International Capital Flows and U.S. Interest Rates

Abstract: Foreign flows have an economically large and statistically significant impact on longterm interest rates. Controlling for various macroeconomic factors we estimate that had there been no foreign flows into U.S. bonds over the past year, the 10-year Treasury yield would currently be 150 basis points higher; even a step-down to average inflows would imply an increase of 105 basis points. The impact of the headline-making foreign official flows—a relatively small subset of total foreign accumulation of U.S. bonds—is also significant but markedly smaller. Our results are robust to a number of alternative specifications.bond yields, Japan, China

Trade-offs between personal immunity and reproduction in the burying beetle, N. vespilloides

We know that parental investment and immune investment are costly processes, but it is unclear which trait will be prioritised when both may be required. Here we address this question using the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, carrion breeders that exhibit biparental care of young. Our results show that immunosuppression occurs during provision of parental care. We measured Phenoloxidase (PO) on Day 1-8 of the breeding bout and results show a clear decrease in PO immediately from presentation of the breeding resource onwards. Having established baseline immune investment during breeding we then manipulated immune investment at different times by applying a wounding challenge. Beetles were wounded prior to and during the parental care period and reproductive investment quantified. Different effects on reproductive output occur depending on the timing of wounding. Challenging the immune system with wounding prior to breeding does not affect reproductive output and subsequent Lifetime Reproductive Success (LRS). LRS is also unaffected by applying an immune elicitor prior to breeding, though different arms of the immune system are up/downregulated, perhaps indicating a trade-off between cellular and humoral immunity. In contrast, wounding during breeding reduces reproductive output and to the greatest extent if the challenge is applied early in the breeding bout. Despite being immunosuppressed, breeding beetles can still respond to wounding by increasing PO, albeit not to pre-breeding levels. This upregulation of PO during breeding may affect parental investment, resulting in a reduction in reproductive output. The potential role of juvenile hormone in controlling this trade-off is discussed

Studies in Natural Product Chemistry

This thesis is concerned with the structural elucidation of three tetranortriterpenoids and interconversion studies in this field. It is prefaced by a review of the tetranortri-terpenoids. The configuration and stereochemistry of two monoterpene alkaloids are also derived. Part I. The constitution and stereochemistry of swietenolide (A), a bitter principle from the seeds of Swietenia macrophylla, a Central American timber of the family Meliaceae, are deduced from its chemical and spectroscopic behaviour and confirmed by degradative correlation with mexicanolide. The structures of two other tetranortriterpenoids from the heartwood of Khaya grandifoliola, a West African member of the same family, are shown to be 6-hydroxy methyl angolensate (B) and 6-acetoxy methyl angolensate (C) by analysis of their single and double resonance N. M. R. spectra. Part II. Experiments designed to support present theories on the biogenesis of tetranortriterpenoids possessing the bicyclononanolide ring system, as typified by swietenolide, are described. Attempts were made to achieve in vitro conversion of two naturally occurring tetranortriterpenoids into-mexicanolide by formation of the C-2/C-30 bond, a key step in the proposed biogenesis. Part III. The constitution and stereochemistry of hydroxyskytanthines I (D) and II (E), two minor alkaloids of Skytanthus acutus, a plant native to the Chilean Atacama desert, are established on the basis of single and double resonance N. M. R. and infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The chemistry and biosynthesis of Skytanthus alkaloids is also reviewed

Paleomagnetism and Tectonics of the Crescent Formation Northern Olympic Mountains, Washington

Use of a small-diameter core drill has allowed the paleomagnetic sampling of the rims of fractured pillow basalts of the lower Crescent Formation in the northern Olympic Mountains. The pillows selected have spherical or oblate morphologies which typically develop on horizontal or mildly-dipping surfaces. Pillow keel structures and sedimentary interbeds were used to obtain bedding attitudes and top directions for use in structural corrections. All specimens were subjected to progressive thermal demagnetization. After removal of a low blocking-temperature recent overprint, stable endpoints were reached by 580°C in 11 of the 33 sites sampled (large within-site scatter was commonly observed in the remaining sites). Among the accepted sites, within-site scatter was small and correction for bedding tilt significantly reduced the scatter between sites. The mean paleomagnetic pole for this investigation is 86.4° north latitude, 170.0° east longitude, A95=16.5° which agrees with the expected early to middle Eocene pole for North America. When combined with previous work from subaerial basalt exposures of the upper Crescent Formation in and near the eastern Olympic Mountains, these results (80.7° north latitude, 192.0° east longitude, A95 =8.0°, N=46) show no significant rotation (0.8° ± 14.4°) or poleward displacement (-3.6 ± 8.5). Analysis of the magnetic mineralogy suggests that the remanence is early, if not primary. The pole, therefore, should be valid for tectonic interpretation of the region. A circular distribution of virtual geomagnetic poles after correction for bedding tilt supports the hypothesis that the northern Crescent Formation experienced deformation due to the rise, in a dome-like fashion, of the sediments of the Olympic Core terrane. Erosion of a partial dome open to the west could have produced the curvature seen in the outcrop pattern of the Crescent Formation. The lack of significant rotation of the northernmost Coast Ranges is in contrast with the net clockwise rotation seen to the south. A possible explanation for this difference may be that southern Vancouver Island acted as a backstop thereby restricting rotational deformation. In addition, the Olympic Mountains may have been north of the rotational influence of differential Basin and Range extension

Look at Me Now: What Attracts U.S. Shareholders?

