How do the Asian Economies Compete with Japan in the US Market, China Exceptional? A Triangular Trade Approach

Political conflicts among trading partners have changed their forms with ever-increasing flows of foreign direct investment. A decrease in the exports of Japan might merely be a reflection of a global production shift by Japanese multinational corporations. We investigate the effect of Japanese trade on the exports of other countries to the United States in the 1990s. In our sample we include eight Asian countries besides the US and Japan. With the trade data disaggregated at the HS 4-digit level, we regress the exports of an Asian country to the US on the Japanese exports to the US and the third-country, and the Japanese FDI to a third-country in a panel data specification. Among eight countries investigated, we find the evidence that Chinese and Japanese exports are substitutes in the US market while the exports of China to the US are partly promoted by Japanese FDI to China. The estimation result confirms a view that China competes vigorously with Japan in the US market while Japanese multinationals are adjusting their production bases to China in a process of reforming a new global production network.China; Foreign Direct Investment; Japan; Trade; Triangular Trade Approach

Distance on FDI and Trade: The Roles of China and Mexico in the Pacific Basin

In this study, we investigate the dynamics of the trilateral trade relationship among the U.S., Japan and an emerging economy in the Pacific Basin. Our particular attention is paid to two emerging countries; China and Mexico. In what we call the “triangular trade approach,” we explore how Japanese trade with and foreign direct investment to an emerging economy affect its exports to the US market. We apply the trilateral trade approach to eight Southeast Asian countries, four American continent countries and four European countries. Our empirical results suggest that the exports of China and Mexico are directly competing with those of Japan in US markets while the exports of China and Mexico to the US also appears to be promoted partly by Japanese exports to these countries. However, after controlling for Japan’s FDI to these countries, the trade enhancing effect of Japanese exports disappears for China, leading us to conclude that Japanese exports to China are positively correlated with Chinese exports to the US through an increase in vertical trade between Japanese multinationals and their affiliates in China. Our results indicate important distinction about two distances: proximity to home country and proximity to market.China, Distance; Foreign Direct Investment; FTA; Japan; Trade; Mexico; Triangular Trade Approach

Folding a Paper Strip to Minimize Thickness

In this paper, we study how to fold a specified origami crease pattern in order to minimize the impact of paper thickness. Specifically, origami designs are often expressed by a mountain-valley pattern (plane graph of creases with relative fold orientations), but in general this specification is consistent with exponentially many possible folded states. We analyze the complexity of finding the best consistent folded state according to two metrics: minimizing the total number of layers in the folded state (so that a "flat folding" is indeed close to flat), and minimizing the total amount of paper required to execute the folding (where "thicker" creases consume more paper). We prove both problems strongly NP-complete even for 1D folding. On the other hand, we prove the first problem fixed-parameter tractable in 1D with respect to the number of layers.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

KAgoshima Galactic Object survey with Nobeyama 45-metre telescope by Mapping in Ammonia lines (KAGONMA): Discovery of parsec-scale CO depletion in the Canis Major star-forming region

In observational studies of infrared dark clouds, the number of detections of CO freeze-out onto dust grains (CO depletion) at pc-scale is extremely limited, and the conditions for its occurrence are, therefore, still unknown. We report a new object where pc-scale CO depletion is expected. As a part of Kagoshima Galactic Object survey with Nobeyama 45-m telescope by Mapping in Ammonia lines (KAGONMA), we have made mapping observations of NH3 inversion transition lines towards the star-forming region associated with the CMa OB1 including IRAS 07077-1026, IRAS 07081-1028, and PGCC G224.28-0.82. By comparing the spatial distributions of the NH3 (1,1) and C18O (J=1-0), an intensity anti-correlation was found in IRAS 07077-1026 and IRAS 07081-1028 on the ~1 pc scale. Furthermore, we obtained a lower abundance of C18O at least in IRAS 07077-1026 than in the other parts of the star-forming region. After examining high density gas dissipation, photodissociation, and CO depletion, we concluded that the intensity anti-correlation in IRAS 07077-1026 is due to CO depletion. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the centre of PGCC G224.28-0.82, the emission line intensities of both the NH3 (1,1) and C18O (J=1-0) were strongly detected, although the gas temperature and density were similar to IRAS 07077-1026. This indicates that there are situations where C18O (J=1-0) cannot trace dense gas on the pc scale and implies that the conditional differences that C18O (J=1-0) can and cannot trace dense gas are unclear.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, 4 tables, accepted for Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan (PASJ). The version 1 is the Author's Original Version. My accepted manuscript will be publicly available on the arXiv one year after publication in the PAS

Single-Player and Two-Player Buttons & Scissors Games

We study the computational complexity of the Buttons \& Scissors game and obtain sharp thresholds with respect to several parameters. Specifically we show that the game is NP-complete for $C = 2$ colors but polytime solvable for $C = 1$. Similarly the game is NP-complete if every color is used by at most $F = 4$ buttons but polytime solvable for $F \leq 3$. We also consider restrictions on the board size, cut directions, and cut sizes. Finally, we introduce several natural two-player versions of the game and show that they are PSPACE-complete.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures. Presented at JCDCG2 2015, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, September 14 - 16, 201

Protein Kinase A Inhibits Lysophosphatidic Acid-Induced Migration of Airway Smooth Muscle Cells

ABSTRACT Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive phospholipid that is released from activated platelets and affects contractile properties of airway smooth muscle cells. However, possible roles of LPA on cell migration, one of the initial events of airway remodeling, are not clarified. This study aimed to examine the effects of LPA on migration and actin fiber formation in bovine tracheal smooth muscle cells (BTSMCs). Random and oriented cell migrations were examined with wound assay and Boyden chamber assay, respectively. Cytosolic actin fibers were stained with rhodaminephalloidin. Membrane translocation of RhoA, a hallmark of RhoA activation, was assessed by Western blotting. LPA augmented the migration of BTSMCs from wounded confluent monolayer but did not accelerate the chemotactic migration toward LPA. LPA also induced a transient actin reorganization and RhoA activation. Dense actin fibers were observed mainly in the wound edge but not in migrated cells, thereby suggesting the role of actin reorganization in the initiation of cell migration. LPA-induced actin fiber formation was blocked by Y27632 [R-(ϩ)-trans-N-(4-pyridyl)-4-(1-aminoethyl)-cyclohexane carboxamide], an inhibitor of Rho kinase. Effects of LPA on migration and actin fiber formation were also inhibited by cAMP-elevating agents, i.e., dibutyryl cAMP, forskolin, isoproterenol, and theophylline. KT5720 (9S,10S,12R)-2,3,9,10,11,12-hexahydro-10-hydroxy-9-methyl-1-oxo-9,12-epoxy-1H-diindolo[1,2,3-fg:3Ј,2Ј,1Ј-kl]pyrrolo[3,4-i][1,6]benzodiazocine-10-carboxylic acid hexyl ester], a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, reversed the inhibitory actins of cAMP on LPA-induced responses. These results indicate that LPA induces cAMP/PKAsensitive, RhoA-mediated random migration of BTSMCs. Regulation of this mechanism would be beneficial for the control of airway remodeling. Proliferation and hypertrophy of airway smooth muscle cells cause airway remodeling Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a membrane-derived lysophospholipid that is generated in serum This work was supported in part by a grant-in-aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at http://jpet.aspetjournals.org

Screening for congenital cytomegalovirus infection using newborn urine samples collected on filter paper: feasibility and outcomes from a multicentre study

PublisherBackground As congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection causes significant clinical consequences not only at birth but also later as neurological sequelae, it is critical to establish a strategy for screening congenitally infected newborns. Previous studies have identified an insufficient sensitivity in screening methods based on the use of dried blood spots (DBSs). Objectives To evaluate the feasibility of the authors' recently developed method for large-scale screening for congenital CMV infection and to identify risk factors for congenital infection. Methods More than 21 000 newborns were enrolled at 25 sites in six geographically separate areas of Japan. Urine was collected onto filter cards placed in the diapers, which were then analysed by quantitative PCR using the filter disc directly as a template. Clinical and physical findings of the newborns were extracted from their medical records. CMV strains from the cases and their siblings were genetically compared. Viral loads in DBSs obtained from some of the cases were compared with those in the urine filters. Results Congenital CMV infection was identified in 0.31% (95% CI 0.24% to 0.39%) of the newborns, and 30% of the cases (20/66) had typical clinical manifestations and/or showed abnormalities in brain images at birth. Although the positive predictive value of our screening was 94%, the lack of any comparison with a gold standard assay prevented calculation of the negative predictive value. Almost two-thirds of the cases had siblings, a significantly higher frequency than for uninfected newborns. Most of the cases (21/25) excreted CMV strains identical to those of their siblings. CMV DNA was undetectable in three out of 12 retrievable DBS specimens. Conclusions Implementation of an effective large-scale screening programme for congenital CMV infection is feasible. Siblings are the major risk factor for congenital CMV infection, which emphasises the need for education of mothers-to-be as well as vaccine development