Evolution and Market Behavior with Endogenous Investment Rules

LEM - Working Paper 2010/2

Localized Technological Externalities and the Geographical Distribution of Firms

LEM Working Paper - 2008/1

Small-x one-particle-inclusive quantities in the CCFM approach

This article presents the results of a quantitative study of the small-x data at HERA, using the CCFM equation. The first step consists of choosing the version of the CCFM equation to be used, corresponding to selecting a particular subset of next-to-leading-logarithmic corrections --- the choice is constrained by requiring a phenomenologically reasonable small-x growth. For the time being, the parts of the splitting functions that are finite at z=0 have been left out. We then examine results for F_2^c, R, the transverse energy flow, the charged-particle transverse-momentum spectrum and the forward-jet cross section and compare to data. While some of the data is reproduced better than with DGLAP-based calculations, the agreement is not entirely satisfactory, suggesting that the approach developed here is not yet suitable for detailed phenomenology. We discuss why, and suggest directions for future work.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figures, uses cite.sty and JHEP.cls (both included). Version 2 includes additional and updated reference

BFKL and CCFM final states

I give a brief presentation of recent results on the equivalence of BFKL and CCFM small-x final states, and discuss their implications for phenomenology.Comment: 4 pages. Talk presented at 7th International Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering, Zeuthen, Germany, April 199

Towards a Conceptualization of Sociomaterial Entanglement

In knowledge representation, socio-technical systems can be modeled as multiagent systems in which the local knowledge of each individual agent can be seen as a context. In this paper we propose formal ontologies as a means to describe the assumptions driving the construction of contexts as local theories and to enable interoperability among them. In particular, we present two alternative conceptualizations of the notion of sociomateriality (and entanglement), which is central in the recent debates on socio-technical systems in the social sciences, namely critical and agential realism. We thus start by providing a model of entanglement according to the critical realist view, representing it as a property of objects that are essentially dependent on different modules of an already given ontology. We refine then our treatment by proposing a taxonomy of sociomaterial entanglements that distinguishes between ontological and epistemological entanglement. In the final section, we discuss the second perspective, which is more challenging form the point of view of knowledge representation, and we show that the very distinction of information into modules can be at least in principle built out of the assumption of an entangled reality

Estimate of a spatially variable reservoir compressibility by assimilation of ground surface displacement data

Abstract. Fluid extraction from producing hydrocarbon reservoirs can cause anthropogenic land subsidence. In this work, a 3-D finite-element (FE) geomechanical model is used to predict the land surface displacements above a gas field where displacement observations are available. An ensemble-based data assimilation (DA) algorithm is implemented that incorporates these observations into the response of the FE geomechanical model, thus re- ducing the uncertainty on the geomechanical parameters of the sedimentary basin embedding the reservoir. The calibration focuses on the uniaxial vertical compressibility c M , which is often the geomechanical parameter to which the model response is most sensitive. The partition of the reservoir into blocks delimited by faults moti- vates the assumption of a heterogeneous spatial distribution of c M within the reservoir. A preliminary synthetic test case is here used to evaluate the effectiveness of the DA algorithm in reducing the parameter uncertainty associated with a heterogeneous c M distribution. A significant improvement in matching the observed data is obtained with respect to the case in which a homogeneous c M is hypothesized. These preliminary results are quite encouraging and call for the application of the procedure to real gas fields

Petrology, Mineral and Isotope Geochemistry of the External Liguride Peridotites (Northern Apennines, Italy)

Mantle peridotites of the External Liguride (EL) units (Northern Apennines) represent slices of subcontinental lithospheric mantle emplaced at the surface during early stages of rifting of the Jurassic Ligurian Piemontese basin. Petrological, ion probe and isotopic investigations have been used to unravel the nature of their mantle protolith and to constrain the timing and mechanisms of their evolution. EL peridotites are dominantly fertile spinel Iherzolites partly recrystallizfd in the plagiodase Iherzplite stability field Clinopyroxenes stable in the spinel-facies assemblage have nearly fiat REE patterns (CeN/SmN=0·6-0·8) at (10-16)×C1 and high Na, Sr, Ti and Zr contents. Kaersutitic-Ti-pargasitic amphiboles also occur in the spinel-facies assemblage. Their LREE-depleted REE spectra and very low Sr, Zr and Ba contents indicate that they crystallized from hydrous fluids with low concentrations of incompatible elements. Thermometric estimates on the spinelfacies parageneses yield lithospheric equilibrium temperatures in the range 1000-1100°C, in agreement with the stability of amphibole, which implies T<1100°C. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions, determined on carefully handpicked clinopyroxene separates, plot within the depleted end of the MORB field (87Sr/86Sr=0·70222-0·70263; 143Nd/144Nd=0·513047-0·513205) similar to many subcontinental orogenic spinel Iherzolites from the western Mediterranean area (e.g. Ivrea Zpne and Lanzfl N). The interpretation of the EL Iherzolites as subcontinental lithospheric mantle is reinforced by the occurrence of one extremely depleted isotopic composition (87Sr/86Sr=0·701736; 143Nd/144Nd=0·513543). Sr and Nd model ages, calculated assuming both CHUR and DM mantle sources, range between 2·4 Ga and 780 Ma. In particular, the 1·2-Ga Sr age and the 780-Ma Nd age can be regarded as minimum ages of differentiation. The transition from spinel-to plagioclase-facies assemblage, accompanied by progressive deformation (from granular to tectonite-mylonite textures), indicate that the EL Iherzolites experienced a later, subsolidus decompressional evolution, starting from subcontinental lithospheric levels. Sm/Nd isochrons on plagioclase-clinopyroxene pairs furnish ages of ∽165 Ma. This early Jurassic subsolidus decompressional history is consistent with uplift by means of denudation in response to passive and asymmetric lithospheric extension. This is considered to be the most suitable geodynamic mechanism to account for the exposure of huge bodies of subcontinental lithospheric mantle during early stages of opening of an oceanic basi

