This dissertation consists of two essays on the topic of bidding in multi-unit common value auction. Essay one examines the role of capacity constraint on the auction results and bidding behavior. We consider a general case where bidders are unconstrained, and a second setting where bidders are capacity constrained. We document downward sloping demand curves for individual bidders. Bidders shade their bids by submitting quantity-price pairs and spreading their bids. The winner's curse is strong in the unconstrained treatment, but we find no evidence of the winner's curse when bidding constraints are imposed. Unconstrained bidders shade bids significantly more and their quantity-weighted prices are much lower than those in the constrained treatment. Interacting with the information structure, the capacity constraint has a significant impact on the auction results including the market clearing price, market efficiency, and the degree of market concentration. We provide evidence that efficient price discovery in multi-unit auctions with diverse information is possible, but careful attention to auction design will make this outcome more likely. Essay two examines how the introduction of a noncompetitive bidding option affects outcomes in a multi-unit uniform-price auction. The experimental design incorporates many of the characteristics of the markets that pertain to the issuance of new equity securities. Important features of the bidding environment include endogenous bidder entry, costly information acquisition, bidders that differ by capacity constraint, and substantial uncertainty with respect to the intrinsic value. We use a standard uniform-price auction as our baseline setting where only competitive bids are accepted. Our results show that introducing the noncompetitive bidding option improves auction performance by increasing revenue and reducing price error. Underpricing is found in both treatments, but is less severe in the presence of the noncompetitive bidding option. The incorporation of this option significantly increases both the small bidder participation rate and allocation, and reduces the incentive for small bidders to free ride by submitting extremely high bids. Under both treatments, information acquisition increases large bidders' profits but proves unprofitable for small bidders, and pricing accuracy is increasing in the rate of information acquisition.

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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Cognitive impairment is a mental disorder which is associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is the most common form of dementia. Currently there are no consistent evidence who allow support any measure for the prevention of this disease (DAVIGLUS et al., 2010). As for its treatment, there are methods which can provide relative relief of the symptoms, however, only of palliative nature. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the n-acetylcysteine (NAC), a molecule with neuroprotective properties, in the treatment and prevention of subsequent dementia of AD, using an experimental model of dementia induced by streptozotocin (STZ) in mice. Initially the effect of NAC on the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in vitro mouse brain was evaluated. The ideal dithiobisnitrobenzoate (DTNB) concentration and pH was 0.3 mM and 7.4, respectively. Linearity in enzyme activity was obtained at acetylthiocholine (ATCh) concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 0.450 mM. Sixty sec prior to the addition of ATCh range to avoid interference DTNB NAC interaction was added to the method. NAC interfered with AChE Vmax starting at the concentration of 75 uM without affecting the Km, featuring a non-competitive inhibition. In a second instance, we evaluated the NAC effect on the short-term cognitive impairment in mice. For this, the animals were divided into four groups and were treated with NAC (50 mg/kg /day v.o.) or saline for nine consecutive days, and with STZ (2.5 mg/kg i.c.v.) or aCSF at the first and third days. The results show that NAC treatment: 1) normalized the latency to find the platform in the water maze (MWM) and to get off the platform in passive avoidance (SDPA) that had been altered in animals that received STZ; 2) normalized the AChE and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and restored the