Will High-Frequency Trading Practices Transform the Financial Markets in the Asia Pacific Region?

High-frequency trading (HFT) practices in the global financial markets involve the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), especially the capabilities of high-speed networks, rapid computation, and algorithmic detection of changing information and prices that create opportunities for computers to effect low-latency trades that can be accomplished in milliseconds. HFT practices exist because a variety of new technologies have made them possible, and because financial market infrastructure capabilities have also been changing so rapidly. The U.S. markets, such as the National Association for Securities Dealers Automated Quote (NASDAQ) market and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), have maintained relevance and centrality in financial intermediation in financial markets settings that have changed so much in the past 20 years that they are hardly recognizable. In this article, we explore the technological, institutional and market developments in leading financial markets around the world that have embraced HFT trading. From these examples, we will distill a number of common characteristics that seem to be in operation, and then assess the extent to which HFT practices have begun to be observed in Asian regional financial markets, and what will be their likely impacts. We also discuss a number of theoretical and empirical research directions of interest

Functional Antagonism of WRI1 and TCP20 Modulates \u3ci\u3eGH3.3\u3c/i\u3e Expression to Maintain Auxin Homeostasis in Roots

Auxin is a well-studied phytohormone, vital for diverse plant developmental processes. The GH3 genes are one of the major auxin responsive genes, whose expression changes lead to modulation of plant development and auxin homeostasis. However, the transcriptional regulation of these GH3 genes remains largely unknown. WRI1 is an essential transcriptional regulator governing plant fatty acid biosynthesis. Recently, we identified that the expression of GH3.3 is increased in the roots of wri1-1 mutant. Nevertheless, in this study we found that AtWRI1 did not activate or repress the promoter of GH3.3 (proGH3.3) despite of its binding to proGH3.3. Cross-family transcription factor interactions play pivotal roles in plant gene regulatory networks. To explore the molecular mechanism by which WRI1 controls GH3.3 expression, we screened an Arabidopsis transcription factor library and identified TCP20 as a novel AtWRI1-interacting regulator. The interaction between AtWRI1 and TCP20 was further verified by several approaches. Importantly, we found that TCP20 directly regulates GH3.3 expression via binding to TCP binding element. Furthermore, AtWRI1 repressed the TCP20-mediated transactivation of proGH3.3. EMSAs demonstrated that AtWRI1 antagonized TCP20 from binding to proGH3.3. Collectively, we provide new insights that WRI1 attenuates GH3.3 expression through interaction with TCP20, highlighting a new mechanism that contributes to fine-tuning auxin homeostasis

DIACHRONOUS EVOLUTION OF BACK-ARC BASINS IN THE SOUTH TIANSHAN: INSIGHTS FROM STRUCTURAL, GEOCHRONOLOGICAL AND GEOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF THE WUWAMEN OPHIOLITE MÉLANGE

The South Tianshan is located to the north of the Tarim block and defines the southern margin of the Paleozoic Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This study presents new structural data, geochronological and geochemical results for the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange in the Chinese segment of the South Tianshan. In the south, the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange shows typical block-in-matrix fabrics and occurs in the footwall of a south-dipping thrust fault, hanging wall of which is composed of weakly metamorphosed and deformed Lower Paleozoic marine to deep marine sequences from the South Tianshan. In the north, a southdipping thrust fault juxtaposes the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange in its hanging wall against the high-grade and strongly deformed metasedimentary rocks from the Central Tianshan in its footwall.The South Tianshan is located to the north of the Tarim block and defines the southern margin of the Paleozoic Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This study presents new structural data, geochronological and geochemical results for the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange in the Chinese segment of the South Tianshan. In the south, the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange shows typical block-in-matrix fabrics and occurs in the footwall of a south-dipping thrust fault, hanging wall of which is composed of weakly metamorphosed and deformed Lower Paleozoic marine to deep marine sequences from the South Tianshan. In the north, a southdipping thrust fault juxtaposes the Wuwamen ophiolite mélange in its hanging wall against the high-grade and strongly deformed metasedimentary rocks from the Central Tianshan in its footwall

