The Impact of Co-location on the Quality of a Satellite Market: Evidence from the Singapore Exchange

On 18 April 2011, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) introduced co-location services to its equities and derivatives markets. This infrastructural improvement was part of a $250 million initiative aimed at improving the speed of market access and promoting high frequency trading (HFT). Using intraday data, the impact that this microstructure change has on the market quality and the level of high frequency trading of SGX’s equity-index futures exchange are assessed. This thesis also examines whether structural improvements on offshore markets are beneficial or detrimental to home markets. Increases in the pervasiveness of high frequency trading (HFT) are observed for the Nikkei 225 and MSCI Taiwan index futures contracts. HFT levels in the CNX Nifty and the FTSE China A50 index futures contracts, however, decline following the infrastructural change. The results suggest that co-location services attract more trading interest from high frequency traders on dual-listed stock index futures exchanges if there are cross-border profit opportunities. This conjecture is supported by the empirical evidence that suggests that HFT trading takes place across borders. An increase in high frequency trading activity on the alternative venue is shown to increase high frequency trading on Singapore’s equity-index futures exchange. The impacts co-location services have on the qualities of the Nikkei 225 and the MSCI Taiwan index futures markedly differ. Co-location services generate more trading activity, improve the liquidity and ease the volatility of the Nikkei 225 index futures market. The quality of the MSCI Taiwan index futures market, however, deteriorates as evident by the decrease in trading activity, decline in liquidity and increase in price volatility. The results suggest that the Nikkei 225 index futures market is characterised by liquidity-supplying passive HFTs while the MSCI Taiwan index futures market is characterised by liquidity-demanding active HFTs

Singing for people with Parkinson's disease

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Intervention). The objectives are as follows: To compare the efficacy and effectiveness of singing interventions with non‐singing intervention or usual care on QoL, wellbeing, and speech and communication among people with PD. We will assess the QoL and the physical, psychological, and social health and wellbeing of people with PD who receive a singing intervention, compared to non‐singing intervention or usual care

Urinary Phthalate Metabolites and Slow Walking Speed in the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II Study

Background: Previous epidemiological studies have suggested that phthalate exposure may contribute to neurocognitive and neurobehavioral disorders and decreased muscle strength and bone mass, all of which may be associated with reduced physical performance. Walking speed is a reliable assessment tool for measuring physical performance in adults age 60 y and older. Objective: We investigated associations between urinary phthalate metabolites and slowness of walking speed in community-dwelling adults ages 60-98 y. Methods: We analyzed 1,190 older adults [range, 60-98 y of age; mean ± standard deviation (SD), 74.81 ± 5.99] from the Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II study and measured repeatedly up to three times between 2012 and 2014. Phthalate exposure was estimated using the following phthalate metabolites in urine samples: mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MECPP), and mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP). Slowness was defined as a walking speed of < 1.0 meter/second. We used logistic and linear regression models to evaluate the association between each urinary phthalate metabolite and slowness or walking-speed change. We also used Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to examine overall mixture effects on walking speed. Results: At enrollment, MBzP levels were associated with an increased odds of slowness [odds ratio (OR) per doubling increase: 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02, 1.30; OR for the highest vs. lowest quartile: 2.20 (95% CI: 1.12, 4.35) with p-trend across quartiles = 0.031]. In longitudinal analyses, MEHHP levels showed an increased risk of slowness [OR per doubling increase: 1.15 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.29), OR for the highest vs. lowest quartile: 1.47 (95% CI: 1.04, 2.06), p−trend=0.035]; whereas those with higher MnBP showed a reduced risk of slowness [OR per doubling increase: 0.84 (95% CI: 0.74, 0.96), OR in the highest (vs. lowest) quartile: 0.64 (95% CI: 0.47, 0.87), p−trend=0.006]. For linear regression models, MBzP quartiles were associated with slower walking speed (p−trend=0.048) at enrollment, whereas MEHHP quartiles were associated with slower walking speed, and MnBP quartiles were associated with faster walking speed in longitudinal analysis (p−trend=0.026 and <0.001, respectively). Further, the BKMR analysis revealed negative overall trends between the phthalate metabolite mixtures and walking speed and DEHP group (MEHHP, MEOHP, and MECPP) had the main effect of the overall mixture. Discussion: Urinary concentrations of prevalent phthalates exhibited significant associations with slow walking speed in adults ages 60-98 y. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10549.This work was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korea Ministry of Education and the Korea Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (grant numbers 2013R1A6A3A04059556; 2020R1A2C110170311). Also, this study was supported by the Susceptible Population Research Program (2008–2010) from the Korea Ministry of Environment (grant numbers 0411-20080013, 0411-20090007, 0411-20100016). E.G.-E. was supported by the Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP) (ESP21PI04/2021). The funders had no role in this study design, data collection, and analysis and prepared all results. All authors participated in literature search and data interpretation. Y.C. supervised the study; Y.C. and Y.H. participated in designing the study; H.K., S.K., and K.K. acquired the data; J.Y., J. Kim, and J. Kwak analyzed data; J.Y. wrote the manuscript; E.G.-E., J. Kim, J. Kwak, H.K., Y.H., and Y.C. critically revised the manuscript. Patient consent was obtained. This study was approved by the institutional review board (IRB) of Seoul National University Hospital/College of Medicine (IRB No. H-1209-004-424).S

