The Minimum Balance at Risk: A Proposal to Mitigate the Systemic Risks Posed by Money Market Funds

This paper introduces a proposal for money market fund (MMF) reform that could mitigate systemic risks arising from these funds by protecting shareholders, such as retail investors, who do not redeem quickly from distressed funds. Our proposal would require that a small fraction of each MMF investor's recent balances, called the minimum balance at risk (MBR), be demarcated to absorb losses if the fund is liquidated. Most regular transactions in the fund would be unaffected, but redemptions of the MBR would be delayed for thirty days. A key feature of the proposal is that large redemptions would subordinate a portion of an investor's MBR, creating a disincentive to redeem if the fund is likely to have losses. In normal times, when the risk of MMF losses is remote, subordination would have little effect on incentives. We use empirical evidence, including new data on MMF losses from the U.S. Treasury and the Securities and Exchange Commission, to calibrate an MBR rule that would reduce the vulnerability of MMFs to runs and protect investors who do not redeem quickly in crises

Efeito da irrigação subgengival com seringa e ultrassônica passiva nos níveis de IL-1?, IL-6 e TNF-? na periodontite experimental em ratos / Effect of subgingival syringe irrigation and passive ultrasonic irrigation on IL-1?, IL-6 and TNF-? levels in experimental periodontitis in rats

Introdução: A persistência de sítios com doença periodontal após raspagem e alisamento radicular desencadeou a realização de estudos buscando um tratamento complementar. Considerando a melhor eficácia da irrigação ultrassônica na endodontia, buscou-se adaptar essa técnica na periodontia. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar se a irrigação subgengival com seringa (IS) e/ou a irrigação subgengival ultrassônica passiva (ISUP) com soro fisiológico (SF), hipoclorito de sódio (HS) e extrato de própolis (PRO) influencia na concentração de Il-1?, IL-6 e TNF-? em periodontite experimental induzida em ratos. Métodos: Periodontite Experimental foi induzida com ligadura nos primeiros molares inferiores de 35 ratos Wistar. Após 14 dias, as ligaduras foram removidas, e os animais submetidos à raspagem, seguido por IS no lado esquerdo e ISUP no direito, com SF 0,9%, HS 0,1% e PRO 11%. Os animais foram sacrificados 2 dias após o tratamento e submetidos a análise ELISA para avaliação dos níveis das citocinas IL-1?, IL-6 e TNF-?. Os dados foram submetidos à análise estatística com nível de significância (?) de 5%.Resultados: A IL-1? aumentou de forma estatisticamente significante no grupo raspagem (p=0,015) e reduziu no grupo de IS com HS (p=0,016). A IL-6 reduziu nos grupos de IS com SF, HS e PRO em relação ao grupo raspagem (p=0,007) e aumentou de forma estatisticamente significante no grupo ISUP em relação à IS (p=0,033). O TNF-? e as soluções irrigantes não apresentaram diferença estatística entre os grupos. Conclusão: As técnicas de irrigação com seringa associadas à raspagem apresentaram uma redução da concentração das citocinas inflamatórias quando comparadas ao tratamento somente de raspagem.

Variação sazonal do fluxo de calor no solo dentro de um manguezal tropical

Os manguezais são ecossistemas de grande importância em virtude da sua biodiversidade, embora ainda pouco estudados. O fluxo de calor no solo (FCS) é uma propriedade que interfere no microclima de um ecossistema e depende de vários fatores. Um estudo experimental foi realizado em um manguezal no município de Marechal Deodoro, Alagoas, no período de outubro/2004 a outubro/2005, com o objetivo de caracterizar a variação sazonal do FCS; para isto, uma estação meteorológica automática foi montada em uma torre micrometeorológica para registrar diferentes elementos do tempo e clima, de forma contínua. Especificamente, para medição do FCS a 10 cm de profundidade utilizou-se uma bateria de três fluxímetros modelo HFT3 (Campbell Scientific, EUA) no sentido de que a interferência da não uniformidade do solo nas medições fosse minimizada. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram influência da radiação solar, precipitação e da maré sobre a variação diária e sazonal do FCS, além de grande diferença de amplitude diária do FCS entre os períodos chuvoso (9 W m-2) e seco (36 W m-2).Mangrove swamps are highly important ecosystems due to their biodiversity, but they still are little studied. Soil heat fluxes (SHF) is one of the proprieties that interfere in the ecosystem microclimate and depends on lots of factors. An experimental study was carried out in a mangrove forest in the Marechal Deodoro city, in the State of Alagoas, from October/2004 to October/2005, with the aim of describing the SHF seasonal variation. To this end, an automatic weather station was assembled in a micrometeorological tower to register the data continuously. To measure SHF in 10 cm depth one battery with three (3) fluximeter model HFT3 (Campbell Scientific, EUA) was used so that the soil uniformity interference in the measurements was reduced. The obtained results showed influence of solar radiation, rainfall and tidal wave in the daily and seasonal SHF variation. A large SHF amplitude daily difference occurred between the wet (9 W m-2) and dry (36 W m-2) season

