Constant Rate Of Inflation Research Articles

Instantaneous optimal control of inflatable folded structures

The inflatable folded membrane structure is mainly made of flexible materials, so it has the advantages of simple structure, high folding efficiency, small launch volume, light weight, low production cost, and high reliable, and it has broad application prospects in large space structures such as space antennas, solar panels. In order to overcome the shortcoming that the traditional constant rate inflation cannot take into account the folded structure development time and stability at the same time, this paper proposes a method of variable inflation rate, which combines the inflation rate with the optimal control, so that the folded structure can deploy quickly and stably. The paper uses extended position-based dynamics method (XPBD) and control volume (CV) method to establish the inflatable folded membrane structure simulation system, and derive its instantaneous optimal control expression with inflation rate as control variable. The simulation of the four-fold tube and the comparison with the constant inflation rate show that the present method is more stable and less kinetic energy than the fast inflation rate, and takes less time than the slow inflation rate. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm for complex folded inflatable structure, the paper uses origami to design a sunshield model and simulate the deployment process.

Back-ordered inventory model with inflation in a cloudy-fuzzy environment

In this paper, an Economic Production Quantity model for deteriorating items with time-dependent demand and shortages including partially back-ordered is developed under a cloudy-fuzzy environment. At first, we develop a crisp model by considering linearly time-dependent demand with constant deterioration rate, constant inflation rate and shortages under partially back-ordered, then we fuzzify the model to archive a decision under the cloudy-fuzzy (extension of fuzziness) demand rate, inflation rate, deterioration rate and the partially back-ordered rate which are followed by their practical applications. In this model, we assume ambiances where cloudy normalized triangular fuzzy number is used to handle the uncertainty in information which is coming from the data. The main purpose of our study is to defuzzify the total inventory cost by applying Ranking Index method of fuzzy numbers as well as cloudy-fuzzy numbers and minimize the total inventory cost of crisp, fuzzy, and cloudy-fuzzy model. Finally, a comparative analysis among crisp, fuzzy and cloudy-fuzzy total cost is carried out in this paper. Numerical example, sensitivity analysis, and managerial insights are elaborated to justify the usefulness of the new approach. A comparative inquiry of the numerical result with a new existing paper is also carried out. This paper ends with a conclusion along with advantages and limitations of our solution approach, and an outlook towards possible future studies.

Viscoelastic crustal response to magma supply and discharge in the upper crust: Implications for the uplift of the Aira caldera before and after the 1914 eruption of the Sakurajima volcano

Crustal viscoelasticity is expected to influence volcano deformation as the crustal viscosity at volcanoes is lowered from regional values by higher crustal temperatures and the eventual presence of magma. In this study, we examine viscoelastic crustal response to continuous magma supply into, and sudden discharge from, a sill emplaced in the upper crust, using a three-dimensional (3-D) finite element model composed of an elastic layer underlain by a linear Maxwell viscoelastic layer with spatially uniform viscosity. We find that viscoelastic response to sill deflation due to magma discharge is an important driving force for post-eruption surface displacement, influenced both by how much viscoelastic relaxation occurs in response to sill inflation due to magma supply in the pre-eruption period and by the amount of co-eruptive sill deflation. Following an eruption, the surface elevation is always recovered later than the sill volume, because the viscoelastic response to the sill inflation detracts from the uplift. We apply this viscoelastic model to geodetic observations in the Aira caldera, southern Kyushu, Japan, over a time span of more than 100 yr. It is found that a sill emplacement with constant inflation rate can well explain the observed first-order exponential-like surface recovery after the 1914 eruption until ∼1975 if the effective crustal viscosity is ∼5×1018 Pas, the sill emplacement with an equatorial radius of ∼2 km occurs at a depth of ∼11 km, and the sill is deflated by ∼0.4 km3 during the 1914 eruption, ∼4 times less than the eruptive volume. The sill emplacement is also required to have begun ∼50 yr before the 1914 eruption with a constant inflation rate of ∼0.009 km3/yr. In the post-eruption period, the accumulation of magma in the sill during the first ∼50 yr is lower than that estimated by an elastic model, but larger thereafter. It is necessary to introduce temporal variation of the inflation rate for higher-order improved fitting to the geodetic data after ∼1975. Our results suggest that geodetic signals observed before and after magma discharge due to an eruption need to be revisited, considering the effects of crustal viscoelasticity.

