Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Financing Choices of Banks : The Role of Non-Binding Capital Requirements

This paper presents a model of the financing choices (debt v. equity) of banking institutions. It emphasizes the interplay of two well-known factors in corporate financing, namely risk-shifting incentives and growth opportunities. The model provides a new interpretation of the role of capital requirements, recognizing that banks may not operate at the maximal leverage levels allowed. Banks can invest both in real loans that have positive NPV but are in limited supply and in marketable securities that have zero NPV but are in infinite supply. This leads to the coexistence of a local optimum and a socially inefficient global optimum. The role of capital requirement lies in restricting the equilibrium selection. By cutting off the global optimum, capital requirements constrain the majority of banks to stay at their local optima. The macroeconomic implications are also discussed. JEL Classification Codes: G21, G28 ∗This paper is adapted from my dissertaion at MIT. I especially thank Stewart Myers, the chair of my committee, for his encouragement and guidance throughout the Ph.D. program and his constructive suggestions on this paper. I am also grateful to Franklin Allen, James Barth, David Cook, John Cox, Sudipto Dasgupta, Eslyn Jean-Baptiste, Wei Jiang, John Parsons, Karen Polenske, Raghuram Rajan, David Robinson, Anthony Saunders, David Scharfstein, Jeremy Stein, and seminar participants at Columbia University, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, MIT, Wharton, and the University of Wisconsin, for their helpful comments. I acknowledge financial support from the faculty summer research fund at Columbia Business School. †Department of Finance, School of Business and Management, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Water, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: 852 2358 7665; Fax: 852 2358 1749; Email: jgan@ust.hk.
UTILIZATION OF BOTTOM ASH IN ASPHALT MIXES

This research project used field and laboratory evaluations to study the possibility of incorporating bottom ash in asphalt mixes. For the field portion of this research, a pavement test section was constructed. This test section included control and bottom ash asphalt mixes. The laboratory evaluations involved design and accelerated testing of control and bottom ash mixes. In addition, the control and bottom ash asphalt mixes used to construct the field test sections were evaluated. Laboratory testing was accomplished by using the Georgia Loaded Wheel Tester (GLWT) and Thermal Stress Restrained Specimen Tester (TSRST). The GLWT was used to evaluate the high temperature rutting characteristics of asphalt mixes. The TSRST was used to evaluate the low temperature cracking characteristics of the asphalt mixes. Initial observations of the test road indicated no difference in performance between the control and bottom ash pavement sections. Laboratory evaluations indicated the various bottom ash asphalt mixes possess significantly different high temperature rutting and low temperature cracking characteristics.
Stain Deconvolution Using Statistical Analysis of Multi-Resolution Stain Colour Representation

Stain colour estimation is a prominent factor of the analysis pipeline in most of histology image processing algorithms. Providing a reliable and efficient stain colour deconvolution approach is fundamental for robust algorithm. In this paper, we propose a novel method for stain colour deconvolution of histology images. This approach statistically analyses the multi-resolutional representation of the image to separate the independent observations out of the correlated ones. We then estimate the stain mixing matrix using filtered uncorrelated data. We conducted an extensive set of experiments to compare the proposed method to the recent state of the art methods and demonstrate the robustness of this approach using three different datasets of scanned slides, prepared in different labs using different scanners.
Diabetes insipidus is an unfavorable prognostic factor for response to glucocorticoids in patients with autoimmune hypophysitis.

