Are Asymmetrically Informed Agents Envious?

In most economies, a fair allocation does not exist. Thus, it seems that we are condemned to live in an unfair world, since we are not happy with what we have and we look at the others with envious eyes. In this paper we want to give an hope for a more equitable society.Asymmetric information; fair allocation; constrained market equilibrium; Maximin and Bayesian expected utility function.

On Fairness of Equilibria in Economies with Differential Information

The paper proposes a notion of fairness which overcomes the conflict arising between efficiency and the absence of envy in economies with uncertainty and asymmetrically informed agents. We do it in general economies which include, as particular cases, the main differential information economies studied in the literature. The analysis is further extended by allowing the presence of large traders, which may cause the lack of perfect competition.Mixed markets, fairness, envy, efficiency, asymmetric information

Fairness Properties of Constrained Market Equilibria

This paper studies the notion of fairness in pure exchange economies involving uncertainty and asymmetric information. We propose a new concept of coalitional fair allocation in order to solve the tension that may exist between efficiency and envy-freeness when the equity of allocations is evaluated at the {\it interim} stage. Some characterizations of constrained market equilibria are derived extending the analysis to economies that have both an atomic and an atomless sector.Mixed markets, coalitional fairness, envy, efficiency, asymmetric information

Mixed Markets with Public Goods

We use a mixed market model for analyzing economies with public projects in which the condition of perfect competition is violated. We discuss core-equivalence results in the general framework of non-Euclidean representation of the collective goods. We show that if large traders are similar to each other, then they lose their market power and hence the equivalence theorem can be restored. This is possible assuming a cost distribution function to fix the fraction that each large or small agent is expected to cover of the total cost of providing the project. We show that, for each given individual and coalitional contribution scheme, the resulting core is equivalent to the corresponding linear cost share equilibria. Finally, we investigate on weaker equivalences when the assumption that all large traders are of the same type is dropped. An analysis of mixed markets with public goods via atomless economies is provided, joint with an extension of Schmeidler and Vind results on the measure of blocking coalitions.Mixed markets, coalitional fairness, envy, efficiency, asymmetric information

Inter-limb coordination dynamics: effects of visual constraints and age

This study aimed to verify the effect of visual afference (eyes open – EO vs. eyes closed – EC) on inphase (IP) and anti-phase (AP) homolateral inter-limb coordination performance in relation to age. Forty individuals (12 youths, age=12±1 years; 16 young adults, age=24±3 years; 12 older adults, age=59±11 years) performed IP and AP synchronized (80, 120, and 180 bpm) hand and foot flexions and extensions. Variability of IP and AP movements was obtained by calculating the within-subject standard deviation of each condition. Significant interactions between coordination mode × age and coordination mode × age × visual afference showed joint effects on IP and AP variability, while no main effects emerged. In the IP-EO condition, posthoc analysis showed higher (p=.0003) variability in older adults (24.8±6.6 s) with respect to young adults (10.5±10.9 s), whereas in the IP-EC condition, older adults showed higher (p=.03) variability (23.4±10.7 s) with respect to both youths (13.7±8.6 s) and young adults (24.1±12.2 s). In both AP conditions, older adults showed lower (p<.002) variability values (EO=9.5±12.1 s; EC=4.6±7.5 s) with respect to the other age groups, with only the youth group showing differences between EO (16.6±12.1 s) and EC (23.6±8.4 s) conditions. Findings show that the age-related worsening of inter-limb coordination is independent of the use of visual afferences. In contrast, at developmental age, visual perception seems to play a differential role depending on the coordinative task complexity (IP/AP). It becomes crucial only in the AP condition, with a lower variability in the EO than in the EC condition indicating youths’ tendency to rely more on visual information for stabilizing complex inter-limb coordination performance

Desecrating Celebrity. Italian Cases in Cinema, TV Series, Music and Social Media

The theme of “celebrity”, its cultural origins, its social meaning and media propagation, and its effects on the audience, has interested scholars of various disciplines for a long time. Just recently, however, an academic research area called “Celebrity Studies” has been established, with a consolidated tradition mostly in the Anglo-Saxon countries.The article discussed the Italian contribution to this extensive area of investigation started to appear in the second half of the last centur

S100B Protein Stimulates Proliferation and Angiogenic Mediators Release through RAGE/pAkt/mTOR Pathway in Human Colon Adenocarcinoma Caco-2 Cells

