We consider several notions of regularity, including strong regularity, bounded relative units, and Ditkin’s condition, in the setting of vector-valued function algebras. Given a commutative Banach ...algebra
A
and a compact space
X
, let
A
be a Banach
A
-valued function algebra on
X
and let
A
be the subalgebra of
A
consisting of scalar-valued functions. This paper is about the connection between regularity conditions of the algebra
A
and the associated algebras
A
and
A
. That
A
inherits a certain regularity condition
P
to
A
and
A
is the easy part of the problem. We investigate the converse and show that, under certain conditions,
A
receives
P
form
A
and
A
. The results apply to tensor products of commutative Banach algebras as they are included in the class of vector-valued function algebras.
Purpose
The use of relative unit values (RUVs) to assess students’ clinical productivity is common in dental education. However, there are large variations on how RUVs are defined, developed, ...validated, and reported across institutions. This study described the development of a novel educational RUV system.
Methods
A preparatory phase of literature review and methodological gap analysis, followed by initial conception, pilot testing, and a 2‐round modified Delphi process were conducted. Panelists reviewed the procedure list, nomenclature, purpose of development, basis of calculation of RUVs, and the relative weights of different dental procedures. Also, their perception of the usefulness, fairness, and practicality of the system was assessed. Agreement was set at 80%.
Results
Eight published educational RUV systems were identified. These data guided the initial conception of the novel Integrated Educational RUVs (IERUVs). Five experts reviewed the system and it was piloted for a full educational cycle. Feedback from faculty and students was used to adjust over‐ or under‐estimated RUVs, with deconstruction of multi‐step procedures. Fifteen experts participated in the second Delphi round (71% response rate). Consensus was reached for 105 procedural RUVs. A total of 93% of the panelists agreed the system was useful, while 71% perceived it as fair and practical.
Conclusion(s)
Content validity of the new educational RUV was established. The system provides a promising tool for assessing dental students’ clinical performance, as it provides a unified base unit to assess clinical productivity, clinical competence, and comprehensive care cases. Longitudinal evaluations in different contexts are needed to confirm IERUVs validity.
•NtcA binding to a promoter of the CRP regulon suggests NtcA/CRP cross-talk.•NtcA requirement for 2-oxoglutarate differs for different NtcA-regulated promoters.•The effective NtcA affinity for ...2-oxoglutarate is strongly influenced by the promoter.•Protein PipX increases NtcA affinity for 2-oxoglutarate, stabilizing “active” NtcA.•PipX binds with high affinity to NtcA (Kd≈80nM), absolutely requiring 2-oxoglutarate.
Surface plasmon resonance monitoring of the binding of transcription factors cAMP receptor protein (CRP) and nitrogen control factor of cyanobacteria (NtcA) from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 to promoter fragments of glnA, glnN (NtcA regulon) and cccS (CRP regulon), revealed exclusive CRP binding to cccS, whereas NtcA was bound to all three promoters with different affinities, which were strongly increased by the NtcA activator 2-oxoglutarate. Effective NtcA affinity for 2-oxoglutarate varied with the promoter. High-affinity promoters and the NtcA-coactivating protein PII-interacting protein X (PipX) increased NtcA affinity towards 2-oxoglutarate, suggesting PipX-stabilization of the 2-oxoglutarate-bound NtcA conformation. PipX binding to NtcA required 2-oxoglutarate and was much tighter (Kd≈85nM) than to the PipX-sequestering PII protein. NtcA appears to require more strongly PipX and 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) for estimulating gene expression at promoters having “imperfect” NtcA binding sites.
•I have produced Weighted Average Relative Price (WARP) indices for 154 countries for the period 1950–2011 using the last three versions of the Penn World Tables.•I have produced an historical WARP ...index for the US, from 1820 to 2011.•I find that in the early 2000s, during the collapse in US manufacturing, the US price level had not been that high relative to trading partners since the worst year of the Great Depression.•I propose a productivity adjustment to WARP to adjust for the observed “Penn Effect”, and also produce Penn Effect-adjusted WARP indices for 154 countries over the period 1950–2011.•I propose a new Weighted Average Relative Unit Labor Cost index (WARULC) which solves index numbers problem in the IMF's index.•For the US, I show that WAR indices seem to do a better job predicting trade flows and declines in manufacturing employment than do previous RER indices.
