The value-added of investable hedge fund indices

This paper empirically investigates the risk and performance of three types of alternative beta products over the January 2002 to September 2009 time period: funds of hedge funds (FHFs), investable hedge fund indices (IHFIs), and hedge fund replication strategies (HFRS). We show that IHFIs are true alternative beta products with high correlations and beta to noninvestable hedge fund indices. Our results further suggest that, in a best case scenario, IHFIs outperform FHFs and HFRS on a risk-adjusted basis. However, in the worst case scenario, IHFIs underperform both investments. If we take the average of all IHFIs, we find they perform equally well as FHFs. Hence, IHFIs constitute a solid alternative to FHF investments, while costing substantially less, and offering generally more transparency and liquidity. We propose that fee-sensitive investors especially should consider taking a core-satellite approach to their hedge fund portfolio, with the core represented by cheap passive hedge fund beta through IHFIs, and the satellite represented by more expensive and actively managed alphagenerating FHFs. --Hedge funds,investable hedge fund indices,alternative beta,funds of hedge funds,hedge fund replication,Omega ratio

Towards Finding Optimal Solutions For Constrained Warehouse Layouts Using Answer Set Programming

A minimum requirement of feasible order picking layouts is the accessibility of every storage location. Obeying only this requirement typically leads to a vast amount of different layouts that are theoretically possible. Being able to generate all of these layouts automatically opens the door for new layouts and is valuable training data for reinforcement learning, e.g., for operating strategies of automated guided vehicles. We propose an approach using answer set programming that is able to generate and select optimal order picking layouts with regards to a defined objective function for given warehouse structures in a short amount of time. This constitutes a significant step towards reliable artificial intelligence. In a first step all feasible layout solutions are generated and in a second step an objective function is applied to get an optimal layout with regards to a defined layout problem. In brownfield projects this can lead to non-traditional layouts that are manually hard to find. The implementation can be customized for different use cases in the field of order picking layout generation, while the core logic stays the same

Secure genome processing in public cloud and HPC environments

Aligning next generation sequencing data requires significant compute resources. HPC and cloud systems can provide sufficient compute capacity, but do not offer the required data security guarantees. HPC environments are typically designed for many groups of trusted users and often only include minimal security enforcement, while Cloud environments are mostly under the control of untrusted entities and companies. In this work we present a scalable pipeline approach that enables the use of public Cloud and HPC environments, while improving the patients’ privacy. The applied techniques include adding noisy data, cryptography, and a MapReduce program for the parallel processing of data

Deduplication potential of HPC applications' checkpoints

© 2016 IEEE. HPC systems contain an increasing number of components, decreasing the mean time between failures. Checkpoint mechanisms help to overcome such failures for long-running applications. A viable solution to remove the resulting pressure from the I/O backends is to deduplicate the checkpoints. However, there is little knowledge about the potential to save I/Os for HPC applications by using deduplication within the checkpointing process. In this paper, we perform a broad study about the deduplication behavior of HPC application checkpointing and its impact on system design

Flipped Classroom in der Wirtschaftsinformatik

Die Technische Universität Chemnitz und Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg führten im Rahmen des LiT-Projekts „FC WInf – Flipped Classroom in der Wirtschaftsinformatik“ ein kooperatives Lernprojekt im Sommersemester 2014 und Wintersemester 2014/2015 durch. Ziel war es, durch die Implementierung von Online-Lerneinheiten die individuelle Selbstlernphase der Studierenden zu stärken. Der Beitrag fasst die Konzeption und Durchführung zusammen und präsentiert wesentliche Ergebnisse der Evaluation

Antimony and bismuth oxide cluster ions

The formation of charged antimony and bismuth oxide clusters in a pulsed arc cluster ion source (PACIS) has been studied with time-of-Ñight mass spectrometric techniques. We compare series of antimony and bismuth oxide cluster anions with their known cationic counterparts. The anionic series and (M 2 O 3 ) n MO 2h ave been predicted proceeding from the known cationic series and n Ob y adding O2~and have been experimentally established. All these series contain the metal atoms (M \ Sb or Bi) in the formal oxidation state ]3. However, only in the case of antimony, oxygen rich oxide clusters appear, that can be explained with a gradual transition in the oxidation number from ]3 to ]5 of single antimony atoms in the cluster. To estimate the inÑuence of the special oxide formation conditions comparative investigations with the PACIS and a laser vaporisation cluster source have been carried out for bismuth oxide cations. The similar oxide cluster distributions at comparable oxygen availability display clearly that the special thermodynamical stability of the discussed magic clusters is the signiÐcant driving force for their formation

Evaluation of Transparency and PH of Ernestina Power Plant Watershed – Rio Grande do Sul

The anthropic activities, such as the usage of land for agriculture, have been modifying the natural processes, mainly on aquatic environments. Following this statement, this work aimed at characterizing and analyzing the transparency and pH of the Ernestina power plant watershed (UHE) located on the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The methodology consisted on the collection of water samples in six points of the watershed and laboratorial analysis of the limnological variables pH and Transparency. The results of the sample points show high values for transparency and basic pH levels associated to the absence of rainfall on the day before the field study. The analysis of the compiled results compared to previous researches shows that a seasonal eutrophication process that may be related to the inadequate usage of land on the microbasins that constitute the watershed in the face of intense rainfall

Automated Detection of Coronal Loops using a Wavelet Transform Modulus Maxima Method

We propose and test a wavelet transform modulus maxima method for the au- tomated detection and extraction of coronal loops in extreme ultraviolet images of the solar corona. This method decomposes an image into a number of size scales and tracks enhanced power along each ridge corresponding to a coronal loop at each scale. We compare the results across scales and suggest the optimum set of parameters to maximise completeness while minimising detection of noise. For a test coronal image, we compare the global statistics (e.g., number of loops at each length) to previous automated coronal-loop detection algorithms

i-DREAMS: an intelligent driver and road environment assessment and monitoring system

The objective of the Horizon2020 project i-DREAMS is to setup a framework for the definition, development and validation of a context-aware ‘safety tolerance zone’. Taking into account, on the one hand, driver-related background factors and real-time risk-related physiological indicators, and on the other hand, driving task-related complexity indicators a real-time assessment will be made to determine if a driver is within acceptable boundaries of safe operation. Additionally, interventions will be developed to prevent drivers from getting too close to the boundaries of unsafe operation. These will be composed of in-vehicle interventions, and interventions aimed at enhancing the knowledge, attitudes and behavioural reaction of drivers. A holistic approach will be taken suitable for use in multiple transport modes. Initial testing will take place in a driving simulator after which promising interventions will be tested and validated under real-world conditions in a testbed of 600 drivers across 5 EU countries