Learning generative texture models with extended Fields-of-Experts

We evaluate the ability of the popular Field-of-Experts (FoE) to model structure in images. As a test case we focus on modeling synthetic and natural textures. We find that even for modeling single textures, the FoE provides insufficient flexibility to learn good generative models – it does not perform any better than the much simpler Gaussian FoE. We propose an extended version of the FoE (allowing for bimodal potentials) and demonstrate that this novel formulation, when trained with a better approximation of the likelihood gradient, gives rise to a more powerful generative model of specific visual structure that produces significantly better results for the texture task

Bank Competition: Measurement, Decision-Making, and Risk Profiles

This paper investigates how competition impacts the future operating decisions and risk profile of banks. We construct a comprehensive, time-varying, bank-specific measure of a bank’s competitive environment (BCE) using textual analysis of banks’ 10-K filings. Using U.S. branch banking deregulation to capture exogenous changes in threats of entry, we provide evidence that BCE is a timely measure of real competitive pressures by showing that it significantly increases following decreases in barriers to entry. Measuring competition with BCE, we find that higher competition is associated with lower underwriting standards, less timely loan loss recognition and a shift towards non-interest revenue. Further, we find that higher competition is associated with higher stand-alone risk of individual banks, greater sensitivity of a bank’s downside equity risk to system-wide distress, and a greater contribution by individual banks to downside risk of the banking sector. We then show that these results using BCE are largely robust to replacing BCE with branch bank deregulation. Finally, we show that our BCE results hold in a post-deregulation analysis restricted to time periods following the final deregulation event in each state. These results combine to suggest that competition increases the risk profile of banks and that BCE can be of value to researchers and analysts for measuring competitive pressure at any point in time, regardless of the existence of a regulatory event.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107866/1/1243_Williams.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107866/4/1243_Williams_Jan2015.pdfDescription of 1243_Williams_Jan2015.pdf : January 2015 revision (new title

A Theory Of Bust-Up Corporate Takeovers

Quite often, the market value of a firm in parts exceeds its value as a single entity.  The maximum value can be attained in such instances, by splitting the firm up.  We observe several instances where a firm’s management breaks up the firm to achieve maximum value.  In other cases, firms require a change in management to initiate divestiture. Lastly, takeover by outsiders is sometimes required to split the firm up and sell it in parts to achieve full value.  This study provides an economic analysis of the payoffs to all parties involved in a corporate breakup.  Models of the costs and benefits to shareholders and management teams are developed for each of the three situations listed above to explain why the different circumstances occur in different cases

Total synthesis of the post-translationally modified polyazole peptide antibiotic plantazolicin A

The power of rhodium carbene methodology in chemistry is demonstrated by the synthesis of a structurally complex polyazole antibiotic. Plantazolicin A, a novel soil bacterium metabolite, comprises a linear array of 10 five-membered rings in two pentacyclic regions that derive from ribosomal peptide synthesis followed by extensive post-translational modification. The compound possesses potent antimicrobial activity, and is selectively active against the anthrax causing organism. A conceptually different synthesis of plantazolicin A is reported in which the key steps are the use of rhodium(II)-catalyzed reactions of diazocarbonyl compounds to generate up to six of the seven oxazole rings of the antibiotic. NMR Spectroscopic studies and molecular modeling, reveal a likely dynamic hairpin conformation with a hinge region around the two isoleucine residues.The compound has modest activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

Instantiating deformable models with a neural net

Deformable models are an attractive approach to recognizing objects which have considerable within-class variability such as handwritten characters. However, there are severe search problems associated with fitting the models to data which could be reduced if a better starting point for the search were available. We show that by training a neural network to predict how a deformable model should be instantiated from an input image, such improved starting points can be obtained. This method has been implemented for a system that recognizes handwritten digits using deformable models, and the results show that the search time can be significantly reduced without compromising recognition performance. © 1997 Academic Press

Exploring College Student Experiences in a Kinesiology Course Using a Gamified Grading System

