Assessing international financial integration: do industry and firm-specific characteristics matter? Evidence from the Japanese market

International financial integration has received much attention among professional investors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between financial integration and industry and firmspecific characteristics through analysing cross-listing premiums (determined by the price difference between American Depositary Receipts (A.D.R.s) and their underlining stocks) in Japan. Employing autoregressive models to examine convergence speeds of a shock to the price difference and non-linear Band-threshold autoregressive models to identify non-arbitrage bands, we find that firms integrate well when they are larger in size, sales growth, turnover, performance, institutional holdings, or marked by merger activity, overseas subsidiaries, industrial or consumer goods industries, and a longer history of A.D.R. listing. That is, the A.D.R. with the abovementioned characteristics tends to have less scope for arbitrage. However, crossmarket premiums for firms which have large shareholders and a larger extent of earnings management converge more slowly and have longer half-lives, implying more arbitrage opportunities exist. The explanatory variables applied explain over 35% of variance of premium, and most of the variables remain significant determinants of half-lives whether autoregressive or threshold autoregressive modules are used, but firm leverage is not. The results show that the metals and mining industry converges notably slower than other industries, indicating arbitrage is possible

Application of chloroplast genome in the identification of Phyllanthus urinaria and its common adulterants

BackgroundPhyllanthus urinaria L. is extensively used as ethnopharmacological material in China. In the local marketplace, this medicine can be accidentally contaminated, deliberately substituted, or mixed with other related species. The contaminants in herbal products are a threat to consumer safety. Due to the scarcity of genetic information on Phyllanthus plants, more molecular markers are needed to avoid misidentification.MethodsIn this study, the complete chloroplast genome of nine species of the genus Phyllanthus was de novo assembled and characterized.ResultsThis study revealed that all of these species exhibited a conserved quadripartite structure, which includes a large single copy (LSC) region and small single copy (SSC) region, and two copies of inverted repeat regions (IRa and IRb), which separate the LSC and SSC regions. And the genome structure, codon usage, and repeat sequences were highly conserved and showed similarities among the nine species. Three highly variable regions (trnS-GCU-trnG-UCC, trnT-UGU-trnL-UAA, and petA-psbJ) might be helpful as potential molecular markers for identifying P. urinaria and its contaminants. In addition, the molecular clock analysis results showed that the divergence time of the genus Phyllanthus might occur at ~ 48.72 Ma.ConclusionThis study provides valuable information for further species identification, evolution, and phylogenetic research of Phyllanthus

Expression of telomerase inhibits hydroxyl radical-induced apoptosis in normal telomerase negative human lung fibroblasts

AbstractIn tumor cells telomerase activity is associated with resistance to apoptosis and the introduction of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) subunit into normal human cells is associated with life span extension of the cells. To determine the role of telomerase in regulating apoptosis, telomerase negative human embryo lung fibroblasts were transfected with the hTERT gene. Unlike the control fibroblasts, the telomerase-expressing cells had elongated telomeres and were resistant to apoptosis induced by hydroxyl radicals. The results indicate that expression of telomerase and, thus, the maintenance of telomere length in normal human somatic cells caused resistance to not only cellular senescence but also apoptosis. Moreover, we found that hydroxyl radical-induced apoptosis in telomerase-expressing and control fibroblasts was caspase-3 independent. These findings have revealed a new type of interrelation between telomerase and caspase-3, which may indicate that in this case the expressed telomerase may inhibit apoptosis at a site not related to the caspase-3 cascade

Effects of matrine on collagen proliferation and TNF-α, TGF-β1 and CTGF in atrial tissues of dogs with persistent atrial fibrillation

目的 探讨苦参碱对犬心房颤动（房颤）心房肌组织中胶原合成以及肿瘤坏死因子（tumor necrosis factor alpha,TNF-α）、转化生长因子（transforming growth factor-β1，TGF-β1）和结缔组织生长因子（connective Tissue Growth Factor，CTGF）表达变化的影响。方法 健康比格犬10只采用快速右心室起搏造房颤模型，随机分成房颤组和房颤+苦参碱组各5只。采用天狼星红染色，计算胶原容积分数（collagen volume fraction，CVF）以测定纤维化程度；采用免疫组织化学法检测右心房TNF-α、TGF-β1和CTGF的蛋白表达情况；用逆转录-聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）技术检测TNF-α、TGF-β1和CTGF的mRNA水平表达情况。结果 与房颤组相比，房颤+苦参碱组纤维化程度降低，CVF明显下降（P＜0.05），TNF-α、TGF-β1和CTGF蛋白表达水平下降，且TNF-α和TGF-β1的mRNA表达水平显著下降（P＜0.05，P＜0.01）。结论 苦参碱可能通过抑制TNF-α、TGF-β1和CTGF的表达，抑制房颤心房肌胶原合成，改善心房组织纤维化程度。Objective:To study the effects of matrine (mat) on collagen synthesis and expression of tumor necrosis factoralpha (TNF-α), and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in atrial tissues of dogs with persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods : Ten healthy beagle dogs were randomly divided into two groups: AF group (n=5) and AF/Mat group (n=5), using right ventricular pacing to establish AF model. The collagen volume fraction (CVF) in atrial tissue were detected by sirius red staining to determine the level of fabrication. The level of TNF-α, TGF-β1 and CTGF were detected by immunohisto-chemistry. The mRNA expression level of TNF-α, TGF-β1 and CTGF were detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results:  Compared with the AF group, the fabriation level of AF/Mat was decreased obviously (P<0.05), the expression levels of TNF-α, TGF-β1 and CTGF were decreased, and the mRNA expression level were decreased significantly in atrial tissues (P<0.05 and P<0.01). Conclusion: Matrine may inhibits fabrosis in atrial tissues through inhibition collagen proliferation and expression of TNF-α, TGF-β1 and CTGF

Allele Size Miscalling due to the Pull-Up Effect Influencing Size Standard Calibration in Capillary Electrophoresis: A Case Study Using HEX Fluorescent Dye in Microsatellites

Microsatellites are important genetic markers and have been broadly employed in many genetic studies. Currently, polymorphisms in microsatellites are often detected by an automated system of capillary electrophoresis with fluorescent dyes. In this situation, different dye combinations may cause pull-up/bleed-through problems, which introduce noise signals from one dye channel into another, causing genotyping errors. Here, we report the detection of such a problem at two microsatellite loci that used the HEX dye. Using three datasets, we tested for noise effects in four allele-scoring programmes: Genemapper, Genemarker, Gelquest and Fragman. We found that, because some allele sizes were identical or close to the size of one of the internal size standards, all four programmes gave allele size calling errors due to wrongly identifying pull-up signals as the internal size standard. In addition, because allele miscalling in this study was caused by the fluorescent dye that the microsatellites used introducing noise of the same colour as the internal size standard used, the pull-up correction function in Genemapper, Genemarker and Fragman failed to deal with this. Considering that pull-up peak scoring errors can occur with any dye colour, the phenomenon is not limited to the current HEX dye. Using different software and visual scoring of each result will allow accurate sizing of microsatellite alleles

STUB1 suppresseses tumorigenesis and chemoresistance through antagonizing YAP1 signaling

Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a component of the canonical Hippo signaling pathway that is known to play essential roles in modulating organ size, development, and tumorigenesis. Activation or upregulation of YAP1, which contributes to cancer cell survival and chemoresistance, has been verified in different types of human cancers. However, the molecular mechanism of YAP1 upregulation in cancer is still unclear. Here we report that the E3 ubiquitin ligase STUB1 ubiquitinates and destabilizes YAP1, thereby inhibiting cancer cell survival. Low levels of STUB1 expression were correlated with increased protein levels of YAP1 in human gastric cancer cell lines and patient samples. Moreover, we revealed that STUB1 ubiquitinates YAP1 at the K280 site by K48-linked polyubiquitination, which in turn increases YAP1 turnover and promotes cellular chemosensitivity. Overall, our study establishes YAP1 ubiquitination and degradation mediated by the E3 ligase STUB1 as an important regulatory mechanism in gastric cancer, and provides a rationale for potential therapeutic interventions

Treatment of Acute Leukemia with Unmanipulated HLA-Mismatched/Haploidentical Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation

AbstractAllogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) remains one of the best therapeutic options to cure acute leukemia (AL). However, many patients have no human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched donor. Recently, we developed a new method for HLA-mismatched/haploidentical transplantation without in vitro T cell depletion (TCD). This method combined granulotyce-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)-primed bone marrow and peripheral blood with intensive immunosuppression. We analyzed the outcome of 250 consecutive patients with AL who underwent HLA-mismatched/haploidentical transplantation with 1-3 mismatched loci of HLA-A, B, and DR from family donors via our new transplant protocol. Two hundred forty-nine patients achieved sustained, full donor chimerism. The incidence of grade 2-4 acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was 45.8%, and that of grades 3 and 4 was 13.4%, which was not associated with the extent of HLA disparity. The cumulative incidence of total chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 53.9% and that of extensive cGVHD was 22.6% in 217 evaluable patients. One hundred forty-one of the 250 patients survived free of disease recurrence at a median of 1092 days (range: 442-2437 days) of follow-up. Seventeen patients received DLI as a treatment for relapse after transplantation and 7 patients achieved leukemia-free survival (LFS). The 3-year probability of LFS for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) was 70.7% and 55.9%, and for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) it was 59.7% and 24.8% in standard-risk and high-risk groups, respectively. Lower LFS were associated with diagnosis of acute leukemia in the high-risk group (P = .001, relative risk [RR], 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.94[1.535-5.631]) and the occurrence of aGVHD of grades 3 and 4 (P = .004). HLA-mismatched/haploidentical HSCT was feasible with unmanipulated blood and bone marrow harvest

A Google Earth-based surveillance system for schistosomiasis japonica implemented in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Due to the success of the national schistosomiasis control programme in China, transmission has been sufficiently reduced in many areas to severely limit identification of areas at risk by conventional snail surveys only. In this study, we imported Google Earth technology and a Global Positioning System (GPS) into the monitoring system for schistosomiasis surveillance of the banks of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province, China.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 45 sites were selected and the risk was assessed monthly by water exposure of sentinel mice at these sites from May to September in 2009 and 2010. The results were assembled and broadcast via the Google Earth platform.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The intensity of schistosomiasis transmission showed peaks of risk in June and September of 2009, while there was only one small peak in June in 2010 as the number of detected positive transmission sites dropped dramatically that year thanks to improved mollusciciding. River ports were found to be areas of particular risk, but ferry terminals and other centres of river-related activities were also problematic.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results confirm that the surveillance system can be rapidly updated and easily maintained, which proves the Google Earth approach to be a user-friendly, inexpensive warning system for schistosomiasis risk.</p