Essays on macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy rules

Economic and Monetary Union can be characterised as a complicated set of legislation and institutions governing monetary and fiscal responsibilities. The measures of fiscal responsibility are to be guided by the Stability and Growth Pact, which sets rules for fiscal policy and makes a discretionary fiscal policy virtually impossible. To analyse the effects of the fiscal and monetary policy mix, we modified the New Keynesian framework to allow for supply effects of fiscal policy. We show that defining a supply-side channel for fiscal policy using an endogenous output gap changes the stabilising properties of monetary policy rules. The stability conditions are affected by fiscal policy, so that the dichotomy between active (passive) monetary policy and passive (active) fiscal policy as stabilising regimes does not hold, and it is possible to have an active monetary - active fiscal policy regime consistent with dynamical stability of the economy. We show that, if we take supply-side effects into ac-count, we get more persistent inflation and output reactions. We also show that the dichotomy does not hold for a variety of different fiscal policy rules based on government debt and budget deficit, using the tax smoothing hypothesis and formulating the tax rules as difference equations. The debt rule with active monetary policy results in indeterminacy, while the deficit rule produces a determinate solution with active monetary policy, even with active fiscal policy. The combination of fiscal requirements in a rule results in cyclical responses to shocks. The amplitude of the cycle is larger with more weight on debt than on deficit. Combining optimised monetary policy with fiscal policy rules means that, under a discretionary monetary policy, the fiscal policy regime affects the size of the inflation bias. We also show that commitment to an optimal monetary policy not only corrects the inflation bias but also increases the persistence of output reactions. With fiscal policy rules based on the deficit we can retain the tax smoothing hypothesis also in a sticky price model.

Effect of surface radiation on conjugate natural convection in a horizontal annulus driven by inner heat generating solid cylinder

This paper reports a numerical study of the laminar conjugate natural convection heat transfer with and without the interaction of the surface radiation in a horizontal cylindrical annulus formed between an inner heat generating solid circular cylinder and an outer isothermal circular boundary. Numerical solutions are obtained by solving the governing equations with a pressure correction method on a collocated (non-staggered) mesh. Steady-state results are presented for the flow and temperature distributions and Nusselt numbers for the heat generation based Grashof number ranging from 10(7) to 10(10), solid-to-fluid thermal conductivity ratios of 1, 5, 10, 50 and 100, radius ratios of 0.226 and 0.452 and surface emissivities of 0-0.8 with air as the working medium. It is observed that surface radiation reduces the convective heat transfer in the annulus compared to the pure natural convection case and enhances the overall Nusselt number.

Poly (vinyl alcohol) hydrogel membrane as electrolyte for direct borohydride fuel cells

A direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) employing a poly (vinyl alcohol)hydrogel membrane electrolyte (PHME) is reported. The DBFC employs an AB(5) Misch metal alloy as anode and a goldplated stainless steel mesh as cathode in conjunction with aqueous alkaline solution of sodium borohydride as fuel and aqueous acidified solution of hydrogen peroxide as oxidant. Room temperature performances of the PHME-based DBFC in respect of peak power outputs; ex-situ cross-over of oxidant, fuel,anolyte and catholyte across the membrane electrolytes; utilization efficiencies of fuel and oxidant, as also cell performance durability are compared with a similar DBFC employing a NafionA (R)-117 membrane electrolyte (NME). Peak power densities of similar to 30 and similar to 40 mW cm(-2) are observed for the DBFCs with PHME and NME, respectively. The crossover of NaBH4 across both the membranes has been found to be very low. The utilization efficiencies of NaBH4 and H2O2 are found to be similar to 24 and similar to 59%, respectively for the PHME-based DBFC; similar to 18 and similar to 62%, respectively for the NME-based DBFC. The PHME and NME-based DBFCs exhibit operational cell potentials of similar to 1 center dot 2 and similar to 1 center dot 4 V, respectively at a load current density of 10 mA cm(-2) for similar to 100 h.

A numerical study of projectile impact on thin aluminium plates

This article deals with a simulation-based Study of the impact of projectiles on thin aluminium plates using LS-DYNA by modelling plates with shell elements and projectiles with solid elements. In order to establish the required modelling criterion in terms of element size for aluminium plates, a convergence Study of residual velocity has been carried Out by varying mesh density in the impact zone. Using the preferred material and meshing criteria arrived at here, extremely good prediction of test residual velocities and ballistic limits given by Gupta et al. (2001) for thin aluminium plates has been obtained. The simulation-based pattern of failure with localized bulging and jagged edge of perforation is similar to the perforation with petalling seen in tests. A number Of simulation-based parametric studies have been carried out and results consistent with published test data have been obtained. Despite the robust correlation achieved against published experimental results, it would be prudent to conduct one's own experiments, for a final correlation via the present modelling procedure and analysis with the explicit LS-DYNTA 970 solver. Hence, a sophisticated ballistic impact testing facility and a high-speed camera have been used to conduct additional tests on grade 1100 aluminium plates of 1 mm thickness with projectiles Of four different nose shapes. Finally, using the developed numerical simulation procedure, an excellent correlation of residual velocity and failure modes with the corresponding test results has been obtained.

