Environmental Conditions, Fund Characteristics, and Islamic Orientation: An Analysis of Mutual Fund Performance for the MENA Region

Islamic funds are an upcoming alternative to conventional funds, aided by the increasing prominence of Islamic finance. This paper contributes to the extant literature by comparing the performance of Islamic and conventional funds during crisis and recovery periods. In contrast to most previous literature, we focus on the countries of the Middle East and North African region (MENA), which represent an appealing context to study both from a financial and socioeconomic point of view due to recent events in the area. To this end, we consider a linear model control- ling for the bias of omitting relevant benchmarks. Although this methodology is now widely accepted in the financial literature, it is less common when evaluating Islamic mutual funds, but it is particularly appropriate when the aim is to focus on markets where Shariah-compliant investments are in home territory. Our results show that the relative performance of Islamic and conventional funds must be tempered by several factors such as the (geographical) context in which the investment is made. Considering all the MENA region, Islamic funds perform, on average, slightly worse than conventional funds. However, if the analysis is restricted to GCC countries, the result is the opposite. This evidence holds for both crisis and recovery periods. In addition, the performance gap between the two types of funds either widens or shrinks when considering recovery or crisis times, reinforcing the views that Islamic funds are more stable in hazardous time

Experimental Evaluation of Transmitted Signal Distortion Caused by Power Allocation in Inter-Cell Interference Coordination Techniques for LTE/LTE-A and 5G Systems

Error vector magnitude (EVM) and out-of-band emissions are key metrics for evaluating in-band and out-band distortions introduced by all potential non-idealities in the transmitters of wireless systems. As EVM is a measure of the quality of the modulated signal/symbols, LTE/LTE-A and 5G systems specify mandatory EVM requirements in transmission for each modulation scheme. This paper analyzes the influence of the mandatory satisfaction of EVM requirements on the design of radio resource management strategies (RRM) (link adaptation, inter-cell interference coordination), specifically in the downlink (DL). EVM depends on the non-idealities of the transmitter implementations, on the allocated power variations between the subcarriers and on the selected modulations. In the DL of LTE, link adaptation is usually executed by adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) instead of power control, but some flexibility in power allocation remains being used. LTE specifies some limits in the power dynamic ranges depending on the allocated modulation, which ensures the satisfaction of EVM requirements. However, the required recommendations concerning the allowed power dynamic range when inter-cell interference coordination (ICIC) and enhanced ICIC (eICIC) mechanisms (through power coordination) are out of specification, even though the EVM performance should be known to obtain the maximum benefit of these strategies. We perform an experimental characterization of the EVM in the DL under real and widely known ICIC implementation schemes. These studies demonstrate that an accurate analysis of EVM is required. It allows a better adjustment of the design parameters of these strategies, and also allows the redefinition of the main criteria to be considered in the implementation of the scheduler/link adaptation concerning the allocable modulation coding scheme (MCS) in each resource block. © 2013 IEEE

Traffic monitoring for assuring quality of advanced services in future internet

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21560-5_16Services based on packet switched networks are becoming dominant in telecommunication business and both operators and service providers must evolve in order to guarantee the required quality. Increasing bandwidth is no longer a viable solution because of the business erosion for network operators which cannot expect revenues due to the large investments required to satisfy new applications demand of bandwidth. This paper presents devices and a specific architecture of services monitoring platform that allows network operators and service providers to analyze the perceived quality of service and check their service level agreements. Thus, a cost-effective service management, based on direct IP traffic measuring, can be supported on integrated monitoring systems to provide network-centric mechanisms for differentiated quality of service, security and other advanced services.This work has been partially developed in the framework of the Celtic and EUREKA initiative IPNQSIS (IP Network Monitoring for Quality of Service Intelligent Support)

Immediate effects of a telerehabilitation program based on aerobic exercise in women with fibromyalgia

Background: We analyzed the immediate effects of a Telerehabilitation Program (TP) based on aerobic exercise in women with fibromyalgia (FM) syndrome during the lockdown declared in Spain due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A single-blind randomized controlled trial was designed. Thirty-four women with FM were randomized into two groups: TP group and Control group. The intervention lasted 15 weeks, with 2 sessions per week. The TP based on aerobic exercise was guided by video and the intensity of each session was monitored using the Borg scale. Pain intensity (Visual Analogue Scale), mechanical pain sensitivity (algometer), number of tender points, FM impact (Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire), pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale), physiological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), upper (Arm Curl Test) and lower-limb physical function (6-min Walk Test) were measured at baseline and after the intervention. Results: The TP group improved pain intensity (p = 0.022), mechanical pain sensitivity (p 0.05). Conclusion: A TP based on aerobic exercise achieved improvements on pain intensity, mechanical pain sensitivity, and psychological distress compared to a Control group during the lockdown declared in Spain due to COVID-19 pandemic

Surface Screening Charge and Effective Charge

The charge on an atom at a metallic surface in an electric field is defined as the field-derivative of the force on the atom, and this is consistent with definitions of effective charge and screening charge. This charge can be found from the shift in the potential outside the surface when the atoms are moved. This is used to study forces and screening on surface atoms of Ag(001) c$(2\times 2)$ -- Xe as a function of external field. It is found that at low positive (outward) fields, the Xe with a negative effective charge of -0.093 $|{e}|$ is pushed into the surface. At a field of 2.3 V \AA$^{-1}$ the charge changes sign, and for fields greater than 4.1 V \AA$^{-1}$ the Xe experiences an outward force. Field desorption and the Eigler switch are discussed in terms of these results.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, RevTex (accepted by PRL

