Large Banks and Systemic Risk: Insights from a Mean-Field Game Model

This paper aims to investigate the impact of large banks on the financial system stability. To achieve this, we employ a linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) mean-field game (MFG) model of an interbank market, which involves one large bank and multiple small banks. Our approach involves utilizing the MFG methodology to derive the optimal trading strategies for each bank, resulting in an equilibrium for the market. Subsequently, we conduct Monte Carlo simulations to explore the role played by the large bank in systemic risk under various scenarios. Our findings indicate that while the major bank, if its size is not too large, can contribute positively to stability, it also has the potential to generate negative spillover effects in the event of default, leading to increased systemic risk. We also discover that as banks become more reliant on the interbank market, the overall system becomes more stable but the probability of a rare systemic failure increases. This risk is further amplified by the presence of a large bank, its size, and the speed of interbank trading. Overall, the results of this study provide important insights into the management of systemic risk

Research investigations on the use or non-use of hearing aids in the smart cities

This study aims to explore factors influencing behavioral intention to adopt hearing aids among old adults in smart cities. It argues that trust is a moderator to influence the relationship between attitude, subjective norm and individual's behavioral intention in smart cities. This study tests hypotheses using a sample of 103 respondents from six smart cities in China. The results reveal that attitude is main factor influencing individual's behavioral intention. Subjective norm and trust are both not statistically significant at the 95% confidence interval in the model of multiple-regression. Interestingly, it finds that trust moderates the relationship between subjective norm and individual's behavioral intention. It means that the audiologists' advice can positively affect person's behavioral intention in smart cities. The findings imply that the Theory of Reasoned Action can be partially used to explain the person's behavioral intention in Chinese context. This study contributes to encourage old people to use smart hospitals to consult audiologists about hearing loss and hearing aids rehabilitation. Hence, hearing aids can improve their quality of life (QoL), which can be reflected by the improved standard of living, better access to treatments and also the positive sentiment about their life, including comfort, friendship, happiness and a closer connection to the society

Structure- and context-based analysis of the GxGYxYP family reveals a new putative class of glycoside hydrolase.

BackgroundGut microbiome metagenomics has revealed many protein families and domains found largely or exclusively in that environment. Proteins containing the GxGYxYP domain are over-represented in the gut microbiota, and are found in Polysaccharide Utilization Loci in the gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, suggesting their involvement in polysaccharide metabolism, but little else is known of the function of this domain.ResultsGenomic context and domain architecture analyses support a role for the GxGYxYP domain in carbohydrate metabolism. Sparse occurrences in eukaryotes are the result of lateral gene transfer. The structure of the GxGYxYP domain-containing protein encoded by the BT2193 locus reveals two structural domains, the first composed of three divergent repeats with no recognisable homology to previously solved structures, the second a more familiar seven-stranded β/α barrel. Structure-based analyses including conservation mapping localise a presumed functional site to a cleft between the two domains of BT2193. Matching to a catalytic site template from a GH9 cellulase and other analyses point to a putative catalytic triad composed of Glu272, Asp331 and Asp333.ConclusionsWe suggest that GxGYxYP-containing proteins constitute a novel glycoside hydrolase family of as yet unknown specificity

A Review of Current Studies on Internet Finance in China

The Internet and finance are accelerating into integration in the 21st Century. Internet Finance was firstly proposed by Ma Weihua, the former president of China Merchants Bank in July 2012. On the basis of 74 latest research literatures selected from CSSCI Journals, Chinese Core Journals, authoritative magazines and related newspapers, this paper summarizes the current domestic research progress and trend about Internet Finance according to three dimensions, such as the sources of journals, research subjects and research contents. This research shows that the current domestic researches are not only shallow and superficial, but also lack the theoretical analyses and model applications; and the wealth-based and bank-based Internet Finance will be the research focus in the future

Structural genomics analysis of uncharacterized protein families overrepresented in human gut bacteria identifies a novel glycoside hydrolase.

