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This paper adds to the new literature on firms' direct sourcing of imported intermediate inputs. We address key gaps in the literature by examining the influence of source country characteristics on import prices, the import behaviour of Indian firms and empirical strategies to address source country selection bias, while using disaggregated import data at the firm, product and source country level. We offer a theoretical contribution which suggests that source characteristics affect firms' willingness to pay for imported inputs, particularly high‐quality differentiated inputs. Our unique and detailed data set of Indian manufacturers' imported inputs allows us to control for all firm and product characteristics to eliminate missing‐variable bias with fixed effects, and to correct for possible selection bias in firms' source country choices. Results indicate that source country characteristics matter. Import prices rise for products sourced from high‐income per capita countries, rise with distance and fall with GDP and remoteness (the latter a new finding suggested by our theory). High productivity firms that also export appear particularly willing to pay high prices for high‐quality inputs from specific source countries. Our results suggest that, apart from other consequences, restrictions on imported inputs harm firms' ability to upgrade product quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine export pricing by Indian manufacturing firms in the early 2000s using a unique data set that matches firm characteristics with product and destination‐level trade data. We find that, in contrast to China and other countries, firm productivity is negatively associated with export prices, and export prices are negatively associated with distance while positively associated with remoteness. Our conjecture is that Indian innovation costs, which are higher than China's, drive down the scope for quality differentiation causing a negative association between productivity and prices. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical evidence consistent with heterogenous goods and short quality ladders, a theoretical possibility noted in the study by Antoniades (2012), an outcome that arises here because of domestic Indian economic and regulatory features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes how the application of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) can be used to study motor function in humans with Parkinson's disease (PD) and in animal models of PD. Human data is obtained using commercially available sensors via a range of non‐invasive procedures that follow conventional clinical practice. EAs can then be used to classify human data for a range of uses, including diagnosis and disease monitoring. New results are presented that demonstrate how EAs can also be used to classify fruit flies with and without genetic mutations that cause Parkinson's by using measurements of the proboscis extension reflex. The case is made for a computational approach that can be applied across human and animal studies of PD and lays the way for evaluation of existing and new drug therapies in a truly objective way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean processes are dynamic and complex and occur on multiple spatial and temporal scales. To obtain a synoptic view of such processes, ocean scientists collect data over long time periods. Historically, measurements were continually provided by fixed sensors, e.g., moorings, or gathered from ships. Recently, an increase in the utilization of autonomous underwater vehicles has enabled a more dynamic data acquisition approach. However, we still do not utilize the full capabilities of these vehicles. Here we present algorithms that produce persistent monitoring missions for underwater vehicles by balancing path following accuracy and sampling resolution for a given region of interest, which addresses a pressing need among ocean scientists to efficiently and effectively collect high-value data. More specifically, this paper proposes a path planning algorithm and a speed control algorithm for underwater gliders, which together give informative trajectories for the glider to persistently monitor a patch of ocean. We optimize a cost function that blends two competing factors: maximize the information value along the path while minimizing deviation from the planned path due to ocean currents. Speed is controlled along the planned path by adjusting the pitch angle of the underwater glider, so that higher resolution samples are collected in areas of higher information value. The resulting paths are closed circuits that can be repeatedly traversed to collect long-term ocean data in dynamic environments. The algorithms were tested during sea trials on an underwater glider operating off the coast of southern California, as well as in Monterey Bay, California. The experimental results show improvements in both data resolution and path reliability compared to previously executed sampling paths used in the respective regions. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hemangioblastic precursors have been identified that give rise to both endothelial cells and HPCs, suggesting that common growth factor requirements may exist. The effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in combination with thrombopoietin peptide agonist (TPOA), Flt-3 L (F), and SCF (S) on long-term culture-initiating cell (LTC-IC), CFU, differentiation, and transduction of cord blood (CB) CD34+ were evaluated up to 4 weeks in culture. At Week 4, in cultures containing T/F/S and VEGF, the LTC-IC increased 1000-fold (from 37 ± 8 to 37,012 ± 14,329) with a frequency of 3.4 in 10,000 cells. In the T/F/S cultures without VEGF, the LTC-IC increased 675-fold (to 25,086 ± 12,102) with a frequency of one LTC-IC in 10,000 cells. The addition of VEGF significantly increased (p < 0.05) the LTC-IC per 10,000 CB CD34+ cells. Transduction with reporter gene enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), resulted in an increase in EGFP+ CFU at Week 1 and EGFP + LTC-IC at Weeks 1 and 4. The cells maintained their multilineage expression when cultured in conditions for erythroid, myeloid, or megakaryocytic differentiation. Peak percentage EGFP coexpression of GlyA and CD11b was 51 ± 6 percent and 63 ± 15 percent, respectively, at Week 2, while CD41a was 34 ± 17 percent at Week 4. T/F/S and VEGF have an enhanced effect on total LTC-IC output and frequency but do not appear to significantly alter the differentiation or transducibility characteristics of CB HPCs in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study on the Canada-United States (U.S.) border's effect on trade. Estimation of the size of the border effect with a dataset for 1990 province-U.S. trade; Model specification; Results and conclusion.

In the context of an annual fundraising drive for the American Society, two field experiments were conducted to test the relative effectiveness of suggesting either small or large contributions. In experiment 1, as part of a door-to-door campaign 300 people were randomly assigned to: (a) a standard request for contributions (control); (b) the standard request plus the words, "even a penny will help"; or (c) the standard request plus the words, "a generous contribution would really help." As hypothesized, asking for a generous contribution significantly decreased the percentage of people who donated and failed to increase the average size of contribution by those who gave. Inconsistent with previous findings, the even-a-penny condition did not increase donating. In the second experiment conceptually similar requests were made in a mail-out campaign: 6,000 requests were made--2,000 suggested relatively small amounts (options beginning at $5); 2,000 suggested large amounts (options beginning at $5); and 2,000 were unspecified with regard to recommended amount (control). As expected, compared to the control condition, asking for small amounts increased the proportion of donors to nondonors without decreasing the average size of contributions, while asking for large amounts decreased the proportion of donors to nondonors without increasing the size of contributions. It is suggested that the findings have important implications for charitable fundraising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]