Investment and Usage of New Technologies: Evidence from a Shared ATM Network

When new technologies become available, it is not only essential that firms have the correct investment incentives, but often also that consumers make the proper usage decisions. This paper studies investment and usage in a shared ATM network. Be- cause all banks coordinate their ATM investment decisions, there is no strategic but only a pure cost-saving incentive to invest. At the same time, because retail fees for cash withdrawals are regulated to zero at both branches and ATMs, consumers may not have the proper incentives to substitute their transactions from branches to the available ATMs. We develop an empirical model of coordinated investment and cash withdrawal demand, where banks choose the number of ATMs and consumers decide whether to withdraw cash at ATMs or branches. We find that banks substantially underinvested in the shared ATM network and thus provided too little geographic coverage. This contrasts with earlier findings of strategic overinvestment in networks with partial incompatibility. Furthermore, we find that consumer usage of the avail- able ATM network is too low because of the zero retail fees for cash withdrawals at branches. A direct promotion of investment (through subsidies or other means) can improve welfare, but the introduction of retail fees on cash withdrawals at branches would be more e¤ective, even if this does not encourage investment per se.

Bessere Verlaufsdokumentation bei Patienten mit lumboradikulären Schmerzsyndromen: Der modifizierte NASS-Fragebogen

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Zweck dieser Studie war es, ein zuverlässiges und einfach anzuwendendes Instrument zur Erfassung des Krankheitsverlaufs und des Therapieerfolgs bei Rückenschmerzpatienten mit lumboradikulären Syndromen vorzustellen. Methodik: Es wurden Daten von Patienten, welche sich einer Mikrodiskektomie wegen lumboradikulärem Syndrom unterzogen, in die Studie eingeschlossen und mittels des 17-teiligen NASS-Fragebogens (North American Spine Society) in Form eines Interviews vor und nach dem operativen therapeutischen Eingriff befragt. Außerdem wurden die demographischen Daten und Komorbiditäten erhoben. Über die Auswertung der Effektstärke bzw. Standardized Response Mean konnten die Fragen mit der stärksten Veränderung (vorher/nachher) für das Behandlungsergebnis ausgewählt werden. Ergebnisse: Es konnten die Datensätze von 139Patienten ausgewertet werden. Aus den 3Dimensionen Schmerz, neurologische Symptome und Beeinträchtigung im Alltag wurden jeweils diejenigen Fragen mit der höchsten Veränderung ausgewählt (hohe E.S. bzw. S.R.M.). In Abstimmung mit der klinischen Relevanz ergab sich schließlich die Auswahl von 8Fragen als konzentrierte Kurzform des NASS-Fragebogens. Schlussfolgerung: In dem von uns vorgestellten Instrument eines kurzen und aussagekräftigen Fragebogens sehen wir eine nützliche und in der Klinik einfach einzusetzende Möglichkeit zur verbesserten Dokumentation bei Patienten mit lumboradikulären Syndromen, insbesondere auch zur Effektmessung therapeutischer Interventionen im Sinne einer patientenorientierten Ergänzung der klinischen Befunderhebung und Diagnostik. Dieses neue Instrument könnte helfen, die Qualitätssicherung bei der konservativen und interventionellen Schmerzbehandlung der Patienten mit lumboradikulären Schmerzsyndromen zu verbesser

Quasi-stationary distributions for the Domany-Kinzel stochastic cellular automaton

We construct the {\it quasi-stationary} (QS) probability distribution for the Domany-Kinzel stochastic cellular automaton (DKCA), a discrete-time Markov process with an absorbing state. QS distributions are derived at both the one- and two-site levels. We characterize the distribuitions by their mean, and various moment ratios, and analyze the lifetime of the QS state, and the relaxation time to attain this state. Of particular interest are the scaling properties of the QS state along the critical line separating the active and absorbing phases. These exhibit a high degree of similarity to the contact process and the Malthus-Verhulst process (the closest continuous-time analogs of the DKCA), which extends to the scaling form of the QS distribution.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, submited to PR

Osteoporosis drug treatment: duration and management after discontinuation. A position statement from the SVGO/ASCO.