Commonly used trade-weighted real exchange rate indices are computed as indices-of-indices, and thus do not adequately account for growth in trade with developing countries. Weighted Average Relative Price (WARP) indices solve this problem but do not control for productivity differences, as developing countries are observed to have lower price levels via the Penn Effect. I remedy these problems in two ways. First I propose a Penn Effect productivity adjustment to Weighted Average Relative Price indices (P-WARP). Secondly, I introduce a Weighted Average Relative Unit Labor Cost index (WARULC) for manufacturing and show that this measure does a much better job predicting trade imbalances and declines in manufacturing employment than the IMF's Relative ULC measure created as an index-of-indices. The new series reveal that for many countries currently mired in liquidity traps, relative prices reached historic highs heading into the financial crisis of 2008. I document that in 2002 – during the surprisingly sudden collapse in US manufacturing – US relative prices had not been that overvalued relative to trading partners since the worst year of the Great Depression.
The paper estimates equations for the Mexican/US manufacturing relative unit labor cost (RULC), and finds significant effects from asset market variables like interest rate differentials, foreign ...reserve accumulation, and international capital flows. The equations are motivated by a simple decomposition that reveals the roles played by relative manufacturing prices and real product wages—and hence the nominal exchange rate—in the upward trend of RULC. The paper follows to estimate equations for aggregate private investment in Mexico, finding a negative RULC effect that agrees with the recent literature on the real exchange rate’s profitability (or development) channel. All the estimations focus on long-run effects, applying the bounds testing approach to quarterly data from 1988 to 2013. The results imply that both the repeated surges in capital inflows and the disinflationary stance of monetary policy in Mexico contributed to the upward trend in RULC, which affected the country’s economic growth negatively by its depressing effect on investment.
This is an analysis of the sources of international competitiveness with Greek export data for the period 1987-2007. The framework used in the study incorporates factors that do not only represent ...cost competitiveness but also shed light on the determinants of economic complexity. Economic complexity is the amount of knowledge capabilities embodied in exports that indicates - as a source of comparative advantage - the ability for product differentiation and product variety. The empirical analysis shows that industries benefit substantially from their own R&D activity but, owing to weak economic complexity in the country, there are no cross-industry knowledge spillovers (both at national and international level) that can benefit export activity. Greek exports were found to be sensitive to relative unit labour costs (RULC) but the most important export component of this index is relative labour productivity and not labour cost. Not all institutional arrangements have the same impact on exports, for example high trade union density might harm competitiveness but this factor is uncorrelated with R&D investment. In the view of these findings, Greece's route to international competitiveness should be primarily by improving its economic complexity, making sure that the country specialises in productive activities that enrich its knowledge capabilities as well as increase the potential of knowledge transfer.
Both the euro-area and the United States suffered an initially quite similar housing and financial shock in 2007/8, with several states in both regions being particularly badly affected. Yet there ...was never any question that the worst hit US states would need a special bail-out or leave the dollar area, whereas such concerns have worsened in the euro-area. We focus on three badly affected states, Arizona, Spain and Latvia, to examine the working of relative adjustment mechanisms within the currency region. We concentrate on four such mechanisms, relative wage adjustment, migration, net fiscal flows and bank flows. Only in Latvia was there any relative wage adjustment. Intra-EU migration has increased, but is more costly for those involved in the EU (than in the USA). Net federal financing helped Arizona and Latvia in the crisis, but not Spain. The locally focussed structure of banking amplified the crisis in Spain, whereas the role of out-of-state banks eased adjustment in Arizona and Latvia. The latter reinforces the case for an EU banking union.
The new South African government has embraced globalization, with mixed results to date. Controversies center on South Africa's international cost competitiveness and whether South African exports ...respond to changes in competitiveness. We measure competitiveness by relative unit labor costs. We find that South African relative unit labor costs declined in the 1990s, but are still high relative to other developing countries. Econometric analysis reveals a strong effect of relative unit labor costs on exports.
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