An asset and liability management (ALM) model using integrated chance constraints

This paper discusses and develops a Two Stage Integrated Chance Constraints Programming for the Employees Provident Fund Malaysia. The main aim is to manage, that is, balance assets and liabilities. Integrated Chance Constraints not only limit the event of underfunding but also the amount of underfunding. This paper includes the numerical illustration

Exploring Bluetooth based Mobile Phone Interaction with the Hermes Photo Display

One of the most promising possibilities for supporting user interaction with public displays is the use of personal mobile phones. Furthermore, by utilising Bluetooth users should have the capability to interact with displays without incurring personal financial connectivity costs. However, despite the relative maturity of Bluetooth as a standard and its widespread adoption in today’s mobile phones, little exploration seems to have taken place in this area - despite its apparent significant potential. This paper describe the findings of an exploratory study nvolving our Hermes Photo Display which has been extended to enable users with a suitable phone to both send and receive pictures over Bluetooth. We present both the technical challenges of working with Bluetooth and, through our user study, we present initial insights into general user acceptability issues and the potential for such a display to facilitate notions of community

Headache and pregnancy. a systematic review

This systematic review summarizes the existing data on headache and pregnancy with a scope on clinical headache phenotypes, treatment of headaches in pregnancy and effects of headache medications on the child during pregnancy and breastfeeding, headache related complications, and diagnostics of headache in pregnancy. Headache during pregnancy can be both primary and secondary, and in the last case can be a symptom of a life-threatening condition. The most common secondary headaches are stroke, cerebral venous thrombosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, pituitary tumor, choriocarcinoma, eclampsia, preeclampsia, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. Migraine is a risk factor for pregnancy complications, particularly vascular events. Data regarding other primary headache conditions are still scarce. Early diagnostics of the disease manifested by headache is important for mother and fetus life. It is especially important to identify "red flag symptoms" suggesting that headache is a symptom of a serious disease. In order to exclude a secondary headache additional studies can be necessary: electroencephalography, ultrasound of the vessels of the head and neck, brain MRI and MR angiography with contrast ophthalmoscopy and lumbar puncture. During pregnancy and breastfeeding the preferred therapeutic strategy for the treatment of primary headaches should always be a non-pharmacological one. Treatment should not be postponed as an undermanaged headache can lead to stress, sleep deprivation, depression and poor nutritional intake that in turn can have negative consequences for both mother and baby. Therefore, if non-pharmacological interventions seem inadequate, a well-considered choice should be made concerning the use of medication, taking into account all the benefits and possible risks

Ecological strategy for soil contaminated with mercury

Aims The paper presents results from plot experiments aimed at the development of an ecological strategy for soil contaminated with mercury. Meadow grass (Poa pratensis) was tested on mercury contaminated soil in a former chlor-alkali plant (CAP) in southern Poland for its phytoremediation potential. Methods The stabilisation potential of the plants was investigated on plots without additives and after the addition of granular sulphur. Biomass production, uptake and distribution of mercury by plants, as well as leachates and rhizosphere microorganisms were investigated, along with the growth and vitality of plants during one growing season. Results The analysed plants grew easily on mercury contaminated soil, accumulating lower amounts of mercury, especially in the roots, from soil with additive of granular sulphur (0.5 % w/w) and sustained a rich microbial population in the rhizosphere. After amendment application the reduction of Hg evaporation was observed. Conclusions The obtained results demonstrate the potential of using Poa pratensis and sulphur for remediation of mercury contaminated soil and reduction of the Hg evaporation from soil. In the presented study, methods of Hg reduction on “hot spots” were proposed, with a special focus on environmental protection. This approach provides a simple remediation tool for large areas heavily contaminated with mercury

Features of revascularization of the lower extremity in patients with diabetic foot

