Sweep activity: managing bank reserves in the Seventh District

This article examines the evolution of retail sweep programs at banks throughout the Seventh Federal Reserve District. Such programs help banks reduce their reserve requirements, freeing up funds for investment.Bank reserves

Canonical Agler decompositions and transfer function realizations

A seminal result of Agler proves that the natural de Branges-Rovnyak kernel function associated to a bounded analytic function on the bidisk can be decomposed into two shift-invariant pieces. Agler\u27s decomposition is non-constructive—a problem remedied by work of Ball-Sadosky-Vinnikov, which uses scattering systems to produce Agler decompositions through concrete Hilbert space geometry. This method, while constructive, so far has not revealed the rich structure shown to be present for special classes of functions--inner and rational inner functions. In this paper, we show that most of the important structure present in these special cases extends to general bounded analytic functions. We give characterizations of all Agler decompositions, we prove the existence of coisometric transfer function realizations with natural state spaces, and we characterize when Schur functions on the bidisk possess analytic extensions past the boundary in terms of associated Hilbert spaces

The Development of Attentional Biases for Faces in Infancy: A Developmental Systems Perspective

We present an integrative review of research and theory on major factors involved in the early development of attentional biases to faces. Research utilizing behavioral, eye-tracking, and neuroscience measures with infant participants as well as comparative research with animal subjects are reviewed. We begin with coverage of research demonstrating the presence of an attentional bias for faces shortly after birth, such as newborn infants’ visual preference for face-like over non-face stimuli. The role of experience and the process of perceptual narrowing in face processing are examined as infants begin to demonstrate enhanced behavioral and neural responsiveness to mother over stranger, female over male, own- over other-race, and native over non-native faces. Next, we cover research on developmental change in infants’ neural responsiveness to faces in multimodal contexts, such as audiovisual speech. We also explore the potential influence of arousal and attention on early perceptual preferences for faces. Lastly, the potential influence of the development of attention systems in the brain on social-cognitive processing is discussed. In conclusion, we interpret the findings under the framework of Developmental Systems Theory, emphasizing the combined and distributed influence of several factors, both internal (e.g., arousal, neural development) and external (e.g., early social experience) to the developing child, in the emergence of attentional biases that lead to enhanced responsiveness and processing of faces commonly encountered in the native environment

Preservice teachers’ self-perceptions and attitudes toward culturally responsive teaching

When infusing Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) concepts in preservice methods classes, teacher candidates (TCs) begin a journey that involves understanding the cultural contributions of the students in the classroom, as well as becoming aware of the possible disconnects between their cultures and the culture of the school. To help preservice teachers learn how to bridge these gaps, teacher education faculty integrated history, literacy, and art into a literacy methods course as a first step in helping teacher candidates develop the necessary competencies to successfully implement culturally responsive teaching in their own classrooms. Four university faculty members administered an adapted version of The Culturally Responsive Teaching Self Efficacy and The Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcome Expectancies Scales (Siwatu, 2007) to 55 teacher candidates (n=55), and had them self evaluate and rank their beginning competencies, and define what strategies and knowledge they wanted to gain during the semester. At the end of the semester, TCs re-evaluated themselves on the same survey, and then reflected on their experiences. Teacher candidate responses on the survey indicate that they perceived themselves as gaining knowledge and skills in their ability to understand and implement culturally responsive pedagogy. The TCs were also positive about their experiences in this project

