Estimation Procedures and TFP Analysis of the JIP Database 2006 Provisional Version

(Introduction) The purpose of this paper is to explain the preliminary version of the newly compiled Japan Industrial Productivity Database (JIP 2006) and report some results of our growth accounting analysis based on this database. The JIP 2006 contains information on 108 sectors from 1970 to 2002 that can be used for total factor productivity analyses. These sectors cover the whole Japanese economy. The JIP Database was compiled as part of the RIETI (Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry) research project "Study on Industry-Level and Firm-Level Productivity in Japan." The original version of the JIP Database (ESRI/Hi-Stat JIP Database 2003) was compiled in a collaboration between ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan) as part of its research project on "Japan's Potential Growth" and Hitotsubashi University as part of its Hi-Stat project (A 21st-Century COE Program, Research Unit for Statistical Analysis in the Social Sciences). The authors are grateful to ESRI and members of the Hi-Stat team for the support and cooperation provided for our present RIETI project. At this moment, the major data available are sectoral capital service input indices and labor service input indices, including information on real capital stocks and the nominal cost of capital by type of capital and by industry, the nominal and real values of sectoral gross output and intermediate input, as well as some supplementary tables, such as statistics on trade, inward and outward FDI, and Japan's industrial structure. All real values are based on 1995 prices. For growth accounting, nominal labor costs and nominal capital services for 108 industries are also estimated. The sum of these two values for each industry is not adjusted to be equal to the value added of that industry at factor cost base. The final version of the JIP 2006 is scheduled to be released by November, 2006. The final version will include nominal and real annual input-output tables, detailed information on ICT capital services and some additional statistics, such as R&D stocks and capacity utilization rates at the detailed sectoral level. For scholars familiar with the JIP 2003, we here briefly summarize the main differences between and the main similarities of the 2006 and 2003 versions of the JIP. 1. The JIP 2003 is based on the 1968 SNA, while the JIP 2006 is based on the 1993 SNA. The capital stock of the JIP 2006 includes order-made software, plant engineering, and assets accumulated by the search for minerals. The JIP 2003 uses SNA statistics as control totals. Following Japan's present SNA statistics, capital stock in the preliminary version of the JIP 2006 does not include prepackaged and in-house software. However, the final version of the JIP 2006 will include two sets of statistics, one in which capital stock does not include prepackaged and in-house software and one in which it does. 2. In the case of the JIP 2006, labor input data include detailed information on labor input cross-classified by categories of labor. The paper is organized as follows: In the next section, we report the estimation procedures of our annual input-output tables. In Sections 2 and 3, we explain the capital service input data and the labor input data of the JIP 2006, respectively. Finally, in Section 4, we analyze Japan's sectoral and macro TFP growth.

Role of hepatic STAT3 in brain-insulin action on hepatic glucose production

SummarySTAT3 regulates glucose homeostasis by suppressing the expression of gluconeogenic genes in the liver. The mechanism by which hepatic STAT3 is regulated by nutritional or hormonal status has remained unknown, however. Here, we show that an increase in the plasma insulin concentration, achieved either by glucose administration or by intravenous insulin infusion, stimulates tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3 in the liver. This effect of insulin was mediated by the hormone's effects in the brain, and the increase in hepatic IL-6 induced by the brain-insulin action is essential for the activation of STAT3. The inhibition of hepatic glucose production and of expression of gluconeogenic genes induced by intracerebral ventricular insulin infusion was impaired in mice with liver-specific STAT3 deficiency or in mice with IL-6 deficiency. These results thus indicate that IL-6-STAT3 signaling in the liver contributes to insulin action in the brain, leading to the suppression of hepatic glucose production

