Re-Examining the Profitability of Technical Analysis with White’s Reality Check

In this paper, we re-examine the profitability of technical analysis using the Reality Check of White (2000, Econometrica) that corrects the data snooping bias. Comparing to previous studies, we study a more complete “universe” of trading techniques, including not only simple trading rules but also investor’s strategies, and we test the profitability of these rules and strategies with four main indices from both relatively mature and young markets. It is found that profitable simple rules and investor’s strategies do exist with statistical significance for NASDAQ Composite and Russell 2000 but not for DJIA and S&P 500. Moreover, the best rules for NASDAQ Composite and Russell 2000 outperform the buy-and-hold strategy in most in- and out-of-sample periods, even when transaction costs are taken into account. We also find that investor’s strategies are able to improve on the profits of simple rules and may even generate significant profits from unprofitable simple rules.data snooping, investor’s strategies, stationary bootstrap, technical analysis, trading rules, White’s Reality Check.

Change-Point Estimation of Nonstationary I(d) Processes

We examine the least-squares estimator of change point for nonstationary I(d) data with 0.5least-squares estimator, change point, nonstationary I(d) process, spurious change

AN ANALYSIS ON POTENTIAL ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF GREENHOUSE GAS MITIGATION THROUGH PLANTING ENERGY CROPS IN TAIWAN

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of planting energy crop on set-aside acreages in Taiwan. To do so, a Taiwan Agricultural Sector Model (TASM) was built and the data parameters of energy crop were incorporated into this model in order to simulate the economic and environmental impacts. Simulation results show that GHGE mitigation depends on the planting acreage of energy crops in which the optimal planting acreage of energy is determined by the profit of other agricultural products as well as government subsidy on energy crop. Therefore, the mitigation of GHGE depends on the government subsidy on energy crop per hectare. Such subsidy is also suitable for the green box by the regulation of WTO.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Factors Influencing International Students\u27 Academic and Sociocultural Transition in an Increasingly Globalized Society

This study is a mixed-method study. It consists of a quantitative study and a qualitative study. The quantitative study focused on international adult learners’ experiences of adaptation to American academic and social cultures. The qualitative study then investigated their experiences of cultural transition. Based on the definition of globalized influences (Finger, 2005) and existing studies discussing the effects on globalized educational environments (Merriam & Young), factors related to globalized influences were selected and used to examine the extent to which these factors have affected international students’ adaptation to learning and life in the American university. Additionally, the other two variables, student group size and students’ major were also examined. This study adopted transformative learning theories (Mezirow, 1991, 2000; Kegan, 1994) and applied phenomenological qualitative research steps to explore and analyze international students’ experiences of cultural transition in learning and living in the U.S. The international students participating in this study were from 32 different countries and were all actively enrolled (2009-2010 academic year) at a 4-year university in the southeastern United States. A total 115 international students participated in the quantitative study through e-mail or hard copy of survey questions. Most of the sample were Asian graduate students and were science majors. Sixteen out of the 115 international students participated in the qualitative interview. The International Student Transition Survey (ISTS), which consists of 80 5-point Likert scale items and eight demographic questions, was used to gather data about international students’ social and academic transition to life in the U.S. A Multivariate Multiple Regression statistical analysis revealed significant correlations between five factors of adaptation, and international students’ academic and sociocultural adaptation. Independent Simple t-Tests revealed no statistically significant relationships between international students’ group size or academic majors, and their adaptation to academic learning and sociocultural life. The qualitative portion of this research involved administering eight to 10 interview questions to participants who completed the above survey questions and volunteered to be interviewed to explore the perceptions of their own transition experience in the U.S. The transcripts were analyzed by the steps of phenomenological research methods. The findings indicated globalization has significantly influenced the students’ transition experiences in academic learning and sociocultural life

Impact of obstructive sleep apnoea/hypopnoea and its treatment with continuous positive airway pressure on the outcome of stroke

