Weak-form market efficiency and calendar anomalies for Eastern Europe equity markets

In this paper we test the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) equity markets for the period 1999-2009. To test weak form efficiency in the markets this study uses, autocorrelation analysis, runs test, and variance ratio test. We find that stock markets of the Central and Eastern Europe do not follow a random walk process. This is an important finding for the CEE markets as an informed investor can identify mispriced assets in the markets by studying the past prices in these markets. We also test the presence of daily anomalies for the same group of stock markets using a basic model and a more advanced Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity in Mean (GARCH-M) model. Results indicate that day-of-the-week effect is not evident in most markets except for some. Overall results indicate that some of these markets are not weak form efficient and an informed investor can make abnormal profits by studying the past prices of the assets in these markets.Emerging stock markets, day-of-the-week effect , market efficiency, variance ratio test, GARCH-M.

Ekstrakcija i pročišćavanje glukoamilaze i proteaze, proizvedenih jednostupanjskom fermentacijom s pomoću Aspergillus awamori

Simultaneous extraction and purification of glucoamylase and protease produced concomitantly by Aspergillus awamori Nakazawa MTCC 6652 in a single fermentor using solid-state fermentation (SSF) has been studied. Soaking for 2 h at room temperature (around 30 °C) in 10 % glycerol was found to be most suitable for optimum simultaneous extraction of glucoamylase and protease with the yield of 8645.8 U/g of glucoamylase and 798.6 U/g of protease in dry substrate. Crude extract to acetone ratio of 1:2 yielded optimum simultaneous precipitation of glucoamylase (35.3 %) and protease (61.9 %) with 4.06- and 7.17-fold purification, respectively. Ion exchange chromatography showed specific activities of purified fractions of 253.2 U/mg of glucoamylase and 59.7 U/mg of protease, with 22.1 and 40.8 % recovery, respectively. After gel filtration chromatography specific activity, recovery and purification of glucoamylase were found to be 306.8 U/mg, 4.6 % and 6.25-fold, respectively, whereas those of protease were 85.6 U/mg, 12.9 % and 17.0-fold, respectively. SDS-PAGE and zymogram studies of the purified enzymes indicated the presence of three starch-hydrolyzing isoforms of glucoamylase with molecular mass of approx. 109.6, 87.1, and 59.4 kDa and two types of acid protease with molecular mass of approx. 47.9 and 35.5 kDa. These findings can be very useful for enzyme industry, where glucoamylases and proteases are used concurrently.U radu je ispitana simultana ekstrakcija i pročišćavanje glukoamilaze i proteaze, istodobno proizvedenih fermentacijom na čvrstoj podlozi u jednom fermentoru, s pomoću Aspergillus awamori Nakazawa MTCC 6652. Utvrđeno je da je najprikladniji postupak za optimalnu simultanu ekstrakciju amilaze i proteaze namakanje u 10 %-tnom glicerolu tijekom 2 sata pri sobnoj temperaturi (oko 30 °C). Tim je postupkom dobiveno 8645,8 U/g glukoamilaze i 798,6 U/g proteaze na bazi suhe tvari supstrata. Omjer je sirovog esktrakta i acetona od 1:2 bio najbolji za simultano taloženje glukoamilaze (35,3 %), pročišćene 4,06 puta; i proteaze (61,9 %), pročišćene 7,17 puta. Ionsko izmjenjivačkom kromatografijom ispitana je specifična aktivnost pročišćenih frakcija, te su dobivene ove vrijednosti: 253,2 U/mg glukoamilaze, uz 22,1 %-tno iskorištenje; i 59,7 U/mg proteaze, uz 40,8 %-tno iskorištenje. Gel-filtracijskom je kromatografijom utvrđeno da je specifična aktivnost glukoamilaze (pročišćene 6,25 puta) bila 306,8 U/mg, uz 4,6 %-tno iskorištenje; te da je specifična aktivnost proteaze (pročišćene 17 puta) bila 85,6 U/mg, uz 12,9 %-tno iskorištenje. SDS-PAGE i zimogram pročišćenog enzima pokazuju da postoje tri izoforme glukoamilaze koje hidroliziraju škrob, molekularnih masa od otprilike 109,6; 87,1 i 59,4 kDa; te dva tipa proteaza, s molekularnim masama od približno 47,9 i 35,5 kDa. Ovi su podaci vrlo važni za industrijsku proizvodnju, u kojoj se istodobno koriste oba enzima

Aberrant origin of left vertebral artery: a rare case

The Vertebral Artery (VA) is classically described as originating as the first branch of the ipsilateral subclavian artery. The VA origin is variable and has been identified at the aortic arch, Common Carotid Artery (CCA), and Internal Carotid Artery. The VA arising from the carotid artery is an extremely uncommon variant. Left VA origin from the left CCA has been reported only thrice. These rare anomalous origins of the VA usually are asymptomatic. We describe symptomatic aberrant origin of left vertebral artery from left common carotid artery, a rare case

Determinants of Spiritual Tourism Consumption: A Hierarchical Approach

This paper aims to analyse the relationship between factors influencing the travel intentions of the spiritual tourist. The research design comprises three segments, i.e., identifying factors from the literature, conducting interviews with the academic experts and managers, and analysing the responses recorded. The Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) technique is used to determine the interlinkage between the factors and develop a hierarchical relationship. This paper identified twelve factors that influence the travel intention of spiritual tourists. The results indicate that the pro-tourism attitude of the management of religious monuments, presence of relaxation and recreational activities, historical and cultural heritage of a destination, infrastructure development, and accessibility of place significantly drive tourist motivation to undertake spiritual tourism. Also, destination cost, reference group influence, marketing of the destination, destination image, and stress and spirituality level of tourist influence intention to undertake spiritual tourism, but get influenced by tourist motivation drivers. The study’s value lies in clarifying the relationship between factors influencing the travel intentions of spiritual tourists, an area where limited research has been done

Pharmacokinetic investigation of dose proportionality with a 24-hour controlled-release formulation of hydromorphone

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was investigate the dose proportionality of a novel, once-daily, controlled-release formulation of hydromorphone that utilizes the OROS(® )Push-Pull™ osmotic pump technology. METHODS: In an open-label, four-way, crossover study, 32 healthy volunteers were randomized to receive a single dose of OROS(® )hydromorphone 8, 16, 32, and 64 mg, with a 7-day washout period between treatments. Opioid antagonism was provided by three or four doses of naltrexone 50 mg, given at 12-hour intervals pre- and post-OROS(® )hydromorphone dosing. Plasma samples for pharmacokinetic analysis were collected pre-dose and at regular intervals up to 48 hours post-dose (72 hours for the 64-mg dose), and were assayed for hydromorphone concentration to determine peak plasma concentration (C(max)), time at which peak plasma concentration was observed (T(max)), terminal half-life (t(1/2)), and area under the concentration-time curve for zero to time t (AUC(0-t)) and zero to infinity (AUC(0–∞)). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) model on untransformed and dose-normalized data for AUC(0-t), AUC(0–∞), and C(max )was used to establish dose linearity and proportionality. RESULTS: The study was completed by 31 of 32 subjects. Median T(max )(12.0–16.0 hours) and mean t(1/2 )(10.6–11.0 hours) were found to be independent of dose. Regression analyses of C(max), AUC(0–48), and AUC(0–∞ )by dose indicated that the relationship was linear (slope, P ≤ 0.05) and that the intercept did not differ significantly from zero (P > 0.05). Similar analyses with dose-normalized parameters also indicated that the slope did not differ significantly from zero (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The pharmacokinetics of OROS(® )hydromorphone are linear and dose proportional for the 8, 16, 32, and 64 mg doses. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov NCT0039895

Cyclic plastic deformation behaviour of PHT piping materials - an experimental investigation

The work presents the cyclic plastic deformation behaviour of two varieties of primary heat transport piping materials to understand the hardening/softening behaviour, load history memory, strain range effect, mean stress effect and ratcheting behaviour. Microstructural changes during cyclic deformation manifest in cyclic expansion of yield that could be used to explain the hardening/softening behaviour. Both the materials memories the prior history, however, the effect disappears after some time. Both the steels exhibit non-Masing behaviour due to inhomogeneous substructural changes. Non-Masing behaviour could be explained through cyclic expansion of yield. Engineering stress controlled ratcheting experiments were noted to be inadequate and under predict the ratcheting fatigue life. Importance of true stress controlled ratcheting experiments were discussed

Multiaxial fatigue studies on carbon steel piping material of Indian PHWRs

The tests studies and analyses have been carried out in the area of “Multiaxial Fatigue” with an objective to improve the damage assessment methodologies and design rules. Nearly 50 numbers of fatigue tests were conducted on solid and tubular specimens of SA333Gr.6 material under pure axial, pure shear and combined axial-torsion in-phase/ out-of-phase loading combinations. A software has been developed for the evaluation of multiaxial fatigue damage for the analyses of tests data using different invariant fatigue models such as ASME Sec.III code procedures, von-Mises etc. The fatigue crack initiation life was predicted using the best fit axial fatigue life curve (without use of safety factors). These tests and their analyses have helped in understanding the fatigue failure behavior of piping material under complex cyclic loadings where the principal directions rotate during a loading cycle. The crack initiation angles have also been measured by analyzing the image of the tested specimens. The measured crack angles will help in validation of the critical plane based models

Can human xylosyltransferase-1 serve as a biomarker and therapeutic target for corneal fibrosis?

Tested was the hypothesis that XYLT1 plays an important role in corneal wound healing and scarring and may allow development of newer strategies for curing corneal fibrosis. The specific aims were: 1) to characterize XYLT1 expression in normal and wounded human and rabbit corneas, 2) investigate its role in corneal wound healing, and 2) determine whether XYLT1 can serve as a biomarker for corneal fibrosis

Identification of medical countermeasures for mustard-induced corneal blindness using RNA-seq analysis

Introduction: Serious visual damage can arise from exposure to sulfur mustard (SM). Some eyes acquire permanent late ocular diseases that may cause corneal blindness, while some of the eyes demonstrate clinical resolution of the SM-injury. Improved treatment options may result from a better understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie the emergence of late pathology. Methods: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mRNA expression profiles of SM-induced damaged, undamaged, and naive corneas. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data (4 weeks post SM exposure) were used for differential expression (DE) analysis. The DE analysis of the damaged cornea group compared with the naive cornea group yielded a total of 5930 differentially expressed genes (upregulated:3196, downregulated:2734). The undamaged corneal group compared to the naive cornea group yielded 1884 differentially expressed genes (upregulated:1029, downregulated:855). When the damaged corneal group was compared with the undamaged corneal group, a total of 985 differentially expressed genes (upregulated: 308, downregulated: 677) were found. The log2(FC)[plus or minus] 2 and adjusted p[less than]0.05 were considered for screening of differentially expressed genes. The DE profiles were further subjected to pathway enrichment analysis. Results: The cell proliferation and differentiation pathways were studied to extract the top five upregulated genes (BTBD16, HEPACAM2, SLC15A3, L1CAM, MED17) common to both pathways. Furthermore, pathway analysis of cell migration, cell death, apoptotic processes, cell adhesion, extracellular matrix, and tumor necrosis factor production for the identification of novel genes and therapeutic targets is underway. Conclusion: This bioinformatic analysis shows promise for identifying novel therapeutic genes and pathways for keratopathy