The Role of Real Estate in the Portfolio Allocation Process

This study explores the role of direct real estate investment in a portfolio context incorporating the real estate imperfections of indivisible assets and no short sales. Mean-variance efficient portfolios are calculated using Treasury-bills, bond and equity indices together with cash flows and appraised values from a set of twenty-two properties having an aggregate appraised value of $336 million. Real estate diversification benefits are shown to be the greatest with smaller properties and are most advantageous at higher target levels of return. The study suggests that a 9% allocation to real estate is optimal, rather than the 20% figure suggested in other studies. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Increased response to morphine in mice lacking protein kinase C epsilon

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of serine–threonine kinases has been implicated in behavioral responses to opiates, but little is known about the individual PKC isozymes involved. Here, we show that mice lacking PKCε have increased sensitivity to the rewarding effects of morphine, revealed as the expression of place preference and intravenous self-administration at very low doses of morphine that do not evoke place preference or self-administration in wild-type mice. The PKCε null mice also show prolonged maintenance of morphine place preference in response to repeated testing when compared with wild-type mice. The supraspinal analgesic effects of morphine are enhanced in PKCε null mice, and the development of tolerance to the spinal analgesic effects of morphine is delayed. The density of μ-opioid receptors and their coupling to G-proteins are normal. These studies identify PKCε as a key regulator of opiate sensitivity in mice