In a recent paper, Lupi and coworkers (1) described a retrospective series of 12 patients, affected by autoimmune hypophysitis, diagnosed at their Institution between 2008 and 2016. These patients were selected from 1500 patients for year evaluated within their Neuroendocrinology service. Lupi and coworkers diagnosed 4 cases of panhypophysitis (PH) and 8 cases of infundibuloneurohypophysitis (INH). In their series, all PH cases were affected by a multiple tropin defect, while in INH cases, the multiple tropin defect occurred in 25% of the cases, as well as a single tropin defect. Diabetes insipidus was identified in 50% of the patients affected by PAH and in all patients affected by INH. The authors diagnosed GH and gonadotropin deficits in 50% of the cases, TSH deficit in 41% and ACTH deficit in 33%. With regard to the pattern of autoimmunity and association with other autoimmune diseases, the authors detected immunofluorescence positivity for anti-pituitary autoantibodies in 50% of the cases (3 PH and 3 INH) and association with other autoimmune diseases in none of the cases. Finally, the authors documented an improvement of pituitary function in around 50% of the patients. None of these patients was affected by diabetes insipidus. Previously, we have also described a monocentric series of 21 patients affected by PAH, observed between September 2011 and January 2015 at our tertiary care Pituitary Unit (2). Unfortunately, Lupi and coworkers in their paper missed to compare the previous evidence proven by our work, which is the general rule when two papers represent a similar study (in this case, a monocentric Italian experience of patients affected by primary autoimmune hypophysitis). In fact, both papers (1, 2) present a similar study design with regard to the criteria applied for the definition of clinical diagnosis of AH as well as the criteria applied for excluding secondary causes of hypophysitis and different pituitary stalk lesions. Moreover, the two series were similarly investigated for the detection of coexisting autoimmune disease, for the definition of hypopituitarism (through the evaluation of the occurrence of single or multiple pituitary deficits) and for the patients’ outcome. In view of the similarities between these two papers and the studied populations, we think it is important for the Lupi and coworkers to compare the two cohorts of patients and the results of the studies in their paper and to discuss the similarities and the differences. This would contribute to improving knowledge on this very rare disease.
Advantages of Anticipated Emotions over Anticipatory Emotions and Cognitions in Health Decisions: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT Recent persuasion theories and some empirical studies indicate that emotional responses can be more persuasive than cognitive evaluations under certain circumstances. The aim of this meta-analysis was to compare the effects of emotions and perceived risk on health-related intentions and behavior. Ten studies which examined anticipated emotions (AdE) and 19 studies which examined anticipatory emotions (AyE) were included. AdE was moderately associated with health intention (r = 0.38, 95% CI 0.24–0.51) and behavior (r = 0.48, 95% CI 0.43–0.53). The average correlations with AyE were small (with intention r = 0.25, 95% CI 0.18–0.31; with behavior r = 0.18, 95% CI 0.11–0.23). AdE was significantly more likely to lead to ideal intentions and behavior than perceived risk, and was more likely to promote desired behaviors than AyE. AdE had a stronger effect on intentions to prevent disease compared to detect disease. Other moderators were discussed. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.
Parallel FPGA routing based on the operator formulation

We have implemented an FPGA routing algorithm on a shared memory multi-processor using the Galois API, which offers speculative parallelism in software. The router is a parallel implementation of PathFinder, which is the basis for most commercial FPGA routers. We parallelize the maze expansion step for each net, while routing nets sequentially to limit the amount of rollback that would likely occur due to misspeculation. Our implementation relies on non-blocking priority queues, which use software transactional memory (SMT), to identify the best route for each net. Our experimental results demonstrate scalability for large benchmarks and that the amount of available parallelism depends primarily on the circuit size, not the inter-dependence of signals. We achieve an average speedup of approximately 3x compared to the most recently published work on parallel multi-threaded FPGA routing, and up to 6x in comparison to the single-threaded router implemented in the publicly available Versatile Place and Route (VPR) framework.
Restoring full‐thickness defects with spray skin in conjunction with dermal regenerate template and split‐thickness skin grafting: a pilot study

