5,269 research outputs found
The new option view of investment
No full text"February 1995."Includes bibliographical references.Supported by the U.S. Dept. of Energy. DE-FG41-92R110447 Supported by the National Science Foundation. SES90-22823Avinash K. Dixit, Robert S. Pindyck
Expandability, reversibility, and optimal capacity choice
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 27-28).Research supported by the National Science Foundation and by the MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.by Avinash K. Dixit and Robert S. Pindyck
A markup interpretation of optimal rules for irreversible investment
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (p. 15).Supported by the National Science Foundation and by M.I.T.'s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.Avinash Dixit, Robert S. Pindyck, Sigbjørn Sødal
Interferon mono-therapy for symptomatic HCV-associated mixed cryoglobulinemia : meta-analysis of clinical studies
No full textObjective : Mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) is an important complication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Antiviral therapy is now an important approach for symptomatic HCV-MC; some-information exists on IFN mono-therapy for symptomatic HCV-MC in the non-transplant setting, but its efficacy is still unclear.
Methods : We evaluated efficacy and safety of mono-therapy with standard or pegylated interferon (IFN) for symptomatic HCV-associated MC in non-immunosuppressed individuals by performing a systematic review of the literature with a meta-analysis of clinical studies. We used the random-effects model of DerSimonian and Laird with heterogeneity and sensitivity analyses. The primary outcome was sustained viral response (SVR, as a-measure of efficacy), and the secondary outcome was the drop-out rate due to side-effects (as a measure of tolerability).
Results : We identified eleven clinical studies (n = 235 unique-patients); the rate of baseline kidney involvement ranged between 11% and 74%. The summary estimate of frequency of sustained viral response was 0.15 with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) of 0.08; 0.22 (random-effects model). Significant heterogeneity-occurred (P = 0.001; Chi(2) = 28.9%). Stratified analysis did not meaningfully change the results. The frequency of patients stopping antiviral agents was 3.4%; most patients experienced minor side effects which did not require interruption of therapy. Baseline cirrhosis (P < 0.04), kidney involvement (P < 0.07), and arthralgias (P < 0.04) showed negative impact on viral response. We found an excellent relationship between viral and clinical response [weighted K = 0.72 (95% CI, 0.54; 0.89)], by an evaluation at individual level on a subset of reports (n = 65 unique patients).
Conclusions : This meta-analysis of clinical studies shows that antiviral therapy with standard or pegylated IFN alone for symptomatic MC associated with HCV gives satisfactory response in a minority of patients only. Clinical trials based on combination therapy (pegylated interferon plus ribavirin) or novel immunosuppressive agents are under way in order to improve efficacy and safety of symptomatic HCV-MC
Pseudoceros vishnui Dixit, Raghunathan & Chandra, 2017, sp. nov.
No full textPseudoceros vishnui sp. nov. Figures 6–8; Table. 1 Type material: Holotype: One specimen (20 x 15 mm) as serial sections of reproductive structures (7 Slides), remainder of animal in 70% ethanol. Collected 19.03.2015, subtidally from 10 m depth, Pongibalu (Lat: 11°30.573’N, Long: 92°39.123’E), South Andaman, India (ZSI/ANRC-16841). Paratypes: One specimen (15 x 10 mm) as serial sections of reproductive structures (5 Slides), remainder of animal in 70% ethanol. Same as holotype (ZSI/ANRC-16842). One specimen (11 x 8 mm) in 70% EtOh. Collected 0 8.09.2015, subtidally from 15 m depth, Pongibalu (Lat: 11°30.573’N, Long: 92°39.123’E), South Andaman, India (ZSI/ANRC-16843). One specimen (11 x 8 mm) in 70% EtOh. Collected 15.12.2016, subtidally from 9 m depth, Rutland Island (Lat: 11°30.119’N, Long: 92°37.112’E), South Andaman, India (ZSI/ANRC-16844). Distribution. Pongibalu, South Andaman, India. Additional photographic record from Burma (Newman & Cannon, 2005). Diagnosis. Body colour cream, solid purple to violet spots all over body. Margin made up of non-continuous dark blue spots of various sizes. Etymology. This species is named after Vishnu Kumar Dixit, father of the first author, in acknowledgment of his support throughout his research on marine flatworms. Synonyms. It is likely that it corresponds to Pseudoceros sp. 38, Newman & Cannon (2005), CD-ROM and to Pseudoceros sp., Kuiter & Debelius (2009), see taxonomic remarks below. Description. Live. Body oval and smooth, margin without any ruffles. Many purple to violet coloured spots, of variable sizes, more or less circular are present all over the body (Fig. 6A, B). Blue pseudotentacles, small, formed by simple folds of the anterior margin with scattered eyespots on each pseudotentacle on either side. Cerebral eyespot cluster with 40–43 eyes (Fig. 6 C). Ventral side cream in colour. Margin made up of small blue coloured discontinuous spots of various sizes. Preserved. Holotype 15 mm long and 12 mm wide at central portion. Translucent due to loss of colour on fixation but some faint purple spots visible in paratype specimen. Dorsal epidermis very rough and uneven with thickens 45 to 55 µm and is twice the thickness of ventral epidermis which is 18–22 µm and smooth. Nucleus present at the base while rhabdites near dorsal surface. A distinct basement membrane clearly separates epithelium from underlying muscles. Distance between pharyngeal mouth and sucker is 4.53 mm. Male and female gonopores 1.03 mm apart. Pharynx small and ruffled with 7 folds. Male pore 1.93 mm from pharyngeal mouth and is situated between last pair of pharyngeal folds. Sucker 1.3 mm from female pore. Reproductive characters. Measurements refer to length in a 15 mm long worm, the holotype. Seminal vesicle (Fig. 7 A) elongate and oval (490 x 421 µm), heavily muscularized, parallel to longitudinal body axis. Prostatic vesicle (Fig. 7 A) located anterior to seminal vesicle and just above male atrium. It is slightly tapering in shape downwards (180 x 168 µm) with thickness of inner wall varying from 30 to 50 µm. Male atrium deep with many folds and stylet 197 µm long. Female atrium 188 µm long while vagina is 384 µm long tube curved towards posterior end. Well defined cement pouches with numerous cement glands present (Fig. 7 B & 8). Taxonomic remarks. The presence of this species is recorded on many occasions from Andaman Islands (Sreeraj & Raghunathan 2013; Sreeraj et al. 2015); however, no attempt had been made in the past to make a formal description. To date, only 4 species under the genus Pseudoceros are described from India: Pseudoceros gamblei Laidlaw, 1902; P. tigrinus Laidlaw, 1902; P. galatheensis Dixit et al. 2017 and P. nigropunctatus Dixit et al. 2017. The general spotted pattern of newly described species P. vishnui sp. nov. resembles with P. nigropunctatus described from same geographical area but the difference in appearance and colour of the spots on dorsal surface and background colour distinguish them from one another. In addition, P. laingensis Newman & Cannon, 1998 described from Papua New Guinea is the most resembled species to P. vishnui sp. nov. in terms of margins, background colour and spots. Both species have purple spots on dorsum but the spots in P. laingensis are smaller and more in number in comparison to P. vishnui sp. nov. with bigger and few spots. Border of P. laingensis is made up of numerous purple spots (same colour as that of spots on dorsum) of different sizes (Bolanos et al. 2016) while the border of P. vishnui sp. nov. is characterised by numerous spots of blue colour and never of same colour as of spots on dorsum. Bolanos et al (2016) mentioned that the purple dots on the dorsal surface of P. laingensis were numerous in some individuals but scarce in others while the frequency of spots in P. vishnui sp. nov. remained almost similar in all the studied individuals. There are few more species under the genus Pseudoceros with presence of spots on their body namely Pseudoceros nipponicus Kato, 1944; P. lindae Newman & Cannon, 1994 and P. scintillatus Newman & Cannon, 1994. P. nipponicus have black spots on the dorsum and a russet brown sub marginal band with a black rim while P. lindae is characterised by golden yellow spots on dorsum. In P. scintillatus the spots are very big, differently coloured, clearly outlined and touching the margin. Newman & Cannon, 2005 reported this undescribed species as Pseudoceros sp. 38 from Burma and mentioned colour of spots as red and margins to be made up of purple spots. Kuiter & Debelius (2009) also reported this species as Pseudoceros sp. from Andaman Sea based on photographic record. But the overall appearance and pattern of the species agrees to the newly described species and existence of both in same geographical area led us to assume that both can be same species. Table. 1 is provided with detailed comparisons between newly described species and similarly coloured species. TABLE. 1. Comparison of Pseudoceros vishnui sp. nov. characters with similarly coloured and patterned species.Published as part of Dixit, Sudhanshu, Raghunathan, C. & Chandra, Kailash, 2017, Two new Pseudoceros (Polycladida: Pseudocerotidae) and a Prostheceraeus (Polycladida: Euryleptidae) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, pp. 495-512 in Zootaxa 4269 (4) on pages 501-503, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4269.4.5, http://zenodo.org/record/58274
Study of the p–p–K + and p–p–K - dynamics using the femtoscopy technique
