The risk interdependence of cryptocurrencies: Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

In this paper, we measure the risk interdependence of 12 major cryptocurrencies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a GARCH-Copula-VaR approach and a dynamic network analysis. We find that cryptocurrencies generally show high levels of volatility, speculation, homogeneity and tail risk contagion. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has a continuous impact on the cryptocurrency market. When financial institutions are increasingly investing in crypto assets, the hidden risks in the cryptocurrency market remain high. Therefore, this paper calls for attention on the cryptocurrency market from both investors and regulators.

Genome-wide dynamic network analysis reveals the potential genes for MeJA-induced growth-to-defense transition

Background Methyl jasmonate (MeJA), which has been identified as a lipid-derived stress hormone, mediates plant resistance to biotic/abiotic stress. Understanding MeJA-induced plant defense provides insight into how they responding to environmental stimuli. Result In this work, the dynamic network analysis method was used to quantitatively identify the tipping point of growth-to-defense transition and detect the associated genes. As a result, 146 genes were detected as dynamic network biomarker (DNB) members and the critical defense transition was identified based on dense time-series RNA-seq data of MeJA-treated Arabidopsis thaliana. The GO functional analysis showed that these DNB genes were significantly enriched in defense terms. The network analysis between DNB genes and differentially expressed genes showed that the hub genes including SYP121, SYP122, WRKY33 and MPK11 play a vital role in plant growth-to-defense transition. Conclusions Based on the dynamic network analysis of MeJA-induced plant resistance, we provide an important guideline for understanding the growth-to-defense transition of plants’ response to environment stimuli. This study also provides a database with the key genes of plant defense induced by MeJA.