Stock Market Interdependence: Evidence from Australia

This study examines the relationship between Australia’s stock market and the five largest international markets for the period 1991 through 2001. Preliminary findings, using correlation statistics, indicated potential benefits to international diversification for the Australian investor. Further analysis, conducted in the VAR framework using the Johansen co-integration method, found that the Australian market has short and long run linkages with the United States, while tests with other markets found little evidence of interdependence. Moreover, only the US market was found to Grangercause the Australian market.Interdependence, price linkages, internationalisation.

Looking Beyond the Incumbent: The Effects of Exposing Corruption on Electoral Outcomes

Does information about rampant political corruption increase electoral participation and the support for challenger parties? Democratic theory assumes that offering more information to voters will enhance electoral accountability. However, if there is consistent evidence suggesting that voters punish corrupt incumbents, it is unclear whether this translates into increased support for challengers and higher political participation. We provide experimental evidence that information about copious corruption not only decreases incumbent support in local elections in Mexico, but also decreases voter turnout, challengers' votes, and erodes voters' identification with the party of the corrupt incumbent. Our results suggest that while flows of information are necessary, they may be insufficient to improve political accountability, since voters may respond to information by withdrawing from the political process. We conclude with a discussion of the institutional contexts that could allow increased access to information to promote government accountability.

The comparative costs between investing in new towns and the extension of existing metropolitan areas offering the same services

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1987.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Bibliography: leaves 67-71.by Leonard A. A. Chong.M.C.P

Traveling waves in 2D hexagonal granular crystal lattices

This study describes the dynamic response of a two-dimensional hexagonal packing of uncompressed stainless steel spheres excited by localized impulsive loadings. The dynamics of the system are modeled using the Hertzian normal contact law. After the initial impact strikes the system, a characteristic wave structure emerges and continuously decays as it propagates through the lattice. Using an extension of the binary collision approximation for one-dimensional chains, we predict its decay rate, which compares well with numerical simulations and experimental data. While the hexagonal lattice does not support constant speed traveling waves, we provide scaling relations that characterize the directional power law decay of the wave velocity for various angles of impact. Lastly, we discuss the effects of weak disorder on the directional amplitude decay rates

Oxygen environment and islet size are the primary limiting factors of isolated pancreatic islet survival

Background: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Pancreatic islet transplantation could be an effective treatment option for type 1 diabetes once several issues are resolved, including donor shortage, prevention of islet necrosis and loss in pre- and post-transplantation, and optimization of immunosuppression. This study seeks to determine the cause of necrotic loss of isolated islets to improve transplant efficiency. Methodology: The oxygen tension inside isolated human islets of different sizes was simulated under varying oxygen environments using a computational in silico model. In vitro human islet viability was also assessed after culturing in different oxygen conditions. Correlation between simulation data and experimentally measured islet viability was examined. Using these in vitro viability data of human islets, the effect of islet diameter and oxygen tension of the culture environment on islet viability was also analyzed using a logistic regression model. Principal findings: Computational simulation clearly revealed the oxygen gradient inside the islet structure. We found that oxygen tension in the islet core was greatly lower (hypoxic) than that on the islet surface due to the oxygen consumption by the cells. The hypoxic core was expanded in the larger islets or in lower oxygen cultures. These findings were consistent with results from in vitro islet viability assays that measured central necrosis in the islet core, indicating that hypoxia is one of the major causes of central necrosis. The logistic regression analysis revealed a negative effect of large islet and low oxygen culture on islet survival. Conclusions/Significance: Hypoxic core conditions, induced by the oxygen gradient inside islets, contribute to the development of central necrosis of human isolated islets. Supplying sufficient oxygen during culture could be an effective and reasonable method to maintain isolated islets viable

Sintomatologia depressiva e perfil mnésico em pacientes com defeito cognitivo ligeiro

