Does All Fit One Size? An evaluation of the ECB policy response to changing economic conditions in the Euro area member states. ACES Cases No. 2008.1

This paper empirically investigates the extent to which the European Central Bank has responded to evolving economic conditions in its member states as opposed to the euro area as a whole. Based on a forward-looking Taylor rule-type policy reaction function, we conduct counterfactual exercises that compare the monetary policy behavior of the ECB with two alternative hypothetical scenarios: (1) were the euro member states to make individual policy decisions, and (2) were the ECB to respond to the economic conditions of individual members. The results reflect the extent of heterogeneity among the national economies in the monetary union and indicate that the ECB's monetary policy rates have been particularly close to the "counterfactual" interest rates of its largest euro members, as well as of countries with similar economic conditions, which includes Germany, Austria, Belgium and France.

Chemical observations in the Red Sea and the inner Gulf of Aden during the International Indian Ocean Expedition 1964/65

The Red Sea has a special place among the adjacent seas of the world. High evaporation, exclusion of its deep water from contact with the Indian Ocean proper and complete absence of continental drainage may result special conditions of the chemistry of the Red Sea. This paper aims to describe and explain the peculiarity of the hydrochemical situation. The influence of the topography, of the inflow and outflow through the straights of Bab el Mandeb, of the evaporation, of the stability of the water layers, and of the circulation will be studied. An attempt is made to estimate the apparent oxygen ultilisation in order to obtain an indication of the biological activity. A further attempt is made toward the quantitative estimation of the circulation of the nutrients and also to obtain some information about transport, dissolution, and precipitation of calcium carbonate. The basis of these investigations are mainly observations of R. V. "Meteor" during the International Indian Ocean Expedition 1964/65. The determination of dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, pH, alkalinity, silicate as well as salinity and temperature forms the necessary basis for such an investigation of the chemical conditions. In the first chapter the methods and some modifications for the determination of the chemical properties as applied during the I.I.O.E. cruise of R. V. "Meteor" are described. The new methods, as worked out and tested under sea going conditions during several years by the author, are described in more detail. These are the methods for nitrate, silicate, the automatic determination of dissolved inorganic phosphate and silicate, the automated determination of total phosphorus, the in situ recording of the oxygen tension, and the modification for the determination of ammonia, calcium, and dissolved oxygen. With these revised methods more than 18,000 determinations have been carried out during the Indian Ocean cruise. The complete working up of the chemical data of the Indian Ocean Expedition of R. V. "Meteor" is devided into four sections: Contributions 1) to the Chemistry of the Red Sea and the Inner Gulf of Aden, 2) to the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Coast Region, 3) to the Western Indian Coast Region, and 4) to the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Oman. This paper presents the first contribution. The special hydrographical conditions are discussed. It can be shown, that the increase of salinity in the surface waters from the south to the north of the Red Sea is only to about 30 % due to evaporation. The remaining increase is presumed to be due to the admixture of deep water to the surface layers. A special rate for the consumption of oxygen (0.114 ml/ l/a) is derived for the deep water of the Red Sea at 1500 m. Based upon the distribution of the dissolved oxygen along the axii of the Red Sea, a chematic model for the longitudinal circulation of the Red Sea is constructed. This model should be considered as a first approximation and may explain the special distribution of phosphate, nitrate, and silicate. Based upon the evaluation of the residence time of the deep water a dissolution rate for silicate is estimated as 1 mygat/a. It seems possible to calculate residence times of water masses outside the Red Sea from the silicate content. The increase of silicate and the consumption of oxygen lead to residence times of the water below the thermocine of 30 to 48 years. The distribution of oxygen in the Straits of Bab el Mandeb is described and discussed. The rate of consumption of the oxygen in the outflowing Red Sea water is estimated to 8.5 ml/ l/a. This rather high rate is explained with reference to the special conditions in the outflowing water. The Red Sea water is characterized initially by a relative high content of oxygen and a low content of nutrients. The increase in nutrients and the decrease in the oxygen content is a secondary process of the Red Sea water on its way to the Arabian Sea. Based upon the vertical distribution of the dissolved inorganic phosphate vertical exchange coefficients of 1 - 4 g/cm/sec and vertical current speeds of 10**-5 to 10**-4 cm/sec are calculated for some stations in the Red Sea. The distribution of phosphate, silicate, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia for the Red Sea and the Straits of Bab el Mandeb are discussed. The special circulation is evaluated and the balance of the nutrients is estimated by means of the brutto transport. The nutrient deficit is assumed to be balanced by sporadic inflow of intermediate water from the Gulf of Aden. An example for such an inflow has been observed and is demonstrated. The silicate-salinity relationships are a suitable way for characterizing water masses in the Red Sea. Equations for the calculation of the different components from the carbonate system, the ion activities, and the calcium carbonate saturation are evaluated. The influence of temperature and pressure is taken into account. The carbonate saturation is calculated from the determined concentrations of calcium, alkalinity, and the hydrogen ion activity. Saturation values of 320 % are found for the surface layer and of 100% ± 1 for the deep water. The extraordinary equilibrium conditions may explain the constant Ca/Cl ratio and also the sedimentation of undissolved carbonate skelecons even in greater depths. A main sedimentation rate of 2 * 10**-3cm/year is evaluated from a total sedimentation of 10 * 106 to/a of calcium carbonate in the Red Sea. The appendix contains those data, which are not published in the data volume of the I.I.O.E. expedition of R. V. "Meteor".

