Cape Verde's exchange rate policy and its alternatives

This paper analyses Cape Verde's exchange rate policy and investigates whether viable alternatives exist. Cape Verde currently operates a fixed exchange rate regime which, since 1999, links the national currency to the euro. The fixed exchange rate has many benefits, but authorities have to leave interest rates high in order to attract foreign capital, which has inhibited private investment and economic growth; the appreciation of the euro in 2002 and 2003 put the fixed exchange rate under additional strain. This issue is addressed by contemplating whether interest rates can be reduced in the context of the current exchange rate regime, and what costs and benefits are associated with a regime change that enables a reduction in interest rates. The analysis strongly suggests that it is not so much the exchange rate regime that is to blame for high interest rates, but rather a structural problem in the banking sector. Consequently, the policy conclusion reached in this paper is that although changing the current exchange rate policy might reduce interest rates, structural reforms would be more appropriate to tackle the problem at hand.Cape Verde, exchange rates, interest rates, central banks and monetary policy, remittances, modern asset market model

Gilbert damping of CoFe-alloys

We report structural, magnetic and dynamic properties of polycrystalline coxfe1-x-alloy films on sapphire, silicon, and mgo substrates across the full composition range, by using a vector network analyser ferromagnetic resonance measurement technique (vna-fmr), superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry (squid) and x-ray diffraction (xrd). in the approximate vicinity of 28% co, we observe a minimum of the damping parameter, associated with a reduction in the density of states to a minimum value at the fermi energy level. for films on all substrates, we find magnetic damping of the order of 4-5 . 10(-3), showing that the substrate does not play a major role. using a post-annealing process, we report a decrease of the magnetic damping down to 3-4 . 10(-3). we find that the saturation magnetization depends approximately reciprocally on the damping parameter with varying alloy composition

Estimating spatial accessibility to facilities on the regional scale: an extended commuting-based interaction potential model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is growing interest in the study of the relationships between individual health-related behaviours (e.g. food intake and physical activity) and measurements of spatial accessibility to the associated facilities (e.g. food outlets and sport facilities). The aim of this study is to propose measurements of spatial accessibility to facilities on the regional scale, using aggregated data. We first used a potential accessibility model that partly makes it possible to overcome the limitations of the most frequently used indices such as the count of opportunities within a given neighbourhood. We then propose an extended model in order to take into account both home and work-based accessibility for a commuting population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Potential accessibility estimation provides a very different picture of the accessibility levels experienced by the population than the more classical "number of opportunities per census tract" index. The extended model for commuters increases the overall accessibility levels but this increase differs according to the urbanisation level. Strongest increases are observed in some rural municipalities with initial low accessibility levels. Distance to major urban poles seems to play an essential role.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Accessibility is a multi-dimensional concept that should integrate some aspects of travel behaviour. Our work supports the evidence that the choice of appropriate accessibility indices including both residential and non-residential environmental features is necessary. Such models have potential implications for providing relevant information to policy-makers in the field of public health.</p

Encoding information onto the charge and spin state of a paramagnetic atom using MgO tunnelling spintronics

An electrical current that flows across individual atoms or molecules can generate exotic quantum-based behavior, from memristive effects to Coulomb blockade and the promotion of quantum excited states. These fundamental effects typically appear one at a time in model junctions built using atomic tip or lateral techniques. So far, however, a viable industrial pathway for such discrete state devices has been lacking. Here, we demonstrate that a commercialized device platform can serve as this industrial pathway for quantum technologies. We have studied magnetic tunnel junctions with a MgO barrier containing C atoms. The paramagnetic localized electrons due to individual C atoms generate parallel nanotransport paths across the micronic device as deduced from magnetotransport experiments. Coulomb blockade effects linked to tunnelling magnetoresistance peaks can be electrically controlled, leading to a persistent memory effect. Our results position MgO tunneling spintronics as a promising platform to industrially implement quantum technologies

