Essays on financial systems

It is said among historians, that there are two remarkable innovations in modern finance: deposit banking in southern Europe and negotiable bills in northern Europe, especially Antwerp. Although negotiable bills are as important as deposit banking (because they became a foundation of modern commercial banking and stock markets), they are not often studied. Part I of the thesis studies indirect loan contracts which do not rely on either bank-specific technologies or legal protection. It focuses on the concept of negotiability and explains its characteristics, including the substitutability of deposit banking and negotiable bills. Negotiable bills, or resaleable bills, can be interpreted as an indirect loan contract. The buyer of the bill, i.e. the initial lender, can re-sell the bill to a third party to satisfy his liquidity needs. So the initial issuer of the bill borrows from a third party, through the initial lender (acting as an intermediary). Previous studies have focused on direct loan contracts: between banks and borrowers, depositors and banks, or suppliers and buyers. There are few papers studying the incentive problems faced by all three players. To fill this gap, in Chapter Two, we study indirect loan contracts that a lender and a borrower can make only through an intermediary agent, where the borrower and the lender cannot observe any transaction between the other two. Under this severe information asymmetry, the existence of loan contracts as a sequential equilibrium is proved, although they are less efficient compared with direct loan contracts. In Chapter Three, we consider role of collateral in improving efficiency. Chapter Four concludes, summarising the characteristics of these contracts: only less risky borrowers can issue negotiable bills and riskier borrowers need to seek a direct relationship with lenders (or, they are rationed). In the 1990s, the Japanese economy experienced a prolonged recession, the so-called ’lost decade’. It is discussed that a cause of the problem was the ”zombie lending” problem: chronic loss-making firms (zombies) still obtained finance from their banks. Part II of the thesis aims to address the following issues with a microeconomic model. Firstly, why did banks not liquidate bankrupt borrowers? Secondly, how did it affect macroeconomic productivity? And thirdly, how did it affect the procyclicality of land prices as in Kiyotaki and Moore(1997)’s credit cycle? A bank, in this model, has an incentive not to liquidate insolvent borrowers: the liquidation of collateral asset (land) will invite the collapse of land market and the bank has to bear a large loss. The loss may make the bank under-capitalised and force it to close its business. The bank, to avoid the forced closure, does not liquidate insolvent borrowers. This ”zombie borrowers” occupy their land unused, and the bank can squeeze land supply to push up land price: the bank’s own capital is then kept higher than it should be. In the final chapter, based on this model, optimal post-crisis policies are discussed by comparing two options; public capital injection and toxic asset purchasing scheme

Essays on financial systems

It is said among historians, that there are two remarkable innovations in modern finance: deposit banking in southern Europe and negotiable bills in northern Europe, especially Antwerp. Although negotiable bills are as important as deposit banking (because they became a foundation of modern commercial banking and stock markets), they are not often studied. Part I of the thesis studies indirect loan contracts which do not rely on either bank-specific technologies or legal protection. It focuses on the concept of negotiability and explains its characteristics, including the substitutability of deposit banking and negotiable bills. Negotiable bills, or resaleable bills, can be interpreted as an indirect loan contract. The buyer of the bill, i.e. the initial lender, can re-sell the bill to a third party to satisfy his liquidity needs. So the initial issuer of the bill borrows from a third party, through the initial lender (acting as an intermediary). Previous studies have focused on direct loan contracts: between banks and borrowers, depositors and banks, or suppliers and buyers. There are few papers studying the incentive problems faced by all three players. To fill this gap, in Chapter Two, we study indirect loan contracts that a lender and a borrower can make only through an intermediary agent, where the borrower and the lender cannot observe any transaction between the other two. Under this severe information asymmetry, the existence of loan contracts as a sequential equilibrium is proved, although they are less efficient compared with direct loan contracts. In Chapter Three, we consider role of collateral in improving efficiency. Chapter Four concludes, summarising the characteristics of these contracts: only less risky borrowers can issue negotiable bills and riskier borrowers need to seek a direct relationship with lenders (or, they are rationed). In the 1990s, the Japanese economy experienced a prolonged recession, the so-called ’lost decade’. It is discussed that a cause of the problem was the ”zombie lending” problem: chronic loss-making firms (zombies) still obtained finance from their banks. Part II of the thesis aims to address the following issues with a microeconomic model. Firstly, why did banks not liquidate bankrupt borrowers? Secondly, how did it affect macroeconomic productivity? And thirdly, how did it affect the procyclicality of land prices as in Kiyotaki and Moore(1997)’s credit cycle? A bank, in this model, has an incentive not to liquidate insolvent borrowers: the liquidation of collateral asset (land) will invite the collapse of land market and the bank has to bear a large loss. The loss may make the bank under-capitalised and force it to close its business. The bank, to avoid the forced closure, does not liquidate insolvent borrowers. This ”zombie borrowers” occupy their land unused, and the bank can squeeze land supply to push up land price: the bank’s own capital is then kept higher than it should be. In the final chapter, based on this model, optimal post-crisis policies are discussed by comparing two options; public capital injection and toxic asset purchasing scheme.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceUniversity of Warwick. Department of Economics (UoW)University of Warwick. Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation (CSGR)GBUnited Kingdo

