Three Essays on Matching with Contracts

Thesis advisor: Tayfun SonmezThis dissertation consists of three theoretical essays. In all essays matching with contracts is a key factor. The first essay tries to explain effects of choosing primitives of the model and irrelevance of rejected contracts condition on some key existence theorems and results in matching with contracts literature. The second essay analyzes the properties of cumulative offer algorithm and presents an application of matching with contracts. It studies the achievability of responsive choices under a constrained setup. The last essay presents a new market design application of program-student matching where affirmative action policies are effective. The first essay develops a hospital-doctor many-to-one matching with contracts model. Doctor preferences over contracts are part of primitive of the model. The other primitive of the model, our first essay suggests, hospital choice functions on sets of contracts. The first essay shows that if choice functions of hospitals are primitives of the model, then existence theorems used in many papers do not hold even when they satisfy strongest conditions. As a remedy, we introduced Irrelevance of Rejected Contracts (IRC) which guarantees stability if it is satisfied along with one substitutes condition. Next, we show the relation between IRC and law of aggregate demand (LAD) conditions. Since LAD is satisfied by many application naturally, many models satisfying LAD and the strongest substitutes conditions are immune to our criticism. On the other hand, many of the new and exiting applications satisfy only weakened substitutes condition. Therefore, assuming IRC explicitly does not only make their proofs accurate and also close the gap between theory and application. The second chapter studies properties of cumulative offer algorithm under weakened substitutes condition. In this part we showed that in many-to-one matching with contracts problems order of proposals of COA does not change the outcome, under bilateral substitutes and IRC conditions. Also, bilateral substitutes and IRC conditions make COA equivalent to generalized deferred acceptance algorithm which produces the outcome in fewer steps. This chapter also presents a new application area of matching with contracts. We used cadet-branch matching problem in USMA. In this application our main objective is, for a given branch, increasing cadet quality without giving up useful properties of allocation mechanism, such as stability and strategy-proofness. The third essay studies a college admission with affirmative action problem. With this application, for the first time in the literature, we presented an affirmative action problem where students need to claim privilege if they want to be subject to affirmative action. We analyzed the current system and showed that current guideline is unfair and causes incentive compatibility issues. Also we showed that it fails to satisfy affirmative action requirements described in affirmative action law. To solve these problems with the current system, we introduced a new choice function which is fair, respects affirmative action requirements and makes student optimal stable allocation stable and incentive compatible when used in conjunction with generalized deferred acceptance algorithm.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014.Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: Economics

2-Methoxy-4-[(5-oxo-2-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-4-ylidene)methyl]-phenyl 4-methylbenzenesulfonate

Molecules of the title compound, C24H19NO6S, adopt the Z configuration and have a distorted tetrahedral geometry around the S atom. The oxazolone, 2-phenyl and methoxyphenyl rings are approximately coplanar. The C atom between the methoxyphenyl and oxazolone rings displays a distorted trigonal bonding geometry. Pairs of molecules are linked into dimers through weak C - H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds

1-((E)-{(1R,2R)-2-[(E)-(2-hydroxy-1-naphthyl)methyleneamino]cyclohexyl}iminiomethyl)naphthalen-2-o late : a Schiff base compound having both OH and NH character

WOS: 000245469800022PubMed ID: 17413230The title Schiff base compound, C28H26N2O2, possesses both OH and NH tautomeric character in its molecular structure. While the OH side of the compound is described as an intermediate state, its NH side adopts a predominantly zwitterionic form. The molecular structure of the compound is stabilized by both N+ - H center dot center dot center dot O- and O - H center dot center dot center dot N intramolecular hydrogen bonds. There are two weak C - H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds leading to polymeric chains of topology C(5) and C(13) running along the b axis of the unit cell. In addition, intermolecular C - H center dot center dot center dot pi interactions serve to stabilize the extended structure

Supramolecular architecture of phenylcarbamoylated acetone oxime 1,1-diisopropyl-3-phenylurea] complex

Carbamoylated oximes 1 form 1:1 molecular complexes 4 with N,N-dialkyl-N'-phenylurea when stirred in THF or ether at room temperature for short time in good yields. The molecular complexes 4a-e were isolated and characterized by analytical and spectral means. X-ray crystallographic analysis for complex 4a was performed. In this paper, we report the use of complex 4a and its moieties as building blocks to form non-interacting polymeric zigzag chains by inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds along b-axis, and details of supramolecular architecture of 4a. There is a intramolecular H-H interaction between hydrogen of urea NH and neighboring hydrogen of diisopropyl's CH linked to the other urea nitrogen. In addition, to obtain the most favorable orientation of the moieties of the title complex, PM3 semi-empirical quantum mechanical calculations were performed and then results from X-ray crystallography and computational modeling were compared

Electrophysiological, histopathological, and biochemical evaluation of the protective effect of probiotic supplementation against pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in rats

