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

Translational Retinal Research and Therapies.

The following review summarizes the state of the art in representative aspects of gene therapy/translational medicine and evolves from a symposium held at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania on November 16, 2017 honoring Dr. Gustavo Aguirre, recipient of ARVO's 2017 Proctor Medal. Focusing on the retina, speakers highlighted current work on moving therapies for inherited retinal degenerative diseases from the laboratory bench to the clinic

Using binary stars to bound the mass of the graviton

Interacting white dwarf binary star systems, including helium cataclysmic variable (HeCV) systems, are expected to be strong sources of gravitational radiation, and should be detectable by proposed space-based laser interferometer gravitational wave observatories such as LISA. Several HeCV star systems are presently known and can be studied optically, which will allow electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations to be correlated. Comparisons of the phases of a gravitational wave signal and the orbital light curve from an interacting binary white dwarf star system can be used to bound the mass of the graviton. Observations of typical HeCV systems by LISA could potentially yield an upper bound on the inverse mass of the graviton as strong as $h/m_{g} = \lambda_{g} > 1 \times 10^{15}$ km ($m_{g} < 1 \times 10^{-24}$ eV), more than two orders of magnitude better than present solar system derived bounds.Comment: 21 pages plus 4 figures; ReVTe

Characterisation of norovirus contamination in an Irish shellfishery using real-time RT-qPCR and sequencing analysis

Copyright © 2012 Rajko-Nenow et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Peer reviewedNorovirus (NoV) is the single most important agent of foodborne viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Bivalve shellfish, such as oysters, grown in areas contaminated with human faecal waste may become contaminated with human pathogens including NoV. A study was undertaken to investigate NoV contamination in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) from a shellfishery over a 24 month period from October 2007 to September 2009. Oyster samples were collected monthly from a commercial shellfish harvest area classified as category B under EU regulations, but that had had been closed for commercial harvesting due to its previous association with NoV outbreaks. Real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to determine the concentration of human NoV genogroups I and II (GI and GII) in monthly samples. Total NoV (GI and GII) concentrations in NoV positive oysters ranged from 97 to 20,080 genome copies g− 1 of digestive tissue and displayed a strong seasonal trend with greater concentrations occurring during the winter months. While NoV GII concentrations detected in oysters during both years were similar, NoV GI concentrations were significantly greater in oysters during the winter of 2008/09 than during the winter of 2007/08. To examine the NoV genotypes present in oyster samples, sequence analysis of nested RT-PCR products was undertaken. Although NoV GII.4 is responsible for the vast majority of reports of outbreaks in the community, multiple NoV genotypes were identified in oysters during this study: GI.4, GI.3, GI.2, GII.4, GII.b, GII.2, GII.12, and GII.e. NoV GI.4 was the most frequently detected genotype throughout the study period and was detected in 88.9% of positive samples, this was followed by GII.4 (43.7%) and GII.b (37.5%). This data demonstrates the diversity of NoV genotypes that can be present in sewage contaminated shellfish and that a disproportionate number of non-NoV GII.4 genotypes can be found in environmental samples compared to the number of recorded human infections associated with non-NoV GII.4 genotypes

PHarmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs in CRITically Ill Adults: PHARM-CRIT Study

OBJECTIVES: To comprehensively classify interventions performed by ICU clinical pharmacists and quantify cost avoidance generated through their accepted interventions. DESIGN: A multicenter, prospective, observational study was performed between August 2018 and January 2019. SETTING: Community hospitals and academic medical centers in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: ICU clinical pharmacists. INTERVENTIONS: Recommendations classified into one of 38 intervention categories (divided into six unique sections) associated with cost avoidance. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two-hundred fifteen ICU pharmacists at 85 centers performed 55,926 interventions during 3,148 shifts that were accepted on 27,681 adult patient days and generated $23,404,089 of cost avoidance. The quantity of accepted interventions and cost avoidance generated in six established sections was adverse drug event prevention (5,777 interventions;$5,822,539 CA), resource utilization (12,630 interventions; $4,491,318), individualization of patient care (29,284 interventions;$9,680,036 cost avoidance), prophylaxis (1,639 interventions; $1,414,465 cost avoidance), hands-on care (1,828 interventions;$1,339,621 cost avoidance), and administrative/supportive tasks (4,768 interventions; $656,110 cost avoidance). Mean cost avoidance was$418 per intervention, $845 per patient day, and$7,435 per ICU pharmacist shift. The annualized cost avoidance from an ICU pharmacist is $1,784,302. The potential monetary cost avoidance to pharmacist salary ratio was between$3.3:1 and $9.6:1. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist involvement in the care of critically ill patients results in significant avoidance of healthcare costs, particularly in the areas of individualization of patient care, adverse drug event prevention, and resource utilization. The potential monetary cost avoidance to pharmacist salary ratio employing an ICU clinical pharmacist is between$3.3:1 and $9.6:1