Complex, full‐thickness soft tissue defects secondary to large burns, trauma and war‐related injuries continue to challenge reconstructive surgeons. To achieve positive surgical outcomes in these patient populations, novel approaches are needed to restore the functional, protective and aesthetic properties of skin. Herein, we provide the first report describing the staged use of a dermal regenerate template (DRT) with a spray‐on epidermal regenerative modality (spray skin) in addition to autologous split‐thickness skin grafting (STSG) in non‐burn trauma and compare these results with those of patients treated with DRT and STSG alone. A pilot study was performed to evaluate whether the use of spray skin technology (ReCell, Avita Medical) as an adjunct to DRT (Integra, Integra Lifesciences) and autologous skin grafting in the treatment of patients with large full‐thickness soft tissue losses impacts donor site burden as well as recipient and donor site re‐epithelialization. In this retrospective study, two patients who were treated with DRT and STSG alone (control group) were compared with two patients who were treated with DRT and spray skin/STSG in combination (experimental group). The mechanisms of injury, total defect and treatment sizes, time to complete re‐epithelialization, lengths of follow‐up, outcomes and complications were reviewed. Our group observed that using a DRT in conjunction with spray skin/STSG can reduce donor site burden and decrease time to complete healing. It can also permit greater or larger meshing ratios, while aiding in improved re‐pigmentation when compared with similar wounds treated with a DRT and autologous skin grafting alone. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Recent Developments in the Standardization of Power Line Communications within the IEEE

Broadband connectivity to and within the home has been available to consumers for some time through various technologies. Among those technologies, power line communications is an excellent candidate for providing broadband connectivity as it exploits an already existing infrastructure. This infrastructure is much more pervasive than any other wired alternative (both to and within the home), and it allows virtually every line-powered device to become the target of value- added services. Therefore, PLC may be considered as the technological enabler of a multitude of future applications that probably would not be available otherwise. The most fundamental barrier to the widespread adoption of broadband PLC is the current lack of an international technical standard issued by a credible and globally recognized standards-setting body. Hopefully, this barrier will be eliminated soon through the work of the IEEE P1901 Corporate Standards Working Group. This group, which was created in June 2005, is entering a crucial phase. This article stresses the importance of standardization in the PLC context, gives an overview of the current activities of the IEEE P1901 working group, and also describes some of the technical challenges that the future 1901 standard must address to ensure the success of PLC in the marketplace.
What Is a Meaningful Pain Reduction in Patients With Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type 1?

ObjectiveTo investigate the degree of pain reduction in patients with complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (CRPS 1) that can be defined as “successful. ” DesignAll patients rated their pain on a visual analog scale (VAS; 0–10) before treatment and on three occasions after treatment, at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Patients also rated a Global Perceived Effect (GPE) for their pain relief at the same time periods. The GPE items were classified as “successful” or “unsuccessful. ” The mean absolute and relative pain reduction (using the VAS) was calculated for both “successful” and “unsuccessful” GPE classifications for each time period. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed. PatientsSixty-one patients with CRPS 1. ResultsThe patients defined a relative pain reduction of 58% (SD, 23.4) or more as “successful,” whereas in “successful” and “unsuccessful” patient groups the pain was reduced significantly on the VAS. Furthermore, sensitivity and specificity analyses showed that a cut-off point of 50% relative pain reduction and a 3-cm absolute pain reduction on the VAS have the highest likelihood that patients will report their treatment “successful” on the GPE. ConclusionsRelative pain reduction of 50% or more and an absolute pain reduction of at least 3 cm on the VAS are accurate in predicting a successful pain reduction after a given treatment.
Pupillometry

The measurement of pupil diameter in psychology (in short, “pupillometry”) has just celebrated 50 years. The method established itself after the appearance of three seminal studies (Hess & Polt, 1960, 1964; Kahneman & Beatty, 1966). Since then, the method has continued to play a significant role within the field, and pupillary responses have been successfully used to provide an estimate of the “intensity” of mental activity and of changes in mental states, particularly changes in the allocation of attention and the consolidation of perception. Remarkably, pupillary responses provide a continuous measure regardless of whether the participant is aware of such changes. More recently, research in neuroscience has revealed a tight correlation between the activity of the locus coeruleus (i.e., the “hub” of the noradrenergic system) and pupillary dilation. As we discuss in this short review, these neurophysiological findings provide new important insights to the meaning of pupillary responses for mental activity. Finally, given that pupillary responses can be easily measured in a noninvasive manner, occur from birth, and can occur in the absence of voluntary, conscious processes, they constitute a very promising tool for the study of preverbal (e.g., infants) or nonverbal participants (e.g., animals, neurological patients).
Dopamine-glutamate interaction in rat striatal slices: changes of CCDPK II, PKA, and LDH activity by receptor-mediated mechanisms.

