Treating silicon carbide sinter by heating in nitrogen

A description is given of treating silicon carbide sinters by heating in nitrogen. A detailed explanation of the invention is presented. Two procedures to be followed in the invention are described

Child Benefit and Fiscal Burden with Endogenous Fertility

This paper studies a possibility of efficiency improvement by child benefit programs in an overlapping generations economy with endogenous fertility and government debt. We derive conditions for improving an efficiency by child benefit using Representative-Consumer efficiency (RC-efficiency), an efficiency criterion for an endogenous fertility setting developed by Michel and Wigniolle (2007). It is shown that the result crucially depends on the relative amount of accumulated government debt in the economy. It is likely to hold in an economy of developed countries with a low fertility rate. We provide an implication of the results in the real economy.Endogenous fertility; Pareto-efficiency; child benefit; fiscal burden

Selective RF wireless control of integrated bulk-micromachined shape-memory-alloy actuators and its microfluidic application

This paper reports wireless microfluidic control enabled by selective operation of multiple bulk-micromachined shape-memory-alloy actuators using radiofrequency external magnetic fields. Each shape-memory-alloy actuator is driven by a wireless resonant heater, which generates heat only when the field frequency is tuned to the resonant frequency of the heater. Multiple actuators coupled with the heater circuits that are designed to have different resonant frequencies in a range of 135-295 MHz are selectively controlled by modulating the field frequency to the resonant frequencies of the corresponding heaters with a constant output power. A wireless microsyringe device that has three actuator-heater components and a flexible parylene reservoir is developed. The 5-µl reservoir is squeezed by the 5-mm-long cantilever-type SMA actuators to eject controlled amounts of liquid from the reservoir. Wireless modification of pH in liquid is demonstrated using the device loaded with acidic solution through the selective control of the three actuators based on the frequency modulation technique

Frequency-controlled wireless shape-memory-alloy microactuators integrated using an electroplating bonding process

This paper reports the wireless control of bulk-micromachined shape-memory-alloy actuators using external radiofrequency magnetic fields and its application to microgrippers. The frequency-sensitive wireless resonant heater to which the gripper actuator is bonded is activated only when the field frequency is tuned to the resonant frequency of the heater. A batch-compatible bonding technique based on photo-defined copper electroplating is developed to mechanically and thermally couple the gripper with the planar heater circuit fabricated using copper-clad polyimide film. The actuation range of 600 µm as the tip opening distance is obtained with normally closed 5-mm long grippers at a device temperature of 92 °C. The field frequency range to which the devices with 140-MHz resonant frequency respond is measured to be ~13 MHz about the resonant frequency. The manipulation of vertically aligned carbon-nanotube forests is experimentally demonstrated. Mechanical stress tests for the bond formed by the developed electroplating bonding method show a shear strength greater than 40 MPa

Ability transmission, endogenous fertility, and educational subsidy

In this study, we attempt to investigate how educational subsidy, childcare allowance, and family allowance affect economic growth and income distribution, on the basis of simulation models which incorporate intergenerational ability transmission and endogenous fertility. The simulation results show that financial support for higher education can both increase economic growth and reduce income inequality, especially if the abilities of parent and child are closely correlated. In contrast with educational subsidy, raising childcare allowance or family allowance has limited impacts on growth and income inequality.Ability transmission, endogenous fertility, educational subsidy

Child Benefit and Fiscal Burden: OLG Model with Endogenous Fertility

In this paper, we present an OLG simulation model with endogenous fertility in order to analyze the relationship between child benefit and fiscal burden in Japan. Our simulation results show that expansion of the child benefit will improve the welfare of current and future generations. On the other hand, our findings show that we cannot expect a significant long-term improvement in welfare solely from implementing a policy of increasing the consumption tax. If both the sustainability of the fiscal budget and the improvement of the welfare of current and future generations are requirements, we will need to promote a strategy consisting of such components as a policy-mix that includes both child benefit expansion and additional fiscal reform, i.e. increasing the consumption tax. Implementation of such a policy-mix could be expected to yield a higher economic level in the welfare of current and future generations than could be expected solely from consumption tax reform.Computable general equilibrium (CGE) model; overlapping generations (OLG); child benefit; endogenous fertility

JAPANESE FIRMS’ DEBT POLICY AND TAX POLICY

Understanding the effects of marginal tax rate on debt policy is crucial not only for　considering various capital structure theories of firms but also for evaluating corporate tax reform proposals. In this empirical study, we have found a positive relation in most cases between the firm-specific marginal tax rates (simulated using the method of Shevlin (1990) and Graham (1996)) and the debt ratio increase of Japanese firms. This result shows that the marginal tax rates significantly affect the debt policies of Japanese firms. Corporate tax reform to produce equal treatment of equity and debt is desirable in Japan.debt, capital structure, marginal tax rate, corporate tax

Child Benefit and Fiscal Burden in the Endogenous Fertility Setting

This paper analyzes the possibility of improving the efficiency of child benefit programs in an overlapping generations economy that has endogenous fertility and large government debt levels. We derive the conditions for this improvement using Representative-Consumer and Children-for-Representative-Consumers efficiency criteria in the endogenous fertility setting, as proposed by Michel and Wigniolle (2007). We find that the result crucially depends on the relative amount of accumulated government debt in the economy. When the elasticity of interest rates to child benefit is close to zero and there exists a huge amount of accumulated debt in the economy, financing child benefit programs by issuing debt and using lump-sum tax leads to RC-improvements. This finding is likely to hold in the economies of developed countries that have low fertility rates. We finally provide the implications of these findings on the real economy.Endogenous fertility, Pareto-efficiency, child benefit, fiscal burden