Restoration of Visual Function by Expression of a Light-Gated Mammalian Ion Channel in Retinal Ganglion Cells or ON-Bipolar Cells

Most inherited forms of blindness are caused by mutations that lead to photoreceptor cell death but spare second- and third-order retinal neurons. Expression of the light-gated excitatory mammalian ion channel light-gated ionotropic glutamate receptor (LiGluR) in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) of the retina degeneration (rd1) mouse model of blindness was previously shown to restore some visual functions when stimulated by UV light. Here, we report restored retinal function in visible light in rodent and canine models of blindness through the use of a second-generation photoswitch for LiGluR, maleimide-azobenzene-glutamate 0 with peak efficiency at 460 nm (MAG0460). In the blind rd1 mouse, multielectrode array recordings of retinal explants revealed robust and uniform light-evoked firing when LiGluR-MAG0460 was targeted to RGCs and robust but diverse activity patterns in RGCs when LiGluR-MAG0460 was targeted to ON-bipolar cells (ON-BCs). LiGluR-MAG0460 in either RGCs or ON-BCs of the rd1 mouse reinstated innate light-avoidance behavior and enabled mice to distinguish between different temporal patterns of light in an associative learning task. In the rod-cone dystrophy dog model of blindness, LiGluR-MAG0460 in RGCs restored robust light responses to retinal explants and intravitreal delivery of LiGluR and MAG0460 was well tolerated in vivo. The results in both large and small animal models of photoreceptor degeneration provide a path to clinical translation

palaeoverse: A community‐driven R package to support palaeobiological analysis

1. The open-source programming language ‘R' has become a standard tool in the palaeobiologist's toolkit. Its popularity within the palaeobiological community continues to grow, with published articles increasingly citing the usage of R and R packages. However, there are currently a lack of agreed standards for data preparation and available frameworks to support the implementation of such standards. Consequently, data preparation workflows are often unclear and not reproducible, even when code is provided. Moreover, due to a lack of code accessibility and documentation, palaeobiologists are often forced to ‘reinvent the wheel’ to find solutions to issues already solved by other members of the community. 2. Here, we introduce palaeoverse, a community-driven R package to aid data preparation and exploration for quantitative palaeobiological research. The package is freely available and has three core principles: (1) streamline data preparation and analyses; (2) enhance code readability; and (3) improve reproducibility of results. To develop these aims, we assessed the analytical needs of the broader palaeobiological community using an online survey, in addition to incorporating our own experiences. 3. In this work, we first report the findings of the survey, which shaped the development of the package. Subsequently, we describe and demonstrate the functionality available in palaeoverse and provide usage examples. Finally, we discuss the resources we have made available for the community and our future plans for the broader Palaeoverse project. 4. palaeoverse is a community-driven R package for palaeobiology, developed with the intention of bringing palaeobiologists together to establish agreed standards for high-quality quantitative research. The package provides a user-friendly platform for preparing data for analysis with well-documented open-source code to enhance transparency. The functionality available in palaeoverse improves code reproducibility and accessibility, which is beneficial for both the review process and future research

PHarmacist Avoidance or Reductions in Medical Costs in Patients Presenting the EMergency Department: PHARM-EM Study

Objectives: To comprehensively classify interventions performed by emergency medicine clinical pharmacists and quantify cost avoidance generated through their accepted interventions. Design: A multicenter, prospective, observational study was performed between August 2018 and January 2019. Setting: Community and academic hospitals in the United States. Participants: Emergency medicine clinical pharmacists. Interventions: Recommendations classified into one of 38 intervention categories associated with cost avoidance. Measurements and Main Results: Eighty-eight emergency medicine pharmacists at 49 centers performed 13,984 interventions during 917 shifts that were accepted on 8,602 patients and generated $7,531,862 of cost avoidance. The quantity of accepted interventions and cost avoidance generated in six established categories were as follows: adverse drug event prevention (1,631 interventions;$2,225,049 cost avoidance), resource utilization (628; $310,582), individualization of patient care (6,122;$1,787,170), prophylaxis (24; $22,804), hands-on care (3,533;$2,836,811), and administrative/supportive tasks (2,046; $342,881). Mean cost avoidance was$538.61 per intervention, $875.60 per patient, and$8,213.59 per emergency medicine pharmacist shift. The annualized cost avoidance from an emergency medicine pharmacist was $1,971,262. The monetary cost avoidance to pharmacist salary ratio was between$1.4:1 and $10.6:1. Conclusions: Pharmacist involvement in the care of patients presenting to the emergency department results in significant avoidance of healthcare costs, particularly in the areas of hands-on care and adverse drug event prevention. The potential monetary benefit-to-cost ratio for emergency medicine pharmacists is between$1.4:1 and $10.6:1