Reciprocity as a foundation of financial economics

This paper argues that the subsistence of the fundamental theorem of contemporary financial mathematics is the ethical concept ‘reciprocity’. The argument is based on identifying an equivalence between the contemporary, and ostensibly ‘value neutral’, Fundamental Theory of Asset Pricing with theories of mathematical probability that emerged in the seventeenth century in the context of the ethical assessment of commercial contracts in a framework of Aristotelian ethics. This observation, the main claim of the paper, is justified on the basis of results from the Ultimatum Game and is analysed within a framework of Pragmatic philosophy. The analysis leads to the explanatory hypothesis that markets are centres of communicative action with reciprocity as a rule of discourse. The purpose of the paper is to reorientate financial economics to emphasise the objectives of cooperation and social cohesion and to this end, we offer specific policy advice

Immunohistochemical expression of p53, p16 and hTERT in oral squamous cell carcinoma and potentially malignant disorders

Oral carcinogenesis is a multi-step process. One possible step is the development of potentially malignant disorders known as leukoplakia and erytroplakia. The objective of this study was to use immunohistochemistry to analyze the patterns of expression of the cell-cycle regulatory proteins p53 and p16INK4a in potentially malignant disorders (PMD) of the oral mucosa (with varying degrees of dysplasia) and in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC) to correlate them with the expression of telomerase (hTERT). Fifteen PMD and 30 OSCC tissue samples were analyzed. Additionally, 5 cases of oral epithelial hyperplasia (OEH) were added to analyze clinically altered mucosa presenting as histological hyperplasia without dysplasia. p53 positivity was observed in 93.3% of PMD, in 63.3% of OSCC and in 80% of OEH. Although there was no correlation between p53 expression and the grade of dysplasia, all cases with severe dysplasia presented p53 suprabasal immunoexpression. p16INK4a expression was observed in 26.7% of PMD, in 43.3% of OSCC and in 2 cases of OEH. The p16INK4a expression in OEH, PMD and OSCC was unable to differentiate non-dysplastic from dysplastic oral epithelium. hTERT positivity was observed in all samples of OEH and PMD and in 90% of OSCC. The high hTERT immunoexpression in all three lesions indicates that telomerase is present in clinically altered oral mucosa but does not differentiate hyperplastic from dysplastic oral epithelium. In PMD of the oral mucosa, the p53 immunoexpression changes according to the degree of dysplasia by mechanisms independent of p16INK4a and hTERT

Comparative analysis of two infiltration models for application in a physically based overland flow model

In the prediction of overland flow, infiltration is an essential component, which should be modeled accurately to achieve optimum runoff rates. Many mathematical models that simulate the details of runoff and erosion process in hillslopes, where the rill-interrill configuration significantly affects overland flow, employ Horton’s model for infiltration due to its simplicity. However, Horton’s model does not handle adequately antecedent moisture condition (AMC) of soil. In this study, the Green-Ampt infiltration model is incorporated into a physically based overland flow model, which was originally coupled with Horton’s equation in an effort to improve the overland flow model’s prediction ability. In so doing, the model used the Horton and Green-Ampt model as an infiltration component separately and simulated flow to directly compare which infiltration equation performs better with the overland flow model. Calibration using laboratory data produced good results for both Horton with NSE = 0.88 and r 2 = 0.92 and Green-Ampt with NSE = 0.90 and r 2 = 0.95 while in validation, the Horton-coupled model produced lower NSE = 0.64 and r 2 = 0.84 than the Green-Ampt which produced NSE = 0.85 and r 2 = 0.85. The results suggest that the Green-Ampt equation can improve the performance of the overland flow model with its ability to account more accurately the AMC and flow processes in the soil

Manufacturing outsourcing and its effect on plant performance—lessons for KIBS outsourcing

Outsourcing, Manufacturing, Performance, KIBS, D, D2,