Housing conditions and housing options for older residents : a question of need, a question of acceptable alternatives : final report /

The primary goal of this project is to learn more about the housing conditions of the rural elderly in Illinois. By using questions similar to those included in the American Housing Survey (AHS) used by the Bureau of the Census, comparisons can be made between Illinois residents and a national sample. The questions used in this Housing Conditions and Housing Options for Older Residents Survey (2002) (Appendix B) focus specifically on issues related to the availability and condition of plumbing, heating, electricity, and upkeep using guidelines extablished by the AHS. ... There are three objectives for this study (1) to determine the type and condition of housing occupied by older residents in three regions of Illinois, (2) to determine the types of housing elderly residents would choose from a list of options and what conditions would cause them to choose that type of housing, and (3) to examine whether regional variations exist in housing conditions and housing options among rural residents of Illinois.

Refugees : living conditions are marginal : report to the chairman, Select Committee on Hunger, House of Representatives /

"B-242780"--P. 1.

Mobilized by Injustice: Criminal Justice Contact, Political Participation and Race

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Comparison of grinding media - Cylpebs versus balls

Cylpebs are slightly tapered cylindrical grinding media with a ratio of length to diameter of unity. The manufactures have made conflicting claims regarding the milling performance of Cylpebs in comparison with balls. One major point of interest is which one grinds finer at the same operating conditions. The difficulty in comparison is due to the shape difference. The two grinding media have different surface area, bulk density and contact mechanisms in grinding action. Comparative tests were conducted using the two types of grinding media in a laboratory Bond ball mill at various conditions of equality such as media mass, size distribution, surface area and input specific energy. The laboratory results indicate that at the same specific energy input level the Cylpebs produce a product with slightly less oversize due to their greater surface area, but essentially the same sizing at the fine end as that produced with the balls. The reason may be that the advantage of greater surface area is balanced by the line contact and area contact grinding actions with the Cylpebs. A new ball mill scale-up procedure [Man, Y.T., 2001. Model-based procedure for scale-up of wet, overflow ball mills, Part 1: outline of the methodology. Minerals Engineering 14 (10), 1237-1246] was employed to predict grinding performance of an industrial mill from the laboratory test results. The predicted full scale operation was compared with the plant survey data. Some problems in the original scale-up procedures were identified. The scale-up procedure was therefore modified to allow the predicted ball mill performance to match the observed one. The calibrated scale-up procedure was used to predict the Cylpebs performance in the full scale industrial mill using the laboratory tests results. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Protein contact prediction using patterns of correlation

We describe a new method for using neural networks to predict residue contact pairs in a protein. The main inputs to the neural network are a set of 25 measures of correlated mutation between all pairs of residues in two windows of size 5 centered on the residues of interest. While the individual pair-wise correlations are a relatively weak predictor of contact, by training the network on windows of correlation the accuracy of prediction is significantly improved. The neural network is trained on a set of 100 proteins and then tested on a disjoint set of 1033 proteins of known structure. An average predictive accuracy of 21.7% is obtained taking the best L/2 predictions for each protein, where L is the sequence length. Taking the best L/10 predictions gives an average accuracy of 30.7%. The predictor is also tested on a set of 59 proteins from the CASP5 experiment. The accuracy is found to be relatively consistent across different sequence lengths, but to vary widely according to the secondary structure. Predictive accuracy is also found to improve by using multiple sequence alignments containing many sequences to calculate the correlations. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Speech production in Parkinson's disease: I. An electropalatographic investigation of tongue-palate contact patterns

