Cost Efficiency and Scale Economies of Japanese Water Utilities

With the data of 831 Japanese water utilities from 1999 to 2008, we used the stochastic cost frontier analysis with a true fixed-effect model in order to estimate the cost efficiency and scale economies. We found that cost inefficiency was approximately 37%. The economies of water delivery volume were observed and found to be remarkably higher for small water utilities than for large ones. Scale economies were also discovered in small water utilities; however, scale diseconomies are likely to be incurred in larger water utilities. The optimal supply population size of a water utility is estimated to be 85,658 consumers, with a water delivery volume of 15.7 million m3 and a network length of 522 km.Cost Efficiency, Scale Economies, Optimal Size, Japanese Water Utilities

The Mutual Reference Behavior in Japanese Public

This paper explores the mutual reference behavior of local governments in Japan. The Japanese public education system was decentralized in the previous decade. For example, actual fixed number of classes was relaxed in 2001 and 2003. This relaxation of regulations caused an increase in the expenditure of local governments on Japanese public education. After national regulation relaxed under the condition of children decline, local governments tended to reference the decision making of other local governments. Consequently, this paper analyzed the mutual reference behavior in Japanese public education. In addition, it inferred that population aging had some impact on public education expenditure. This paper provides a tentative conclusion on the relaxation of regulations on education. The expenditure of local governments on public education is positively affected by the expenditure of other local governments. Local governments should increase expenditure on public education if other local governments do so. In addition, the decision making of local governments is affected by not only neighboring governments but also all other governments. If this decision making were affected only by neighborhood, the effect of mutual reference behaviors would probably be small. In addition, this paper also shows that local governments may decrease public education expenditure, considering the progressive aging of society.Public education, Educational finance, Aging, Local government behaviors

Small GTP-binding protein Rho-mediated signaling promotes proliferation of rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts

Rho is a major small GTP-binding protein that is involved in the regulation of various cell functions, including proliferation and cell migration, through activation of multiple signaling molecules in various types of cells. We studied its roles in synovial fibroblasts (SFs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and clarified its relevance to RA synovitis, with the following results. 1)We found that the thrombin receptor was overexpressed on RA synovial fibroblasts (RA SFs) and that thrombin induced a marked proliferation and progression of the cell cycle to the S phase in these cells. 2)We also found that thrombin efficiently activated Rho. 3)Rho activation and proliferation and the progression of the cell cycle to the S phase were completely blocked by p115RGS (an N-terminal regulator of the G-protein signaling domain of p115RhoGEF) and by the C-terminal fragments of Gα13 (an inhibitor of the interaction of receptors with G13). 4)Thrombin induced the secretion of IL-6 by RA SFs, but this action was blocked by p115RGS or Gα13. Our findings show that the actions of thrombin on the proliferation of RA SFs, cell-cycle progression to the S phase, and IL-6 secretion were mainly mediated by the G13 and RhoGEF pathways. These results suggest that p115RGS and Gα13 could be potent inhibitors of such functions. A rational design of future therapeutic strategies for RA synovitis could perhaps include the exploitation of the Rho pathway to directly reduce the growth of synovial cells

High resolution MFM: Simulation of tip sharpening

The transfer functions of tips with various sharpened tip ends were calculated and the resolution of these tips was estimated by considering the resolution limit due to thermal noise at room temperature. The tip having an ellipsoidal tip end (ellipsoidal tip) is found to be a suitable candidate for high-resolution magnetic force microscopy. Sharpening of the flat tip end makes zero signal frequencies disappear for tips with ellipticities larger than tan45/spl deg/. The sensitivity shows a maximum around an ellipticity of tan80/spl deg/. The ellipsoidal tip shows a much smaller tip thickness dependence compared to the tip having a flat tip end because only the tip end mainly contributes to signals in case of the ellipsoidal tip

Absence of spectral peaks in short-period oscillations from the Chilean Earthquake

On the occasion of the great Chilean earthquake of May 1960, various modes of free oscillations of the earth were observed: spheroidal oscillations of wave number n = 2 (period 53 min) to 38 (3.7 min) [Benioff et al., 1961; Ness et al., 1961; Alsop et al., 1961; Bogert, 1961] and torsional oscillations of n up to 24 (5.2 min) [Bolt and Marussi, 1962; Brune et al., 1961]. From a rather negative result that the shorter-period oscillations were not well observed, we try here to deduce some conclusions regarding the earth's upper mantle structure or the oscillation mechanism of the earthquake. The result may be due to horizontal inhomogeneities of the upper mantle of the earth making the resolution of spectral peaks in shorter-period oscillations difficult, or it may be due to weak excitation of shorter-period oscillations by the source