Opportunity cost and prudentiality : a representative-agent model of futures clearinghouse behavior

Includes bibliographic references (p. 31-38)

Opportunity cost and prudentiality : an analysis of futures clearinghouse behavior

Margin deposits, which serve as collateral to protect the clearinghouse, are typically the most important tool for risk management. The authors develop a model that explains how creating a futures clearinghouse may allow traders simultaneously to reduce both the risk of default and the total amount of margin that members post. Optimal margin levels are determined by the need to balance the deadweight costs of default against the opportunity cost of holding additional margin. Both costs are a consequence of market participants'imperfect access to capital markets. The simultaneous reduction in default risk and in the opportunity cost of margin deposits is possible because the creation of the clearinghouse facilitates multilateral netting. The authors characterize the conditions under which multilateral netting will dominate bilateral netting. They also show that it is credible for the clearinghouse to expel members who default, further reducing the risk of default. Finally, they show that it may (but need not) be optimal for the clearinghouse to monitor the financial condition of its members. If monitoring occurs, it will reduce the amount of margin required, but need not affect the probability of default. The empirical tests run by the authors indicate that the opportunity cost of margin plays an important role in determining margin. The relationship between volatility and margins indicates that participants face an upward-sloping opportunity cost for margin, which appears to more than offset the effects that monitoring and expulsion would be expected to have on margin setting.Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research,Insurance&Risk Mitigation

A review of regulatory mechanisms to control the volatility of prices

Stock - Prices ; Futures

Long-term relationship between tobacco use and weight loss after sleeve gastrectomy

8 p.Fil: Signorini, Franco José. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Polero, Virginia. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Viscido, Germán. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Navarro, Luciano. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Obeide, Lucio. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Moser, Federico. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation had been typically associated with weight gain. We have reported that there is no relationship between tobacco use and weight loss after bariatric surgery in the short term. The objective of this study was to establish the relationship between weight loss and the smoking habit in patients undergoing bariatric surgery and to analyze weight loss on severe smokers and on those patients who stopped smoking during the long-term postoperative period. METHODS: One hundred eighty-four patients included in our previous study were contacted by phone at 7 years after sleeve gastrectomy. They were again divided into three groups: (A) smokers, (B) ex-smokers, and (C) non-smokers. Demographics and weight loss at 6, 12, 24, and 7 years were analyzed. Smokers were subdivided for further analysis into the following: group A1: heavy smokers, group A2: non-heavy smokers, group A3: active smokers after surgery, and group A4: quitters after surgery. Student test was used for statistics. RESULTS: One hundred two patients were included. The follow-up was 80.74 ± 7.25 month. Group A: 29 patients, group B: 34 patients, and group C: 39 patients. Mean BMI was 34.35 ± 8.44 kg/m2 and the %EWL was 56.95 ± 27. The subgroup analysis showed the following composition: group A1: 6 patients, group A2: 23 patients, group A3: 23 patients, and group A4: 6 patients. Weight loss difference among groups and subgroups was statistically non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study reaffirms the hypothesis that weight loss among bariatric patients is independent from smoking habit even at long-term follow-up and regardless from cessation.http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11695-018-3217-9info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionFil: Signorini, Franco José. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Polero, Virginia. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Viscido, Germán. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Navarro, Luciano. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Obeide, Lucio. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Fil: Moser, Federico. Hospital Privado Universitario de Córdoba. Departamento de Cirugía General. Programa de Cirugía Bariátrica; Argentina.Cirugí

Psychometric Testing of the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index

BACKGROUND: Self-care is believed to improve outcomes in heart failure (HF) patients. However, research testing this assumption is hampered by difficulties in measuring self-care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a revised instrument measuring self-care in persons with HF, the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI). The SCHFI is a self-report measure comprised of 15 items rated on a 4-point response scale and divided into 3 subscales. METHODS AND RESULTS: Psychometric testing was done using data from 760 HF patients (age 70.36 +/- 12.3 years, 51% male) from 7 sites in the United States. Reliability of the SCHFI (alpha.76) was adequate. Reliability of the Self-Care Maintenance subscale was lower than desired (alpha.56) but the reliability of the other subscales was adequate: Self-Care Management (alpha.70) and Self-Care Self-Confidence (alpha.82). Construct validity was supported with satisfactory model fit on confirmatory factor analysis (NFI=.69, CFI.73). Construct validity was supported further with significant total and subscale (all P \u3c .05) differences between patients experienced with HF and those newly diagnosed, consistent with the underlying theory. CONCLUSION: Low reliability of the Self-Care Maintenance subscale was expected because the items reflect behaviors known to vary in individuals. The reliability and validity of the SCHFI are sufficient to support its use in clinical research