Previous studies have indicated that consonant imprecision in Parkinson's disease (PD) may result from a reduction in the amplitude of lingual movements or articulatory undershoot. While this has been postulated, direct measurement of the tongue's contact with the hard palate during speech production has not been undertaken. Therefore, the present study aimed to use electropalatography (EPG) to determine the exact nature of tongue-palate contact in a group of individuals with PD and consonant imprecision (n=9). Furthermore, the current investigation also aimed to compare the results of the participants with PD to a group of aged (n=7) and young (n=8) control speakers to determine the relative contribution of ageing of the lingual musculature to any articulatory deficits noted. Participants were required to read aloud the phrase 'I saw a ___ today' with the artificial palate in-situ. Target words included the consonants /l/, /s/ and /t/ in initial position in both the /i/ and /a/ vowel environments. Phonetic transcription of phoneme productions and description of error types was completed. Furthermore, representative frames of contact were employed to describe the features of tongue-palate contact and to calculate spatial palatal indices. Results of the perceptual investigation revealed that perceived undershooting of articulatory targets distinguished the participant group with PD from the control groups. However, objective EPG assessment indicated that undershooting of the target consonant was not the cause of the perceived articulatory errors. It is, therefore, possible that reduced pressure of tongue contact with the hard palate, sub-lingual deficits or impaired articulatory timing resulted in the perceived undershooting of the target consonants.

Grain yield components of pearl millet under optimum conditions can be used to identify germplasm with adaptation to and zones

There is evidence that high-tillering, small-panicled pearl millet landraces are better adapted to the severe, unpredictable drought stress of the and zones of NW India than are low-tillering, large-panicled modern varieties, which significantly outyield the landraces under favourable conditions. In this paper, we analyse the relationship of and zone adaptation with the expression, under optimum conditions, of yield components that determine either the potential sink size or the ability to realise this potential. The objective is to test whether selection under optimal conditions for yield components can identify germplasm with adaptation to and zones in NW India, as this could potentially improve the efficiency of pearl millet improvement programs targeting and zones. We use data from an evaluation of over 100 landraces from NW India, conducted for two seasons under both severely drought-stressed and favourable conditions in northwest and south India. Trial average grain yields ranged from 14 g m(-2) to 182 g m(-2). The landraces were grouped into clusters, based on their phenology and yield components as measured under well-watered conditions in south India. In environments without pre-flowering drought stress, tillering type had no effect on potential sink size, but low-tillering, large-panicled landraces yielded significantly more grain, as they were better able to realise their potential sink size. By contrast, in two low-yielding and zone environments which experienced pre-anthesis drought stress, low-fillering, large-panicled landraces yielded significantly less grain than high-tillering ones with comparable phenology, because of both a reduced potential sink size and a reduced ability to realise this potential. The results indicate that the high grain yield of low-tillering, large-panicled landraces under favourable conditions is due to improved partitioning, rather than resource capture. However, under severe stress with restricted assimilate supply, high-tillering, small-panicled landraces are better able to produce a reproductive sink than are large-panicled ones. Selection under optimum conditions for yield components representing a resource allocation pattern favouring high yield under severe drought stress, combined with a capability to increase grain yield if assimilates are available, was more effective than direct selection for grain yield in identifying germplasm adapted to and zones. Incorporating such selection in early generations of variety testing could reduce the reliance on random stress environments. This should improve the efficiency of millet breeding programs targeting and zones. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Purification of phosphoric acid by solvent extraction

