Innovations, Rents and Risk

This research was conducted within the Paul Woolley Research Initiative on Capital Market Dysfunctionalities at IDEI, Toulouse. Support from the Europlace Institute of Finance is gratefully aknowledged. Many thanks to participants in the first conference of the Centre for the Study of Capital Market Dysfunctionality at the London School of Economics, the Pompeu Fabra Conference on the Financial Crisis, the third Banco de Portugal conference on Financial Intermediation, the Europlace Institute of Finance 7th Annual Forum, as well as seminar participants at London Business School, Frankfurt University, the European Central Bank and Amsterdam University, especially Sudipto Bhattacharya, Arnoud Boot, John Boyd, Markus Brunnermeier, Catherine Casamatta, Zvi Eckstein, Guido Friebel, Alex Gümbel, Philipp Hartmann, Augustin Landier, Thomas Mariotti, John Moore, Liliana Pellizzon, Enrico Perotti, Ludovic Phalippou, Guillaume Plantin and Steve Schaefer.

The relevance and role of gaming machine games and game features on the play of problem gamblers

Prepared for the Independent Gambling Authority in South Australia, this report examines aspects of the relationship between gaming machine technology and problem gambling. It looks at: • whether particular gaming machine games feature more commonly in the play of problem gamblers as compared to recreational gamblers; • whether there are particular characteristics of those games that distinguish them from other games; • whether those differences are the characteristics that attract problem gamblers and feature in problem gambling play; • to what extent those characteristics affect the play of recreational gamblers; and • to what extent those characteristics feature in a gamblers’ transition from recreational to problem gambler

The dynamics of innovation and risk

We study the dynamics of an innovative industry when agents learn about the likelihood of negative shocks. Managers can exert risk-prevention effort to mitigate the consequences of shocks. If no shock occurs, confidence improves, attracting managers to the innovative sector. But, when condence becomes high, inefficient managers exerting low risk-prevention effort also enter. This stimulates growth, while reducing risk-prevention. The longer the boom, the larger the losses if a shock occurs. While these dynamics arise in the first-best, asymmetric information generates excessive entry of inefficient managers, earning informational rents, inflating the innovative sector and increasing its vulnerability

Dynamics of Innovation and Risk

We study the dynamics of an innovative industry in which agents learn about the likelihood of negative shocks. Managers can exert risk prevention effort to mitigate the consequences of shocks. If no shock occurs, confidence improves, attracting managers to the innovative sector. But, when confidence becomes high, inefficient managers exerting low risk-prevention effort also enter. This stimulates growth, while reducing risk prevention. The longer the boom, the larger the losses if a shock occurs. Although these dynamics arise in the first-best, asymmetric information generates excessive entry of inefficient managers, earning informational rents, inflating the innovative sector, and increasing its vulnerabilit

The dynamics of innovation and risk

We study the dynamics of an innovative industry when agents learn about the likelihood of negative shocks. Managers can exert risk-prevention effort to mitigate the consequences of shocks. If no shock occurs, confidence improves, attracting managers to the innovative sector. But, when condence becomes high, inefficient managers exerting low risk-prevention effort also enter. This stimulates growth, while reducing risk-prevention. The longer the boom, the larger the losses if a shock occurs. While these dynamics arise in the first-best, asymmetric information generates excessive entry of inefficient managers, earning informational rents, inflating the innovative sector and increasing its vulnerability

Definition of spacecraft standard interfaces by the NASA Space Assembly and Servicing Working Group (SASWG)

The purpose of the NASA Space Assembly and Servicing Working Group (SASWG) is to study enabling technologies for on-orbit spacecraft maintenance and servicing. One key technology required for effective space logistics activity is the development of standard spacecraft interfaces, including the 'Basic Set' defined by NASA, the U.S. Space Command, and industry panelists to be the following: (1) navigation aids; (2) grasping, berthing, and docking; and (3) utility connections for power, data, and fluids. Draft standards have been prepared and referred to professional standards organizations, including the AIAA, EIA, and SAE space standards committee. The objective of the SASWG is to support these committees with the technical expertise required to prepare standards, guidelines, and recommended practices which will be accepted by the ANSI and international standards organizations, including the ISO, IEC, and PASC

Reversal of a cholinergic-induced deficit in a rodent model of recognition memory by the selective 5-HT6 receptor antagonist, Ro04-6790

