Can High Interest Rates Stop Regional Currency Falls?: The Asian Experience in 1997-98

During the Asian crisis, some crisis-hit economies raised domestic interest rates persistently in an effort to appreciate their currencies. Although Asian currencies eventually stabilized, it is still debated whether high interest rates contributed to the restoration of stability. Correlation and causality analyses using daily data show that the relationship among interest rates, exchange rates and external financial variables changed significantly when the crisis started. During the height of the crisis, currencies in the region exhibited high synchronization and mutual causation, which had not been visible in the pre-crisis period. Japanese and U.S. financial variables also influenced the movements of the Thai baht and the Korean won. By contrast, domestic interest rates suddenly lost their impact on exchange rates as the crisis worsened. The Asian currency turmoil and subsequent return to stability was a regional phenomenon, in which interest rate policies of individual economies did not seem to have any significant impact on calming collective market psychology

タイ北部山岳民族の日常生活意識における民族間の比較

The purpose of this study is to compare the daily living consciousness among three different hill tribes （Lahi Nyi，Lo Mi Akha and Mlabri）living in northern Thailand. The subjects were asked to answer questions by interview from December 2006 to January 2007 and the results obtained were statistically analyzed using SPSS. With respect to“pleasure in daily life”，most of people answered“chat”and/or“TV”besides people between 10 and 19 years old，“sports”，while adults，“travel”or“festival”. Forty-one to 71% of people between 10 and 19 years old answered to obtain daily information from school. Most subjects in three tribes worked“for the family”. However，in females of Mlabri，people between 10 and 19 years old （about 33%）answered“happy to be able to work”and over 40’s（40%）did“natural obligation”. The subjects mostly considered that traditions supported people’s lives and majority of them answered“yes”on psychological factors. They seemed to satisfy themselves or the relationship to other people when they felt less stress or slept well. Mlabri seemed to have different daily living consciousness and views on psychological factors from other two tribes. This might be related to their living style which they worked as laborers in the fields of other tribes and earned some money. The results also indicated that there were some differences be fields of other tribes and earned some money. The results also indicated that there were some differences be tween people between 10 and 19 years old and adults as well as those among three tribes. The traditional life style and probably daily living consciousness and views on psychological factors of people between 10 and 19 years old will change gradually by their growing up to obtain liberal education and a lot of information from mass-media and so on

Inhibition of tracheal smooth muscle cell proliferation by phosphodiesterase inhibitors

Agents that increase intracellular cyclic 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), such as forskolin, prostaglandin (PG)E2, salbutamol and 8-bromo-cAMP, have been shownto inhibit the proliferation of airway smooth-muscle (ASM) cells in vitro. However, it has not yet been determined whether selective inhibitors of phosphodiesterase (PDE) isoenzymes III and IV that catalyze cAMPto 5'-adenosine monophosphate have the ability to inhibit ASM cell proliferation. To evaluate the effectsof PDE inhibitors on ASM cell proliferation, ASM cells isolated from bovine tracheae were cultured in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS), with or without a non-selective PDE inhibitor (theophylline), a selective PDE III inhibitor (cilostazol), and a selective PDE IV inhibitor (rolipram). The number of ASM cells cultured with 5% FBS was significantly reduced by the presence of theophylline at 10−3 and 3 × 10−4 mol/L, cilostazol at 10−5, 10−6 and 10−7 mol/L, and rolipram at 10−4 and 10−5 mol/L. The release of lactic dehydrogenase from ASM cells cultured with any concentration of these agents was not significantly different from that with medium alone. Inhibitors of PDE III and IV were demonstrated to have an inhibitory effect on ASM cell proliferation induced by FBS. Our results suggest the value of the further development of PDE inhibitors for the treatment of hyperplasia of ASM cells characteristic of airway remodeling, in addition to bronchospasm and airway inflammation, in bronchial asthma

Antiproliferative effect of selexipag active metabolite MRE‐269 on pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells from patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension

Abstract Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a group 4 pulmonary hypertension (PH) characterized by nonresolving thromboembolism in the central pulmonary artery and vascular occlusion in the proximal and distal pulmonary artery. Medical therapy is chosen for patients who are ineligible for pulmonary endarterectomy or balloon pulmonary angioplasty or who have symptomatic residual PH after surgery or intervention. Selexipag, an oral prostacyclin receptor agonist and potent vasodilator, was approved for CTEPH in Japan in 2021. To evaluate the pharmacological effect of selexipag on vascular occlusion in CTEPH, we examined how its active metabolite MRE‐269 affects platelet‐derived growth factor‐stimulated pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) from CTEPH patients. MRE‐269 showed a more potent antiproliferative effect on PASMCs from CTEPH patients than on those from normal subjects. DNA‐binding protein inhibitor (ID) genes ID1 and ID3 were found by RNA sequencing and real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction to be expressed at lower levels in PASMCs from CTEPH patients than in those from normal subjects and were upregulated by MRE‐269 treatment. ID1 and ID3 upregulation by MRE‐269 was blocked by co‐incubation with a prostacyclin receptor antagonist, and ID1 knockdown by small interfering RNA transfection attenuated the antiproliferative effect of MRE‐269. ID signaling may be involved in the antiproliferative effect of MRE‐269 on PASMCs. This is the first study to demonstrate the pharmacological effects on PASMCs from CTEPH patients of a drug approved for the treatment of CTEPH. Both the vasodilatory and the antiproliferative effect of MRE‐269 may contribute to the efficacy of selexipag in CTEPH