Market power versus efficient-structure in Arab GCC banking

This paper evaluates the performance of the Arab GCC banking industry in the context of the Structure-Conduct-Performance hypothesis in the period 1993-2002. The paper uses panel estimation differentiating between bank fixed effects and country fixed effects. It examines the Relative-Market-Power and the Efficient-Structure hypotheses differentiating between the two by employing a non-parametric measure of technical efficiency, and finds that the banking industry in the Arab GCC countries is best explained by the mainstream SCP hypothesis. The empirical results do not find any support for the Hicks (1935) “Quiet Life” version of the market power hypothesis

Market structure and competitive conditions in the Arab GCC banking system

This paper investigates the market structure of Arab GCC banking industry during the years of 1993 to 2002 using the most frequently applied measures of concentration kbank concentration ratio (CRk) and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) and evaluates the monopoly power of banks over the ten years period using the “H statistic” by Panzar and Rosse. The results show that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE have moderately concentrated markets and are moving to less concentrated positions. The measures of concentration also show that Qatar, Bahrain and Oman are highly concentrated markets. The Panzar-Rosse H-statistics suggest that banks in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE operate under perfect competition; banks in Bahrain and Qatar operate under conditions of monopolistic competition; and we are unable to reject monopolistic competition for the banking market in Oman

SMS spam filtering using probabilistic topic modelling and Stacked Denoising Autoencoder.

In This paper we present a novel approach to spam filtering and demonstrate its applicability with respect to SMS messages. Our approach requires minimum features engineering and a small set of labelled data samples. Features are extracted using topic modelling based on latent Dirichlet allocation, and then a comprehensive data model is created using a Stacked Denoising Autoencoder (SDA). Topic modelling summarises the data providing ease of use and high interpretability by visualising the topics using word clouds. Given that the SMS messages can be regarded as either spam (unwanted) or ham (wanted), the SDA is able to model the messages and accurately discriminate between the two classes without the need for a pre-labelled training set. The results are compared against the state-of-the-art spam detection algorithms with our proposed approach achieving over 97 % accuracy which compares favourably to the best reported algorithms presented in the literature

KCNQ/M currents in sensory neurons: Significance for pain therapy

Neuronal hyperexcitability is a feature of epilepsy and both inflammatory and neuropathic pain. M currents [I-K(M)] play a key role in regulating neuronal excitability, and mutations in neuronal KCNQ2/3 subunits, the molecular correlates of I-K(M), have previously been linked to benign familial neonatal epilepsy. Here, we demonstrate that KCNQ/M channels are also present in nociceptive sensory systems. I-K(M) was identified, on the basis of biophysical and pharmacological properties, in cultured neurons isolated from dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) from 17-d-old rats. Currents were inhibited by the M-channel blockers linopirdine (IC50, 2.1 muM) and XE991 (IC50, 0.26 muM) and enhanced by retigabine (10 muM). The expression of neuronal KCNQ subunits in DRG neurons was confirmed using reverse transcription-PCR and single-cell PCR analysis and by immunofluorescence. Retigabine, applied to the dorsal spinal cord, inhibited C and Adelta fiber-mediated responses of dorsal horn neurons evoked by natural or electrical afferent stimulation and the progressive "windup" discharge with repetitive stimulation in normal rats and in rats subjected to spinal nerve ligation. Retigabine also inhibited responses to intrapaw application of carrageenan in a rat model of chronic pain; this was reversed by XE991. It is suggested that I-K(M) plays a key role in controlling the excitability of nociceptors and may represent a novel analgesic target

Mediators of the effects of canagliflozin on heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes

Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore potential mediators of the effects of canagliflozin on heart failure in the CANVAS Program (CANagliflozin cardioVascular Assessment Study; NCT01032629 and CANagliflozin cardioVascular Assessment Study–Renal; NCT01989754). Background Canagliflozin reduced the risk of heart failure among patients with type 2 diabetes in the CANVAS Program. The mechanism of protection is uncertain. Methods The percentages of mediating effects of 19 biomarkers were determined by comparing the hazard ratios for the effect of randomized treatment from an unadjusted model and from a model adjusting for the biomarker of interest. Multivariable analyses were used to assess the joint effects of biomarkers that mediated most strongly in univariable analyses. Results Early changes after randomization in levels of 3 biomarkers (urinary albumin:creatinine ratio, serum bicarbonate, and serum urate) were identified as mediating the effect of canagliflozin on heart failure. Average post-randomization levels of 14 biomarkers (systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, urinary albumin:creatinine ratio, weight, body mass index, gamma glutamyltransferase, hematocrit, hemoglobin concentration, serum albumin, erythrocyte concentration, serum bicarbonate, and serum urate) were identified as significant mediators. Individually, the 3 biomarkers with the largest mediating effect were erythrocyte concentration (45%), hemoglobin concentration (43%), and serum urate (40%). In a parsimonious multivariable model, erythrocyte concentration, serum urate, and urinary albumin:creatinine ratio were the 3 biomarkers that maximized cumulative mediation (102%). Conclusions A diverse set of potential mediators of the effect of canagliflozin on heart failure were identified. Some mediating effects were anticipated, whereas others were not. The mediators that were identified support existing and novel hypothesized mechanisms for the prevention of heart failure with sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors

Acceptability of novel lifelogging technology to determine context of sedentary behaviour in older adults

