Exchange rate and market power in import price

This study consists of three papers in the area of international market analysis, as listed in Chapter 1, 2, and 3. Each paper has its own issue and application, but the main theme behind these papers is to figure out interactions of international firms\u27 real decisions with respect to changes in financial variables or structure attributing to the firms\u27 behaviors. The papers focus especially on a risk-averse international firm\u27s decision model with respect to fluctuations in exchange rates;The first two papers relate the international firm\u27s ex-ante real decision to the portfolio theory in correspondence to recent importance of managing risk. Chapter 1 deals with interactions between diversification strategy and currency hedging by futures contracts when a competitive & risk-averse importing agent chooses optimal import quantities and hedging levels under dual uncertainties of price and exchange rate. The resulting total import level under the scheme depends significantly on the degree of correlation among relevant currencies; that is because the currency hedging virtually determines the covariance effect of portfolio variance. Chapter 2 introduces another risk-diversification model in determining the input mixture within a framework of the capital-asset-price-model. The Chinese wheat import market is empirically analyzed to justify this portfolio approach and to explain potential conflicts between the buyer\u27s risk diversification efforts and suppliers\u27 market power. While concentrating on the risk reduction effect, these papers support hedging roles of currency futures contracts among the advanced markets in Chapter 1 and of diversification strategy in importing non-homogenous products in Chapter 2;As an illustration of the market structure related to demand functions, Chapter 3 deals with the topic of pass-through in terms of the oligopoly pricing conduct in the market. To find out the nature of demand convexity, this study draws several testable implications and also evaluates an empirical example of the import beer pricing in the US. Given the open debate on the stability of the level of pass-through, a Kalman filter estimation is adapted in the empirical application

The first Irish genome and ways of improving sequence accuracy

Whole-genome sequencing of an Irish person reveals hundreds of thousands of novel genomic variants. Imputation using previous known information improves the accuracy of low-read-depth sequencing

A Study on ESD Protection Circuit Applying Silicon Controlled Rectifier-Based Stack Technology with High Holding Voltage

In this study, an improved Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protection circuit with low trigger voltage and high holding voltage is proposed. ESD has become a serious problem in the semiconductor process because the semiconductor density has become very high these days. Therefore, much research has been done to prevent ESD. The proposed circuit is a stacked structure of the new unit structure combined by the Zener Triggering (SCR ZTSCR) and the High Holding Voltage SCR (HHVSCR). The simulation results show that the proposed circuit has low trigger voltage and high holding voltage. And the stack technology is applied to adjust the various operating voltage. As the results, the holding voltage is 7.7 V for 2-stack and 10.7 V for 3-stack

Agonistic Anti-CD137 Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Induces CD11b+Gr-1+ Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells

CD137 (4-1BB/tnfrsf9) has been shown to co-stimulate T cells. However, agonistic anti-CD137 monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment can suppress CD4+ T cells, ameliorating autoimmune diseases, whereas it induces activation of CD8+ T cells, resulting in diverse therapeutic activity in cancer, viral infection. To investigate the CD137-mediated T cell suppression mechanism, we examined whether anti-CD137 mAb treatment could affect CD11b+Gr-1+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Intriguingly, anti-CD137 mAb injection significantly increased CD11b+Gr-1+ cells, peaking at days 5 to 10 and continuing for at least 25 days. Furthermore, this cell population could suppress both CD8+ T cells and CD4+ T cells. Thus, this study demonstrated that, for the first time, anti-CD137 mAb treatment could induce CD11b+Gr-1+ MDSCs under normal conditions, suggesting a possible relationship between myeloid cell induction and CD137-mediated immune suppression

Changes of the growth plate in children: 3-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging analysis

Purpose This pilot study assessed changes in the growth plate and growth rates in children during a 6-month period. Methods The study included 31 healthy children (17 boys, 14 girls) under evaluation for growth retardation. Height, weight, bone age, insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and insulin like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGF-BP3) were measured at baseline and after 6 months. In addition, the diameter, thickness, and volume of the femoral and tibial growth plates were measured using magnetic resonance imaging. Results The mean bone age in boys and girls was 11.7 and 10.7 years, respectively. In boys, height (z score) (-0.2 vs. 0.0), weight (z score) (0.8 vs. 1.1), body mass index (BMI) (z score) (1.27 vs. 1.5), IGF-1 (ng/mL) (343.6 vs. 501.8), and IGF-BP3 (ng/mL) (5,088.5 vs. 5,620.0) were significantly higher after 6 months. In girls, height (z score) (-1.0 vs. -0.7), weight (z score) (-0.5 vs. 0.1), BMI (z score) (-0.02 vs. 0.3), IGF-1 (ng/mL) (329.3 vs. 524.6), and IGF-BP3 (ng/mL) (4,644.4 vs. 5,593.6) were also significantly higher after 6 months. In both sexes, the mean diameter and volume of the femoral and tibial growth plates were significantly increased 6 months later. Conclusion No significant correlation was found between changes in the growth plate and clinical parameters in children with growth retardation in this study, other than correlations of change in femoral diameter with weight and BMI. A larger, long-term study is needed to precisely evaluate the correlation between change in the growth plate and growth