Dietary macronutrient composition impacts gene regulation in adipose tissue

Diet is a key lifestyle component that influences metabolic health through several factors, including total energy intake and macronutrient composition. While the impact of caloric intake on gene expression and physiological phenomena in various tissues is well described, the influence of dietary macronutrient composition on these parameters is less well studied. Here, we use the Nutritional Geometry framework to investigate the role of macronutrient composition on metabolic function and gene regulation in adipose tissue. Using ten isocaloric diets that vary systematically in their proportion of energy from fat, protein, and carbohydrates, we find that gene expression and splicing are highly responsive to macronutrient composition, with distinct sets of genes regulated by different macronutrient interactions. Specifically, the expression of many genes associated with Bardet-Biedl syndrome is responsive to dietary fat content. Splicing and expression changes occur in largely separate gene sets, highlighting distinct mechanisms by which dietary composition influences the transcriptome and emphasizing the importance of considering splicing changes to more fully capture the gene regulation response to environmental changes such as diet. Our study provides insight into the gene regulation plasticity of adipose tissue in response to macronutrient composition, beyond the already well-characterized response to caloric intake

Shot Peening Analysis on Trip780 Steel Exhibiting Martensitic Transformation

In the last years, due to increasing ecology and environmental constraints, a search for lightweight structures has been carried out, leading to the use of more complex geometries and new materials. In that context, TRIP (TRansformation Induced Plasticity) steels are of particular interest as the due to their good mechanical properties to weight ratio [1]. They are often used in the automotive industry for reinforcement parts of the vehicle (bumper, door beam…). To increase life duration,critical parts are shot peened. The specific mechanical behaviour of TRIP steels is due to their microstructure: they contain residual austenite that can transform into martensite when a stress is applied. This mechanism is responsible for hardening of the steels. The beneficial effect of shot peening on metastable austenitic steels was recently established by Fargas et al. [2], resulting in extensive austenite to martensite phase transformation. Numerous analytical models and numerical approaches based on finite element analysis have been developed to simulate the shot peening process. Reviews of the wide variety of numerical models can be found in Rouhaud et al. [3] and Sherafatnia et al. [4]. Only few experimental studies have been published up to now dealing with the impact of shot peening on metastable austenitic steels [5-7]. The first model taking into account the TRIP effect during peening was proposed very recently by Halilovic et al. [8]; it was developed for an austenitic steel AISI 304 peened steel with a single laser shot using a large strain formulation of transformation plasticity

The XQR-30 Metal Absorber Catalog: 778 Absorption Systems Spanning 2 < z < 6.5

Intervening metal absorption lines in the spectra of z > 6 quasars are fundamental probes of the ionization state and chemical composition of circumgalactic and intergalactic gas near the end of the reionization epoch. Large absorber samples are required to robustly measure typical absorber properties and to refine models of the synthesis, transport, and ionization of metals in the early Universe. The "Ultimate XSHOOTER legacy survey of quasars at z~5.8-6.6" (XQR-30) has obtained high signal-to-noise spectra of 30 luminous quasars, nearly quadrupling the existing sample of 12 high quality z~6 quasar spectra. We use this unprecedented sample to construct a catalog of 778 systems showing absorption in one or more of MgII (360 systems), FeII (184), CII (46), CIV (479), SiIV (127), and NV (13) which span 2 < z < 6.5. This catalog significantly expands on existing samples of z > 5 absorbers, especially for CIV and SiIV which are important probes of the ionizing photon background at high redshift. The sample is 50% (90%) complete for rest-frame equivalent widths W > 0.03AA (0.09AA). We publicly release the absorber catalog along with completeness statistics and a Python script to compute the absorption search path for different ions and redshift ranges. This dataset is a key legacy resource for studies of enriched gas from the era of galaxy assembly to cosmic noon, and paves the way for even higher redshift studies with the James Webb Space Telescope and 30m-class telescopes.Comment: 29 pages and 14 figures including 2 appendices. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. The metal absorber catalogue can be downloaded from https://github.com/XQR-30/Metal-catalogue. Contents unchanged from v1 apart from change to author lis

Housing Finance in the Euro Area

This report analyses the main developments in housing finance in the euro area in the decade, covering the period from 1999 to 2007. It looks at mortgage indebtedness, various characteristics of loans for house purchase, the funding of such loans and the spreads between the interest rates on loans granted by banks and the interest rates banks had to pay on their funding, or the return they made on alternative investments. In addition, the report contains a comparison of key aspects of housing finance in the euro area with those in the United Kingdom and the United States. At the end, the report briefly discusses aspects of the transmission of monetary policy to the economy