<strong>Objective:</strong> Lifelogging, using body worn sensors (activity monitors and time lapse photography) has the potential to shed light on the context of sedentary behaviour. The objectives of this study were to examine the acceptability, to older adults, of using lifelogging technology and indicate its usefulness for understanding behaviour.<strong> </strong><strong>Method:</strong> 6 older adults (4 males, mean age: 68yrs) wore the equipment (ActivPAL^TM and Vicon Revue^TM/SenseCam^TM) for 7 consecutive days during free-living activity. The older adults’ perception of the lifelogging technology was assessed through semi-structured interviews, including a brief questionnaire (Likert scale), and reference to the researcher&#39;s diary. <strong>Results:</strong> Older adults in this study found the equipment acceptable to wear and it did not interfere with privacy, safety or create reactivity, but they reported problems with the actual technical functioning of the camera. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> This combination of sensors has good potential to provide lifelogging information on the context of sedentary behaviour

Two-component Bose gas in an optical lattice at single-particle filling

The Bose-Hubbard model of a two-fold degenerate Bose gas is studied in an optical lattice with one particle per site and virtual tunneling to empty and doubly-occupied sites. An effective Hamiltonian for this system is derived within a continued-fraction approach. The ground state of the effective model is studied in mean-field approximation for a modulated optical lattice. A dimerized mean-field state gives a Mott insulator whereas the lattice without modulations develops long-range correlated phase fluctuations due to a Goldstone mode. This result is discussed in comparison with the superfluid and the Mott-insulating state of a single-component hard-core Bose.Comment: 11 page

The emotional experiences of women suffering from Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in the United Kingdom

Aims 1) To hear directly from women suffering from PMDD about their lived experiences of PMDD and the impacts that it has on their daily lives.2) To raise awareness about the impacts that PMDD can have on patients' quality of life, relationships, and productivity, to improve clinicians’ understanding of patients' needs.3) To identify a gap in research into PMDD within the UK and highlight the need for further research.4) To improve awareness of PMDD amongst diverse stakeholders, including women who are not yet diagnosed with PMDD, employers, and policymakers.Methods Participants were recruited from the UK's PMDD Patient Insight Group and screened using the Premenstrual Symptom Screening Tool (PSST) for PMDD. Eligible participants were purposively sampled, and 15 participants were invited to a semi-structured scheduled interview on Zoom. Interviews were transcribed using NVivo transcription software, and inductively analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis in NVivo 14.Results Thirteen subthemes were identified and organised around four main themes: Theme 1: ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, Life with PMDD, Theme 2: ‘The Aftermath’, The Impact of Living with PMDD, Theme 3: ‘Surviving PMDD’, Coping Strategies, and Theme 4: ‘Seeking Treatment’, Experiences with Healthcare. The themes identified in this study highlight the negative experiences of women living with debilitating symptoms that appear during the luteal phase and disappear following the onset of menstruation. Themes also capture the immense burden PMDD places on a sufferer by uncovering how exactly these symptoms affect interpersonal relationships, career progression, quality of education received, and relationship with oneself. Theme 4 focuses on women's negative experiences with healthcare stemming from a lack of awareness of PMDD in the medical community.Conclusion The findings of this study highlight the critical importance of understanding the contextualized experiences of women living with PMDD in the UK and bringing to light the immense monthly burden sufferers face. To prevent women and Assigned Female At Birth (AFAB) individuals from experiencing severe and prolonged psychological distress which can have fatal consequences, there needs to be greater understanding and awareness of PMDD in both medical and lay communities. In addition to this, clinicians must be trained in PMDD assessment and research should be encouraged to introduce new treatments and to implement policies that minimize the burden of PMDD in the workplace

Direct Gas Thickener

Direct gas thickening technique has been developed to control the gas mobility in the miscible gas injection process for enhanced oil recovery. This technique involves increasing the viscosity of the injected gas by adding chemicals that exhibit good solubility in common gasses, such as CO2 or hydrocarbon (HC) solvents. This chapter presents a review of the latest attempts to thicken CO2 and/or hydrocarbon gases using various chemical additives, which can be broadly categorised into polymeric, conventional oligomers, and small-molecule self-interacting compounds. In an ideal situation, chemical compounds must be soluble in the dense CO2 or hydrocarbon solvents and insoluble in both crude oil and brine at reservoir conditions. However, it has been recognised that the use of additives with extraordinary molecular weights for the above purpose would be quite challenging since most of the supercritical fluids are very stable with reduced properties as solvents due to the very low dielectric constant, lack of dipole momentum, and low density. Therefore, one way to attain adequate solubility is to elevate the system pressure and temperature because such conditions give rise to the intermolecular forces between segments or introduce functional groups that undergo self-interacting or intermolecular interactions in the oligomer molecular chains to form a viscosity-enhancing supramolecular network structure in the solution. According to this review, some of the polymers tested to date, such as polydimethylsiloxane, polyfluoroacrylate styrene, and poly(1,1-dihydroperfluorooctyl acrylate), may induce a significant increase of the solvent viscosity at high concentrations. However, the cost and environmental constraints of these materials have made the field application of these thickeners unfeasible. Until now, thickeners composed of small molecules have shown little success to thicken CO2, because CO2 is a weak solvent due to its ionic and polar characteristics. However, these thickeners have resulted in promising outcomes when used in light alkane solvents