Dynamics of Information Acquisition: Does Investment in Information Technology Matter?

The purpose of the study is to develop a theoretical model to ascertain if the IT investment in the banking sector is capable of generating a new equilibrium with increased efficiency. The empirical strategy is to seek an indirect test for Jordanian banking sector by looking at the time profile of banking profits as a temporal function of IT investment. The study enquires if the banking sector, as an iterative process of credit allocation and information acquisition through IT investment, lead to a stable equilibrium? Does IT investment ensure stable market shares for Jordanian banks in the long run? The study finds that investment in IT has led the banking system in Jordan away from an efficient equilibrium. We also find that the banks in Jordan directly interact with each other, although they may have collusive arrangements with some of their rivals, this means the banking market is not fragmented.

Epigenetic Mediation of AKT1 rs1130233′s Effect on Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Induced Medial Temporal Function during Fear Processing

High doses of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, have been shown to have anxiogenic effects. Additionally, THC effects have been shown to be modulated by genotype, including the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1130233 at the protein kinase AKT1 gene, a key component of the dopamine signalling cascade. As such, it is likely that epigenetic methylation around this SNP may affect AKT gene expression, which may in turn impact on the acute effects of THC on brain function. We investigated the genetic (AKT1 rs1130233) and epigenetic modulation of brain function during fear processing in a 2-session, double-blind, cross-over, randomized placebo-controlled THC administration, in 36 healthy males. Fear processing was assessed using an emotion (fear processing) paradigm, under functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Complete genetic and fMRI data were available for 34 participants. THC caused an increase in anxiety and transient psychotomimetic symptoms and para-hippocampal gyrus/ amygdala activation. Number of A alleles at the AKT1 rs1130233 SNP, and percentage methylation at the CpG11–12 site, were independently associated with a greater effect of THC on activation in a network of brain regions including left and right parahippocampal gyri, respectively. AKT1 rs1130233 moderation of the THC effect on left parahippocampal activation persisted after covarying for methylation percentage, and was partially mediated in sections of the left parahippocampal gyrus/ hippocampus by methylation percentage. These results may offer an example of how genetic and epigenetic variations influence the psychotomimetic and neurofunctional effects of THC.

Epigenetic mediation of AKT1 rs1130233 s effect on delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol-induced medial temporal function during fear processing

High doses of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, have been shown to have anxiogenic effects. Also, THC effects have been shown to be modulated by genotype, including the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1130233 at the protein kinase AKT1 gene, a key component of the dopamine signaling cascade. As such, it is likely that epigenetic methylation around this SNP may affect AKT gene expression, which may in turn impact on the acute effects of THC on brain function. We investigated the genetic (AKT1 rs1130233) and epigenetic modulation of brain function during fear processing in a 2-session, double-blind, cross-over, randomized placebo-controlled THC administration, in 36 healthy males. Fear processing was assessed using an emotion (fear processing) paradigm, under functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Complete genetic and fMRI data was available for 34 participants. THC caused an increase in anxiety and transient psychotomimetic symptoms and para-hippocampal gyrus/ amygdala activation. Number of A alleles at the AKT1 rs1130233 SNP, and percentage methylation at the CpG11-12 site, were independently associated with a greater effect of THC on activation in a network of brain regions including left and right parahippocampal gyri, respectively. AKT1 rs1130233 moderation of the THC effect on left parahippocampal activation persisted after covarying for methylation percentage, and was partially mediated in sections of the left parahippocampal gyrus/ hippocampus by methylation percentage. These results may offer an example of how genetic and epigenetic variations influence the psychotomimetic and neurofunctional effects of THC.

Fonctionnement sémantique du connecteur coréen -ko : temporalité, aspectualité et manière

This article aims to examine the Korean connective -ko, which is generally considered an equivalent of the French connective et. The connective -ko is semantically polyvalent, having several interpretations such as enumeration, temporal succession, simultaneity, causality, and manner. In this article, we examine the expression of “manner” by the connective -ko on the hypothesis that such interpretation is derived from the temporal function of simultaneity of -ko. We introduce two main functions of -ko, temporal connection and simple connection by contiguity and then show how the temporal function interacts with the aspectual properties of propositions connected by -ko to generate the interpretation of manner.