acetylcholine (ACh) levels in cortical and hippocampal enzymatic activity potentiated by STZ; 3) protected the brain energy metabolism imbalance induced by STZ. Finally, we evaluated the effect of NAC on the long-term cognitive impairment in mice. To this end, animals were treated with NAC (5 mg/kg/day v.o.) or saline for 30 consecutive days, and with STZ (2.5 mg/kg i.c.v.) or aCSF the first and third days. A treatment with physostigmine (PHY; 0.25 mg / kg / day V.O.) was done in parallel as a positive control measure. Totalizing six groups. Both treatments with NAC and PHY: 1) reduced the latency to find the platform in the water maze (MWM) and increased exploratory time on the new object task (NOR) of those animals that received STZ; 2) normalized the cortical and hippocampal AChE enzymatic activity enhanced by STZ; 3) rescued the synaptic plasticity, recovering the synaptophysin (SYN), microtubule-associated protein type 2 (MAP2) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels reduced by STZ. Thus, the NAC treatment protected from the cognitive impairment induced by STZ in mice, normalizing the cholinergic activity and reestablishing synaptic plasticity. / O déficit cognitivo é uma desordem mental que está associado a doenças neurodegenerativas, como é a doença de Alzheimer (DA) a qual é a forma mais comum de demência. Atualmente não existem evidências consistentes quem permitam apoiar qualquer medida para a prevenção desta doença (DAVIGLUS e col., 2010). Já para o seu tratamento, existem métodos os quais proporcionam alívio relativo dos sintomas, contudo, de natureza paliativa1. Assim, o presente trabalho visou avaliar a n-acetilcisteína (NAC), uma molécula com propriedades neuroprotetora, no tratamento e prevenção da demência consequente da DA, utilizando-se de um modelo experimental de demência induzida pela estreptozotocina (STZ) em camundongos. Inicialmente avaliou-se o efeito da NAC sobre a atividade da acetilcolinesterase (AChE) cerebral de camundongos in vitro. A concentração de ditiobisnitrobenzoato (DTNB) e pH ideais foi de 0,3 mM e 7,4, respectivamente. Obteve-se linearidade na atividade enzimática com concentrações de 0,025 a 0,450 mM de acetiltiocolina (ATCh). Foram adicionados 60 sec de intervalo prévios à adição da ATCh para evitar a interferência da interação DTNB-NAC. A NAC interferiu na Vmax da AChE a partir da concentração de 75 μM sem modificar a Km, caracterizando uma inibição de forma não-competitiva. Em uma segunda instância, avaliou-se o efeito da NAC sobre o déficit cognitivo a curto prazo em camundongos. Para isso, os animais foram divididos em quatro grupos e foram tratados com NAC (50 mg/kg/dia v.o.) ou salina por nove dias consecutivos e com STZ (2.5 mg/kg i.c.v.) ou FCEa no primeiro e terceiro dias. Os resultados mostram que o tratamento com NAC: 1) diminuiu a latência para achar a plataforma no labirinto aquático (MWM) e aumentou a latência para descer da plataforma na esquiva passiva (SDPA) dos animais que apresentaram-se alteradas nos animais que receberam STZ; 2) restaurou a atividade enzimática da AChE e butirilcolinesterase (BChE) e os níveis de acetilcolina (ACh) corticais e hipocampais potencializadas pela STZ; e 3) protegeu do desequilíbrio do metabolismo energético cerebral induzido pela STZ. Finalmente, foi avaliado o efeito da NAC sobre o déficit cognitivo a longo prazo em camundongos. Para tal, os animais foram tratados com NAC (5 mg/kg/dia v.o.) ou salina por 30 dias consecutivos e com STZ (2.5 mg/kg i.c.v.) ou FCEa no primeiro e terceiro dias. Um tratamento com fisostigmina (PHY; 0,25 mg/kg/dia v.o.) foi realizado em paralelo como medida de controle positivo. Totalizando assim seis grupos. Ambos os tratamentos com NAC e PHY: 1) diminuíram a latência para achar a plataforma no labirinto aquático (MWM) e aumentaram o tempo de exploração no novo objeto (NOR) que apresentaram-se alteradas nos animais que receberam STZ; 2) normalizaram a atividade enzimática da AChE cortical e hipocampal potencializada pela STZ; 3) resgataram a plasticidade sináptica, recuperando os níveis de sinaptofisina (SYN), proteína associada aos microtúbulos do tipo 2 (MAP2) e proteína ácida fibrilar glial (GFAP) diminuídas pela STZ. Desta forma, o tratamento com NAC protegeu do déficit cognitivo induzido pela STZ em camundongos, normalizando a atividade colinérgica e reestabelecendo a plasticidade sináptica.

This thesis examines the use of electrochemically treated viscose rayon based activated carbon cloth (ACC) for the removal of metal ions from aqueous effluent streams. Two types of treatment were performed: (i) electrochemical oxidation and (ii) electrochemical reduction to enhance cation and anion sorption capacities of the ACC, respectively. Electrochemical oxidation resulted in a loss of 61% BET surface area due to blockage of pores through formation of carboxylic acidic groups but its cation exchange capacity and oxygen content increased by 365% and 121%, respectively. The optimum constant current at which a combination of applied current and oxidation time at any extent of oxidation to produce ACC of maximum cation exchange capacity was found to be 1.1 A, with voltage of 4.2 V and current density of 0.8 mA/m2. Batch sorption experiments showed that the maximum copper and lead sorption capacities for electrochemically oxidised ACC increased 17 and 4 times, respectively, for noncompetitive sorption and 8.8 and 8.6 times, respectively for competitive sorption. Therefore, electrochemically oxidised ACC is an effective adsorbent for treating aqueous solution contaminated with copper/lead in both single component and multi-component systems. Industrial wastewaters are multicomponent systems, therefore, electrochemical oxidation of ACC is an efficient way of enhancing lead and copper ions sorptive capacity for industrial wastewater treatment. Electrochemical reduction resulted in a loss of 28% BET surface area due to formation of ether groups but its anion exchange capacity increased by 292%. The optimum constant current at which a combination of applied current and reduction time at any extent of reduction to produce ACC of maximum anion exchange capacity was found to be 5.5 A, with voltage of 9.8 V and current density of 6.4 mA/m2. Batch sorption experiments showed that the maximum chromium(VI) sorption capacity for electrochemically reduced ACC increased 2.12 times, with highest maximum chromium(VI) sorption capacity of 3.8 mmol/g at solution pH 4. Most industrial wastewaters contaminated with chromium(VI) are highly acidic, therefore, electrochemical reduction of ACC is an efficient way of enhancing chromium(VI) sorptive capacity for industrial wastewater treatment.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder, characterized clinically by a progressive loss of memory, cognitive function, ability to care for oneself and psychiatric symptoms. First-line agents for the treatment of AD are ChE inhibitors (DON, GAL), whose modest clinical efficacy and the high incidence of dose-limiting toxicities limit their clinical utility. In addition to AD, ChE inhibitors (PYR) are used for other medical conditions, such as myasthenia gravis (MG). Furthermore, ChE inhibitors (PYR) are used by military personnel prophylactically if impending exposure to chemical warfare agents, e.g., soman, is suspected. The purpose of this research project was to understand the effect of age on the in-vitro sensitivity of ChE inhibitors in human RBCs and plasma. Understanding possible covariates, such as age and gender, may assist in optimizing dosing regimens of ChE inhibitors and/or developing newer ChE inhibitors with better adverse effect profiles. Plasma PHYS concentrations were measured by a validated HPLC-FD method. RBC AChE activity and plasma BuChE activity were measured by a modified Ellman’s colorimetric method using the model substrates, acetylthiocholine and butyrylthiocholine, respectively. The kinetics of RBC and plasma ChE activity followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Acetylthiocholine was found to be a nonselective substrate (RBC AChE Km = 73 μM; plasma BuChE Km = 117 μM); while butyrylthiocholine was a selective substrate for plasma BuChE (RBC AChE Km = 130,000 μM; plasma BuChE Km = 72 μM). For the following studies, RBC AChE activity was measured using acetylthiocholine as the substrate and plasma BuChE activity was measured using butyrylthiocholine as the substrate. This research project