Are Broker Quotes Too Optimistic? Korean Evidence

We examine the behavior of broker quotes in Korean housing markets by comparing the Kookmin Bank apartment (a condominium in a high- rise residential building) price index, a broker quote based apartment price index, and a repeat sales apartment price index that we built using transaction prices, which have become available since January 2006. Broker quotes may differ from actual prices depending on the housing market conditions. Specifically, we test the hypotheses: (1) price increases shown by the broker quote based apartment price index are greater than those shown by the repeat sales apartment price index in an up market; and (2) the broker quote based price index shows a far less price reduction than the repeat sales price index in a down market. We find that indeed in a down market, the broker quote based price index shows far less price reduction than the repeat sales price index (5.75%-8.07%). However, the broker quote based price index does not distort the prices in an up market, where trading volumes are high. It appears that the price inflation in the broker quotes rises as the transaction volume drops. While broker quotes are substantially higher than transaction prices in a down market, the broker sentiment, which is a qualitative assessment of market conditions, appears to be more in line with transaction prices. We have also documented that the broker quote based index reaches its peak about two months after the peak of the repeat sales based index. Finally, broker quotes are smooth in comparison to transaction prices and they are smoothed more in a down market than an up market. Our results suggest that an optimistic view of broker quotes is problematic only in down markets where trading volumes are limited. The price inflation in broker quotes is a risk to the financial system in a market with only a broker quote based index in that it overstates the collateral values underlying mortgage loans in a down market.Broker quotes; Broker quote based apartment price index; Repeat sales apartment price index; House price cycle; Broker sentiment; Korean housing markets

New empiricisms in the Anthropocene: Thinking with speculative fiction about science and social inquiry

Interest in new empiricisms and transdisciplinary methods has led many social inquirers to engage with 20th-century post-classical physical science. Many of these projects have focused on alternative matter–mind mixtures and in/organic variation, concerned that past theories of sociality have dismissed the vibrancy and animacy of the nonhuman material world. This paper explores the power of speculative fiction to help us rethink empiricism in posthuman ecologies of the Anthropocene, in the midst of post-truth conditions and growing science denialism. We foreground speculative fiction as a way to open up scientific imaginaries, rethinking the relationship between nature, technics, and human “sense” making. We show how such texts offer alternative images of research methods for studying pluralist ecologies and new forms of worldly belonging

Vacuum-Ultraviolet Photoionization and Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Lignin Monomers Coniferyl and Sinapyl Alcohols

The fragmentation mechanisms of monolignols under various energetic processes are studied with jet-cooled thermal desorption molecular beam (TDMB) mass spectrometry (MS), 25 keV Bi3+ secondary ion MS (SIMS), synchrotron vacuum-ultraviolet secondary neutral MS (VUV-SNMS) and theoretical methods. Experimental and calculated appearance energies of fragments observed in TDMB MS indicate that the coniferyl alcohol photoionization mass spectra contain the molecular parent and several dissociative photoionization products. Similar results obtained for sinapyl alcohol are also discussed briefly. Ionization energies of 7.60 eV ? 0.05 eV for coniferyl alcohol and<7.4 eV for both sinapyl and dihydrosinapyl alcohols are determined. The positive ion SIMS spectrum of coniferyl alcohol shares few characteristic peaks (m/z = 137 and 151) with the TDMB mass spectra, shows extensive fragmentation, and does not exhibit clear molecular parent signals. VUV-SNMS spectra, on the other hand, are dominated by the parent ion and main fragments also present in the TDMB spectra. Molecular fragmentation in VUV-SNMS spectra can be reduced by increasing the extraction delay time. Some features resembling the SIMS spectra are also observed in the desorbed neutral products. The monolignol VUV-SNMS peaks shared with the TDMB mass spectra suggest that dissociative photoionization of ion-sputtered neutral molecules predominate in the VUV-SNMS mass spectra, despite the extra internal energy imparted in the initial ion impact. The potential applications of these results to imaging mass spectrometry of bio-molecules are discussed

Bioequivalence evaluation of two amlodipine salts, besylate and orotate, each in a fixed-dose combination with olmesartan in healthy subjects

Soo-Yun Lee,1 Jung-Ryul Kim,2,3 Jin Ah Jung,4 Wooseong Huh,2,5 Mi Young Bahng,6 Jae-Wook Ko1,2 1Department of Health Sciences and Technology, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation, SAIHST, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 4Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Inje University, Busan Paik Hospital, Busan, Republic of Korea; 5Department of Internal Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea; 6Dong-A ST Co., Ltd., Seoul, Republic&nbsp;of Korea Abstract: A fixed-dose combination of amlodipine and olmesartan is used to treat high blood pressure in patients whose hypertension is not sufficiently controlled with either drug alone. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two fixed-dose combinations, ie, amlodipine orotate/olmesartan medoxomil 10/40 mg and amlodipine besylate/olmesartan medoxomil 10/40 mg, in healthy subjects. A randomized, open-label, single-dose, two-sequence, two-period, crossover study was conducted in 30 healthy adult volunteers. Blood samples were collected for up to 72 hours post-dose in each period. Safety data included the results of physical examinations, clinical laboratory tests, vital signs, an electrocardiogram, and adverse events. For both amlodipine and olmesartan, the 90% confidence intervals for the geometric mean ratios of AUClast and time to peak plasma concentration fell within the bioequivalence acceptance criteria. The two fixed-dose combinations showed similar safety profiles. Amlodipine orotate/olmesartan medoxomil 10/40 mg was bioequivalent to amlodipine besylate/olmesartan medoxomil 10/40 mg. Keywords: amlodipine orotate, amlodipine besylate, olmesartan medoxomil, fixed-dose combination, bioequivalenc

An ecology of meaning: an integrative framework for understanding human motivations

In this article, we consider how motivations for meaning and meaning in life can integrate much of human thought and behavior. We defend the following claims: Humans evolved to be motivated to share meanings with each other. These shared meanings accumulate to form a shared reality which constitute the cultures within which people live. Living in such ecologies of meaning requires that people learn to master these meanings in order to successfully pursue their basic needs. These shared cultural meanings get internalized into networks of meanings that form a key component of people’s selves. People depend upon meanings in their lives so much that they are motivated to defend these meanings. People’s motivations to defend meanings help them to strive to lead meaningful lives. In sum, we argue that many different aspects of human psychology can be integrated and better understood when they are considered in terms of people’s motivations for meaning

Effects of post- oxidation annealing temperature on ZrO2 thin film deposited on 4H-SiC substrate

ZrO2 thin film has been formed on n-type 4H-SiC substrate using a combination of metal sputtering (∼25 nm thick) and thermal oxidation (15 min at 500 °C) processes. Effects of post-oxidation annealing temperature (600–900 °C) on the physical and electrical properties of the thin film have been investigated. High resolution transmission electron microscopy attached with energy dispersive X-ray has been used to examine cross-sectional morphology and to study element chemical distribution of the investigated region. Selected area diffraction analysis has been employed to examine crystallinity of the samples. Metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors have been fabricated to examine leakage current through the oxide using current–voltage measurement. Oxide-semiconductor interface-trap density has been extracted using capacitance–voltage measurement. The annealing process reduced leakage current density as low as one order of magnitude. However, breakdown voltage of the oxide has been reduced. Dielectric constant extracted from this work ranges from 22 to 80, depending on the annealing temperature