No full textThe interactions of kaons (K) and antikaons (K ̄) with few nucleons (N) were studied so far using kaonic atom data and measurements of kaon production and interaction yields in nuclei. Some details of the three-body KNN and K ̄ NN dynamics are still not well understood, mainly due to the overlap with multi-nucleon interactions in nuclei. An alternative method to probe the dynamics of three-body systems with kaons is to study the final state interaction within triplet of particles emitted in pp collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, which are free from effects due to the presence of bound nucleons. This Letter reports the first femtoscopic study of p–p–K + and p–p–K - correlations measured in high-multiplicity pp collisions at s = 13 TeV by the ALICE Collaboration. The analysis shows that the measured p–p–K + and p–p–K - correlation functions can be interpreted in terms of pairwise interactions in the triplets, indicating that the dynamics of such systems is dominated by the two-body interactions without significant contributions from three-body effects or bound states
Trends in consumer behaviour and accommodation choice: perspectives from India
No full textThis research analyses tourist’s characteristics and accommodation choice in Nainital, a renowned British-era hill station in India. Questionnaires were administered to a convenience sample of 200 visitors at tourist host-spots. Descriptive and factorial statistics reveal five principal factors that motivate and influence visitors’ accommodation preferences. The majority of respondents chose accommodation on the outskirts of Nainital and cottages or stand-alone villas. Findings suggest that Nainital has become a lower-middle-income destination for domestic tourists whereas one-day visitors have been identified as an emerging trend in hill station tourism. Findings offer insights into changing trends of tourism and target markets in the hill stations of India, and provide direction in shaping facility, service and marketing decisions of hoteliers
Study of the p–p–K and p–p–K dynamics using the femtoscopy technique
No full textThe interactions of kaons (K) and antikaons (K)
with few nucleons (N) were studied so far using kaonic
atom data and measurements of kaon production and interaction yields in nuclei. Some details of the three-body KNN
and KNN dynamics are still not well understood, mainly
due to the overlap with multi-nucleon interactions in nuclei.
An alternative method to probe the dynamics of three-body
systems with kaons is to study the final state interaction
within triplet of particles emitted in pp collisions at the Large
Hadron Collider, which are free from effects due to the presence of bound nucleons. This Letter reports the first femtoscopic study of p–p–K+ and p–p–K− correlations measured in high-multiplicity pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV
by the ALICE Collaboration. The analysis shows that the
measured p–p–K+ and p–p–K− correlation functions can be
interpreted in terms of pairwise interactions in the triplets,
indicating that the dynamics of such systems is dominated
by the two-body interactions without significant contributions from three-body effects or bound states
ICT as Technical Change in the Matching and Production Functions of a Pissarides-Dixit-Stiglitz model
No full textIn this paper we integrate two workhorse models in economics: Themonopolistic competition model of Dixit and Stiglitz and the search unemploymentmodel of Pissarides. Information and communication technology (ICT) is interpretedas i) technical progress in the matching function of the Pissarides labour marketsearch model where it is increasing the probability of filling a vacancy, and ii) astechnical change in the production function of the Dixit-Stiglitz goods market modelwhere it is increasing fixed costs and decreasing variable costs. All effects together,modelled as a permanent once-and-for-all ICT and Internet shock, increase thevacancy/ unemployment ratio, decrease the long-run equilibrium unemployment rate,and increase wages. Keywords: ICT, Monopolistic competition, unemployment.macroeconomics ;
Bhoochetana: Reviving Soils for Agriculture
No full textThe Bhoochetana program in Karnataka, India, has been one of the initial exemplar attempts at scaling-out
best practices in reviving soils on a large scale involving thousands of farmers in the state. The stagnant
to declining growth of the agriculture sector in Karnataka between 2000 and 2008 demanded a multipronged
strategy to revive agriculture. Given the alarming situation, in 2009 the state initiated measures
to address soil health through a state-wide, flagship program called Bhoochetana. The program was
designed to get the state’s agriculture back on track by increasing crop productivity and strengthening
agriculture-based livelihoods
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