The Microstructure of Japanfs Interbank Money Market: Simulating Contagion of Intraday Flow of Funds Using BOJ-NET Payment Data

Under a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system, there is an incentive for system participants to delay making their outgoing payments to facilitate their funding, and this creates the risk of settlement delays spreading throughout the entire system. Intraday credit facility and market practices have been established to avoid the risk and led to settlement concentration in the morning, as well as concentrations at the specific times due to other deferred net settlement (DNS) systems. The heterogeneity of intraday progress of settlements causes intraday fluctuation in interest rates. In this paper, we analyze and run simulations on the payment network to understand the intraday flow of funds within Japanfs interbank money market, especially recycling of the "receipt-driven payments." We find that (1) the shape of the payment network changes with the time of day, and payment recycling becomes more likely when the density of the network is high; (2) patterns of intraday payment flow differ across the three RTGS systems of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, reflecting differences in each countryfs system for, and underlying approach to, settlement and funding; and (3) participants comprising the hub of the payment network function as absorbers of contagion under a condition sufficiently stressful to cause a cascade of settlement delays.Real-time gross settlement; Payment recycling; BOJ-NET

The Transaction Network in Japanfs Interbank Money Markets

Interbank payment and settlement flows have changed substantially in the last decade. This paper applies social network analysis to settlement data from the Bank of Japan Financial Network System (BOJ-NET) to examine the structure of transactions in the interbank money market. We find that interbank payment flows have changed from a star-shaped network with money brokers mediating at the hub to a decentralized network with numerous other channels. We note that this decentralized network includes a core network composed of several financial subsectors, in which these core nodes serve as hubs for nodes in the peripheral sub-networks. This structure connects all nodes in the network within two to three steps of links. The network has a variegated structure, with some clusters of institutions on the periphery, and some institutions having strong links with the core and others having weak links. The structure of the network is a critical determinant of systemic risk, because the mechanism in which liquidity shocks are propagated to the entire interbank market, or likewise absorbed in the process of propagation, depends greatly on network topology. Shock simulation examines the propagation process using the settlement data.Interbank market; Real-time gross settlement; Network; Small world; Core and periphery; Systemic risk

Is Ethereum Proof of Stake Sustainable? −- Considering from the Perspective of Competition Among Smart Contract Platforms −-

Since the Merge update upon which Ethereum transitioned to Proof of Stake, it has been touted that it resulted in lower power consumption and increased security. However, even if that is the case, can this state be sustained? In this paper, we focus on the potential impact of competition with other smart contract platforms on the price of Ethereum's native currency, Ether (ETH), thereby raising questions about the safety and sustainability purportedly brought about by the design of Proof of Stake.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figur

Ablation of TSC2 Enhances Insulin Secretion by Increasing the Number of Mitochondria through Activation of mTORC1

) mice. The present study examines the effects of TSC2 ablation on insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells. mice and TSC2 knockdown insulin 1 (INS-1) insulinoma cells treated with small interfering ribonucleic acid were used to investigate insulin secretion, ATP content and the expression of mitochondrial genes. mice exhibit hyperinsulinemia due to an increase in the number of mitochondria as well as enlargement of individual beta cells via activation of mTORC1.Activation of mTORC1 by TSC2 ablation increases mitochondrial biogenesis and enhances insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells

Effect of Slightly Acidic Electrolyzed Water Immersion at Different Frequencies on Quality of Raw Chicken Legs

Slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) is used as a disinfectant for raw chicken meat. Because its volume for a single immersion exceeds 10 times the weight of meat, a large amount of wastewater is generated. Importantly, a higher frequency of immersion is believed to reduce microbial contamination. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of SAEW immersion at different frequencies on the disinfection and quality of raw chicken legs, thereby possibly limiting the usage of SAEW. Immersion for 1, 3, and 5 times, with a 7:1 SAEW:meat ratio, and duration of 15 min was tested. Meat quality was evaluated based on total aerobic bacteria, Enterobactericeae, total volatile basic nitrogen, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, and color. A higher immersion frequency lowered the numbers of total aerobic bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae. Moreover, two immersions with a SAEW:meat ratio of 4:1 and a total immersion time of 6 min reduced the bacterial load as effectively as a single 15-min immersion with a SAEW:meat ratio of 7:1. Higher frequencies of SAEW immersion also resulted in lower total volatile basic nitrogen and lipid oxidation after 0 or 3 days of storage. They did, however, magnify the change in color, resulting in brighter meat. Overall, SAEW treatments with two to five immersions can improve the quality of raw chicken legs and reduce wastewater generation

Analysis of mutants that suppressed oil degradation under dark conditions

For biofuel production by micoralgae, it is important to improve the algae to high biomass or oil contents strain. In this study, we focused on alkenones, as biofuel candidate, that are very-long-alkyl ketones and are only known in five haptophyte species. We selected one of the alkenone-producing haptophytes, Tisochrysis lutea, to mutate by heavy ion beam irradiation that is known as a good method to obtain useful mutants. In addition, the mutants obtained by this method can be applicable in open system as non-GMO. So far, we have selected high oil-producing strains from fluorescence intensity of lipids by lipid staining with Nile red regent. It is considered that these high oil-producing strains will have features such as, high photosynthetic activity, high growth rate, high ratio to lipid in intracellular carbon or suppression of lipid degradation. Here, we screened and analyzed the strains which are suppressed alkenone degradation.Alkenone is known to degrade as energy source like polysaccharides under dark condition. Therefore, we stained intracellular neutral lipids with Nile red regent and monitored fluorescence intensity of stained lipids under dark condition by using microplate reader. First, we cultured selected high oil-producing strains with 96-well plate for 2 weeks and then put them in dark condition for 1 week. When we compared fluorescence intensity of lipids before and after 1 week dark condition, we observed little decrease in fluorescence intensity from 72 strains. Second, we cultured selected 31 of 72 strains with plastic flask for the analysis of alkenone amounts by GC-FID. From the results, we obtained 4 candidate strains as which are suppressed alkenone degradation under dark condition. Finally, we checked time course of several component, such as polysaccharides, protein, polar and non-polar lipids under dark condition. After dark condition, polysaccharides were immediately degraded and over 80% were degraded within 1 week. Degradation of alkenone was started 2 days after dark condition in wild-type but 7 days or later after dark condition in candidate strains. It is suggested the possibility that not only alkenone degrading enzyme but also dark-acclimation to lipid metabolism are changed in these strains.Marine Biotechnology Conference 201