Tennis serve data may elude some as serves get too fast

© 2019, Fraser Institute. All rights reserved. In our response to Krawczyk (2019), we emphasize the following points: (1) Our theoretical model incorporates a Tullock contest function which is the most commonly used tool in modelling any strategic contest, and controls for both the server’s and the receiver’s effort. (2) The panel nature of our data set allows us to control for unobserved heterogeneity at both the player and the match level and minimizes the omitted variable bias. (3) There is a difference between ‘risk’ and ‘effort.’ (4) There is a strong empirical pattern in our dataset which is robust to the use of different methodologies whether it is linear or semi-parametric. (5) Finally, given that Pope and Schweitzer (2011) was published in the top journal in the field and received a considerable number of citations, it should not come as a surprise that we apply their theoretical and empirical framework to tennis, which, like golf, has a well-defined reference point

Seasonal changes of sources and volatility of carbonaceous aerosol at urban, coastal and forest sites in Eastern Europe (Lithuania)

We measured stable carbon isotope ratios of total carbon (TC) and organic carbon (OC) in fine carbonaceous aerosol fraction sampled in August and September 2013 at urban, coastal and forest sites in Lithuania. δ13C values of TC for all three sites over the whole measurement period varied from −29.3 to −26.6‰, which is in the range of particles emitted by fossil fuel combustion in Eastern Europe. The isotopic composition at the forest and coastal site showed a similar variation during two contrasting pollution periods. δ13C values in the clean period were more variable, whereas the polluted period was characterized by a gradual enrichment in δ13C compared to the clean period. In the polluted period air masses originated from southern, southeastern or southwestern direction, indicating long-range transport of pollutants from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Lithuania. Oxidative processing during long-range transport or the different source signatures (e.g., enriched 13C signature of gasoline used in Western Europe vs. Eastern Europe) could cause the less negative δ13COC values during the polluted episode. δ13C for OC desorbed from the filter samples was separately measured during three different temperature steps (200 °C, 350 °C and 650 °C). OC desorbed at 200 °C had the most depleted 13C signature of around −29‰ at all three sites. A comparison with previously published data measured during the winter at the same sites showed that both TC and OC had less negative δ13C values in winter than in summer, which can be explained by the contribution of biomass/coal burning sources in winter. At the urban site δ13C of OC did not change much with increasing desorption temperature in winter, which is typical for primary sources, but in the summer δ13C of OC was depleted for lower desorption temperatures, possibly due to the influence of SOA formation. A higher fraction of more refractory OC in summer compared to winter-time suggests active photochemical processing of the primary organic aerosol as an important process at all three sites

A probabilistic analysis of argument cogency

This paper offers a probabilistic treatment of the conditions for argument cogency as endorsed in informal logic: acceptability, relevance, and sufficiency. Treating a natural language argument as a reason-claim-complex, our analysis identifies content features of defeasible argument on which the RSA conditions depend, namely: change in the commitment to the reason, the reason’s sensitivity and selectivity to the claim, one’s prior commitment to the claim, and the contextually determined thresholds of acceptability for reasons and for claims. Results contrast with, and may indeed serve to correct, the informal understanding and applications of the RSA criteria concerning their conceptual dependence, their function as update-thresholds, and their status as obligatory rather than permissive norms, but also show how these formal and informal normative approachs can in fact align

Place branding: Are we wasting our time? Report of an AMA special session

© Emerald Group Publishing Limited.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a special session entitled “Place branding: Are we wasting our time?”, held at the American Marketing Association’s Summer Marketing Educators’ conference in 2014. Design/methodology/approach – The report details the outcome of an Oxford-style debate with two opposing teams of two persons – one team supporting and one team opposing the motion. The opening speaker of each team had 10 minutes to put their case across, and the closing speaker had 8 minutes. Teams took to the stand alternately, matching up against each other’s arguments. Findings – The outcome of the debate points towards a need for place brands to develop as more inclusive and organic entities, in which case it may be best for place practitioners to avoid creating and imposing a place brand and instead help shape it from the views of stakeholder constituencies. This shifts the notion of place branding towards an activity centred on “curation”. Originality/value – The use of a competitive debating format as a means for exploring academic ideas and concepts in the place management field

Refinement of the critical genomic region for congenital hyperinsulinism in the Chromosome 9p deletion syndrome

Version 2; peer review: 3 approved. Available from F1000 Research via the DOI in this recordBackground: Large contiguous gene deletions at the distal end of the short arm of chromosome 9 result in the complex multi-organ condition chromosome 9p deletion syndrome. A range of clinical features can result from these deletions with the most common being facial dysmorphisms and neurological impairment. Congenital hyperinsulinism is a rarely reported feature of the syndrome with the genetic mechanism for the dysregulated insulin secretion being unknown. Methods: We studied the clinical and genetic characteristics of 12 individuals with chromosome 9p deletions who had a history of neonatal hypoglycaemia. Using off-target reads generated from targeted next-generation sequencing of the genes known to cause hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (n=9), or microarray analysis (n=3), we mapped the minimal shared deleted region on chromosome 9 in this cohort. Targeted sequencing was performed in three patients to search for a recessive mutation unmasked by the deletion. Results: In 10/12 patients with hypoglycaemia, hyperinsulinism was confirmed biochemically. A range of extra-pancreatic features were also reported in these patients consistent with the diagnosis of the Chromosome 9p deletion syndrome. The minimal deleted region was mapped to 7.2 Mb, encompassing 38 protein-coding genes. In silico analysis of these genes highlighted SMARCA2 and RFX3 as potential candidates for the hypoglycaemia. Targeted sequencing performed on three of the patients did not identify a second disease-causing variant within the minimal deleted region. Conclusions: This study identifies 9p deletions as an important cause of hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia and increases the number of cases reported with 9p deletions and hypoglycaemia to 15 making this a more common feature of the syndrome than previously appreciated. Whilst the precise genetic mechanism of the dysregulated insulin secretion could not be determined in these patients, mapping the deletion breakpoints highlighted potential candidate genes for hypoglycaemia within the deleted region.Wellcome TrustRoyal Societ

Serumproteinbindung von ACTH

3H- 1–23-Corticotropin wurde an Dextrangel (Sephadex G-25) gebunden und konnte durch Serumproteine, Albumin oder 0,1 N HCl eluiert werden. Mittels Dextrangelfiltration wurde gefunden, daß3H-ACTH kompetitiv an Serumproteine (Albumin) und Dextrangel gebunden wurde. Auch für natürliches Schweine-ACTH und endogenes ACTH in Patientenplasma (Adrenalektomie) wurde mittels biologischer ACTH-Bestimmung die Bindung von ACTH an Proteine bestätigt.3H- 1–23 corticotropin was bound to dextran gel (sephadex G-25) and was eluted by either serum proteins, albumin or 0.1 N HCl. Competitive binding of3H-ACTH to serum proteins (albumin) and dextran gel was shown by dextran gel filtration. Likewise natural ACTH (pig) and endogenous ACTH from plasma of an adrenalectomized patient were shown to be partly protein bound using biological ACTH-assay

Dysconnection in schizophrenia: from abnormal synaptic plasticity to failures of self-monitoring

Over the last 2 decades, a large number of neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies of patients with schizophrenia have furnished in vivo evidence for dysconnectivity, ie, abnormal functional integration of brain processes. While the evidence for dysconnectivity in schizophrenia is strong, its etiology, pathophysiological mechanisms, and significance for clinical symptoms are unclear. First, dysconnectivity could result from aberrant wiring of connections during development, from aberrant synaptic plasticity, or from both. Second, it is not clear how schizophrenic symptoms can be understood mechanistically as a consequence of dysconnectivity. Third, if dysconnectivity is the primary pathophysiology, and not just an epiphenomenon, then it should provide a mechanistic explanation for known empirical facts about schizophrenia. This article addresses these 3 issues in the framework of the dysconnection hypothesis. This theory postulates that the core pathology in schizophrenia resides in aberrant N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)–mediated synaptic plasticity due to abnormal regulation of NMDARs by neuromodulatory transmitters like dopamine, serotonin, or acetylcholine. We argue that this neurobiological mechanism can explain failures of self-monitoring, leading to a mechanistic explanation for first-rank symptoms as pathognomonic features of schizophrenia, and may provide a basis for future diagnostic classifications with physiologically defined patient subgroups. Finally, we test the explanatory power of our theory against a list of empirical facts about schizophrenia

DC and AC Tests of Moisture Electrical Pressboard Impregnated with Mineral Oil or Synthetic Ester—Determination of Water Status in Power Transformer Insulation

In this study, the conductivity and permittivity of electrical pressboard—insulating liquid—water composites were investigated, and the electrical properties of the composites and water were analysed comparatively. Mineral oil and synthetic ester were used as insulating liquids. It was found that the presence of water caused an increase in the permeability of the composite in the frequency range below 100 Hz. The value of static permittivity determined by water in the content of 5 wt. % was approximately 15. To obtain this value caused by liquid water, its volume should be approximately five (oil) and four times (ester) higher than its actual content, respectively. The determined values of the activation energy of the DC conductivity of the composites were several times higher than the values of the activation energy of the conductivity of the liquid water. The experimental values of the dielectric relaxation times were many orders of magnitude higher than the dielectric relaxation times of water. This means that the experimental results obtained for the dielectric permittivity, the activation energy of conductivity and the dielectric relaxation times for moisture electrical pressboard impregnated by mineral oil or synthetic ester exclude the possibility of the presence of liquid water in the composites. It was found that the conductivity of the composites increased exponentially with increasing water content. Such dependencies are characteristic of hopping conductivity, caused by the quantum phenomenon of electron tunnelling between nanometre-sized potential wells. As the increase in conductivity is determined by the presence of water in the composites, therefore, the nanometre potential wells were single-water molecules or nanodrops