The stability of interest rate processes

This paper presents a careful reexamination of Chan, Karolyi, Longstaff, and Sanders (CKLS 1992). By redefining the possible regime shift period in line with evidence from known policy changes and past empirical research, we find evidence that contradicts the major results in their paper. The widely cited conclusion of their paper is that the elasticity of interest rate volatility is 1.5. CKLS also concluded that there was no structural shift in the interest rate process after October 1979. When the structural shift period is defined to be temporary and coincident with the Federal Reserve Experiment of October 1979 through September 1982, we find that there is strong evidence of a structural break. Furthermore, we find evidence that, contrary to CKLS's claim, a moderately elastic interest rate process can capture the dependence of volatility on the level of interest rates, while highly elastic models cannot. In particular, this study finds support for the square-root CIR process. These results are robust to changes in the short-rate data used and the treatment of outliers.Econometric models ; Interest rates ; Money

Macaque cardiac physiology is sensitive to the valence of passively viewed sensory stimuli.

Autonomic nervous system activity is an important component of affective experience. We demonstrate in the rhesus monkey that both the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system respond differentially to the affective valence of passively viewed video stimuli. We recorded cardiac impedance and an electrocardiogram while adult macaques watched a series of 300 30-second videos that varied in their affective content. We found that sympathetic activity (as measured by cardiac pre-ejection period) increased and parasympathetic activity (as measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia) decreased as video content changes from positive to negative. These findings parallel the relationship between autonomic nervous system responsivity and valence of stimuli in humans. Given the relationship between human cardiac physiology and affective processing, these findings suggest that macaque cardiac physiology may be an index of affect in nonverbal animals

Digitalização EAACONE: fluxo de trabalho

This document details the digitization workflow for the Equipe de Articulação e Assessorias às Comunidades Negras do Vale do Ribeira (EAACONE) digitization project, launched in 2019 in Eldorado, Brazil. It provides step-by-step instructions for flatbed scanning of loose and bound objects using VueScan scanning software.UT Librarie

The Effect of a Commercially Available Pre-Workout Supplement (The Bracket™) on Wingate Anaerobic Cycle Test Performance in Athletic Females

The Bracket™ is a proprietary blend, pre-workout supplement whose primary active ingredients consists mostly of a mixture of creatine, B-complex vitamins, and a glycerol/taurine combination. It has been third party tested for ingredient accuracy, and is also certified by NSF, meaning that it is certified for sports consumption. Previous research has been done on the ingredients within the supplement utilizing male demographics. However, there is limited research done on the pre-workout supplement as a whole. The little research done has showed no increases in any variables such as power output (relative/absolute) and/or rate of fatigue. Very little research has been done utilizing a female population, let alone athletic females. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of a commercially available pre-workout supplement (The Bracket™), in athletic females, on absolute peak power (APP), absolute mean power (AMP), relative peak power (RPP), relative mean power (RMP), rate of fatigue (FTR), absolute total work (ATW), and relative total work (RTW) utilizing the Wingate Anaerobic Cycle Test (WACT), a 30-s supra maximal exercise protocol. METHODS: Thirteen athletic females, ages 18-30, with no prior hamstrings or quadriceps injuries within the last years were recruited. All subjects underwent three experimental trials [treatment (TRT, supplement with Gatorade®), placebo (PLC, Gatorade®), and a control (CON, water)] in a single blind balanced crossover design. During the trials the subjects had to ingest one of the three liquids in an 8 ounce serving thirty minutes prior to engaging in the WACT. Each trial was performed approximately one week apart. The differences in the dependent variables between treatments were analyzed using an ANOVA (0 between, 1 within), α=0.05. RESULTS: No significant difference between trials were seen for APP (TRT=715 ± 126 W; PLC=71 6± 125 W; CON=696 ± 147 W) (p=0.2940), AMP (TRT=446 ± 94 W; PLC=436 ± 85 W; CON=441 ± 91 W)(p=0.3930), RPP (TRT=11.6 ±. 1.4 W·kg-1; PLC=11.6 ±. 1.5 W·kg-1; CON=11.3 ±. 1.5 W·kg-1)(p=0.2280), RMP (TRT=7.3 ±. 1.4 W·kg-1; PLC=7.1 ± 1.1 W·kg-1; CON=7.2 ±. 1.3 W·kg-1)(p=0.3920), FTR (TRT=62 ± 13%; PLC=61 ± 11%; CON=59 ± 11%) (p=0.1920), ATW (TRT=13368 ± 2798 J; PLC=13066 ± 2550 J; CON=13246 ± 2749 J)(p=0.4100), or RTW (TRT=218 ± 42 J·kg-1; PLC=212 ± 33 J·kg-1; CON= 215 ± 38 J·kg-1)(p=0.4080). CONCLUSION: Ingestion of (The Bracket™) prior to exercise does not affect performance on the WACT in athletic females

A Bio-Logical Theory of Animal Learning

This article provides the foundation for a new predictive theory of animal learning that is based upon a simple logical model. The knowledge of experimental subjects at a given time is described using logical equations. These logical equations are then used to predict a subject’s response when presented with a known or a previously unknown situation. This new theory suc- cessfully anticipates phenomena that existing theories predict, as well as phenomena that they cannot. It provides a theoretical account for phenomena that are beyond the domain of existing models, such as extinction and the detection of novelty, from which “external inhibition” can be explained. Examples of the methods applied to make predictions are given using previously published results. The present theory proposes a new way to envision the minimal functions of the nervous system, and provides possible new insights into the way that brains ultimately create and use knowledge about the world

Spitzer Mission Operation System Planning for IRAC Warm-Instrument Characterization (IWIC)

This paper will describe how the Spitzer Mission Operations System planned and executed the characterization phase between Spitzer’s cryogenic mission and its warm mission. To the largest extend possible, the execution of this phase was done with existing processing and procedures. The modifications that were made were in response to the differences of the characterization phase compared to normal phases before and after. The primary two categories of difference are: unknown date of execution due to uncertainty of knowledge of the date of helium depletion, and the short cycle time for data analysis and re-planning during execution. In addition, all of the planning and design had to be done in parallel with normal operations, and we had to transition smoothly back to normal operations following the transition. This paper will also describe the re-planning we had to do following an anomaly discovered in the first days after helium depletion

Melanoma: What are the gaps in our knowledge?

Jonathan Rees outlines a number of puzzling gaps that remain in our knowledge of the etiology of non-acral melanomas