9 research outputs found
Essays in Macroeconomics
No full textThe central theme of the thesis is to deeply understand questions related to the interaction between household heterogeneity and the macroeconomy. For instance, How important are changes in the aggregate economy for households’ decisions? What forces determine these responses? How do policies affect the well-being and inequality among households? The objective of answering these questions is to demonstrate that individual behavior is crucial for investigating changes in the aggregate economy or evaluating various policy interventions. I use quantitative structural models calibrated with microdata and/or empirical methods to answer the research question of each chapter. In the first chapter (Chapter 2), joint with Hashmat Khan, Minjoon Lee, and Raúl Razo-García, our research is motivated by the most recent corporate tax reform in the U.S. We find three key insights from various examinations using our model. Chapter 3 investigates how housing prices affect heterogeneous household decisions in the presence of varying financial conditions. I demonstrate that housing price effects for households are dependent on the state of the aggregate financial conditions. Moreover, the effects are heterogeneous across households at different stages of their life-cycle and have important policy implications. Finally, in chapter 4, joint with Hashmat Khan, we examine whether financial shocks, in particular collateral shocks, are a dominant source of business cycle fluctuations in the U.S. We show that the evidence is not strong enough to conclude that they are
Physical Cartographies—The Harbinger of Mental Cartographies in Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows
No full textThis research paper explores the elements of territorialization which are defining the mental cartography of man along with his physical cartography in Kamila Shamsie’s novel, Burnt Shadows. The research will analyze the particular ‘fixtures’ which have created vague and ambivalent territories across a common man whether he is an (ex)colonizer or (ex)colonized. These fixtures are compelling him to act according to the already defined territories. Therefore, the research is focusing the theoretical paradigm of Deleuze and Guattari’s collaborated work for the notion of territorialization. The research focuses the factors which are contributing to create the hegemonic, static cartography in the novel. The purpose of this research is to highlight the elements of physical and mental territorialization of man. It will enable him to give a return gaze, to revamp the hegemonic cartographic discourse
Influence of tetraethyl orthosilicate coating on dielectric, impedance, and modulus properties of barium hexaferrite nanoparticles prepared by a modified sol–gel method
No full textThis work is devoted to study the comparison of the conduction mechanism in bare barium hexaferrite (BaFe12O19) nanoparticles and tetraethyl orthosilicate-coated (SiO2)x/BaFe12O19 (x = 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt. %) nanoparticles. The modified sol–gel method was adopted for the synthesis of these nanoparticles. The structures, morphologies, elemental composition, vibrational modes, and dielectric properties of these nanoparticles were studied by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and dielectric measurements, respectively. The crystallite size and particle size of BaFe12O19 nanoparticles decreased with SiO2 coatings, which can be attributed to the confinement of crystal growth of these nanoparticles with the coating. It was found that these (SiO2)x/BaFe12O19 nanoparticles have a uniform spherical shape, are non-agglomerated, and have a narrow particle size distribution. At room temperature, these (SiO2)x/BaFe12O19 nanoparticles showed distinctive behavior with varying frequency and SiO2 coatings. The experimental results in this work may provide fundamental support to the research and development of materials for energy storage devices
Large-scale remediation of oil-contaminated water using floating treatment wetlands
No full text© 2019, The Author(s). The contamination of water with hydrocarbons resulting from oil exploration and production highlights the need for efficient and environmentally friendly technology to mitigate this form of water pollution. Floating treatment wetlands are a sustainable approach for remediating contaminated water. In this large-scale study, we used four different plants, Phragmites australis, Typha domingensis, Leptochloa fusca, and Brachiaria mutica, to vegetate a floating mat with an area of 3058 m2 made from locally sourced materials. The floating treatment wetlands constructed in this manner were used to treat an oil-contaminated water stabilization pit resulting from oil and gas exploration activities in District Chakwal, Pakistan. The plants and the water in the pit were inoculated with a consortium of 10 different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. The application of floating treatment wetlands to the pit reduced chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, hydrocarbon content, and heavy metals by 97.4%, 98.9%, 82.4%, 99.1%, and 80%, respectively, within 18 months. All plants survived and showed growth, but maximum development and biomass production were exhibited by P. australis. Moreover, the bacteria used for inoculation were able to persist and show degradation activity in the water as well as in the rhizoplane, roots, and shoots of the plants. We conclude that floating treatment wetlands can be applied to oil-contaminated water stabilization pits for affordable and effective water treatment
Renin Angiotensin System Blocker Fetopathy: A Midwest Pediatric Nephrology Consortium Report
No full textFetuses continue to be exposed to renin angiotensin system (RAS) blockers despite their known teratogenicity and a black box warning. We hypothesized that fetopathy from in utero exposure to RAS blockers has a broader spectrum of clinical manifestations than described previously and that there are a variety of clinical scenarios leading to such exposures.