Rationale: Accumulating evidence suggests a potential role for the 5-HT6 receptor in cognitive function and the potential use of 5-HT6 receptor antagonists in the treatment of learning and memory disorders. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of the selective 5-HT6 receptor antagonist, Ro04-6790, on both the performance of normal adult rats and restoration of a pharmacological disruption of memory function produced by the non-selective muscarinic receptor antagonist, scopolamine, or the dopamine D2 receptor antagonist, raclopride, in a rodent model of recognition memory. Methods: Passive, perceptually based, recognition memory was assessed using a novel object discrimination task. Following habituation to an arena, rats were presented with two identical objects during trial 1 (T1) and a novel and familiar object during trial 2 (T2). The time spent exploring the two objects in each trial was measured and novel object discrimination assessed in T2. Results: In the absence of drug all rats spent an equal time exploring the two identical objects in T1 but more time exploring the novel object in T2. Scopolamine (but not N-methylscopolamine) and raclopride both produced a dose-dependent reduction in novel object discrimination whilst the 5-HT6 receptor antagonist, Ro04-6790, had no effect on discrimination when given alone but completely reversed the scopolamine- but not the raclopride-induced deficit. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that acute administration of Ro04-6790 reverses a cholinergic but not a dopaminergic deficit in a rodent model of recognition memory and provides further support for a role of the 5-HT6 receptor in the regulation of cognitive functio

Structural biology with carbon nanotube AFM probes

Carbon nanotubes represent ideal probes for high-resolution structural and chemical imaging of biomolecules with atomic force microscopy. Recent advances in fabrication of carbon nanotube probes with sub-nanometer radii promise to yield unique insights into the structure, dynamics and function of biological macromolecules and complexes

Covalently Functionalized Nanotubes as Nanometer-Sized Probes in Chemistry and Biology

Carbon nanotubes combine a range of properties that make them well suited for use as probe tips in applications such as atomic force microscopy (AFM)1, 2, 3. Their high aspect ratio, for example, opens up the possibility of probing the deep crevices4 that occur in microelectronic circuits, and the small effective radius of nanotube tips significantly improves the lateral resolution beyond what can be achieved using commercial silicon tips5. Another characteristic feature of nanotubes is their ability to buckle elastically4, 6, which makes them very robust while limiting the maximum force that is applied to delicate organic and biological samples. Earlier investigations into the performance of nanotubes as scanning probe microscopy tips have focused on topographical imaging, but a potentially more significant issue is the question of whether nanotubes can be modified to create probes that can sense and manipulate matter at the molecular level7. Here we demonstrate that nanotube tips with the capability of chemical and biological discrimination can be created with acidic functionality and by coupling basic or hydrophobic functionalities or biomolecular probes to the carboxyl groups that are present at the open tip ends. We have used these modified nanotubes as AFM tips to titrate the acid and base groups, to image patterned samples based on molecular interactions, and to measure the binding force between single protein ligand pairs. As carboxyl groups are readily derivatized by a variety of reactions8, the preparation of a wide range of functionalized nanotube tips should be possible, thus creating molecular probes with potential applications in many areas of chemistry and biology.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

Covalently Functionalized Nanotubes as Nanometer-Sized Probes in Chemistry and Biology

Carbon nanotubes combine a range of properties that make them well suited for use as probe tips in applications such as atomic force microscopy (AFM)1, 2, 3. Their high aspect ratio, for example, opens up the possibility of probing the deep crevices4 that occur in microelectronic circuits, and the small effective radius of nanotube tips significantly improves the lateral resolution beyond what can be achieved using commercial silicon tips5. Another characteristic feature of nanotubes is their ability to buckle elastically4, 6, which makes them very robust while limiting the maximum force that is applied to delicate organic and biological samples. Earlier investigations into the performance of nanotubes as scanning probe microscopy tips have focused on topographical imaging, but a potentially more significant issue is the question of whether nanotubes can be modified to create probes that can sense and manipulate matter at the molecular level7. Here we demonstrate that nanotube tips with the capability of chemical and biological discrimination can be created with acidic functionality and by coupling basic or hydrophobic functionalities or biomolecular probes to the carboxyl groups that are present at the open tip ends. We have used these modified nanotubes as AFM tips to titrate the acid and base groups, to image patterned samples based on molecular interactions, and to measure the binding force between single protein–ligand pairs. As carboxyl groups are readily derivatized by a variety of reactions8, the preparation of a wide range of functionalized nanotube tips should be possible, thus creating molecular probes with potential applications in many areas of chemistry and biology