Investigating effects of oil price changes on the US, the UK and Japan

Based on the structural VAR model of the global crude oil market proposed by Kilian(2009), this article investigates the causes for wild fluctuations in oil prices since the mid-2000s. A main contribution of the study is to compare the effects of changes in oil price on three major economies, the US, the UK, and Japan. I find oil-specific demand shocks as well as aggregate demand shocks played an important role in the rise in the real price of oil since early 2002 and the subsequent sharp drops after the failure of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.. Moreover I have found that oil-specific demand shocks increase real GDP in Japan, which is very different from the US and the UK where oil-specific demand shocks lead to reduction in real GDP. This difference possibly comes from the oil efficiency of Japanese products.SVAR,Oil price

The Effects of Oil Price Shocks on IIP and CPI in Emerging Countries

In this paper, we investigate the effects of oil price shocks on the production and price level in five emerging countries through comparison with the United States, using a two-block structural VAR model of the global crude oil market proposed by Kilian and Park (see International Economic, vol. 50, 2009, pp. 1267–1287). Our main finding is that the effect of oil price shocks on the index of the industrial production (IIP) and consumer price index (CPI) in emerging countries also depends on where the changes fundamentally come from (this is also the case for the United States). We also found that some emerging countries showed unique impulse response patterns, the shapes of which are different from those of the United States and there are differences in impulse response patterns among emerging countries

A comparison of the long-term effects of lanthanum carbonate and calcium carbonate on the course of chronic renal failure in rats with adriamycin-induced nephropathy.

Lanthanum carbonate (LA) is an effective phosphate binder. Previous study showed the phosphate-binding potency of LA was twice that of calcium carbonate (CA). No study in which LA and CA were given at an equivalent phosphate-binding potency to rats or humans with chronic renal failure for a long period has been reported to date. The objective of this study was to compare the phosphate level in serum and urine and suppression of renal deterioration during long-term LA and CA treatment when they were given at an equivalent phosphate-binding potency in rats with adriamycin (ADR)-induced nephropathy. Rats were divided into three groups: an untreated group (ADR group), a CA-treated (ADR-CA) group and a LA-treated (ADR-LA) group. The daily oral dose of LA was 1.0 g/kg/day and CA was 2.0 g/kg/day for 24 weeks. The serum phosphate was lower in the ADR-CA or ADR-LA group than in the ADR group and significantly lower in the ADR-CA group than in the ADR group at each point, but there were no significant differences between the ADR and ADR-LA groups. The serum phosphate was also lower in the ADR-CA group than in the ADR-LA group, and there was significant difference at week 8. The urinary phosphate was significantly lower in the ADR-CA group than in the ADR or ADR-LA group at each point. The urinary phosphate was also lower in the ADR-LA group than in the ADR group at each point, and significant difference at week 8. There were no significant differences in the serum creatinine or blood urea nitrogen among the three groups. In conclusion, this study indicated the phosphate-binding potency of LA isn't twice as strong as CA, and neither LA nor CA suppressed the progression of chronic renal failure in the serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, compared to the untreated group

The serum and urine data.

<p>A: serum creatinine, B: blood urea nitrogen, C: serum phosphate, D: serum calcium, E: urinary phosphate, F: urinary calcium. The data are expressed as the means ± SEM. ♦ = ADR group, ▪ = ADR-CA group, ▴ = ADR-LA group. *p<0.05 or less, vs. ADR group at the same time point, ⁺p<0.05 or less vs. ADR-CA group at the same time point.</p

An outline of the experimental protocol.

<p>i.v.: intravenous injection.</p

The body weight, blood pressure, and biochemical data in the different groups.

<p>The data are expressed as the means ± SD.</p><p>*p<0.05 vs. ADR group at the same time point,</p>+<p>p<0.05 vs. ADR-CA group at the same time point.</p>a<p>p<0.05 vs. Week 0 values of the same group, ^bp<0.05 vs. Week 8 values of the same group, ^cp<0.05 vs. Week 16 values of the same group.</p><p>Abbreviations: FGF-23, fibroblast growth factor-23; PTH, parathyroid hormone.</p

Klotho expression in the kidney at week 24.

<p>The data are expressed as the means ± SD.</p><p>There were no significant differences among the three groups.</p><p>Abbreviations: GAPDH, Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase.</p