Biological hazard possibly produced by aquaculture and its control

Blooms of Neterocapsa circularisquama, a novel dinoflagellate, have been causing mass mortality of both wild and cultured shellfish in embayments at the western part of Japan since 1988. Physiological and epidemiological studies suggest that the alga has been partly dispersed with the movement of shellfish in aquaculture activities. A recent outbreak of an epizootic iridovirus in red sea bream (Pagrus major) has caused extensive damage to marine fish culture in Japan. A research group at the National Research Institute of Aquaculture (NRIA), collaborating with prefectural fisheries research laboratories and an R&D company, clarified the etiology and developed a diagnostic method and a commercial vaccine. Penaeid acute viremia (PAV), a synonym of white spot syndrome, caused catastrophic loses in kuruma shrimp (Penaeus japonicus) culture in Japan. An epidemiological study of the research group at NRIA and the prefectural fisheries research laboratories strongly suggests that the causative virus was newly introduced to Japan from imported shrimp seeds for aquaculture. The group clarified the etiology and established diagnostic methods. Based on their studies, NRIA proposed a protocol to check the virus during larval culture and before seedlings are shipped

Health management in aquaculture

A textbook on the major diseases of cultured fish and crustaceans, as well as prevention and control methods and diagnostic techniques for these diseases. New chapters on histology, probiotics, and epidemiology were added in this edition.A textbook on diseases of cultured warmwater fish and shrimps in the Philippines. Eleven chapters cover essential information on the basic principles of disease causation, major diseases of cultured fish and crustaceans, particularly shrimps, and methods of prevention and control. Emphasis is made on major diseases that occur in the Philippines and other countries in the Asian region. Included also are topics on harmful algae, immunology and molecular biological diagnostic techniques.The publication of the second edition of this book is financed by the Government of Japan-Trust Fund through the auspices of the SEAFDEC Deputy Chiefs, Drs. Koichi Okuzawa (2005-2007), Hiroshi Ogata (2007-2009), and Teruo Azuma (2009-2010). Furthermore, the support of SEAFDEC/AQD and its Chief, Dr. Joebert Toledo; Research Division Head, Dr. Evelyn Grace de Jesus-Ayson; Milagros Castaños and Imee Hacla as copy editors and Jojo Pursuelo as layout artist are highly appreciated. Finally, Dr. Celia Lavilla-Pitogo’s comments are acknowledged.2nd Ed

Gonadal Steroids Delay Spontaneous Flounder Metamorphosis and Inhibit T_3-induced Fin Ray Shortening in vitro(Endocrinology)

Volume: 9Start Page: 633End Page: 63

Progress and current status of diagnostic techniques for marine fish viral diseases at the SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department

The incidence of unexplained mortalities among marine finfish in the Philippines has been increasingly observed. Considering that outbreaks of viral infections affecting similarly cultured marine fishes such as grouper and seabass were reported in many countries, a comprehensive diagnostic program to meet the challenge was initiated at the Aquaculture Department, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC-AQD)with funding from the Japanese Trust Fund Fish Disease Project. This activity was further boosted by the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS). Overall, the program involved the staff of the marine finfish hatchery and the Fish Health Section. Cases of unexplained mortalities observed in the hatchery were referred to the Fish Health Section. Detailed information on the culture histories of each case were provided by the hatchery staff. Diagnostic tests were performed on each case and those with potential indication of viral etiology were processed for virus detection. Presumptive diagnosis of viral infections was based on typical signs, cell culture isolation histopathology and in-vivo pathogenicity tests. Confirmatory tests to identify specific viruses include RT-PCR, FAT and electron microscopy. The highlights of outbreaks of viral nervous necrosis and other virus-associated infections among marine finfish at SEAFDEC-AQD are presented

Medium-Range Fluctuations Accompanying the Metal-Nonmetal Transition in Expanded Fluid Hg

We have carried out small angle x-ray scattering experiments of expanded fluid Hg in the metal-nonmetal (M-NM) transition region around 9.0 g cm-3. Increase of small angle scattering intensity following the Ornstein-Zernike equation is clearly observed in the M-NM transition region as well as near the liquid-vapor critical point at 5.8 g cm-3. The short-range correlation length, R, becomes twice as large in the M-NM transition region as in the critical region. The enhancement of R in expanded fluid Hg suggests a new type of fluctuations reflecting a first-order M-NM transition