Characteristics of thyroid nodules in infant with congenital hypothyroidism

PurposeThis study aimed to assess the characteristics of thyroid nodules among infants diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism.MethodsA retrospective study of 660 infants (374 males, 286 females) diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism was carried out at the Pediatric Endocrine Clinic in Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Korea, between May 2003 and February 2013. The average age at diagnosis was 1.16±1.68 months.ResultsOf the 28 patients (4.2%) with thyroid nodules, 17 (2.6%) had cystic thyroid nodules and 11 (1.6%) had solid thyroid nodules. There were no significant differences in gender or age between congenital hypothyroidism patients who hadthyroid nodules and those who did not. All nodules were asymptomatic. The average age at diagnosis of congenital hypothyroidism with nodules was 1.42±1.39 months. All detected nodules measured less than 1 cm in diameter. Twenty-two of the 28 infants (78.6%) had only one nodule, while multiple nodules were found in 6 infants (21.4%). Of the 28 infants diagnosed with nodules, 16 underwent thyroid ultrasonography during follow-up and 8 of them (50%) showed no signs of nodules at thyroid ultrasonography.ConclusionThe prevalence of thyroid nodules in infants with congenital hypothyroidism was 4.2%. Most thyroid nodules were small in size and benign, disappearing during follow-up observation. We therefore conclude that thyroid nodules in infants with congenital hypothyroidism can simply be observed and do not require direct treatment

Congenital Heart Disease (Atrioventricular Septal Defect) in the Mouse with Trisomy 16

Failure of fusion between the superior and inferior cushions has usually been assumed to be the main morphogenetic event in producing hearts with deficient atrioventricular septation (atrioventricular septal, or endocardial cushion defects). Morphological studies on human autopsy specimens, however, showed that another consistent finding is the marked disproportion between the dimensions of the inlet and outlet of the left ventricle, which, until now, has no known developmental basis. We have studied the early formation of the hearts with atrioventricular septal defects, using a mouse model with trisomy 16. Animals were studied between the 10th and 19th days of gestation by stereomicroscopic examination, scanning electronmlcroscopy and the in-vitro incorporation of thymidine. The first detectable morphological abnormality of the heart in the trisomic mouse was observed on the 11th day, being a persistence of an infolding at the inferior atrioventricular junction. This infolding was present in both trisomic and eusomic animals on the 10th day. This morphology could be explained by a differential growth of the myocardium at the inferior atrioventricular junction, which was found to be a distinct zone with low incorporation of thymidine. On the 11th day, the inferior atrioventricular cushion was bigger in the trisomic hearts. The abnormalities of the cushions observed on the 12th day or later were deemed to be consequences of these primary defects. Sectioning of the heart from the left lateral aspect convincingly showed morphological changes of the superior and inferior cushion or bridging leaflets in this animal model. Abnormal endocardial cushions and abnormality in the proliferation index of the myocardium at the inferior atrioventricular junction play more significant roles in the formation of the hearts with deficient atrioventricular septation, than the abnormalities found in the atrioventricular cushions

Effect of Pertussis Toxin and Herbimycin A on Proteinase-Activated Receptor 2-Mediated Cyclooxygenase 2 Expression in Helicobacter pylori-Infected Gastric Epithelial AGS Cells

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is an important risk factor for chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer, and gastric cancer. Proteinase-activated receptor 2 (PAR2), subgroup of G-protein coupled receptor family, is highly expressed in gastric cancer, and chronic expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) plays an important role in H. pylori-associated gastric carcinogenesis and inflammation. We previously demonstrated that H. pylori induced the expression of PAR2 and COX-2 in gastric epithelial cells. Present study aims to investigate whether COX-2 expression induced by H. pylori in Korean isolates is mediated by PAR2 via activation of Gi protein and Src kinase in gastric epithelial AGS cells. Results showed that H. pylori-induced COX-2 expression was inhibited in the cells transfected with antisense oligonucleotide for PAR2 or treated with Gi protein blocker pertussis toxin, Src kinase inhibitor herbimycin A and soybean trypsin inbitor, indicating that COX-2 expression is mediated by PAR2 through activation of Gi protein and Src kinase in gastric epithelial cells infected with H. pylori in Korean isolates. Thus, targeting the activation of PAR2 may be beneficial for prevention or treatment of gastric inflammation and carcinogenesis associated with H. pylori infection