AIM To study the effects of dopamine (DA) and glutamate (Glu) and their receptor agonists/antagonists on Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CCDPK II), cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) activities and the LDH release in rat striatal slices, and to examine the interaction between DA and Glu transmitter systems in striatum. METHODS The activities of CCDPK II, PKA, and the release of LDH were determined with the 32P-incorporation and colorimetry respectively in rat striatal slices. RESULTS (1) Exogenous DA, D1 receptor agonist SKF 38393 and D2 receptor agonist LY 171555 reduced CCDPK II activity in striatal slices; Glu also inhibited CCPPK II activity in a concentration-dependent manner. NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 could antagonize the inhibitory effect of SKF 38393 and LY 171555 on the CCDPK II activity. D1 and D2 receptor antagonists SCH 23390 and spiperone could also antagonize the decrease of CCDPK II activity induced by Glu; (2) DA and SKF 38393 markedly increased PKA activity in striatal slices, which was reduced by MK-801; (3) DA and Glu increased the release of LDH from the striatal neurons in a concentration-dependent manner. MK-801 antagonized the increase of LDH induced by DA. Spiperone, rather than SCH 23390, could reduce the release of LDH from striatal neuron in the presence of Glu. CONCLUSION The interaction between DA and Glu transmitter systems is found in the regulation of the CCDPK II and PKA activities and cell function in the striatum.
Fast Non-Local algorithm for image denoising

In this paper, improvements to Non-Local Means (NLM) image denoising method is proposed to reduce the computational complexity. In the original NLM algorithm, neighborhood weightages are computed using the window similarity technique. The proposed technique replaces the window similarity by a modified multi-resolution based approach with much fewer comparisons rather than all pixels comparison. This approach also uses the concept of filtering out non-similar neighborhood pixels based on fixed sized window gray mean values. Further, mean values of the variable sized windows in the image are computed efficiently using Summed Image (SI) concept, which requires only 3 additions. The proposed approach is nearly 80 times faster than original Baudes NLM algorithm with close subjective and objective quality measurements.
Curable Cause of Paraplegia: Spinal Dural Arteriovenous Fistulae

Background and Purpose— The rarity of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae makes physicians often overlook this potential diagnosis in patients with progressive gait disturbance and paraparesis. Consequently, patients with spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae can gradually become completely paraplegic if the final diagnosis is delayed considerably. The objective of the current study is to demonstrate that, particularly in patients with paraplegia, surgical treatment of fistula is necessary and often has a favorable outcome. Methods— Of 42 patients with spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae treated in our institution (surgery or endovascular treatment), 6 were paraplegic preoperatively (Grade IV on the McCormick scale and Grade V on the Aminoff scale, Grade 5 of modified Rankin Scale with motor ASIA between 0 and 10 for both lower limbs). Their clinical history revealed that paraplegia appeared progressively within a period of <3 months. All patients were clinically evaluated at 6 weeks, 6 months, and then annually during an average follow-up of 3 years. Patients received at least one spinal angiography and MRI test during the follow-up period. Results— Total exclusion of the fistula was performed surgically in all cases and was confirmed by spinal angiography. No surgical complications were recorded. All patients improved postoperatively. Three patients showed almost normal walking (Grade I on the McCormick scale, I on the Aminoff scale, Grade 1 of modified Rankin Scale) and 3 were able to walk with a cane (Grade II on McCormick, Grade III on Aminoff scale, Grade 2 of modified Rankin Scale). MRI tests were normal in all patients. Conclusions— Our results indicate that treatment of fistula is a necessary intervention, even in patients with complete paraplegia.
Sexual Transmission of XMRV: A Potential Infection Route

