The Association Between Fundraising Efficiency, Financial Vulnerability, And Subsequent Donations To Not-For-Profits

In this paper, we empirically study the association between past year fundraising efficiency and current year donations to not-for-profit organizations. First, our data show that prior year fundraising inefficiency (fundraising expenses as a proportion of total donations) is negatively associated with current year donations and is robust to an inclusion of prior year financial vulnerability as an explanatory variable. Secondly, we find that prior year levels of fundraising expenses and program expenses are positively associated with current year donations. Finally, prior-year financial vulnerability, which is measured in our paper consistent with Greenlee and Trussel (2000), is negatively associated with current year donations

The Market Value Implications of Pension Asset Allocation

Pension funds have been part of the private sector since the 1850’s. Defined Benefit pension plans [DB], where a company promises to make regular contributions to investment accounts held for participating employees in order to pay a promised lifelong annuity, are significant capital markets participants, amounting to 2.3 trillion dollars in 2010 (Federal Reserve Board, 2013). In 2006, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.158 (SFAS 158), Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postemployment Plans, shifted information concerning funding status and pension asset/liability composition from disclosure in the footnotes to recognition in the financial statements. I add to the literature by being the first to examine the effect of recent pension reform during the financial crisis of 2008-09. This dissertation is comprised of three related essays. In my first essay, I investigate whether investors assign different pricing multiples to the various classes of pension assets when valuing firms. The pricing multiples on all classes of assets are significantly different from each other, but only investments in bonds and equities were value-relevant during the recent financial crisis. Consistent with investors viewing pension liabilities as liabilities of the firm, the pricing multiples on pension liabilities are significantly larger than those on non-pension liabilities. The only pension costs significantly associated with firm value are actual rate of return and interest expense. In my second essay, I investigate the role of accruals in predicting future cash flows, extending the Barth et al. (2001a) model of the accrual process. Using market value of equity as a proxy for cash flows, the results of this study suggest that aggregate accounting amounts mask how the components of earnings affect investors’ ability to predict future cash flows. Disaggregating pension earnings components and accruals results in an increase in predictive power. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, however, investors placed a greater (and negative) weight on the incremental information contained in the individual components of accruals. The inferences are robust to alternative specifications of accruals. Finally, in my third essay I investigate how investors view under-funded plans. On average, investors: view deficits arising from under-funded plans as belonging to the firm; reward firms with fully or over-funded pension plans; and encourage those funds with unfunded pension plans to become funded. Investors also encourage conservative pension asset allocations to mitigate firm risk, and smaller firms are perceived as being better able to handle the risk associated with underfunded plans. During the financial crisis of 2008-2009 underfunded status had a lower negative association with market value. In all three models, there are significant differences in pre- and post- SFAS 158 periods. These results are robust to various scenarios of the timing of the financial crisis and an alternative measure of funding

Hip Manipulation Under Anesthesia for Post-Hip Arthroscopy Pericapsular Scarring: Indications and Techniques

Hip arthroscopy has become an increasingly common procedure with expanding indications over the last several decades. With the increase in number of procedures performed a complication profile has emerged, although there is yet to be a formal classification system for complications. The most cited complications include lateral femoral cutaneous nerve neuropraxia, other sensory deficits, chondral or labral iatrogenic damage, superficial infection and deep vein thrombosis. One complication that has not yet been well documented in the literature is pericapsular scarring/adhesions resulting in decreased hip range of motion and function. If this complication is noted to persist after adequate impingement resection and a rigorous post-operative physical therapy regimen, the senior author has addressed this with a hip manipulation under anesthesia. Therefore, this techniques paper aims to describe pericapsular scarring as a post hip-arthroscopy condition which may cause pain and demonstrate our technique to address this diagnosis through hip manipulation under anesthesia

Bayesian Hierarchical Factor Regression Models to Infer Cause of Death From Verbal Autopsy Data

