Structural change in the forward discount: a Bayesian analysis of forward rate unbiasedness hypothesis

Using Bayesian methods, we reexamine the empirical evidence from Sakoulis et al. (2010) regarding structural breaks in the forward discount for G-7 countries. Our Bayesian framework allows the number and pattern of structural changes in level and variance to be endogenously determined. We find different locations of breakpoints for each currency; mostly, fewer breaks are present. We find little evidence of moving toward stationarity in the forward discount after accounting for structural change. Our findings suggest that the existence of structural change is not a viable justification for the forward discount anomaly.Bayesian method, structural change, forward discount anomaly, Gibbs-sampling

Artefactual literacy-related abilities for historians’ effective seeking and use of primary resources

This study explored historians’ archival search behaviour from Yakel and Torres’ User Expertise in Archives (UEA) model. The model contained three types of knowledge that influence archival researchers’ information seeking: domain knowledge, artefactual literacy, and archival intelligence. This paper reported on the artefactual literacy-related abilities and behaviour. A naturalistic inquiry approach was adopted to study twelve history master’s students’ thesis research behaviour. In-depth interviewing was used to collect narratives of archival search experiences. The inductive constant comparisons and open/axial coding were used in the analysis. Artefactual literacy related abilities and behaviour were categorized into external criticism-related and internal criticism-related. The former included three abilities: understanding the production context of primary sources, the ability to differentiate between intentional and unintentional sources, and the ability to cope with language limitations. The latter included two abilities: putting oneself in the shoe of the historical figure understudy, and comparing documents with different perspectives. UEA is a powerful analytic model for studying archive users’ information behaviour. Archivists should care about how domain knowledge and artefactual literacy influenced archival search decisions and actions.Peer Reviewe

EFFICIENT AND SELECTIVE GENE TRANSFER DIRECTED TO MUSCLE BY TROPISM-MODIFIED ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRUS VECTOR

Gene therapy offers a promise for treating inherited muscle disorders. The advantages of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) gene delivery vector include nonpathogenicity and long-term gene expression after a single administered dose. However, rAAV predominantly transduces the liver after systemic administration, reducing its efficiency for gene transfer to the heart and skeletal muscle. The question of how to deliver the therapeutic genes into most of the diseased myofibers becomes a challenge. The goal of this project is to develop an efficient and muscle-specific AAV vector for systemic delivery. Here, the muscle-targeting peptide ASSLNIA was incorporated into AAV2 capsid after residue 587 without heparin-binding motif (587 TG MTP vector) or with heparin-binding motif (588 HB MTP vector) since heparan sulfate is the primary cellular receptor of AAV2. The efficiencies and selectivities of muscle targeting of modified rAAVs were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. This study demonstrated that the peptide-modified vectors maintained their myotube transduction ability. Peptide-engineered AAVs decreased their transductions in non-muscle cell lines. In addition, the 587 TG MTP vector did not require the heparin-dependent mechanism for muscular targeting. The C2C12 myotube transductions of 587 TG MTP and 588 HB MTP vectors were inhibited 47%~58% in the presence of free ASSLNIA peptide while unmodified rAAV2 transduction was only suppressed by 25%. To explore the muscle-targeting abilities of modified rAAVs in vivo, mice were injected intravenously via a tail vein with a viral dose containing 9x10^11 genomic particles. After four weeks, mouse organs were harvested for the luciferase assay. The 587 TG MTP vector demonstrated enhanced muscle and heart transduction compared to unmodified rAAV2. Importantly, the 587 TG MTP virus significantly reduced its transduction of liver, lungs, and spleen. The vector biodistribution in organs was also determined by real-time PCR and peptide-modified vectors showed similar targeting effects. Moreover, this study found that both 587 TG MTP and 588 HB MTP vectors were resistant to antibody neutralization. These results indicate that this muscle-targeting peptide facilitates the generation of an efficient and muscle-specific AAV vector for systemic gene delivery in the treatment of muscle diseases to provide clinical and public health benefits

GaN and InN Hexagonal Microdisks

The high-quality GaN microdisks with InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) and InN microdisks were grown on γ-LiAlO2 substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE). The samples were analysed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence and high-resolution transmission electron microscope. The characteristics of the GaN microdisks and InN microdisks were studied and the effect of growth temperature was evaluated

Traumatic asphyxia combined with diffuse axonal injury

AbstractTraumatic asphyxia, a rare, blunt chest trauma-related condition, indicates severe injury and is characterized by subconjunctival hemorrhage, facial edema, cyanosis, and petechiae. This condition mostly appears on the upper chest and face. Rapid oxygen administration with effective ventilation is essential in the treatment of traumatic asphyxia. Prognosis depends on rescue time and associated injuries. Most neurologic symptoms resolve within 24–48 hours and have relatively satisfactory results over a long-term follow-up. We herein report the case of severe and complicated thoracoabdominal compression with a delayed change in consciousness. Susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed diffuse axonal injury with multifocal microhemorrhages in the brain stem, basal ganglia, internal capsules, and the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum. The patient was in the intensive care unit for more than 21 days

Discontinuity of Maximum Entropy Inference and Quantum Phase Transitions

In this paper, we discuss the connection between two genuinely quantum phenomena --- the discontinuity of quantum maximum entropy inference and quantum phase transitions at zero temperature. It is shown that the discontinuity of the maximum entropy inference of local observable measurements signals the non-local type of transitions, where local density matrices of the ground state change smoothly at the transition point. We then propose to use the quantum conditional mutual information of the ground state as an indicator to detect the discontinuity and the non-local type of quantum phase transitions in the thermodynamic limit.Comment: Major revision. 26 pages, 12 figure