The effect of behavioral biases and gender differences on portfolio returns & investment decisions: An experimental approach

This thesis examines the effect of risk attitude, confidence and optimism behavioral biases on investment decisions and portfolio returns. The thesis methodology utilizes an experimental approach, whereby students compete through a semester long stock market simulation using the Stock-Trak simulation platform. Behavioral biases are examined through a behavioral biases diagnostic assessment completed by students during the trading period. Findings of this study show that both confidence and optimism biases have statistically significant impact on investors’ decisions and consequently affect investors’ portfolio returns. Findings also show that high confidence levels have positive impact on portfolio returns, on the other side, portfolio optimism bias, has a negative impact on portfolio returns. Data also suggests that males who are found to be more optimistic tend to lose more than less optimistic males in the sample. Another finding in this study shows that gender is the only highly statistically significant variable that predicts and explains investors risk attitude

Changes in composition of colostrum of Egyptian buffaloes and Holstein cows

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Changes in colostrum composition of Egyptian buffaloes and Holstein cows collected at calving, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 h and after 14 days of parturition were studied. Total solids, total protein, whey proteins, fat, lactose and ash contents were determined. Macro- and micro-elements, IgG, IgM, IGF-1, lactoferrin and vitamins (A and E) were also estimated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At calving, the total protein and whey proteins concentration did not differ between buffalo and cow colostrum, while total solids, fat, lactose and ash concentrations were higher in buffalo than in cow colostrum. All components decreased gradually as the transition period advanced except lactose which conversely increased. On the fifth day post-partum, concentration of total protein, whey proteins, fat, ash and total solids decreased by 69.39, 91.53, 36.91, 45.58 and 43.85% for buffalo and by 75.99, 94.12, 53.36, 33.59 and 52.26% for cow colostrum. However, lactose concentration increased by 42.45% for buffalo and 57.39% for cow colostrum. The macro-and micro-elements concentration of both colostrums tended to decline slightly toward normality on the fifth day of parturition. Buffalo colostrum had a higher concentration of vitamin E than cow colostrum during the experimental period. At calving, the concentration of vitamin A in buffalo colostrum was found to be approximately 1.50 times lower than in cow colostrum. The concentrations of IgG, IgM, IGF-1 and lactoferrin decreased by 97.90, 97.50, 96.25 and 96.70% for buffalo and 76.96, 74.92, 76.00 and 77.44% for cow colostrum, respectively after five days of parturition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There is a dramatic change in buffalo and cow colostrum composition from the first milking until the fifth day of parturition. There are differences between buffalo and cow colostrum composition during the five days after calving. The composition of both colostrums approaches to those of normal milk within five days after parturition.</p

Pyrazoles and Pyrazolo[4,3-e]pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazines II

in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). Synthesis of the title compounds was achieved using the anils 2a-e and 5a-c derived from the 4-aminopyrazole 1 as starting materials. These compounds were allowed to react with mercaptoacetic acid in boiling dry benzene to afford the corresponding thiazolidinones and spiro-thiazolidinones 3a-e and 6a-c, respectively. Pictet-Spengler reaction of the 4-aminopyrazole hydrochloride 7 with aromatic aldehydes and cyclic ketones resulted in the formation of new pyrazolo[4,3-e]pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazines 8a-e and 9a,b, respectively. Other derivatives of pyrazolo pyrrolopyrazines 10 and 11 were obtained via the reaction of the amino derivative 1 with 1,1 0 -carbonyldiimidazol and CS 2 , respectively

Diethyl 2-[(4-nitro­phen­yl)(4-phenyl-1,2,3-selenadiazol-5-yl)meth­yl]malonate

In the title compound, C22H21N3O6Se, the heterocyclic ring makes dihedral angles of 50.03 (11) and 67.75 (11)°, respectively, with the benzene and phenyl rings. The terminal C atoms of the ester groups are disordered over two positions: the site occupancies for the C atoms are 0.62 (3)/0.38 (3) and 0.48 (3)/0.52 (3). In the crystal structure, weak intra- and inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions are observed

An Update of Carbazole Treatment Strategies for COVID-19 Infection

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020 to be a pandemic and many drugs used at the beginning proved useless in fighting the infection. Lately, there has been approval of some new generation drugs for the clinical treatment of severe or critical COVID-19 infections. Nevertheless, more drugs are required to reduce the pandemic’s impact. Several treatment approaches for COVID-19 were employed since the beginning of the pandemic, such as immunomodulatory, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial agents, and again corticosteroids, angiotensin II receptor blockers, and bradykinin B2 receptor antagonists, but many of them were proven ineffective in targeting the virus. So, the identification of drugs to be used effectively for treatment of COVID-19 is strongly needed. It is aimed in this review to collect the information so far known about the COVID-19 studies and treatments. Moreover, the observations reported in this review about carbazoles as a treatment can signify a potentially useful clinical application; various drugs that can be introduced into the therapeutic equipment to fight COVID-19 or their molecules can be used as the basis for designing new antivirals

Carbazoles: Role and Functions in Fighting Diabetes

Carbazole derivatives have gained a lot of attention in medicinal chemistry over the last few decades due to their wide range of biological and pharmacological properties, including antibacterial, antitumor, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities. The therapeutic potential of natural, semi-synthetic or synthetic carbazole-containing molecules has expanded considerably owing to their role in the pathogenesis and development of diabetes. Several studies have demonstrated the ability of carbazole derivatives to reduce oxidative stress, block adrenergic hyperactivation, prevent damage to pancreatic cells and modulate carbohydrate metabolism. In this survey, we summarize the latest advances in the synthetic and natural carbazole-containing compounds involved in diabetes pathways

Ethyl 2-phenyl-3-(4-phenyl-1,2,3-selenadiazol-5-yl)-3-p-tolyl­propano­ate

In the title compound, C26H24N2O2Se, the selenadiazole ring is essentially planar [maximum deviation = 0.004 (3) Å]. The dihedral angle between the selenadiazole ring and the attached benzene ring is 50.17 (1)°. The crystal packing is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯N inter­actions

4-(4-Chloro­phen­yl)-5-[1-(4-chloro­phenyl)-2-methyl-2-nitro­prop­yl]-1,2,3-selenadiazole

In the title compound, C18H15Cl2N3O2Se, the selenadiazole ring makes dihedral angles of 49.87 (3) and 55.70 (3)° with the two benzene rings. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 11.90 (5)°. In the crystal structure, intra­molecular C—H⋯O and C—H⋯Se inter­actions and inter­molecular C—H⋯O, C—H⋯Cl and C—H⋯N inter­actions are observed

Stratified analyses of genome wide association study data reveal haplotypes for a candidate gene on chromosome 2 (KIAA1211L) is associated with opioid use in patients of Arabian descent

Background: Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have been conducted to identify genes and pathways involved in development of opioid use disorder. This study extends the first GWAS of substance use disorder (SUD) patients from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by stratifying the study group based on opioid use, which is the most common substance of use in this cohort. Methods: The GWAS cohort consisted of 512 (262 case, 250 controls) male participants from the UAE. The samples were genotyped using the Illumina Omni5 Exome system. Data was stratified according to opioid use using PLINK. Haplotype analysis was conducted using Haploview 4.2. Results: Two main associations were identified in this study. Firstly, two SNPs on chromosome 7 were associated with opioid use disorder, rs118129027 (p-value = 1.23 × 10 -8) and rs74477937 (p-value = 1.48 × 10 -8). This has been reported in Alblooshi et al. (Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 180(1):68-79, 2019). Secondly, haplotypes on chromosome 2 which mapped to the KIAA1211L locus were identified in association with opioid use. Five SNPs in high linkage disequilibrium (LD) (rs2280142, rs6542837, rs12712037, rs10175560, rs11900524) were arranged into haplotypes. Two haplotypes GAGCG and AGTTA were associated with opioid use disorders (p-value 3.26 × 10-8 and 7.16 × 10-7, respectively). Conclusion: This is the first GWAS to identify candidate genes associated with opioid use disorder in participants from the UAE. The lack of other genetic data of Arabian descent opioid use patients has hindered replication of the findings. Nevertheless, the outcomes implicate new pathways in opioid use disorder that requires further research to assess the role of the identified genes in the development of opioid use disorder