Private Information, Human Capital, and Optimal "Home Bias" in Financial Markets

By allowing for imperfectly informed markets and the role of private information, we offer new insights about observed deviations of portfolio concentrations in domestic relative to foreign risky assets, or "home bias", from what standard finance models predict. Our model ascribes the "bias" to endogenous information acquisition bolstered by investors' human capital. We develop discriminating hypotheses about the influence of "specific" and "general" human capital endowments and direct and opportunity costs of managing risky assets in determining whether to hold these assets, and how the assets' portfolio shares vary across investors and financial markets. These hypotheses are supported by numerical and econometric analyses of panel data from the US over 1992-2007, and 23 international financial markets over 2001-2007. The results indicate the existence of differences across countries in the degree to which home asset prices are "information-revealing", which may be relevant for fully understanding the global financial crisis of 2007-09.risky assets, financial markets, home bias, human capital, private information, global financial crisis

Nitric oxide directly activates calcium-activated potassium channels from rat brain reconstituted into planar lipid bilayer

AbstractUsing the planar lipid bilayer technique, we tested whether NO directly activates calcium-activated potassium (Maxi-K) channels isolated from rat brain. We used streptozotocin (STZ) as NO donor, and the NO release was controlled with light. In the presence of 100–800 μM STZ, the Maxi-K channel activity increased up to 3-fold within several tens of seconds after the light was on, and reversed to the control level several minutes after shutting off the light. Similar activation was observed with other NO donors such as S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine and sodium nitroprusside. The degree of activity increase was dependent upon the initial open probability (Pinit). When the Pinit was lower, the activity increase was greater. These results demonstrate that NO can directly affect the Maxi-K channel activity, and suggest that the Maxi-K channel might be one of the physiological targets of NO in brain

In Vivo

Platycodin D is a major pharmacological constituent of Platycodi radix and has showed various pharmacological activities through oxidative stress defense mechanisms. Here, possible antitumor, anticachexia, and immunomodulatory activities of platycodin D were observed on the H520 tumor cell-bearing athymic nude mice after confirming the in vitro cytotoxicity. Platycodin D was orally administered at dose levels of 200, 100, and 50 mg/kg, once a day for 35 days from 15 days after implantation. The results were compared with gemcitabine 160 mg/kg intraperitoneally treated mice (7-day intervals). Platycodin D showed favorable cytotoxic effects on the H520 cells, and also dose-dependently decreased the tumor volumes and weights with increases of apoptotic cells (caspase-3 and PARP immunopositive cells), iNOS and TNF-α immunoreactivities, decreases of COX-2 immunoreactivities in tumor masses. Platycodin D also showed dose-dependent immunostimulatory and anticachexia effects. Gemcitabine showed favorable cytotoxity against H520 tumor cell and related in vivo antitumor effects but aggravated the cancer related cachexia and immunosuppress in H520 tumor cell-bearing athymic nude mice. Taken together, it is considered that oral treatment of platycodin D has potent antitumor activities on H520 cells through direct cytotoxic effects, increases of apoptosis in tumor cells, and immunostimulatory effects and can be control cancer related cachexia

Low-Dose 3D Rotational Angiography in Measuring the Size of Intracranial Aneurysm: In Vitro Feasibility Study Using Aneurysm Phantom

Purpose Three-dimensional (3D) measurement of intracranial aneurysms is important in planning endovascular treatment, and 3D rotational angiography (RA) is effective in accurate measurement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of low dose 3D RA (5 seconds 0.10 μGy/frame) in measuring an intracranial aneurysm using an in vitro phantom. Materials and Methods We investigated an in vitro 3D phantom of an intracranial aneurysm with 10 acquisitions of 3D RA with a conventional dose (5 seconds 0.36 μGy/frame) and 10 acquisitions with a low-dose (5 seconds 0.10 μGy/frame). 3D size and neck diameters of the aneurysm were measured and compared between the 2 groups (conventional and low-dose) using noninferiority statistics. Results The aneurysm measurements were well-correlated between the 2 readers, and noninferiority in the measurement of aneurysmal size of low-dose 3D RA was demonstrated, as the upper margin of the 1-sided 97.5% confidence interval did not cross the pre-defined noninferiority margin of 0.2 mm by the 2 readers. Conclusion Low-dose (5 seconds 0.10 μGy/frame) cerebral 3D RA is technically feasible and not inferior in in vitro 3D measurement of an intracranial aneurysm. Thus, low-dose 3D RA is promising and needs further evaluation for its clinical utility in the planning of endovascular treatment of an intracranial aneurysm

5.IEEE-IGARSS in Seoul, Korea

Inha UniversityAgency for Defense DevelopmentDue to the phenological variation of vegetation growth in temperate region, it is often difficult to accurately assess the surface conditions on agricultural croplands, grasslands, and disturbed forests by current multi-spectral remote sensor data. In particular, the spectral similarity between soil and dry vegetation has been primary concern to correctly appraise the surface conditions during the non-growing seasons in temperature region. This study analyzes the spectral characteristics of the mixture of dry vegetation and soil. The reflectance spectra were obtained from laboratory spectroradiometer measurement and from EO-1 Hyperion image data. The reflectance spectra of several samples having different level of dry vegetation fractions show similar pattern from both lab measurement and hyperspectral image. Shortwave IR wavelengths, in particular at wavelength near 2200nm, are more sensitive to the fraction of dry vegetation. The reflectance spectra of bare soil could be distinguished from the other surfaces covered by dry vegetation during the leaf-off season. © 2005 IEEE.Project Number 14404021, Peport of Research Project ; Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research(B)(2), from April 2002 to March 2006, Edited by Muramoto,Ken-ichiroKamata, NaotoKawanishi, TakuyaKubo, MamoruLiu, JiyuanLee, Kyu-Sung , 人工衛星データ活用のための東アジアの植生調査、課題番号14404021, 平成14年度～平成17年度科学研究費補助金, 基盤研究（B)(2)研究成果報告書, 研究代表者：村本, 健一郎, 金沢大学自然科学研究科教

Myrrh Inhibits LPS-Induced Inflammatory Response and Protects from Cecal Ligation and Puncture-Induced Sepsis

Myrrh has been used as an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent. However, effect of myrrh on peritoneal macrophages and clinically relevant models of septic shock, such as cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), is not well understood. Here, we investigated the inhibitory effect and mechanism(s) of myrrh on inflammatory responses. Myrrh inhibited LPS-induced productions of inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2, and tumor necrosis factor-α but not of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in peritoneal macrophages. In addition, Myrrh inhibited LPS-induced activation of c-jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) but not of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38, and nuclear factor-κB. Administration of Myrrh reduced the CLP-induced mortality and bacterial counts and inhibited inflammatory mediators. Furthermore, administration of Myrrh attenuated CLP-induced liver damages, which were mainly evidenced by decreased infiltration of leukocytes and aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase level. Taken together, these results provide the evidence for the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial potential of Myrrh in sepsis

Predictive performance of the new race-free Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equations for kidney outcome in Korean patients with chronic kidney disease

Background The new Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations without a race coefficient have gained recognition across the United States. We aimed to test whether these new equations performed well in Korean patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods This study included 2,149 patients with CKD G1–G5 without kidney replacement therapy from the Korean Cohort Study for Outcome in Patients with CKD (KNOW-CKD). The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using the new CKD-EPI equations with serum creatinine and cystatin C. The primary outcome was 5-year risk of kidney failure with replacement therapy (KFRT). Results When we adopted the new creatinine equation [eGFRcr (NEW)], 81 patients (23.1%) with CKD G3a based on the current creatinine equation (eGFRcr) were reclassified as CKD G2. Accordingly, the number of patients with eGFR of <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 decreased from 1,393 (64.8%) to 1,312 (61.1%). The time-dependent area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for 5-year KFRT risk was comparable between the eGFRcr (NEW) (0.941; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.922–0.960) and eGFRcr (0.941; 95% CI, 0.922–0.961). The eGFRcr (NEW) showed slightly better discrimination and reclassification than the eGFRcr. However, the new creatinine and cystatin C equation [eGFRcr-cys (NEW)] performed similarly to the current creatinine and cystatin C equation. Furthermore, eGFRcr-cys (NEW) did not show better performance for KFRT risk than eGFRcr (NEW). Conclusion Both the current and the new CKD-EPI equations showed excellent predictive performance for 5-year KFRT risk in Korean patients with CKD. These new equations need to be further tested for other clinical outcomes in Koreans