The Exchange Rate and Interest Rate Differential Relationship: Evidence from Two Financial Crises

This paper examines the contemporaneous and inter-temporal interaction between real exchange rate and real interest rate differential in the two financial crises of 1997 and 2008 by using data from thirteen countries from different world regions. The empirical result shows that negative contemporaneous relationship exists in most countries. In addition, there is little evidence on a systematic inter-temporal relationship between the real interest rate differential and the real exchange rate, and an absence of consistent result in supporting a negative relationship among the thirteen economies. An extremely low change in the conditional correlation between real interest rate differential and real exchange rates can be found in small countries.Contemporaneous, inter-temporal relationship, exchange rate, interest rate differential, financial crisis

Construction of Fuzzy Signature from Data: An Example of SARS Pre-clinical Diagnosis System

There are many areas where objects with very complex and sometimes interdependent features are to be classified; similarities and dissimilarities are to be evaluated. This makes a complex decision model difficult to construct effectively. Fuzzy signatures are introduced to handle complex structured data and interdependent feature problems. Fuzzy signatures can also used in cases where data is missing. This paper presents the concept of a fuzzy signature and how its flexibility can be used to quickly construct a medical pre-clinical diagnosis system. A Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pre-clinical diagnosis system using fuzzy signatures is constructed as an example to show many advantages of the fuzzy signature. With the use of this fuzzy signature structure, complex decision models in the medical field should be able to be constructed more effectively

Campus Apartment Architecture Style and Likelihood to Graduate: An Exploratory Study at a Southern Public Liberal Arts University

Because of increased opportunities for social interaction, undergraduate students living on campus are more likely to persist and graduate than their counterparts.  Residence hall design also contributes to student interaction.  This study explores the relationship between campus apartment design and graduation rates of a sophomore cohort attending a southern public liberal arts university.  Initial findings indicate students living in a communal apartment complex were more likely to graduate than those living in traditional complexes; a multivariate logistic regression finds the strongest predictors of graduation are race/ethnicity and semester credit hours earned.  Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed

Campus Apartment Architecture Style and Likelihood to Graduate

Because of increased opportunities for social interaction, undergraduate students living on campus are more likely to persist and graduate than their counterparts. Residence hall design also contributes to student interaction. This study explores the relationship between campus apartment design and graduation rates of a sophomore cohort attending a southern public liberal arts university. Initial findings indicate students living in a communal apartment complex were more likely to graduate than those living in traditional complexes; a multivariate logistic regression finds the strongest predictors of graduation are race/ethnicity and semester credit hours earned. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed

Influence of Employee Involvement in Total Productive Maintenance Practices on Job Characteristics: The Malaysian Scenario

The main goal of this study is to examine whether the extent of involvement in Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) practices has a positive effect on job characteristics. Data was gathered from a sample of 184 respondents derived from manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Results from the regression analyses revealed that the extent of employee’s involvement in TPM practices is positively related to the five core job dimensions (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback). Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed

Adaptive Müller cell responses to microglial activation mediate neuroprotection and coordinate inflammation in the retina

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>Microglia and Müller cells are prominent participants in retinal responses to injury and disease that shape eventual tissue adaptation or damage. This investigation examined how microglia and Müller cells interact with each other following initial microglial activation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Mouse Müller cells were cultured alone, or co-cultured with activated or unactivated retinal microglia, and their morphological, molecular, and functional responses were evaluated. Müller cell-feedback signaling to microglia was studied using Müller cell-conditioned media. Corroborative <it>in vivo </it>analyses of retinal microglia-Müller cell interactions in the mouse retina were also performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that Müller cells exposed to activated microglia, relative to those cultured alone or with unactivated microglia, exhibit marked alterations in cell morphology and gene expression that differed from those seen in chronic gliosis. These Müller cells demonstrated <it>in vitro </it>(1) an upregulation of growth factors such as GDNF and LIF, and provide neuroprotection to photoreceptor cells, (2) increased pro-inflammatory factor production, which in turn increased microglial activation in a positive feedback loop, and (3) upregulated chemokine and adhesion protein expression, which allowed Müller cells to attract and adhere to microglia. <it>In vivo </it>activation of microglia by intravitreal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) also induced increased Müller cell-microglia adhesion, indicating that activated microglia may translocate intraretinally in a radial direction using Müller cell processes as an adhesive scaffold.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings demonstrate that activated microglia are able to influence Müller cells directly, and initiate a program of bidirectional microglia-Müller cell signaling that can mediate adaptive responses within the retina following injury. In the acute aftermath following initial microglia activation, Müller cell responses may serve to augment initial inflammatory responses across retinal lamina and to guide the intraretinal mobilization of migratory microglia using chemotactic cues and adhesive cell contacts. Understanding adaptive microglia-Müller cell interactions in injury responses can help discover therapeutic cellular targets for intervention in retinal disease.</p

The Exchange Rate and Interest Rate Differential Relationship: Evidence from Two Financial Crises

This paper examines the contemporaneous and inter-temporal interaction between real exchange rate and real interest rate differential in the two financial crises of 1997 and 2008 by using data from thirteen countries from different world regions. The empirical result shows that negative contemporaneous relationship exists in most countries. In addition, there is little evidence on a systematic inter-temporal relationship between the real interest rate differential and the real exchange rate, and an absence of consistent result in supporting a negative relationship among the thirteen economies. An extremely low change in the conditional correlation between real interest rate differential and real exchange rates can be found in small countries

The Exchange Rate and Interest Rate Differential Relationship: Evidence from Two Financial Crises

This paper examines the contemporaneous and inter-temporal interaction between real exchange rate and real interest rate differential in the two financial crises of 1997 and 2008 by using data from thirteen countries from different world regions. The empirical result shows that negative contemporaneous relationship exists in most countries. In addition, there is little evidence on a systematic inter-temporal relationship between the real interest rate differential and the real exchange rate, and an absence of consistent result in supporting a negative relationship among the thirteen economies. An extremely low change in the conditional correlation between real interest rate differential and real exchange rates can be found in small countries

7-Ketocholesterol increases retinal microglial migration, activation, and angiogenicity: a potential pathogenic mechanism underlying age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has been associated with both accumulation of lipid and lipid oxidative products, as well as increased neuroinflammatory changes and microglial activation in the outer retina. However, the relationships between these factors are incompletely understood. 7-Ketocholesterol (7KCh) is a cholesterol oxidation product localized to the outer retina with prominent pro-inflammatory effects. To explore the potential relationship between 7KCh and microglial activation, we localized 7KCh and microglia to the outer retina of aged mice and investigated 7KCh effects on retinal microglia in both in vitro and in vivo systems. We found that retinal microglia demonstrated a prominent chemotropism to 7KCh and readily internalized 7KCh. Sublethal concentrations of 7KCh resulted in microglial activation and polarization to a pro-inflammatory M1 state via NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Microglia exposed to 7KCh reduced expression of neurotrophic growth factors but increased expression of angiogenic factors, transitioning to a more neurotoxic and pro-angiogenic phenotype. Finally, subretinal transplantation of 7KCh-exposed microglia promoted choroidal neovascularization (CNV) relative to control microglia in a Matrigel-CNV model. The interaction of retinal microglia with 7KCh in the aged retina may thus underlie how outer retinal lipid accumulation in intermediate AMD results in neuroinflammation that ultimately drives progression towards advanced AMD