Antiosteoporotic drugs are recommended in patients with fragility fractures and in patients considered to be at high fracture risk on the basis of clinical risk factors and/or low bone mineral density. As first-line treatment most patients are started with an antiresorptive treatment, i.e. drugs that inhibit osteoclast development and/or function (bisphosphonates, denosumab, oestrogens or selective oestrogen receptor modulators). In the balance between benefits and risks of antiresorptive treatment, uncertainties remain regarding the optimal treatment duration and the management of patients after drug discontinuation. Based on the available evidence, this position statement will focus on the long-term management of osteoporosis therapy, formulating decision criteria for clinical practice

Spatial Correlation Of Productive Component For Peach Palm Crop And Some Physical Attributes Of Eutrochrept Soil

Currently, Brazil sells around 300 million dollars per year of peach palms (Bactris gasipaes), wherein this country is responsible for being the largest worldwide producer, exporter and consumer. In crop year of 2014, productive components of peach palms were analyzed according to soil physical properties in Registro, SP, Brazil. The objectives were to evaluate the variability of the soil attributes and define a linear and spatial correlation between the crop productive components and the soil physical properties. Geostatistical grid was installed to collect data from soil and plant, with 54 sampling points in a total area of approximately 10,000 m2. With regard to linear point of view, stem diameter and palm height was explained by direct and exponential potential model, which was highly significant due to mechanical resistance to penetration.11316317

Anomalous Diffusion in Infinite Horizon Billiards

We consider the long time dependence for the moments of displacement < |r|^q > of infinite horizon billiards, given a bounded initial distribution of particles. For a variety of billiard models we find ~ t^g(q) (up to factors of log t). The time exponent, g(q), is piecewise linear and equal to q/2 for q2. We discuss the lack of dependence of this result on the initial distribution of particles and resolve apparent discrepancies between this time dependence and a prior result. The lack of dependence on initial distribution follows from a remarkable scaling result that we obtain for the time evolution of the distribution function of the angle of a particle's velocity vector.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures Submitted to Physical Review

Swiss Frailty Network and Repository: protocol of a Swiss Personalized Health Network's driver project observational study.

Early identification of frailty by clinical instruments or accumulation of deficit indexes can contribute to improve healthcare for older adults, including the prevention of negative outcomes in acute care. However, conflicting evidence exists on how to best capture frailty in this setting. Simultaneously, the increasing utilisation of electronic health records (EHRs) opens up new possibilities for research and patient care, including frailty. The Swiss Frailty Network and Repository (SFNR) primarily aims to develop an electronic Frailty Index (eFI) from routinely available EHR data in order to investigate its predictive value against length of stay and in-hospital mortality as two important clinical outcomes in a study sample of 1000-1500 hospital patients aged 65 years and older. In addition, we will examine the correlation between the eFI and a test-based clinical Frailty Instrument to compare both concepts in Swiss older adults in acute care settings. As a Swiss Personalized Health Network (SPHN) driver project, our study will report on the characteristics and usability of the first nationwide eFI in Switzerland connecting all five Swiss University Hospitals' Geriatric Departments with a representative sample of patients aged 65 years and older admitted to acute care. The study protocol was approved by the competent ethics committee of the Canton of Zurich (BASEC-ID 2019-00445). All acquired data will be handled according to SPHN's ethical framework for responsible data processing in personalised health research. Analyses will be performed within the secure BioMedIT environment, a national infrastructure to enable secure biomedical data processing, an integral part of SPHN. NCT04516642

