An Examination of the Small-Firm Effect within the REIT Industry

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) offer investors the ability to more easily include real estate-related assets in their investment portfolios. Certain REIT characteristics may allow some REITs to outperform others. Empirical research in the financial literature indicates that small firms earn higher average rates of return than large firms after accounting for risk. This research tests for the existence of the small-firm effect within the REIT industry. REITs provide an opportunity to examine the small-firm effect and its possible explanations using a relative homogeneous group of securities. The evidence supports a small-firm effect for REITs over the time period examined even after considering the possible explanations identified in the financial efficient markets literature.

Capital Budgeting and Entrepreneurial Organizations: A Survey of Hospital Practices

Efficiency and effectiveness for all entrepreneurial firms requires that limited resources be put to their best use. Thus the acquisition of long-term assets is an important decision for any entrepreneurial firm. For hospitals, which have become entrepreneurial to survive in today’s health care environment, long-term asset investment decisions have become critical to their survival. The objective of this study is to increase health care organizations’ awareness of the important considerations in selecting and monitoring long-term investments. Our findings from a small sample of American hospitals indicate that payback method is the primary criterion for evaluating hospital’s long-term investment projects. Also of note is the high proportion of hospitals whose approaches seem to incorrectly deal with the effects of inflation. On the other hand, the sample hospitals seem to be aware of the need to consider both tangible and intangible costs and benefits. They also exhibit awareness of the importance of follow up in the form of post audits

Evaluation of Human Skin Reconstituted from Composite Grafts of Cultured Keratinocytes and Human Acellular Dermis Transplanted to Athymic Mice

This study evaluates the use of composite grafts of cultured human keratinocytes and de-epidermalized, acellular human dermis to close full-thickness wounds in athymic mice. Grafts were transplanted onto athymic mice and studied up to 8 wk. Graft take was excellent, with no instances of infection or graft loss. By 1 wk, the human keratinocytes had formed a stratified epidermis that was fused with mouse epithelium, and by 8 wk the grafts resembled human skin and could be freely moved over the mouse dorsum. Immunostaining for keratins 10 and 16 and for involucrin revealed an initial pattern of epithelial immaturity, which by 8 wk had normalized to that of mature unwounded epithelium. Mouse fibroblasts began to infiltrate the acellular dermis as early as 1 wk. By 8 wk fibroblasts had completely repopulated the dermis, and blood vessels were evident in the most superficial papillary projections, Dermal elements, such as rete ridges and elastin fibers, which were present in the starting dermis, persisted for the duration of the experiment. Grafts using keratinocytes from dark-skinned donors as opposed to light-skin donors had foci of pigmentation as early as 1 wk that progressed to homogenous pigmentation of the graft by 6 wk. These results indicate that melanocytes that persist in vitro are able to resume normal function in vivo. Our study demonstrates that composite grafts of cultured keratinocytes combined with acellular dermis are a useful approach for the closure of full-thickness wounds

New verified nonindigenous amphibians and reptiles in Florida, 1976 through 2015, with a summary of over 152 years of introductions

More nonindigenous species occur in Florida, USA, than any other region worldwide and may threaten many of Florida’s natural resources. The frequency of new reports mandates the need for regular updates. Herein, we use photographic and specimen vouchers in addition to literature records to provide updated information on verified nonindigenous amphibians and reptiles in Florida. Between our most recent summary in 2012 and the end of 2015, 38 additional species are known to have been intercepted (n = 2) or introduced (n = 36). We also update the invasion stage of seven species previously reported from Florida and report that five additional taxa are now established. In total, 191 independent known introductions of 180 herpetofaunal taxa led to the establishment of 63 taxa. This suggests that one in three introduced herpetofaunal species becomes established in Florida. The pet trade represents the most  common introduction pathway among these species animal importer in Hollywood, Broward County, is the probable source for introduction of a quarter of all herpetofauna introduced to Florida

New Verified Nonindigenous Amphibians and Reptiles in Florida through 2015, with a Summary of More Than 152 Years of Introductions.

More nonindigenous species occur in Florida, USA, than any other region worldwide and may threaten many of Florida’s natural resources. The frequency of new reports mandates the need for regular updates. Herein, we use photographic and specimen vouchers in addition to literature records to provide updated information on verified nonindigenous amphibians and reptiles in Florida. Between our most recent summary in 2012 and the end of 2015, 38 additional species are known to have been intercepted (n = 2) or introduced (n = 36). We also update the invasion stage of seven species previously reported from Florida and report that five additional taxa are now established. In total, 191 independent known introductions of 180 herpetofaunal taxa led to the establishment of 63 taxa. This suggests that one in three introduced herpetofaunal species becomes established in Florida. The pet trade represents the most common introduction pathway among these species and a single animal importer in Hollywood, Broward County, is the probable source for introduction of a quarter of all herpetofauna introduced to Florida

