RevenueSources of State and Local Governments

This report compares the reliance on various revenue sources across Georgia compared with eight other states. FRC Report 16

Forecasting Pre-K Enrollment in Georgia Counties

This report provides a manual that documents the forecasting methodology and provides the actual forecast of Pre-K enrollment by county for 2007-2011. FRC Report 15

The Maturity Structure of Bank Credit: Determinants and Effects on Economic Growth

We investigate a new data set on the maturity of bank credit to the private sector in 74 countries. We show that credit maturity is longer in countries with strong institutions, low inflation, large financial markets, and where banks share information about borrowers. Furthermore, we extend the finance and growth literature by showing that credit maturity matters for economic growth. Economic growth is enhanced in countries where agents have access to long-term financing. Therefore, weak institutions, high inflation and other variables that reduce credit maturity have an impact on economic growth via their influence on credit maturity. The estimated effects are substantial in size. Working Paper 08-1

Economic Impact of the Commercial Music Industry in Atlanta and the State of Georgia: New Estimates

This report documents the economic and fiscal impact of the industry, and changes in the impact from 2003 to 2007. FRC Report 15

Iron concentrations in atherosclerotic plaque and serum in patients with carotid atherosclerosis

The aim of this study was to investigate the iron concentrations in serum and carotid plaque in patients with different morphology of carotid atherosclerotic plaque and compared with other metal ions. Carotid endarterectomy due to the significant atherosclerotic stenosis was performed in 91 patients. Control group consisted of 27 patients, without carotid atherosclerosis. Atherosclerotic plaques were divided into four morphological groups, according to ultrasonic and intraoperative characteristics. Iron, copper and zinc concentration in plaque, carotid artery and serum were measured by spectrophotometry. Serum iron concentrations were higher in patients with hemorrhagic plaques in comparison to the control group (4.7 μmol/l ± 1.2 vs. 2.1 μmol/l ± 0.8, p < 0.05). Iron concentrations were higher in patients with hemorrhagic plaques in comparison to fibrolipid plaques (72.1 ± 14.3 μg/g vs. 39.3 ± 22.9 μg/g; p < 0.05). Negative significant correlation was found for zinc in serum and plaque iron concentration in patients (p < 0.05). We also demonstrated positive significant correlation for copper and iron in serum (p < 0.05). The data obtained in the current study are consistent with the hypothesis that high iron levels may contribute to atherosclerosis and its complications as factors in a multifactorial disease

Compact UWB MIMO Filtennas with Dual Bandnotch, High Isolation and High Diversity

This paper presents a 4x4 MIMO filtenna aimed for use with UWB applications. The MIMO filtenna is simulated, fabricated and measured. Obtained simulation and measurement results agree well with each other and have been presented to validate the accuracy of the proposed structure. Measured passband is 2.96–11.56 GHz, with dual bandnotch at 3.5 GHz (S11 = -1.25 dB) and 6.05 GHz (S11 = -2.4 dB). Measured isolation is more than 20 dB between all individual elements of the MIMO filtenna. The behaviour of current within the filtenna at the bandnotch frequencies has been shown. Elements of the filtenna exhibit bi-directional radiation patterns in the E-plane and omnidirectional patterns in the H-plane. The gain and efficiency have also been presented; with the average values being 5.3 dBi and 90% respectively. The Envelope Correlation Coefficient has been calculated from both simulations and measurements; with the measured values being below 0.001 for the passband