Transportation Improvement and Hollowing-out of Urban Commercial Center: Do They Harm Consumer Welfare?

Concentration or dispersion of retail stores is the result of market interactions. If it involves market failures, then the spatial location equilibrium of retail stores is not optimal in terms of social welfare. We investigate two important market failures involving retail store location: “monopolistic competition among retail stores” and “shopping externality caused by multipurpose shopping”. Retail store locations in market equilibrium and those in a social optimum are derived. Next, we show that the degree of hollowing-out of urban centers is not always excessive from the perspective of the social optimum. It is believed that hollowing-out of urban commercial centers harms social welfare. But on the contrary, if the accessibility of suburban areas from residential areas is lower than that of the urban center, we confirm that hollowing-out of urban commercial centers is desirable. In this case, promotion of retail stores’ location in urban center, such as subsidies to locate in the city center or restrictions on location in suburbs, decreases social welfare. Instead, promotion of stores’ location in the suburbs is preferred

Transportation Improvement and Hollowing-out of Urban Commercial Center: Do They Harm Consumer Welfare?

Concentration or dispersion of retail stores is the result of market interactions. If it involves market failures, then the spatial location equilibrium of retail stores is not optimal in terms of social welfare. We investigate two important market failures involving retail store location: “monopolistic competition among retail stores” and “shopping externality caused by multipurpose shopping”. Retail store locations in market equilibrium and those in a social optimum are derived. Next, we show that the degree of hollowing-out of urban centers is not always excessive from the perspective of the social optimum. It is believed that hollowing-out of urban commercial centers harms social welfare. But on the contrary, if the accessibility of suburban areas from residential areas is lower than that of the urban center, we confirm that hollowing-out of urban commercial centers is desirable. In this case, promotion of retail stores’ location in urban center, such as subsidies to locate in the city center or restrictions on location in suburbs, decreases social welfare. Instead, promotion of stores’ location in the suburbs is preferred

Geographical, genetic and functional diversity of antiretroviral host factor TRIMCyp in cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

The antiretroviral factor tripartite motif protein 5 (TRIM5) gene-derived isoform (TRIMCyp) has been found in at least three species of Old World monkey: rhesus (Macaca mulatta), pig-tailed (Macaca nemestrina) and cynomolgus (Macaca fascicularis) macaques. Although the frequency of TRIMCyp has been well studied in rhesus and pig-tailed macaques, the frequency and prevalence of TRIMCyp in cynomolgus macaques remain to be definitively elucidated. Here, the geographical and genetic diversity of TRIM5α/TRIMCyp in cynomolgus macaques was studied in comparison with their anti-lentiviral activity. It was found that the frequency of TRIMCyp in a population in the Philippines was significantly higher than those in Indonesian and Malaysian populations. Major and minor haplotypes of cynomolgus macaque TRIMCyp with single nucleotide polymorphisms in the cyclophilin A domain were also found. The functional significance of the polymorphism in TRIMCyp was examined, and it was demonstrated that the major haplotype of TRIMCyp suppressed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) but not HIV-2, whilst the minor haplotype of TRIMCyp suppressed HIV-2 but not HIV-1. The major haplotype of TRIMCyp did not restrict a monkey-tropic HIV-1 clone, NL-DT5R, which contains a capsid with the simian immunodeficiency virus-derived loop between α-helices 4 and 5 and the entire vif gene. These results indicate that polymorphisms of TRIMCyp affect its anti-lentiviral activity. Overall, the results of this study will help our understanding of the genetic background of cynomolgus macaque TRIMCyp, as well as the host factors composing species barriers of primate lentiviruses

高齢者への長期ビタミンD投与

Daily １，０００ IU vitamin D was supplemented to ８７ years old female（Case １）and ６８ years old male（Case ２）subjects with sarcopenia and vitamin D insufficiency／deficiency for ２ years and ５ months and ２ years and ７ months, respectively. Before, １ year and ９ months, and ２ years and ５ months after vitamin D supplementation in Case １, serum ２５‐hydroxyvitamin D［２５（OH）D］level was ９ ng/ml, ２３．８ ng/ml and ２３．１ ng/ml, skeletal muscle mass was ８．９５ kg, １０．２ kg and １０．０ kg, handgrip strength was ７．３ kg, ８．９ kg and ９．９ kg, and Barthel index was ４０, ８５ and ９０, respectively. Before, and ２ years and ７ months after vitamin D supplementation in Case ２, serum ２５（OH）D level was ２６ ng/ml and ３４．４ ng/ml, skeletal muscle mass was ２４．６ kg and ２５．１ kg, handgrip strength was ３７．２ kg and ３８．３ kg, and Barthel index was １００ and １００, respectively. Thus, activity of daily living（ADL）markedly improved in Case １ and keep high in Case ２. Therefore, it is suggested that daily １，０００ IU vitamin D supplementation is effective to keep QOL of aged persons higher

Levels and Concentration Ratios of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Serum and Breast Milk in Japanese Mothers

Blood and/or breast milk have been used to assess human exposure to various environmental contaminants. Few studies have been available to compare the concentrations in one matrix with those in another. The goals of this study were to determine the current levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Japanese women, with analysis of the effects of lifestyle and dietary habits on these levels, and to develop a quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) with which to predict the ratio of serum concentration to breast milk concentration. We measured PBDEs and PCBs in 89 paired samples of serum and breast milk collected in four regions of Japan in 2005. The geometric means of the total concentrations of PBDE (13 congeners) in milk and serum were 1.56 and 2.89 ng/g lipid, respectively, whereas those of total PCBs (15 congeners) were 63.9 and 37.5 ng/g lipid, respectively. The major determinant of total PBDE concentration in serum and milk was the geographic area within Japan, whereas nursing duration was the major determinant of PCB concentration. BDE-209 was the most predominant PBDE congener in serum but not in milk. The excretion of BDE 209 in milk was lower than that of BDE 47 and BDE 153. QSAR analysis revealed that two parameters, calculated octanol/water partition and number of hydrogen-bond acceptors, were significant descriptors. During the first weeks of lactation, the predicted partitioning of PBDE and PCB congeners from serum to milk agreed with the observed values. However, the prediction became weaker after 10 weeks of nursing

Impact of heterogeneous firm\u27slocation mechanism on benefit measurement of transportation investment

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