Emergence of Rating Agencies: Implications for Establishing a Regional Rating Agency in Asia

The present analysis sheds light on the setting up a regional rating agency in Asia in the wake of recent financial crisis. We investigate the policy facing a financial regulator while evaluating whether or not to admit new entrant into the credit rating market. In an incomplete contracting framework, we show that an impartial financial regulatory body (represented by a benevolent supranational organization) can facilitate credit ratings of high quality by allowing for the entry of new rating agencies on a non-single basis than it does for a mere single entry. This finding is caused by increased competition among the rating agencies, which induces higher quality of rating services even should rating agencies still exert below their maximum level of efforts.credit rating agencies; moral hazard; incomplete contracting

Reduced Health-Related Quality of Life in Body Constitutions of Yin-Xu, and Yang-Xu, Stasis in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Taichung Diabetic Body Constitution Study

Aim. To evaluate how health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutions of Yin-Xu, Yang-Xu, and Stasis are related in type 2 diabetes patients. Method. Seven hundred and five subjects were recruited in 2010 for this study from a Diabetes Shared Care Network in Taiwan. Generic and disease-specific HRQOL were assessed by the short form 36 (SF-36) and the diabetes impact measurement scale (DIMS). Constitutions of Yin-Xu, Yang-Xu, and Stasis were then assessed by the body constitution questionnaire (BCQ), a questionnaire consisting of 44 items that evaluate the physiological state based on subjective symptoms and signs. Results. Estimated effects of the Ying-Xu and Stasis on all scales of the SF-36 were significantly negative, while estimated effects of the Yang-Xu on all scales (except for SF, RE, MH, and MCS) were significantly negative. For DIMS, the estimated effects of the Ying-Xu and Stasis on all scales were significantly negative except for Stasis on well-being, while Yang-Xu has a significantly negative effect only on symptoms. Conclusions. This study demonstrates that TCM constitutions of Yin-Xu, Yang-Xu, and Stasis are closely related to a reduction in HRQOL. These findings support the need for further research into the impact of intervention for TCM constitutions on HRQOL in patients with type 2 diabetes

Prevalence and Correlates of Depression among Chronic Kidney Disease Patients in Taiwan

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive disease that causes a permanent impairment of renal function and premature mortality. The associated prognosis may result in serious psychological distress to the affected individual. However, there are limited data on the psychological correlates, and in particular depression, in Chinese CKD patients. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of depression, as well as the influence of other psychosocial factors on depression, among Taiwanese CKD patients. Methods: We used a cross-sectional research design to recruit 270 CKD patients who were not undergoing dialysis treatment at a hospital in southern Taiwan during 2011. The structured questionnaire used in this study gathered information on respondent demographic and disease characteristics, and information obtained from the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire. Factors associated with depression were examined by a multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: The crude and age-standardized prevalence of depression were 22.6% and 20.6%, respectively. Those who had sleep disturbances, reported having no religious beliefs, followed no regular exercise regimen, and were diagnosed with stage III or above CKD demonstrated a significantly higher risk of depression. Conclusion: Our findings are beneficial to healthcare providers, as they identify both the prevalence of depression and several of its correlates. By identifying CKD patients with a higher risk of depression, healthcare providers may be better able to ensure the provision of appropriate rehabilitation to this population

Reward prediction errors arising from switches between major and minor modes in music: An fMRI study

Evidence has accumulated that prediction error processing plays a role in the enjoyment of music listening. The present study examined listeners' neural responses to the signed reward prediction errors (RPEs) arising from switches between major and minor modes in music. We manipulated the final chord of J. S. Bach's keyboard pieces so that each major-mode passage ended with either the major (Major-Major) or minor (Major-Minor) tonic chord, and each minor-mode passage ended with either the minor (Minor-Minor) or major (Minor-Major) tonic chord. In Western music, the major and minor modes have positive and negative connotations, respectively. Therefore, the outcome of the final chord in Major-Minor stimuli was associated with negative RPE, whereas that in Minor-Major was associated with positive RPE. Twenty-three musically experienced adults underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while listening to Major-Major, Major-Minor, Minor-Minor, and Minor-Major stimuli. We found that activity in the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (extending into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex) during the final chord for Major-Major was significantly higher than that for Major-Minor. Conversely, a frontoparietal network for Major-Minor exhibited significantly increased activity compared to Major-Major. The contrasts between Minor-Minor and Minor-Major yielded regions implicated in interoception. We discuss our results in relation to executive functions and the emotional connotations of major versus minor mode.Comment: submitted to Psychophysiolog

Cogging Torque Reduction of Interior Permanent-Magnet Synchronous Motors by Finite-Element Method

The cogging torque of a permanent-magnet motor is an oscillatory torque that always induces vibration, acoustic noise, possible resonance and speed ripples, and its minimization is a major concern for electric motor designers. This paper presents an effective approach for the cogging torque reduction of interior permanent-magnet motors by modifying the magnet span angle of the rotor and the shoe depth and shoe ramp of the stator. The cogging torque is calculated by employing a commercial finite-element analysis software Ansoft/Maxwell. The results show that the peak value of the cogging torque for the modified design decreases 50% in comparison with that of the original design

State diagram for packed granular particles under shear: two types of /quaking/ and "shear unjamming"

Understanding intermittency, an ubiquitous behavior in flows of packed grains, is pivotal for establishing the rheology of granular material. A straightforward explanation has been missing despite the long development of theories at different levels of abstraction. In this work, we propose the use of a Stribeck-Hertz model that starts with the classic Coulomb friction but also takes into account the tribology between particles, i.e. the reduction of friction coefficient with speed as is commonly observed. Our numerical studies reveal a state diagram covering a wide range of packing fractions, and produce the quaking intermittency in the mid-range of a dimensionless shear rate defined accordingly, in consistence with our recent experimental observation [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126.128001 (2021)]. Monitoring the change of mean contact number allows us to distinguish two types of quaking. Above the random-close-packing density, the quakes are exclusively of the first type, occurred with a sudden increase of the contact number. At lower packing fractions, the dominant quaking depends in part on the dimensionless shear rate. The second type of quaking is identified as the prelude for a granular packing to "unjam" upon increase of the dimensionless shear rate -- a phenomenon that occurs only when the essential tribology is taken into accoun