In low-resource settings where vital registration of death is not routine it is often of critical interest to determine and study the cause of death (COD) for individuals and the cause-specific mortality fraction (CSMF) for populations. Post-mortem autopsies, considered the gold standard for COD assignment, are often difficult or impossible to implement due to deaths occurring outside the hospital, expense, and/or cultural norms. For this reason, Verbal Autopsies (VAs) are commonly conducted, consisting of a questionnaire administered to next of kin recording demographic information, known medical conditions, symptoms, and other factors for the decedent. This article proposes a novel class of hierarchical factor regression models that avoid restrictive assumptions of standard methods, allow both the mean and covariance to vary with COD category, and can include covariate information on the decedent, region, or events surrounding death. Taking a Bayesian approach to inference, this work develops an MCMC algorithm and validates the FActor Regression for Verbal Autopsy (FARVA) model in simulation experiments. An application of FARVA to real VA data shows improved goodness-of-fit and better predictive performance in inferring COD and CSMF over competing methods. Code and a user manual are made available at https://github.com/kelrenmor/farva

The wMelPop strain of Wolbachia interferes with dopamine levels in Aedes aegypti

Wolbachia is an intracellular bacterium that has been stably transinfected into the mosquito vector of dengue, Aedes aegypti. This inherited infection causes a range of metabolic and phenotypic alterations in the mosquito, which might be related to neuronal abnormalities. In order to determine if these alterations were caused by the manipulation of neuroamines by this bacterium, we studied the expression of genes involved in the dopamine biosynthetic pathway and also measured the amount of dopamine in infected and uninfected mosquitoes of different ages. Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes exhibit greater expression of some genes related to the melanization pathway, but not for those directly linked to dopamine production. Although dopamine levels were higher in Wolbachia-positive mosquitoes this was not consistent across all insect ages nor was it related to the previously described Wolbachia induced "bendy" and "shaky" phenotypes

Patients With Generalized Joint Hypermobility Have Thinner Superior Hip Capsules and Greater Hip Internal Rotation on Physical Examination

PURPOSE: To compare preoperative hip range of motion (ROM), hip capsular thickness on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and bony morphology on radiographs and computed tomography (CT) between patients with and without joint hypermobility as measured by the Beighton Test score (BTS), with subanalysis based on sex and age. METHODS: Consecutive patients who underwent hip arthroscopy for a diagnosis of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome with or without dysplasia were retrospectively reviewed. Patient BTS, hip ROM, demographics, surgical data, morphologic measures on radiographs and CT, and MRI findings including hip capsule thickness at various locations were compiled. Multiple statistical tests were performed, including multivariable linear or logistic regression models, while controlling for BTS, age, and sex. RESULTS: In total, 99 patients were included with a mean age of 29 ± 9.9 years; 62 (62.6%), were female. Forty patients (40.4%) had a BTS ≥4. Female patients (P \u3c .001) and younger patients (26.7 vs 30.9 years, P = .030) were more likely to have a BTS ≥4. Male patients had significantly thicker superior capsules (3.4 mm vs. 2.8 mm, P = .034). BTS was not associated with capsular thickness when controlling for sex. On CT, femoral version (18.9° vs 11.4°, P \u3c .001), and McKibben index (37.8° vs. 28.2°, P \u3c .001) were significantly greater in those with a BTS ≥4. Patients with a BTS ≥4 had more hip internal rotation at 90° of flexion (15.0° vs 10.0°, P \u3c .001), when prone (30.0° vs 20.0°, P = .004), and in extension (10.0° vs. 5.0°, P \u3c .001). CONCLUSIONS: All female patients, regardless of Beighton score, and all patients with a BTS ≥4 indicated for primary hip arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement syndrome with or without dysplasia were more likely to have thinner superior hip capsules on MRI and greater hip internal rotation on exam. Bony morphologic differences exist between sexes and between patients with and without hypermobility, likely contributing to differences in ROM. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III, retrospective cohort study

Mathematical modelling long-term effects of replacing Prevnar7 with Prevnar13 on invasive pneumococcal diseases in England and Wales

