Davis v. Department of Revenue of Kentucky: A Preliminary Impact Assessment

States with income taxes frequently exempt municipal bond interest from state taxation. Such exemptions, referred to as double exempts, are tax expenditures that reduce state revenues, but are viewed as a subsidy to the cost of capital for the state and its localities. All but a few states provide the income tax exemption for state based issues while taxing interest from municipal bonds issued by muni issuers in other states. A recent court case, Davis vs. Department of Revenue of Kentucky, declared state statutes limiting the state income tax exemptions to ”in-state” issues unconstitutional. This paper provides some legal background and context for the current case and addresses two key fiscal implications of this case. First, the paper presents a basic model that suggests that bonds issued by states with higher marginal tax rates would see the yields increase on their obligations while states with lower than average marginal tax rates would see their yields decline. The yields would converge at new market equilibrium due to the elimination of tax preferences across the states. Second, the preliminary estimates suggest a good deal of variance in how much tax revenue each state will lose if the case is upheld by the Supreme Court.

An integrative analysis of cancer gene expression studies using Bayesian latent factor modeling

We present an applied study in cancer genomics for integrating data and inferences from laboratory experiments on cancer cell lines with observational data obtained from human breast cancer studies. The biological focus is on improving understanding of transcriptional responses of tumors to changes in the pH level of the cellular microenvironment. The statistical focus is on connecting experimentally defined biomarkers of such responses to clinical outcome in observational studies of breast cancer patients. Our analysis exemplifies a general strategy for accomplishing this kind of integration across contexts. The statistical methodologies employed here draw heavily on Bayesian sparse factor models for identifying, modularizing and correlating with clinical outcome these signatures of aggregate changes in gene expression. By projecting patterns of biological response linked to specific experimental interventions into observational studies where such responses may be evidenced via variation in gene expression across samples, we are able to define biomarkers of clinically relevant physiological states and outcomes that are rooted in the biology of the original experiment. Through this approach we identify microenvironment-related prognostic factors capable of predicting long term survival in two independent breast cancer datasets. These results suggest possible directions for future laboratory studies, as well as indicate the potential for therapeutic advances though targeted disruption of specific pathway components.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/09-AOAS261 the Annals of Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

amei: An R Package for the Adaptive Management of Epidemiological Interventions

The amei package for R is a tool that provides a flexible statistical framework for generating optimal epidemiological interventions that are designed to minimize the total expected cost of an emerging epidemic. Uncertainty regarding the underlying disease parameters is propagated through to the decision process via Bayesian posterior inference. The strategies produced through this framework are adaptive: vaccination schedules are iteratively adjusted to reflect the anticipated trajectory of the epidemic given the current population state and updated parameter estimates. This document briefly covers the background and methodology underpinning the implementation provided by the package and contains extensive examples showing the functions and methods in action.

Towards Conceptual Tool Differentiation in the Sustainability Discussion: Critical Loads and Sustainable Development of Siberian Forests

In the wider debate about the environmental sustainability of various human activities, the literature lacks a specific link between the discussion and the use of differentiated analytical tools for conceptualizing and measuring sustainable development. This paper explores a key issue in the sustainability debate: developing differential analytical tools to define and apply the concept of sustainability. This work seeks to build a theoretical bridge between the root concept of sustainable development and a new concept, critical loads, which both defines and measures the "unsustainability" of certain anthropogenic activities. The development of the sustainability concept is briefly reviewed, followed by the discussion of the difficulty of applying this concept due to relationships between anthropogenic activities and environmental degradation, policy makers can better apply the concept of sustainable development. The author assesses the critical loads concept as a way for policy makers to assess differentiated levels of unsustainability. To illustrate this, the author explores the use of the critical loads concept to assess environmental degradation in Siberia, which is currently being used to contribute to a sustainable development policy for the region. Moving from a dichotomous, relatively static view of human-environment interactions to one which captures varying degrees of these interactions reveals greater insights about the political, economic, and physical relationship between nature and its most influential species, "Homo sapiens.

Streitschrift für eine grundlegende Neuordnung des Sparkassen- und Landesbankensektors in Deutschland

Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1. Motivation und Ausgangslage 2. Die Verwobenheit von Sparkassen und Landesbanken 3. Grundüberlegungen zur Neuordnung von Sparkassen und Landesbanken 4. Gestaltungsvorschlag 5. Handlungsempfehlunge

amei: An R Package for the Adaptive Management of Epidemiological Interventions

The <b>amei</b> package for <b>R</b> is a tool that provides a flexible statistical framework for generating optimal epidemiological interventions that are designed to minimize the total expected cost of an emerging epidemic. Uncertainty regarding the underlying disease parameters is propagated through to the decision process via Bayesian posterior inference. The strategies produced through this framework are adaptive: vaccination schedules are iteratively adjusted to reflect the anticipated trajectory of the epidemic given the current population state and updated parameter estimates. This document briefly covers the background and methodology underpinning the implementation provided by the package and contains extensive examples showing the functions and methods in action

The natural resources of Bolinas Lagoon: their status and future

This publication is an integral part of the Department's high-priority inventory and assessment of coastal marshland and tideflat resources. It is intended as a guide for citizens, planners, administrators, and all others interested in the use and development of coastal lands and waters. Although the resources and problems of Bolinas Lagoon have probably been the subject of more biological and physical investigations than any small estuarine area of the California coast, many of the pertinent reports and information are not readily available to the public. Consequently, it is one purpose of this report to summarize the lagoon's history, ecological attractions, educational values and the problems facing its continued existence. At the same time, it should provide concerned citizens with a knowledge of the sources of additional and more specific information. Publication of this report is consistent with the obligation of the Department of Fish and Game to do everything in its power to protect and maintain the State's fish and wildlife resources. Therefore, its purpose transcends local issues on pollution and development, and the Department is, in fact, submitting a report to the people on the status and future of part of its inheritance and the dowry of coming generations. The report is the third of a scheduled series. It follows similar releases on Upper Newport Bay (Orange County) and Goleta Slough (Santa Barbara county) in March and June of 1970. Documentation of the resources of other critical areas is in progress. There will be future reports of this nature on Elkhorn Slough, Morro Bay, Tomales Bay, Humboldt Bay, and highly threatened marshlands in southern California. (137 pp.

Letter, Merl Brainard to Virginia Brainard [November 14, 1949]

Letter, Merl Brainard to Virginia Brainardhttps://repository.stcloudstate.edu/brainard-letters/1139/thumbnail.jp