This was a retrospective study performed through the Midwest Pediatric Nephrology Consortium. Cases of RAS blocker fetopathy were identified, with determination of renal and extrarenal manifestations, timing of exposure, and the explanation for the fetal exposure.
Twenty-four cases were identified. RAS blocker exposure after the first trimester was associated with more severe renal manifestations. Chronic dialysis or kidney transplantation was required in 8 of 17 (47%) patients with RAS blocker exposure after the first trimester and 0 of 7 patients with exposure restricted to the first trimester (P = .05). Extrarenal manifestations, some not previously noted in the literature, included central nervous system anomalies (cystic encephalomalacia, cortical blindness, sensorineural hearing loss, arachnoid cysts) and pulmonary complications (pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum). RAS blocker exposure usually was secondary to absent or poor prenatal care or undiagnosed pregnancy.
RAS blocker fetopathy continues to be a cause of considerable morbidity, with more severe renal manifestations associated with exposure after the first trimester. A variety of significant extrarenal manifestations occur in these patients. Clinicians should emphasize the risk of fetopathy when prescribing RAS blockers to women of childbearing age
Über kulturelle Transformationen der Sexual- und Geschlechtsformen in den letzten Jahrzehnten
No full textWestern cultures have witnessed a tremendous cultural and social transformation of sexuality in the years since the sexual revolution. Apart from a few public debates and scandals, the process has moved along gradually and quietly. Yet its real and symbolic effects are probably much more consequential than those generated by the sexual revolution of the sixties. Sigusch refers to the broad-based recoding and reassessment of the sexual sphere during the eighties and nineties as the "neosexual revolution". The neosexual revolution is dismantling the old patterns of sexuality and reassembling them anew. In the process, dimensions, intimate relationships, preferences and sexual fragments emerge, many of which had submerged, were unnamed or simply did not exist before. In general, sexuality has lost much of its symbolic meaning as a cultural phenomenon. Sexuality is no longer the great metaphor for pleasure and happiness, nor is it so greatly overestimated as it was during the sexual revolution. It is now widely taken for granted, much like egotism or motility. Whereas sex was once mystified in a positive sense - as ecstasy and transgression, it has now taken on a negative mystification characterized by abuse, violence and deadly infection. While the old sexuality was based primarily upon sexual instinct, orgasm and the heterosexual couple, neosexualities revolve predominantly around gender difference, thrills, self-gratification and prosthetic substitution. From the vast number of interrelated processes from which neosexualities emerge, three empirically observable phenomena have been selected for discussion here: the dissociation of the sexual sphere, the dispersion of sexual fragments and the diversification of intimate relationships. The outcome of the neosexual revolution may be described as "lean sexuality" and "self-sex".Nach der letzten "sexuellen Revolution" kam es in den reichen Gesellschaften des Westens zu einer enormen kulturellen und sozialen Transformation der Sexualität. Sigusch nennt sie die "neosexuelle Revolution". Bisher ist diese Transformation und Umwertung der Sexualität eher langsam und leise verlaufen. Ihre symbolischen und realen Auswirkungen sind aber möglicherweise einschneidender als die der schnellen und lauten sexuellen Revolution der 1960er und 1970er Jahre. Die neosexuelle Revolution zerlegt die alte Sexualität und setzt sie neu zusammen. Dadurch treten Dimensionen, Intimbeziehungen, Präferenzen und Sexualfragmente hervor, die bisher verschüttet waren, keinen Namen hatten oder gar nicht existierten. Insgesamt verlor die Kulturform Sexualität an symbolischer Bedeutung. Heute ist Sexualität nicht mehr die große Metapher der Lust und des Glücks. Sie wird nicht mehr so stark überschätzt wie zur Zeit der sexuellen Revolution, ist eher eine allgemeine Selbstverständlichkeit wie Egoismus oder Motilität. Während die alte Sexualität positiv mystifiziert wurde als Ekstase und Transgression, wird die neue negativ mystifiziert als Missbrauch, Gewalt und tödliche Infektion. Während die alte Sexualität vor allem aus Trieb, Orgasmus und dem heterosexuellen Paar bestand, bestehen die Neosexualitäten vor allem aus Geschlechterdifferenz, Thrills, Selbstliebe und Prothetisierungen. Aus der Unzahl der miteinander vernetzten Prozesse, die Neosexualitäten hervorbringen, werden drei herausgegriffen: die Dissoziation der sexuellen Sphäre, die Dispersion der sexuellen Fragmente und die Diversifikation der sexuellen Beziehungen. Das Resultat der neosexuellen Revolution könnte als "Lean sexuality" oder als "Selfsex" bezeichnet werden, der selbstdiszipliniert und selbstoptimiert ist