Chronic inflammation and angiogenesis are associated with colonic carcinogenesis. Enteric glia-derived S100B protein has been proposed as an "ideal bridge", linking colonic inflammation and cancer, given its dual ability to up-regulate nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) transcription via receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) signaling and to sequestrate wild type pro-apoptotic wild type (wt)p53. However, its pro-angiogenic effects on cancer cells are still uninvestigated. To this aim, we evaluated the effect of exogenous S100B (0.05-5 µM) protein alone or in the presence of S100B blocking monoclonal antibody (mAb) (1:105-1:104v/v diluted) on (1) cultured Caco-2 cells proliferation, migration and invasiveness in vitro, respectively by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT)-formazan, wound healing and matrigel invasion assays and (2) its effect on the release of pro-angiogenic factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by ELISA and immunofluorescence analyses. The effect of S100B alone or in the presence of S100BmAb was then investigated on RAGE/pAkt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway by immunoblot analysis. Our results showed that S100B markedly increases proliferation and invasiveness of Caco-2 cells, through the release of pro-angiogenic VEGF and NO paralleled to a significant decrease of wtp53 expression mediated by RAGE-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/pAkt-mTOR and hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha (HIF1α) pathways. Such effects were counteracted by S100BmAb, indicating that S100B targeting is a potential approach to inhibit colon carcinoma proliferation and angiogenesis

The galectin-3/RAGE dyad modulates vascular osteogenesis in atherosclerosis

Vascular calcification correlates with inflammation and plaque instability in a dual manner, depending on the spotty/granular (micro) or sheet-like/lamellated (macro) pattern of calcification. Modified lipoproteins trigger both inflammation and calcification via receptors for advanced lipoxidation/glycation endproducts (ALEs/AGEs). This study compared the roles of galectin-3 and receptor for AGEs (RAGE), two ALEs/AGEs-receptors with diverging effects on inflammation and bone metabolism, in the process of vascular calcification. We evaluated galectin-3 and RAGE expression/localization in 62 human carotid plaques and its relation to calcification pattern, plaque phenotype, and markers of inflammation and vascular osteogenesis; and the effect of galectin-3 ablation and/or exposure to an ALE/AGE on vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) osteogenic differentiation. While RAGE co-localized with inflammatory cells in unstable regions with microcalcification, galectin-3 was expressed also by VSMCs, especially in macrocalcified areas, where it co-localized with alkaline phosphatase. Expression of galectin-3 and osteogenic markers was higher in macrocalcified plaques, whereas the opposite occurred for RAGE and inflammatory markers. Galectin-3-deficient VSMCs exhibited defective osteogenic differentiation, as shown by altered expression of osteogenic transcription factors and proteins, blunted activation of pro-osteoblastogenic Wnt/β-catenin signalling and proliferation, enhanced apoptosis, and disorganized mineralization. These abnormalities were associated with RAGE up-regulation, but were only in part prevented by RAGE silencing, and were partially mimicked or exacerbated by treatment with an AGE/ALE. These data indicate a novel molecular mechanism by which galectin-3 and RAGE modulate in divergent ways, not only inflammation, but also vascular osteogenesis, by modulating Wnt/β-catenin signalling, and independently of ALEs/AGEs

Oligocene to present shallow subduction beneath the southern Puna plateau

The southern Puna plateau is a conspicuous example of a high-elevation orogenic plateau in a non-collisional setting. This orogenic sector is currently located above an anomalously shallow subduction segment, in which timing and relation to upper-plate tectonics have been widely overlooked. This subduction segment, here referred to as the southern Puna shallow subduction (SPSS), is characterized by a ~200 km wide shallow area located at ~300 km from the trench at a depth of ~100–120 km and dipping 10–12° to the east. To determine the onset of the SPSS and its link to the tectonic and magmatic activity in this region, we analyzed the tectonomagmatic record of the southern Puna plateau from preexisting datasets. Also, we present a new approach based on global subduction data that provides a straightforward methodology to extract potential paleo-slab angles from the bedrock arc record. This analysis reveals that a pronounced eastward arc-front migration and magmatic broadening took place at ~26 Ma and was preceded by ~4 Ma of reduced magmatic activity, which we link to the inception of the SPSS. As expected in shallow subduction settings, a change to basement-cored distributed deformation south of 25°S in the southern Puna plateau coincides with the beginning of shallow subduction. Also, the SPSS is coincident with the enigmatic post-Eocene intraplate deformation of the Otumpa Hills located at ~950 km from the trench. We suggest that this succession of events is not fortuitous and that the development of the SPSS impacted directly the overriding plate since the Oligocene contributing to the building of one of the largest topographies (>3 km) and thickest orogenic crusts (~70–60 km) on Earth. The shallow subduction would have acted jointly with Cenozoic changes in plate kinematics and climate enhancing Andean orogenesis at studied latitudes.Fil: Gianni, Guido Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Andinos "Don Pablo Groeber"; ArgentinaFil: Garcia, Hector Pedro Antonio. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Pesce, Agustina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Lupari, Marianela Nadia. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: González, Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Geofísico Sismológico Volponi; ArgentinaFil: Giambiagi, Laura Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentin

Using Artificial Neural Networks to Model Bricklaying Productivity

The pre-planning phase prior to construction is crucial for ensuring an effective and efficient project delivery. Realistic productivity rates forecasted during pre-planning are essential for accurate schedules, cost calculation, and resource allocation. To obtain such productivity rates, the relationships between various factors and productivity need to be understood. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are suitable for modelling these complex interactions typical of construction activities, and can be used to assist project managers to produce suitable solutions for estimating productivity. This paper presents the steps of determining the network configurations of an ANN model for bricklaying productivity