Spatial Competition in Credit Markets

Using Hotelling's two-stage model of spatial competition, we develop a lending model where the equilibrium outcome may be characterized by maximal differentiation - in contrast to Hotelling's model where firms have an incentive to reduce differentiation, as long as a pure-strategy price equilibrium exists. The difference is due to the specificities of banks' activities: banks perform independent tests to assess the credit-worthiness of their loan applicants, and thereby create a nongeographic customer heterogeneity. If banks are sufficiently pessimistic about the credit-worthiness of firms, they try to minimize the risk of default by moving away from the market centerBanking competition, Hotelling, information acquisition, credit-worthiness tests

DNA methylation and expression of Homeobox gene family as diagnostic and prognostic markers in human hepatocellular carcinoma

ABSTRACTHomeobox genes consist of a family of evolutionarily conserved genes that play important roles in morphogenesis, embryogenesis, and cell fate determination. Re-expression of embryogenic genes has been associated with carcinogenesis of human cancers. Aberrant expression of homeobox genes has been increasingly found to modulate diverse processes such as cell proliferation, cell death, metastasis, angiogenesis and DNA repair. We studied DNA methylation and expression of homeobox gene family in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. We performed microarray for comprehensive DNA methylation and gene expression using primary HCC samples and healthy liver tissues. Confirmation using pyrosequencing and RT-PCR was then performed. Clustering both unsupervised and supervised methods using Qlucore software was then performed. Enrichment of homeobox genes both for DNA methylation and gene expression could differentiate HCC and the healthy liver tissues. Profile of homeobox gene methylation could further predict clinical outcome. Inverse correlation between DNA methylation and gene expression was shown (HOXA9, Spearman r=-0.49, p=0.002). Gain of DNA methylation in HOXA9, HOXA13, and MEOX1 correlated with shorter HCC survival (log-rank Mantel-Cox test p=0.02, with median survival 50 and 490 weeks, respectively). We demonstrated potential roles of DNA methylation and gene expression profiles of Homeobox gene family as diagnostic and prognostic marker in patients with HCC

Determining the economic gains from regulation at the extensive and intensive margins

Among the second-best approaches for the regulation of pollution, little attention has been paid to the distorting effect of intensive margin policies on the extensive margin. This article shows, within a dynamic framework, that regulation of the intensive margin has to be complemented by regulation of the extensive margin. Depending on the elasticity of the pollution function with respect to nitrogen use, the appropriate regulation at the extensive margin is zero, a tax or a subsidy. We show empirically that combining a nitrogen tax with land-use taxes is about 18 per cent more cost efficient than a nitrogen tax alone and 58 per cent more efficient than off-site abatement in the form of groundwater treatmen

Providing producer mobility support in NDN through proactive data replication

Email Print Request Permissions Named Data Networking (NDN) is a novel architecture expected to overcome limitations of the current Internet. User mobility is one of the most relevant limitations to be addressed. NDN supports consumer mobility by design but fails to offer the same level of support for producer mobility. Existing approaches to extend NDN are host-centric, which conflicts with NDN principles, and provide limited support for producer mobility. This paper proposes a content-centric strategy that replicates and pushes objects proactively, and unlike previous approaches, takes full advantage of NDN routing and caching features. We compare the proposed strategy with default NDN mechanisms regarding content availability, consumer performance, and network overhead. The evaluation results indicate that our strategy can increase the hit rate of objects by at least 46% and reduce their retrieval time by over 60%, while not adding significant overhead

Markets for modernity: salons, galleries and fashion in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century

This essay attempts to apply fashion studies to the economic and cultural setting of Paris in the latter part of the nineteenth century in terms of established art-historical research

Le mot dans la mode: fashion and literary journalism in nineteenth-century France

This is an essay about temptation: the temptation for a man to dress up as a woman, the temptation to write about clothing, and the temptation to leave the secure grounds of literary production for the transitory and ephemeral field of fashion journalism

Reliable microRNA profiling in routinely processed formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast cancer specimens using fluorescence labelled bead technology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>During the last years the analysis of microRNA expression patterns has led to completely new insights into cancer biology. Furthermore, these patterns are a very promising tool for the development of new diagnostic and prognostic markers. However, most human tumour samples for which long term clinical records are available exist only as formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of microRNA profiling studies in routinely processed formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human breast cancer specimens using fluorescence labelled bead technology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A statistically highly significant correlation (Spearman r: 0.78 – 0.90, p < 0.0001) was observed for the expression of 319 microRNAs in routinely processed FFPE breast cancer specimens and paired fresh frozen tissue samples (n = 5). Results were confirmed in a larger series analyzing a selection of 10 microRNAs reported to be deregulated in breast cancer (n = 12). The expression pattern of 3 microRNAs was independently validated in this cohort using real-time RT-PCR technology.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Comprehensive microRNA expression patterns can be reliably derived from routinely processed FFPE breast cancer specimens using fluorescence labelled bead technology.</p

Towards a Functional Architecture for Mobile Knowledge Management - The Example of a University Portal

This paper discusses the use of mobile applications in knowledge management (mobile KM). Today more and more people leave (or have to leave) their fixed working environment in order to conduct their work at changing locations or while they are on the move. At the same time mobile work is getting more and more knowledge-intensive. However the issue of mobile work and knowledge management is an aspect which has largely been overlooked so far. Based on requirements for mobile applications in KM an example for the implementation of a mobile KM portal at a German university is described. The presented solution offers various services for university staff (information access, colleague finder, campus navigator, collaboration support). The paper is concluded by outlining an important future issue in mobile KM: The consideration of location-based information in mobile KM portals