A framework for collateral risk control determination

This paper derives a general framework for collateral risk control determination in repurchase transactions or repos. The objective is to treat consistently heterogeneous collateral so that the collateral taker has a similar risk exposure whatever the collateral pledged. The framework measures the level of risk with the probability of incurring a loss higher than a pre-specified level given two well-known parameters used to manage the intrinsic risk of collateral: marking to market and haircuts. It allows for the analysis in a self-contained closed form of the way in which different relevant factors interact in the risk control of collateral (e.g. marking to market frequency, level of volatility of interest rates, time to capture and liquidity risk, probability of default of counterparty, etc.). The framework, which combines the recent theoretical literature on credit and interest risk, provides an alternative quantifiable and objective approach to the existing more ad-hoc rule-based methods used in hair cut determination. JEL Classification: E50, E58, G21, G10

Zabawa w chowanego: zaniechanie i Żydzi w Białystok – jeden dzień

JOANNA AURON-GÓRSKA, dr, pracownik Wyższej Szkoły Administracji Publicznej im. Stanisława Staszica w Białymstoku. Studia magisterskie na Uniwersytecie Anglia Ruskin w Cambridge, Wielka Brytania (stypendium British Council/Ian Karten Trust). Absolwentka filologii angielskiej na Uniwersytecie im A. Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. Uprawnienia egzaminatora FC Cambridge English. Zainteresowania badawcze: współczesna literatura angielska i amerykańska, antropologia kulturowa, teorie uczenia się języków, podróże i sztuki piękne. Autorka takich studiów, jak: I.B. Singer, albo czytanie Koheleta, [w]: Szkice o prozie amerykańskiej (Białystok 2000); Miłość, ludożerca i wieloryb w powieści H. Melville’a „Moby Dick”, [w]: Szkice o prozie amerykańskiej (Białystok 2000); To know a word by its fruits? the relational life of biblical terminology. Parallels and divergences between Christianity and Judaism, [w]: Language and Culture (Białystok 2004) oraz On Inspiration: Poland and Four French Photographers, [w]: Inspirations: English, French and Polish Cultures (Białystok 2011).58959

DNA Familial Binding Profiles Made Easy: Comparison of Various Motif Alignment and Clustering Strategies

Transcription factor (TF) proteins recognize a small number of DNA sequences with high specificity and control the expression of neighbouring genes. The evolution of TF binding preference has been the subject of a number of recent studies, in which generalized binding profiles have been introduced and used to improve the prediction of new target sites. Generalized profiles are generated by aligning and merging the individual profiles of related TFs. However, the distance metrics and alignment algorithms used to compare the binding profiles have not yet been fully explored or optimized. As a result, binding profiles depend on TF structural information and sometimes may ignore important distinctions between subfamilies. Prediction of the identity or the structural class of a protein that binds to a given DNA pattern will enhance the analysis of microarray and ChIP–chip data where frequently multiple putative targets of usually unknown TFs are predicted. Various comparison metrics and alignment algorithms are evaluated (a total of 105 combinations). We find that local alignments are generally better than global alignments at detecting eukaryotic DNA motif similarities, especially when combined with the sum of squared distances or Pearson's correlation coefficient comparison metrics. In addition, multiple-alignment strategies for binding profiles and tree-building methods are tested for their efficiency in constructing generalized binding models. A new method for automatic determination of the optimal number of clusters is developed and applied in the construction of a new set of familial binding profiles which improves upon TF classification accuracy. A software tool, STAMP, is developed to host all tested methods and make them publicly available. This work provides a high quality reference set of familial binding profiles and the first comprehensive platform for analysis of DNA profiles. Detecting similarities between DNA motifs is a key step in the comparative study of transcriptional regulation, and the work presented here will form the basis for tool and method development for future transcriptional modeling studies

Żydki jako wizerunki kultowe

JOANNA AURON-GÓRSKA, dr, pracownik Wyższej Szkoły Administracji Publicznej im. Stanisława Staszica w Białymstoku. Studia magisterskie na Uniwersytecie Anglia Ruskin w Cambridge, Wielka Brytania (stypendium British Council/Ian Karten Trust). Absolwentka filologii angielskiej na Uniwersytecie im A. Mickiewicza w Poznaniu. Uprawnienia egzaminatora FC Cambridge English. Zainteresowania: współczesna literatura angielska i amerykańska, antropologia kulturowa, teorie uczenia się języków, podróże i sztuki piękne. Autorka takich studiów, jak: I.B. Singer, albo czytanie Koheleta, [w]: Szkice o prozie amerykańskiej (Białystok 2000); Miłość, ludożerca i wieloryb w powieści H. Melville’a „Moby Dick”, [w]: Szkice o prozie amerykańskiej (Białystok 2000); To know a word by its fruits? the relational life of biblical terminology. Parallels and divergences between Christianity and Judaism, [w]: Language and Culture (Białystok 2004) oraz On Inspiration: Poland and Four French Photographers, [w]: Inspirations: English, French and Polish Cultures (Białystok 2011).10911

The role of TNF-receptor family members and other TRAF-dependent receptors in bone resorption

The contribution of osteoclasts to the process of bone loss in inflammatory arthritis has recently been demonstrated. Studies in osteoclast biology have led to the identification of factors responsible for the differentiation and activation of osteoclasts, the most important of which is the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand/osteoclast differentiation factor (RANKL/ODF), a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like protein. The RANKL/ODF receptor, receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK), is a TNF-receptor family member present on both osteoclast precursors and mature osteoclasts. Like other TNF-family receptors and the IL-1 receptor, RANK mediates its signal transduction via TNF receptor-associated factor (TRAF) proteins, suggesting that the signaling pathways activated by RANK and other inflammatory cytokines involved in osteoclast differentiation and activation are interconnected

The right time and “Pl ACE ”: Optimal management of perioperative angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106879/1/jhm2203.pd

Pseudomonas aeruginosa pilin activates the inflammasome

IL-1 beta is produced from inactive pro-IL-1 beta by activation of caspase-1 brought about by a multi-subunit protein platform called the inflammasome. Many bacteria can trigger inflammasome activity through flagellin activation of the host protein NLRC4. However, strains of the common human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa lacking flagellin can still activate the inflammasome. We set out to identify what non-flagellin components could produce this activation. Using mass spectroscopy, we identified an inflammasome-activating factor from P. aeruginosa as pilin, the major component of the type IV bacterial pilus. Purified pilin introduced into mouse macrophages by liposomal delivery activated caspase-1 and led to secretion of mature IL-1 beta, as did recombinant pilin purified from Escherichia coli. This was dependent on caspase-1 but not on the host inflammasome proteins NLRC4, NLRP3 or ASC. Mutants of P. aeruginosa strain PA103 lacking pilin did not activate the inflammasome following infection of macrophages with live bacteria. Type III secretion remained intact in the absence of pili, showing this was not due to a lack of effector delivery. Our observations show pilin is a novel activator of the inflammasome in addition to flagellin and the recently described PrgJ protein family, the basal body rod component of the type III apparatu

Distinct Mechanisms for Induction and Tolerance Regulate the Immediate Early Genes Encoding Interleukin 1β and Tumor Necrosis Factor α

Interleukin-1β and Tumor Necrosis Factor α play related, but distinct, roles in immunity and disease. Our study revealed major mechanistic distinctions in the Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling-dependent induction for the rapidly expressed genes (IL1B and TNF) coding for these two cytokines. Prior to induction, TNF exhibited pre-bound TATA Binding Protein (TBP) and paused RNA Polymerase II (Pol II), hallmarks of poised immediate-early (IE) genes. In contrast, unstimulated IL1B displayed very low levels of both TBP and paused Pol II, requiring the lineage-specific Spi-1/PU.1 (Spi1) transcription factor as an anchor for induction-dependent interaction with two TLR-activated transcription factors, C/EBPβ and NF-κB. Activation and DNA binding of these two pre-expressed factors resulted in de novo recruitment of TBP and Pol II to IL1B in concert with a permissive state for elongation mediated by the recruitment of elongation factor P-TEFb. This Spi1-dependent mechanism for IL1B transcription, which is unique for a rapidly-induced/poised IE gene, was more dependent upon P-TEFb than was the case for the TNF gene. Furthermore, the dependence on phosphoinositide 3-kinase for P-TEFb recruitment to IL1B paralleled a greater sensitivity to the metabolic state of the cell and a lower sensitivity to the phenomenon of endotoxin tolerance than was evident for TNF. Such differences in induction mechanisms argue against the prevailing paradigm that all IE genes possess paused Pol II and may further delineate the specific roles played by each of these rapidly expressed immune modulators. © 2013 Adamik et al