was performed in two parts: First, mechanistic studies of PHYS, PYR, DON and GAL, explored and determined the mechanism of in-vitro inhibition of RBC AChE and plasma BuChE inhibition, as well as the in-vitro degradation of PHYS in human whole blood, plasma and RBC. PHYS was rapidly degraded in human whole blood, RBC and plasma and followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics but its degradation clearance - scaled to whole blood clearance - was only predicted to account for 4-6% (i.e., 195-261 ml/min) of the reported total body clearance for PHYS (4500 ml/min). RBCs were responsible for 60% of the whole blood clearance while plasma accounted for 40% of the whole blood clearance. Inhibition results indicated that both PHYS and PYR were nonselective and rapid suicide ChE inactivators. PYR inactivated RBC AChE more rapidly at low concentrations and inactivated plasma BuChE more rapidly at high concentrations, but inactivated both more rapidly than PHYS. PHYS was a more potent inactivator than PYR with a Ki for RBC AChE of 0.011 μM and 0.063 μM, respectively, and 0.023 μM and 0.036 μM, respectively for plasma BuChE. DON was found to be a noncompetitive inhibitor for RBC AChE (Ki,noncomp = 114 μM), but a competitive inhibitor for plasma BuChE (Ki,comp = 213 μM). GAL was found to be a competitive inhibitor for both RBC AChE (Ki,comp = 66 μM) and plasma BuChE (Ki,comp = 358 μM). The second part involved a clinical study with ten young and nine elderly healthy subjects, balanced for gender, who donated blood for an in-vitro study in order to assess any age- and gender-related differences in in-vitro sensitivity to RBC AChE and plasma BuChE inhibition to all four ChE inhibitors. Elderly adults were found to be 2-3-fold less sensitive compared to the young adults for PHYS (BuChE Ki,pss; 0.010 and 0.015 μM, young and elderly, respectively) and PYR (AChE Ki,pss; 0.12 and 0.25 μM, young and elderly, respectively) only, while neither DON nor GAL showed any age-related differences in sensitivity. The observed differences for PHYS and PYR may be due to kinetic differences in ChE inactivation between young and aged adults, rather then a difference in binding affinities/potencies. These carbamate ChE inhibitors, presumably, have a slower decarbamoylation rate in younger adults than elderly adults, which leads to the observed difference in in-vitro sensitivity. The above in-vitro results were consistent with results of a meta-analysis: In a study by Knapp et al. (1991), young males (n=6), receiving 18 mg, 24 mg and 30 mg PHYS tablets, showed similar ex-vivo plasma BuChE sensitivity to (28 %/(ng/ml)) as the in-vitro sensitivity for young males in the current study (33 %/(ng/ml)). On the other hand, in the study by Men (2004), elderly males (n=8) and females (n=8), receiving 6.7 μg/kg PHYS as 30-minute infusion, showed similar ex-vivo RBC AChE sensitivity (12 %/(ng/ml)) as the in-vitro sensitivity for elderly subjects in the current study (9.7 %/(ng/ml)). This suggests that in-vitro measurement of ChE sensitivity is predictive of ex-vivo sensitivity in clinical studies. The study results suggest that elderly adults may require a 2-3-fold higher blood concentration than young adults to achieve the same ChE inhibition. This may explain why for epistigmine, an investigational carbamate ChE inhibitor for the treatment of AD, the maximum tolerated dose observed in young adults (40 mg single dose) was lower than for older adults (90 mg/day). Higher sensitivity in young adults prevented further dose escalation, while all elderly subjects tolerated higher doses. This research may have implications for other diseases and conditions, most notably MG and as a prophylaxis of nerve gases poisoning. As patients with MG age, they may become less sensitive to PYR, the most common symptomatic treatment for MG, and an increase in dose may be required. Further, older military personnel assigned to receive PYR, may require increased doses to achieve the targeted 10% RBC AChE inhibition, necessary to protect against nerve gas poisoning.