Objective: To determine specific features of peripheral arterial diseases in patients with diabetic foot that influence the choice of revascularization method. Introduction. Peripheral arterial diseases in patients with diabetic foot (PAD/DF) have significant differences in pathogenesis, manifestations and course compared with peripheral arterial diseases (PAD). These differences cause creating classifications to access severity PAD/DF and PAD separately. But approaches to revascularizations in PAD/DF and PAD remain the same. The choice of revascularization method taking into account the features can significantly improve its results. Materials and methods. We analyzed results of 98 revascularizations of 77 lower extremities in 74 patients in the period from 2014 to 2019рр. Angioplasties were performed 72,3%, open operations – 21,4%, hybrid procedures 6,1%. Results. Amputation-free survival during the year was 84,6%. Healing of trophic disorders during the year was 70,5%. Conclusions. At the diagnostic stage, patients with PAD and PAD / DM should be separated for creating the optimal treatment plan and the choice of revascularization technique. Different approaches to the PAD/DF patients can improve the results of revascularizations. Abbreviations and defititions PAD (peripheral arterial diseases) - atherosclerotic occlusive diseases of the lower extremity arteries. DF (diabetic foot) - infection, ulceration or destruction of tissues of the foot associated with neuropathy and/or peripheral artery disease in the lower extremity of a person with (a history of) diabetes mellitus. PAD/DF - peripheral arterial diseases in persons with diabetes mellitus.Мета: Визначити особливості уражень периферичних артерій у пацієнтів з синдромом діабетичної стопи, які слід враховувати при виборі метода реваскуляризації. Вступ: Захворювання периферичних артерій у пацієнтів з синдромом діабетичної стопи (ЗПА/СДС) суттєво відрізняються за патогенезом, проявами та перебігом від суто атеросклеротичних уражень. Ці відмінності спричинили створення окремих класифікацій для визначення ступеню важкості захворювання. Однак підходи до реваскуляризації в обох випадках зазвичай залишаються однаковими. Вибір метода реваскуляризації з урахуванням особливостей ЗПА/СДС можуть покращити ефективність втручання. Матеріали та методи: Ми проаналізували результати 98 реваскуляризацій 77 нижніх кінцівок у 74 пацієнтів за період з 2014 по 2019. Ангіопластика виконана в 72,3%, відкрите втручання – в 21,4%, гібридне - в 6,1%. Результати. Показник виживання без ампутації протягом 1 року склав 84,6%, загоєння трофічних порушень протягом 1 року - 70,5%. Висновки. Ще на етапі діагностики пацієнти з ЗПА/CДС та ЗПА мають бути відокремлені для створення диференційованого лікування та окремого вибору методики реваскуляризації. Окремий підхід до пацієнтів з ЗПА/СДС може покращити результати реваскуляризації. Абревіатури та визначення: ЗПА (захворювання периферичних артерій) - атеросклеротичні оклюзійні ураження артерій нижніх кінцівок. СДС (синдром діабетичної стопи) - інфекція, виразка чи деструкція тканин стопи з нейропатією та/чи захворюваннями периферичних артерій нижньої кінцівки у хворих на цукровий діабет (або з діабетом в анамнезі). ЗПА/СДС - захворювання периферичних артерій ухворих на цукровий діабет

Male and female sex hormones in primary headaches

Background: The three primary headaches, tension-type headache, migraine and cluster headache, occur in both genders, but all seem to have a sex-specific prevalence. These gender differences suggest that both male and female sex hormones could have an influence on the course of primary headaches. This review aims to summarise the most relevant and recent literature on this topic. Methods: Two independent reviewers searched PUBMED in a systematic manner. Search strings were composed using the terms LH, FSH, progesteron, estrogen, DHEA, prolactin, testosterone, androgen, headach, migrain, "tension type" or cluster. A timeframe was set limiting the search to articles published in the last 20 years, after January 1st 1997. Results: Migraine tends to follow a classic temporal pattern throughout a woman's life corresponding to the fluctuation of estrogen in the different reproductive stages. The estrogen withdrawal hypothesis forms the basis for most of the assumptions made on this behalf. The role of other hormones as well as the importance of sex hormones in other primary headaches is far less studied. Conclusion: The available literature mainly covers the role of sex hormones in migraine in women. Detailed studies especially in the elderly of both sexes and in cluster headache and tension-type headache are warranted to fully elucidate the role of these hormones in all primary headaches

UNIMIB@NEEL-IT: Named Entity Recognition and Linking of Italian Tweets

Questo articolo descrive il sistema proposto dal gruppo UNIMIB per il task di Named Entity Recognition and Linking applicato a tweet in lingua italiana (NEEL-IT). Il sistema, che rappresenta un approccio iniziale al problema, \ue8 costituito da tre passaggi fondamentali: (1) Named Entity Recognition tramite l\u2019utilizzo di Conditional Random Fields, (2) Named Entity Linking considerando sia approcci supervisionati sia modelli di linguaggio basati su reti neurali, e (3) NIL clustering tramite un approccio basato su grafi.This paper describes the framework proposed by the UNIMIB Team for the task of Named Entity Recognition and Linking of Italian Tweets (NEEL-IT). The proposed pipeline, which represents an entry level system, is composed of three main steps: (1) Named Entity Recognition using Conditional Random Fields, (2) Named Entity Linking by considering both Supervised and Neural-Network Language models, and (3) NIL clustering byusing a graph-based approach

Interaction of Genetic Mechanisms Regulating Methionine Concentration in Maize Grain

Methionine is a limiting amino acid in poultry diets, so methionine supplementation is typically required to meet nutritional demands. Maize (Zea mays L.) varieties with increased methionine levels have been developed using three different approaches: (i) increased levels of the methionine-rich 10-kDa zein, (ii) disruption of protein deposition using the floury-2 allele, and (iii) recurrent selection. The goal of this study was to characterize the interactions of these three mechanisms for increasing methionine to develop optimal breeding strategies for this limiting amino acid. A complete diallel mating design was used to produce all possible hybrid combinations, which were analyzed by Griffing’s experimental Method 3, Model 1. Grain samples were analyzed for methionine concentration using a microbial method. The significantly negative general combining ability (GCA) for inbred RS2 suggests it did not perform well in hybrid combination, while the significant specific combining abilities (SCAs) suggest that some specific combinations of mechanisms worked well together in this germplasm. Analysis of grain quality traits by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) revealed that the high-methionine hybrid combinations had starch and oil concentrations similar to all other hybrids but had elevated protein concentrations. In some hybrids in this study, dzr1 and recurrent selection were effective mechanisms to elevate methionine in hybrid combination and did not have an associated yield penalty relative to other hybrids produced in the study, which supports their use in a high-methionine maize breeding program