COMPARING THE PERFORMANCES OF THE PARTIAL EQUILIBRIUM AND TIME-SERIES APPROACHES TO HEDGING

This research compares partial equilibrium and statistical time-series approaches to hedging. The finance literature stresses the former approach, while the applied economics literature has focused on the latter. We compare the out-of-sample hedging effectiveness of the two approaches when hedging commodity price risk using a simple derivative with a linear payoff function (a futures contract). For various methods of parameter estimation and inference, we find that the partial equilibrium models cannot out-perform the time series model. The partial equilibrium models unpalatable assumptions of deterministically evolving futures volatility seems to impede their hedging effectiveness, even when potentially foresighted option-implied volatility term structures are employed.Marketing,

Estimating Actual Bid-Ask Spreads in Commodity Futures Markets

Various bid-ask spread estimators are applied to transaction data from LIFFE cocoa and coffee futures markets, and the resulting estimates are compared to observed actual bid-ask spreads. Results suggest that actual bid-ask spreads, which are not reported by most open-outcry futures markets, can be reasonably estimated using readily available transaction data. This is especially important since recent research seems to indicate that efforts to estimate effective spreads using data commonly available from futures markets have not been successful. Thus estimates of actual spreads can give market participants and researchers some idea of potential transaction costs. Accurate estimates of bid-ask spreads will also be needed to assess the relative efficiency of electronic versus open-outcry trading. Results indicate that estimators using averages of absolute price changes perform significantly better at estimating actual bid-ask spreads in futures markets than estimators using the covariance of successive price changes.Marketing,

PRICE AND PRICE RISK DYNAMICS IN BARGE AND OCEAN FREIGHT MARKETS AND THE EFFECTS ON COMMODITY TRADING

The effects of volatility of barge and ocean freight prices on prices throughout the international grain-marketing channel are analyzed using a Multivariate GARCH-M model. The model is used to infer the extent to which transportation price risk affects the level of international grain prices. Results indicate that both barge and ocean price volatility influence grain prices, but barge price volatility tends to have a greater impact on grain prices than that arising from ocean price volatility. The lack of a futures contract for barge rates may be partially responsible for its significant influence on grain price levels.Barge and ocean freight prices, futures contracts, Multivariate GARCH-Models, Price volatility, International Relations/Trade,

On the interactions of lipids and proteins in the red blood cell membrane

The effects of temperature and of the action of a purified phospholipase C enzyme preparation on human red blood cell membranes has been investigated by chemical analyses, circular dichroism, and proton magnetic resonance measurements. The results indicate that a substantial fraction of the phospholipids and the proteins of the membranes can change structure independently of one another, suggesting a mosaic pattern for the organization of the lipids and proteins in membranes

Identification of a WNT5A-Responsive Degradation Domain in the Kinesin Superfamily Protein KIF26B.

Noncanonical WNT pathways function independently of the β-catenin transcriptional co-activator to regulate diverse morphogenetic and pathogenic processes. Recent studies showed that noncanonical WNTs, such as WNT5A, can signal the degradation of several downstream effectors, thereby modulating these effectors' cellular activities. The protein domain(s) that mediates the WNT5A-dependent degradation response, however, has not been identified. By coupling protein mutagenesis experiments with a flow cytometry-based degradation reporter assay, we have defined a protein domain in the kinesin superfamily protein KIF26B that is essential for WNT5A-dependent degradation. We found that a human disease-causing KIF26B mutation located at a conserved amino acid within this domain compromises the ability of WNT5A to induce KIF26B degradation. Using pharmacological perturbation, we further uncovered a role of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) in WNT5A regulation of KIF26B degradation. Lastly, based on the identification of the WNT5A-responsive domain, we developed a new reporter system that allows for efficient profiling of WNT5A-KIF26B signaling activity in both somatic and stem cells. In conclusion, our study identifies a new protein domain that mediates WNT5A-dependent degradation of KIF26B and provides a new tool for functional characterization of noncanonical WNT5A signaling in cells

Why Don\u27t We Enforce Existing Drug Price Controls? The Unrecognized and Unenforced Reasonable Pricing Requirements Imposed upon Patents Deriving in Whole or in Part from Federally-Funded Research

This Article discusses drug pricing in the context of federally funded inventions. It examines the “march-in” provision of the Bayh-Dole Act, a federal statute that governs inventions supported in whole or in part by federal funding. It discusses technology-transfer activity as a whole and the often-conflicting roles of the government, academia, and industry. The Article discusses the mechanisms of the Bayh-Dole Act and examines its legislative history. It notes that the Act has had a powerful price-control clause since its enactment in 1980 that mandates that inventions resulting from federally funded research must be sold at reasonable prices. The Article concludes that the solution to high drug prices does not involve new legislation but already exists in the unused, unenforced march-in provision of the Bayh-Dole Act

Visualization and Quantification of Solute Diffusivity in Cracked Concrete by X-Ray CT

This paper explores the usage of microfocus X-ray computed tomography (CT) for visualization and quantification of diffusion phenomena in cracked concrete. Mortar specimens of varying shapes (prismatic and cylindrical), crack types (artificial and splitting tensile), and binder compositions (OPC and fly ash) were prepared. Cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3) was used as a tracer in the diffusion test because it has high X-ray absorption due to its high atomic number and thus contrasts with mortar and air voids in the CT images. Image processing and analysis was carried out to visualize and quantify the diffusion behavior in 3D space. In addition, the profile of the solute concentration in cracked mortar was determined based on the measured CT numbers. Fick’s second law could then be used to determine the diffusion coefficient of the solute. It was found that the diffusion coefficients along the crack were on the scale of 10-8 to 10-11 m2/s, which implies that the transport mechanism along the crack was not solely by diffusion but controlled by the degree of saturation as well as the crack opening width. Diffusivity in the uncracked matrix, however, was reduced to the scale of 10-12 m2/s. Fly ash mortar exhibited a lower diffusion coefficient in the uncracked matrix compared with the OPC mortar with an equivalent crack opening width

Flexible fluoropolymer filled protective coatings

Metal oxide films such as SiO2 are known to provide an effective barrier to the transport of moisture as well as gaseous species through polymeric films. Such thin film coatings have a tendency to crack upon flexure of the polymeric substrate. Sputter co-deposition of SiO2 with 4 to 15 percent fluoropolymers was demonstrated to produce thin films with glass-like barrier properties that have significant increases in strain to failure over pure glass films which improves their tolerance to flexure on polymeric substrates. Deposition techniques capable of producing these films on polymeric substrates are suitable for durable food packaging and oxidation/corrosion protection applications