On the equivalence between standard and sequentially ordered hidden Markov models

Chopin (2007) introduced a sequentially ordered hidden Markov model, for which states are ordered according to their order of appearance, and claimed that such a model is a re-parametrisation of a standard Markov model. This note gives a formal proof that this equivalence holds in Bayesian terms, as both formulations generate equivalent posterior distributions, but does not hold in Frequentist terms, as both formulations generate incompatible likelihood functions. Perhaps surprisingly, this shows that Bayesian re-parametrisation and Frequentist re-parametrisation are not identical concepts

On the uniqueness of community banks

To the public, all banks seem alike. But banking insiders make important distinctions between community banks and all other banks. Policymakers worry that community banks’ unique characteristics threaten their survival in the face of industry consolidation. However, despite dramatic regulatory and technological changes in the industry in the past two decades, community banks have not only survived but often prospered. ; This article explores the differences between community banks and larger banks to discover what makes community banks unique. Large banks engage primarily in transactional banking—the provision of highly standardized intermediation services, such as gathering deposits and extending loans, that require little human input to manage. Community banks, in contrast, typically focus on relationship banking, which requires more human input, more detailed credit evaluation, and localized decision making. ; Examining profit and risk measures for the 1998–2002 period for both community banks and large banking organizations, the authors find evidence that small banks were generally profitable. In all but the smallest size category, community banks have performed as well as, and often better than, large banks in managing net interest margins, aggregate profits, and credit risk. Also, community banks are more likely to adopt Subchapter S tax status, which allows them to avoid direct federal income taxation and pass tax benefits on to shareholders. These institutions typically have relatively higher returns on both equity and assets than larger banks do. Whether community banks will be able to sustain this good performance will depend, the authors conclude, on how well managers find valuable relationship lending niches, invest bank capital, and balance asset quality with growth.Community banks

Viability of Human Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts After Time in Tooth Storage Media

Periodontal ligament cell viability at the time of tooth replantation is of utmost importance for proper repair of the damaged tissues (1). Multiple different options are currently available for storage of an avulsed tooth. The goal of this study was to investigate new storage media and evaluate their ability to maintain cell viability over time. Materials and Methods: Cultured human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPDLF) were seeded on 96-well plates. These cells were exposed to different storage media including: Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS), EMT Toothsaver (EMT), Save-A-Tooth (SAT), trehalose (T300), cell culture media, water, and different formulations of HBSS combined with trehalose (HBSST150, HBSST50) and cell culture media with trehalose (mediaT150, mediaT50). Experimental groups were tested at both room temperature (22C) and refrigeration (4oC). Cell viability results were read at 1, 2, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours. Results: At room temperature, mediaT150, mediaT50, and media performed the best out of all the experimental groups but only mediaT150 was significantly better than the next best storage media, HBSS. T300 performed better than SAT, EMT and water but was only significantly better than water. SAT and EMT were not significantly different from water. At refrigerated temperature the best performing storage media included mediaT150, HBSST150, mediaT50, media, and HBSST50. The next highest performing group included T300 and HBSS which were not significantly different from HBSST50 and media. SAT was found not significantly different from EMT but was better than water. EMT was the worst performing experimental group and had no significant difference from water. Conclusion: Cell culture media in combination with 150mM trehalose had a significantly better performance than HBSS as a storage media, especially over the first 12 hours. The current commercially available storage media (SAT and EMT) were not significantly different from water at room temperature. Room temperature storage is superior to refrigerated storage for PDL cells. Trehalose has promising results as a storage media alone or in combination with HBSS or cell culture media

Liberation Textualities: Decoloniality, Feminism, and Aesthetics in Anglophone Caribbean and Indigenous North American Resistance Literature

Liberation Textualities recognizes the connections between personal, emotional, and spiritual writing by Anglophone Caribbean and Indigenous North American women and an expanded framework of resistance literature. I argue that resistance itself is in fact a broad tradition within which many texts, representations, and ideas intersect. While this project is sensitive to the profound historical, socioeconomic, and cultural differences that shape the realities of various communities in the Americas, it also recognizes a shared decolonizing impulse and a common interest in interior and domestic life, nurtured by similar gendered and racialized experiences in settler, colonial, and neocolonial societies. This dissertation argues that decolonial, feminist, and aesthetic practices, while still overlooked in most canons of resistance literature, provide the grounds upon which to revitalize and expand our understanding of what constitutes resistance and offer representation to the extensive range of unexpected and unsung resistant textualities. The study focuses on novels by Merle Collins and Lee Maracle, poems by Chrystos and Mahadai Das, and plays by M. NourbeSe Philip and Yvette Nolan. The Colour of Forgetting (1996) is read alongside Celias Song (2014) through the lens of spiritual resistance and marvellous realism. Not Vanishing (1988) and A Leaf in His Hear (2010) are analyzed for their representations of the body as a site of resistance. Lastly, Coups and Calypsos (2001) and Annie Maes Movement (1998) are examined for their focus on personal relationships and the dynamic interplay of resistance between individuals. This study looks at how different literary forms shift polemic and dominant understandings of resistance theory, whilst underscoring literary diversity as a principle value of resistance literature. The theoretical structure of the dissertation engages with foundational thinkers in resistance literature theoryBarbara Harlow, Frantz Fanon, and Selwyn Cudjoebut complicates, updates, and deconstructs their contributions through multiple resistance theorists, including Emma LaRocque, Leanne Simpson, and Carole Boyce Davies. These women have challenged patriarchal nationalism within Caribbean and Indigenous North American political movements and societies, but their philosophical work extends to how literary critics engage with the idea of resistance and assign value to a text. These women, this dissertation asserts, redraw the boundaries of political and aesthetic engagement in literary studies, offering an important and revolutionary new path toward a comprehensive and pluriversal resistance literature that transcends a single movement, moment, or place