Innovative telemedicine and mobile phone technology in the management of diabetic foot ulcers

Background Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a leading cause of diabetes-related hospitalisation and can be costly to manage without access to appropriate expert care. Within Queensland and indeed across many parts of Australia, there is an inequality in accessing specialist services for individuals with DFU. Recent National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) diabetic foot guidelines recommend remote expert consultation with digital imaging should be made available to people with DFU to improve their clinical outcomes. Telemedicine appears to show promise in improving access to diabetic foot specialist services; however diabetic foot telemedicine models to date have relied upon videoconferencing, store and forward technology and/or customised appliances to obtain digital imagery which all require either expensive infrastructure or a timed reply to the request for advice. Whilst mobile phone advice services have been used with success in general diabetes management and telehealth services have improved diabetic foot outcomes, the rapid emergence in the use of mobile phones has established a need to review the role that various forms of telemedicine play in the management of DFU. The aim of this paper is to review traditional telemedicine modalities that have been used in the management of DFU and to compare that to new and innovative technology that are emerging. Process Studies investigating the management of DFU using various forms of telemedicine interventions will be included in this review. They include the use of videoconferencing technology, hand held digital still photography purpose built imaging devices and mobile phone imagery. Electronic databases (Pubmed, Medline and CINAHL) will be searched using broad MeSH terms and keywords that cover the intended area of interest. Findings It is anticipated that the results of this narrative review will provide delegates of the 2015 Australasian Podiatry Conference an insight into the types of emerging innovative diagnostic telemedicine technologies in the management of DFU against the backdrop of traditional and evidence based modalities. It is anticipated that the findings will drive further research in the area of mobile phone imagery and innovation in the management of DFU.

Spiral-Wave Turbulence and Its Control in the Presence of Inhomogeneities in Four Mathematical Models of Cardiac Tissue

Regular electrical activation waves in cardiac tissue lead to the rhythmic contraction and expansion of the heart that ensures blood supply to the whole body. Irregularities in the propagation of these activation waves can result in cardiac arrhythmias, like ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF), which are major causes of death in the industrialised world. Indeed there is growing consensus that spiral or scroll waves of electrical activation in cardiac tissue are associated with VT, whereas, when these waves break to yield spiral- or scroll-wave turbulence, VT develops into life-threatening VF: in the absence of medical intervention, this makes the heart incapable of pumping blood and a patient dies in roughly two-and-a-half minutes after the initiation of VF. Thus studies of spiral- and scroll-wave dynamics in cardiac tissue pose important challenges for in vivo and in vitro experimental studies and for in silico numerical studies of mathematical models for cardiac tissue. A major goal here is to develop low-amplitude defibrillation schemes for the elimination of VT and VF, especially in the presence of inhomogeneities that occur commonly in cardiac tissue. We present a detailed and systematic study of spiral- and scroll-wave turbulence and spatiotemporal chaos in four mathematical models for cardiac tissue, namely, the Panfilov, Luo-Rudy phase 1 (LRI), reduced Priebe-Beuckelmann (RPB) models, and the model of ten Tusscher, Noble, Noble, and Panfilov (TNNP). In particular, we use extensive numerical simulations to elucidate the interaction of spiral and scroll waves in these models with conduction and ionic inhomogeneities; we also examine the suppression of spiral- and scroll-wave turbulence by low-amplitude control pulses. Our central qualitative result is that, in all these models, the dynamics of such spiral waves depends very sensitively on such inhomogeneities. We also study two types of control chemes that have been suggested for the control of spiral turbulence, via low amplitude current pulses, in such mathematical models for cardiac tissue; our investigations here are designed to examine the efficacy of such control schemes in the presence of inhomogeneities. We find that a local pulsing scheme does not suppress spiral turbulence in the presence of inhomogeneities; but a scheme that uses control pulses on a spatially extended mesh is more successful in the elimination of spiral turbulence. We discuss the theoretical and experimental implications of our study that have a direct bearing on defibrillation, the control of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation.

