Investment-Specific Technology Shocks in a Small Open Economy

In this paper we examine the behavioral responses of key macroeconomic variables in Canada to exogenous innovations to investment specific technology. This is done by developing a stylized international real business cycle model which is simulated to explore its ability to shed new light on the dynamic behavior of the standard small open economy. The results indicate that this model can quantitatively replicate the key dynamic features of the post-war Canadian economy, and thus shocks to investment-specific technology can be considered an important propagation mechanism for studying and understanding modern macroeconomic dynamics in small open economies. Moreover, when the model was augmented with an endogenous utilization rate it was able to generate the counter-cyclical behavior of the external accounts - without appealing to an adjustment cost parameter and/or a propagation mechanism whose volatility and persistence are artificially low.Endogenous rate of time preference; Investment-specific shocks; Relative price of investment goods

Investment-Specific Technology Shocks in a Small Open Economy

This paper re-examines the behavioral responses of key macroeconomic variables in Canada to exogenous shocks to the relative price of investment goods. It does so by developing a stylized two-sector real business cycle model which is simulated to explore its ability to shed new light on the dynamic behavior of the standard small open economy. The results indicate that this model can qualitatively and quantitatively replicate the dynamic features of the Canadian economy, and thus shocks to investment-specific technology can be considered an important propagation mechanism for studying and understanding modern macroeconomic dynamics in small open economies.Endogenous rate of time preference, International real business cycle, Investment-specific shocks, Relative price of investment goods, Small open economy

Astrocaryum ulei (Arecaceae) newly discovered in Peru

Astrocaryum ulei, previously known from Brazil and Bolivia, is here reported from Madre de Dios in Peru. Based on the new material collected it has been possible to write an amended description of this species, which is presented here.Se registra para la flora peruana a la especie Astrocaryum ulei presente en Madre de Dios, conocida antes para Brasil y Bolivia. Se presenta una descripción actualizada de la especie

Characterization of leaf anatomy in species of Astrocaryum and Hexopetion (Arecaceae)

<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Leaf anatomy of 23 species of the genus <em>Astrocaryum</em> and of the two species of the genus <em>Hexopetion</em> is described. A total of 109 characters with at least one difference between species are reported from the lamina (83), main rib (11), petiole (9) and sheath (6). An identification key to species is given based on leaf anatomy. Distribution of the characters is discussed in order to evaluate their taxonomic relevance. </span

The effect of prolonged simulated non- gravitational environment on mineral balance in the adult male, volume 1 Final report

Effect of prolonged bed rest with simulated weightlessness on mineral balance in male adult - Vol.

Grapevine flower estimation by applying artificial vision techniques on images with uncontrolled scene and multi-model analysis

New technologies in precision viticulture are increasingly being used to improve grape quality. One of the main challenges being faced by the scientific community in viticulture is early yield prediction. Within this framework, flowering as well as fruit set assessment is of special interest since these two physiological processes highly influence grapevine yield. In addition, an accurate fruit set evaluation can only be performed by means of flower counting. Herein a new methodology for segmenting inflorescence grapevine flowers in digital images is presented. This approach, based on mathematical morphology and pyramidal decomposition, constitutes an outstanding advance with respect to other previous approaches since it can be applied on images with uncontrolled background. The algorithm was tested on 40 images of 4 different Vitis vinifera L. varieties, and resulted in high performance. Specifically, values for Precision and Recall were 83.38% and 85.01%, respectively. Additionally, this paper also proposes a comprehensive study on models for estimating actual flower number per inflorescence. Results and conclusions that are developed in the literature and treated herewith are also clarified. Furthermore, the use of non-linear models as a promising alternative to previously-proposed linear models is likewise suggested in this study. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

High-resolution IR and radio observations of AGB stars

Aims. We present the results of observations with interferometers of a sample of pulsating asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the infrared and at radio wavelengths. The goal of these observations is to explore the extended stellar atmospheres and to establish links between the spatial scales of molecular envelopes and of the dust shell. This is the key to better understand the process of dust formation and therefore of mass loss. Methods. We used the ESO VLTI/MIDI interferometer in the N band, the Keck Interferometer in the K band, and NRAO VLBA observations of SiO masers at 7 mm wavelength of a sample of AGB stars: U Ari, W Cnc, RX Tau, RT Tau, RT Aql, S Ser, and V Mon. The various instruments probe different altitudes of the atmosphere of the AGB stars. They are sensitive to regions below the silicate dust condensation distance and provide the opportunity of finding hints about how dust and its precursors form in the extended atmosphere of an AGB star. The K-band observations are sensitive to water and carbon-monoxyde vapors. Unfortunately, we were only able to observe S Ser in this wavelength range. Results. We find a ratio of 2.2 between the molecular envelope radius and the photospheric size, which is consistent with previous results. The N-band observations are mostly sensitive to vapors of SiO and water and to dust (alumina and silicate). The silicate dust shell is fully resolved, and no precise parameters can be deduced from the N-band observations other than a spatial extension of at least 12–16 R⋆ for our sample. The sizes found for the SiO region are consistent with the radii of the SiO maser rings provided by the VLBA observations. The sizes of the alumina and water vapor regions are systematically found to be larger. There is clear evidence that SiO is absent from regions farther from the star where silicate dust condenses. Conclusions. These observations support a possible scenario in which SiO is adsorbed by species such as corundum. An alternative explanation could be that SiO has chemically disappeared at this range of distances

Investment-Specific Technology Shocks in a Small Open Economy

In this paper we examine the behavioral responses of key macroeconomic variables in Canada to exogenous innovations to investment specific technology. This is done by developing a stylized international real business cycle model which is simulated to explore its ability to shed new light on the dynamic behavior of the standard small open economy. The results indicate that this model can quantitatively replicate the key dynamic features of the post-war Canadian economy, and thus shocks to investment-specific technology can be considered an important propagation mechanism for studying and understanding modern macroeconomic dynamics in small open economies. Moreover, when the model was augmented with an endogenous utilization rate it was able to generate the counter-cyclical behavior of the external accounts - without appealing to an adjustment cost parameter and/or a propagation mechanism whose volatility and persistence are artificially low

Investment-Specific Technology Shocks in a Small Open Economy

In this paper we examine the behavioral responses of key macroeconomic variables in Canada to exogenous innovations to investment specific technology. This is done by developing a stylized international real business cycle model which is simulated to explore its ability to shed new light on the dynamic behavior of the standard small open economy. The results indicate that this model can quantitatively replicate the key dynamic features of the post-war Canadian economy, and thus shocks to investment-specific technology can be considered an important propagation mechanism for studying and understanding modern macroeconomic dynamics in small open economies. Moreover, when the model was augmented with an endogenous utilization rate it was able to generate the counter-cyclical behavior of the external accounts - without appealing to an adjustment cost parameter and/or a propagation mechanism whose volatility and persistence are artificially low