Essays on cartels and market distortions

This dissertation is a conjunction of three essays on the Industrial Organization field, this empirical work is applied to the Brazilian retail gasoline market. The first essay investigates the existence of spillover effects from cartel activity. The second essay relates the well-known economic puzzle of asymmetric cost pass through to prices with the existence of horizontal coordination - cartels - in the relevant market. Finally, the third essay investigates the effectiveness of antitrust interventions inside the offenders and the consequences of its disclosure in related markets.

Hydrogen spillover mechanism on a pd-doped mg surface as revealed by ab initio density functional calculation

The hydrogenation kinetics of Mg is slow, impeding its application for mobile hydrogen storage. We demonstrate by ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations that the reaction path can be greatly modified by adding transition metal catalysts. Contrasting with Ti doping, a Pd dopant will result in a very small activation barrier for both dissociation of molecular hydrogen and diffusion of atomic H on the Mg surface. This new computational finding supports for the first time by ab initio simulationthe proposed hydrogen spillover mechanism for rationalizing experimentally observed fast hydrogenation kinetics for Pd-capped Mg materials.

Ecological dynamics of emerging bat virus spillover

Viruses that originate in bats may be the most notorious emerging zoonoses that spill over from wildlife into domestic animals and humans. Understanding how these infections filter through ecological systems to cause disease in humans is of profound importance to public health. Transmission of viruses from bats to humans requires a hierarchy of enabling conditions that connect the distribution of reservoir hosts, viral infection within these hosts, and exposure and susceptibility of recipient hosts. For many emerging bat viruses, spillover also requires viral shedding from bats, and survival of the virus in the environment. Focusing on Hendra virus, but also addressing Nipah virus, Ebola virus, Marburg virus and coronaviruses, we delineate this cross-species spillover dynamic from the within-host processes that drive virus excretion to land-use changes that increase interaction among species. We describe how land-use changes may affect co-occurrence and contact between bats and recipient hosts. Two hypotheses may explain temporal and spatial pulses of virus shedding in bat populations: episodic shedding from persistently infected bats or transient epidemics that occur as virus is transmitted among bat populations. Management of livestock also may affect the probability of exposure and disease. Interventions to decrease the probability of virus spillover can be implemented at multiple levels from targeting the reservoir host to managing recipient host exposure and susceptibility.

Ecological dynamics of emerging bat virus spillover

Viruses that originate in bats may be the most notorious emerging zoonoses that spill over from wildlife into domestic animals and humans. Understanding how these infections filter through ecological systems to cause disease in humans is of profound importance to public health. Transmission of viruses from bats to humans requires a hierarchy of enabling conditions that connect the distribution of reservoir hosts, viral infection within these hosts, and exposure and susceptibility of recipient hosts. For many emerging bat viruses, spillover also requires viral shedding from bats, and survival of the virus in the environment. Focusing on Hendra virus, but also addressing Nipah virus, Ebola virus, Marburg virus and coronaviruses, we delineate this cross-species spillover dynamic from the within-host processes that drive virus excretion to land-use changes that increase interaction among species. We describe how land-use changes may affect co-occurrence and contact between bats and recipient hosts. Two hypotheses may explain temporal and spatial pulses of virus shedding in bat populations: episodic shedding from persistently infected bats or transient epidemics that occur as virus is transmitted among bat populations. Management of livestock also may affect the probability of exposure and disease. Interventions to decrease the probability of virus spillover can be implemented at multiple levels from targeting the reservoir host to managing recipient host exposure and susceptibility.

Best practice full-stop: Anticipating the spillover effects of enterprise education

This paper considers the potential flow-on benefits that may arise from the increasing provision of enterprise education. The issue of vulnerability is proposed to be a factor associated with superior learning outcomes. Therefore, this paper aims to highlight the use of student and facilitator vulnerability to increase the capacity for learning in Higher Education. It is argued that students benefit from having to struggle to find their identity within a learning environment. That group work can assist the development of confidence through which improved learning behaviours are adopted. Also, the development of good learning practices in the domain of enterprise education have the potential to aid student learning outcomes in other areas of study. This paper provides another means of valuing the potential gains to be received from enterprise education.

Flying-Fox Roost Disturbance and Hendra Virus Spillover Risk

Bats of the genus Pteropus (flying-foxes) are the natural host of Hendra virus (HeV) which periodically causes fatal disease in horses and humans in Australia. The increased urban presence of flying-foxes often provokes negative community sentiments because of reduced social amenity and concerns of HeV exposure risk, and has resulted in calls for the dispersal of urban flying-fox roosts. However, it has been hypothesised that disturbance of urban roosts may result in a stress-mediated increase in HeV infection in flying-foxes, and an increased spillover risk. We sought to examine the impact of roost modification and dispersal on HeV infection dynamics and cortisol concentration dynamics in flying-foxes. The data were analysed in generalised linear mixed models using restricted maximum likelihood (REML). The difference in mean HeV prevalence in samples collected before (4.9%), during (4.7%) and after (3.4%) roost disturbance was small and non-significant (P = 0.440). Similarly, the difference in mean urine specific gravity-corrected urinary cortisol concentrations was small and non-significant (before = 22.71 ng/mL, during = 27.17, after = 18.39) (P= 0.550). We did find an underlying association between cortisol concentration and season, and cortisol concentration and region, suggesting that other (plausibly biological or environmental) variables play a role in cortisol concentration dynamics. The effect of roost disturbance on cortisol concentration approached statistical significance for region, suggesting that the relationship is not fixed, and plausibly reflecting the nature and timing of disturbance. We also found a small positive statistical association between HeV excretion status and urinary cortisol concentration. Finally, we found that the level of flying-fox distress associated with roost disturbance reflected the nature and timing of the activity, highlighting the need for a ‘best practice’ approach to dispersal or roost modification activities. The findings usefully inform public discussion and policy development in relation to Hendra virus and flying-fox management.

