Operational issues and network effects in vaccine markets

One of the most important concerns for managing public health is the prevention of infectious diseases. Although vaccines provide the most effective means for preventing infectious diseases, there are two main reasons why it is often difficult to reach a socially optimal level of vaccine coverage: (i) the emergence of operational issues (such as yield uncertainty) on the supply side, and (ii) the existence of negative network effects on the consumption side. In particular, uncertainties about production yield and vaccine imperfections often make manufacturing some vaccines a risky process and may lead the manufacturer to produce below the socially optimal level. At the same time, negative network effects provide incentives to potential consumers to free ride off the immunity of the vaccinated population. In this research, we consider how a central policy-maker can induce a socially optimal vaccine coverage through the use of incentives to both consumers and the vaccine manufacturer. We consider a monopoly market for an imperfect vaccine; we show that a fixed two-part subsidy is unable to coordinate the market, but derive a two-part menu of subsidies that leads to a socially efficient level of coverage.     

“Dial-In” Emission from a Unique Flexible Material with Polarization Tuneable Spectral Intensity

The development of organic photoluminescent materials, which show promising roles as catalysts, sensors, organic light-emitting diodes, logic gates, etc., is a major demand and challenge for the global scientific community. In this context, a photoclick polymerization method is adopted for the growth of a unique photoluminescent three-dimensional (3D) polymer film, E, as a model system that shows emission tunability over the range 350–650 nm against the excitation range 295–425 nm. The DFT analysis of energy calculations and π-stacking supports the spectroscopic observations for the material exhibiting a broad range of emission owing to newly formed chromophoric units within the film. Full polarization spectroscopic Mueller matrix studies were employed to extract and quantify the molecular orientational order of both the ground (excitation) and excited (emission) state anisotropies through a set of newly defined parameters, namely the fluorescence diattenuation and fluorescence polarizance. The information contained in the recorded fluorescence Mueller matrix of the organic polymer material provided a useful way to control the spectral intensity of emission by using pre- and post-selection of polarization states. The observation was based on the assumption that the longer lifetime of the excited dipolar orientation is attributed to the compactness of the film.     

Ln0.5A0.5MnO3 (Ln=Lanthanide,A= Ca,Sr) Perovskites Exhibiting Remarkable Performance in the Thermochemical Generation of CO and H2 from CO2 and H2O

Perovskite oxides of the Ln_0.5A_0.5MnO₃ (Ln=lanthanide, A=Sr, Ca) family have been investigated for the thermochemical splitting of H₂O and CO₂ to produce H₂ and CO respectively. The amounts of O₂ and CO produced strongly depend on the size of the rare earth ions and alkaline earth ions. The manganite with the smallest rare earth possessing the highest distortion and size disorder as well as the smallest tolerance factor, gives out the maximum amount of O₂, and, hence, the maximum amount of CO. Thus, the best results are found with Y_0.5Sr_0.5MnO₃, which possesses the highest distortion and size disorder. Y_0.5Sr_0.5MnO₃ shows remarkable fuel production activity even at the reduction and oxidation temperatures as low as 1200 °C and 900 °C, respectively.     

Synthesis of glycopeptides from glucosaminic acid

We report on the synthesis of polypeptides with saccharide side chains starting from d ‐glucosaminic acid. The hydroxyl groups were first protected by benzylation, followed by N‐carboxyanhydride formation, which was polymerized by ring opening to form a high molecular weight polyamide. De‐protection of the benzyl groups yields a polypeptide with fully de‐protected saccharide side chains. The resulting new non‐ionic, water soluble, and optically active polymers possessing the properties of both peptides and saccharides have potential use as scaffolds for tissue engineering and drug carriers. The method described here may be extended to any saccharide α‐amino acid. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2657–2662