No abstract

The development of thermostable vaccines can relieve the bottleneck of existing vaccines caused by thermal instability and subsequent poor efficacy, which is one of the predominant reasons for the millions of deaths caused by vaccine-preventable diseases. Research into the mechanism of viral thermostability may provide strategies for developing thermostable vaccines. Using Newcastle disease virus (NDV) as model, we identified the negative surface charge of attachment glycoprotein as a novel determinant of viral thermostability. It prevented the temperature-induced aggregation of glycoprotein and subsequent detachment from virion surface. Then structural stability of virion surface was improved and virus could bind to and infect cells efficiently after heat-treatment. Employing the approach of surface charge engineering, thermal stability of NDV and influenza A virus (IAV) vaccines was successfully improved. The increase in the level of vaccine thermal stability was determined by the value-added in the negative surface charge of the attachment glycoprotein. The engineered live and inactivated vaccines could be used efficiently after storage at 37°C for at least 10 and 60 days, respectively. Thus, our results revealed a novel surface-charge-mediated link between HN protein and NDV thermostability, which could be used to design thermal stable NDV and IAV vaccines rationally.

This study uses a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) model to evaluate the relative cost efficiency of commercial banks in Taiwan in the wake of liberalization. The model is estimated using data made available through Taiwan's Banking Bureau and Financial Supervisory Commission. With data from before and after the 2008 financial crisis, our central result is that banks affiliated with bank holding companies (BHC) have become increasingly more efficient. While unaffiliated banks have generally increased their efficiency, they have not kept pace with respect to efficiency gains. Secondary findings are that, independent of ownership structure, both balance sheet and income statement composition affect efficiency. In particular, bank efficiency increases with growth in loans and capital prices. We also find evidence that labor productivity is a key explanatory factor behind efficiency differences across banks. As a result, a policy recommendation is made that banks invest in maximizing worker productivity. Finally, in addition to the insights gained from this study we contribute to the general literature on both bank efficiency and the use of the SFA model by applying it to new data in a new setting.

No abstract