Pluri-Potential Branching System

In contemporary construction industry, parametric softwares are often employed in design processes of rationalization and post-rationalization where, given a certain project, the answer to specific problems is required to actualize the desired shape [problem-solving approach]. This paper outlines a research project intended to develop a generative approach to digital design where the employment of parametric and algorithmic tools provide the possibility to set up integral multi-parametric systems, organizational as well as geometrical and structural aspects are investigated and, in parallel, they inform each other. The paper unfolds through constant reference to natural systems and, more specifically, develops the notion of pluri-potential systems deriving principle from the interaction between biological processes and computation. The results address the shift from mono-parametric problem-solving approaches to a generative problem-caring process where the integration of multiple system logics contribute to the development of a virtual pluri-potential set up. Finally, the paper explore the generative interdependency between structural, geometrical, organizational and computational logics of a system studying the manifold potentials of branching structures in the attempt to explore the emergent synergy between biological processes, computation and architectural design

Costruendo il MUDI. La misura di Brunelleschi, il progetto culturale, il Museo. Il rilievo per il progetto

La possibilità di un’acquisizione morfometrica digitale ad alta accuratezza geometrica e dimensionale sta modificando lo sviluppo dei processi di indagine in molti settori, dai beni culturali al patrimonio storico-artistico fino alla progettazione architettonica. Gli sviluppi di innovazione tecnologica che hanno visto in questo ultimo decennio industrializzare nuovi strumenti laser scanner 3D per il rilievo automatico della geometria rappresentano l’elemento di interesse che consente di introdurre il dato metrico morfologico ad alta densità informativa come supporto essenziale per la costruzione di banche dati tridimensionali, capaci di costituire nel tempo un utile archivio della memoria geometrica dell’architettura, applicabile a fini di ricerca da parte di storici dell’arte e dell’architettura, ma anche per scopi di tutela e conservazione e di supporto per eventuali processi di restauro, riproduzione o progettazione. Il progetto del MUDI ha visto così la possibilità di integrare il processo compositivo con modelli morfometrici matematici ad alta densità informativa. Misure e piani di riferimento si intrecciano a schizzi e logiche compositive. Rilevare e progettare sono due processi profondamente diversi; l’uno parte in maniera imprescindibile dal reale, l’oggetto del rilievo, l’altro più spesso prende origine dall’immaginazione volta a pensare, pro-gettare nel futuro quanto ancora non c’è, per concretizzarsi il primo, in restituzioni grafiche, frutto di un atto di conoscenza, che raccontano l’architettura; il secondo, in elaborati che grazie all’inventiva e ad indicazioni metriche prefigurano lo spazio da costruire. Nel caso del progetto MUDI il rilievo è stato utilizzato come strumento di verifica degli spazi progettati nel momento di elaborazione del progetto definitivo e soprattutto esecutivo, le fasi più tecniche dello sviluppo del processo compositivo, in cui si impone la necessità di un controllo spaziale con un’accuratezza di carattere millimetrico. In virtù delle sue caratteristiche intrinseche di precisione, il rilievo morfometrico matematico riesce infatti a svelare e chiarificare la complessità e l’articolazione volumetrica dell’oggetto del rilievo grazie all’integrazione di diverse metodologie: il metodo con laser scanner 3D, utilizzato per ottenere un modello tridimensionale metrico; il metodo topografico, impiegato per la registrazione delle diverse scansioni e per la definizione di una rete di inquadramento complessiva; il metodo fotografico unitamente a quello topografico adottato per la realizzazione di un supporto di immagini per il controllo dello stato attuale, soprattutto delle parti superficiali. Oltre a fornire una verifica di tipo metrico, il data base tridimensionale permette anche una capacità investigativa, e quindi un livello di conoscenza del manufatto architettonico, altrimenti difficilmente raggiungibile. L’analisi e il confronto del dato raccolto, costituito da un insieme di coordinate metriche, concretizzate in punti adimensionali, la nuvola di punti, rende la volumetria dell’architettura più facilmente comprensibile grazie alla possibilità di correlare i diversi ambienti architettonici, senza vincoli di piani di sezione predeterminati e offre l’opportunità di verificare in visioni planimetriche gli impianti superiori con quelli inferiori attraverso controlli di sovrapposizione morfologica, utili per comprendere eventuali aggiustamenti o traslazioni dovute a mancate corrispondenze murarie. L’interrogazione produce infatti la possibilità di selezionare i piani e gli assi di visualizzazione e contestualmente di selezionare gli ambiti spaziali interessati: di volta in volta è possibile concentrarsi esclusivamente sullo spazio interno, sul rapporto tra esterno ed interno dell’edificio o sull’intero sistema volumetrico rilevato

The International Prize for Sustainable Architecture: Achievements and potentials

The International Prize for Sustainable Architecture, now in its seventh edition, arose from the important international manifestation of the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the Ferrara School of Architecture, held in 2003. Conceived and promoted by the School itself and Fassa Bortolo company, the Award is intended to redirect attention to the necessity of re-examining the relationship between the process of construction and the habitat through the pursuit of compatibility among economic productivity, the safeguarding of resources and the quality of the environment. The spirit and the goal are to contribute to the research of a system of development in the building sector that is more sustainable than our current model, which has lead to a state of deterioration and pollution, bringing us to the verge of a global crisis of the Earth’s entire ecological system. The Prize therefore provides incentives for and promotes architecture that is in greater harmony with the environment and designed for the needs of man, capable of satisfying the needs of our generations without limiting those of the future by the indiscriminate consumption of resources and the production of pollution. It was created from an understanding of the importance of sharing with a large public the results of research in the field of civil construction, recognizing in architecture the fundamental role of environmental qualification, education and social promotion, as well as the responsibility of representing the concrete expression of cultural development and of the society’s collective interests. Receiving every edition more of one hundred submitted projects the Prize during the past years has become one of the most important European event for sustainable architecture

O3D The breaking down of the motion. The corporeal dynamism and the morphometric structures by 3D laser scanner survey

The movement, as motion, action and gesture, is the expression of the will of mind and of the raw manifestations of unconscious. As the stream of consciousness carries the seeds of what will happen later, the motion of the body is an endless process where every gesture rises and develops itself from the previous; it already leads the semblance of following actions, in a continuous cycle. The 3D survey representation of the corporeal dynamism is indissoluble and indistinct magma of fragmented and seemingly incomprehensible corporal outlines. So far studying this confused collected data turns out to be a complicated process. It is necessary to study a strategy of research to fragment the continuity of the motion in a series of isolated sequences. A matching representative methodology must produce clear results. To break down the complexity of the motion and to understand its mechanisms, the study of the morphometry of the figure is required as starting point to understand the fragmentation before observing the whole body, otherwise the difficulty in recognizing the morphometric disintegration would be excessive. The research started from the survey of the human figure in static positions by means of laser scanner based on the time of flight technology. During the acquisition process the observation of the way in which the data was collecting on the screen of the computer, allowed the researcher to have the necessary experience to comprehend the subsequent survey procedure to acquire body in a dynamic condition. In a static condition the scanning of human figure is made of singles corporal outlines. They are added up in order to create the complete survey in the three dimensions of the space. In the dynamic condition the survey shows mixed corporeal outlines: the scan procedure doesn’t involve a single person but people. The outline of each person is not to be considered added up, but mixed up. This is the reason why, in order to create a date base about the corporal dynamism, the research has been articulated by topics analysed by means of increasing scales: starting from the motion of a single figure, for instance, in the case of steps. Then interactions between two people and groups of people (corporeal flows in spaces like an aisle) have been studied. The confusion that initially characterized the data, once decoded, it becomes a matrix of knowledge to be analysed through several levels of investigation. By means of the recognizing of the position of the corporeal articulations in a three-dimensional measurable space, like the point clouds, it is possible to point out the different corporeal outlines of each subject and then to identify the 3D model taking place in space and time, to rebuild the real dynamic process and in the case of interaction with other subjects, the proxemics development of their relation

Photochemistry of bichromophoric systems. Silicon guided intramolecular 9, 10 : 1′, 2′ anthracene photodimerization in bis(9-anthryl) dimethylsilane.

International audienc