Market evidence on the opaqueness of banking firms' assets.

We assess the market microstructure properties of U.S. banking firms' equity, to determine whether they exhibit more or less evidence of asset opaqueness than similar-sized nonbanking firms. The evidence strongly indicates that large banks (traded on NASDAQ) trade much less frequently despite microstructure characteristics. Problem (noncurrent) loans tend to raise the frequency with which the bank's equity trades, as well as the equity's return volatility. The implications for regulatory policy and future market microstructure research are discussed.Bank stocks ; Bank assets

Inelastic collision processes in ozone and their relation to atmospheric pressure broadening

The research task employs infrared double-resonance to determine rotational energy transfer rates and pathways, in both the ground and vibrationally excited states of ozone. The resulting data base will then be employed to test inelastic scattering theories and to assess intermolecular potential models, both of which are necessary for the systematization and prediction of infrared pressure-broadening coefficients, which are in turn required by atmospheric ozone monitoring techniques based on infrared remote sensing. In addition, observation of excited-state absorption transitions will permit us to improve the determination of the 2 nu(sub 3), nu(sub 1) + nu(sub 2), and 2 nu(sub 1) rotational constants and to derive band strengths for hot-band transitions involving these levels

The informational advantage of specialized monitors: the case of bank examiners

Large commercial banking firms are monitored by specialized private sector monitors and by specialized government examiners. Previous research suggests that bank exams produce little useful information that is not already reflected in market prices. In this article, we apply a new research methodology to a unique data set, and find that government exams of large national banks produce significant new information which financial markets do not fully internalize for several additional months. Our results indicate that specialized government monitors can identify value-relevant information about private firms, even if those firms are already actively followed by investors and their private-sector agents.Bank supervision ; Bank examination

Environment assisted electron capture

Electron capture by {\it isolated} atoms and ions proceeds by photorecombination. In this process a species captures a free electron by emitting a photon which carries away the excess energy. It is shown here that in the presence of an {\it environment} a competing non-radiative electron capture process can take place due to long range electron correlation. In this interatomic (intermolecular) process the excess energy is transferred to neighboring species. The asymptotic expression for the cross section of this process is derived. We demonstrate by explicit examples that under realizable conditions the cross section of this interatomic process can clearly dominate that of photorecombination

Report of IRPA task group on the impact of the eye lens dose limits

In 2012 IRPA established a task group (TG) to identify key issues in the implementation of the revised eye lens dose limit. The TG reported its conclusions in 2013. In January 2015, IRPA asked the TG to review progress with the implementation of the recommendations from the early report and to collate current practitioner experience. This report presents the results of a survey on the view of the IRPA professionals on the new limit to the lens of the eye and on the wider issue of tissue reactions. Recommendations derived from the survey are presented. This report was approved by IRPA Executive Council on 31 January 2017

Phase-only filter with improved discrimination

The optimization of a phase-only filter (POF) in terms of discrimination capability is presented. The notion of a phase-difference histogram and its modification are proposed for selecting the support function of the POF. Some numerical results obtained with the conventional POF and the optimized POF are given. The discrimination capability is increased significantly