Dctnr Wrds Wtht Vwls

Despite the promise of the title, this article is not concerned with the intelligibility of dictionary words without vowels (that is, with the letters AEIOUY removed), but instead with that tiny group of words which contain no vowels at all. For the sake of completeness, we include a considerably larger group of words which appear vowelless, but in reality are not -- words which use the letters V or W to represent vowel sounds. On the other hand, we do not include two burgeoning classes of vowelless words quite familiar to the average reader -- abbreviations such as MR., MRS., or DR. which are pronounced as if the full word were present, and acronymic words such as TV, DDT, MPH or TNT, usually printed in capitals and invariably pronounced by spelling out the individual letters

Population Ageing In New Zealand: Implications for Living Standards and the Optimal Rate of Saving

Over the next 50 years, New Zealand’s population will age substantially. There has been wide debate about whether New Zealand should prepare for population ageing by increasing national savings. The debate had not, however, involved explicit consideration of possible time paths for savings, consumption, debt, and other relevant macroeconomic variables; nor have explicit principles been offered for determining which of these time paths are to be preferred. This paper addresses the question of choosing time paths through the use of a Ramsey-Solow model of optimal saving, adapted for investigating problems of population ageing. The results suggest that population ageing alone would not justify increases in national savings rates beyond those envisaged by current policy. The cost of ageing in terms of reduced real consumption is not large enough to justify large additional savings beyond those currently predicted, and the concomitant reduction in current consumption. The findings concerning national savings and living standards are robust to a variety of specifications of demographic conditions, interest rates, and productivity growth.consumption; saving; inter-temporal paths; Ramsey model; population ageing; New Zealand

Population Ageing in New Zealand: The Impact on Living Standards and the Optimal Rate of Saving with a Flexible Real Exchange Rate

The purpose of this paper is to extend the simulation analysis of population ageing in Guest, Bryant and Scobie (2003). In that paper a single-good Ramsey-Solow model was calibrated for New Zealand and used to simulate the impact of population ageing on optimal national saving and average living standards over the next 100 years. There are several innovations in the present paper. One is to allow for tradable and non-tradable goods and thereby to introduce a real exchange rate. Changes in the real exchange rate due to population ageing produce substitution effects between tradable and non-tradable goods, in both consumption and investment. Other innovations in this paper are an outward-looking model of utility, a proportion of rule-of-thumb consumers, and a vintage capital model. The simulations of population ageing are conducted by first deriving a range of demographic projections from alternative assumptions about fertility, mortality and immigration. The resulting series for population and employment by age group are weighted to account for age-specific labour productivity levels and consumption demands. The model is solved by finding optimal paths of investment and consumption from an initial steady state to a new steady state following a demographic shock. The sanguine assessment of the impact of population ageing on living standards and national saving in Guest, Bryant and Scobie (2003) remains intact following the extensions applied to the model in this paper. That is, the cost of ageing is equivalent in its effect on living standards to an annual loss of labour productivity growth of about a quarter of one percent over the next 50 years. The optimal path for national saving implies a rise of up to 2% of GDP over the next decade, relative to that which would have been optimal in the absence of population ageing. In all the cases considered, the optimal level of savings then trends down, so that by 2051 it would be about 2 percentage points of GDP lower than the level that would have been optimal were the population age structure to have remained unchanged.consumption; saving; inter-temporal paths; Ramsey model; population ageing; foreign exchange; New Zealand

Ross Grant in a Senior Trumpet Recital

This is the program for the senior trumpet recital of Ross Grant. Pianist Jane Chu, organist Renee Flowers, and the OBU Trumpet Ensemble assisted the performance. The recital took place on February 1, 1977, in the Mabee Fine Arts Center Recital Hall

Indoleamine 2,3-Dioxygenase Activity Increases NAD+ Production in IFN-γ–Stimulated Human Primary Mononuclear Cells

IFN-γ activation of mononuclear phagocytes significantly increases indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and flux through the kynurenine pathway (KP). However, the effect of IDO on NAD+ synthesis, the end product of KP metabolism, is unknown. To investigate this, primary human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured up to 10 days and activated with IFN-γ in the presence or absence of a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. Day 10 macrophages had significantly higher NAD+ levels compared with monocytes. IFN-γ activation of macrophages resulted in the highest induction of IDO but decreased intracellular NAD+ concentrations at both 24 and 48 hours. However, IFN-γ activation of both day 6 and day 10 macrophages in the presence of a PARP inhibitor resulted in significantly higher intracellular NAD+ levels at 24 hours. This study provides evidence for the first time that an immune-mediated increase in IDO activity increases NAD+ biosynthesis concomitantly with an increase in NAD+ catabolism in primary human macrophages

An ex vivo comparison of the tensile strengthening properties of protein derivatives on damaged hair

Conventional conditioning agents, cationic surfactants and polymers, are often limited in their ability to repair and strengthen the hair fibre, while protein-derived actives have been found to enhance the tensile strength of damaged hair. This study investigates the effects of keratin, wheat and collagen hydrolysates on the tensile strength of three types of damaged hair: bleached, permed and thermally treated

An In vivo Comparison of Biomimetic vs. Traditional Skin Moisturization

The aim of this study was to determine whether a biomimetic cream can deliver superior moisturisation to the skin of human volunteers aged over 60, compared to the effects of a conventional moisturiser containing high levels of petrolatum and mineral oil. The study design included a 4-hour skin hydration trial, a mini-regression study and a self-evaluation study. The instrumental methods used were skin hydration measured by corneometer and skin pH evaluation. The results have shown that providing the elderly skin with lipids that make up the natural skin barrier had a significantly higher effect on the skin hydration levels than the treatment with a commercial product containing standard occlusive agents

Effects of co-surfactant and conditioning agent on colour

The colour-fading of hair treated with oxidative dyes is attributed to the effects of ultraviolet light and other environmental factors, but mostly it occurs during shampooing. This effect is caused by the diffusion of chromaphores from within the cortex towards the cuticle surface. The colour fading of dyed hair during shampoo washing is determined by a range of factors, most significantly by the chemistry of the chromaphores, the porosity of the hair fibres, and the properties of the used surfactants. Optimising the cleansing efficacy of shampoos in relation to colour protection claims is of interest to formulators. This study investigates the effects of two co-surfactants and a range of conditioning additives, polycationic and silicone-based, on the colour fading of hair tresses treated with red oxidative hair dye and put through repeated wash-and-dry cycles. The results indicate that the choice of co-surfactant alone, and in combination with the conditioning additives, can significantly influence the colour fading of red oxidative dye treated hair during shampooing. The amphoteric co-surfactant offered statistically significant improved colour retention, compared to the nonionic. Furthermore, the silicone based conditioning additive delivered enhanced colour retention in comparison with the selected cationic polymers

Instrumental and sensory characterisation of oleogels for cosmetic use

Oleogels are semisolid systems consisting of an oleogelator (gelling agent) and a lipophilic liquid phase. Despite having some distinct advantages (e.g. absence of preservatives or surfactants), the use of oleogels in cosmetic products is still sporadic. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different types of oleogelators on instrumental and sensory properties of oleogels made with common emollient types: hydrocarbon, synthetic ester and natural oil