BackgroundBacteroides spp. form a significant part of our gut microbiome and are well known for optimized metabolism of diverse polysaccharides. Initial analysis of the archetypal Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron genome identified 172 glycosyl hydrolases and a large number of uncharacterized proteins associated with polysaccharide metabolism.ResultsBT_1012 from Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron VPI-5482 is a protein of unknown function and a member of a large protein family consisting entirely of uncharacterized proteins. Initial sequence analysis predicted that this protein has two domains, one on the N- and one on the C-terminal. A PSI-BLAST search found over 150 full length and over 90 half size homologs consisting only of the N-terminal domain. The experimentally determined three-dimensional structure of the BT_1012 protein confirms its two-domain architecture and structural analysis of both domains suggests their specific functions. The N-terminal domain is a putative catalytic domain with significant similarity to known glycoside hydrolases, the C-terminal domain has a beta-sandwich fold typically found in C-terminal domains of other glycosyl hydrolases, however these domains are typically involved in substrate binding. We describe the structure of the BT_1012 protein and discuss its sequence-structure relationship and their possible functional implications.ConclusionsStructural and sequence analyses of the BT_1012 protein identifies it as a glycosyl hydrolase, expanding an already impressive catalog of enzymes involved in polysaccharide metabolism in Bacteroides spp. Based on this we have renamed the Pfam families representing the two domains found in the BT_1012 protein, PF13204 and PF12904, as putative glycoside hydrolase and glycoside hydrolase-associated C-terminal domain respectively

Experimental and numerical investigation of heat transfer in an array of impingement jets on a concave surface

This document is the Accepted Manuscript of the following article: B. Yang, S. Chang, H. Wu, Y. Zhao, and M. Leng, 'Experimental and numerical investigation of heat transfer in an array of impingement jets on a concave surface', Applied Thermal Engineering, Vol. 127, pp. 473-483, August 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 1 August 2018. The Version of Record is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.07.190.In this article, a combined experimental and computational study was conducted to investigate the heat transfer characteristics of sonic impingement jets on the concave surface of the leading edge of a NACA0015 airfoil. Both the local/average Nusselt number (NuNu / View the MathML sourceNu‾) distributions and flow pattern in the impingement region were obtained for H/d ranging from 10 to 25, S/d from 20 to 35, and d from 2 to 5 mm, and the jet inclination angle (θ) varied from 0° to 30°. The suitability of eight different turbulence models were investigated and verified. Streamlines and velocity distributions around the stagnation point were also obtained by numerical calculation. Comparison between the numerical work and the experimental results indicated that (1) both NuNu and View the MathML sourceNu‾ were enhanced with H/d=10, S/d=30, and θ=15° in the current study. The impinging multi-jet heat transfer capacity could be augmented if the appropriate structure variables are determined, and (2) enlarging the diameters of the jets holes (d) could not significantly improve the heat transfer performance in the anti-icing system of aircraft.Peer reviewe

A review of historical reconstruction methods of land use/land cover

Understanding long-term human-environment interactions requires historical reconstruction of past land-use and land-cover changes. Most reconstructions have been based primarily on consistently available and relatively standardized information from historical sources. Based on available data sources and a retrospective research, in this paper we review the approaches and methods of the digital reconstruction and analyze their advantages and possible constraints in the following aspects: (1) Historical documents contain qualitative or semi-quantitative information about past land use, which also usually include land-cover data, but preparation of archival documents is very time-consuming. (2) Historical maps and pictures offer visual and spatial quantitative land-cover information. (3) Natural archive has significant advantages as a method for reconstructing past vegetation and has its unique possibilities especially when historical records are missing or lacking, but it has great limits of rebuilding certain land-cover types. (4) Historical reconstruction models have been gradually developed from empirical models to mechanistic ones. The method does not only reconstruct the quantity of land use/cover in historical periods, but it also reproduces the spatial distribution. Yet there are still few historical land-cover datasets with high spatial resolution. (5) Reconstruction method based on multiple-source data and multidisciplinary research could build historical land-cover from multiple perspectives, complement the missing data, verify reconstruction results and thus improve reconstruction accuracy. However, there are challenges that make the method still in the exploratory stage. This method can be a long-term development goal for the historical land-cover reconstruction. Researchers should focus on rebuilding historical land-cover dataset with high spatial resolution by developing new models so that the study results could be effectively applied in simulations of climatic and ecological effects

Transcriptome sequencing and analysis of major genes involved in calcium signaling pathways in pear plants (Pyrus calleryana Decne.)

Candidate genes involved in calcium signaling pathways in pear plants. (XLS 98 kb