On spatial fragmentisers as temporal localisation markers

The paper discusses the subsystem of spatial fragmentisers (PF) as temporal localisation markers in Russian and Serbian. PF have been defined by previous research as inseparable intangible parts of spatial units and considered in concrete-spatial frameworks based on the theory of semantic localisations; according to this theory, PF perform the function of a concretising orienteer in the situation of intralocalisation. In this paper, we analyse their temporal function and refer to them as temporal fragmentisers. The structure of PF, essentially spatial and formed of equipollent and privative semantic oppositions, and the inventory of PF units are modified in terms of temporality, in accordance with the conceptualisation and linguistic representation of the category of time. According to their function, PF are conditionally classified into three groups: the first one - equally represented in the categories of space and time (do nacala / pre pocetka, do konca / do kraja); the second - typically temporal with a clear spatial etymology (po okoncaniju / po zavrsetku) and the third - specifically temporal, but structurally similar to PF in characterisation (za vremja / za vreme, v tecenie / u toku). From the aspect of the structure of semantic oppositions, PF appear within the lexicon of the functional-semantic field of temporality mainly within the anthropocentric range ?centre - periphery? (nacalo, seredina, konec / pocetak, sredina, kraj). The meanings of the oppositions ?up - down?, ?in front of - behind? and ?far - near? are realised in conceptual metaphors of time by units of isofunctional spatial subsystems (adverbial, adjectival, etc.). The PF subsystem, which is partially reduced in this sense (compared to the spatial one) due to the conceptualisation of time, on the other hand, becomes enriched with the instruments expressing the sense of durability. In addition, there is wide field of overlap with other isofunctional grammatical-syntactic categories, e.g., prepositions and conjunctions (v tecenie / u toku, tokom; vo vremja / u vreme; do teh por poka; s teh por kak; v to vremja kak etc.). Bilingual examples illustrate the isomorphism of the categories of time and space in both languages and reveal a well-developed PF subsystem, whose intricate intrasystemic and intersystemic links become distinctly noticeable through interlingual comparison.

Tugging at the Heart Strings: The Septin Cytoskeleton in Heart Development and Disease

Septin genes were originally identified in budding yeast in 1971. Since their original discovery, at least 13 mammalian genes have now been found, which give rise to a vast array of alternatively spliced proteins that display unique spatial-temporal function across organs systems. Septin’s are now recognized as the 4th major component of the cytoskeleton. Their role in regulating ciliogenesis, actin and microtubule organization and their involvement in mechanotransduction clearly solidify their place as both a responder and driver of cellular activity. Although work on septin’s has escalated over the past decades, knowledge of septin function in the heart remains rudimentary. Whereas many cardiovascular diseases have been associated with genetic loci that include septin genes, new and additional concerted efforts will likely uncover previously unrecognized mechanisms by which the septin class of proteins contribute to clinical cardiac phenotypes. In this review, we place known function of septin proteins in the context of heart development and disease and provide perspectives on how increased knowledge of these proteins can mechanistically inform cardiac pathologies.

Anomalies of Autobiographical Memory

Objectives:In this paper, I review three ‘anomalies’ or disorders in autobiographical memory: neurological retrograde amnesia (RA), spontaneous confabulation, and psychogenic amnesia.Methods:Existing theories are reviewed, their limitations considered, some of my own empirical findings briefly described, and possible interpretations proposed and interspersed with illustrative case-reports.Results:In RA, there may be an important retrieval component to the deficit, and factors at encoding may give rise to the relative preservation of early memories (and the reminiscence bump) which manifests as a temporal gradient. Spontaneous confabulation appears to be associated with a damaged ‘filter’ in orbitofrontal and ventromedial frontal regions. Consistent with this, an empirical study has shown that both the initial severity of confabulation and its subsequent decline are associated with changes in the executive function (especially in cognitive estimate errors) and inversely with the quantity of accurate autobiographical memories retrieved. Psychogenic amnesia can be ‘global’ or ‘situation-specific’. The former is associated with a precipitating stress, depressed mood, and (often) a past history of a transient neurological amnesia. In these circumstances, frontal control mechanisms can inhibit retrieval of autobiographical memories, and even the sense of ‘self’ (identity), while compromised medial temporal function prevents subsequent retrieval of what occurred during a ‘fugue’. An empirical investigation of psychogenic amnesia and some recent imaging studies have provided findings consistent with this view.Conclusions:Taken together, these various observations point to the importance of frontal ‘control’ systems (in interaction with medial temporal/hippocampal systems) in the retrieval and, more particularly, the disrupted retrieval of ‘old’ memories.