Linear Quadrupole Focusing for High Resolution Microdroplet-Based Fabrication

In industry, particularly in the field of rapid prototyping, droplet-based manufacturing is proving to be an extremely efficient technique for the production of low cost electronic components. However, for some applications, the desired material properties at deposition are not easily integrated with a homogeneous, low viscosity fluid suitable for droplet ejection. For this reason, it would prove beneficial to have some means of altering the material properties of the droplets during their travel to the substrate. Due to the inherent irregularities in droplet ejection systems, increases in the associated throw-distances and travel times generally cause decreased resolution in placement. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the potential of a linear electrodyamic quadrupole for use in constraining the trajectories of charged microdroplets to allow for modification of their material properties prior to deposition. The equations of motion for the droplets within the device were derived and integrated numerically. Approximate bounds on the system stability were determined and the effects of the respective parameters were considered. An experimental system was constructed and used for deposition experiments. The results obtained, show that a linear quadrupole can be used to focus microdroplet streams for deposition, and that the corresponding operating variables can be predicted from the governing equations

What Can Be Learned About the Economies of China and India from Purchasing Power Comparisons?

Comparisons of India and China have been made for over 50 years. This paper focuses on purchasing power estimates in China and India in the 2005 round of the UN International Comparison Programme (ICP) that was coordinated by the World Bank, the Regional Banks and Economic Commissions. The 2005 ICP round provides estimates of purchasing power parities (PPPs) of currencies and real product per capita for 146 countries, and the results for China and India are discussed in the context of the size of these economies. It also provides insights into the prospects of future economic growth in China and India as also policy recommendations for China and the likely scenarios in the future.purchasing power, China, India, economic growth, Tertiary Sector, capital stock

Measuring and analyzing aggregate fluctuations: the importance of building from microeconomic evidence - commentary

Employment (Economic theory) ; Investments ; Productivity

Regional Output Differences in International Perspective

purchasing power parities, regional price levels, spatial models

To transduce a zebra finch: interrogating behavioral mechanisms in a model system for speech.

The ability to alter neuronal gene expression, either to affect levels of endogenous molecules or to express exogenous ones, is a powerful tool for linking brain and behavior. Scientists continue to finesse genetic manipulation in mice. Yet mice do not exhibit every behavior of interest. For example, Mus musculus do not readily imitate sounds, a trait known as vocal learning and a feature of speech. In contrast, thousands of bird species exhibit this ability. The circuits and underlying molecular mechanisms appear similar between disparate avian orders and are shared with humans. An advantage of studying vocal learning birds is that the neurons dedicated to this trait are nested within the surrounding brain regions, providing anatomical targets for relating brain and behavior. In songbirds, these nuclei are known as the song control system. Molecular function can be interrogated in non-traditional model organisms by exploiting the ability of viruses to insert genetic material into neurons to drive expression of experimenter-defined genes. To date, the use of viruses in the song control system is limited. Here, we review prior successes and test additional viruses for their capacity to transduce basal ganglia song control neurons. These findings provide a roadmap for troubleshooting the use of viruses in animal champions of fascinating behaviors-nowhere better featured than at the 12th International Congress

Preference-free option pricing with path-dependent volatility: A closed-form approach

This paper shows how one can obtain a continuous-time preference-free option pricing model with a path-dependent volatility as the limit of a discrete-time GARCH model. In particular, the continuous-time model is the limit of a discrete-time GARCH model of Heston and Nandi (1997) that allows asymmetry between returns and volatility. For the continuous-time model, one can directly compute closed-form solutions for option prices using the formula of Heston (1993). Toward that purpose, we present the necessary mappings, based on Foster and Nelson (1994), such that one can approximate (arbitrarily closely) the parameters of the continuous-time model on the basis of the parameters of the discrete-time GARCH model. The discrete-time GARCH parameters can be estimated easily just by observing the history of asset prices. ; Unlike most option pricing models that are based on the absence of arbitrage alone, a parameter related to the expected return/risk premium of the asset does appear in the continuous-time option formula. However, given other parameters, option prices are not at all sensitive to the risk premium parameter, which is often imprecisely estimated.Options (Finance)