The Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Nanoparticle-Protein Interactions for Theranostic Applications

Theranostics, a combination of therapeutics and diagnostics, spans a spectrum of research areas to provide new opportunities in developing new healthcare technologies and medicine at affordable prices. Through employing a personalized medicine approach, biotechnology can be tailored to the needs of an individual. Applications of theranostics include drug delivery carriers capable of sustained drug release and targeted delivery, biosensors with high sensitivity and selectivity, and diagnostic relevant entities that can be incorporated into the former technologies. Nanotechnology provides a suitable foundation for theranostics to build upon due to material-based properties; magnetism, biocompatibility, and quantum effects to name a few. Purpose can be incorporated and personalized by choosing the correct targeting ligands such as proteins and antibodies which provide both selectivity and specific function. An understanding of the interaction at the atomic level between nanoparticles and proteins can provide insight into ideal modification strategies to maximize the potential of both nanoparticles and the antibody of choice for biomedical applications. Analysis of the cellular protein interaction with theranostic nanotechnology provides a deeper understanding of the parameters and modification strategies to ensure the correct function is achieved. In the area of drug delivery, we investigated the functionalization strategies for the hybridization of organic nanoparticle drug carriers with inorganic imaging compatible nanoparticles, effect of size, and antibody bioconjugation on cell viability. The goal was to ensure the nanoparticle model minimized disruptions to the cellular structures while exacting its purpose for targeted localization or inducing a pharmacological effect. For biosensor applications, we demonstrated a non-invasive alternative to glucose measurement via tear glucose with high selectivity and sensitivity through the conjugation of the lectin concanavalin A (Con A) with fluorescent nanoparticles. Through the Forster Resonance Energy Transfer mechanism, we were able to measure glucose levels as low as 0.03 mM with high selectivity and sensitivity to minute changes in glucose concentration. These findings provide a better understanding of merging antibodies/proteins with nanotechnology and their effect in a biomedical setting. Effective management of nanotechnology can potentiate a stronger physiological reaction, provide biomedical imaging relevance, and enhance biosensor development

A Baldrige Portfolio: Does Quality Outperform The Market?

This paper investigates the claim, by the Department of Commerce, that a portfolio of Baldrige National Quality Award winners outperforms the market.  They find that there is a 92 percent return for Baldrige winners as compared to a 33 percent return on the S&P 500 index.  Their results are published and used to promote “quality” in Department of Commerce press releases.  Our findings do not support their claim that investors can handsomely outperform the market by investing in a Baldrige portfolio.  We find that their study is sensitive to risk measurement and that extending the time horizon alone eliminates any advantage.  Our examination of long-run stock price performance of Baldrige firms also does not support their claim of outperforming the market

S&P 500 Index Revisions And Analyst Coverage

This paper examines theimpacts of revisions in the composition of the S&P 500 Index on theinformation environment of sample firms being added to or deleted from theIndex. We use the intensity (number of analysts and number of earningsestimates) and the quality (earnings forecast dispersion and accuracy) ofanalyst coverage to measure the information environment of sample firms. Wefind that firms that are added to the Index experienced significant increase inanalyst coverage while those deleted from the Index suffered reduction inanalyst coverage following the revision in the S&P 500 Index. The findingson the quality of analyst coverage also provide supportive evidence.  There are increases in earnings forecastdispersion for both added and deleted firms, and improvements in forecastaccuracy for sample firms. In addition, further findings indicate a negativecorrelation between the impact of index revision on the information environmentand the intensity of pre-revision analyst coverage on the sample firms. Overall,our results suggest that index revisions have material impacts on the informationenvironment of sample firms that were added to, or deleted from, the S&P500 Index over the sample period of 1990 – 2007

Debt Ipo Waves, Investor Sentiment, Market Conditions, And Issue Quality

We examine the aggregate volume of straight debt initial public offerings (DIPOs) from 1970 to 2010. We find that aggregate DIPO activities display wave patterns. Both the number and total proceeds of DIPOs vary substantially over time. DIPO volume is significantly associated with yield spread, aggregate book‐to‐market ratio, stock return volatility, lagged equity IPO volume, and term spread, suggesting that investor sentiment and capital market conditions play significant roles in explaining time variations in DIPO volume. We also find that speculative‐grade DIPO issues synchronize with the business cycles, while investment‐grade issues display a steady or countercyclical pattern.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102142/1/jfir12018.pd

