Effect of Particle Shape and Charge on Bulk Rheology of Nanoparticle Suspensions

The rheology of nanoparticle suspensions for nanoparticles of various shapes with equal mass is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The equilibrium structure and the response to imposed shear are analyzed for suspensions of spheres, rods, plates, and jacks in an explicit solvent for both charged and uncharged nanoparticles. For the volume fraction studied, ?$\phi_{vf}=0.075$, the uncharged systems are all in their isotropic phase and the viscosity is only weakly dependent on shape for spheres, rods, and plate whereas for the jacks the viscosity is an order of magnitude larger than for the other three shapes. The introduction of charge increases the viscosity for all four nanoparticle shapes with the increase being the largest for rods and plates. The presence of a repulsive charge between the particles decreases the amount of stress reduction that can be achieved by particle reorientation.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, in pres

Inside the black box: incentive regulation and incentive channeling on energy markets

This paper aims to achieve more insight into the complex interplay between the "external" market regulations and "internal" regulations (corporate governance) of energy firms. In recent years, many countries have deregulated the incumbent energy monopolies and have introduced new modes of regulation. However, the new incentive schemes do not represent an unmitigated success story. A major problem seems to be the neoclassical framework that is used for the analysis of energy markets. Therefore, an important goal of this paper is to clarify the boundaries of neoclassical regulation theory. There are two restrictions that hamper the neoclassical analysis of energy markets. The first is the difficulty of overcoming the widely held "black box" view of firms. The second is the idea that agents always make rational choices. The paper proposes a kind of theoretical division of labor for understanding the effectiveness of regulatory schemes in energy markets. Neoclassical economics points out to the sources of market failure, and helps to identify where in particular on the supply chain one is likely to observe natural monopolies. Transaction cost economics explains appropriate governance of vertical relations along the supply chain. And organizational theories can elucidate what happens within firms: their response to regulation, competition, and relations with suppliers. A research agenda for the third component is proposed, drawing on insights from New Sociological Institutionalism and organizational behavior

Introduction: Understanding Legal Evolution

__Abstract__ In recent years, the study of legal evolution has become more systematic, and there have emerged various approaches to the study of legal evolution. However, until now, there has been no consensus as to which of these approaches is the most appropriate for the purposes of uncovering the mechanisms of legal evolution. This latter point may not be a problem if one respects different scientific views and believes that a variety of theoretical approaches is needed in order to fully understand a phenomenon. Nevertheless, the problem remains that the proponents of the different approaches seldom exchange their views and ideas; scholars of legal path dependency tend to only meet other scholars of legal path dependency, and macro-sociologists tend to only recognize the findings of other macro-sociologists. Interdisciplinary cross-fertilization remains a rather rare occurrence. In this issue of Erasmus Law Review, as well as the next, the latter problem is addressed by scholars who illustrate the use of different approaches to researching legal evolution. Thus, the value of this double issue of Erasmus Law Review is twofold: firstly, every article is an important contribution to the study of the evolution of law from its own methodological perspective. Secondly, this collection, which encompasses a variety of views on the evolution of law, allows for quick and convenient access to different approaches to this field of research, and therefore provides added value for the reader

The Structure of Barium in the hcp Phase Under High Pressure

Recent experimental results on two hcp phases of barium under high pressure show interesting variation of the lattice parameters. They are here interpreted in terms of electronic structure calculation by using the LMTO method and generalized pseudopotential theory (GPT) with a NFE-TBB approach. In phase II the dramatic drop in c/a is an instability analogous to that in the group II metals but with the transfer of s to d electrons playing a crucial role in Ba. Meanwhile in phase V, the instability decrease a lot due to the core repulsion at very high pressure. PACS numbers: 62.50+p, 61.66Bi, 71.15.Ap, 71.15Hx, 71.15LaComment: 29 pages, 8 figure

Concerns about losing face moderate the effect of visual perspective on health-related intentions and behaviors

Visualizing oneself engaging in future actions has been shown to increase the likelihood of actually engaging in the visualized action. In three studies, we examined the effect of perspective taken to visualize a future action (first-person vs. third-person) as a function of the degree to which individuals worry about others’ evaluation of themselves (face) and whether the visualized behavior is public or private. Across all studies, the effect of visual perspective was present only for participants with high level of face. In this group, the third-person visualization induced stronger intentions to engage in the behavior when the imagined behavior was public (Study 1), whereas the first-person visualization induced stronger intentions and greater likelihood to engage in that behavior when it was private (Study 2). The influence of the first-person perspective on flossing behavior was eliminated when people with high levels of face were encouraged to consider inter-personal consequences of the action (Study 3). Results are discussed in the light of recent theorizing on the cognitive consequences of taking a third-person versus a first-person perspective in visual imagery

Local Phonon Density of States in an Elastic Substrate

The local, eigenfunction-weighted acoustic phonon density of states (DOS) tensor is calculated for a model substrate consisting of a semi-infinite isotropic elastic continuum with a stress-free surface. On the surface, the local DOS is proportional to the square of the frequency, as for the three-dimensional Debye model, but with a constant of proportionality that is considerably enhanced compared to the Debye value, a consequence of the Rayleigh surface modes. The local DOS tensor at the surface is also anisotropic, as expected. Inside the substrate the local DOS is both spatially anisotropic and non-quadratic in frequency. However, at large depths, the local DOS approaches the isotropic Debye value. The results are applied to a Si substrate.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, RevTe

The dark side of price cap regulation: a laboratory experiment

In a nutshell, price cap regulation is meant to establish a quid pro quo: regulators are obliged by law to intervene only at rare, previously defined points in time, and only by imposing an upper bound on prices; firms are meant to justify regulatory restraint by adopting socially beneficial innovations. In the policy debate, a potential downside of the arrangement has featured less prominently: the economic environment is unlikely to be stable while the cap is in place. If regulators take this into account, they have to decide under uncertainty and also anticipate how regulated firms will react. In a lab experiment, we manipulate the degree of regulatory uncertainty. We compare a baseline when regulators have the same information as firms about demand with treatments wherein they receive only a noisy signal and another when they know only the distribution from which demand realizations are taken. In the face of uncertainty, regulators impose overly generous price caps, which firms exploit. In the experiment, the social damage is severe, and does not disappear with experience

The Legal Structure of Ring-Fenced Bodies in the United Kingdom - A Response to Consultation Paper CP19/14 on the Implementation of Ring-fencing: on Legal Structure, Governance and the continuity of Services and Facilities

__Abstract__ This paper is submitted by Prof. Dr. Klaus Heine1 and Enmanuel Cedeño-Brea2, in response to the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s (PRA) Consultation Paper CP19/14 on “The Implementation of Ring-fencing: consultation on legal structure, governance and the continuity of services and facilities”, published on October 2014 (hereinafter, the “Consultation Paper” or “CP19/14”)