Capital allocation and bank management based on the quantification of credit risk

This paper was presented at the conference "Financial services at the crossroads: capital regulation in the twenty-first century" as part of session 2, "Credit risk modeling." The conference, held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on February 26-27, 1998, was designed to encourage a consensus between the public and private sectors on an agenda for capital regulation in the new century.Bank capital ; Bank loans ; Risk ; Bank management

Alkylator-Induced DNA Excision Repair in Human Leukemia CCRF-CEM Cells In Vitro, Measured Using the Single-Cell Gel Electrophoresis (Comet) Assay

The capacity to repair DNA damage is an important factor that affects the therapeutic outcome in cancer treatment. To clarify the cellular repair response, we investigated the kinetics of DNA excision repair initiated by 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) in human leukemia CCRF-CEM cells at an exponential growth phase in vitro. Using the alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay, we quantitated the repair kinetics as the amount of DNA single-strand breaks that were generated from the incision and were diminished by the rejoining in the repair process. CEM cells could initiate DNA excision repair in response to BCNU by starting an incision reaction. However, the incision capacity came to a plateau at a concentration of 80 to 1003M or after an incubation time of 90 to 120 minutes. When the cells were pulsed with 403M BCNU, the maximal incision occurred at the end of the incubation period, and the repair process was completed within 4 hours.When cells were treated with 1003M BCNU, the incised DNA was not rejoined at 4 hours, suggesting that the repair was not completed. Higher concentrations might surpass the cellular capacity for repair and would be associated with increased cell death. Evaluation of the repair process may provide a clue for therapeutic strategies to improve clinical efficacy if accelerated DNA repair is responsible for the drug resistance

RAPD分析に基くイワナ2亜種，ゴギとニッコウイワナの地理的分布境界の推定

RAPD分析に基づき，日本海流入河川のイワナ2亜種，ゴギとニッコウイワナに特異的な遺伝子型の分布を調べることにより，両者の分布境界を推定した。計16断片が増幅され，1個体から7-14バンドが検出されたが，ゴギあるいはニッコウイワナにのみ特異的なバンドは見られなかった。ゴギ，ニッコウイワナ各々9，15のハプロタイプが見られ，これらのうち，2タイプのみが両亜種共通であった。両者が混棲する可能性がある中間域では24ハプロタイプが見られ，これらのうち，5，9タイプがそれぞれゴギ，ニッコウイワナ特異的であった。ゴギ特異的タイプは鳥取県勝田川が東限，ニッコウイワナ特異的タイプは鳥取県日野川が西限であった。日野川水系では17ハプロタイプが見られ，それらのうち，3，7タイプがそれぞれゴギ，ニッコウイワナ特異的であった。クラドグラムではゴギあるいはニッコウイワナ特異的タイプのみからなる大きなクレードは形成されなかった。これらは，ゴギは東方へ，ニッコウイワナは西方へ分布を広げ，その際に大山山塊が両者にとって分布拡大の障壁となったことを示唆する。We estimated the distribution limits of the 2 subspecies of the white-spotted charr, Salvelinus leucomaenis (‘Iwana’), S. l. pluvius (‘Nikkoiwana’) and S. l. imbrius (‘Gogi’) by examining the distribution of specific genetic types to Nikkoiwana or Gogi in the rivers flowing into the Sea of Japan on the basis of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD). A total of 16 DNA fragments was amplified. Seven to 14 bands were detected from an individual. There were no common bands only to the Nikkoiwana or Gogi. Fifteen and 9 haplotypes were recorded for the Nikkoiwana and Gogi, respectively. Among these, only 2 haplotypes were common to both subspecies. In the intermediate region where both the species were possible to be distributed, 24 haplotypes were detected, among which 9 and 5 types were Nikkoiwana- and Gogi-specific, respectively. Nikkoiwana-specific types were distributed in westernmost to the Hino River, Tottori Prefecture, whereas Gogi-specific types were distributed in easternmost to the Katsuta River, Tottori Prefecture. For the Hino River Basin, 17 haplotypes were detected, among which 7 and 3 types were Nikkoiwana- and Gogi-specific, respectively. In a cladogram, there were no large clades comprising only Nikkoiwana- or Gogi-specific haplotypes. These results suggest westward and eastward range expansions for the Nikkoiwana and Gogi, respectively, and the existence of Mt. Daisen Mountain Mass as a barrier to expansion of both subspecies

Hysteretic Tricolor Electrochromic Systems Based on the Dynamic Redox Properties of Unsymmetrically Substituted Dihydrophenanthrenes and Biphenyl-2,2 '-Diyl Dications: Efficient Precursor Synthesis by a Flow Microreactor Method

A series of biphenyl-2, 2'-diylbis(diarylmethanol)s 3, which have two kinds of aryl groups at the bay region, were efficiently obtained by integrated flow microreactor synthesis. The diols 3NO/NX are the precursors of unsymmetric biphenylic dications 2NO/NX^[2+] which are transformed into the corresponding dihydrophenanthrenes 1NO/NX via 2NO/NX^[+•] upon reduction, when they exhibit two-stage color changes. On the other hand, the steady-state concentration of the intermediate 2NO/NX^[+•] is negligible during the oxidation of 1NO/NX to 2NO/NX^[2+], which reflects unique tricolor electrochromicity with a hysteretic pattern of color change [color 1→color 2→color 3→color 1]

Prediction of age and brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity using ultra-wide-field pseudo-color images by deep learning

This study examined whether age and brachial-ankle pulse-wave velocity (baPWV) can be predicted with ultra-wide-field pseudo-color (UWPC) images using deep learning (DL). We examined 170 UWPC images of both eyes of 85 participants (40 men and 45 women, mean age: 57.5 ± 20.9 years). Three types of images were included (total, central, and peripheral) and analyzed by k-fold cross-validation (k = 5) using Visual Geometry Group-16. After bias was eliminated using the generalized linear mixed model, the standard regression coefficients (SRCs) between actual age and baPWV and predicted age and baPWV from the UWPC images by the neural network were calculated, and the prediction accuracies of the DL model for age and baPWV were examined. The SRC between actual age and predicted age by the neural network was 0.833 for all images, 0.818 for central images, and 0.649 for peripheral images (all P < 0.001) and between the actual baPWV and the predicted baPWV was 0.390 for total images, 0.419 for central images, and 0.312 for peripheral images (all P < 0.001). These results show the potential prediction capability of DL for age and vascular aging and could be useful for disease prevention and early treatment