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Technical and economical assessment of the utilization of photovoltaic systems in residential buildings: The case of Jordan

This paper studies the feasibility of utilizing photovoltaic systems in a standard residential apartment in Amman city in Jordan. Data on solar radiation, sunshine duration and the ambient temperature has been recorded in Amman city. An apartment in Amman was chosen as a case study to conduct energy and economic calculations. The electrical power needs and cost were calculated for the apartment. The component design and cost of PV system required to supply required energy was calculated and the payback period for the suggested stand-alone PV system in this paper was estimated in a constant inflation rate in electricity price similar to that of interest rate. The calculated payback period was high in a stand-alone system, to decrease payback period a grid-connected PV system is suggested. Considering an annual increase of 3% in electricity price, 15% of payback period was decreased in a stand-alone PV system and 21% in a grid-connected PV system. The output results of this study show that installation of PV system in a residential flat in Jordan may not be economically rewarding owing to the high cost of PV system compared to the cost of grid electricity. A feed-in tariff law of solar electricity may help to reduce PV system cost like the case of Germany. Additional conclusions are PV systems may be economically rewarding in Jordan if applied in locations far from electrical grid or in remote large scale PV power installations to overcome economical limitations of PV technology.

Socioeconomic Burden of digestive disorders in Canada: A retrospective and descriptive analysis

Background: Digestive disorders (DD) have a major impact on health and socioeconomic status in the USA as evidenced by the recent Burden of Gastrointestinal (GI) Diseases study published by the American Gastroenterological Association. Aim: to collate information on the epidemiology and burden of DD in Canada. Methods: A retrospective, descriptive study was conducted by applying appropriate principles of literature search, data gathering and analysis to integrate data from all possible sources. Results: In the fiscal year 2000/2001, the total number of discharges from acute-care hospitalizations was 2,889,586. Of these, 11.1% were for DD, ranking third after cardiovascular diseases, pregnancy and childbirth. The total number of hospitalization days was 1,781.091, with an average of 5.5 days per G1 admission, somewhat lower than the overall average stay (7.2 days). The hospitalization rate for DD for men was 1,013 per 100,000 and 980 per 100,000 for women. An estimated 136,900 new cases of cancer and 66,200 cancer deaths occurred in Canada in 2002, with the number of new cancers of the digestive system being the highest (28,000 new cases) among all organ systems and resulting in the second highest cancer deaths (14,300) only after lung cancer. The potential years of life lost (PYLL) due to GI cancers were 158,000, accounting for 17% of all PYLL associated with cancers. The overall PYLL due to DD in Canada is 2.4 per 1000 person-years, higher than AIDS and diabetes. Functional GI disorders based on the Rome II criteria are common in Canada with an estimated prevalence of 62%. Over 2 million Canadians suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), costing over $1 billion per year for the management of IBS alone. About 40% of Canadian adults have dyspepsia, with a likelihood of nsmg OTC medications 16.5 times and working days-lost 9 times higher than those without symptoms, respectively. The overall current economic data for DD in Canada are not available. However, data estimated in 1997 suggest that the annual direct costs were $3.32 billion (equivalent to $3.77 billion in 2002 dollars, valued at a constant inflation rate of 2.55%/y). Conclusions: Digestive disorders are common in Canada and have a major socioeconomic impact. Relative to the commonality of epidemiology of DD in Canada, government, industrial and public awareness of the social and economic burden needs to be increased. DD should have a higher priority for health resource and research funding allocation.

The Time-Varying NAIRU and its Implications for Economic Policy

The NAIRU, the unemployment rate consistent with a constant rate of inflation, is estimated, in this paper, as a parameter allowed to vary over time. Value is determined in an econometric model where the inflation rate depends on its past values, demand and supply shocks. The NAIRU estimated for the GDP deflator varies over the past forty years within 5.4 to 6.5 percent; its estimated value for the most recent quarter (1996:Q2) is 5.6 percent. The NAIRU has declined in recent years in response to global competition, immigration, other factors weakening labor's bargaining position, and the rapidly declining prices of computers and other electronics.

The Natural Rate of Unemployment: Concept and Critique

The natural rate of unemployment (NRU) is by now one of the most commonplace concepts in neoclassical labor economics and macroeconomics. It is frequently defined as the rate of unemployment associated with (1) full-employment equilibrium, (2) real or supply-side forces, and/or (3) a constant rate of inflation. But despite the widespread acceptance of the NRU concept by orthodox economists, little attention has thus far been paid to the coherency or consistency of these definitions.