Synthesis of tertiary alkylphosphonate oligonucleotides through light-driven radical-polar crossover reactions

光エネルギーで新しい化学修飾核酸を合成 --核酸リン原子の第三級アルキル化に成功--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-11-01.Chemical modification of nucleotides can improve the metabolic stability and target specificity of oligonucleotide therapeutics, and alkylphosphonates have been employed as charge-neutral replacements for naturally-occurring phosphodiester backbones in these compounds. However, at present, the alkyl moieties that can be attached to phosphorus atoms in these compounds are limited to methyl groups or primary/secondary alkyls, and such alkylphosphonate moieties can degrade during oligonucleotide synthesis. The present work demonstrates the tertiary alkylation of the phosphorus atoms of phosphites bearing two 2’-deoxynuclosides. This process utilizes a carbocation generated via a light-driven radical-polar crossover mechanism. This protocol provides tertiary alkylphosphonate structures that are difficult to synthesize using existing methods. The conversion of these species to oligonucleotides having charge-neutral alkylphosphonate linkages through a phosphoramidite-based approach was also confirmed in this study

Baastrup's Disease Is Associated with Recurrent of Sciatica after Posterior Lumbar Spinal Decompressions Utilizing Floating Spinous Process Procedures

Study DesignRetrospective case-control study.PurposeTo determine whether kissing spine is a risk factor for recurrence of sciatica after lumbar posterior decompression using a spinous process floating approach.Overview of LiteratureKissing spine is defined by apposition and sclerotic change of the facing spinous processes as shown in X-ray images, and is often accompanied by marked disc degeneration and decrement of disc height. If kissing spine significantly contributes to weight bearing and the stability of the lumbar spine, trauma to the spinous process might induce a breakdown of lumbar spine stability after posterior decompression surgery in cases of kissing spine.MethodsThe present study included 161 patients who had undergone posterior decompression surgery for lumbar canal stenosis using a spinous process floating approaches. We defined recurrence of sciatica as that resolved after initial surgery and then recurred. Kissing spine was defined as sclerotic change and the apposition of the spinous process in a plain radiogram. Preoperative foraminal stenosis was determined by the decrease of perineural fat intensity detected by parasagittal T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Preoperative percentage slip, segmental range of motion, and segmental scoliosis were analyzed in preoperative radiographs. Univariate analysis followed by stepwise logistic regression analysis determined factors independently associated with recurrence of sciatica.ResultsStepwise logistic regression revealed kissing spine (p=0.024; odds ratio, 3.80) and foraminal stenosis (p<0.01; odds ratio, 17.89) as independent risk factors for the recurrence of sciatica after posterior lumbar spinal decompression with spinous process floating procedures for lumbar spinal canal stenosis.ConclusionsWhen a patient shows kissing spine and concomitant subclinical foraminal stenosis at the affected level, we should sufficiently discuss the selection of an appropriate surgical procedure

Baastrup\u27s Disease Is Associated with Recurrent of Sciatica after Posterior Lumbar Spinal Decompressions Utilizing Floating Spinous Process Procedures

Study DesignRetrospective case-control study.PurposeTo determine whether kissing spine is a risk factor for recurrence of sciatica after lumbar posterior decompression using a spinous process floating approach.Overview of LiteratureKissing spine is defined by apposition and sclerotic change of the facing spinous processes as shown in X-ray images, and is often accompanied by marked disc degeneration and decrement of disc height. If kissing spine significantly contributes to weight bearing and the stability of the lumbar spine, trauma to the spinous process might induce a breakdown of lumbar spine stability after posterior decompression surgery in cases of kissing spine.MethodsThe present study included 161 patients who had undergone posterior decompression surgery for lumbar canal stenosis using a spinous process floating approaches. We defined recurrence of sciatica as that resolved after initial surgery and then recurred. Kissing spine was defined as sclerotic change and the apposition of the spinous process in a plain radiogram. Preoperative foraminal stenosis was determined by the decrease of perineural fat intensity detected by parasagittal T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Preoperative percentage slip, segmental range of motion, and segmental scoliosis were analyzed in preoperative radiographs. Univariate analysis followed by stepwise logistic regression analysis determined factors independently associated with recurrence of sciatica.ResultsStepwise logistic regression revealed kissing spine (p=0.024; odds ratio, 3.80) and foraminal stenosis (p<0.01; odds ratio, 17.89) as independent risk factors for the recurrence of sciatica after posterior lumbar spinal decompression with spinous process floating procedures for lumbar spinal canal stenosis.ConclusionsWhen a patient shows kissing spine and concomitant subclinical foraminal stenosis at the affected level, we should sufficiently discuss the selection of an appropriate surgical procedure