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in stroke is high. One study showed SDB had a negative impact on the functional capacity of stroke patients on discharge and another that SDB was associated with a higher mortality rate. However, these findings are disputed. The impact of SDB in stroke patients on cognition and health-related quality of life is also not clear. The one randomized controlled trial of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in stroke patients with SDB showed CPAP improved wellbeing but not other outcomes. I hypothesised that: (1) SDB is related to stroke outcome and (2) treatment of SDB in stroke patients with CPAP would improve functional outcome.METHODS: There are three parts of the thesis: (1) a study of the prevalence of SDB after stroke; (2) a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of CPAP after stroke and (3) a longitudinal cohort study to investigate the impact of SDB on outcome after stroke. On day 14-19 after stroke, recruited patients underwent a limited sleep study using a validated system (Embletta PDS, Medcare Flaga, Iceland). Baseline assessments were performed on the morning following the sleep study. On day 21-25 following stroke, patients who had (A+H)-h⁻¹ ≥ 30 with < 30% of central events were randomized to 8 weeks of CPAP treatment with Autoset T (ResMed, SanDiego USA) or conservative treatment for SDB. All outcomes were recorded in the 8th week after randomization or 3 months after stroke for non-randomized patients. All recruited patients received follow-up at six months after stroke. If available, patients also received 12 months and 18 months follow-up until the last recruited patient had had his 6 months follow-up. The Nottingham Extended ADL Index (EADL) was chosen as the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included: Subscales of EADL, NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Barthel Index (BI), Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS), Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) and Mini- Mental State Examination (MMSE), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), MOS Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and ambulatory blood pressure - measured with Spacelabs 90207 (Spacelabs, Redmond, USA).RESULTS: We screened 658 patients with recent strokes and excluded those with dementia, confusion, severe dysphasia or insufficient hand function to use CPAP. Only 96 of 658 patients remained eligible of whom 25 declined to give informed consent. 71 patients were thus successfully recruited for overnight limited sleep study 14-19 days following stroke. Sixty-six patients with adequate recording were included in the study: 45 men and 21 women, median age 74yrs. The sleep study showed 50% of patients had more than 30 apnoeas + hypopnoeas per hour in bed [expressed as (A+H)-h⁻¹]. Pulse oximetry alone had lower sensitivity (70%) but high specificity (90%) to predict (A+H)-h⁻¹ ≥ 30. A combination of age, body mass index, snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness based on logistic regression model is useful as a screening tool at the bedside (sensitivity = 85%, specificity = 70%) to predict (A+H)-h⁻¹ ≥ 30 in stroke before referring patients for overnight sleep study. Interaction of lowest oxygen saturation and lowest heart rate is independently associated with stroke during sleep in patients with (A+H)-h⁻¹ < 30 (p = 0.023). Patients with (A+H)-h⁻¹ ≥ 30 more often had their stroke during daytime than patients with (A+H)-h⁻¹ < 30 (p = 0.006). Thirty patients who had (A+H)-h⁻¹ ≥ 30, with < 30% central apnoea or Cheyne-Stokes respiration, proceeded to a randomized controlled trial starting from the 4th week after stroke with 15 patients randomized to CPAP and 15 to conservative treatment for SDB. Conventional stroke treatment was maintained in all patients. Duration of treatment was 8 weeks and blind outcome assessment was performed at 3 months and 6 month after stroke. The result showed compliance with CPAP was poor with mean 1.40 hours and median 0.16 hours per night. There was no statistically significant difference in the outcomes, sleepiness and ambulatory blood pressure with CPAP therapy. Increased length of keeping CPAP was correlated with higher score of language subscale in the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (Spearman's rho = 0.544, p = 0.036) and lower score in the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS, Spearman's rho = -0.538, p = 0.039). All 66 patients with adequate sleep studies received longitudinal follow-up at 3, 6 12 and 18 months following stroke. The patients with (A+H)-h⁻¹ ≥ 30 had a trend to worse functional capacity in both Barthel Index and Nottingham Extended ADL Index (EADL) than patients with (A+H)-h⁻¹ < 30 but there was only a statistically significant difference in the mobility subscale of EADL. The negative influence of (A+H)-h⁻¹ ≥ 30 on functional capacity and health-related quality of life following stroke was only statistically significant in patients with mild stroke (NIH Stroke Scale, NIHSS < 7) at both 3 and 6 months, lesser emotional distress (HADS < 8) at both 3 and 6 months and lesser cognitive impairment (Mini Mental State Examination ≥ 28) at 6 months after stroke in subgroup analysis. The difference of Modified Rankin Scale between groups was significant at 6 months after stroke (p = 0.026). There was no difference in cognitive or emotional outcome. No significant difference of mortality rate was noted.CONCLUSIONS: We focused on a group of patients with mild to moderate stroke (median NIHSS = 6) within a narrow time span (14-19 days) and confirmed a high prevalence of SDB in stroke. CPAP compliance was a major problem but might be enhanced by selecting patients with higher functional capacity, higher cognitive function especially language and less depression in the acute or subacute phase of stroke. We also found that sleep-disordered breathing had little or no effect on cognitive and emotional outcomes, health-related quality of life and mortality in stroke patients. Many other factors resulting from brain damage or complications of stroke have stronger influences on stroke outcome than SDB

