Three essays on securitization

Off-balance sheet financings and securitization in particular, are viewed by many as the culprits of the 2007 financial meltdown. In a securitization transaction, assets are sold to a special purpose entity that finances the acquisition by issuing debt securities at various seniority levels to investors. In theory, the transaction relies crucially on the assumption that the risks of owning the assets are truly separated from the securitizer and reside with investors. However, in reality financial institutions take advantage of accounting rules, regulatory capital requirements, and supervisors’ indecisive actions and create a plethora of asset-backed securities (ABS) that do not completely remove the risks of owning the assets.In my dissertation I show that securitizations negatively affect their parents, that investors do not consider ABS-deals separately from their sponsors, and that these transactions are more akin to financings than sales. Furthermore, I document that securitizers of downgraded ABS-deals face significant market discipline, as investors clearly understand the relation between ABS sponsors and their off-balance sheet deals. In addition, I find that internal control mechanisms mitigate some of the negative effects associated with securitization.In light of the ongoing debt on the future of financial intermediation in general and securitization in particular, my dissertation offers a unique perspective on some of the contested issues. First, transparent reporting requirements should focus on the level of retained risk and translate into on-balance sheet capital requirements. Second, ABS downgrades can serve as a valuable signal to regulators and allow them to link both on and off-balance sheet conditions in the supervisory process. And finally, efficient corporate governance mechanisms can complement the supervisory process and attenuate the risks associated with securitization.Ph.D., Finance -- Drexel University, 201

Application of the Martel dynamic hardness to the penetration problem

Penetration of the undeformable kinetic energy projectile (KEP) into the target is considered as the “deep” indentation. It was shown by the example of aluminum alloys that the Martel dynamic hardness HMRd can be used for description of this process.Проникнення недеформівним кінетичним індентором (KEP) в цілому можна розглядати як “глибоке” індентування. На прикладі алюмінієвих сплавів було показано, що динамічна твердість за Мартелем HMRd може бути використана для опису цього процесу.Проникновение недеформируемым кинетическим индентором (KEP) в целом можно рассматривть как "глубокое" индентирование. На примере алюминиевых сплавов показано, что динамическая твердость по Мартелю HMRd может быть использована для описания этого процесса

DREGON: Dataset and Methods for UAV-Embedded Sound Source Localization

International audienceThis paper introduces DREGON, a novel publicly-available dataset that aims at pushing research in sound source localization using a microphone array embedded in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The dataset contains both clean and noisy in-flight audio recordings continuously annotated with the 3D position of the target sound source using an accurate motion capture system. In addition, various signals of interests are available such as the rotational speed of individual rotors and inertial measurements at all time. Besides introducing the dataset, this paper sheds light on the specific properties, challenges and opportunities brought by the emerging task of UAV-embedded sound source localization. Several baseline methods are evaluated and compared on the dataset, with real-time applicability in mind. Very promising results are obtained for the localization of a broad-band source in loud noise conditions, while speech localization remains a challenge under extreme noise levels

Intrinsic photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in the diurnal rodent, Arvicanthis ansorgei.

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) represent a new class of photoreceptors which support a variety of non-image forming physiological functions, such as circadian photoentrainment, pupillary light reflex and masking responses to light. In view of the recently proposed role of retinal inputs for the regulation of diurnal and nocturnal behavior, we performed the first deep analysis of the ipRGC system in a diurnal rodent model, Arvicanthisansorgei, and compared the anatomical and physiological properties of ipRGCs with those of nocturnal mice. Based on somata location, stratification pattern and melanopsin expression, we identified two main ipRGC types in the retina of Arvicanthis: M1, constituting 74% of all ipRGCs and non-M1 (consisting mainly of the M2 type) constituting the following 25%. The displaced ipRGCs were rarely encountered. Phenotypical staining patterns of ganglion cell markers showed a preferential expression of Brn3 and neurofilaments in non-M1 ipRGCs. In general, the anatomical properties and molecular phenotyping of ipRGCs in Arvicanthis resemble ipRGCs of the mouse retina, however the percentage of M1 cells is considerably higher in the diurnal animal. Multi-electrode array recordings (MEA) identified in newborn retinas of Arvicanthis three response types of ipRGCs (type I, II and III) which are distinguished by their light sensitivity, response strength, latency and duration. Type I ipRGCs exhibited a high sensitivity to short light flashes and showed, contrary to mouse type I ipRGCs, robust light responses to 10 ms flashes. The morphological, molecular and physiological analysis reveals very few differences between mouse and Arvicanthis ipRGCs. These data imply that the influence of retinal inputs in defining the temporal niche could be related to a stronger cone input into ipRGCs in the cone-rich Arvicanthis retina, and to the higher sensitivity of type I ipRGCs and elevated proportion of M1 cells.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't20132013 08 09importedFunding: Research was carried out within the scope of the Associated European Laboratory “European Laboratory for Circadian Research”, LEA CNRS-UdS-MPG (LEA No. 367) funded by the Max Planck Society, München, and CNRS, Paris. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Cortical Gray Matter Injury in Encephalopathy of Prematurity: Link to Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Preterm-born infants frequently suffer from an array of neurological damage, collectively termed encephalopathy of prematurity (EoP). They also have an increased risk of presenting with a neurodevelopmental disorder (e.g., autism spectrum disorder; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) later in life. It is hypothesized that it is the gray matter injury to the cortex, in addition to white matter injury, in EoP that is responsible for the altered behavior and cognition in these individuals. However, although it is established that gray matter injury occurs in infants following preterm birth, the exact nature of these changes is not fully elucidated. Here we will review the current state of knowledge in this field, amalgamating data from both clinical and preclinical studies. This will be placed in the context of normal processes of developmental biology and the known pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders. Novel diagnostic and therapeutic tactics required integration of this information so that in the future we can combine mechanism-based approaches with patient stratification to ensure the most efficacious and cost-effective clinical practice

Follicular fluid content and oocyte quality: from single biochemical markers to metabolomics

The assessment of oocyte quality in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) is getting increasing attention from embryologists. Oocyte selection and the identification of the best oocytes, in fact, would help to limit embryo overproduction and to improve the results of oocyte cryostorage programs. Follicular fluid (FF) is easily available during oocyte pick-up and theorically represents an optimal source on non-invasive biochemical predictors of oocyte quality. Unfortunately, however, the studies aiming to find a good molecular predictor of oocyte quality in FF were not able to identify substances that could be used as reliable markers of oocyte competence to fertilization, embryo development and pregnancy. In the last years, a well definite trend toward passing from the research of single molecular markers to more complex techniques that study all metabolites of FF has been observed. The metabolomic approach is a powerful tool to study biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, but its application in this area is still at the beginning. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge about the biochemical predictors of oocyte quality in FF, describing both the results coming from studies on single biochemical markers and those deriving from the most recent studies of metabolomic