Factors in the returns on stock : inspiration from Fama and French asset pricing model

Under the inspiration of Fama and French asset pricing model, this paper mainly studies the relationship between the month return of A shares and the factors that may have an effect on the stocks’ month return. It also compares the differences in the reaction of all shares and GEM board shares to these factors. It is important to highlight that these factors include the market, firm size, earnings and book-to-market information. The data used in this project comes from the quarterly data of China stock market from March of 2000 to December of 2011 and was used in panel model regressions. The regression time period of A shares is from March of 2000 to December of 2011, and the regression time period of GEM board shares is from December of 2009 to December of 2011 as a consequence that China’s GEM board was officially established in October 30th of 2009. This document will show several linear models to explain the correlation between stock return (A shares and GEM board shares) and the factors (market factor, firm size factor, earning factor and book-to-market factor). Based on the result of the empirical study, we found that relative small book-to-market ratio may have positive effect on the stock returns of A shares and GEM board shares. Also that for the GEM board shares, relative smaller size and relative higher earnings are good for the price to rise. And that for A shares, size factor and earning factor have little influence on the stock return. Finally the GEM board shares are more sensitive to market factor than A shares

IPO markets in Asia financial centers : how the different IPO locations affect firms’ stock prices

For most of non-listed corporations when they are confronting the issues of cutting capital cost, to increase the base of their investors, to develop the firm business quicker, or even to diversify the pool of investors, one of the most important alternatives that the executives and shareholders of these corporations may think is to do IPO (Initial Public Offering); which could be done in the domestic or in the foreign IPO markets. This paper firstly introduces the situation and differences among different IPO markets in Asia major financial centers that includes Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Then it will analyze the macroeconomic factors and intangible factors that influence the performances of the firms’ share prices by empirical approaches (more quantitative than qualitative). The result of quantitative analysis shows that relative big GDP growth rate in listing areas may have positive effect on the returns of IPO stocks, and relative large inequality of wealth distribution in listing areas may have positive relationship with the returns of IPO stocks

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Membrane preconcentration of iron in seawater samples and on-site determination in spectrophotometry

State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (MEL) [MELRI1001]A novel method for on-site determination of trace iron was developed using membrane preconcentration and spectrophotometric detection. Fe(II)-ferrozine complex was reacted with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to form a Fe(II)-ferrozine-CTAB paired compound, which was collected on a membrane by filtration under vacuum. The membrane was immersed in 2 mL of ethanol-nitric acid and the absorbance of the solution measured for quantitative analysis. Various factors affecting the iron collection and determination were investigated. With different sample preconcentration volumes, the range of determination was broadened to 0.5-120 mu g/L. The detection limit of this method reached 0.19 mu g/L and the recoveries were between 97.2 and 109% when the concentration enrichment was about 45. The relative standard deviation (n = 7) was 1.9% for samples containing 10 mu g/L Fe. Twelve seawater samples were analyzed on-site using the proposed method, and two were also analyzed in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. No significant difference was shown between the two methods by the Student's t-test. The method has also been used on-site for iron enrichment experiments with phytoplankton and concluded to be simple, accurate and inexpensive

Mechanism of Radix Astragali and Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae Ameliorates Hypertensive Renal Damage

Hypertensive-induced renal damage (HRD) is an important public health and socioeconomic problem worldwide. The herb pair Radix Astragali- (RA-) Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (RS) is a common prescribed herbal formula for the treatment of HRD. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The purpose of our study is to explore the mechanism of combination of Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (RS) ameliorating HRD by regulation of the renal sympathetic nerve. Thirty 24-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) as the experimental group were randomly divided into the RA group, the RS group, the RA+RS group, the valsartan group, and the SHR group and six age-matched Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) as the control group. After 4 weeks of corresponding drug administration, venipuncture was done to collect blood and prepare serum for analysis. A color Doppler ultrasound diagnostic instrument was used to observe renal hemodynamics. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), angiotensin II (Ang II), and B-type brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). Simultaneously, the kidneys were removed immediately and observed under a transmission electron microscope to observe the ultrastructural changes. And the concentration of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1), and nitric oxide (NO) was detected by immunohistochemistry. Our results showed that renal ultrasonography of rats showed no significant difference in renal size among groups. The RA+RS group had obviously decreased vascular resistance index. The levels of NE, E, BNP, Ang II, AT1, and TGF-β1 were decreased (P<0.05), and the density of NO was increased. Pathological damage of the kidney was alleviated. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggested sympathetic overexpression in the pathogenesis of HRD. The combination of RA and RS may inhibit the hyperexcitability of sympathetic nerves and maintain the normal physiological structure and function of kidney tissue and has a protective effect on the cardiovascular system

Cooperative Three-View Imaging Optical Coherence Tomography for Intraoperative Vascular Evaluation

Real-time intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of blood vessels after anastomosis operation can provide important information the vessel, such as patency, flow speed, and thrombosis morphology. Due to the strong scattering and absorption effect of blood, normal OCT imaging suffers from the problem of incomplete cross-sectional view of the vessel under investigation when the diameter is large. In this work, we present a novel cooperative three-view imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography system for intraoperative exposed vascular imaging. Two more side views (left view and right view) were realized through a customized sample arm optical design and corresponding mechanical design and fabrication, which could generate cross-sectional images from three circumferential view directions to achieve a larger synthetic field of view (FOV). For each view, the imaging depth was 6.7 mm (in air) and the lateral scanning range was designed to be 3 mm. Therefore, a shared synthetic rectangle FOV of 3 mm × 3 mm was achieved through cooperative three view scanning. This multi-view imaging method can meet the circumferential imaging demands of vessels with an outer diameter less than 3 mm. Both phantom tube and rat vessel imaging confirmed the increased system FOV performance. We believe the intraoperative application of this cooperative three-imaging optical coherence tomography for objective vascular anastomosis evaluation can benefit patient outcomes in the future

ICAM-1 depletion in the center of immunological synapses is important for calcium releasing in T-cells

T-cell activation requires the formation of the immunological synapse (IS) between a T-cell and an antigen-presenting cell (APC) to control the development of the adaptive immune response. However, calcium release, an initial signal of T-cell activation, has been found to occur before IS formation. The mechanism for triggering the calcium signaling and relationship between calcium release and IS formation remains unclear. Herein, using live-cell imaging, we found that intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), an essential molecule for IS formation, accumulated and then was depleted at the center of the synapse before complete IS formation. During the process of ICAM-1 depletion, calcium was released. If ICAM-1 failed to be depleted from the center of the synapse, the sustained calcium signaling could not be induced. Moreover, depletion of ICAM-1 in ISs preferentially occurred with the contact of antigen-specific T-cells and dendritic cells (DCs). Blocking the binding of ICAM-1 and lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1), ICAM-1 failed to deplete at the center of the synapse, and calcium release in T-cells decreased. In studying the mechanism of how the depletion of ICAM-1 could influence calcium release in T-cells, we found that the movement of ICAM-1 was associated with the localization of LFA-1 in the IS, which affected the localization of calcium microdomains, ORAI1 and mitochondria in IS. Therefore, the depletion of ICAM-1 in the center of the synapse is an important factor for an initial sustained calcium release in T-cells