Therapeutic Exercise and Pain Neurophysiology Education in Female Patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Feasibility Study

Background: We compared the effects of therapeutic exercise (TE) combined with pain neurophysiology education (PNE) to those of TE in isolation on pain intensity, general fibromyalgia impact, mechanical pain sensitivity, pain catastrophizing, psychological distress and quality of life in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Methods: A feasibility study with a 3 month follow-up was designed. Thirty-two patients with FMS were randomly assigned to PNE + TE group (n = 16) or to TE group (n = 16). Both groups received 30 sessions of TE (3 per week), and the PNE + TE group received eight face-to-face educational sessions. The measuring instruments used were the visual analogue scale, a standard pressure algometer, the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Health Assessment Questionnaire. Results: The PNE + TE group showed a statistically significant decrease on pain intensity compared to TE group at short term (p = 0.015). No between-groups differences were found for mechanical pain sensitivity, general fibromyalgia impact, pain catastrophizing, psychological distress or quality of life (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The combination of PNE and TE was more effective than TE for reducing pain intensity in the short-term. No differences were found for psychological distress, pain catastrophizing and quality of life after the intervention or at 3 months of follow-up

Aortic disease in Marfan syndrome is caused by overactivation of sGC-PRKG signaling by NO

AbstractThoracic aortic aneurysm, as occurs in Marfan syndrome, is generally asymptomatic until dissection or rupture, requiring surgical intervention as the only available treatment. Here, we show that nitric oxide (NO) signaling dysregulates actin cytoskeleton dynamics in Marfan Syndrome smooth muscle cells and that NO-donors induce Marfan-like aortopathy in wild-type mice, indicating that a marked increase in NO suffices to induce aortopathy. Levels of nitrated proteins are higher in plasma from Marfan patients and mice and in aortic tissue from Marfan mice than in control samples, indicating elevated circulating and tissue NO. Soluble guanylate cyclase and cGMP-dependent protein kinase are both activated in Marfan patients and mice and in wild-type mice treated with NO-donors, as shown by increased plasma cGMP and pVASP-S239 staining in aortic tissue. Marfan aortopathy in mice is reverted by pharmacological inhibition of soluble guanylate cyclase and cGMP-dependent protein kinase and lentiviral-mediated Prkg1 silencing. These findings identify potential biomarkers for monitoring Marfan Syndrome in patients and urge evaluation of cGMP-dependent protein kinase and soluble guanylate cyclase as therapeutic targets.</jats:p

The ERA Registry Annual Report 2019 : summary and age comparisons

Background Data on renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end-stage renal disease were collected by the European Renal Association (ERA) Registry via national and regional renal registries in Europe and countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. This article provides a summary of the 2019 ERA Registry Annual Report, including data from 34 countries and additional age comparisons. Methods Individual patient data for 2019 were provided by 35 registries and aggregated data by 17 registries. Using these data, the incidence and prevalence of RRT, the kidney transplantation activity and the survival probabilities were calculated. Results In 2019, a general population of 680.8 million people was covered by the ERA Registry. Overall, the incidence of RRT was 132 per million population (p.m.p.). Of these patients, 62% were men, 54% were >= 65 years of age and 21% had diabetes mellitus as primary renal disease (PRD), and 84% had haemodialysis (HD), 11% had peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 5% had pre-emptive kidney transplantation as an initial treatment modality. The overall prevalence of RRT on 31 December 2019 was 893 p.m.p., with 58% of patients on HD, 5% on PD and 37% living with a kidney transplant. The overall kidney transplant rate was 35 p.m.p. and 29% of the kidney grafts were from a living donor. The unadjusted 5-year survival probability was 42.3% for patients commencing dialysis, 86.6% for recipients of deceased donor grafts and 94.4% for recipients of living donor grafts in the period 2010-14. When comparing age categories, there were substantial differences in the distribution of PRD, treatment modality and kidney donor type, and in the survival probabilities.Peer reviewe

Jets, arcs, and shocks: NGC5195 at radio wavelengths

We studied the nearby, interacting galaxy NGC5195 (M 51b) in the radio, optical and X-ray bands.We mapped the extended, low-surface-brightness features of its radio-continuum emission; determined the energy content of its complex structure of shock-ionized gas; constrained the current activity level of its supermassive nuclear black hole. In particular, we combined data from the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (~1-pc scale), from our new e-MERLIN observations (~10-pc scale), and from the Very Large Array (~100-1000-pc scale), to obtain a global picture of energy injection in this galaxy. We put an upper limit to the luminosity of the (undetected) flat-spectrum radio core. We find steepspectrum, extended emission within 10 pc of the nuclear position, consistent with optically thin synchrotron emission from nuclear star formation or from an outflow powered by an active galactic nucleus (AGN). A linear spur of radio emission juts out of the nuclear source towards the kpc-scale arcs (detected in radio, Ha and X-ray bands). From the size, shock velocity, and Balmer line luminosity of the kpc-scale bubble, we estimate that it was inflated by a long-term-average mechanical power ~3-6 × 10 41 erg s -1 over the last 3-6 Myr. This is an order of magnitude more power than can be provided by the current level of star formation, and by the current accretion power of the supermassive black hole.We argue that a jet-inflated bubble scenario associated with previous episodes of AGN activity is the most likely explanation for the kpc-scale structures