Chain: A Dynamic Double Auction Framework for Matching Patient Agents

In this paper we present and evaluate a general framework for the design of truthful auctions for matching agents in a dynamic, two-sided market. A single commodity, such as a resource or a task, is bought and sold by multiple buyers and sellers that arrive and depart over time. Our algorithm, Chain, provides the first framework that allows a truthful dynamic double auction (DA) to be constructed from a truthful, single-period (i.e. static) double-auction rule. The pricing and matching method of the Chain construction is unique amongst dynamic-auction rules that adopt the same building block. We examine experimentally the allocative efficiency of Chain when instantiated on various single-period rules, including the canonical McAfee double-auction rule. For a baseline we also consider non-truthful double auctions populated with zero-intelligence plus"-style learning agents. Chain-based auctions perform well in comparison with other schemes, especially as arrival intensity falls and agent valuations become more volatile

Rate of convergence in the Smoluchowski-Kramers approximation for mean-field stochastic differential equations

In this paper we study a second-order mean-field stochastic differential systems describing the movement of a particle under the influence of a time-dependent force, a friction, a mean-field interaction and a space and time-dependent stochastic noise. Using techniques from Malliavin calculus, we establish explicit rates of convergence in the zero-mass limit (Smoluchowski-Kramers approximation) in the $L^p$-distances and in the total variation distance for the position process, the velocity process and a re-scaled velocity process to their corresponding limiting processes

Accounting conservatism and banking expertise on board of directors

Previous studies show mixed evidence of the role of banking expertise on the board of directors on accounting conservatism. In this paper, we add to this growing literature by providing an innovative way to measure banking expertise based on life-time working history in banks of all individual directors on the board. We find that accounting conservatism is negatively affected by banking expertise on the board. Also, the results indicate that banking expertise on the board has a more pronounced impact on accounting conservatism when firms have high bankruptcy risk and when firms have high financial leverage. The evidence has some implications for boards of directors

Wasps and bees of Bimini

29 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 29)

Multi-Region Hemispheric Specialization Differentiates Human from Nonhuman Primate Brain Function

The human behavioral repertoire greatly exceeds that of nonhuman primates. Anatomical specializations of the human brain include an enlarged neocortex and prefrontal cortex (Semendeferi et al. in Am J Phys Anthropol 114:224–241, 2001), but regional enlargements alone cannot account for these vast functional differences. Hemispheric specialization has long believed to be a major contributing factor to such distinctive human characteristics as motor dominance, attentional control and language. Yet structural cerebral asymmetries, documented in both humans and some nonhuman primate species, are relatively minor compared to behavioral lateralization. Identifying the mechanisms that underlie these functional differences remains a goal of considerable interest. Here, we investigate the intrinsic connectivity networks in four primate species (humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and capuchin monkeys) using resting-state fMRI to evaluate the intra- and inter- hemispheric coherences of spontaneous BOLD fluctuation. All three nonhuman primate species displayed lateralized functional networks that were strikingly similar to those observed in humans. However, only humans had multi-region lateralized networks, which provide fronto-parietal connectivity. Our results indicate that this pattern of within-hemisphere connectivity distinguishes humans from nonhuman primates

Multi-region hemispheric specialization differentiates human from nonhuman primate brain function

The human behavioral repertoire greatly exceeds that of nonhuman primates. Anatomical specializations of the human brain include an enlarged neocortex and prefrontal cortex (Semendeferi et al. in Am J Phys Anthropol 114:224?241, 2001), but regional enlargements alone cannot account for these vast functional differences. Hemispheric specialization has long believed to be a major contributing factor to such distinctive human characteristics as motor dominance, attentional control and language. Yet structural cerebral asymmetries, documented in both humans and some nonhuman primate species, are relatively minor compared to behavioral lateralization. Identifying the mechanisms that underlie these functional differences remains a goal of considerable interest. Here, we investigate the intrinsic connectivity networks in four primate species (humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and capuchin monkeys) using resting-state fMRI to evaluate the intra- and inter- hemispheric coherences of spontaneous BOLD fluctuation. All three nonhuman primate species displayed lateralized functional networks that were strikingly similar to those observed in humans. However, only humans had multi-region lateralized networks, which provide fronto-parietal connectivity. Our results indicate that this pattern of within-hemisphere connectivity distinguishes humans from nonhuman primates

Vectorial Control of Magnetization by Light

Coherent light-matter interactions have recently extended their applications to the ultrafast control of magnetization in solids. An important but unrealized technique is the manipulation of magnetization vector motion to make it follow an arbitrarily designed multi-dimensional trajectory. Furthermore, for its realization, the phase and amplitude of degenerate modes need to be steered independently. A promising method is to employ Raman-type nonlinear optical processes induced by femtosecond laser pulses, where magnetic oscillations are induced impulsively with a controlled initial phase and an azimuthal angle that follows well defined selection rules determined by the materials' symmetries. Here, we emphasize the fact that temporal variation of the polarization angle of the laser pulses enables us to distinguish between the two degenerate modes. A full manipulation of two-dimensional magnetic oscillations is demonstrated in antiferromagnetic NiO by employing a pair of polarization-twisted optical pulses. These results have lead to a new concept of vectorial control of magnetization by light