Interlaboratory comparison on 137Cs activity concentration in fume dust

Proceeding of the 9th International Topical Meeting on Industrial Radiation and Radioisotope Measurement Applications, 6-7 July 2014, Valencia, Spain.; International audience; A comparison was conducted, between 11 European National Metrology Institutes and EC-JRC, on measurement of Cs-137 activity concentration in fume dust. As test material an activity standard produced from real contaminated fume dust was used. The standard material consisted of 13 cylindrical samples of compressed fume dust. The material contained Cs-137 and Co-60 of reference activity concentrations of (9.72 +/- 0.10) Bq/g and (0.450 +/- 0.018) Bq/g, respectively, for the reference date of 1 June 2013, determined using the comparison results. The organization and results of the intercomparison, as well as the process of obtaining reliable reference values are presented

60Co in Cast Steel Matrix: a European Interlaboratory Comparison for the Characterisation of New Activity Standards for Calibration of Gamma-ray Spectrometers in Metallurgy

International audience; Two series of activity standards of Co-60 in cast steel matrix, developed for the calibration of gamma-ray spectrometry systems in the metallurgical sector, were characterised using a European interlaboratory comparison among twelve National Metrology Institutes and one international organisation. The first standard, consisting of 14 disc shaped samples, was cast from steel contaminated during production ("originally"), and the second, consisting of 15 similar discs, from artificially-contaminated ("spiked") steel. The reference activity concentrations of Co-60 in the cast steel standards were (1.077 +/- 0.019) Bq g(-1) on 1 January 2013 12h00 UT and (1.483 +/- 0.022) Bq g(-1) on 1 June 2013 12h00 UT, respectively

Anti-chemokine antibodies after SARS-CoV-2 infection correlate with favorable disease course.

Infection by SARS-CoV-2 leads to diverse symptoms, which can persist for months. While antiviral antibodies are protective, those targeting interferons and other immune factors are associated with adverse COVID-19 outcomes. Instead, we discovered that antibodies against specific chemokines are omnipresent after COVID-19, associated with favorable disease, and predictive of lack of long COVID symptoms at one year post infection. Anti-chemokine antibodies are present also in HIV-1 and autoimmune disorders, but they target different chemokines than those in COVID-19. Finally, monoclonal antibodies derived from COVID- 19 convalescents that bind to the chemokine N-loop impair cell migration. Given the role of chemokines in orchestrating immune cell trafficking, naturally arising anti-chemokine antibodies associated with favorable COVID-19 may be beneficial by modulating the inflammatory response and thus bear therapeutic potential. One-Sentence Summary Naturally arising anti-chemokine antibodies associate with favorable COVID-19 and are predictive of lack of long COVID

IL-17RA Signaling Reduces Inflammation and Mortality during Trypanosoma cruzi Infection by Recruiting Suppressive IL-10-Producing Neutrophils

Members of the IL-17 cytokine family play an important role in protection against pathogens through the induction of different effector mechanisms. We determined that IL-17A, IL-17E and IL-17F are produced during the acute phase of T. cruzi infection. Using IL-17RA knockout (KO) mice, we demonstrate that IL-17RA, the common receptor subunit for many IL-17 family members, is required for host resistance during T. cruzi infection. Furthermore, infected IL-17RA KO mice that lack of response to several IL-17 cytokines showed amplified inflammatory responses with exuberant IFN-γ and TNF production that promoted hepatic damage and mortality. Absence of IL-17RA during T. cruzi infection resulted in reduced CXCL1 and CXCL2 expression in spleen and liver and limited neutrophil recruitment. T. cruzi-stimulated neutrophils secreted IL-10 and showed an IL-10-dependent suppressive phenotype in vitro inhibiting T-cell proliferation and IFN-γ production. Specific depletion of Ly-6G+ neutrophils in vivo during T. cruzi infection raised parasitemia and serum IFN-γ concentration and resulted in increased liver pathology in WT mice and overwhelming wasting disease in IL-17RA KO mice. Adoptively transferred neutrophils were unable to migrate to tissues and to restore resistant phenotype in infected IL-17RA KO mice but migrated to spleen and liver of infected WT mice and downregulated IFN-γ production and increased survival in an IL-10 dependent manner. Our results underscore the role of IL-17RA in the modulation of IFN-γ-mediated inflammatory responses during infections and uncover a previously unrecognized regulatory mechanism that involves the IL-17RA-mediated recruitment of suppressive IL-10-producing neutrophils