The role of communication and imitation in limit order markets

In this paper we develop an order driver market model with heterogeneous traders that imitate each other on different network structures. We assess how imitations among otherway noise traders, can give rise to well known stylized facts such as fat tails and volatility clustering. We examine the impact of communication and imitation on the statistical properties of prices and order flows when changing the networks’ structure, and show that the imitation of a given, fixed agent, called “guru", can generate clustering of volatility in the model. We also find a positive correlation between volatility and bid-ask spread, and between fat-tailed fluctuations in asset prices and gap sizes in the order book.     

Electrical and material properties of hydrothermally grown single crystal (111) UO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The semiconductor and optical properties of UO₂ are investigated. The very long drift carrier lifetimes, obtained from current–voltage I(V) and capacitance–voltage C(V) measurements, along with the well-defined optical properties provide little evidence of an abundance of material defects away from the surface region. Schottky barrier formation may be possible, but very much dependent on the choice of contact and surface stoichiometry and we find that Ohmic contacts are in fact favored. Depth resolved photoemission provided evidence of a chemical shift at the surface. Density functional theory, with the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE) functional, indicates a band gap of a 2.19 eV and an anti-ferromagnetic ground state. Ellipsometry measurements indicates at UO₂ is relatively isotropic with a band gap of approximately 2.0 eV band gap, consistent with theoretical expectations.     

Importance of volume limitation for tissue redox status measurements using nitroxyl contrast agents: a comparison of X-band EPR bile flow monitoring (BFM) method and 300 MHz in vivo EPR measurement

Methods proposed for in vivo redox status estimation, X-band (9.4 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) bile flow monitoring (BFM) and 300 MHz in vivo EPR measurement, were compared. The spin probe 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl (carbamoyl-PROXYL) was utilized for both methods, due to its suitable lipophilicity. EPR signal decay of a nitroxyl spin probe in the bile flow and in the liver region (upper abdomen) of several rat groups with different selenium status were measured by both the BFM and the in vivo EPR method, respectively. The nitroxyl radical clearance measured with in vivo EPR method may be affected not only by the redox status in the liver but also by information from other tissues in the measured region of the rat. On the other hand, the time course of nitroxyl radical level in the bile flow of rats was found to be a reliable index of redox status. Measurement site and/or volume limitation, which was achieved by the BFM method in this paper, is quite important in estimating reasonable EPR signal decay information as an index of tissue/organ redox status.     

Routing problems with loading constraints

We consider difficult combinatorial optimization problems arising in transportation logistics when one is interested in optimizing both the routing of vehicles and the loading of goods into them. The separate problems (routing and loading) are already NP\mathcal{NP}-hard, and very difficult to solve in practice. A fortiori their combination is extremely challenging and stimulating. Although the specific literature is still quite limited, a first attempt to a systematic view of this field can be useful both to academic researchers and to practitioners. We review vehicle routing problems with two- and three-dimensional loading constraints. Other combinations of routing and special loading constraints arising from industrial applications are also considered.     

Hard gamma as probe of nuclear dynamics

Experimental results concerning the ⁵⁸Ni + ⁵⁸Ni at 30 MeV/u and ⁵⁸Ni + ¹⁹⁷Au at 30 and 45 MeV/u reactions are presented. The emission mechanism of hard photons has been exploited to get information on the time evolution of the reactions. From the measured hard gamma multiplicity associated to different classes of heavy residues a quantitative estimate of the reaction centrality has been obtained. Moreover, evidence of a prompt Intermediate Mass Fragment (IMF) emission is shown for the Ni + Au reaction at 45 MeV/u for central collisions exploring the correlation function between thermal photons and IMF’s.     

Isotopic dependence of the caloric curve

Isotopic effects in projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies have been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at SIS. Stable and radioactive Sn and La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. Chemical freeze-out temperatures are found to be nearly invariant with respect to the A/Z ratio of the produced spectator sources, consistent with predictions for expanded systems. Consequences for the proposed interpretation of chemical breakup temperatures as representing the limiting temperatures predicted by microscopic models are discussed.     

The inter‐ and intra‐operator variability in manual spot segmentation and its effect on spot quantitation in two‐dimensional electrophoresis analysis

Separation of complex mixtures of proteins by 2‐DE is a fundamental component of current proteomic technology. Quantitative analysis of the images generated by digitization of such gels is critical for identifying alterations in protein expression within a given biological system. Software packages are designed for this purpose. The accurate definition of protein spot boundaries, using a suitable method of image segmentation, is a key requirement for image analysis. It is often necessary for operators to intervene manually to correct mistakes in spot segmentation; therefore operator subjectivity and differences in ability can weaken the analysis. We estimated the error in spot quantification after manual spot segmentation, which was performed by different operators, using two different software packages. Our results clearly show that this operation was associated with significant inter‐ and intra‐variability and an overestimation of subsequent spot intensity, especially when spots were weak. For comparative studies, we suggest separately analysing spots which have been manually segmented by imposing a requirement for at least a threefold difference in spot intensity in addition to use of statistical tests.     

Enzymatic Formation of Indolactam Scaffold by C−N Bond-Forming Cytochrome P450 Oxidases in Teleocidin Biosynthesis

Teleocidins are potent protein kinase C activators, and possess a unique indole-fused nine-membered lactam structure. Teleocidin biosynthesis starts from the formation of a dipeptide by non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS), followed by oxidative C−N bond formation by a cytochrome P450 oxidase, reverse-prenylation by a prenyltransferase, and methylation-initiated terpene cyclization by a C-methyltransferase. This minireview focuses on recent research progress toward the elucidation of the molecular basis for the remarkable P450-catalyzed intramolecular C−N bond-forming reaction, which is challenging in synthetic chemistry, to generate the indolactam scaffold. In addition, precursor-directed biosynthesis with the promiscuous P450 enzymes led to the formation of a series of unnatural and novel molecular scaffolds, including a sulfur-substituted indolactam with a different conformation from that of indolactam V.     

Synthesis, characterization, and transistor and solar cell applications of a naphthobisthiadiazole-based semiconducting polymer

We report the synthesis and characterization of a novel donor-acceptor semiconducting polymer bearing naphthobisthiadiazole (NTz), a doubly benzothiadiazole (BTz)-fused ring, and its applications to organic field-effect transistors and bulk heterojunction solar cells. With NTz's highly π-extended structure and strong electron affinity, the NTz-based polymer (PNTz4T) affords a smaller bandgap and a deeper HOMO level than the BTz-based polymer (PBTz4T). PNTz4T exhibits not only high field-effect mobilities of ~0.56 cm(2)/(V s) but also high photovoltaic properties with power conversion efficiencies of ~6.3%, both of which are significantly high compared to those for PBTz4T. This is most likely due to the more suitable electronic properties and, importantly, the more highly ordered structure of PNTz4T in the thin film than that of PBTz4T, which might originate in the different symmetry between the cores. NTz, with centrosymmetry, can lead to a more linear backbone in the present polymer system than BTz with axisymmetry, which might be favorable for better molecular ordering. These results demonstrate great promise for using NTz as a bulding unit for high-performance semiconducting polymers for both transistors and solar cells.