Simple Efficient Contracts in Complex Environments

The paper studies a general model of hold-up in a setting encompassing the models of Segal (1999) and Che and Hausch (1999) among others. It is shown that if renegotiation is modelled as an infinite-horizon non-cooperative bargaining game then, with a simple initial contract, an efficient equilibrium will generally exist. The contract gives authority to one party to set the terms of trade and gives the other party a non-expiring option to trade at these terms. The difference from standard results arises because the existing contract ensures that the renegotiation game has multiple equilibria; the multiplicity of continuation equilibria can be used to enforce efficient investment

Imperfect Commitment and the Revelation Principle: The Multi-Agent Case with Transferable Utility

Bester and Strausz (2000) showed that the revelation principle of Bester and Strausz (2001) does not apply in a setting of many agents and no commitment. In their counterexample only one agent has private information. We show that if the parties can make ex ante transfers the revelation principle does extend to this setting. However, we show that it does not extend to a setting in which more than one agent has private information

From Molecular Cores to Planet-forming Disks with SIRTF

The SIRTF mission and the Legacy programs will provide coherent data bases for extra-galactic and Galactic science that will rapidly become available to researchers through a public archive. The capabilities of SIRTF and the six legacy programs are described briefly. Then the cores to disks (c2d) program is described in more detail. The c2d program will use all three SIRTF instruments (IRAC, MIPS, and IRS) to observe sources from molecular cores to protoplanetary disks, with a wide range of cloud masses, stellar masses, and star-forming environments. The SIRTF data will stimulate many follow-up studies, both with SIRTF and with other instruments.Comment: 6 pages, from Fourth Cologne-Bonn-Zermatt-Symposium, The Dense Interstellar Matter in Galaxie

Experimental evidence that livestock grazing intensity affects cyclic vole population regulation processes

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Dynamics of the chiral phase transition from AdS/CFT duality

We use Lorentzian signature AdS/CFT duality to study a first order phase transition in strongly coupled gauge theories which is akin to the chiral phase transition in QCD. We discuss the relation between the latent heat and the energy (suitably defined) of the component of a D-brane which lies behind the horizon at the critical temperature. A numerical simulation of a dynamical phase transition in an expanding, cooling Quark-Gluon plasma produced in a relativistic collision is carried out.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figure

A lepidosauromorph specimen from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Moskvoretskaya Formation of the Moscow Region, Russia

A fragmentary diapsid left maxilla from the Bathonian Peski locality in Moscow Region, previously referred to Choristodera, is identified as Lepidosauromorpha indet. This specimen represents the first fossil record of basal lepidosauromorphs in the Middle Jurassic of European Russia. Among basal lepidosauromorphs, the maxilla from the Peski locality resembles those of the Middle Triassic Fraxinisaura and the contemporary Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Marmoretta in subpleurodont tooth implantation, a relatively low dorsal process, and high keeled teeth with gently recurved apices and striae on the lingual side. This similarity suggests possible close relationships of Fraxinisaura, Marmoretta and the Peski form. The recognition of a basal lepidosauromorph in the fauna of the Peski locality extends the known geographical range of the Bathonian non-lepidosaurian lepidosauromorphs and demonstrates their wide Laurasian distribution at this time. It is additional evidence that Bathonian vertebrate faunas of Europe and Western Siberia were similar in composition

Home monitoring of physiology and symptoms to detect Interstitial Lung Disease exacerbations and progression: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbations and disease progression in interstitial lung disease (AE-ILD) pose important challenges to clinicians and patients. AE-ILD are variable in presentation but may result in rapid progression of ILD, respiratory failure and death. However, in many cases AE-ILD may go unrecognised so that their true impact and response to therapy is unknown. The potential for home monitoring to facilitate early, and accurate, identification of AE and/or ILD progression has gained interest. With increasing evidence available, there is a need for a systematic review on home monitoring of patients with ILD to summarise the existing data. AIMS: To systematically evaluate the evidence for use of home monitoring for early detection of exacerbations and/or progression of ILD. METHOD: We searched Ovid-EMBASE, MEDLINE, and CINAHL using MeSH terms in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. PROSPERO registration number (CRD42020215166). RESULTS: Thirteen studies comprising 968 patients have demonstrated that home monitoring is feasible and of potential benefit in patients with ILD. Nine studies reported that mean adherence to home monitoring was greater than 75%, and where spirometry was performed there was a significant correlation (r=0.72–0.98, p<0.001) between home and hospital-based readings. Two studies suggested that home monitoring of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) might facilitate detection of progression in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that individual studies in this systematic review provide supportive evidence suggesting the feasibility and utility of home monitoring in ILD, further studies are necessary to quantify the potential of home monitoring to detect disease progression and/or acute exacerbations

Maximal superintegrability of Benenti systems

For a class of Hamiltonian systems naturally arising in the modern theory of separation of variables, we establish their maximal superintegrability by explicitly constructing the additional integrals of motion.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX 2e, to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Ge

The present rate of Supernovae

We present and discuss the most recent determination of the rate of Supernovae in the local Universe. A comparison with other results shows a general agreement on the gross values but still significant differences on the values of the rates of various SN rates in different kinds of galaxies. The rate of SNe, used as a probe of Star Formation, confirms the young progenitor scenario for SNII+Ib/c. The increasing diversity of SNe reflects also in the SN yields which may affect the chemical evolution of the Galaxy but, because of the limited statistics, we cannot estimate the contributions of the new subtypes yet. It is also expected that in a few years observational determinations of the SN rates at various look-back times will be available.Comment: 9 pages, Latex, 1 figure, To appear in the proceedings of the conference "The Chemical Evolution of The Milky Way: Stars versus Clusters", eds. F. Matteucci and F. Giovannelli, Vulcano, Italy, September 20-24 199