Testing stock market convergence: a non-linear factor approach

This paper applies the Phillips and Sul (Econometrica 75(6):1771–1855, 2007) method to test for convergence in stock returns to an extensive dataset including monthly stock price indices for five EU countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK) as well as the US between 1973 and 2008. We carry out the analysis on both sectors and individual industries within sectors. As a first step, we use the Stock and Watson (J Am Stat Assoc 93(441):349–358, 1998) procedure to filter the data in order to extract the long-run component of the series; then, following Phillips and Sul (Econometrica 75(6):1771–1855, 2007), we estimate the relative transition parameters. In the case of sectoral indices we find convergence in the middle of the sample period, followed by divergence, and detect four (two large and two small) clusters. The analysis at a disaggregate, industry level again points to convergence in the middle of the sample, and subsequent divergence, but a much larger number of clusters is now found. Splitting the cross-section into two subgroups including euro area countries, the UK and the US respectively, provides evidence of a global convergence/divergence process not obviously influenced by EU policies

Dichromatic dark matter

Both the robust INTEGRAL 511 keV gamma-ray line and the recent tentative hint of the 135 GeV gamma-ray line from Fermi-LAT have similar signal morphologies, and may be produced from the same dark matter annihilation. Motivated by this observation, we construct a dark matter model to explain both signals and to accommodate the two required annihilation cross sections that are different by more than six orders of magnitude. In our model, to generate the low-energy positrons for INTEGRAL, dark matter particles annihilate into a complex scalar that couples to photon via a charge-radius operator. The complex scalar contains an excited state decaying into the ground state plus an off-shell photon to generate a pair of positron and electron. Two charged particles with non-degenerate masses are necessary for generating this charge-radius operator. One charged particle is predicted to be long-lived and have a mass around 3.8 TeV to explain the dark matter thermal relic abundance from its late decay. The other charged particle is predicted to have a mass below 1 TeV given the ratio of the two signal cross sections. The 14 TeV LHC will concretely test the main parameter space of this lighter charged particle.University of Wisconsin--Madison (Start-up funds)SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US DOE contract DE-AC02-76SF00515)Aspen Center for Physics (NSF Grant No. 1066293)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Einstein Postdoctoral Fellowship grant number PF2-130102)Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (Chandra X-ray Center, NASA under contract NAS8-03060

Non-Sterilized Fermentative Production of Polymer-Grade L-Lactic Acid by a Newly Isolated Thermophilic Strain Bacillus sp. 2–6

-lactic acid is another limitation for PLA polymers to compete with conventional plastics.-lactic acid concentration of 182.0 g/liter was obtained from 30-liter fed-batch fermentation with an average productivity of 3.03 g/liter/h and product optical purity of 99.4%.-lactic acid production from renewable resources

FGF-23 in bone biology

Recent studies have demonstrated that levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23), a key regulator of phosphorus and vitamin D metabolism, rise dramatically as renal function declines and may play a key initiating role in disordered mineral and bone metabolism in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The physiologic importance of FGF-23 in mineral metabolism was first identified in human genetic and acquired rachitic diseases and further characterized in animal models. FGF-23 and its regulators, including phosphate regulating endopeptidase homolog, dentin matrix 1 (DMP1), and matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein, are made primarily in bone, specifically in osteocytes. Dysregulation of these proteins results in osteomalacia, implicating the osteocyte in the regulation of skeletal mineralization. Studies in pediatric patients with CKD, the majority of whom have altered skeletal mineralization in early stages of CKD, have demonstrated that skeletal expression of both FGF-23 and its regulator, DMP1, are increased in early stages of CKD and that expression of these proteins is associated with alterations in skeletal mineralization. Thus, dysregulation of osteocytic proteins occur very early in the course of CKD and appear to be central to altered bone and mineral metabolism in this patient population

Genetic Structure of the Tree Peony (Paeonia rockii) and the Qinling Mountains as a Geographic Barrier Driving the Fragmentation of a Large Population

