Price Formation under Small Numbers Competition: Evidence from Land Auctions in Singapore

This paper examines the price formation process under small numbers competition using data from Singapore land auctions. The theory predicts that bid prices are less than the zero-profit asset value in these first-price sealed-bid auctions. The model also shows that expected sales price increases with the number of bidders both because each bidder has an incentive to offer a higher price and because of a greater likelihood that a high-value bidder is present. The empirical estimates are consistent with auction theory and show that the standard land attributes are reflected in auction prices as expected. Working Paper No. 04-0

Molecular hydrogen isotopes adsorbed on krypton-preplated graphite: Quantum Monte Carlo simulations

Adsorption of ortho-deuterium and para-hydrogen films on a graphite substrate, pre-plated with a single atomic layer of krypton, is studied theoretically by means of quantum Monte Carlo simulations at low temperature. Our model explicitly includes substrate corrugation. Energetic and structural properties of these adsorbed films are computed for a range of hydrogen coverages. Thermodynamically stable adsorbed films are solid, with no clear evidence of any liquid-like phase. Quantum exchanges of ortho-deuterium and para-hydrogen are essentially absent in this system, down to zero temperature; consequently, this system displays no superfluidity in this limit. Our simulations provide evidence of a stable domain wall fluid at low temperature, consistently with recent experimental observations.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Optimizing Compton Back Scattering Parameters Using a Simulation Code

Compton scattering is an interaction of photons with atomic electrons, in which both the energy and the momentum are conserved. The photon interacts with a constant interaction cross section per electron eσc for all materials at a certain photon energy. However the Compton scattering cross section per atom, σc, is equal to the number of electrons in the atom multiplied by the eσc [1]: σc=Zeσc this characteristic means that for a given photon energy, each material has a unique scattering cross section different from other materials. It also means that the higher the atomic number, the stronger the signal obtained from Compton scattering, at least for small thicknesses

Women Who Only Serve Chai: Gender Reservations and Autonomy in India

This dissertation investigates the experiences of women city councilors in Jaipur, in the northwestern Indian state of Rajasthan. These women, brought into office through a gender quota instituted over two decades ago, have overcome significant barriers in an enduringly patriarchal environment. Even in office, women continue to face stigma and normative restrictions imposed by a society not entirely willing to accept them in such a public and independent position. This standard enables men, technically blocked by the gender quota from holding office themselves, to continue to exert control and influence over women office-holders, even sidelining them in many cases. The narratives of these women demonstrate the persisting power of patriarchal norms, and the inability of corrective democratic institutions to completely exclude their influence. However, their stories also force reconsideration of democratic ideals and requirements, most of which have been conceptualized from a firm Western mooring in individualism, with little regard for the alternatives posed by developing democracies rooted in more communal societies. These findings are based on 41 semi-structured elite interviews with elected members of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, and eight additional semi-structured interviews with journalists, women’s rights activists, and student political leaders in Jaipur

Platinum(II) phosphonate complexes derived from endo-8-camphanylphosphonic acid

The reactions of cis-[PtCl₂L₂] [L = PPh₃, PMe₂Ph or L₂ = Ph₂P(CH₂)₂PPh₂ (dppe)] with endo-8-camphanylphosphonic acid (CamPO₃H₂) and Ag₂O in refluxing dichloromethane gave platinum(II) phosphonate complexes [Pt(O₃PCam)L₂]. The X-ray crystal structure of [Pt(O₃PCam)(PPh₃)₂]•₂CHCl₃ shows that the bulky camphanyl group, rather than being directed away from the platinum, is instead directed into a pocket formed by the Pt and the two PPh₃ ligands. This allows the O₃P–CH₂ group to have a preferred staggered conformation. The complexes were studied in detail by NMR spectroscopy, which demonstrates non-fluxional behaviour for the sterically bulky PPh₃ and dppe derivatives, which contain inequivalent phosphine ligands in their ³¹P NMR spectra. These findings are backed up by theoretical calculations on the PPh₃ and PPhMe₂ derivatives, which show, respectively, high and low energy barriers to rotation of the camphanyl group in the PPh₃ and PPhMe₂ complexes. The X-ray crystal structure of CamPO₃H₂ is also reported, and consists of hydrogen-bonded hexameric aggregates, which assemble to form a columnar structure containing hydrophilic phosphonic acid channels surrounded by a sheath of bulky, hydrophobic camphanyl groups

Content-based Music Similarity with Triplet Networks

We explore the feasibility of using triplet neural networks to embed songs based on content-based music similarity. Our network is trained using triplets of songs such that two songs by the same artist are embedded closer to one another than to a third song by a different artist. We compare two models that are trained using different ways of picking this third song: at random vs. based on shared genre labels. Our experiments are conducted using songs from the Free Music Archive and use standard audio features. The initial results show that shallow Siamese networks can be used to embed music for a simple artist retrieval task

The potential for circular dichroism as an additional facile and sensitive method of monitoring low-molecular-weight heparins and heparinoids

The ultraviolet circular dichroism (CD) spectra of commercial low-molecular-weight heparins, heparinoids and other anticoagulant preparations have been recorded between 180 and 260 nm. Principal component analysis of the spectra allowed their differentiation into a number of groups related to the means of their production reflecting the structural changes introduced by each process. The findings suggest that CD provides a complementary technique for the rapid analysis of heparin preparations

Structural modification of fibroblast growth factor-binding heparan sulfate at a determinative stage of neural development

Heparan sulfate (HS) glycosaminoglycans are essential modulators of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) activity and appear to act by coupling particular forms of FGF to appropriate FGF receptors, During neural development, one particular HS proteoglycan is able to rapidly switch its potentiating activity from FGF-2, as neural precursor cell proliferation occurs, to FGF-1, as neuronal differentiation occurs, Using various analytical techniques, including chemical and enzymatic cleavage, low pressure chromatography, and strong anion-exchange high performance Liquid chromatography, we have analyzed the different HSs expressed during these crucial developmental stages, There are distinct alterations in patterns of 6-O-sulfation, total chain length, and the number of sulfated domains of the HS from the more mature embryonic brain, These changes correlate with a switch in the ability of the HS to potentiate the actions of FGF-1 in triggering: cell differentiation It thus appears that each HS pool is designed to function in the modulation of an intricate interaction with a specific growth factor and its cognate receptor, and suggests tightly regulated expression of specific, bioactive disaccharide sequences, The data can be used to construct a simple model of controlled variations in HS chain structure which have functional consequences at a crucial stage of neuronal maturation

Evaporation, seepage and water quality management in storage dams: a review of research methods

One of the most significant sources of water wastage in Australia is loss from small storage dams, either by seepage or evaporation. Over much of Australia, evaporative demand routinely exceeds precipitation. This paper outlines first, methodologies and measurement techniques to quantify the rate of evaporative loss from fresh water storages. These encompass high-accuracy water balance monitoring; determination of the validity of alternative estimation equations, in particular the FAO56 Penman- Monteith ETo methodology; and the commencement of CFD modeling to determine a 'dam factor' in relation to practical atmospheric measurement techniques. Second, because the application of chemical monolayers is the only feasible alternative to the high cost of physically covering the storages to retard evaporation, the use of cetyl alcohol-based monolayers is reviewed, and preliminary research on their degradation by photolytic action, by wind break-up and by microbial degradation reported. Similarly, preliminary research on monolayer visualisation techniques for field application is reported; and potential enhancement of monolayers by other chemicals and attendant water quality issues are considered