Routes of Hendra Virus Excretion in Naturally-Infected Flying-Foxes: Implications for Viral Transmission and Spillover Risk

Pteropid bats or flying-foxes (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) are the natural host of Hendra virus (HeV) which sporadically causes fatal disease in horses and humans in eastern Australia. While there is strong evidence that urine is an important infectious medium that likely drives bat to bat transmission and bat to horse transmission, there is uncertainty about the relative importance of alternative routes of excretion such as nasal and oral secretions, and faeces. Identifying the potential routes of HeV excretion in flying-foxes is important to effectively mitigate equine exposure risk at the bat-horse interface, and in determining transmission rates in host-pathogen models. The aim of this study was to identify the major routes of HeV excretion in naturally infected flying-foxes, and secondarily, to identify between-species variation in excretion prevalence. A total of 2840 flying-foxes from three of the four Australian mainland species (Pteropus alecto, P. poliocephalus and P. scapulatus) were captured and sampled at multiple roost locations in the eastern states of Queensland and New South Wales between 2012 and 2014. A range of biological samples (urine and serum, and urogenital, nasal, oral and rectal swabs) were collected from anaesthetized bats, and tested for HeV RNA using a qRT-PCR assay targeting the M gene. Forty-two P. alecto (n = 1410) had HeV RNA detected in at least one sample, and yielded a total of 78 positive samples, at an overall detection rate of 1.76% across all samples tested in this species (78/4436). The rate of detection, and the amount of viral RNA, was highest in urine samples (>serum, packed haemocytes >faecal >nasal >oral), identifying urine as the most plausible source of infection for flying-foxes and for horses. Detection in a urine sample was more efficient than detection in urogenital swabs, identifying the former as the preferred diagnostic sample. The detection of HeV RNA in serum is consistent with haematogenous spread, and with hypothesised latency and recrudesence in flying-foxes. There were no detections in P. poliocephalus (n = 1168 animals; n = 2958 samples) or P. scapulatus (n = 262 animals; n = 985 samples), suggesting (consistent with other recent studies) that these species are epidemiologically less important than P. alecto in HeV infection dynamics. The study is unprecedented in terms of the individual animal approach, the large sample size, and the use of a molecular assay to directly determine infection status. These features provide a high level of confidence in the veracity of our findings, and a sound basis from which to more precisely target equine risk mitigation strategies.

Spillover of commercially valuable reef fishes from marine protected areas in Guam, Micronesia

Does adult spillover (movement out of marine protected areas [MPAs]) of fish create a net export of fish biomass from MPAs to adjacent fished reefs? Biomass of five commercial reef fish species was estimated by visual census within and outside three MPAs in Guam, Micronesia. For most species and sites, biomass was significantly higher within the MPAs than in adjacent fished sites. Movement of fishes into and out of the MPAs was determined by markrecapture experiments, in which fishes were tagged both inside and outside of MPAs. Four out of five species studied showed little or no net movement out of MPAs. However, the orangespine surgeonfish (Naso lituratus) showed a net spillover of biomass from all three MPAs; 21.5% of tagged individuals and 29% of the tagged biomass emigrated from MPAs. Patterns of spillover were strongly influenced by physical habitat barriers, such as channels, headlands, or other topographic features. MPAs that are physically connected by contiguous reef structures will likely provide more spillover to adjacent fished sites than those that are separated by habitat barriers. This study demonstrates that MPAs can enhance export of fish biomass to fished areas, but spillover is species-specific and depends on factors such as species size and mobility.

How much does the fishery at Apo Island benefit from spillover of adult fish from the adjacent marine reserve?

The contribution of the no-take marine reserve at Apo Island, Philippines, to local fishery yield through “spillover” (net export of adult fish) was estimated. Spatial patterns of fishing effort, yield, and catch rates around Apo Island were documented daily in 2003−2004. Catch rates were higher near the reserve (by a factor of 1.1 to 2.0), but fishing effort was often lowest there. Higher catch rates near the reserve were more likely due to spillover than to low fishing intensity. Lower fishing effort near the reserve may have been due to 1) weather patterns, 2) traditional importance of other fishing grounds, 3) high variability in catch rates, 4) lower market value of target species, and 5) social pressures. The yield taken near the reserve was only 10% of the total yield, but the actual spillover contribution was probably much less than this. This study is one of the few to estimate the spillover contribution to overall yield and to document the responses of fishermen to spil

The study of oxygen spillover and back spillover on Pt/TiO2 by a potential dynamic sweep method

Oxygen spillover and back spillover on Pt/TiO2 catalysts have been studied by a potential dynamic sweep method. The characteristics of I-V profiles of Pt/TiO2 electrodes in the three potential sweep regions are different from those of Pt and TiO2 electrodes. The catalytic role of Pt/TiO2 in oxygen spillover and back spillover is identified. It decreases, and the electrochemical oxygen adsorption (or desorption) increases with elevating temperature of hydrogen post-treatment of Pt/TiO2; to a certain extent (hydrogen post-treatment of Pt/TiO2 at 700 degrees C), the control step of oxygen electrode process (anodic oxidation or cathodic reduction) changes from oxygen diffusion to electrochemical oxygen adsorption or desorption, respectively. Increasing the amount of Pt supported on TiO2 enhances the processes of oxygen spillover and back spillover. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.