Wrist and Hand Injuries in the Athlete

Athletes subject themselves to considerable disability. No matter the sport, the hand and upper extremity are among the most commonly injured sites. Frequently, the most debilitating complications of these conditions are the result of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. Unfortunately, many patients with these delayed and misdiagnosis injuries need to be treated with surgical procedures. To compound the dilemma in treating hand and wrist injuries in this population, one needs to appreciate the athletic personality and the mentality that wishes to dismiss hand injuries as minor. It is essential to educate athletes by clearly communicating the risks and complications inherent to these injuries and the applicable therapy. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the anatomy, mechanism of injury, diagnosis, and treatment of common athletic injuries as it relates to the fingers, wrist, and hand. Appreciation of the anatomy and mechanism of injury is extremely helpful in diagnosing the pathology. Early and accurate diagnosis minimizes the delayed problems of pain and dysfunction in hand injuries. As with any other sport injury the primary goal is to return the athlete to full participation as soon as possible without risking further injury or permanent disability. Common sense management of the injury is presented in regards to acute treatment, protective splinting and surgical intervention. Specific rehabilitation exercises are outlined at the end of the chapter to avoid repetition, since many of the same exercises are used in the various rehabilitation regimens described

Mutagenesis of the Catalytic Triad of Tissue Transglutaminase Abrogates Coeliac Disease Serum IgA Autoantibody Binding

Background and aims: Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) is an autoantigen in coeliac disease and the related disorder, dermatitis herpetiformis. The detection of autoantibodies directed against tTG is a highly specific marker of coeliac disease; however, it is unclear if there is a role for these autoantibodies in the disease process. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the catalytic triad of tTG is targeted by coeliac disease autoantibodies. Methods: A full-length wild-type recombinant tTG and a novel site-directed mutagenic variant lacking the catalytic triad were produced in Escherichia coli. Serum samples from 61 biopsy-proven coeliac disease and 10 dermatitis herpetiformis patients were tested for their recognition of both antigens in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Although IgA autoantibodies from sera of patients with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis bound wild-type tTG well, a dramatic decrease in binding to the mutant tTG was observed with a mean reduction of 79% in coeliac disease and 58% in dermatitis herpetiformis samples. IgG anti-tTG antibodies did not show a similar pattern of reduction, with no overall difference in recognition of the wild-type or mutant tTGs. Conclusions: These results suggest that the IgA anti-tTG response in coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis is focused on the region of tTG responsible for its transamidation and deamidation reactions, whereas the IgG response may target other regions of the enzyme

The Scope of the Validation Power in the Wills Act 2007

When the new Wills Act was adopted in 2007 it made a number of changes to the law regulating wills. Probably the most radical change is the power in s 14 to validate wills that do not comply with the formal requirements for making a valid will in s 11. This change follows Australia’s lead, where a similar power, referred to as a dispensing power, has existed since 1975. Initial concerns that it would encourage sloppy will-making and result in uncertainty and a flood of applications turned out to be groundless. The constraints imposed by the wording of the Australian provisions together with judicial restraint in the exercise of the power, at least initially, as well as the increased cost, delays and uncertainty about the outcome of applications were strong incentives for complying with the formal requirements. The Australian experience and the benefits of saving wills from invalidity on purely technical grounds persuaded the New Zealand Law Commission to recommend the adoption of a similar, though not identical, power in its Report Succession Law — A Succession (Wills) Act in 1997. That recommendation was eventually implemented with the adoption of the Wills Act 2007. The Wills Act 2007 came into force on 1 November 2007. It applies to all persons dying on or after that date, regardless of the date of the will. It was not until August 2009, however, that the validation power was invoked for the first time. The reason for the delay may have been because the validation power could not then be applied to wills made before 1 November 2007 even though the will-maker died after that date. The transitional provisions prevented retrospective application of the validation power. An amendment in 2012 now enables the power to be used in respect of all non-compliant wills regardless of the date they were made. Since the first application to validate a non-compliant will in 2009 there has been a steady increase in the number of applications. By October 2012 at least 43 applications had been made, of which 41 were successful. The two applications that were declined failed because there was no jurisdiction at the time to validate wills made before 1 November 2007. In the 41 cases where jurisdiction did exist, the success rate was 100 per cent. From this body of case law a picture is beginning to emerge of a jurisdiction that has the potential to go well beyond its Australian counterpart in giving effect to testamentary intentions. The aim of this article is to evaluate the use of the validation power in New Zealand to determine its scope and assess the risks associated with a broad jurisdiction. Before embarking upon that task, it is necessary to outline the formal requirements for a valid will and explain their purpose