Off-label Utilization of Antihypertensive Medications in Children

Objective— To examine off-label utilization and costs of antihypertensive drugs in children using a national sample of prescription claims. Design— Cross-sectional study. Setting— 2002 Medstat MarketScan Database, a national sample of outpatient prescription claims of children ≥18 years old enrolled in private, employer-sponsored health plans. Main Outcome Measures— Off-label use of antihypertensive drugs by patient age and costs of antihypertensives calculated as mean cost per child per 30-day fill. Results— One-half of the index antihypertensive prescription claims were off-label, based on minimum age criteria. Boys were more likely (56%) than girls (46%) to be prescribed off-label antihypertensives (p<0.001). Children aged ≥12 years were more likely to be prescribed off-label antihypertensives (53%) compared with children aged ≥5 (46%) and 6–11 years (42%, p<0.001). Off-label use varied significantly by class of antihypertensive drugs (p<0.001). Overall, off-label antihypertensives were significantly more expensive than on-label antihypertensives. Conclusions— Despite availability of often less expensive on-label alternatives for the same class of antihypertensive drugs, off-label antihypertensive drugs were prescribed frequently in children. These findings underscore the potential clinical and economic implications of common off-label prescribing, for children, their parents, physicians and payers. Originally published Ambulatory Pediatrics, Vol. 7, No. 4, July 200

Exposure to Tobacco Smoke and Chronic Asthma Symptoms

The objective was to determine if tobacco exposure is associated with year-round asthma symptoms. We analyzed baseline data from a multistate survey of 896 pediatric patients with asthma participating in a randomized controlled trial. Daytime symptoms, nocturnal symptoms, and limitations in activity because of asthma tend to increase during the winter season (p < 0.05 for all comparisons, except spring to winter daytime symptoms). One hundred forty of 896 (16%) children had year-round symptoms (i.e., active asthma symptoms during every season). Using separate multivariate analyses, we found that having a parent who smokes (odds ratio [OR]: 2.22; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.35, 3.64) or a member of the household who smokes (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.29, 2.93) was associated with a higher likelihood of year-round symptoms, controlling for region of residence, insurance status, and use of a daily controller medication. Asthma symptoms are more likely to increase in the winter season. In anticipation of these patterns, clinicians should consider initiating controller medication therapy or reinforcing asthma education prior to these time periods for those patients at risk for seasonal exacerbations. Exposure to tobacco smoke is associated with year-round asthma symptoms, highlighting the importance of health care providers identifying and counseling about smoking cessation, especially for children with year-round asthma symptoms. (Pediatr Asthma Immunol 2005; 18[4]:180–188.)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63404/1/pai.2005.18.180.pd

Imagine That! Imaginative Suggestibility Affects Presence in Virtual Reality

Personality characteristics can affect how much presence an individual experiences in virtual reality, and researchers have explored how it may be possible to prime users to increase their sense of presence. A personality characteristic that has yet to be explored in the VR literature is imaginative suggestibility, the ability of an individual to successfully experience an imaginary scenario as if it were real. In this paper, we explore how suggestibility and priming affect presence when consulting an ancient oracle in VR as part of an educational experience - a common VR application. We show for the first time how imaginative suggestibility is a major factor which affects presence and emotions experienced in VR, while priming cues have no effect on participants' (n=128) user experience, contrasting results from prior work. We consider the impacts of these findings for VR design and provide guidelines based on our results.</p

Homeodomain-interacting Protein Kinase (Hipk) Plays Roles in Nervous System and Muscle Structure and Function

Homeodomain-interacting protein kinases (Hipks) have been previously associated with cell proliferation and cancer, however, their effects in the nervous system are less well understood. We have used&nbsp;Drosophila melanogaster&nbsp;to evaluate the effects of altered Hipk expression on the nervous system and muscle. Using genetic manipulation of Hipk expression we demonstrate that knockdown and over-expression of Hipk produces early adult lethality, possibly due to the effects on the nervous system and muscle involvement. We find that optimal levels of Hipk are critical for the function of dopaminergic neurons and glial cells in the nervous system, as well as muscle. Furthermore, manipulation of Hipk affects the structure of the larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) by promoting its growth. Hipk regulates the phosphorylation of the synapse-associated cytoskeletal protein Hu-li tai shao (Hts; adducin in mammals) and modulates the expression of two important protein kinases, Calcium-calmodulin protein kinase II (CaMKII) and Partitioning-defective 1 (PAR-1), all of which may alter neuromuscular structure/function and influence lethality. Hipk also modifies the levels of an important nuclear protein, TBPH, the fly orthologue of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), which may have relevance for understanding motor neuron diseases

Orofacial myofunctional rehabilitation and multidisciplinary management of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio