On the mean-standard deviation frontier

This paper presents a characterization of the mean standard deviation frontier (MSF) in terms of pricing and averaging securities and explores the geometry of these securities relative to the geometry of the MSF. A summary of already known results is presented along with proof of new results. A measure of the distance between two mean standard deviation frontiers is presented here. This measure is related to asset pricing models which imply that security prices can be represented by a stochastic discount factor, such as the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) and the APT (Arbitrage Pricing Theory). An application is given in which the distance between two specific frontiers can be interpreted as a measure of model misspecification.

Vulnerability and Resilience Determinants of under-five mortality changes in Zambia

Trends in under-five mortality were favorable in Zambia in the twelve years following independence (1964-1975), as a result of favorable political and economic context and generous health, education and social policies, largely financed by the exports of copper minerals, the main economic resource of the country. In 1975, the international prices of copper decreased suddenly, and exports of copper continued to diminish in volume. This created a tremendous economic shock to the country, and seriously affected both the state budget and private income. During the long-lasting economic crisis, income per capita was strongly reduced, and most economic indicators collapsed or were strongly reduced as well: imports, agricultural production, private and public consumption, savings, and industrial investments. The health sector was also affected: health expenditures declined, imports of medical drugs and supplies declined, and as a result of declining salaries some physicians left the country. School attendance was reduced somewhat later, in the 1980’s, and had long term effect on the mean level of education of adult women. Under-five mortality increased in the years following the copper crisis, up to a maximum in year 1992, after which under-five mortality went down again, despite a significant impact of HIV/AIDS. A regression model indicates that most of the increase in mortality after discounting for the effect of HIV/AIDS is attributable to the direct and indirect effects of the copper crisis and the declining income. Both trend analysis and regression analysis indicate that mortality in 1992 was more than double what it should have been in the context of a regular health transition and positive economic development. The mortality decline after 1992 seems to be due to the resumption of the health transition, the implementation of new health policies, and continuous investments in health personnel and health infrastructure. These changes occurred in the context of structural adjustment policies. Issues about vulnerability and resilience are discussed in light of economic and political choices made in the earlier periods and recent changes in policies. Key Words: Under-five mortality, Mortality trends, Economic crisis, Copper price, Economic policies, Health policies, Structural adjustment policies, Education, Nutritional status, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Developing countries, sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia.Zambia, Sub-Saharan Africa, developing countries, malaria, HIV/AIDS, nutritional status, education, structural adjustment policies, health policies, Economic policies, copper price, economic crisis, Mortality trend, Under-five mortality

An Examination of Referral and Eventual Placement of African American Students and English Language Learners in Special Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that educators in a large, suburban, public school district in the southeastern United States believe contribute to African American and English Language Learners (ELL) being referred to special education at a higher rate than traditional students by exploring the attitudes and perceptions of teachers, administrators, and psychologists using surveys. Data were analyzed to test for difference in perceptions by educator demographics (i.e., age, race, gender, experience, and educational level). The second purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of educator’s perception of referral to Response to Intervention (RTI) eventual placement into special education programs for African American students and English Language Learners. The study employed a mixed method design that combined quantitative and qualitative methods in order to determine the attitudes and perceptions of educators regarding the high referral rate of African American students and English Language Learners (ELLS) to the RTI process in a large suburban school district in the southeastern United States. Quantitative data were collected via surveys that were administered to teachers, school psychologist, and school counselors involved in the RTI process in their respective schools. In addition, demographic data reflecting age, gender, education level, experience, and race were collected. Qualitative data were collected from general education teachers, special education teachers, school psychologist, and school administrators following a review of observational records, RTI meeting minutes, and open-ended survey questions. All research questions were addressed using a series of one-way ANOVAs with position (teachers, administrators, counselors, and psychologists) as the grouping variable and responses to the survey items as the dependent variables. All significant effects with independent variables having more than two levels were followed with Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference (HSD) analyses. Results revealed that position differences related to differences in perceptions of classroom needs with regard to minority students. Special education teachers scored lower on these items with higher scores indicating agreement that “classroom teachers have the same learning/behavior expectations” for students in their classroom without regard for minority status. In addition, general education teachers scored lower than counselors on these items with administrators and psychologists not statistically different from either general education teachers or counselors. General education teachers scored highest on both items, while special education teachers scored the lowest on gender differences in lesson planning. The special education teacher, general education teacher, administrator, counselor, and psychologists scored within the same range with their responses to professional development about individual differences. There were no differences between counselors and psychologists regarding their response to the item regarding gender differences in lesson planning. Special education teachers scored the lowest of the other educators regarding the extent to which classroom observations are used to refer students to RTI. A number of factors contribute to disproportionality, including test bias, socioeconomic status, special education processes, issues of behavior management, imbalance in general education, and inadequate teacher preparation. All children have the ability to learn and succeed, however, not in the same way or on the same day. More times than not educators develop an opinion about a student before they have had an opportunity to work with them. These perceptions are developed as a result of stereotypes, personal experiences, the media, inexperience working with a particular demographic, and influences from colleagues. Students have no control over these variables; however, they are subjected to the scrutiny of individuals that are responsible for providing them with a quality education. Educator’s perception of the students they serve plays a vital role in their expectations, interactions, and relationships with students they work with. These perceptions tend to hinder an educator’s ability to work with students in an unbiased manner in order to get the maximum effort out of their students. Ultimately, these variables contribute to differential rates of referral for minority students across the nation

Study of the interaction between HSV-1 and a native-like supported lipid bilayer with total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy

Viruses pose a great threat to human health because many viral diseases have no cure to this day and new viruses are likely to emerge in the future. There is therefore a continuous need for the development of vaccines and anti-viral pharmaceuticals. Moreover, platforms making it possible to measure the effectiveness of potential antiviral drugs are urgently needed to accelerate the development progress of antiviral drugs. The available screening systems today are often either cell-based systems or basic interaction platforms. Accordingly they are either expensive or very simplified. A new approach to antiviral drug screening, in particular in the context of virus binding inhibitors, that is cheaper and easier to maintain compared to cell-based systems but still preserves some of the complexity of a native system, is an in vitro platform based on native-like supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). Such a system focuses on the interaction of the virus with the cell membrane, and the inhibition of this interaction to prevent infection. In this project, an in vitro screening platform for use with the herpes simplex virus (HSV) was developed, based on the extraction of native membrane material from green monkey kidney (GMK) cells. Association and dissociation events between fluorescently labeled herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and native membrane SLBs were examined with total internal fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. The binding kinetics could be extracted with equilibrium fluctuation analysis, a method based on the observation of the binding and release process of individual virus particles. As a first application of this platform, a mutant strain of HSV-1 lacking the membrane bound glycoprotein C (gC), a ligand that facilitates the attachment to native membranes was compared to the wildtype HSV-1 KOS strain. As expected, the results showed that that the gC deficient strain had significantly less binding compared to the wildtype. Additionally an inhibition study was performed with the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) heparin to determine its effect on binding. The heparin inhibition study revealed a dose dependent inhibitory response. The results demonstrate the functionality of the platform and its ability to measure specific binding interactions. This shows the potential of the sensor platform to be used as a bioanalytical screening tool for antiviral drug testing

Influence of Livestock and Electrified Fences on Livestock Depredation and Habitat Selection by Grizzly Bears in the Mission Valley, Montana

Balancing protection between livestock and carnivores has been a long-standing challenge in conservation. When encounters between carnivores and livestock or humans result in conflict or livestock depredation, the safety of both wildlife and humans are at risk. Reducing livestock depredation by grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) will be important as populations continue to recover and expand beyond public lands in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem. We used GPS locations from 8 female grizzly bears spanning 5 years in the Mission Valley, Montana, to evaluate the effect of livestock on habitat selection of grizzly bears. The Mission Valley is located on the Flathead Indian Reservation, where grizzly bears have been historically revered; however, modern cultural diversity complicates current management. We found a positive relationship in habitat selection for streams and wetlands by grizzly bears. We found that bears did not select for livestock, and that livestock did not have an effect on selection of streams or densities of homes or roads. Whereas electric fencing has been frequently used to protect bee apiaries from depredation by bears in North America, they have only recently been used to protect crops and livestock against grizzly bears. Maps based on our results can be used to identify how and where electric fencing efforts could be focused to reduce livestock depredation. We identified 20 sites with small livestock that had electrified fencing and 72 sites that were unfenced in 2018. We monitored 12 electric fences surrounding small livestock and recorded the presence and behaviors of grizzly bears in the Mission Valley during 2018 – 2019. No depredations occurred when livestock were inside a properly functioning electric fence, and 7 livestock depredations occurred at sites without electrified fencing. This suggested that electric fences were effective at reducing livestock depredations by grizzly bears. Though different attitudes about grizzly bears exist on the Flathead Indian Reservation, proactive and non-lethal actions can be implemented by residents to minimize future conflicts between livestock and grizzly bears. Securing small livestock, agricultural crops and livestock feed inside of an electric fence can prevent conflict in the Mission Valley

Reconstruction des tendances de la mortalité des jeunes enfants en Afrique sub-saharienne à partir des données d'enquêtes démographiques

L'étude propose une reconstruction des tendances de la mortalité des enfants de moins de cinq ans à partir des données d'enquêtes démographiques fournies par le programme de l'enquête mondiale sur la fécondité (EMF) et celui des enquêtes démographiques et sanitaires (EDS). La méthode consiste à combiner les données des différentes enquêtes pour un même pays et à recalculer les taux de mortalité par année. Les séries temporelles des taux de mortalité permettent de reconstituer les périodes d'évolution monotone (à la baisse ou à la hausse) pour les pays considérés. Les inversions de tendances sont testées au moyen d'un modèle linéaire logistique. Dans la plupart des cas les tendances ont été analysées séparément pour le milieu urbain et pour le milieu rural. Parmi les trente deux pays étudiés, qui représentent environ 80% de la population de l'Afrique sub-saharienne, seuls sept pays ont une évolution monotone, ou quasi monotone, huit connaissent une inversion majeure et les autres montrent une ou plusieurs périodes d'inversion mineure de la mortalité au cours de la période 1950-1999. De plus, le sida cause des remontées de mortalité importantes dans huit pays. Les estimations des niveaux et tendances sont comparées aux estimations antérieures faites sous l'égide de la Banque Mondiale et de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS). L'ensemble des résultats montre que si la transition sanitaire est en bonne voie en Afrique, elle reste peu rapide par rapport au reste du monde (-1.7% par an de baisse de la mortalité), et sujette à des inversions assez fréquentes, liées soit à des crises épidémiologiques (sida, paludisme), soit le plus souvent à des crises économiques et politiques.Afrique sub-saharienne., transition sanitaire, tendances, mortalite infanto-juvenile, Mortalité des jeunes enfants

Genealogy of care in foucault's perspective

Objective: identifying the state of the art of care genealogy through publications in national and international journals. Method: this is an integrative review of the process in health care and nursing, preceded between 10th February, 2014 and 20th February, 2014, in the Medline, Lilacs and SciELO of data portals VHL and CAPES. Article 17 was explored and the results were grouped into two categories: the Archeological and Genealogical methods proposed by Michel Foucault and Considerations knowledge and practices of health care and nursing. Results: the care and its relationships have transversality in ways of caring in different forms and spaces. The transversality becomes evident when it comes to body care with direct, indirect and contextual mode, evoking shared knowledge and complex actions. Conclusion: it is necessary to reflect on the production of self-care and implications for health activities, including the philosophy of power involved in this process

IMPLEMENTASI FUNGSI KOORDINASI PEMERINTAHAN PADA KANTOR DISTRIK ALAMA KABUPATEN MIMIKA

AbstrakImplementasi Fungsi Koordinasi Pemerintahan Pada Kantor Distrik Alama Kabupaten Mimika Skripsi. Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Politik Universitas Sam Ratulangi. Pembimbing : (I) Drs.Arpi .R.Rondonuwu,Msi (II) Drs.V.Kasenda,MSi .Permasalahan yang terlihat dalam pelaksanaan pemerintahan di Distrik Alama adalah dalam pelaksanaan pemerintahan dan pembangunan di Distrik masih kurang baik, hal ini akan berpengaruh secara negatif terhadap pelaksanaan tugas-tugas organisasi, sehingga menghambat usaha pencapaian tujuan. Kepala Distrik diharapkan dapat mengkoordinir bawahan dalam meningkatkan kinerja aparat pemerintah Distrik terutama dalam mengkoordinasikan pelaksanaan pemerintahan dan pembangunan di wilayah distrik Alama.Tujuan penelitian ; Untuk mengetahui pelaksanaan fungsi koordinasi pemerintahan di Kantor Distrik Alama Kabupaten Mimika. Pada dasarnya koordinasi adalah merupakan usaha dari seorang pemimpin suatu organisasi untuk menempatkan secara teratur bagian-bagian atau unit-unit kerja yang ada dalam organisasi sesuai dengan tugas dan fungsinya. Imam Buchari (1970 : 68) mengemukakan tujuan koordinasi sebagai berikut : untuk mencegah konflik, untuk mencegah persaingan, mencegah double ours dan pemborosan, mencegah kekosongan ruang atau waktu, mencegah perbedaan-perbedaan pendekatan dan pelaksanaan.Metode yang digunakan adalah metode deskriptif, analisis data dilakukan dengan menggambarkan secara deskriftif kualitatif tentang pelaksanaan fungsi koordinasi pemerintahan di Kantor Distrik Alama. Kepala Distrik bertanggung jawab terhadap pelaksanaan kegiatan pemerintahan di Distrik. Kepala Distrik memiliki peranan yang sangat penting dalam melakukan koordinasi untuk meningkatkan kinerja aparat pemerintah Distrik terutama dalam pelayanan masyarakat dan untuk menunjang pelaksanaan otonomi daerah. Pelaksanaan koordinasi pemerintahan di Kantor Distrik Alama 5 orang informan menyatakan sangat baik; 3 orang menyatakan cukup baik dan 2 orang informan menyatakan kurang baik pelaksanaan koordinasi pemerintahan di Kantor Distrik Alama dalam pelaksanaan pemerintahan Distrik Alama.Distrik Alama dalam pelaksanaan pemerintahan dan pembangunan di Distrik masih perlu terus ditingkatkan pelaksanaan koordinasi pemerintahan terutama oleh Kepala Distrik dan para perangkat distrik, hal ini akan berpengaruh secara positif terhadap pelaksanaan tugas-tugas organisasi sehingga tidak menghambat usaha pencapaian tujuan. Kepala Distrik diharapkan dapat mengkoordinir bawahan dalam meningkatkan kinerja aparat pemerintah Distrik dalam pelaksanaan pemerintahan dan pembangunan di wilayah distrik Alama.Kata Kunci : Implementasi, Koordinasi, Pemerintaha