Although XMRV dissemination in humans is a matter of debate, the prostate of select patients seem to harbor XMRV, which raises questions about its potential route of transmission. We established a model of infection in rhesus macaques inoculated with XMRV. In spite of the intravenous inoculation, all infected macaques exhibited readily detectable XMRV signal in the reproductive tract of all 4 males and 1 female during both acute and chronic infection stages. XMRV showed explosive growth in the acini of prostate during acute but not chronic infection. In seminal vesicles, epididymis, and testes, XMRV protein production was detected throughout infection in interstitial or epithelial cells. In the female monkey, epithelial cells in the cervix and vagina were also positive for XMRV gag. The ready detection of XMRV in the reproductive tract of male and female macaques infected intravenously suggests the potential for sexual transmission for XMRV.
Relationship between Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Status, p16INK4A, and Outcome in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is a powerful prognostic biomarker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Increased epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene copy number and protein expression have been reported to be negative predictors of outcome. This study examined the relationship between HPV status, EGFR gene copy number, EGFR protein expression, and clinical outcome in HNSCC patients treated with chemoradiation. Methods: HPV status was determined using p16INK4A immunohistochemistry (IHC), EGFR gene copy number was evaluated with FISH, and EGFR protein expression by IHC in 212 subjects. Results:EGFR FISH was positive in 41 of 204 (20%) patients and was negatively correlated with failure-free survival (FFS; HR = 1.84, P = 0.027) and overall survival (OS; HR = 1.78, P = 0.082). For p16INK4A, 85 of 200 (42.5%) patients were found to be p16 positive, including 75 of 131 (57%) with oropharyngeal cancer. Patients with p16-positive oropharyngeal cancer had significantly improved FFS (HR = 0.28, P < 0.001) and OS (HR = 0.31, P = 0.002). Only 2 of 126 (1.6%) oropharyngeal cancer patients were found to be p16+/EGFR FISH+. EGFR IHC was positive in 81 of 93 (87%) of patients and was associated with poorer FFS (HR = 1.98, P = 0.35) and OS (HR = 2.52, P = 0.22). Conclusions: Increased EGFR gene copy number is largely restricted to p16INK4A-negative oropharyngeal cancer. Although p16INK4A and EGFR FISH are both predictive of outcome in univariate analyses, only p16INK4A remains independently predictive. Impact: Knowledge of HPV and EGFR status can have implications for treatment options and prognosis in HNSCC. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(6); 1230–7. ©2011 AACR.
Cross-Inhibition of Chikungunya Virus Fusion and Infection by Alphavirus E1 Domain III Proteins

ABSTRACT Alphaviruses are small enveloped RNA viruses that include important emerging human pathogens, such as chikungunya virus (CHIKV). These viruses infect cells via a low-pH-triggered membrane fusion reaction, making this step a potential target for antiviral therapies. The E1 fusion protein inserts into the target membrane, trimerizes, and refolds to a hairpin-like conformation in which the combination of E1 domain III (DIII) and the stem region (DIII-stem) pack against a core trimer composed of E1 domains I and II (DI/II). Addition of exogenous DIII proteins from Semliki Forest virus (SFV) has been shown to inhibit E1 hairpin formation and SFV fusion and infection. Here we produced and characterized DIII and DI/II proteins from CHIKV and SFV. Unlike SFV DIII, both core trimer binding and fusion inhibition by CHIKV DIII required the stem region. CHIKV DIII-stem and SFV DIII-stem showed efficient cross-inhibition of SFV, Sindbis virus, and CHIKV infections. We developed a fluorescence anisotropy-based assay for the binding of SFV DIII-stem to the core trimer and used it to demonstrate the relatively high affinity of this interaction (Kd [dissociation constant], ∼85 nM) and the importance of the stem region. Together, our results support the conserved nature of the key contacts of DIII-stem in the alphavirus E1 homotrimer and describe a sensitive and quantitative in vitro assay for this step in fusion protein refolding.