Tese de mestrado, Psicologia (Secção de Psicologia Clínica e da Saúde, Núcleo de Psicoterapia Cognitiva-Comportamental e Integrativa), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, 2014O presente estudo pretendeu caracterizar as queixas de depressão no Defeito Cognitivo Ligeiro e avaliar o impacto que a sintomatologia depressiva pode ter no perfil mnésico e na progressão destes quadros. Trata-se de um estudo quantitativo, retrospectivo, que pretendeu avaliar a relação entre o número de queixas depressivas e os resultados de memória episódica, através de dados recolhidos previamente no seguimento de um cohort de casos de suspeita de deterioração cognitiva. Considerando este objectivo principal, foram comparados os resultados no teste de memória CVLT em dois grupos de DCL, com e sem depressão. Os resultados obtidos mostram que o perfil mnésico dos dois grupos de DCL não é distinto e que a presença de depressão não acelera a progressão para demência. São discutidas as implicações destes resultados na avaliação neuropsicológica destes pacientes, nomeadamente, na valorização das queixas depressivas na interpretação do perfil mnésico. Neste trabalho, pretendeu-se ainda conhecer as propriedades metrológicas da Escala de Depressão Geriátrica, GDS, na sua forma reduzida de 15 itens, e do Teste de Aprendizagem Verbal de Califórnia. Para o efeito foram usadas abordagens da Teoria Clássica e da Teoria da Resposta ao Item. Os resultados mostram que a escala GDS é constituída por uma maioria de itens de dificuldade média e baixa, mas a dificuldade média dos itens é superior à competência média dos sujeitos. A utilização de um ponto de corte 5/6 confere bons valores de sensibilidade e especificidade na detecção de sintomatologia depressiva clinicamente relevante. Estas características permitem confirmar a GDS de 15 itens como um bom instrumento de triagem de sintomatologia depressiva na população mais velha. Os resultados da análise metrológica do CVLT mostram que as medidas obtidas com este instrumento traduzem de forma adequada a competência num único traço latente.The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of depressive complaints on the memory profile and progression to dementia in Mild Cognitive Impairment. The present study is a retrospective analysis, on previous collected data of MCI patients assessment, of the relation between depressive complaints and episodic memory. MCI patients where characterized as depressed or non depressed according to the Geriatric Depression Scale score. Results on the California Verbal Learning Test were not significantly different between the MCI depressed and non depressed groups. There were also no significative differences in conversion rates to dementia between the two groups. The relevance of these results to the neuropsychological assessment of MCI patients with depressive complaints are discussed. A second purpose of this study was to determine the psychometric characteristics of both the Geriatric Depression Scale (short version) and the California Verbal Learning Test with the Classic Test Theory and Item Response Theory approaches. Results demonstrate that GDS is a reliable screening instrument for geriatric depression. The use of a cutoff score of 5/6 produced high sensitivity and specificity rates. The CVLT measures are adequate estimates of subject competence in a single latent trait

A survey of recently emerged genome-wide computational enhancer predictor tools

The race for the discovery of enhancers at a genome-wide scale has been on since the commencement of next generation sequencing decades after the discovery of the first enhancer, SV40. A few enhancer-predicting features such as chromatin feature, histone modifications and sequence feature had been implemented with varying success rates. However, to date, there is no consensus yet on the single enhancer marker that can be employed to ultimately distinguish and uncover enhancers from the enormous genomic regions. Many supervised, unsupervised and semi-supervised computational approaches had emerged to complement and facilitate experimental approaches in enhancer discovery. In this review, we placed our focus on the recently emerged enhancer predictor tools that work on general enhancer features such as sequences, chromatin states and histone modifications, eRNA and of multiple feature approach. Comparisons of their prediction methods and outcomes were done across their functionally similar counterparts. We provide some recommendations and insights for future development of more comprehensive and robust tools. © 2018 Elsevier Lt

Isolation and Characterization of Putative Liver-specific Enhancers in Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus)

Enhancers are indispensable DNA elements responsible for elevation of gene transcriptional efficiency that regulates biological processes tightly at various developmental stages, linking them to numerous genetic diseases. Discovering the enhancer landscape of the genome will not only benefit mankind, but also aid in conservation researches involving endangered non-human primates such as the proboscis monkey. As one of the most ancient colobine endemic to Borneo Island, the proboscis monkey offers a wide spectrum of unique and exclusive characteristics that distinguish it from other primates. This study has successfully isolated 13 liver-specific enhancers from this primate and tested for their activities in HepG2 and A549 cell line. The TFBS-enriched regions such as pairs of AP-1, clusters of C/EBP-β and triplets of HNF-1 in enhancers contributed to enhancer activities whereas huge clusters of HNF-3β possess suppressing effects, but generally these regions contributed to the cell specificities of enhancers. It is hoped that this study serves as a stepping stone in knowledge enrichment on this primate and future conservation researches

Sequencing and Characterisation of Complete Mitochondrial DNA Genome for Trigonopoma pauciperforatum (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae: Danioninae) with Phylogenetic Consideration

The Trigonopoma pauciperforatum or the redstripe rasbora is a cyprinid commonly found in marshes and swampy areas with slight acidic tannin-stained water in the tropics. In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of T. pauciperforatum was first amplified in two parts using two pairs of overlapping primers and then sequenced. The size of the mitogenome is 16,707 bp, encompassing 22 transfer RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and a putative control region. Identical gene organisation was detected between this species and other family members. The heavy strand accommodates 28 genes while the light strand houses the remaining nine genes. Most protein-coding genes utilize ATG as start codon except for COI gene which uses GTG instead. The terminal associated sequence (TAS), central conserved sequence block (CSB-F, CSB-D and CSB-E) as well as variable sequence block (CSB-1, CSB-2 and CSB-3) are conserved in the control region. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree revealed the divergence of T. pauciperforatum from the basal region of the major clade, where its evolutionary relationships with Boraras maculatus, Rasbora cephalotaenia and R. daniconius are poorly resolved as suggested by the low bootstrap values. This work contributes towards the genetic resource enrichment for peat swamp conservation and comprehensive in-depth comparisons across other phylogenetic researches done on the Rasbora-related genus