This work follows a feasibility study (187) which suggested that a process for purifying wet-process phosphoric acid by solvent extraction should be economically viable. The work was divided into two main areas, (i) chemical and physical measurements on the three-phase system, with or without impurities; (ii) process simulation and optimization. The object was to test the process technically and economically and to optimise the type of solvent. The chemical equilibria and distribution curves for the system water - phosphoric acid - solvent for the solvents n-amyl alcohol, tri-n-butyl phosphate, di-isopropyl ether and methyl isobutyl ketone have been determined. Both pure phosphoric acid and acid containing known amounts of naturally occurring impurities (Fe P0 4 , A1P0 4 , Ca3(P04)Z and Mg 3(P0 4 )Z) were examined. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the systems were also studied. The experimental results obtained for drop size distribution were compared with those obtainable from Hinze's equation (32) and it was found that they deviated by an amount related to the turbulence. A comprehensive literature survey on the purification of wet-process phosphoric acid by organic solvents has been made. The literature regarding solvent extraction fundamentals and equipment and optimization methods for the envisaged process was also reviewed. A modified form of the Kremser-Brown and Souders equation to calculate the number of contact stages was derived. The modification takes into account the special nature of phosphoric acid distribution curves in the studied systems. The process flow-sheet was developed and simulated. Powell's direct search optimization method was selected in conjunction with the linear search algorithm of Davies, Swann and Campey. The objective function was defined as the total annual manufacturing cost and the program was employed to find the optimum operating conditions for anyone of the chosen solvents. The final results demonstrated the following order of feasibility to purify wet-process acid: di-isopropyl ether, methylisobutyl ketone, n-amyl alcohol and tri-n-butyl phosphate.

Treatment of ocular allergies:nonpharmacologic, pharmacologic and immunotherapy

Ocular allergy is a significant and growing issue worldwide but for many patients, it is often not differentiated from systemic conditions, such as hay fever. Management of seasonal and perennial allergic conjunctivitis is often poor. Management is principally through avoidance measures (blocking or hygiene), nonpharmaceutical (such as artificial tears and cold compresses) and pharmaceutical (such as topical antihistamines and prophylactic mast cell stabilizers). Vernal and atopic keratoconjunctivitis are more severe and generally need treatment with NSAIDs, steroids and immunomodulators. Giant papillary conjunctivitis can be related to allergy but also is often contact lens related and in such cases can be managed by a period of abstinence and replacement of the lens or a change in lens material and/or design. Immunotherapy can be efficacious in severe, persistent cases of contact lens or allergic conjunctivitis.

Employee social responsibility:development of an ESR measure and a multi-level investigation of antecedent and boundary conditions

The following thesis instigates the discussion on corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a review of literature on the conceptualisation, determinants, and remunerations of organisational CSR engagement. The case is made for the need to draw attention to the micro-levels of CSR, and consequently focus on employee social responsibility at multiple levels of analysis. In order to further research efforts in this area, the prerequisite of an employee social responsibility behavioural measurement tool is acknowledged. Accordingly, the subsequent chapters outline the process of scale development and validation, resulting in a robust, reliable and valid employee social responsibility scale. This scale is then put to use in a field study, and the noteworthy roles of the antecedent and boundary conditions of transformational leadership, assigned CSR priority, and CSR climate are confirmed at the group and individual level. Directionality of these relationships is subsequently alluded to in a time-lagged investigation, set within a simulated business environment. The thesis collates and discusses the contributions of the findings from the research series, which highlight a consistent three-way interaction effect of transformational leadership, assigned CSR priority and CSR climate. Specifically, efforts are made to outline various avenues for future research, given the infancy of the micro-level study of employee social responsibility.

The role of oxidation in the protection of sliding metal surfaces

This study is concerned with the mechanisms of growth and wear of protective oxide films formed under various tribological conditions. In the study three different tribological systems are examined in each of which oxidational wear is the dominant equilibrium mode. These are an unlubricated steel on steel system sliding at low and elevated temperatures, a boundary lubricated aluminium bronze on steel system and an unlubricated reciprocating sliding 9% Cr steel system operated at elevated temperature, in an atmosphere of carbon dioxide. The results of mechanical measurements of wear and friction are presented for a range of conditions of load, speed and temper.ature for the systems, together with the results of extensive examinations of the surfaces and sub­ surfaces by various physical methods of analysis. The major part of the thesis, however, is devoted to the development and application of surface models and theoretical quantative expressions in order to explain the observed oxidational wear phenomena. In this work, the mechanisms of formation of load bearing ox ide plateaux are described and are found to be dependent on system geometry and environment. The relative importance of ''in contact" and "out of contact" oxidation is identified together with growth rate constants appropriate to the two situations. Hypotheses are presented to explain the mechanisms of removal of plateaux to form wear debris. The latter hypotheses include the effects of cyclic stressing and dislocation accumulation, together with effects associated with the kinetics of growth and physical properties of the various oxides. The proposed surf ace mode1s have led to the develop­ ment of quantitative expressions for contact temperature, unlubricated wear rates, boundary lubricated wear rates and the wear of rna ter ial during the transition from severe to mild wear. In general theoretical predictions from these expressions are in very good agreement with experimental values.