Lattice Pseudospin Model for ν=1\nu=1 Quantum Hall Bilayers

We present a new theoretical approach to the study of $\nu=1$ quantum Hall bilayer that is based on a systematic mapping of the microscopic Hamiltonian to an anisotropic SU(4) spin model on a lattice. To study the properties of this model we generalize the Heisenberg model Schwinger boson mean field theory (SBMFT) of Arovas and Auerbach to spin models with anisotropy. We calculate the temperature dependence of experimentally observable quantities, including the spin magnetization, and the differential interlayer capacitance. Our theory represents a substantial improvement over the conventional Hartree-Fock picture which neglects quantum and thermal fluctuations, and has advantages over long-wavelength effective models that fail to capture important microscopic physics at all realistic layer separations. The formalism we develop can be generalized to treat quantum Hall bilayers at filling factor $\nu=2$.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures. The final version, to appear in PR

Caracterización de harinas de tritíceas híbridas

Triticales (x Triticosecale Wittmack) y tricepiros (x Triticosecale Witt. X x Agrotricum A. Camus) se mejoran con la finalidad de obtener cultivares de doble propósito (forraje y grano). Para su utilización en consumo humano, la calidad de las harinas de triticales es frecuentemente evaluada midiendo el diámetro y factor de expansión de las galletitas horneadas. Estos indicadores están fuertemente relacionados al contenido de almidón dañado, proteína y polisacáridos no amiláceos de la harina que determinan sus propiedades de absorción de agua. Se evaluaron 25 líneas experimentales, ocho cultivares de triticale y uno de tricepiro en Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina, durante 2012, mediante análisis de correlación simple y de conglomerados. Se observaron correlaciones positivas entre los valores de la capacidad de retención del solvente agua, carbonato de sodio, ácido láctico y sacarosa, índice de retención de agua alcalina, pentosanos solubles y almidón dañado. La caracterización de las harinas y la separación en grupos según sus propiedades fisicoquímicas permitieron la selección de genotipos con diferentes propiedades funcionales. En el análisis de conglomerados, el cluster 1 agrupó los materiales con mejores características fisicoquímicas de las harinas, lo cual aumenta las posibilidades de su empleo en la alimentación humana.Triticales (x Triticosecale Wittmack) and Tricepiros (x Triticosecale Witt. X x Agrotricum A. Camus) are improved in order to obtain dual-purpose cultivars (forage and grain). In order to use them for human consumption the quality of triticale four is frequently evaluated by measuring the diameter and spread factor of cookies. These indicators are strongly related to the contents of damaged starch, protein and non-starch polysaccharides of four, which determine its water absorption properties. During 2012, twenty-five experimental strains, eight triticale and one tricepiro cultivars were evaluated in Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina by means of simple correlation and cluster analysis. Positive correlations between the values of solvent retention capacity of water, sodium carbonate, lactic acid and sucrose, retention rate of alkaline water, soluble pentosans and damaged starch were observed. The characterization of the tested fours and their differentiation based on their physicochemical properties allowed the selection of genotypes with different functional properties. In the cluster analysis, cluster 1 pooled the materials with the best physicochemical features of four, which increases the possibilities of its use for human consumption.Fil: Castaño, M. N.. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Ferrari, E. D.. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Picca, Aurora Maria Teresita. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Curti, María Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Ribotta, Pablo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología. Instituto Superior de Investigación, Desarrollo y Servicio de Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Leon, Alberto Edel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Ferreira, V. A.. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Grassi, E. M.. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Di Santo, Hernán Elías. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Castillo, E. A.. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Paccapelo, Hector Antonio. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentin

Oscillation enhanced search for new interaction with neutrinos

We discuss the measurement of new physics in long baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. Through the neutrino oscillation, the probability to detect the new physics effects such as flavor violation is enhanced by the interference with the weak interaction. We carefully explain the situations that the interference can take place. Assuming a neutrino factory and an upgraded conventional beam, we estimate the feasibility to observe new physics numerically and point out that we can search new interactions using some channels, for example $\nu_{\mu} \to \nu_{\mu}$, in these experiments. We also discuss several models which induce the effective interactions interfering with the weak interaction, and show that some new physics effects are large enough to be observed in the oscillation enhanced way.Comment: 25 pages, 20 figure