Different Impacts of Metabolic Syndrome Components on Insulin Resistance in Type 2 Diabetes

Objective. To examine the different impacts of MS components on insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Methods. A number of subjects (144) who met the criteria of (1) age between 30 and 75 years, (2) had type 2 diabetes for more than one year, and (3) taking gliclazide and metformin for more than 6 months were enrolled. All subjects were assigned to one of the four HOMA index categories. The HOMA index quartile 4 denotes the highest insulin resistance. The main outcome evaluated is the odds ratios (ORs) of different MS components on HOMA index quartile 4. The characteristics in HOMA index quartiles and groups of nonmetabolic syndrome (NMS; number of components 2) were also evaluated. Results. The results showed that both MSA and MSB groups had higher ORs (5.9 and 13.8 times, resp.) than the NMS group; and that subjects with large waist circumference (LWC) and high triglyceride (HTG) level have higher ORs (6.1 and 2.6 times, resp.) in developing higher insulin resistance than normal control subjects. Conclusion. Type 2 diabetic patients with greater number of MS components have higher ORs in developing increased insulin resistance

The solo string works of J. S. Bach: the relationship between dance and musical elements

In 1685, the Doge of Genoa made a visit to the French court and asked Louis XIV to host a ball. Louis XIV responded affirmatively and arranged a magnificent dance in his private apartment. The type of dance that took place was a kind of social dancing which later became the standard included Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, Minuet, Gavotte, Bourée, Loure and Chaconne. These dances were called theatrical dances when they were used in theatrical production by professional dancers. During this period, the relationship between composer and choreographer was sometimes inseparable. Maestro Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) and his well-known choreographer Pierre Beauchamp (1631-1705) collaborated on several operas for Louis XIV. The dance part, also called dance notation, was published by Raoul-Auger Feuillet (1653-1709). The purpose of this research paper is to present the relationship between dance and musical elements in Bach’s solo string works. Before the chapters, I will briefly introduce a survey of dance in European music. King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) was a great dancer. Under his regime, his noble dance style became the fashion throughout Europe in the seventeenth century. Following the discussion of French fashion and taste, I will explain the interrelationship between dance and music in the first chapter. In the next chapter, I will discuss the basic step structure and aspects from the dance notation system of Beauchamp-Feuillet as they apply dance to the music in the Baroque era. In the third chapter, I will combine Bach’s dance music with French noble dances, especially for the dances in triple meter, which were Courante, Sarabande, Minuet, and discuss these titled dances used in Bach’s solo works for strings. In the final chapter, chapter four, I will provide my own experiences as a string player and suggest how to choose a good tempo when performing Bach’s dance music. The consideration of the dance components in music, whether literal or implied, should influence and even inspire any musical performance today. If a dancer needs to study the music before he dances, shouldn’t musicians be aware of the proper dance elements in their art form