重傷外傷の認識が遅れ救急外来で緊急開腹術を行った１例

An８１-year-old man fell down and bruised his left abdomen. After a while the back pain got worse, and he admitted to the Emergency Department. At hospitals admission, several signs of shock were observed, and contrast-enhanced CT revealed a splenic injury. However, it took an hour and a half to diagnose and convene the trauma team because of the lack of information shared among medical staffs and the delay of the recognition as a severe traumatic injury. Since there was no available operation room at the time, nor there wasn’t time to transfer to another hospital, he was forced to undergo emergency open splenectomy at the Emergency Department. That decision saved his life as a result. In ２００２, it revealed that the deaths of about ４０％ of expired trauma patients who arrived at emergency centers were probably preventable. Since then, much progress has been made in establishing and generalizing the trauma care and evaluation guidelines. Our hospital is also making progress in organizing a trauma team and the massive transfusion protocol. However, even if they are well maintained, we won’t be able to decrease the number of preventable trauma deaths（PTD）unless we diagnose it. Improving clinical management as well as making efforts on teamwork, leads to a rapid definitive care in trauma patients

On the origin and evolution of the asteroid Ryugu: A comprehensive geochemical perspective

Presented here are the observations and interpretations from a comprehensive analysis of 16 representative particles returned from the C-type asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. On average Ryugu particles consist of 50% phyllosilicate matrix, 41% porosity and 9% minor phases, including organic matter. The abundances of 70 elements from the particles are in close agreement with those of CI chondrites. Bulk Ryugu particles show higher δ18O, Δ17O, and ε54Cr values than CI chondrites. As such, Ryugu sampled the most primitive and least-thermally processed protosolar nebula reservoirs. Such a finding is consistent with multi-scale H-C-N isotopic compositions that are compatible with an origin for Ryugu organic matter within both the protosolar nebula and the interstellar medium. The analytical data obtained here, suggests that complex soluble organic matter formed during aqueous alteration on the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal (several 10’s of km), <2.6 Myr after CAI formation. Subsequently, the Ryugu progenitor planetesimal was fragmented and evolved into the current asteroid Ryugu through sublimation

Integrative Annotation of 21,037 Human Genes Validated by Full-Length cDNA Clones

The human genome sequence defines our inherent biological potential; the realization of the biology encoded therein requires knowledge of the function of each gene. Currently, our knowledge in this area is still limited. Several lines of investigation have been used to elucidate the structure and function of the genes in the human genome. Even so, gene prediction remains a difficult task, as the varieties of transcripts of a gene may vary to a great extent. We thus performed an exhaustive integrative characterization of 41,118 full-length cDNAs that capture the gene transcripts as complete functional cassettes, providing an unequivocal report of structural and functional diversity at the gene level. Our international collaboration has validated 21,037 human gene candidates by analysis of high-quality full-length cDNA clones through curation using unified criteria. This led to the identification of 5,155 new gene candidates. It also manifested the most reliable way to control the quality of the cDNA clones. We have developed a human gene database, called the H-Invitational Database (H-InvDB; http://www.h-invitational.jp/). It provides the following: integrative annotation of human genes, description of gene structures, details of novel alternative splicing isoforms, non-protein-coding RNAs, functional domains, subcellular localizations, metabolic pathways, predictions of protein three-dimensional structure, mapping of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identification of polymorphic microsatellite repeats within human genes, and comparative results with mouse full-length cDNAs. The H-InvDB analysis has shown that up to 4% of the human genome sequence (National Center for Biotechnology Information build 34 assembly) may contain misassembled or missing regions. We found that 6.5% of the human gene candidates (1,377 loci) did not have a good protein-coding open reading frame, of which 296 loci are strong candidates for non-protein-coding RNA genes. In addition, among 72,027 uniquely mapped SNPs and insertions/deletions localized within human genes, 13,215 nonsynonymous SNPs, 315 nonsense SNPs, and 452 indels occurred in coding regions. Together with 25 polymorphic microsatellite repeats present in coding regions, they may alter protein structure, causing phenotypic effects or resulting in disease. The H-InvDB platform represents a substantial contribution to resources needed for the exploration of human biology and pathology

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection