Dynamic Market for Lemons with Endogenous Quality Choice by the Seller

We analyze a dynamic market for lemons in which the quality of the good is endogenously determined by the seller. Potential buyers sequentially submit offers to one seller. The seller can make an investment that determines the quality of the item at the beginning of the game, which is unobservable to buyers. At the interim stage of the game, the information and payoff structures are the same as in the market for lemons. Our main result is that the possibility of trade does not create any efficiency gain if (i)the common discounting is low, and (ii)the static incentive constraints preclude the mutually agreeable ex-ante contract under which the trade happens with probability one. Our result does not depend on whether the offers by buyers are private or public.Bargaining, delay, impasse, observability, lemons problem.

Media Capture and Information Monopolization in Japan

In this paper, we investigate the unique institution of the Japanese press industry called kisha club system, which is deemed as the symbol of media capture by the government, and collusion in the media industry. By tracing through its history, we show how the institution has developed as a result of the government's attempt to control the media, and the media's incentive to use the alluring opportunity provided by the government to limit the rivalry within the industry. We find that the distribution of political power is a major factor behind the collusive press-politics relationship. By providing a simple model that links the distribution of political power and the media capture, we explain why this institutional arrangement has been so persistent in Japan.Media Capture

Dynamic Market for Lemons with Endogenous Quality Choice by the Seller

We analyze a dynamic market for lemons in which the quality of the good is endogenously determined by the seller. Potential buyers sequentially submit offers to one seller. The seller can make an investment that determines the quality of the item at the beginning of the game, which is unobservable to buyers. At the interim stage of the game, the information and payoff structures are the same as in the market for lemons. Our main result is that the possibility of trade does not create any efficiency gain if (i)the common discounting is low, and (ii)the static incentive constraints preclude the mutually agreeable ex-ante contract under which the trade happens with probability one. Our result does not depend on whether the offers by buyers are private or public

Dynamic Market for Lemons with Endogenous Quality Choice by the Seller

We analyze a dynamic market for lemons in which the quality of the good is endogenously determined by the seller. Potential buyers sequentially submit offers to one seller. The seller can make an investment that determines the quality of the item at the beginning of the game, which is unobservable to buyers. At the interim stage of the game, the information and payoff structures are the same as in the market for lemons. Our main result is that the possibility of trade does not create any efficiency gain if (i)the common discounting is low, and (ii)the static incentive constraints preclude the mutually agreeable ex-ante contract under which the trade happens with probability one. Our result does not depend on whether the offers by buyers are private or public

Buckling Strength of Cold-Formed Circular Steel Column Subjected to Axial Load

In this study, the global buckling behavior of a cold-formed circular steel column was discussed with a focus on the effects of its mechanical properties and initial imperfections on the behavior. As the first step, the stress–strain curves of the column under tensile and compressive loads as well as its residual stresses were investigated. Subsequently, a finite element analysis was conducted to clarify if the analysis properly simulated the stub column behavior. The analysis results obtained using measured compressive stress–strain curves and residual stresses agreed well with experimental results. Finally, another finite element analysis was performed on the long column buckling to examine the effects of its mechanical properties and initial imperfections. It was shown that the global buckling strength was affected not only by imperfections such as residual stress and out-of-straightness but also by the anisotropic mechanical properties of the material

Pigs as Models of Preclinical Studies and In Vivo Bioreactors for Generation of Human Organs

Pigs are valuable and essential large animal models for human medical applications, including for stem cell therapy. Moreover, substantial effort has been made to directly engraft genetically engineered pig organs in the human body and to use pigs as in vivo bioreactors for the growth and development of human cells, tissue, or organs. However, engraftment of human cells in pigs has not yet been achieved. Although severe combined immunodeficient pigs have been developed, which can accept human biological materials, these pigs do not have practical value at present owing to difficulty in their care. To overcome these current limitations, we have proposed the generation of operational immunodeficient pig models by simply removing the thymus and spleen, enabling the long-term accommodation of human tissue. In this review, we summarize research progress on xenotransplantation animal models that accept human cells, tissues, or organs

Sequentially Rationalizable Choice with Transitive Rationales

In this note, we analyze a sequentially rationalizable choice model with a transitive rationale and a standard preference. The model in this note is more restrictive than the Rational Shortlist Method (RSM) model which is proposed in Manzini and Mariotti (2007) to capture cyclic behavior. Yet, a decision maker in our model exhibits cyclic behavior in general. We prove that the cyclicity of an indirectly revealed preference is exactly what distinguishes the RSM framework (a sequential choice model with a non-standard preference) from our transitive-RSM framework (a sequential choice model with a standard preference). We also provide a partial identification result on the representation

Media Capture and Information Monopolization in Japan

In this paper, we investigate the unique institution of the Japanese press industry called kisha club system, which is deemed as the symbol of media capture by the government, and collusion in the media industry. By tracing through its history, we show how the institution has developed as a result of the government's attempt to control the media, and the media's incentive to use the alluring opportunity provided by the government to limit the rivalry within the industry. We find that the distribution of political power is a major factor behind the collusive press-politics relationship. By providing a simple model that links the distribution of political power and the media capture, we explain why this institutional arrangement has been so persistent in Japan

Media Capture and Information Monopolization in Japan

In this paper, we investigate the unique institution of the Japanese press industry called kisha club system, which is deemed as the symbol of media capture by the government, and collusion in the media industry. By tracing through its history, we show how the institution has developed as a result of the government's attempt to control the media, and the media's incentive to use the alluring opportunity provided by the government to limit the rivalry within the industry. We find that the distribution of political power is a major factor behind the collusive press-politics relationship. By providing a simple model that links the distribution of political power and the media capture, we explain why this institutional arrangement has been so persistent in Japan

腫瘍内アミノ酸・アミン代謝を利用した癌の内部照射治療薬剤の検索

金沢大学医薬保健研究域保健学系本課題研究では、腫瘍細胞で特異的に亢進している代謝機能に親和性を保持し、腫瘍組織への高い集積・滞留と正常組織からの速やかな排泄を示すとともに尿排泄性、代謝安定性を具備する放射性ヨウ素標識化合物の開発を目的として、ヨウ素標識に適した芳香族アミノ酸、アミン類を選択して、各腫瘍系で特異的に亢進している代謝酵素などに親和性を示す放射性医薬品を分子設計し、本医薬品の設計戦略の有用性を評価した。悪性黒色腫細胞ではメラニン形成が異常に亢進しており、フェノール環を有する含硫アミン誘導体は、メラニン生合成に必須のチロシナーゼとの基質親和性が高いことが報告されている。このメラニン形成に着目し、チロシナーゼ基質類似体であるヨウ素標識人工アミノ酸を合成・評価した結果、黒色腫組織への高い集積及び滞留性が確認され、投与後早期より画像化に必要な対周辺組織比が得られた。そこで、メラニン生合成経路への親和性の向上を期待し、新たに含硫アミン誘導体を合成により得た。放射性ヨウ素標識体(I-PCA)は、高い標識率及び放射化学的純度で得られた。B16黒色腫担癌マウス体内分布において、I-PCAは血中からの消失は非常に早く、早期に体外排泄された。一方、黒色腫組織への集積は軟部組織と比較して高く、組織滞留性も認められ、画像化に必要な対周辺組織比は既に臨床使用されている腫瘍診断薬を上回っていた。同様に、カテコールアミン産生が異常に亢進している神経芽細胞腫に対し、神経伝達物質に構造の類似した5種類の偽伝達物質誘導体を選択して、その放射性ヨウ素標識に対して培養細胞を用いたスクリーニングを行った。その結果、ノルアドレナリンと同じ1級アミンであり、芳香性水酸基を3位に有する誘導体が、ノルアドレナリンより2.4倍も高い集積性を示したことから、最も可能性の高い腫瘍診断薬であると考えられた。従って、腫瘍細胞に特徴的な代謝亢進に基づく放射性医薬品の設計戦略の妥当性が示された。研究課題/領域番号:14657212, 研究期間(年度):2003 – 2004出典：「パ腫瘍内アミノ酸・アミン代謝を利用した癌の内部照射治療薬剤の検索」研究成果報告書　課題番号14657212（KAKEN：科学研究費助成事業データベース（国立情報学研究所））（https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-14657212/)を加工して作