Effect of reinforcement form on the bearing capacity of square footings on sand

This paper presents the results of laboratory model loading tests and numerical studies carried out on square footings supported on geosynthetic reinforced sand beds. The relative performance of different forms of geosynthetic reinforcement (i.e. geocell, planar layers and randomly distributed mesh elements) in foundation beds is compared; using same quantity of reinforcement in each test. A biaxial geogrid and a geonet are used for reinforcing the sand beds. Geonet is used in two forms of reinforcement, viz. Planar layers and geocell, while the biaxial geogrid was used in three forms of reinforcement, viz. planar layers, geocell and randomly distributed mesh elements. Laboratory load tests on unreinforced and reinforced footings are simulated in a numerical model and the results are analyzed to understand the distribution of displacements and stresses below the footing better. Both the experimental and numerical studies demonstrated that the geocell is the most advantageous form of soil reinforcement technique of those investigated, provided there is no rupture of the material during loading. Geogrid used in the form of randomly distributed mesh elements is found to be inferior to the other two forms. Some significant observations on the difference in reinforcement mechanism for different forms of reinforcement are presented in this paper.

Verification of the applicability of lattice model to concrete fracture by AE study

Notched three-point bend specimens (TPB) were tested under crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) control at a rate of 0.0004 mm/s and the entire fracture process was simulated using a regular triangular two-dimensional lattice network only over the expected fracture proces zone width. The rest of the beam specimen was discretised by a coarse triangular finite element mesh. The discrete grain structure of the concrete was generated assuming the grains to be spherical. The load versus CMOD plots thus simulated agreed reasonably well with the experimental results. Moreover, acoustic emission (AE) hits were recorded during the test and compared with the number of fractured lattice elements. It was found that the cumulative AE hits correlated well with the cumulative fractured lattice elements at all load levels thus providing a useful means for predicting when the micro-cracks form during the fracturing process, both in the pre-peak and in the post-peak regimes.

CAE-based prediction of projectile residual velocity for impact on single and multi-layered metallic armour plates

The present, paper deals with the CAE-based study Of impact of jacketed projectiles on single- and multi-layered metal armour plates using LS-DYNA. The validation of finite element modelling procedure is mainly based on the mesh convergence study using both shell and solid elements for representing single-layered mild steel target plates. It, is shown that the proper choice of mesh density and the strain rate-dependent material properties are essential for all accurate prediction of projectile residual velocity. The modelling requirements are initially arrived at by correlating against test residual velocities for single-layered mild steel plates of different depths at impact velocities in the ran.-c of approximately 800-870 m/s. The efficacy of correlation is adjudged, in terms of a 'correlation index', defined in the paper: for which values close to unity are desirable. The experience gained for single-layered plates is next; used in simulating projectile impacts on multi-layered mild steel target plates and once again a high degree of correlation with experimental residual velocities is observed. The study is repeated for single- and multi-layered aluminium target plates with a similar level of success in test residual velocity prediction. TO the authors' best knowledge, the present comprehensive study shows in particular for the first time that, with a. proper modelling approach, LS-DYNA can be used with a great degree of confidence in designing perforation-resistant single and multi-layered metallic armour plates.

Wide area kinematic positioning with BeiDou triple frequency signals

A key challenge of wide area kinematic positioning is to overcome the effects of the varying hardware biases in code signals of the BeiDou system. Based on three geometryfree/ionosphere-free combinations, the elevation-dependent code biases are modelled for all BeiDou satellites. Results from the data sets of 30-day for 5 baselines of 533 to 2545 km demonstrate that the wide-lane (WL) integer-fixing success rates of 98% to 100% can be achieved within 25 min. Under the condition of HDOP of less than 2, the overall RMS statistics show that ionospheric-free WL single-epoch solutions achieve 24 to 50 cm in the horizontal direction. Smoothing processing over the moving window of 20 min reduces the RMS values by a factor of about 2. Considering distance-independent nature, the above results show the potential that reliable and high precision positioning services could be provided in a wide area based on a sparsely distributed ground network.