Characterization of potential biomarkers of reactogenicity of licensed antiviral vaccines: randomized controlled clinical trials conducted by the BIOVACSAFE consortium

Funding text The authors are grateful for the vital contributions of the participating study volunteers, clinicians, nurses, and laboratory technicians at the Surrey study site. The work by Roberto Leone, laboratory technician at Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, is gratefully acknowledged. Finally, they thank Ellen Oe (GSK) for scientific writing assistance. The research leading to these results has received support from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Joint Undertaking under grant agreement n°115308, resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) and EFPIA companies’ in-kind contribution. The contribution of the European Commission to the Advanced Immunization Technologies (ADITEC) project (grant agreement n° 280873) is also gratefully acknowledged. Publisher Copyright: © 2019, The Author(s).Biomarkers predictive of inflammatory events post-vaccination could accelerate vaccine development. Within the BIOVACSAFE framework, we conducted three identically designed, placebo-controlled inpatient/outpatient clinical studies (NCT01765413/NCT01771354/NCT01771367). Six antiviral vaccination strategies were evaluated to generate training data-sets of pre-/post-vaccination vital signs, blood changes and whole-blood gene transcripts, and to identify putative biomarkers of early inflammation/reactogenicity that could guide the design of subsequent focused confirmatory studies. Healthy adults (N = 123; 20–21/group) received one immunization at Day (D)0. Alum-adjuvanted hepatitis B vaccine elicited vital signs and inflammatory (CRP/innate cells) responses that were similar between primed/naive vaccinees, and low-level gene responses. MF59-adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (ATIV) induced distinct physiological (temperature/heart rate/reactogenicity) response-patterns not seen with non-adjuvanted TIV or with the other vaccines. ATIV also elicited robust early (D1) activation of IFN-related genes (associated with serum IP-10 levels) and innate-cell-related genes, and changes in monocyte/neutrophil/lymphocyte counts, while TIV elicited similar but lower responses. Due to viral replication kinetics, innate gene activation by live yellow-fever or varicella-zoster virus (YFV/VZV) vaccines was more suspended, with early IFN-associated responses in naïve YFV-vaccine recipients but not in primed VZV-vaccine recipients. Inflammatory responses (physiological/serum markers, innate-signaling transcripts) are therefore a function of the vaccine type/composition and presence/absence of immune memory. The data reported here have guided the design of confirmatory Phase IV trials using ATIV to provide tools to identify inflammatory or reactogenicity biomarkers.Peer reviewe

More green and less blue water in the Alps during warmer summers

Climate change can reduce surface-water supply by enhancing evapotranspiration in forested mountains, especially during heatwaves. We investigate this ‘drought paradox’ for the European Alps using a 1,212-station database and hyper-resolution ecohydrological simulations to quantify blue (runoff) and green (evapotranspiration) water fluxes. During the 2003 heatwave, evapotranspiration in large areas over the Alps was above average despite low precipitation, amplifying the runoff deficit by 32% in the most runoff-productive areas (1,300–3,000 m above sea level). A 3 °C air temperature increase could enhance annual evapotranspiration by up to 100 mm (45 mm on average), which would reduce annual runoff at a rate similar to a 3% precipitation decrease. This suggests that green-water feedbacks—which are often poorly represented in large-scale model simulations—pose an additional threat to water resources, especially in dry summers. Despite uncertainty in the validation of the hyper-resolution ecohydrological modelling with observations, this approach permits more realistic predictions of mountain region water availability

Risk Factors for Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections during the First 3 Years of Life in the Tropics; Findings from a Birth Cohort.

Background: Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) infect more than 2 billion humans worldwide, causing significant morbidity in children. There are few data on the epidemiology and risk factors for infection in pre-school children. To investigate risk factors for infection in early childhood, we analysed data prospectively collected in the ECUAVIDA birth cohort in Ecuador. Methods and Findings: Children were recruited at birth and followed up to 3 years of age with periodic collection of stool samples that were examined microscopically for STH parasites. Data on social, demographic, and environmental risk factors were collected from the mother at time of enrolment. Associations between exposures and detection of STH infections were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. Data were analysed from 1,697 children for whom a stool sample was obtained at 3 years. 42.3% had at least one STH infection in the first 3 years of life and the most common infections were caused by A. lumbricoides (33.2% of children) and T. trichiura (21.2%). Hookworm infection was detected in 0.9% of children. Risk of STH infection was associated with factors indicative of poverty in our study population such as Afro-Ecuadorian ethnicity and low maternal educational level. Maternal STH infections during pregnancy were strong risk factors for any childhood STH infection, infections with either A. lumbricoides or T. trichiura, and early age of first STH infection. Children of mothers with moderate to high infections intensities with A. lumbricoides were most at risk. Conclusions: Our data show high rates of infection with STH parasites during the first 3 years of life in an Ecuadorian birth cohort, an observation that was strongly associated with maternal STH infections during pregnancy. The targeted treatment of women of childbearing age, in particular before pregnancy, with anthelmintic drugs could offer a novel approach to the prevention of STH infections in pre-school children