A model of interim information sharing under incomplete information

We propose a two-person game-theoretical model to study information sharing decisions at an interim stage when information is incomplete. The two agents have pieces of private information about the state of nature, and that information is improved by combining the pieces. Agents are both senders and receivers of information. There is an institutional arrangement that fixes a transfer of wealth from an agent who lies about her private information. In our model, we show that (1) there is a positive relation between information revelation and the amount of the transfers, and (2) information revelation has a collective action structure, in particular, the incentives of an agent to reveal decrease with respect to the amount of information disclosed by the other.     

Imposex and organotin body burden in the dog‐whelk (Nucella lapillus L.) along the Portuguese coast

Nucella lapillus imposex—superimposition of male characters onto prosobranch (a subclass of gastropod molluscs) females—and organotin female body burden were surveyed on the Portuguese coast, from Vila Praia de Âncora (northern limit) to Praia da Luz (southern limit), at 17 sampling stations, between May and August 2003. The vas deferens sequence index (VDSI), the relative penis size index (RPSI), the percentage of females affected with imposex (%I) and the percentage of sterile females (%S) were used to assess the level of imposex at each site. VDSI, RPSI and %I were 0.20–4.04, 0.0–42.2% and 16.7–100.0%, respectively. Sterile females were found at stations 2 (6.2%), 5 (4.0%) and 7 (5.0%). Tributyltin (TBT) and dibutyltin (DBT) female body burdens were 23–138 and <10–62 ng Sn/g dry weight, respectively. TBT female body burden was significantly correlated with RPSI and VDSI [Spearman rank order linear correlation: RPSI vs TBT body burden (b.b.) r = 0.71, p < 0.01; VDSI vs logTBT body burden r = 0.71, p < 0.01]. Imposex and TBT b.b. were highest at sites located in the proximity of harbours, where TBT leaching from antifouling paints is more intense owing to the high concentration of ships and dockyard activities. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Some results on polarized partion relations of higher dimension

Several types of polarized partition relations are considered. In particular we deal with partitions defined on cartesian products of more than two factors. MSC: 03E05.     

A Polytope Related to Empirical Distributions, Plane Trees, Parking Functions, and the Associahedron

Abstract. The volume of the n -dimensional polytope Π _n (x):= {y ∈ R ⁿ : y _i ≥ 0 and y ₁ + · · · + y _i ≤ x ₁ + · · ·+ x _i for all 1 ≤ i ≤ n } for arbitrary x:=(x ₁ , . . ., x _n ) with x _i >0 for all i defines a polynomial in variables x _i which admits a number of interpretations, in terms of empirical distributions, plane partitions, and parking functions. We interpret the terms of this polynomial as the volumes of chambers in two different polytopal subdivisions of Π _n (x) . The first of these subdivisions generalizes to a class of polytopes called sections of order cones. In the second subdivision the chambers are indexed in a natural way by rooted binary trees with n+1 vertices, and the configuration of these chambers provides a representation of another polytope with many applications, the associahedron .     

Characterization of a protease produced by a Trichoderma harzianum isolate which controls cocoa plant witches' broom disease

Background  

Several Trichoderma strains have been reported to be effective in controlling plant diseases, and the action of fungal hydrolytic enzymes has been considered as the main mechanism involved in the antagonistic process. However, although Trichoderma strains were found to impair development of Crinipellis perniciosa, the causal agent of cocoa plant witches' broom disease, no fungal strain is available for effective control of this disease. We have then undertaken a program of construction of hydrolytic enzyme-overproducing Trichoderma strains aiming improvement of the fungal antagonistic capacity. The protease of an indian Trichoderma isolate showing antagonistic activity against C. perniciosa was purified to homogeneity and characterized for its kinetic properties and action on the phytopathogen cell wall.     

Self-Assembly of Supramolecular Architectures Using Chlorotetra(Pyrrole-2-Carboxylato)Diruthenium Molecules as Building Blocks

Two new complexes, based on the unit Ru₂Cl(μ-O₂CC₄H₄N)₄ (1) (O₂CC₄H₄N = pyrrole-2-carboxylate), Ru₂Cl(μ-O₂CC₄H₄N)₄(H₂O)·4H₂O [1(H ₂ O)·4H ₂ O], and Ru₂Cl(μ-O₂CC₄H₄N)₄(Me₂CO) [1(Me ₂ CO)], are synthesized and structurally characterized. The physical properties of these complexes are studied and compared with those previously reported for Ru₂Cl(μ-O₂CC₄H₄N)₄(thf)·thf·H₂O [1(thf)·thf·H ₂ O]. The nature of the solvent molecule bonded to the axial position of the dimetallic unit determines the supramolecular interactions leading to different arrangements in the solid state. The presence of NH groups in the pyrrolic rings favours the existence of hydrogen bond interactions that are present in the three complexes. In addition, complex 1(Me ₂ CO) shows π–π stacking interactions through pyrrolic rings of different dimetallic units. Dedicated to the memory of Prof. F. Albert Cotton.     

Another View of the CLT in Banach Spaces

Let B denote a separable Banach space with norm ‖⋅‖, and let μ be a probability measure on B for which linear functionals have mean zero and finite variance. Then there is a Hilbert space H _μ determined by the covariance of μ such that H _μ ⊆B. Furthermore, for all ε>0 and x in the B-norm closure of H _μ , there is a unique point, T _ε (x), with minimum H _μ -norm in the B-norm ball of radius ε>0 and center x. If X is a random variable in B with law μ, then in a variety of settings we obtain the central limit theorem (CLT) for T _ε (X) and certain modifications of such a quantity, even when X itself fails the CLT. The motivation for the use of the mapping T _ε (⋅) comes from the large deviation rates for the Gaussian measure γ determined by the covariance of X whenever γ exists. However, this is only motivation, and our results apply even when this Gaussian law fails to exist. Research partially supported by NSA Grant H98230-06-1-0053.