Underpricing Of Ipos That Follow Private Placement

In this study we examine the underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs) by firms that have private placements of equity before their IPOs (PP IPO firms). We find that PP IPOs are associated with significantly less underpricing than their peers. Furthermore, PP IPOs are associated with lower underwriting spreads, more reputable underwriting syndicates, and greater postissue analyst coverage as compared to IPOs that are issued by their industry peers under similar market conditions. Consistent with the implications of the information asymmetry explanation for IPO underpricing, our findings suggest that companies could benefit by conveying their quality via successful pre‐IPO private placements that help reduce the cost of going public.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87182/1/j.1475-6803.2011.01297.x.pd

Role Of Underwriters In Restraining Earnings Management In Initial Public Offerings

We investigate the relationship between underwriter reputation and earnings management of IPO firms over the period of 1991-2005. We find that IPO firms engage in less earnings management if they are underwritten by prestigious investment bankers. Furthermore, the role of prestigious underwriters in restraining earnings management of IPO issuers do not change during the Internet Bubble period or after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The findings support the certification role of underwriters in the IPO process. We also document that firms going public in the post-SOX period engage in less earnings management compared to firms going public in the pre-SOX period. Further findings suggest that the changing objectives of venture capitalists may explain the reduction in the level of earnings management of IPO firms following the passage of SOX

Transmitting Data Through Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface: A Spatial Sigma-Delta Modulation Approach

Transmitting data using the phases on reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) is a promising solution for future energy-efficient communication systems. Recent work showed that a virtual phased massive multiuser multiple-input-multiple-out (MIMO) transmitter can be formed using only one active antenna and a large passive RIS. In this paper, we are interested in using such a system to perform MIMO downlink precoding. In this context, we may not be able to apply conventional MIMO precoding schemes, such as the simple zero-forcing (ZF) scheme, and we typically need to design the phase signals by solving optimization problems with constant modulus constraints or with discrete phase constraints, which pose challenges with high computational complexities. In this work, we propose an alternative approach based on Sigma-Delta ($\Sigma\Delta$) modulation, which is classically famous for its noise-shaping ability. Specifically, first-order $\Sigma\Delta$ modulation is applied in the spatial domain to handle phase quantization in generating constant envelope signals. Under some mild assumptions, the proposed phased $\Sigma\Delta$ modulator allows us to use the ZF scheme to synthesize the RIS reflection phases with negligible complexity. The proposed approach is empirically shown to achieve comparable bit error rate performance to the unquantized ZF scheme

Stock Returns And Disagreement Among Sell-Side Analysts

Asymmetric information, investor optimism, and unbiased prices hypotheses are the main hypotheses proposed for explaining how investors’ difference of opinion may impact stock returns. We use a new measure for divergence in investor beliefs among sell-side analysts to test these three hypotheses.  Our initial findings are not supportive of either the asymmetric information or the investor optimism hypotheses.  However, since these two hypotheses predict opposing effects of divergence in opinion on stock returns, the effects could neutralize their respective impacts on stock prices.  Our further empirical analysis though suggests that this is not the case.  The weight of the evidence presented suggests thatwithin the sell-side, the difference of opinion does not impose a bias on future stock returns

A Prospective Study of Venous Thromboembolic Prophylaxis Using Foot Pumps Following Total Knee Replacement in a Chinese Population

AbstractPurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate foot pumps as mechanical prophylaxis for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following total knee replacement (TKR) in a Chinese population.MethodsAll consecutive patients following TKR during 2002–2006 received routine duplex ultrasound surveillance for DVT 9 days postoperatively. The demographic data and risk factors were recorded. No medication was given for DVT prophylaxis in all patients.ResultsWe evaluated 91 consecutive TKRs in 85 patients. Although 44 knee replacements (Group 1) done before December 2004 were not given foot pumps, 47 knee replacements (Group 2) done afterwards were given foot pumps. All patients were followed up for more than 6 months. DVT was detected in three cases (6.8%) in Group 1 compared with four knees (8.5%) in Group 2. Proximal thrombosis was observed in two knees (4.5%) in Group 1 compared with two knees (4.3%) in Group 2. No patient had pulmonary embolism. Six out of 59 (10.2%) patients who underwent the operations under general anaesthesia suffered from DVT, whereas one in 28 (3.6%) patients operated under spinal anaesthesia had DVT. All had no statistical significance.ConclusionThe rate of proximal DVT after TKR was low (4.5%) without pharmacological prophylaxis. We advise against the use of pharmacological prophylaxis in Chinese population for TKRs because of the low risk of proximal DVT and its possible bleeding complications. Foot pump did not lower the rate of DVTfurther, and its use for DVT prophylaxis in TKR is not necessary