Credible, Truthful, and Two-Round (Optimal) Auctions via Cryptographic Commitments

We consider the sale of a single item to multiple buyers by a revenue-maximizing seller. Recent work of Akbarpour and Li formalizes \emph{credibility} as an auction desideratum, and prove that the only optimal, credible, strategyproof auction is the ascending price auction with reserves (Akbarpour and Li, 2019). In contrast, when buyers' valuations are MHR, we show that the mild additional assumption of a cryptographically secure commitment scheme suffices for a simple \emph{two-round} auction which is optimal, strategyproof, and credible (even when the number of bidders is only known by the auctioneer). We extend our analysis to the case when buyer valuations are $\alpha$-strongly regular for any $\alpha > 0$, up to arbitrary $\varepsilon$ in credibility. Interestingly, we also prove that this construction cannot be extended to regular distributions, nor can the $\varepsilon$ be removed with multiple bidders

SURFACE MOUNT TECHNOLOGY RJ45 STRETCHABLE PIN AGAINST PULL FORCE

Techniques are provided herein for a stretchable, spring-like structure that is added into the copper pin of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) RJ45. The structure can stretch when the RJ45 is pulled to mitigate the force on the RJ45 pin

Time-Resolved Scanning Electron Microscopy Analysis of Nanodynamical Structures

We have developed and characterized a time-resolved scanning electron microscopy (SEM) operational mode which provides non-destructive mechanical characterization of nanodynamical structures with 8-bit image resolution and 200 ns time resolution. This time-resolved SEM scheme does not require blanking plates, nor does it require any hardware modification to a commercially available scanning electron microscope. Both time-resolved images and line scan profiles of nanofabricated single crystal silicon tweezers are obtained. This time-resolved SEM operational mode can be used to evaluate a number of important mechanical properties of nanodynamical structures, including time response and resonance mode-shapes

Neonatal Safety Information Reported to the FDA During Drug Development Studies.

BACKGROUND: Relatively few neonatal drug development studies have been conducted, but an increase is expected with the enactment of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). Understanding the safety of drugs studied in neonates is complicated by the unique nature of the population and the level of illness. The objective of this study was to examine neonatal safety data submitted to the FDA in studies pursuant to the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) and the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) between 1998 and 2015. METHODS: FDA databases were searched for BPCA and/or PREA studies that enrolled neonates. Studies that enrolled a minimum of 3 neonates were analyzed for the presence and content of neonatal safety data. RESULTS: The analysis identified 40 drugs that were studied in 3 or more neonates. Of the 40 drugs, 36 drugs received a pediatric labeling change as a result of studies between 1998 and 2015, that included information from studies including neonates. Fourteen drugs were approved for use in neonates. Clinical trials for 20 of the drugs reported serious adverse events (SAEs) in neonates. The SAEs primarily involved cardiovascular events such as bradycardia and/or hypotension or laboratory abnormalities such as anemia, neutropenia, and electrolyte disturbances. Deaths were reported during studies of 9 drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis revealed that SAEs were reported in studies involving 20 of the 40 drugs evaluated in neonates, with deaths identified in 9 of those studies. Patients enrolled in studies were often critically ill, which complicated determination of whether an adverse event was drug-related. We conclude that the traditional means for collecting safety information in drug development trials needs to be adjusted for neonates and will require the collaboration of regulators, industry, and the clinical and research communities to establish appropriate definitions and reporting strategies for the neonatal population