Predicting miRNA target genes is one of the important issues in bioinformatics. The correlation analysis is a widely used method for exploring miRNA targets through microarray data. However, the experimental results show that correlation analysis leads to large false positive or negative results. In addition, the correlation analysis is not appropriate when multiple miRNAs simultaneously regula...

This paper investigates the impact on option prices of divergent consumer conÞdence. To model this, we assume that consumers disagree on the expected growth rate of aggregate consumption. With other conditions unchanged in the discrete-time Black-Scholes option-pricing model, we show that the representative consumer will have declining relative risk aversion instead of the assumed constant rela...

Recently Bassan and Spizzichino (1999) have given some new concepts of multivariate aging for exchangeable random variables, such as a special type of bivariate IFR, by comparing distributions of residual lifetimes of dependent components of different ages. In the same vein, we further study some properties of concepts of IFR in the bivariate case. Then we introduce concepts of bivariate DMRL a...

We consider the modelling of volatility on closely related markets. Univariate fractional Ž . volatility FIGARCH models are now standard, as are multivariate GARCH models. In this paper, we adopt a combination of the two methodologies. There is as yet little consensus on the methodology for testing for fractional cointegration. The contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of...

The fine particulate matter (PM2.5) problem has attracted much scientific and public attention, due to its effects on visibility, human health, and global climate. There are three factors that have important effect on PM2.5 mass concentration: domestic pollutant emission sources, external sources outside of the country, and the meteorological conditions. Nagasaki is a coastal prefecture located...

In the sieve elements (SEs) of the phloem, carbohydrates are transported throughout the whole plant from their site of production to sites of consumption or storage. SE structure, especially of the pore-rich end walls, has a direct effect on translocation efficiency. Differences in pore size and other features were interpreted as an evolutionary trend towards reduced hydraulic resistance. Howev...

Environmental processes and biological community structures change along fluvial gradients within coastal river basins; the accumulation and associated risk of metal contamination would also be expected to change from upstream to downstream reaches. Speciation and degrees of contamination of metals in sediments from the upstream and downstream of river catchments of the southern Bohai Sea were ...

Bivariate Fréchet (BF) copulas characterize dependence as a mixture of three simple structures: comonotonicity, independence and countermonotonicity. They are easily interpretable but have limitations when used as approximations to general dependence structures. To improve the approximation property of the BF copulas and keep the advantage of easy interpretation, we develop a new copula approxi...

Determination of the optimal normal water level of reservoirs (RNWL) was investigated, incorporating environmental ecology as a primary consideration. RNWL constitutes a relatively significant eigenvalue of any water conservancy project. In the present study, a four-step method based on a mathematical programming model and suitable for RNWL decision making was developed and applied to the water...