1,511 research outputs found
Degree of Instant Competition: Estimation of Market Power in India Instant Coffee Market
The new competition policy of the Government of India seeks to promote competition to protect consumer interests and increase market efficiency. In fact, the degree of price transmission between farmers and final consumers also depends on the degree of competition in the processing sector. Moreover, policy of trade liberalization too is expected to have impact on domestic markets. It becomes imperative, therefore, that one knows the degree of competition in various domestic industries. Instant coffee market in India is a duopoly of Nestl� and Hindustan Lever for decades. They also differentiate their products through branding. At the same time, however, incumbents might have perceived potential competition from another firm, Tata Coffee. In fact, instant coffee can be considered as a part of a larger beverage market with numerous competing products. With trade liberalization, imports have also started trickling in. Thus, circumstantial evidence regarding degree of competition or the market power in the instant coffee market is rather mixed one. By econometrically estimating the perceived first-order supply relation and the demand function, we calculate the market power parameter. Results indicate that the market is not characterized by collusive behaviour. It is quite close to perfectly competitive behaviour although we cannot reject the Cournot-Nash behaviour as well. The econometric study may be complemented by in-depth case study on coffee procurement, processing, and pricing by leading producers. Similar estimations of market power and case studies may be undertaken for other industries as well.
Estimating Signals with Finite Rate of Innovation from Noisy Samples: A Stochastic Algorithm
As an example of the recently-introduced concept of rate of innovation,
signals that are linear combinations of a finite number of Diracs per unit time
can be acquired by linear filtering followed by uniform sampling. However, in
reality, samples are rarely noiseless. In this paper, we introduce a novel
stochastic algorithm to reconstruct a signal with finite rate of innovation
from its noisy samples. Even though variants of this problem has been
approached previously, satisfactory solutions are only available for certain
classes of sampling kernels, for example kernels which satisfy the Strang-Fix
condition. In this paper, we consider the infinite-support Gaussian kernel,
which does not satisfy the Strang-Fix condition. Other classes of kernels can
be employed. Our algorithm is based on Gibbs sampling, a Markov chain Monte
Carlo (MCMC) method. Extensive numerical simulations demonstrate the accuracy
and robustness of our algorithm.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Signal Processin
Longitudinal correlation of the triangular flow event plane in a hybrid approach with hadron and parton cascade initial conditions
The longitudinal long-range correlations of the triangular flow event plane
angles are calculated in a Boltzmann + hydrodynamics hybrid approach. The
potential to disentangle different energy deposition scenarios is explored by
utilizing two different transport approaches for the early non-equilibrium
evolution. In the hadronic transport approach the particle production in high
energy heavy ion reactions is mainly governed by string excitation and
fragmentation processes which are absent in the parton cascade approach. We
find that in both approaches the initial state shows a strong longitudinal
correlation of the event plane angles which is diluted but still persists in
the final state momentum space distributions of the produced particles. A
ridge-like structure can also be caused by near-collinear gluon radiation in a
parton cascade approach and does not necessarily prove longitudinal flux tubes
in the initial state.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, replaced with new version with correct labels and
added references, conclusions are unchange
Length-independent DNA packing into nanopore zero-mode waveguides for low-input DNA sequencing
Compared with conventional methods, single-molecule real-time (SMRT) DNA sequencing exhibits longer read lengths than conventional methods, less GC bias, and the ability to read DNA base modifications. However, reading DNA sequence from sub-nanogram quantities is impractical owing to inefficient delivery of DNA molecules into the confines of zero-mode waveguides-zeptolitre optical cavities in which DNA sequencing proceeds. Here, we show that the efficiency of voltage-induced DNA loading into waveguides equipped with nanopores at their floors is five orders of magnitude greater than existing methods. In addition, we find that DNA loading is nearly length-independent, unlike diffusive loading, which is biased towards shorter fragments. We demonstrate here loading and proof-of-principle four-colour sequence readout of a polymerase-bound 20,000-base-pair-long DNA template within seconds from a sub-nanogram input quantity, a step towards low-input DNA sequencing and mammalian epigenomic mapping of native DNA samples.R01 HG009186 - NHGRI NIH HHS; R21 HG006873 - NHGRI NIH HHSAccepted manuscrip
Effects of quarks on the formation and evolution of Z(3) walls and strings in relativistic heavy-ion collisions
We investigate the effects of explicit breaking of Z(3) symmetry due to the
presence of dynamical quarks on the formation and evolution of Z(3) walls and
associated QGP strings within Polyakov loop model. We carry out numerical
simulations of the first order quark-hadron phase transition via bubble
nucleation (which may be appropriate, for example, at finite baryon chemical
potential) in the context of relativistic heavy-ion collision experiments.
Using appropriate shifting of the order parameter in the Polyakov loop
effective potential, we calculate the bubble profiles using bounce technique,
for the true vacuum as well as for the metastable Z(3) vacua, and estimate the
associated nucleation probabilities. These different bubbles are then nucleated
and evolved and resulting formation and dynamics of Z(3) walls and QGP strings
is studied. We discuss various implications of the existence of these Z(3)
interfaces and the QGP strings, especially in view of the effects of the
explicit breaking of the Z(3) symmetry on the formation and dynamical evolution
of these objects.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, PDFLate
Renal Sympathetic Denervation for the Treatment of Ventricular Arrhythmias A Lesson in Not Throwing Out the Baby With the Bathwater?∗
Low-Reynolds number swimming in gels
Many microorganisms swim through gels, materials with nonzero zero-frequency
elastic shear modulus, such as mucus. Biological gels are typically
heterogeneous, containing both a structural scaffold (network) and a fluid
solvent. We analyze the swimming of an infinite sheet undergoing transverse
traveling wave deformations in the "two-fluid" model of a gel, which treats the
network and solvent as two coupled elastic and viscous continuum phases. We
show that geometric nonlinearities must be incorporated to obtain physically
meaningful results. We identify a transition between regimes where the network
deforms to follow solvent flows and where the network is stationary. Swimming
speeds can be enhanced relative to Newtonian fluids when the network is
stationary. Compressibility effects can also enhance swimming velocities.
Finally, microscopic details of sheet-network interactions influence the
boundary conditions between the sheet and network. The nature of these boundary
conditions significantly impacts swimming speeds.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to EP
Inhibitory Effect of Cow Urine against Colletotrichum capsici Isolated from Anthracnose of Chilli (Capsicum annuum L.)
Cow urine has got several applications in agriculture. It is shown to possess inhibitory activity against many phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. Among various diseases of Chilli, anthracnose is the most important disease which results in drastic reduction in yield. The present study was conducted with an aim to determine antifungal efficacy of cow urine against Colletotrichum capsici isolated from anthracnose of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.). Poisoned food technique was employed to determine antifungal activity of different concentrations of cow urine (5, 10 and 15%). Cow urine was found to display concentration dependent inhibitory activity against fungal growth. An inhibition of >50% was observed at 5% concentration. In conclusion, the use of cow urine can be the costeffective and eco-friendly approach for controlling anthracnose in chilli
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