Gender comparisons of fat talk in the United Kingdom and the United States

This study compared different forms of body talk, including "fat talk," among 231 university men and women in central England (UK; n = 93) and the southeastern United States (US; n = 138). A 2 (gender) by 2 (country) repeated measures ANOVA across types of body talk (negative, self-accepting, positive) and additional Chi-square analyses revealed that there were differences across gender and between the UK and US cultures. Specifically, UK and US women were more likely to report frequently hearing or perceiving pressure to engage in fat talk than men. US women and men were also more likely to report pressure to join in self-accepting body talk than UK women and men

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Cold-Adapted Influenza and Recombinant Adenovirus Vaccines Induce Cross-Protective Immunity against pH1N1 Challenge in Mice

The rapid spread of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza virus (pH1N1) highlighted problems associated with relying on strain-matched vaccines. A lengthy process of strain identification, manufacture, and testing is required for current strain-matched vaccines and delays vaccine availability. Vaccines inducing immunity to conserved viral proteins could be manufactured and tested in advance and provide cross-protection against novel influenza viruses until strain-matched vaccines became available. Here we test two prototype vaccines for cross-protection against the recent pandemic virus.BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were intranasally immunized with a single dose of cold-adapted (ca) influenza viruses from 1977 or recombinant adenoviruses (rAd) expressing 1934 nucleoprotein (NP) and consensus matrix 2 (M2) (NP+M2-rAd). Antibodies against the M2 ectodomain (M2e) were seen in NP+M2-rAd immunized BALB/c but not C57BL/6 mice, and cross-reacted with pH1N1 M2e. The ca-immunized mice did not develop antibodies against M2e. Despite sequence differences between vaccine and challenge virus NP and M2e epitopes, extensive cross-reactivity of lung T cells with pH1N1 peptides was detected following immunization. Both ca and NP+M2-rAd immunization protected BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice against challenge with a mouse-adapted pH1N1 virus.Cross-protective vaccines such as NP+M2-rAd and ca virus are effective against pH1N1 challenge within 3 weeks of immunization. Protection was not dependent on recognition of the highly variable external viral proteins and could be achieved with a single vaccine dose. The rAd vaccine was superior to the ca vaccine by certain measures, justifying continued investigation of this experimental vaccine even though ca vaccine is already available. This study highlights the potential for cross-protective vaccines as a public health option early in an influenza pandemic

Paper 1: The JWST PEARLS View of the El Gordo Galaxy Cluster and of the Structure It Magnifies

The massive galaxy cluster El Gordo (z=0.87) imprints multitudes of gravitationally lensed arcs onto James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) images. Eight bands of NIRCam imaging were obtained in the ``Prime Extragalactic Areas for Reionization and Lensing Science'' (``PEARLS'') program. PSF-matched photometry across Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and NIRCam filters supplies new photometric redshifts. A new light-traces-mass lens model based on 56 image multiplicities identifies the two mass peaks and yields a mass estimate within 500 kpc of ~(7.0 +/- 0.30) x 10^14 Msun. A search for substructure in the 140 cluster members with spectroscopic redshifts confirms the two main mass components. The southeastern mass peak that contains the BCG is more tightly bound than the northwestern one. The virial mass within 1.7 Mpc is (5.1 +/- 0.60) x 10^14 Msun, lower than the lensing mass. A significant transverse velocity component could mean the virial mass is underestimated. We contribute one new member to the previously known z=4.32 galaxy group. Intrinsic (delensed) positions of the five secure group members span a physical extent of ~60 kpc. Thirteen additional candidates selected by spectroscopic/photometric constraints are small and faint with a mean intrinsic luminosity ~2.2 mag fainter than L*. NIRCam imaging admits a fairly wide range of brightnesses and morphologies for the group members, suggesting a more diverse galaxy population in this galaxy overdensity.Comment: 24 pages, accepted by Ap

Burn Injury Reduces Neutrophil Directional Migration Speed in Microfluidic Devices

Thermal injury triggers a fulminant inflammatory cascade that heralds shock, end-organ failure, and ultimately sepsis and death. Emerging evidence points to a critical role for the innate immune system, and several studies had documented concurrent impairment in neutrophil chemotaxis with these post-burn inflammatory changes. While a few studies suggest that a link between neutrophil motility and patient mortality might exist, so far, cumbersome assays have prohibited exploration of the prognostic and diagnostic significance of chemotaxis after burn injury. To address this need, we developed a microfluidic device that is simple to operate and allows for precise and robust measurements of chemotaxis speed and persistence characteristics at single-cell resolution. Using this assay, we established a reference set of migration speed values for neutrophils from healthy subjects. Comparisons with samples from burn patients revealed impaired directional migration speed starting as early as 24 hours after burn injury, reaching a minimum at 72–120 hours, correlated to the size of the burn injury and potentially serving as an early indicator for concurrent infections. Further characterization of neutrophil chemotaxis using this new assay may have important diagnostic implications not only for burn patients but also for patients afflicted by other diseases that compromise neutrophil functions