England and Wales recently replaced the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) with its 13-valent equivalent (PCV13), partly based on projections from mathematical models of the long-term impact of such a switch compared to ceasing pneumococcal conjugate vaccination altogether. A compartmental deterministic model was used to estimate parameters governing transmission of infection and competition between different groups of pneumococcal serotypes prior to the introduction of PCV13. The best-fitting parameters were used in an individual based model to describe pneumococcal transmission dynamics and effects of various options for the vaccination programme change in England and Wales. A number of scenarios were conducted using (i) different assumptions about the number of invasive pneumococcal disease cases adjusted for the increasing trend in disease incidence prior to PCV7 introduction in England and Wales, and (ii) a range of values representing serotype replacement induced by vaccination of the additional six serotypes in PCV13. Most of the scenarios considered suggest that ceasing pneumococcal conjugate vaccine use would cause an increase in invasive pneumococcal disease incidence, while replacing PCV7 with PCV13 would cause an overall decrease. However, the size of this reduction largely depends on the level of competition induced by the additional serotypes in PCV13. The model estimates that over 20 years of PCV13 vaccination, around 5000–62000 IPD cases could be prevented compared to stopping pneumococcal conjugate vaccination altogether. Despite inevitable uncertainty around serotype replacement effects following introduction of PCV13, the model suggests a reduction in overall invasive pneumococcal disease incidence in all cases. Our results provide useful evidence on the benefits of PCV13 to countries replacing or considering replacing PCV7 with PCV13, as well as data that can be used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of such a switch

PAR1 (Protease-Activated Receptor 1) Pepducin Therapy Targeting Myocardial Necrosis in Coronary Artery Disease and Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients Undergoing Cardiac Catheterization: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 2 Study

OBJECTIVE: Arterial thrombosis leading to ischemic injury worsens the prognosis of many patients with cardiovascular disease. PZ-128 is a first-in-class pepducin that reversibly inhibits PAR1 (protease-activated receptor 1) on platelets and other vascular cells by targeting the intracellular surface of the receptor. The TRIP-PCI (Thrombin Receptor Inhibitory Pepducin in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) trial was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of PZ-128 in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization with intent to perform percutaneous coronary intervention. Approach and Results: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial, 100 patients were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive PZ-128 (0.3 or 0.5 mg/kg), or placebo in a 2-hour infusion initiated just before the start of cardiac catheterization, on top of standard oral antiplatelet therapy. Rates of the primary end point of bleeding were not different between the combined PZ-128 doses (1.6%, 1/62) and placebo group (0%, 0/35). The secondary end points of major adverse coronary events at 30 and 90 days did not significantly differ but were numerically lower in the PZ-128 groups (0% and 2% in the PZ-128 groups, 6% and 6% with placebo, p=0.13, p=0.29, respectively). In the subgroup of patients with elevated baseline cardiac troponin I, the exploratory end point of 30-day major adverse coronary events + myocardial injury showed 83% events in the placebo group versus 31% events in the combined PZ-128 drug groups, an adjusted relative risk of 0.14 (95% CI, 0.02-0.75); P=0.02. CONCLUSIONS: In this first-in-patient experience, PZ-128 added to standard antiplatelet therapy appeared to be safe, well tolerated, and potentially reduced periprocedural myonecrosis, thus providing the basis for further clinical trials. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02561000

IL-4 impairs wound healing potential in the skin by repressing fibronectin expression

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is characterized by intense pruritis and is a common childhood inflammatory disease. Many factors are known to affect AD development, including the pleiotropic cytokine IL-4. Yet little is known regarding the direct effects of IL-4 on keratinocyte function. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: In this report RNA sequencing and functional assays were used to define the effect of the allergic environment on primary keratinocyte function and wound repair in mice. RESULTS: Acute or chronic stimulation by IL-4 modified expression of more than 1000 genes expressed in human keratinocytes that are involved in a broad spectrum of nonoverlapping functions. Among the IL-4-induced changes, repression of fibronectin critically impaired the human keratinocyte wound response. Moreover, in mouse models of spontaneous and induced AD-like lesions, there was delayed re-epithelialization. Importantly, topical treatment with fibronectin restored the epidermal repair response. CONCLUSION: Keratinocyte gene expression is critically shaped by IL-4, altering cell fate decisions, which are likely important for the clinical manifestations and pathology of allergic skin disease