Past findings indicate mixed results on the effectiveness of gamification in college courses. The use of a gamified version of specifications-based grading (e.g., gamified grading) is not yet well understood. The purpose of this two-part study was to understand students’ perceptions of intrinsic motivation and engagement in a kinesiology course using gamified grading, facilitated by a gamified grading platform called GradeCraft©. We used qualitative inquiry to capture a robust description of the student experience across a semester, identifying themes describing the course management (e.g., comparison with traditional course, individual approach), and the psychological experience (e.g., autonomy, stress). The following semester, we surveyed students, finding an increase in competence and choice and decrease in pressure from the beginning of the term to the end. Findings suggest that students perceived GradeCraft to promote intrinsic motivation, but only to a small degree and not without some initial stress due to the novelty associated with the gamified grading system

Application and Evaluation of a Snowmelt Runoff Model in the Tamor River Basin, Eastern Himalaya Using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Data Assimilation Approach

Previous studies have drawn attention to substantial hydrological changes taking place in mountainous watersheds where hydrology is dominated by cryospheric processes. Modelling is an important tool for understanding these changes but is particularly challenging in mountainous terrain owing to scarcity of ground observations and uncertainty of model parameters across space and time. This study utilizes a Markov Chain Monte Carlo data assimilation approach to examine and evaluate the performance of a conceptual, degree-day snowmelt runoff model applied in the Tamor River basin in the eastern Nepalese Himalaya. The snowmelt runoff model is calibrated using daily streamflow from 2002 to 2006 with fairly high accuracy (average Nash-Sutcliffe metric approx. 0.84, annual volume bias <3%). The Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach constrains the parameters to which the model is most sensitive (e.g. lapse rate and recession coefficient) and maximizes model fit and performance. Model simulated streamflow using an interpolated precipitation data set decreases the fractional contribution from rainfall compared with simulations using observed station precipitation. The average snowmelt contribution to total runoff in the Tamor River basin for the 2002-2006 period is estimated to be 29.7+/-2.9% (which includes 4.2+/-0.9% from snowfall that promptly melts), whereas 70.3+/-2.6% is attributed to contributions from rainfall. On average, the elevation zone in the 4000-5500m range contributes the most to basin runoff, averaging 56.9+/-3.6% of all snowmelt input and 28.9+/-1.1% of all rainfall input to runoff. Model simulated streamflow using an interpolated precipitation data set decreases the fractional contribution from rainfall versus snowmelt compared with simulations using observed station precipitation. Model experiments indicate that the hydrograph itself does not constrain estimates of snowmelt versus rainfall contributions to total outflow but that this derives from the degree-day melting model. Lastly, we demonstrate that the data assimilation approach is useful for quantifying and reducing uncertainty related to model parameters and thus provides uncertainty bounds on snowmelt and rainfall contributions in such mountainous watersheds

Bridge Builders to Health Equity: The High School Community Health Worker Training Program

Background: During the summers of 2016- 2019, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) with the support of community partners, developed, piloted and implemented an innovative Community Health Worker Training Program for High School students (HSCHW). Training high school community health workers can impact health and social disparities in underserved populations and demonstrates pipeline of future workers in community health and other health careers. The program has achieved promising outcomes, and access to the program model has been requested many universities and community-based organizations. Method: The HSCHW training consists of summer classroom instruction, field instruction and monthly continuing education during the school year. The students are trained in CHW core competencies through a combination of online curriculum, interactive classroom experiences, and field activities provided by community partners, multidisciplinary MSM clinical instructors, and graduate student interns. Results: 77 high school students from metropolitan Atlanta High Schools and rural Columbus, GA have been trained as CHWs in the HSCHW program. Students are ages 15-18 and are rising sophomores to recent high school graduates. All participants (100%) were from economically disadvantaged communities. Sixteen school-based and community-based health improvement projects have been developed and implemented by teams of trained HSCHWs. Additionally, over 300 individuals (family and community members) received monthly health monitoring by trained HSCHWs. Conclusions: Overall, the HSCHW program models the engagement of community partners in translational educational initatives to support community transformation. It can be a giant leap toward improved population health and achieving health equity in underserved communities. It has had a tremendous impact on the youth themselves, their families, and the communities in which they live. In communities with disparate prevalence of chronic disease and unhealthy behaviors, early exposure may mitigate exacerbation or early onset of disease among the participants and their families. High School Community Health Workers are bridges to health equity