DNA Double Strand Breaks and Chromosomal Translocations Induced by DNA Topoisomerase II

DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are the most cytotoxic lesions of those occurring in the DNA and can lead to cell death or result in genome mutagenesis and chromosomal translocations. Although most of these rearrangements have detrimental effects for cellular survival, single events can provide clonal advantage and result in abnormal cellular proliferation and cancer. The origin and the environment of the DNA break or the repair pathway are key factors that influence the frequency at which these events appear. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the formation of chromosomal translocations remain unclear. DNA topoisomerases are essential enzymes present in all cellular organisms with critical roles in DNA metabolism and that have been linked to the formation of deleterious DSBs for a long time. DSBs induced by the abortive activity of DNA topoisomerase II (TOP2) are “trending topic” because of their possible role in genome instability and oncogenesis. Furthermore, transcription associated TOP2 activity appears to be one of the most determining causes behind the formation of chromosomal translocations. In this review, the origin of recombinogenic TOP2 breaks and the determinants behind their tendency to translocate will be summarized.Spanish Ministry of Science and Universities BFU2016-76446-P, RYC-2014-1666

Cashing by the hour: Why large law firms prefer hourly fees over contingent fees

Large law firms seem to prefer hourly fees over contingent fees. This paper provides a moral hazard explanation for this pattern of behavior. Contingent legal fees align the interests of the attorney with those of the client, but not necessarily with those of the partnership. We show that the choice of hourly fees is a solution to an agency problem with multiple principals, where the interests of one principal (law firm) collide with the interests of the other principal (client).Law firms, legal fees, moral hazard, risk-sharing

Spectral Algorithms for MRA Orthonormal Wavelets

Producción CientíficaOperator techniques lead to spectral algorithms to compute scaling functions and wavelets associated with multiresolution analyses (MRAs). The spectral algorithms depend on the choice of pairs of suitable orthonormal bases (ONBs). This work presents the spectral algorithms for three different pairs of ONBs: Haar bases, Walsh–Paley bases and trigonometric bases. The Walsh–Paley bases connect wavelet theory and dyadic harmonic analysis. The results for trigonometric bases are the first viable attempt to do a discrete Fourier analysis of the problem.MINECO MTM2012-31439 and MTM2014-57129- C2-1-

Evidence of a Bank Lending Channel for Argentina and Colombia

In this paper we find empirical evidence of bank lending channel for Colombia and Argentina. For Argentina, we do not find evidence that changes in the interbank interest rate affect the growth rate of total loans directly. However, the interbank interestMonetary transmission, bank lending channel, Argentina, Colombia

Asset pricing implications of benchmarking: A two-factor CAPM

In this paper we consider the equilibrium effects of an institutional investor whose performance is benchmarked to an index. In a partial equilibrium setting, the objective of the institutional investor is modeled as the maximization of expected utility (an increasing and concave function, in order to accommodate risk aversion) of final wealth minus a benchmark. In equilibrium this optimal strategy gives rise to the two-beta CAPM in Brennan (1993): together with the market beta a new risk-factor (that we call active management risk) is brought into the analysis. This new beta is deffined as the normalized (to the benchmark's variance) covariance between the asset excess return and the excess return of the market over the benchmark index. Different to Brennan, the empirical test supports the model's predictions. The cross-section return on the active management risk is positive and signifficant especially after 1990, when institutional investors have become the representative agent of the market.Asset pricing, benchmark portfolio, relative performance

Evidence of Bank Lending Channel for Argentina and Colombia

In this paper we find empirical evidence of bank lending channel for Colombia and Argentina. As for Argentina, we do not find evidence that changes in the interbank interest rate affect the growth rate of total loans directly. However, it does indirectly through interactions: the interbank interest rate affects the loan supply through its interactions with capitalization and liquidity. As for Colombia, there is direct bank lending channel, which is reinforced through interactions with capitalization and liquidity. Also, using a panel data of more than 3300 firms, we provide additional support to the existence of a bank lending channel for Colombia.Monetary Transmission; Bank Lending Channel; Argentina; Colombia

Memoria metodológica del plan exportador para la Pyme antioqueña Bienestar y Nutrición S. A. S. - Ma´Snacks para su estrategia comercial en el marco del Grupo Antioquia Exporta Más

En el 2015 se presentaron en Colombia los más bajos índices de comercio exterior de los últimos cinco años principalmente por la disminución de las exportaciones de petróleo y sus derivados; este sector presentó una variación del -31,3 % de un total de -34,9 % (Banco de la República de Colombia, 2016) -- Para atender esta situación, el Grupo Antioquia Exporta Más, iniciativa público-privada, pretende liderar la estructuración e implementación de una estrategia regional exportadora que apalanque no solo la competitividad de las pymes de la región, sino que contribuya a la meta nacional trazada para el año 2018 de llevar a las exportaciones no minero-energéticas a USD 30.000 millones; el objetivo, además, es que en esta meta Antioquia represente el 15,7 % (USD 4.726 millones), según lo reportado por el Grupo Antioquia Exporta Más (2015) -- Esta estrategia también busca potenciar otros sectores y mercados más promisorios en los que el departamento juega un papel importante, ya que en materia de comercio exterior se ha caracterizado por ser dinámico y por tener una importante participación en el total del país, tanto es así que en la actualidad ocupa el primer puesto (DANE, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadísticas, 2016) -- A esta iniciativa se vincula la Universidad EAFIT con la participación de consultores reconocidos y estudiantes de posgrados, quienes intervinieron pymes cuyas exportaciones no excedan los USD 20.000 para diseñar el plan exportador con base en la metodología del Grupo Antioquia Exporta Más -- Una de las empresas seleccionadas para la consultoría, cuyo objetivo principal es diseñar un plan exportador para la empresa Bienestar y Nutrición S. A. S., empresa dedicada al desarrollo, producción y comercialización de snack saludables fortificados, y especializada en productos horneado

The toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum: an invader in the Mediterranean Sea

The distribution of the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum Graham in the Mediterranean Sea was once restricted to the eutrophic waters of the Alborán Sea. In September 1999, this taxon was found for first time in the Algerian basin, being the dominant species at subsurface depths (~1 cell mL–1) associated with low salinity waters. The geographical expansion of this exotic species is not only deleterious due to its toxicity, but its recent presence is associated with changes on the structure of the Mediterranean pelagic food web

Keeping up with the Joneses: An international asset pricing model

We derive an international asset pricing model that assumes local investors have preferences of the type "keeping up with the Joneses." In an international setting investors compare their current wealth with that of their peers who live in the same country. In the process of inferring the country's average wealth, investors incorporate information from the domestic market portfolio. In equilibrium, this gives rise to a multifactor CAPM where, together with the world market price of risk, there exists country-speciffic prices of risk associated with deviations from the country's average wealth level. The model performs signifficantly better, in terms of explaining cross-section of returns, than the international CAPM. Moreover, the results are robust, both for conditional and unconditional tests, to the inclusion of currency risk, macroeconomic sources of risk and the Fama and French HML factor.Consumption externalities, multifactor asset pricing model