IRIS3: integrated cell-type-specific regulon inference server from single-cell RNA-Seq

group of genes controlled as a unit, usually by the same repressor or activator gene, is known as a regulon. The ability to identify active regulons within a specific cell type, i.e., cell-type-specific regulons (CTSR), provides an extraordinary opportunity to pinpoint crucial regulators and target genes responsible for complex diseases. However, the identification of CTSRs from single-cell RNA-Seq (scRNA-Seq) data is computationally challenging. We introduce IRIS3, the first-of-its-kind web server for CTSR inference from scRNA-Seq data for human and mouse. IRIS3 is an easy-to-use server empowered by over 20 functionalities to support comprehensive interpretations and graphical visualizations of identified CTSRs. CTSR data can be used to reliably characterize and distinguish the corresponding cell type from others and can be combined with other computational or experimental analyses for biomedical studies. CTSRs can, therefore, aid in the discovery of major regulatory mechanisms and allow reliable constructions of global transcriptional regulation networks encoded in a specific cell type. The broader impact of IRIS3 includes, but is not limited to, investigation of complex diseases hierarchies and heterogeneity, causal gene regulatory network construction, and drug development

Environmental Modeling and Exposure Assessment of Sediment-Associated Pyrethroids in an Agricultural Watershed

Synthetic pyrethroid insecticides have generated public concerns due to their increasing use and potential effects on aquatic ecosystems. A modeling system was developed in this study for simulating the transport processes and associated sediment toxicity of pyrethroids at coupled field/watershed scales. The model was tested in the Orestimba Creek watershed, an agriculturally intensive area in California' Central Valley. Model predictions were satisfactory when compared with measured suspended solid concentration (R2 = 0.536), pyrethroid toxic unit (0.576), and cumulative mortality of Hyalella azteca (0.570). The results indicated that sediment toxicity in the study area was strongly related to the concentration of pyrethroids in bed sediment. Bifenthrin was identified as the dominant contributor to the sediment toxicity in recent years, accounting for 50–85% of predicted toxicity units. In addition, more than 90% of the variation on the annual maximum toxic unit of pyrethroids was attributed to precipitation and prior application of bifenthrin in the late irrigation season. As one of the first studies simulating the dynamics and spatial variability of pyrethroids in fields and instreams, the modeling results provided useful information on new policies to be considered with respect to pyrethroid regulation. This study suggested two potential measures to efficiently reduce sediment toxicity by pyrethroids in the study area: [1] limiting bifenthrin use immediately before rainfall season; and [2] implementing conservation practices to retain soil on cropland

Diverse Applications of Nanomedicine

The design and use of materials in the nanoscale size range for addressing medical and health-related issues continues to receive increasing interest. Research in nanomedicine spans a multitude of areas, including drug delivery, vaccine development, antibacterial, diagnosis and imaging tools, wearable devices, implants, high-throughput screening platforms, etc. using biological, nonbiological, biomimetic, or hybrid materials. Many of these developments are starting to be translated into viable clinical products. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments in nanomedicine and highlight the current challenges and upcoming opportunities for the field and translation to the clinic. \ua9 2017 American Chemical Society

The Effect of Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway on the Economic Development of Prefecture-Level Cities Along the Line Based on DID Model

High-speed railway has an essential impact on the economic and social development of the regions along the line. Based on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, this paper constructs the DID model and analyzes the impact of Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway on the economic development of prefecture-level cities along the route from the empirical perspective. The empirical analysis results show that the BeijingShanghai high-speed railway has a significant negative impact on the per capita GDP of prefecture-level cities along the line in the short term, mainly because the agglomeration effect is greater than the diffusion effect. Therefore, small cities should actively think about how to deal with the agglomeration effect caused by the construction of high-speed rail

Fixed Effects codes and data (US migration and NYC FHV)

This dataset includes codes and instructions that support all the results of this study</p

Adaptive Fixed-Time Stability Control and Parameters Identification for Chaotic Oscillation in Second Order Power System

In this paper, the novel adaptive fixed-time stability control for chaotic oscillation in second order power system is proposed. The settling time of fixed-time control can be adjusted to the desired value without knowing the initial condition, while the finite time control depends on that. Then, we develop a parameter identification method of fixed-time depending on synchronous observer with adaptive law of parameters, which can guarantee these uncertain parameters to be identified effectively. Finally, some numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness and practicability of the scheme