Perspectives on the Trypanosoma cruzi-host cell receptor interaction

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. The critical initial event is the interaction of the trypomastigote form of the parasite with host receptors. This review highlights recent observations concerning these interactions. Some of the key receptors considered are those for thromboxane, bradykinin, and for the nerve growth factor TrKA. Other important receptors such as galectin-3, thrombospondin, and laminin are also discussed. Investigation into the molecular biology and cell biology of host receptors for T. cruzi may provide novel therapeutic targets

Institutional Herding in Financial Markets: New Evidence Through the Lens of a Simulated Model

Due to data limitations and the absence of testable, model-based predictions, theory and evidence on herd behavior are only loosely connected. This paper contributes towards closing this gap in the herding literature. We use numerical simulations of a herd model to derive new, theory-based predictions for aggregate herding intensity. Using high-frequency, investor-specific trading data we confirm the predicted impact of information risk on herding. In contrast, the increase in buy herding measured for the financial crisis period cannot be explained by the herd model

Partial Independence in Nonseparable Models

We analyze identification of nonseparable models under three kinds of exogeneity assumptions weaker than full statistical independence. The first is based on quantile independence. Selection on unobservables drives deviations from full independence. We show that such deviations based on quantile independence require non-monotonic and oscillatory propensity scores. Our second and third approaches are based on a distance-from-independence metric, using either a conditional cdf or a propensity score. Under all three approaches we obtain simple analytical characterizations of identified sets for various parameters of interest. We do this in three models: the exogenous regressor model of Matzkin (2003), the instrumental variable model of Chernozhukov and Hansen (2005), and the binary choice model with nonparametric latent utility of Matzkin (1992)