Tactile processing in human somatosensory and auditory cortices

Tactile sensation plays an important role in everyday life. While the somatosensory system has been studied extensively, the majority of information has come from studies using animal models. Recent development of high-resolution anatomical and functional imaging techniques has enabled the non-invasive study of human somatosensory cortex and thalamus. This thesis provides new insights into the functional organization of the human brain areas involved in tactile processing using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The thesis also demonstrates certain optimizations of MEG and fMRI methods. Tactile digit stimulation elicited stimulus-specific responses in a number of brain areas. Contralateral activation was observed in somatosensory thalamus (Study II), primary somatosensory cortex (SI; I, III, IV), and post-auditory belt area (III). Bilateral activation was observed in secondary somatosensory cortex (SII; II, III, IV). Ipsilateral activation was found in the post-central gyrus (area 2 of SI cortex; IV). In addition, phasic deactivation was observed within ipsilateral SI cortex and bilateral primary motor cortex (IV). Detailed investigation of the tactile responses demonstrated that the arrangement of distal-proximal finger representations in area 3b of SI in humans is similar to that found in monkeys (I). An optimized MEG approach was sufficient to resolve such fine detail in functional organization. The SII region appeared to contain double representations for fingers and toes (II). The detection of activations in the SII region and thalamus improved at the individual and group levels when cardiac-gated fMRI was used (II). Better detection of body part representations at the individual level is an important improvement, because identification of individual representations is crucial for studying brain plasticity in somatosensory areas. The posterior auditory belt area demonstrated responses to both auditory and tactile stimuli (III), implicating this area as a physiological substrate for the auditory-tactile interaction observed in earlier psychophysical studies. Comparison of different smoothing parameters (III) demonstrated that proper evaluation of co-activation should be based on individual subject analysis with minimal or no smoothing. Tactile input consistently influenced area 3b of the human ipsilateral SI cortex (IV). The observed phasic negative fMRI response is proposed to result from interhemispheric inhibition via trans-callosal connections. This thesis contributes to a growing body of human data suggesting that processing of tactile stimuli involves multiple brain areas, with different spatial patterns of cortical activation for different stimuli.

Simulation of Dust Loaded V-I Characteristics of a Commercial Thermal Power Plant Precipitator

A new approach based on finite difference method, is proposed for the simulation of electrical conditions in a dc energized wire-duct electrostatic precipitator with and without dust loading. Simulated voltage-curren characteristics with and without dust loading were compared with the measured characteristics for analyzing the performance of a precipitator. The simple finite difference method gives sufficiently accurate results with reduced mesh size. The results for dust free simulation were validated with published experimental data. Further measurements were conducted at a thermal power plant in India and the results compares well with the measured ones.

Quantification of impact of a cricket ball

The cricket is one of most popular games in the Asian subcontinent and its popularity is increasing every day. The issue of replacement of the cricket ball amidst the matches is always an uncomfortable situation for teams, umpires and even supporters. At present the basis of the replacement is solely on the judgement, experience and expertise of the umpires, which is subjective, controversial and debatable. In this paper, we have attempted a new approach to quantify the number of impacts or impact factor of a 4-piece leather ball used in the Intemational one-day and test cricket matches. This gives a more objective and scientific basis/ criteria for the replacement of the ball. Here, we have used a well known and widely used Thermal Infra-Red (TIR) imaging to capture the dynamics of the thermal profice of the cricket ball, which has been heated for about 15 seconds. The idea behind this approach is the simple observation that an old ball (ball with a few impacts) has different thermal signature/profice compared to the that of a new ball. This could be due to the change in the surface profice and internal structure, minor de-shaping, opening of seam etc. The TIR video and its frames, which is inherently noisy, are restored using Hebbian learning based FIR (sic), which performs optimal smoothing in relatively less number of iteration. We have focussed on the hottest region of the ball i.e., the inner core and tracked its thermal profice dynamics. Finally we have used multi layer perceptron model (MLP) to quantify the impact factor with fairly good accuracy.

High-Throughput Flexible Constraint Length Viterbi Decoders on De Bruijn, Shuffle-Exchange and Butterfly Connected Architectures

Flexible constraint length channel decoders are required for software defined radios. This paper presents a novel scalable scheme for realizing flexible constraint length Viterbi decoders on a de Bruijn interconnection network. Architectures for flexible decoders using the flattened butterfly and shuffle-exchange networks are also described. It is shown that these networks provide favourable substrates for realizing flexible convolutional decoders. Synthesis results for the three networks are provided and a comparison is performed. An architecture based on a 2D-mesh, which is a topology having a nominally lesser silicon area requirement, is also considered as a fourth point for comparison. It is found that of all the networks considered, the de Bruijn network offers the best tradeoff in terms of area versus throughput.

Generic Routing Rules and a Scalable Access Enhancement for the Network-on-Chip RECONNECT

RECONNECT is a Network-on-Chip using a honeycomb topology. In this paper we focus on properties of general rules applicable to a variety of routing algorithms for the NoC which take into account the missing links of the honeycomb topology when compared to a mesh. We also extend the original proposal [5] and show a method to insert and extract data to and from the network. Access Routers at the boundary of the execution fabric establish connections to multiple periphery modules and create a torus to decrease the node distances. Our approach is scalable and ensures homogeneity among the compute elements in the NoC. We synthesized and evaluated the proposed enhancement in terms of power dissipation and area. Our results indicate that the impact of necessary alterations to the fabric is negligible and effects the data transfer between the fabric and the periphery only marginally.