AN ECONOMETRIC DECOMPOSITION OF AGGREGATE DATA: APPLICATION TO THE EU-15 AVERAGE CATTLE SLAUGHTER WEIGHT

Decomposition method was developed to disaggregate EU cattle slaughter weight. Model has good fit, no correlation, significant coefficients, consistent signs, and desirable Theil-validation statistics. Estimates for calves, cows, and other cattle are very close to reported weights. Application for New Zealand, Mexico, sheep sector, and dairy-beef calving rates were also successful.Livestock Production/Industries, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Evanescent-wave Johnson Noise in small devices

In many quantum computer architectures, the qubits are in close proximity to metallic device elements. The fluctuating currents in the metal give rise to noisy electromagnetic fields that leak out into the surrounding region. These fields are known as evanescent-wave Johnson noise. The noise can decohere the qubits. We present the general theory of this effect for charge qubits subject to electric noise and for spin and magnetic qubits subject to magnetic noise. A mapping of the quantum-mechanical problem onto a problem in classical electrodynamics simplifies the calculations. The focus is on relatively simple geometries in which analytical calculations can be done. New results are presented for the local noise spectral density in the vicinity of cylindrical conductors such as small antennae, noise from objects that can be treated as dipoles, and noise correlation functions for several geometries. We summarize the current state of the comparison of theory with experimental results on decoherence times of qubits. Emphasis is placed on qualitative understanding of the basic concepts and phenomena.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figure

Biomechanical Characterisation of the Human Auricular Cartilages; Implications for Tissue Engineering

Currently, autologous cartilage provides the gold standard for auricular reconstruction. However, synthetic biomaterials offer a number of advantages for ear reconstruction including decreased donor site morbidity and earlier surgery. Critical to implant success is the material's mechanical properties as this affects biocompatibility and extrusion. The aim of this study was to determine the biomechanical properties of human auricular cartilage. Auricular cartilage from fifteen cadavers was indented with displacement of 1 mm/s and load of 300 g to obtain a Young's modulus in compression. Histological analysis of the auricle was conducted according to glycoprotein, collagen, and elastin content. The compression modulus was calculated for each part of the auricle with the tragus at 1.67 ± 0.61 MPa, antitragus 1.79 ± 0.56 MPa, concha 2.08 ± 0.70 MPa, antihelix 1.71 ± 0.63 MPa, and helix 1.41 ± 0.67 MPa. The concha showed to have a significantly greater Young's Elastic Modulus than the helix in compression (p < 0.05). The histological analysis demonstrated that the auricle has a homogenous structure in terms of chondrocyte morphology, extracellular matrix and elastin content. This study provides new information on the compressive mechanical properties and histological analysis of the human auricular cartilage, allowing surgeons to have a better understanding of suitable replacements. This study has provided a reference, by which cartilage replacements should be developed for auricular reconstruction

Biomechanical characterization of human soft tissues using indentation and tensile testing

Tissue biomechanics is important for maintaining cell shape and function and for determining phenotype. This report demonstrates non-destructive mechanical protocols for characterizing elastic and viscoelastic properties of human soft tissues, which can be directly applied to tissue-engineered substrates to allow a close matching of engineered materials to native tissue

Biomechanical characterisation of the human nasal cartilages; implications for tissue engineering

Nasal reconstruction is currently performed using autologous grafts provides but is limited by donor site morbidity, tissue availability and potentially graft failure. Additionally, current alternative alloplastic materials are limited by their high extrusion and infection rates. Matching mechanical properties of synthetic materials to the native tissue they are replacing has shown to be important in the biocompatibility of implants. To date the mechanical properties of the human nasal cartilages has not been studied in depth to be able to create tissue-engineered replacements with similar mechanical properties to native tissue. The young's modulus was characterized in compression on fresh-frozen human cadaveric septal, alar, and lateral cartilage. Due to the functional differences experienced by the various aspects of the septal cartilage, 16 regions were evaluated with an average elastic modulus of 2.72 ± 0.63 MPa. Furthermore, the posterior septum was found to be significantly stiffer than the anterior septum (p < 0.01). The medial and lateral alar cartilages were tested at four points with an elastic modulus ranging from 2.09 ± 0.81 MPa, with no significant difference between the cartilages (p < 0.78). The lateral cartilage was tested once in all cadavers with an average elastic modulus of 0.98 ± 0.29 MPa. In conclusion, this study provides new information on the compressive mechanical properties of the human nasal cartilage, allowing surgeons to have a better understanding of the difference between the mechanical properties of the individual nasal cartilages. This study has provided a reference, by which tissue-engineered should be developed for effective cartilage replacements for nasal reconstruction

Measuring the impacts of credit restrictions on the trade performance of debtor nations

The interdependence of the developed world economy and that of the third world has been increasingly evident since the debt crisis of the eighties. International trade declined with the consequence of global economic stagnation. One major contributor to the cumulative and self reinforcing nature of the crisis is the trade impacts of the restrictive capital flows. Trade models applied to extract the debt-to-trade linkages have generally over looked the micro economic behavior that lead to the observed macroeconomic performance. Micro economic models abound that examine the theoretical concerns of this issue. This study re-examines the theoretical considerations, especially as they apply to limited capital availability and the consequences in consumption and investment behavior. Such decisions, made under limited borrowing ability, are linked to the conventional trade model via the national income and balance of payments account identities. The observed consumption and investments are modelled as deviating from the optimal, with no limits on borrowing, and a model is developed to measure this adjustment in total absorption. Import decisions arise from the consumption and investment demands so determined. Export production is dependent on the capacity to import. Thus the trade performance is linked to the consumption and investment decisions and is affected by the capital constraints. The adjustment factor thus obtained, in combination with the traditional elasticity measures enables constructing export and import elasticities with respect to constraining capital. The model estimates were made on a pooled data of eighteen countries that face debt problems. The model estimates confirm the linkages. However, the sensitivity of trade to credit limits appear too low, possibly due to the degree of heterogeneity in the pooled data

The Effects of Soybean Protein Changes on Major Agricultural Markets

What are the likely impacts of biogenetically increasing the protein content of soybeans? In this study, the linkages among the associated sectors are identified and quantified for probable impacts by sectors. The authors also illustrate appropriate procedures for assessing potential technological improvements. They determine that U.S. crop producers benefit, but corn producers gain more than soybean producers