Understanding Mortgage Spreads

Spreads of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) vary significantly in the cross section and over time, but the sources of this variation are not well understood. We document that, in the cross section, MBS spreads adjusted for the prepayment option show a pronounced smile with respect to the MBS coupon. We propose prepayment model risk as a candidate driver of MBS spreads and present a new pricing model that uses "stripped" MBS prices to identify the contribution of this risk to option-adjusted spreads. With this pricing model, we find that prepayment model risk explains the smile, while the variation in the time series is mostly accounted for by a non-prepayment-risk component, which is related to credit risk in fixed-income markets and MBS supply. Finally, we study the MBS market response to the Fed's large-scale asset purchases and show that the model is consistent with spread movements following the initial announc ement and, in particular, the fanning out of option-adjusted spreads across different coupons

La conformidad materna del artículo 255 y la autoridad de los abuelos

Fil: Pitrau, Osvaldo F. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Derecho. Buenos Aires, Argentin

CO33 188. Abordaje mínimamente invasivo frente a abordaje estándar en cirugía de recambio valvular aórtico

ObjetivoComparar resultados obtenidos en pacientes sometidos a recambio valvular aórtico aislado por abordaje mínimamente invasivo frente a esternotomía estándar.MétodosEntre enero de 2006 – diciembre de 2011, 524 pacientes fueron sometidos de forma programada a recambio valvular aórtico aislado, de los cuales 454 fueron realizados mediante abordaje estándar (grupo E) y 70 mediante miniesternotomía en «J» (grupo M). Consideradas variables preoperatorias, tiempos de circulación extracorpórea (CEC) y clampaje aórtico, resultados postoperatorios (morbimortalidad, estancias en unidad de cuidados intensivos [UCI] y postoperatoria total) y coste económico global (estancias en UCI, sala, intervención quirúrgica, consumo de fungible, implante y otros recursos).ResultadosLas características preoperatorias de la población fueron similares, sin diferencias significativas en cuanto a edad (68±9 vs 69±8 años) y EuroSCORE I aditivo (6,04±3,00 vs 5,38±2,23) entre grupo E y M, respectivamente. Sin embargo sí hubo diferencias significativas en cuanto a mortalidad (4,2 vs 0%; p < 0,005), tiempo de CEC (95±38 vs 84±21 min; p < 0,001), tiempo de clampaje aórtico (72±28 vs 65±15 min; p < 0,001), días de estancia en UCI (4,31±5,27 vs 3,14±1,2; p < 0,05) y días totales de estancia hospitalaria (9,68±7,6 vs 7,87±4,0; p < 0,05) entre grupo E y M, respectivamente. El grupo M presentó un consumo de 1.771,21 €/paciente inferior al grupo E.ConclusiónLa cirugía mínimamente invasiva para el recambio valvular aórtico puede ser beneficiosa tanto en términos de morbimortalidad como en términos económicos. Dado que el estudio presentado es retrospectivo, creemos que futuros análisis prospectivos aleatorizados serían convenientes para profundizar los hallazgos obtenidos

On the problem of relaxed indistinguishability operators aggregation

[EN] In this paper we focus our attention on exploring the aggregation of relaxed indistinguishability operators. Concretely we characterize, in terms of triangular triplets with respect to a t-norm, those functions that allow to merge a collection of relaxed indistinguishability operators into a single one.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Grants TIN2014-56381-REDT (LODISCO), TIN2016-81731-REDT (LODISCO II) and AEI/FEDER, UE funds.Calvo Sánchez, T.; Fuster Parra, P.; Valero, O. (2017). On the problem of relaxed indistinguishability operators aggregation. En Proceedings of the Workshop on Applied Topological Structures. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 19-26. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/128050OCS192

Sodium-dependent phosphate transporters in osteoclast differentiation and function.

Osteoclasts are multinucleated bone degrading cells. Phosphate is an important constituent of mineralized bone and released in significant quantities during bone resorption. Molecular contributors to phosphate transport during the resorptive activity of osteoclasts have been controversially discussed. This study aimed at deciphering the role of sodium-dependent phosphate transporters during osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption. Our studies reveal RANKL-induced differential expression of sodium-dependent phosphate transport protein IIa (NaPi-IIa) transcript and protein during osteoclast development, but no expression of the closely related NaPi-IIb and NaPi-IIc SLC34 family isoforms. In vitro studies employing NaPi-IIa-deficient osteoclast precursors and mature osteoclasts reveal that NaPi-IIa is dispensable for bone resorption and osteoclast differentiation. These results are supported by the analysis of structural bone parameters by high-resolution microcomputed tomography that yielded no differences between adult NaPi-IIa WT and KO mice. By contrast, both type III sodium-dependent phosphate transporters Pit-1 and Pit-2 were abundantly expressed throughout osteoclast differentiation, indicating that they are the relevant sodium-dependent phosphate transporters in osteoclasts and osteoclast precursors. We conclude that phosphate transporters of the SLC34 family have no role in osteoclast differentiation and function and propose that Pit-dependent phosphate transport could be pivotal for bone resorption and should be addressed in further studies

Working Memory Cells' Behavior May Be Explained by Cross-Regional Networks with Synaptic Facilitation