The prevention of post-operative adhesions using a gastrointestinal prokinetic agent

Attempts have previously been made to reduce adhesion formation by promoting early intestinal motility. The prokinetic agent Cisapride was used in an animal model of end-to-end large bowel anastomoses. Twenty Wistar rats receiving Cisapride 1 mg/kg subcutaneously (sc) twice daily for two days post-operatively were compared with 20 controls receiving saline 0.2 mL in a similar regimen. The points of adhesion of the anastomosis to the following structures were enumerated: tubal fat; mesentery; omentum; caecum; small bowel; and abdominal wall. The treatment group had significantly fewer adhesions: 2.8 +/- 0.9 v 4.3 +/- 1.0. This was mainly in the number of small bowel attachments, 3.8% compared with 37.8%. The study was repeated using small bowel anastomoses. Cisapride again reduced the number of adhesions compared with controls: 2.1 +/- 0.4 v 4.2 +/- 1.4. Cisapride therapy resulted in greater post-operative stool weights and food consumption: control, 3.87 +/- 1.1 stool, 17.04 +/- 4.3 g food; Cisapride 4.43 +/- 0.9 g stool, 19.8 +/- 4.7 g food. The enhanced motility did not affect the anastomotic strength of the small bowel; bursting pressures at a constant inflation rate of 1.1 mL/min were: control 212.8 +/- 56.0 mmHg; Cisapride, 215.8 +/- 58.9 mmHg (NS).

Wage formation in norwegian manufacturing: An empirical application of a theoretical bargaining model

This paper is concerned with the modelling of quarterly wage inflation in Norway. We develop a bargaining model which we believe is a sound theoretical base for econometric work in this field. Among other things, the model does not lend support to the practice of imposing Phillips-curve restrictions on the data without further test. A parsimonious model is estimated and is made subject to misspecification tests. There is no ‘natural rate of unemployment’ or ‘NAIRU’ in our model. Any constant unemployment rate is compatible with a constant rate of inflation and a real wage growth equal to the productivity growth. However, the level of the real wage path will be higher the lower is the rate of unemployment.

Responses of pulmonary stretch receptors during ramp inflations of the lung.

Studies were conducted in anesthetized paralyzed dogs to determine how the dynamic and proportional sensitivity of pulmonary stretch receptors change during lung inflation. The firing of each receptor was examined at multiple levels of static transpulmonary pressure and during multiple identical inflations at each of several rates. The averaged response of the receptor was computed and receptor activity related to transpulmonary pressure. On the basis of a quantitative criterion, employed to distinguish type I from type II receptors, the receptors could not be divided into distinct subpopulations. Thus all receptors were treated as coming from a single population. For all receptors we observed that their proportional sensitivity (increases in firing produced by increases in lung expansion at a constant rate of inflation) declined as the lung was inflated. In contrast, the dynamic sensitivity (increases in firing produced by increased rates of inflation at constant transpulmonary pressure) increased or remained relatively constant with increasing lung expansion. Thus, as inflation volume increases, the pulmonary stretch receptor acts increasingly as a rate receptor. The rate of inflation may have a more important role in control of the inspiratory duration than previously realized.

Purchase-Inventory Decision Models for Inflationary Conditions

Abstract The classical EoQ formulas for determining the replenishment order sizes are no longer useful when the prices are constantly going up. In this paper, we derive economic purchase order size for the deterministic inventory models under inflationary conditions. Derivation of the model is presented considering two specific situations: (1) one chance to place an optimum reorder before a step increase in purchase cost, and (2) optimum size of the next reorder considering that any other future reorder will be subject to a constant rate of inflation. For each of these two situations, our objective is to minimize the total purchase plus inventory related costs.

Response of pulmonary rapidly adapting receptors during lung inflation.

Studies were conducted to establish the factors that determine the response of canine pulmonary rapidly adapting receptors (RAR) during lung inflation. Inflations of the lung were performed at several constant rates during which the activity of individual RAR was counted. At each rate of inflation tested multiple identical tests were performed. The volume of each test inflation was controlled. Data obtained in all tests at each flow rate were averaged to give the mean response of the receptor at that rate of inflation. These studies indicate the major response characteristics of RAR during lung inflation in conditions of relatively constant lung mechanics. First, at a constant rate of inflation, the activity of RAR augments increasingly as the lung is expanded. Second, their activity is influenced markedly by the rate of inflation. However, this sensitivity is nonlinear. Specifically, at low rates of inflation increases in flow rate produce more marked augmentation of RAR firing than do identical increases in flow at higher rates of inflation. The major difference between receptors is in their threshold; however, this too is a function of flow rate. With increasing flow rate the threshold, whether measured as the inflation volume or transpulmonary pressure at which receptors begin to fire, declines. The response of receptors, however, with thresholds over the entire range show the major features discussed above. The present results provide quantitative information which are necessary to begin to eludicate the transduction properties of this receptor type.

