Bank Deregulation, Asset Concentration And Safety & Soundness Of Banking Industry

In this paper, we examine the pattern of asset concentration among 900 largest bank holding companies in the United States during 1986-2008. The entropy coefficient is used as a measure of concentration because it is said to be theoretically sound and superior to other models due to its decomposition properties (Theil, 1972). Decomposing 900 bank holding companies in nine 100-subgroups and testing the within-set and between-set concentration of total assets and selected groups of individual assets revealed that the bottom 850 bank holding companies did not exhibit a noticeable change in asset concentration.  However, a significant concentration of assets took place among the top 50 bank holding companies. The result of this study, in light of the recent financial turmoil that showed the largest bank holding companies’ (i.e., Bank of America, Citicorp, etc.) systematic risk exceeded their ability to remain solvent, has significant policy implication (i.e., bail out the largest bank under the too-big to-fail doctrine)

Characterization of copper resistant ciliates: Potential candidates for consortia of organisms used in bioremediation of wastewater

Metals are environmental pollutants of major concern due to their ecological, sanitary and even economic consequences. Both prokaryotes and eukaryotes inhabiting such environments carry cellular systems that maintain the metal homeostasis. The ciliate protists tolerate elevated concentrations of metals, which are accumulated, bound to metallothioneins (MTs) peculiar to these organisms. Copper is one of such contaminant found in the wastewater of local industries. The concentrations of copper which caused 50% reduction (LC50) in the cell population of Tetrahymena sp RT1, and two Euplotes spp. RE-1 and RE-2, isolated from the industrial waste, were found to be 60, 48 and 49 ppm, respectively, compared to those of the cultures without copper in the media. RT-1 showed significantly high tolerance to copper ions and could uptake 52.66% of the copper ions from the medium. The axenic culture of RT-1 could uptake 61.2% of copper from the medium compared to 68.41 and 59.16% by the ATCC culture of Tetrahymena thermophila and T. pyriformis, respectively. RT-1 tolerated about 500 μM copper in the medium without affecting its movement. This ciliate showed promise as a member of the consortium used for bioremediation of copper contaminated wastewater.Key words: Copper toxicity, metallothionein, growth curve of ciliates, metal uptake, bioremediation

A MILP Framework to Solve the Sustainable System Optimum with Link MFD Functions

Given the increasing consciousness toward the environmental footprint of mobility, accommodating environmental objectives in existing transport planning strategies is imperative for research and practice. In this paper, we use the link macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) model to develop optimal routing strategies that minimize total system emissions (TSE) in multiple origin-destination (OD) networks. Piecewise linear (PWL) functions are used to approximate MFD for individual links, and to define link-level emissions. Dynamic network constraints, non-vehicle holding constraints, and convex formulations of the PWL functions are considered. Thus, the system-optimum dynamic traffic assignment (SO-DTA) problem with environmental objectives is formulated as a mixed integer linear program (MILP). Finally, on a synthetic network, numerical examples demonstrate the performance of the proposed framework

Electrocardiogram Abnormality Associated with Methadone Overdose

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Effect of Astaxanthin, Vitamin E, and Vitamin C in Combination with Calorie Restriction on Sperm Quality and Quantity in Male Rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of calorie restriction and dietary antioxidant supplementation separately or in combination on the quality and quantity of sperm in male rat. Forty male rats were randomly allocated to four groups of 10 animals each, and fed for at least 86 days with an ad libitum diet (group 1), a restricted diet (group 2), an ad libitum diet and astaxanthin, vitamin E, and vitamin C supplements (group 3), or a restricted diet with astaxanthin, vitamin E, and vitamin C supplements (group 4). At the end of the study period, sperm count and motility were determined with a hemocytometer, and differences between the groups were analyzed by analysis of variance. In addition, total antioxidant capacity and 8-epi prostaglandin F2 alpha were measured at the beginning and end of the study period with an enzymelinked immunosorbent assay method. After 86 days, a significantly higher sperm count was seen in group 4 compared to other groups. The percentage of immotile sperm was significantly decreased in groups 2, 3, and 4 in comparison to group 1. A significant increase in total antioxidant capacity was observed in group 3 (p = 0.02) and group 4 (p = 0.02) compared to groups 1 and 2. Antioxidant supplementation with or without calorie restriction had no significant effect on serum isoprostane level in any group. Astaxanthinin, combined with vitamin E, vitamin C, and calorie restriction, was able to ameliorate, in part, infertility in male rats