Tree peonies are great ornamental plants associated with a rich ethnobotanical history in Chinese culture and have recently been used as an evolutionary model. The Qinling Mountains represent a significant geographic barrier in Asia, dividing mainland China into northern (temperate) and southern (semi-tropical) regions; however, their flora has not been well analyzed. In this study, the genetic differentiation and genetic structure of Paeonia rockii and the role of the Qinling Mountains as a barrier that has driven intraspecific fragmentation were evaluated using 14 microsatellite markers.Twenty wild populations were sampled from the distributional range of P. rockii. Significant population differentiation was suggested (F(ST) value of 0.302). Moderate genetic diversity at the population level (H(S) of 0.516) and high population diversity at the species level (H(T) of 0.749) were detected. Significant excess homozygosity (F(IS) of 0.076) and recent population bottlenecks were detected in three populations. Bayesian clusters, population genetic trees and principal coordinate analysis all classified the P. rockii populations into three genetic groups and one admixed Wenxian population. An isolation-by-distance model for P. rockii was suggested by Mantel tests (r = 0.6074, P<0.001) and supported by AMOVA (P<0.001), revealing a significant molecular variance among the groups (11.32%) and their populations (21.22%). These data support the five geographic boundaries surrounding the Qinling Mountains and adjacent areas that were detected with Monmonier's maximum-difference algorithm.Our data suggest that the current genetic structure of P. rockii has resulted from the fragmentation of a formerly continuously distributed large population following the restriction of gene flow between populations of this species by the Qinling Mountains. This study provides a fundamental genetic profile for the conservation and responsible exploitation of the extant germplasm of this species and for improving the genetic basis for breeding its cultivars

Management and 1-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease: Results from the prospective garfield-af registry

Background-—Using data from the GARFIELD-AF (Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD–Atrial Fibrillation), we evaluated the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage on clinical outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods and Results-—GARFIELD-AF is a prospective registry of patients from 35 countries, including patients from Asia (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand). Consecutive patients enrolled (2013–2016) were classified with no, mild, or moderate-to-severe CKD, based on the National Kidney Foundation’s Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines. Data on CKD status and outcomes were available for 33 024 of 34 854 patients (including 9491 patients from Asia); 10.9% (n=3613) had moderate-to-severe CKD, 16.9% (n=5595) mild CKD, and 72.1% (n=23 816) no CKD. The use of oral anticoagulants was influenced by stroke risk (ie, post hoc assessment of CHA2DS2-VASc score), but not by CKD stage. The quality of anticoagulant control with vitamin K antagonists did not differ with CKD stage. After adjusting for baseline characteristics and antithrombotic use, both mild and moderate-to-severe CKD were independent risk factors for all-cause mortality. Moderate-to-severe CKD was independently associated with a higher risk of stroke/systemic embolism, major bleeding, new-onset acute coronary syndrome, and new or worsening heart failure. The impact of moderate-to-severe CKD on mortality was significantly greater in patients from Asia than the rest of the world (P=0.001). Conclusions-—In GARFIELD-AF, moderate-to-severe CKD was independently associated with stroke/systemic embolism, major bleeding, and mortality. The effect of moderate-to-severe CKD on mortality was even greater in patients from Asia than the rest of the world

Political Pressures Increased Vulnerability to Climate Hazards for Nomadic Livestock in Inner Mongolia, China

Herders in Inner Mongolia experienced two completely different political periods during their last nomadic period between 1961 and 1986. However, climate and technical factors were very similar between these two periods according to statistical analyses. We retrieved historical climate and livestock population data and performed a retrospective study using generalized additive models to analyze three major livestock population demographic metrics changes between these two periods. We found that the sociopolitical factors significantly impacted all three major demographic metrics (adult mortality, neonatal mortality and birthrate) between the two periods for both large (cattle, horse, and camel) and small livestock (sheep and goat). We also identified the interaction effects between sociopolitical factor and climate factors for adult and neonatal mortality, while birthrate was not affected by these interactions. When exposed to climate hazards, adult and neonatal livestock mortality rates were significantly higher, while birthrate was significantly lower in social movement period than in peaceful period. We concluded that political movements had indeed increased the vulnerability of herders' livestock to climate hazards. External political pressures deprived hazard-resistance entitlements of herders, which may explain the elevated effects of political pressures on livestock vulnerability