This paper investigates the underlying determinants of home bias using a comprehensive data set on U.S. investors' aggregate holdings of every foreign stock. Among those foreign stocks that are not listed on U.S. exchanges, which account for more than 96 percent of our usable data sample, we find that U.S. investors prefer firms with characteristics associated with greater information transparency, such as stronger home-country accounting standards. We document that a U.S. cross-listing is economically important, as U.S. ownership of a foreign firm roughly doubles upon cross-listing in the United States. We explore the cross-sectional variation in this "cross-listing effect" and find that the increase in U.S. investment is greatest for firms that are from weak accounting backgrounds and are otherwise informationally opaque, suggesting that the key effect of cross-listing is improvements in disclosure that are valued by U.S. investors. By contrast, cross-listing does not increase the appeal of stocks from countries with weak shareholder rights, suggesting that U.S. cross-listing cannot substitute for legal protections in the home country. Nor does the cross-listing effect appear to be driven simply by increased "familiarity"� with the stock or lowered cross-border transactions costs.

U.S. International Equity Investment

U.S. investors are the largest group of international equity investors in the world, but to date conclusive evidence on which types of foreign firms are able to attract U.S. investment is not available. Using a comprehensive dataset of all U.S. investment in foreign equities, we find that the single most important determinant of the amount of U.S. investment a foreign firm receives is whether the firm cross-lists on a U.S. exchange. Correcting for selection biases, cross-listing leads to a doubling (or more) in U.S. investment, an impact greater than all other factors combined. We also show that our firm-level analysis has implications for country-level studies, suggesting that research investigating equity investment patterns at the country-level should include cross-listing as an endogenous control variable. We describe easy-to-implement methods for including the importance of cross-listing at the country level.

The difficulties experienced by nurses and healthcare staff involved in the process of breaking bad news

AIMS: To explore the difficulties experienced by nurses and healthcare professionals when engaging in the process of breaking bad news BACKGROUND: The challenges faced by staff when breaking bad news have previously been researched in relation to particular settings or subjects. This study involved staff from diverse settings and roles to develop broader insights into the range of difficulties experienced in clinical practice. DESIGN: The study used a descriptive survey design involving self-reported written accounts and framework analysis. METHODS: Data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing a free text section that asked participants to describe a difficult experience they had encountered when involved in the process of breaking bad news. Data were collected from healthcare staff from hospital, community, hospice and care home settings attending training days on breaking bad news between April 2011 - April 2014. FINDINGS: Multiple inter-related factors presented challenges to staff engaging in activities associated with breaking bad news. Traditional subjects such as diagnostic and treatment information were described but additional topics were identified such as the impact of illness and care at the end of life. A descriptive framework was developed that summarises the factors that contribute to creating difficult experiences for staff when breaking bad news. CONCLUSION: The framework provides insights into the scope of the challenges faced by staff when they engage in the process of breaking bad news. This provides the foundation for developing interventions to support staff that more closely matches their experiences in clinical practice. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Advanced turboprop testbed systems study. Volume 1: Testbed program objectives and priorities, drive system and aircraft design studies, evaluation and recommendations and wind tunnel test plans

The establishment of propfan technology readiness was determined and candidate drive systems for propfan application were identified. Candidate testbed aircraft were investigated for testbed aircraft suitability and four aircraft selected as possible propfan testbed vehicles. An evaluation of the four candidates was performed and the Boeing KC-135A and the Gulfstream American Gulfstream II recommended as the most suitable aircraft for test application. Conceptual designs of the two recommended aircraft were performed and cost and schedule data for the entire testbed program were generated. The program total cost was estimated and a wind tunnel program cost and schedule is generated in support of the testbed program

Safety and efficacy of enzyme replacement therapy in the nephropathy of Fabry disease

Kidney involvement with progressive loss of kidney function (Fabry nephropathy) is an important complication of Fabry disease, an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder arising from deficiency of α-galactosidase activity. Clinical trials have shown that enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with recombinant human α-galactosidase clears globotriaosylceramide from kidney cells, and can stabilize kidney function in patients with mild to moderate Fabry nephropathy. Recent trials show that patients with more advanced Fabry nephropathy and overt proteinuria do not respond as well to ERT alone, but can benefit from anti-proteinuric therapy given in conjunction with ERT. This review focuses on the use of enzyme replacement therapy with agalsidase-alfa and agalsidase-beta in adults with Fabry nephropathy. The current results are reviewed and evaluated. The issues of dosing of enzyme replacement therapy, the use of adjunctive agents to control urinary protein excretion, and the individual factors that affect disease severity are reviewed