monopolistic price-setter. The domestic general equilibrium of this economy adjusts in response to the price of energy. We define the total cross price elasticity of demand between energy and capital as the cross price elasticity across general equilibria of the economy, as the equilibrium changes in response to energy price changes. This corresponds to the price elasticity given by a total demand curve, and incorporates adjustments on both supply and demand sides. It is shown that whether this total elasticity implies energy-capital complementarity or substitutability depends upon the parameters of the model and the price of energy: for a given model, there may be a change from substitutability to complementarity as the price of energy rises. This framework offers an additional way of reconciling apparently conflicting findings on energy-capital complementarity and substitutability: an earlier suggestion was made by Berndt and Wood (1979). It is a natural extension of the general equilibrium approach initiated by Hogan (1977)

Resources, Trade, and Debt

The paper studies a two-region economy that has two sectors and three factors of production: oil, capital, and labor. The South exports oil in exchange for industrial goods from the North. There is a net capital inflow to the South. This equals the difference between its export revenues and import costs, and represents the South's indebtedness. This overseas borrowing finances the development of the oil sector: increased borrowing leads to &her oil supplies, to new levels of consumption and a new distribution of income in the South, and to new levels of industrial exports from the North. The paper studies the macro impacts of changes in the values of the debt on both the borrowing and the lending regions

The Scientific Publications of Charles Eric Dawson (1948-1990)

By the time Charles Eric Dawson died on February 11, 1993, he had produced a total of 150 published papers. His contributions represent an important chapter in the ichthyological investigations of marine fishes. His work on fishes of the Americas and on the taxonomy of pipe fishes will long be remembered as two of his most significant and outstanding achievements. Although tribute to this Canadian-American Ichthyologist and longtime Senior Ichthyologist and curator of the ichthyological research collection at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory is presented elsewhere (Overstreet and Poss, Copeia 1993(3):921-925), it is appropriate that the extensive bibliography of one of GCRL\u27s most productive scientists is compiled and made available to other researchers who will follow in his footsteps. These publications are listed chronologically

De-novo design of complementary (antisense) peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of interleukin 18 (IL-18).

Complementary (antisense) peptide mini-receptor inhibitors are complementary peptides designed to be receptor-surrogates that act by binding to selected surface features of biologically important proteins thereby inhibiting protein-cognate receptor interactions and subsequent biological effects. Previously, we described a complementary peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) that was designed to bind to an external surface loop (beta-bulge) of IL-1beta (Boraschi loop) clearly identified in the X-ray crystal structure of this cytokine. Here, we report the de-novo design and rational development of a complementary peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18), a protein for which there is no known X-ray crystal structure. Using sequence homology comparisons with IL-1beta, putative IL-18 surface loops are identified and used as a starting point for design, including a loop region 1 thought to be equivalent with the Boraschi loop of IL-1beta. Only loop region 1 complementary peptides are found to be promising leads as mini-receptor inhibitors of IL-18 but these are prevented from being properly successful owing to solubility problems. The application of "M-I pair mutagenesis" and inclusion of a C-terminal arginine residue are then sufficient to solve this problem and convert one lead peptide into a functional complementary peptide mini-receptor inhibitor of IL-18. This suggests that the biophysical and biological properties of complementary peptides can be improved in a rational and logical manner where appropriate, further strengthening the potential importance of complementary peptides as inhibitors of protein-protein interactions, even when X-ray crystal structural information is not readily available

The Scientific Publications of Charles Eric Dawson (1948-1990)

By the time Charles Eric Dawson died on February 11, 1993, he had produced a total of 150 published papers. His contributions represent an important chapter in the ichthyological investigations of marine fishes. His work on fishes of the Americas and on the taxonomy of pipe fishes will long be remembered as two of his most significant and outstanding achievements. Although tribute to this Canadian-American Ichthyologist and longtime Senior Ichthyologist and curator of the ichthyological research collection at the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory is presented elsewhere (Overstreet and Poss, Copeia 1993(3):921-925), it is appropriate that the extensive bibliography of one of GCRL\u27s most productive scientists is compiled and made available to other researchers who will follow in his footsteps. These publications are listed chronologically

Effect of a single prophylactic preoperative oral antibiotic dose on surgical site infection following complex dermatological procedures on the nose and ear: a prospective, randomised, controlled, double-blinded trial

Objectives: There is limited published research studying the effect of antibiotic prophylaxis on surgical site infection (SSI) in dermatological surgery, and there is no consensus for its use in higher-risk cases. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a single oral preoperative 2g dose of cephalexin in preventing SSI following flap and graft dermatological closures on the nose and ear. Design: Prospective double-blinded, randomised, placebo controlled trial testing for difference in infection rates. Setting: Primary care skin cancer clinics in North Queensland, Australia, were randomised to 2 g oral cephalexin or placebo 40–60min prior to skin incision. Participants: 154 consecutive eligible patients booked for flap or graft closure following skin cancer excision on the ear and nose. Intervention: 2 g dose of cephalexin administered 40–60min prior to surgery. Results: Overall 8/69 (11.6%) controls and 1/73 (1.4%) in the intervention group developed SSI (p=0.015; absolute SSI reduction 10.2%; number needed to treat (NNT) for benefit 9.8, 95%CI 5.5 to 45.5). In males, 7/44 controls and 0/33 in the intervention group developed SSI (p=0.018; absolute SSI reduction 15.9%; NNT for benefit 6.3, 95%CI 3.8 to 19.2). SSI was much lower in female controls (1/25) and antibiotic prophylaxis did not further reduce this (p=1.0). There was no difference between the study groups in adverse symptoms attributable to highdose antibiotic administration (p=0.871). Conclusion: A single oral 2 g dose of cephalexin given before complex skin closure on the nose and ear reduced SSI

Effect of a single preoperative dose of oral antibiotic to reduce the incidence of surgical site infection following below-knee dermatological flap and graft repair

Background: Surgical site infection (SSI) rates for below-knee dermatological surgery are unacceptably high, particularly following complex flap and graft closures. The role of antibiotic prophylaxis for these surgical cases is uncertain. Objective: To determine whether SSI following complex dermatological closures on the leg could be reduced by antibiotic prophylaxis administered as a single oral preoperative dose. Methods: A total of 115 participants were randomized to 2 g of oral cephalexin or placebo 40–60 minutes prior to surgical incision in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at a primary care skin cancer clinic in North Queensland, Australia. Results: Overall 17/55 (30.9%) controls and 14/55 (25.5%) intervention participants developed infection (P = 0.525). There was no difference between the study groups in adverse symptoms that could be attributed to high-dose antibiotic administration (P = 1). Conclusion: A single oral 2-g dose of cephalexin given before complex below-knee dermatological closure did not reduce SSI