Gene study within the 5' flanking regions of growth hormone gene of first exon in Bos indicus

Growth hormone (GH) is a main regulatory protein secreted by pituitary gland and placenta, involved in most anabolic processes in mammals. Expression of more than one gene for GH has been reported, indicating polymorphism at gene and protein level; apart from this, silent mutations has also been reported, relating to the level of expression of GH gene. The aim of this study is to identify silent mutations within the 5' flanking regions of GH2 gene of the first exon in Bos indicus. DNA was isolatedfrom the blood of freshly slaughtered animal and a set of primer was used for gene amplification, binding at 5' flanking region of GH gene at chromosome 19. DNA was amplified and the resultant product of about 453 bp was sequenced. The results showed that there were 9 changes including 8 replacements and one addition, for GH 2.3 allele, as compared to Bos taurus Genome (Btau_4.0 ) and two earlier reported alleles 2.1 and 2.2 for GH2 gene in B indicus. As this region is related to higher milk production, growth regulation, carcass and immune response traits in livestock, these changes could be used as a genetic marker. The reported sequence has been deposited to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) with the Accession Number FN666263.Key words: Bos indicus, growth hormone gene, silent mutation, growth hormone (GH) gene, allele

Heavy Metals Resistant Rotifers from a Chromium Contaminated Wastewater can Help in Environmental Clean-up,

in metal containing media by Notommata copeus was 82%, 61% and 97%, respectively after two days of inoculation and 96%, 81% and 99% after 8 days. The resistance of rotifers against heavy metals and their uptake ability can be exploited for metal detoxification and environmental clean-up operations

Effect of time and temperature on migration of melamine from melamine-ware products to foods

Background: Melamine is an organic base material whose resin is used to prepare the food-related wares. The initial migration of melamine from tableware to food can be for the remained monomers, but the secondary migration is an important concern for breakage and damage of polymers. Previous studies showed that acidity, temperature, and time have effects on melamine migration. The present study was conducted to measure melamine migration from melamine-wares to food and to investigate the effects of temperature and time on migration using HPLC method.Methods: Melamine-wares were purchased according to Iran National Standard guidelines. Four various tests were designed to examine the effects of time and temperature on melamine migration to the Acetic acid 3% as a food simulant. Exposures were done at temperatures 30 and 90 ◦C for 30 and 90 minutes. Migration was determined using HPLC method.Results: In all samples, migration occurred but it was lower than the Specific Migration Limit (SML). Melamine was restricted by SML of 30 mg/kg (European Union standard). Findings indicated that the temperature and time had significant effects on migration. Temperature had specially a direct relationship with melamine migration.Conclusion: Findings of the present study indicated that the independent variables, including temperature and time, had significant effects on migration, so precautions should be considered when using melamine wares for hot and acidic foods

Teaching Linear Algebra in a Mechanized Mathematical Environment

This paper outlines our ideas on how to teach linear algebra in a mechanized mathematical environment, and discusses some of our reasons for thinking that this is a better way to teach linear algebra than the ``old fashioned way''. We discuss some technological tools such as Maple, Matlab, Python, and Jupyter Notebooks, and some choices of topics that are especially suited to teaching with these tools. The discussion is informed by our experience over the past thirty or more years teaching at various levels, especially at the University of Western Ontario.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure