Pass-Through of Exchange Rate Changes and Macroeconomic Shocks to Domestic Inflation in East Asian Countries

We examine the pass-through effects of exchange rate changes on the domestic prices among the East Asian countries using the conventional pass-through equation and a VAR analysis. First, dynamics of pass-through from the exchange rate to import prices and consumer prices is analyzed using the conventional model of pass-through based on the micro-foundations of the exporter's pricing behavior. Both the short-run and long-run elasticities of the exchange rate pass-through are estimated. Second, a vector autoregression (VAR) technique is applied to the pass-through analysis. A Choleski decomposition is used to identify structural shocks and to examine the pass-through of each shock to domestic price inflation by the impulse response function and variance decomposition analyses. Both the conventional analysis and VAR analysis show that while the degree of exchange rate pass-through to import prices is quite high in the crisis-hit countries, the pass-through to CPI is generally low, with a notable exception of Indonesia. The VAR analysis shows that the size of the pass-through of monetary shocks is even larger in Indonesia. Thus, it was Indonesia's accommodative monetary policy as well as the high degree of the CPI responsiveness to exchange rates that contributed to high domestic price inflation, resulting in the loss of its export competitiveness, even when the currency depreciated sharply in nominal terms in 1997-98.

Enhancement of astaxanthin production in Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous by efficient method for the complete deletion of genes

Additional file 1. DNA seuence of primers used in this study

Altered Hemodynamics Associated with Pathogenesis of the Vertebral Artery Dissecting Aneurysms

The etiology of the vertebral dissecting aneurysms is largely unknown, and they frequently occurs in relatively healthy young men. Objectives and Methods. A series of 57 consecutive cases defined by angiography were evaluated with regard to deviation in the course of the affected and contralateral vertebral arteries. Division was into 3 types: Type I without any deviation, Type II with mild-to-moderate deviation but not over the midline; and Type III with marked deviation over to the contralateral side beyond the midline. Results. The most frequent type of VA running was Type III for the affected and Type I nonaffected side, with this being found in all 17 patients except one. All of the Type III dissections occurred just proximal to a tortuous portion, while in cases with Type-I- and Type-II-affected sides, the majority (33 of 39) occurred near the union of the vertebral artery. In 10 of 57, a non-dominant side was affected, all except one being of Type I or II. With 12 recent patients assessed angiographically in detail for hemodynamics, eleven patients showed contrast material retrograde inflowing into the pseudolumen from the distal portion of the dissection site. Turbulent blood flow was recognized in all of these patients with retrograde inflow. Conclusions. Turbulent blood flow is one etiology of vertebral artery dissection aneurysms, with the sites in the majority of the cases being just proximal to a tortuous portion or union of vessels. In cases with dissection proximal to the tortuous course of the vertebral artery, retrograde inflow will occur more frequently than antegrade, which should be taken into account in designing therapeutic strategies

Currency Invoicing and Foreign Exchange Risk Management: A Case Study of Japanese Firms (Japanese)

This paper, through interviews with 12 major Japanese firms, has revealed new "stylized facts" of the Japanese firms' strategy of currency invoicing, foreign exchange risk managements, and price-setting in recent years. It is also investigated whether these stylized facts are consistent with what has been theoretically and empirically found in the literature. First, the amendment of Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law in 1998 had significant impact on the foreign exchange risk management of Japanese firms. Electronics and automobile companies pursue the most efficient settlements of trade transactions under the amended law, and currency invoicing is one of the most important strategic variables to optimize their foreign exchange risk managements. Second, as intra-firm trade has been increasingly a major part of their external trade, Japanese electronics and automobile companies have a strong tendency to choose local currency invoicing in exports to advanced countries, while U.S. dollar invoicing has been increasing when exporting to East Asian countries. Such an invoicing strategy aims at stabilizing the local currency (or U.S. dollar) price of their exports in local markets, which conforms to the pricing-to-market (PTM) behavior discussed in the literature. Third, the recent increase in U.S. dollar invoicing in East Asia can be attributed to (i) U.S. dollar's dominant role of world financial and foreign exchange transactions, (ii) the importance of the U.S. markets as a final export destination, and (iii) the increasing intra-firm transactions as Japanese firms has established regional production networks. Fourth, the currency invoicing and price-setting strategies are affected by competitors in global markets where it is hard to pass-through exchange rate risks to importers due to the strong market competition. Since U.S. dollar invoicing is now dominant in the East Asian markets, not only Japanese parent companies but also local affiliates in East Asia will take exchange rate risks against the U.S. dollar if the dollar fluctuates unstably. As the intra-regional trade keeps growing, it will become more important for East Asian countries including Japan to stabilize the exchange rate not vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar but between the regional currencies. This aspect will have important implications for new strategy of optimal exchange rate risk management and, hence, establishing regional currency arrangements such as a common currency basket in East Asia.

