The computations were done in part at the M.I.T. Computation Center. 'Assume that the hypothesis stock price, P f (xi, X2,...), is stated so that it can be tested, and it is found to do a good job of explaining the variation in price among stocks. The model and its coefficients thereby shed light on what investors consider and the weight they give these variables in buying common stocks. This information is valuable to corporations insofar as the prices of their stocks influence their financial plans. It is also true that a stock selling at a price above or below that predicted by the model deserves special consideration by investors.

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The interest in capital equipment analysis that has been evident in the business literature of the past five years is the product of numerous social, economic, and business developments of the postwar period. No conclusive listing of these developments can be attempted here. However, four should be mentioned which are of particular importance in this search for a more systematic method for discovering, evaluating, and selecting investment opportunities. These are: (1) the high level of capital outlays (in absolute terms); (2) the growth in the size of business firms; (3) the delegation of responsibility for initiating recommendations from top management to the profit center, which has been part of the general movement toward decentralization; and (4) the growing use of "scientific management" in the operations of the business firm.

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a b s t r a c tGenetic changes through allelic loss and nucleic acid or protein modifications are the main contributors to loss of function of tumor suppressor proteins. In particular, epigenetic silencing of genes by promoter hypermethylation is associated with increased tumor severity and poor survival. The RASSF (Ras association domain family) family of proteins consists of 10 members, many of which are tumor suppressor proteins that undergo loss of expression through promoter methylation in numerous types of cancers such as leukemia, melanoma, breast, prostate, neck, lung, brain, colorectal and kidney cancers. In addition to their tumor suppressor function, RASSF proteins act as scaffolding agents in microtubule stability, regulate mitotic cell division, modulate apoptosis, control cell migration and cell adhesion, and modulate NFjB activity and the duration of inflammation. The ubiquitous functions of these proteins highlight their importance in numerous physiological pathways. In this review, we will focus on the biological roles of the RASSF family members and their regulation.

Ras association domain family protein 1A (RASSF1A) is a tumor suppressor gene silenced in cancer. Here we report that RASSF1A is a novel regulator of intestinal inflammation as Rassf1a+/−, Rassf1a−/− and an intestinal epithelial cell specific knockout mouse (Rassf1a IEC-KO) rapidly became sick following dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) administration, a chemical inducer of colitis. Rassf1a knockout mice displayed clinical symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease including: increased intestinal permeability, enhanced cytokine/chemokine production, elevated nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells (NFκB) activity, elevated colonic cell death and epithelial cell injury. Furthermore, epithelial restitution/repair was inhibited in DSS-treated Rassf1a−/− mice with reduction of several makers of proliferation including Yes associated protein (YAP)-driven proliferation. Surprisingly, tyrosine phosphorylation of YAP was detected which coincided with increased nuclear p73 association, Bax-driven epithelial cell death and p53 accumulation resulting in enhanced apoptosis and poor survival of DSS-treated Rassf1a knockout mice. We can inhibit these events and promote the survival of DSS-treated Rassf1a knockout mice with intraperitoneal injection of the c-Abl and c-Abl related protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib/gleevec. However, p53 accumulation was not inhibited by imatinib/gleevec in the Rassf1a−/− background which revealed the importance of p53-dependent cell death during intestinal inflammation. These observations suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation of YAP (to drive p73 association and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic genes such as Bax) and accumulation of p53 are consequences of inflammation-induced injury in DSS-treated Rassf1a−/− mice. Mechanistically, we can detect robust associations of RASSF1A with membrane proximal Toll-like receptor (TLR) components to suggest that RASSF1A may function to interfere and restrict TLR-driven activation of NFκB. Failure to restrict NFκB resulted in the inflammation-induced DNA damage driven tyrosine phosphorylation of YAP, subsequent p53 accumulation and loss of intestinal epithelial homeostasis.

THE LAST DECADE has produced some important advances in the theory of the cost of capital, particularly with respect to the two major sources of funds for corporate investment-retained earnings and long-term debt. The theory promises to be useful in corporate investment and financing decisions, in explaining the structure of asset valuation under uncertainty, and in providing information for macro-economic models that need values for such variables as the rate of profit investors require on risky assets. To realize this promise, however, the differences among the theoretical models that have been advanced must be resolved.Among the outstanding issues, perhaps the most important are whether the cost of debt and the cost of retained earnings are dependent upon or independent of a firm's debt and dividend policies. Here, just as in other areas of econometrics, the use of empirical methods to choose among the theories presents formidable problems, but two other reasons for the continued disagreement must be recognized. First, theories on the cost of each of these sources of capital have, with little exception, proceeded on the assumption that the source of capital in question is the only one. Second, the models employed to test the theories have typically been severely limited as representations of the theories.The purpose of this paper is to state the alternative theories on the cost of debt and retention capital in testable form, then to test these models using sample data drawn from the electric utility industry.