Background and purpose Research on the relationship between the gut microbiome and epilepsy is accumulating. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of probiotic supplementation on pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in rats. Methods Twenty-one adult male Wistar albino rats were included. The animals were divided into three groups of seven rats. Group 1 was a control group, whereas Group 2 rats received PTZ treatment and Group 3 rats had PTZ+PB (probiotic) treatment. For 6 weeks, Groups 1 and 2 were given saline (1 ml), whereas Group 3 had probiotic supplement. In the 5th week, tripolar electrodes were attached to the rats. Electrophysiological, behavioral, biochemical, and immunohistochemical evaluations were performed in the 6 weeks after the treatment. Results PB treatment significantly reduced seizures. In the PTZ group, expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, nerve growth factor (NGF), and Sox2 (SRY sex-determining region Y-box 2) in rat brains decreased significantly compared to the control group, whereas the expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), total oxidant status (TOS), and nitric oxide (NO) levels increased. In the PTZ+PB group, NGF expression increased significantly compared to the PTZ group, whereas TNF-alpha, IL-6, TOS, and NO levels decreased. In histopathological examination, an abundance of necrotic neurons was notable in the PTZ group, which was less in the PTZ+PB group. In addition, body weight of the group supplemented with probiotics decreased after the treatment. Conclusions Our results suggest that probiotic supplementation may alleviate seizure severity and exert neuroprotective effects by reducing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress and altering the expression of neurotrophins in epileptogenic brains

Synthesis and structural characterization of Palladium(II) complex bearing N-Heterocyclic Carbene

WOS: 000255750500009Trcitts-Bis[1,3-bis(2,4-dimethylphenylimidazolidin-2-ylidene)]dichloropalladium(II), 4, was prepared from 1,3-bis(2,4-dimetilphenyl)imidazoliniumchloride. The crystal and molecular structure of 4 have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The title compound, C38H44N4PdCl2, crystalizes in the monoclinic space group P 21/n with a = 13.8713(9) angstrom, b = 12.1365(6) angstrom, c = 21.5499(15) angstrom The Pd atom has a slightly distorted square planar coordination geometry. The molecules of the title compound are I inked by C-H center dot center dot center dot Cl weak hydrogen bonds into two-dimensional sheets parallel to the (001) plane. In addition, the title compound was characterized by elemental analyses and NMR spectroscopy

The synthesis and structural characterization of a N-heterocyclic carbene-substituted palladacycle

WOS: 000247730600011Reaction of {[Pd(dmba)(mu-Cl)](2)} (dmba=(CH3)(2)NCH2C6H4) with ail ill situ generated N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC=1,3-dimesitylimidazolidin-2-ylidene) afforded crystals containing [chloro-(1,3-dimesitylimidazolidin-2-ylidene)(N,N-dimethylaminobenzyl-C-1,N) palladium(II)] (VII). Molecular and crystal structures of the title compound have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. Complex VII crystallizes in space group Pi, with a=13.685(3) angstrom, b = 13.590(2) angstrom, c - 16.229(3) angstrom, alpha = 87.162(13)degrees, beta=70.514(15)degrees, y=84.153(16)degrees, Z=4, D-Calcd=1.367g cm(-3). There are two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit

Transpulmonary thermodilution monitoring-guided hemodynamic management improves cognitive function in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a prospective cohort comparison.

BackgroundThe effects of goal-directed hemodynamic management using transpulmonary thermodilution (TPT) monitor on the cognitive function of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) remain unclear. The present study aimed to determine whether hemodynamic management with TPT monitor provides better cognitive function compared with standard hemodynamic management.MethodsPatients with aSAH who were admitted to the intensive care unit in 2016 were assigned to cohort 1, and those admitted in 2017 were assigned to cohort 2. In cohort 1, hemodynamic and fluid management was performed in accordance with the traditional pressure-based hemodynamic parameters and clinical examination, whereas in cohort 2, it was performed in accordance with the TPT monitor-measured flow-based parameters. The incidence of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) and pulmonary edema (PE) was determined. The functional outcome of patients was assessed using the modified Rankin scale (mRS) score and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) test at 1year following aSAH.ResultsCohort 1 included 45 patients and cohort 2 included 39 patients who completed the trial. The incidence of DCI (38% versus 26%) and PE (11% versus 3%) was comparable between the cohorts (p>0.05). The mRS score was similar between the cohorts (p=0.11). However, the MoCA score was 20.2 (19.2-21.4) and 23.5 (22.2-24.8) in cohort 1 and cohort 2, respectively (p<0.001). Accordingly, the occurrence of poor MoCA score (38% versus 18%) was significantly lower in cohort 2 (p=0.045).ConclusionsTPT monitor-based hemodynamic management provides better cognitive outcome than standard hemodynamic management in patients with aSAH

Aerobic and anaerobic fungal metabolism and Omics insights for increasing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons biodegradation

During the 19th century, increasing human activity followed by great use of fossil fuels and the production of manifold aromatics including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) induced the generation of aromatic end-products. PAH are toxic to human health since they have been classified as pollutants and may reduce the biodiversity of natural ecosystems. They may form extensive global contaminants which pose a threat to entire world. This study focuses on summarizes recent information of PAHs biodegradation by aerobic and anaerobic fungi. Such information develops a new point of view on how organic molecules including PAHs are metabolically degraded in a complicated ecosystem and assists the foundation of new decontamination strategies due to the microbial interactions between fungi and their associates. Emerging integrative approaches including metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and metaproteomics are studied in order to understand how these approaches give insight into decipher the molecular mechanisms of degradation of PAHs by fungi at the single species and community levels. (C) 2016 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved