Investment and financing constraints around the Korean financial crisis

This paper examines investment behavior and the effects of financing constraints among Korean manufacturing companies before and after the 1997 financial crisis using a firm-level panel data. I estimate the Q and sales accelerator models considering the possibility of cash constraint of investment by categorizing firms based on their age, size and affiliations to the Korean industrial conglomerates (i.e., chaebols). The results indicate that Q becomes a key determinant of investment decision while the sales variable becomes less important after the crisis began. Q remains to be important for bigger and more mature firms even after the 1997 crisis and becomes significant to smaller and relatively younger ones. It suggests that there could have been a shift from the quantity (sales) to the quality (Q) as the key component of firm’s investment. The effect of cash balance becomes statistically and economically significant in the post-crisis period reflecting increase in financial stress among corporations. Moreover, firms ’ financing constraints, as measured by their cash balances, turn out to be more binding among financially “weaker ” groups such as younger or smaller firms. While these results are consistent with the predictions of the “pecking order ” theory of corporate financing, I also find, somewhat surprisingly, that the effects of cash on investment demand are stronger for chaebol-affiliated firms than for non-affiliates. This suggests that government regulation of chaebol companies may need to be reconsidered because they also face binding finance constraints and no longer have a large advantage in financing their business projects

Genome-wide analysis to predict protein sequence variations that change phosphorylation sites or their corresponding kinases

We define phosphovariants as genetic variations that change phosphorylation sites or their interacting kinases. Considering the essential role of phosphorylation in protein functions, it is highly likely that phosphovariants change protein functions and may constitute a proportion of the mechanisms by which genetic variations cause individual differences or diseases. We categorized phosphovariants into three subtypes and developed a system that predicts them. Our method can be used to screen important polymorphisms and help to identify the mechanisms of genetic diseases

Method of Extracting Is-A and Part-Of Relations Using Pattern Pairs in Mass Corpus

PACLIC 23 / City University of Hong Kong / 3-5 December 200

Multimodality cardiovascular imaging in pulmonary embolism

Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity andmortality. To select appropriate therapeutic strategy and/or to minimize the mortality and morbidity,rapid and correct identification of life-threatening APE is very important. Also, right ventricular (RV)failure usually precedes acute hemodynamic compromise or death, and thus the identification of RVfailure is another important step in risk stratification or treatment of APE. With advances in diagnosisand treatment, the prognosis of APE has been dramatically improving in most cases, but inadequatetherapy or recurrent episodes of pulmonary embolism (PE) may result in negative outcomes or, so called,chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). CTEPH is a condition characterized byremaining chronic thromboembolic material in the pulmonary vasculature and subsequent chronicpulmonary hypertension.Various imaging modalities include chest computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA),echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and nuclear imaging and each are used for the assessmentof varying status of PE. Assessment of thromboembolic burden by chest CTPA is the first step inthe diagnosis of PE. Hemodynamic assessment can be achieved by echocardiography and also by chestCTPA. Nuclear imaging is useful in discriminating CTEPH from APE.Better perspectives on diagnosis, risk stratification and decision making in PE can be provided bycombining multimodality CV imaging. Here, the advantages or pitfalls of each imaging modality indiagnosis, risk stratification, or management of PE will be discussed

Multidirectional Instability Accompanying an Inferior Labral Cyst

Paralabral cyst of the shoulder joint can be observed in 2% to 4% of the general population, particularly in men during the third and fourth decade. On average, these cysts measure 10 mm to 20 mm in diameter and are located preferentially on the postero-superior aspect of the glenoid. The MRI has increased the frequency of the diagnosis of paralabral cysts of the shoulder joint. Paralabral cysts of the shoulder joint usually develop in the proximity of the labrum. The relationship between shoulder instability and labral tears is well known, however, the association of shoulder instability with a paralabral cyst is rare. Shoulder instability may cause labral injury or labral injury may cause shoulder instability, and then injured tear develops paralabral cyst. In our patient, the inferior paralabral cyst may be associated with inferior labral tears and instability MRI