当科における5年間の顎機能異常者の調査

Clinical findings of 351 out patients having temporomandibular disorders (TMD) treated in the Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, Iwate Medical University Dental Hospital, from 1999 to 2003 were surveyed as to. number of patients every year, gender ratio, age distribution, past treatment history, chief complaints, initial symptoms, initiating factors and accessory signs. The number of TMD patients varied from 52 to 95 each year Peak age distribution was in the 20\u27s followed by the 30\u27s. The male-female ratio was 1 . 2.8, which showed significant difference compared to the clinic as a whole, which has a ratio of 1:1 5 (p<0.05; chi-square test) Referred patients comprised 76.6% of the total number of TMD patients in the surveyed period Although a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) sound was the main initial symptom, TMJ pain was the most common symptom in the chief complaint category. This result implies that the single symptom of TMJ sound does not lead a patient to seek treatment at a dental clinic, however, pain in the TMJ and/or masticatory muscle is the key to initiate treatment

Meiosis-Specific Loading of the Centromere-Specific Histone CENH3 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Centromere behavior is specialized in meiosis I, so that sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes are pulled toward the same side of the spindle (through kinetochore mono-orientation) and chromosome number is reduced. Factors required for mono-orientation have been identified in yeast. However, comparatively little is known about how meiotic centromere behavior is specialized in animals and plants that typically have large tandem repeat centromeres. Kinetochores are nucleated by the centromere-specific histone CENH3. Unlike conventional histone H3s, CENH3 is rapidly evolving, particularly in its N-terminal tail domain. Here we describe chimeric variants of CENH3 with alterations in the N-terminal tail that are specifically defective in meiosis. Arabidopsis thaliana cenh3 mutants expressing a GFP-tagged chimeric protein containing the H3 N-terminal tail and the CENH3 C-terminus (termed GFP-tailswap) are sterile because of random meiotic chromosome segregation. These defects result from the specific depletion of GFP-tailswap protein from meiotic kinetochores, which contrasts with its normal localization in mitotic cells. Loss of the GFP-tailswap CENH3 variant in meiosis affects recruitment of the essential kinetochore protein MIS12. Our findings suggest that CENH3 loading dynamics might be regulated differently in mitosis and meiosis. As further support for our hypothesis, we show that GFP-tailswap protein is recruited back to centromeres in a subset of pollen grains in GFP-tailswap once they resume haploid mitosis. Meiotic recruitment of the GFP-tailswap CENH3 variant is not restored by removal of the meiosis-specific cohesin subunit REC8. Our results reveal the existence of a specialized loading pathway for CENH3 during meiosis that is likely to involve the hypervariable N-terminal tail. Meiosis-specific CENH3 dynamics may play a role in modulating meiotic centromere behavior

Mechanical and mineral compositions of raised glaciomarine sediments from the Syowa Station area, Antarctica

The sixteen raised glaciomarine and two lake sediments of the Quaternary age from the east coast of Lutzow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica, collected by the wintering party of the 22nd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (1980-1982), were analyzed for the mechanical and mineral compositions as a clue to elucidate the origin of glaciomarine sediments. On the basis of grain size, heavy mineral and light mineral compositions, these glaciomarine sediments are classified as immature, feldspathic, wacke-type muddy sand or sandy mud which were redeposited by the gravity flow. It can be considered that most constituents of sediments have been derived from the metamorphic rocks which are exposed on the east coast of Lutzow-Holm Bay. It became clear that contents of graphite in sediments are affected by the geographical distribution of outcrops of graphite bearing gneiss