Beyond the Crisis: Financial Regulatory Reform in Emerging Asia

The main objective of this paper is to suggest reform measures to address the gaps and weaknesses in emerging Asia's financial regulatory and supervisory systems, on the basis of lessons drawn from the global crisis. For emerging Asia, the direct impact of the global financial crisis has been limited, thus generating substantially less pressure for financial restructuring and regulatory reform than is the case in developed economies. However, the underlying causes of the current turmoil—such as the dynamics of financial innovation and globalization—remain relevant for the region. As the world embraces wide-ranging financial reforms, emerging Asia will face dramatic changes in the global financial landscape. The region's authorities need to be prepared for the changing regulatory environment and proactive in strengthening their national regulatory and supervisory frameworks, in line with higher regulatory standards emanating from global reforms. Financial regulators will also need to design an effective and coherent framework for cross-border crisis management, and work towards a potential international regulatory and surveillance system.Financial regulation; regulatory reform; asia; global financial crisis

Electrical Investigation of the Oblique Hanle Effect in Ferromagnet/Oxide/Semiconductor Contacts

We have investigated the electrical Hanle effect with magnetic fields applied at an oblique angle ({\theta}) to the spin direction (the oblique Hanle effect, OHE) in CoFe/MgO/semiconductor (SC) contacts by employing a three-terminal measurement scheme. The electrical oblique Hanle signals obtained in CoFe/MgO/Si and CoFe/MgO/Ge contacts show clearly different line shapes depending on the spin lifetime of the host SC. Notably, at moderate magnetic fields, the asymptotic values of the oblique Hanle signals (in both contacts) are consistently reduced by a factor of cos^2({\theta}) irrespective of the bias current and temperature. These results are in good agreement with predictions of the spin precession and relaxation model for the electrical oblique Hanle effect. At high magnetic fields where the magnetization of CoFe is significantly tilted from the film plane to the magnetic field direction, we find that the observed angular dependence of voltage signals in the CoFe/MgO/Si and CoFe/MgO/Ge contacts are well explained by the OHE, considering the misalignment angle between the external magnetic field and the magnetization of CoFe.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

TESTING OF ROTATIONAL EXERCISE EQUIPMENT TO IMPROVE THE VESTIBULAR SYSTEM

The primary purpose of this study was to test the effect of training using the rotational exercise equipment developed in this study on the improvement of the vestibular system. In order to test the rotational exercise equipment developed in this study, 15 ordinary college students had trainings for 8 weeks and their nystagmus intensity was analyzed. The findings showed that the rotational training using the rotational exercise equipment affected vestibular balance, as it significantly decreased the slow phase velocity (SPV) immediately after rotational stimulation and reduced the recovery time of nystagmus to normal

Interictal fatigue and its predictors in epilepsy patients: A case-control study

AbstractPurposeFatigue impairs the quality of life (QOL) of epilepsy patients, but few studies have investigated this issue and no systematic analysis of the predictors of fatigue in epilepsy patients has been performed. Thus, we investigated the degree and predictors of fatigue in epilepsy patients.MethodsWe enrolled 270 consecutive adult patients with epilepsy and categorized them into three subgroups: uncontrolled epilepsy (UCE), well-controlled epilepsy (WCE), and poorly controlled epilepsy (PCE). All subjects were asked to complete the Korean versions of the Fatigue Severity Scale (K-FSS), the Neurological Disorders Depression Inventory for Epilepsy (K-NDDI-E), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (K-GAD-7) scale, and the short forms of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Sleep-Related Impairment (PROMIS-SRI) and Sleep Disturbance (PROMIS-SD) scales. Additionally, 200 normal control subjects who completed the K-FSS, K-NDDI-E, and K-GAD-7 measures were included. The K-FSS scores of the epilepsy subgroups and the control group were compared, and stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of high scores on the K-FSS among epilepsy patients.ResultsThe K-FSS, K-NDDI-E, and K-GAD-7 scores were higher in the epilepsy patients than in the controls. The K-FSS scores of the UCE subgroup, but not of the PCE and WCE subgroups, were higher than those of the control group. K-FSS scores of epilepsy patients were predicted by PROMIS-SRI and K-NDDI-E scores.ConclusionsFatigue was more severe in epilepsy patients than in healthy controls without epilepsy, especially when seizures were not controlled. Sleep-related impairments and depression aggravated fatigue in epilepsy patients

Physiological Antioxidative Network of the Bilirubin System in Aging and Age-Related Diseases

Oxidative stress is detrimental to life process and is particularly responsible for aging and age-related diseases. Thus, most organisms are well equipped with a spectrum of biological defense mechanisms against oxidative stress. The major efficient antioxidative mechanism is the glutathione system, operating a redox cycling mechanism for glutathione utilization, which consists of glutathione and its peroxidase and reductase. However, this system is mainly effective for hydrophilic oxidants, while lipophilic oxidants require another scavenging system. Since many age-related pathological conditions are related to lipid peroxidation, especially in association with the aging process, the physiological role of the scavenging system for lipophilic oxidants should be considered. In this regard, the biliverdin to bilirubin conversion pathway, via biliverdin reductase (BVR), is suggested to be another major protective mechanism that scavenges lipophilic oxidants because of the lipophilic nature of bilirubin. The efficiency of this bilirubin system might be potentiated by operation of the intertwined bicyclic systems of the suggested redox metabolic cycle of biliverdin and bilirubin and the interactive control cycle of BVR and heme oxygenase. In order to combat oxidative stress, both antioxidative systems against hydrophilic and lipophilic oxidants are required to work cooperatively. In this regard, the roles of the bilirubin system in aging and age-related diseases are reassessed in this review, and their interacting networks are evaluated

Increased Prevalence of low High-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) Levels in Korean Adults: Analysis of the Three Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES 1998–2005)

AbstractObjectivesHigh-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases that has shown a remarkable increase, but little is known about the prevalence of low HDL-C in Korea. This study aimed to evaluate changing trends of low HDL-C prevalence, and indicate other risk factors associated with low HDL-C.MethodsWe selected subjects aged ≥20 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 1998, 2001, and 2005 (n = 7962, 6436, and 6412). The mean level of HDL-C and the prevalence of low HDL-C was calculated, and cardiovascular risk factors associated with low HDL-C, as well as demographic, anthropometric, lifestyle, and nutrition factors, were assessed using the KNHANES 2005 data.ResultsMean HDL-C levels in men and women between KNHANES 1998 and 2005 decreased significantly, from 48.1 to 42.3 and from 51.6 to 47.1 mg/dL, respectively (both p < 0.001). The decrease was slightly less for women compared with men for the same period, and women had higher HDL-C levels at all periods. Covariate-adjusted OR revealed that body mass index, waist circumference, and non-alcohol drinker in both men and women were associated with low HDL-C levels by KNHANES 2005, as were employed and light physical activity in men and low fat intake in women.ConclusionThe prevalence of low HDL-C increased significantly from KNHANES 1998 to 2001 and 2005 (p < 0.001) in both men and women. body mass index, waist circumference, and non-alcohol drinker were identified as associated with low HDL-C in Korean adults