Studies on the deactivation and reactivation of spent hydroprocessing catalyst

A study is reported on the deactivation of hydroprocessing catalysts and their reactivation by the removal of coke and metal foulants. The literature on hydrotreating catalyst deactivation by coke and metals deposition, the environmental problems associated with spent catalyst disposal, and its reactivation/rejuvenation process were reviewed. Experimental studies on catalyst deactivation involved problem analysis in industrial hydroprocessing operations, through characterization of the spent catalyst, and laboratory coking studies. A comparison was made between the characteristics of spent catalysts from fixed bed and ebullating bed residue hydroprocessing reactor units and the catalyst deactivation pattern in both types of reactor systems was examined. In the laboratory the nature of initial coke deposited on the catalyst surface and its role on catalyst deactivation were studied. The influence of initial coke on catalyst surface area and porosity was significant. Both catalyst acidity and feedstock quality had a remarkable influence on the amount and the nature of the initial coke. The hydroenitrogenation function (HDN) of the catalyst was found to be deactivated more rapidly by the initial coke than the hydrodesulphurization function (HDS). In decoking experiments, special attention was paid to the initial conditions of coke combustion, since the early stages of contact between the coke on the spent catalyst surface and the oxygen are crucial in the decoking process. An increase in initial combustion temperature above 440oC and the oxygen content of the regeneration gas above 5% vanadium led to considerable sintering of the catalyst. At temperatures above 700oC there was a substantial loss of molybdenum from the catalyst, and phase transformations in the alumina support. The preferred leaching route (coked vs decoked form of spent catalyst) and a comparison of different reagents (i.e., oxalic acid and tartaric acid) and promoters (i.e., Hydrogen Peroxide and Ferric Nitrate) for better selectivity in removing the major foulant (vanadium), characterization and performance evaluation of the treated catalysts and modelling of the leaching process were addressed in spent catalyst rejuvenation studies. The surface area and pore volume increased substantially with increasing vanadium extraction from the spent catalyst; the HDS activity showed a parallel increase. The selectivity for leaching of vanadium deposits was better, and activity recovery was higher, for catalyst rejuvenated by metal leaching prior to decoking.

Synthesis and characterisation of hydrogel polymers for medical applications

A fundamental if poorly understood problem that hydrogels display is the tendency of these contact lens materials to dehydrate, causing certain complications of the corneal epithelium. However, recent studies have indicated that the evaporation rate of water from different hydrogel lenses is the same and the severity of conditions such as corneal staining is controlled by the states of water in the material. A study was therefore undertaken which concluded that increased corneal desiccating staining occurred as the proportion of water existing in the bound state decreased. The possibility of using dehydrated hydrogels as packaging materials with desiccating properties has also been investigated. As hydrogels have a high affinity for water they have adequate ability to function as a moisture scavenger in an enclosed atmosphere. It was concluded that this ability is maximised by a high total water content and an increase in the proportion of this water existing in the bound state for the material when it is fully hydrated. N-vinyl pyrrolidone has a low reactivity in vinyl polymerisation reactions which results in polymers with local domains of the same chemical type which can lead to deposition. As contact lenses comprising of this monomer are susceptible to deposition, a monomer with a higher reactivity in vinyl polymerisations is acryloylmorpholine and its incorporation in favour of NVP is encouraged. Unfortunately a large proportion of high EWC hydrogels are mechanically weak and attempts to increase this property by increasing hydrophobicity or cross-linking results in a decrease in EWC. Monomers with the potential to carry a positive charge were incorporated into a high EWC, AMO-HEMA copolymer and the physical properties were investigated. Although EWC increased, mechanical properties decreased only slightly. Therefore simultaneous incorporation of a positively charged monomer and a negatively charged monomer was investigated. The resulting copolymers showed increased water content and increased initial modulus. A technique for measuring the coefficient of friction of contact lenses during lubrication has been developed.