Unemployment in the United Kingdom Since the War

In this paper, we first present a competitive macroeconomic model of an open economy which is suitable for estimation and contrast this with a non-competitive model. We then derive unemployment equations from the various models and estimate them over annual data from 1948–1979. We draw the following conclusions. (i) The competitive model of the labour market does not fit the facts. (ii) The non-competitive model generates an equation for the constant inflation rate of unemployment which reveals how, at certain times such as the mid 1970s, a combination of factors conspired to raise this level forcing the government into a deflationary stance to prevent inflation rising drastically. (iii) A number of factors have raised the level of unemployment in a secular fashion since the war, in particular the increase in the variation of relative prices, the increase in the benefit to income ratio, the introduction of employment protection legislation and the rise in the intersectoral shifts of the labour force.

Purchase-Inventory Decision Models for Inflationary Conditions

This paper develops two deterministic models for helping purchasing and materials managers in calculating economic replenishment order sizes under two specific situations. Each of these situations (questions) is frequently faced by practicing managers under current inflationary conditions. The two specific situations are: (1) one chance to place an optimum reorder before a step increase in purchase cost; and (2) optimum size of the next reorder considering that any other future reorder will be subject to a constant rate of inflation. For each of these two situations a derivation of the model in presented, and then the usage of each derivation is illustrated in detail with a typical real-world numerical example.

Verification of Outstanding Claim Provisions—Separation Technique

In reference [1] Dr. G. C. Taylor has described a useful advance in the techniques available for verification of outstanding claims estimates when the data provided is the cohort development of numbers and amounts of claims. In this note it is assumed that the numbers relate to settled claims and that the amounts relate to claim payments, so there is an implicit assumption that the pattern of partial payments is constant. If the amounts of settled claims were to be used, there would be a one/one relationship between the numbers and amounts, but the effect of the exogeneous factor would be blurred because the settlements in a year other than the first include partial payments made some time previously, and, by hypothesis, based on different factors. If information relating to partial payments is available the data can be examined for any major fluctuation in the pattern and allowance made accordingly.In paragraph (2) of reference [1] a brief description is given of a standard routine calculation in which the average distribution function of claim payments in time is estimated from the triangle of payments by a chain ladder technique. This distribution function is then used to estimate the expected development of the incomplete cohorts, the implicit assumption being made that the function was stable in time. With a constant rate of inflation the results obtained by this technique were found to be satisfactory but with a rapid increase in the rate of inflation the distribution function changed so that projection led to underestimates of the future claims payments. Various methods of adjusting the projections to allow for the change in the rate of inflation have been investigated, but they all involve an important element of subjective judgment and so far no generally suitable basis for “automatic” verification by this particular technique has been discovered. See however reference [2].

Wage Inflation and the Structure of Regional Unemployment

An important implication of classical monetary theory is that, if fully expected and adjusted to, the rate of inflation cannothaveaninfluenceonrealeconomic activity. In the context of the Phillips curve discussions, this basic, classical conclusion has recently been reestablished by neoclassical writers, such as Mortensen [11] and Phelps [13]. According to them, any trade-off that may exist between unemployment and inflation must be caused by adjustment lags, money illusion, and similar frictions which disappear in long-run equilibrium. Any such trade-off is, thus, strictly temporary and, indeed, illusory. Only one rate of unemployment-the natural rate of unemployment-is compatible with a constant rate of inflation. Any attempt by governments to attain a permanently lower or higher rate of unemployment by ordinary fiscal or monetary methods would lead to ever-increasing rates of inflation or deflation. The mechanism through which the Phillips curve becomes unstable is the generation of and adjustment to inflationary expectations. Although the logic of this classical approach cannot be faulted, the empirical evidence on the manner in which expectations are generated and adjusted to is not strong (see Lucas and Rapping [10], Solow [16], and Brechling [5] ).