Neurons in the cortex exhibit a number of patterns that correlate with working memory. Specifically, averaged across trials of working memory tasks, neurons exhibit different firing rate patterns during the delay of those tasks. These patterns include: 1) persistent fixed-frequency elevated rates above baseline, 2) elevated rates that decay throughout the tasks memory period, 3) rates that accelerate throughout the delay, and 4) patterns of inhibited firing (below baseline) analogous to each of the preceding excitatory patterns. Persistent elevated rate patterns are believed to be the neural correlate of working memory retention and preparation for execution of behavioral/motor responses as required in working memory tasks. Models have proposed that such activity corresponds to stable attractors in cortical neural networks with fixed synaptic weights. However, the variability in patterned behavior and the firing statistics of real neurons across the entire range of those behaviors across and within trials of working memory tasks are typical not reproduced. Here we examine the effect of dynamic synapses and network architectures with multiple cortical areas on the states and dynamics of working memory networks. The analysis indicates that the multiple pattern types exhibited by cells in working memory networks are inherent in networks with dynamic synapses, and that the variability and firing statistics in such networks with distributed architectures agree with that observed in the cortex

Incidence, predictors, and evolution of conduction disorders and atrial arrhythmias after contemporary mitral valve repair

Background: Conduction disorders (CD) and atrial arrhythmias (AA) in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery impede prompt clinical recovery and prolong hospitalization. Mitral valve repair (MVR) has become the treatment of choice for patients with significant valvular regurgitation, but information on CD and AA in this population is scarce.Methods: Records of consecutive patients undergoing MVR at a single center were reviewed. Patients with a preoperative pacemaker, CD, prior cardiac surgery or concomitant MVR were excluded. A total of 290 patients were included in the final analysis. Electrocardiograms pre andpost-operatively were analyzed for CD and AA.Results: CD occurred in 69 (23.7%) patients: 47 (16.2%) had first degree atrio-ventricular block (AVB), 10 (3.4%) had Mobitz I, 3 (1.03%) had Mobitz II, and 9 (3.1%) complete AVB. Only 6 (2.0%) patients required pacemakers. Univariate predictors of AVB were age, preexisting right bundle branch block (RBBB), mitral valve ring size, and bypass time. The only multivariate predictors of AVB were bypass time and preexisting RBBB (OR 3.23 and 1.98, respectively). The most common AA was atrial fibrillation 13.1% (38 patients) followed by atrial flutter 2.7% (8 patients). Multivariate predictors of AA were age and left atrial size (OR 1.85 and 4.2, respectively). Length of stay in patients with CD or AA was prolonged 2.2 ± 2 days compared to controls (p &lt; 0.05).Conclusions: In this large sample of patients undergoing MVR, we found that bypass time and preexisting RBBB were independent predictors of CD; age and left atrial size were independent predictors of AA.

Towards a manifestly supersymmetric action for 11-dimensional supergravity

We investigate the possibility of writing a manifestly supersymmetric action for 11-dimensional supergravity. The construction involves an explicit relation between the fields in the super-vielbein and the super-3-form, and uses non-minimal pure spinors. A simple cubic interaction term for a single scalar superfield is found.Comment: 22 pp., plain tex. v2: references adde

Ovarian response and embryo production in llamas treated with equine chorionic gonadotropin alone or with a progestin-releasing vaginal sponge at the time of follicular wave emergence

The objective of the study was to compare the ovulatory response and embryo production in llamas (Lama glama) treated with a single dose of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) alone or combined with intravaginal medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) at the time of follicular wave emergence. Llamas with a growing follicle ≥7 mm in diameter were assigned to one of the following groups: (1) Control (n = 28): Nonstimulated llamas were mated and embryos were collected 7 d after mating. (2) eCG (n = 32): Llamas were given 5 mg luteinizing hormone (LH) (Day 0) to induce ovulation, 1000 IU eCG on Day 2, a luteolytic dose of prostaglandin F2α on Day 6, mating on Day 7, and embryo collection on Day 14. (3) eCG+MPA (n = 34): Llamas were treated as those in the eCG group, but a sponge containing 60 mg MPA was placed intravaginally from Days 2 to 6. Llamas that did not respond to synchronization or superstimulation were excluded, leaving data from n = 26, 26, and 27 in the control, eCG, and eCG+MPA groups, respectively, for statistical analysis. The mean (±SD) number of follicles &gt; 7 mm at the time of mating was greatest in the eCG group, intermediate in the eCG+MPA group, and lowest in the control group (16.6 ± 5.3, 12.9 ± 3.7, and 1.0 ± 0.0, respectively, P &lt; 0.001). The number of corpora lutea was similar between eCG and eCG+MPA groups (10.1 ± 2.9 and 8.6 ± 3.7, respectively); both were higher (P &lt; 0.001) than in controls (0.9 ± 0.3). The number of embryos did not differ significantly between the eCG and eCG+MPA groups (4.8 ± 2.8 and 3.5 ± 3.0, respectively), but both were higher (P &lt; 0.001) than in the controls (0.7 ± 0.4). In conclusion, eCG, with or without MPA effectively induced a superovulatory response and multiple embryo production in llamas. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved