The Diminishing Benefits Of Nae International Portfolio Diversification Following The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

Nae international diversification has been fundamental to portfolio management over the past 30 years, but the benefits appear to be significantly diminished following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Using monthly return data covering the period from 1970 through 2004, we found rising correlations between U.S. and international equity markets exceeding 0.85 since July 1997. Even the return correlation of emerging countries recently has reached almost 0.80. We also found a significant reduction in the variance of the international return correlation after the financial crisis. Portfolio managers should not expect to receive the same benefits from international portfolio diversification as that obtained prior to the Asian financial crisis

The influence of osmotic shocks on the growth rate and chlorophyll-a content of planktonic algae species

Estudou-se o efeito de variações de salinidade sobre as respostas de crescimento e o conteúdo de clorofila-α de quatro espécies de algas planctónicas (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Tetraselmis gracilis, Minutocellus polymorphus, Chaetoceros sp), usando a técnica de culturas estanques. P. tricornutum, apresentando altos valores de taxas máximas de crescimento (div d-1) em todo o gradiente de salinidade experimental, revelou uma alta capacidade de ajuste metabólico quando submetida a choques osmóticos. T. gracilis, M. polymorphus e Chaetoceros sp foram capazes de deslocar o ótimo de salinidade para a taxa máxima de crescimento, em função da salinidade de pré-cultivo. As quatro espécies estudadas mostraram oscilações da taxa específica de crescimento (div d-1) e do conteúdo de clorofila-α (pg cel-1), relacionadas aos ciclos de claro-escuro.The effect of salinity changes on the growth responses and chlorophyll-α content of four species of planktonic algae (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Tetraselmisgracilis, Minutocelluspotymorphus, Chaetoceros sp) was evaluated using a batch culture technique. P. tricornutum, showing high values of maximum growth rate (div d-1) over the entire salinity range, revealed a great capability of metabolic adjustment when subjected to osmotic shocks. T. gracilis, M. polymorphus and Chaetoceros sp were able to displace the salinity optimum related to the maximum growth rate, depending on the preconditioning salinity. The four studied species showed oscillations of specific growth rate (div d-1) and chorophyll-α content (pg cell-1) related to light-dark cycles

Surface reconstruction of wear in carpets by using a wavelet edge detector

Carpet manufacturers have wear labels assigned to their products by human experts who evaluate carpet samples subjected to accelerated wear in a test device. There is considerable industrial and academic interest in going from human to automated evaluation, which should be less cumbersome and more objective. In this paper, we present image analysis research on videos of carpet surfaces scanned with a 3D laser. The purpose is obtaining good depth Images for an automated system that should have a high percentage of correct assessments for a wide variety of carpets. The innovation is the use of a wavelet edge detector to obtain a more continuously defined surface shape. The evaluation is based on how well the algorithms allow a good linear ranking and a good discriminance of consecutive wear labels. The results show an improved linear ranking for most carpet types, for two carpet types the results are quite significant

Palliative care and Parkinson's disease : meeting summary and recommendations for clinical research

Introduction: Palliative care is an approach to caring for patients and families affected by serious illnesses that focuses on the relief of suffering through the management of medical symptoms, psychosocial issues, advance care planning and spiritual wellbeing. Over the past decade there has been an emerging clinical and research interest in the application of palliative care approaches to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and outpatient palliative care services are now offered by several movement disorders centers. Methods: An International Working Group Meeting on PD and Palliative Care supported by the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation was held in October 2015 to review the current state of the evidence and to make recommendations for clinical research and practice. Results: Topics included: 1) Defining palliative care for PD; 2) Lessons from palliative care for heart failure and other chronic illnesses; 3) Patient and caregiver Needs; 4) Needs assessment tools; 5) Intervention strategies; 6) Predicting prognosis and hospice referrals; 7) Choice of appropriate outcome measures; 8) Implementation, dissemination and education research; and 9) Need for research collaborations. We provide an overview of these discussions, summarize current evidence and practices, highlight gaps in our knowledge and make recommendations for future research. Conclusions: Palliative Care for PD is a rapidly growing area which holds great promise for improving outcomes for PD patients and their caregivers. While clinical research in this area can build from lessons learned in other diseases, there is a need for observational, methodological and interventional research to address the unique needs of PD patients and caregivers

Exact Tagged Particle Correlations in the Random Average Process

We study analytically the correlations between the positions of tagged particles in the random average process, an interacting particle system in one dimension. We show that in the steady state the mean squared auto-fluctuation of a tracer particle grows subdiffusively as $sigma^2(t) ~ t^{1/2}$ for large time t in the absence of external bias, but grows diffusively $sigma^2(t) ~ t$ in the presence of a nonzero bias. The prefactors of the subdiffusive and diffusive growths as well as the universal scaling function describing the crossover between them are computed exactly. We also compute $sigma_r^2(t)$, the mean squared fluctuation in the position difference of two tagged particles separated by a fixed tag shift r in the steady state and show that the external bias has a dramatic effect in the time dependence of $sigma_r^2(t)$. For fixed r, $sigma_r^2(t)$ increases monotonically with t in absence of bias but has a non-monotonic dependence on t in presence of bias. Similarities and differences with the simple exclusion process are also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, revte

Adherence to

(MWM) for palliative care has prioritized data collection efforts for evaluating quality in clinical practice. How these measures can be implemented across diverse clinical settings using point-of-care data collection on quality is unknown.To evaluate the implementation of MWM measures by exploring documentation of quality measure adherence across six diverse clinical settings inherent to palliative care practice.We deployed a point-of-care quality data collection system, the Quality Data Collection Tool, across five organizations within the Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group. Quality measures were recorded by clinicians or assistants near care delivery.During the study period, 1989 first visits were included for analysis. Our population was mostly white, female, and with moderate performance status. About half of consultations were seen on hospital general floors. We observed a wide range of adherence. The lowest adherence involved comprehensive assessments during the first visit in hospitalized patients in the intensive care unit (2.71%); the highest adherence across all settings, with an implementation of >95%, involved documentation of management of moderate/severe pain. We observed differences in adherence across clinical settings especially with MWM Measure #2 (Screening for Physical Symptoms, range 45.7%–81.8%); MWM Measure #5 (Discussion of Emotional Needs, range 46.1%–96.1%); and MWM Measure #6 (Documentation of Spiritual/Religious Concerns, range 0–69.6%).Variations in clinician documentation of adherence to MWM quality measures are seen across clinical settings. Additional studies are needed to better understand benchmarks and acceptable ranges for adherence tailored to various clinical settings

Evaluation of produced water toxicity from an oil maritime terminal through Skeletonema costatum toxicity tests

The liquid effluent from an oil maritime terminal, with produced water as the main component, had its toxicity evaluated through toxicity tests with the diatom Skeletonema costatum. Two previously treated effluent samples (effluents A and B), were provided by PETROBRAS for the experiments. Both samples presented high salinity (67 for effluent A and 62 for effluent B) and low pH values (6.2), whereas total sulphide, phenol and nutrient content, dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbon concentration, BOD and COD values were quite different from each other. During the toxicity experiment, three replicate flasks with samples for each treatment were exposed to a light radiation of 266µE m² S-1 and maintained under a 10 h/14 h lightldark cycle, at a temperature of 24 :t 2ºC. The EC50 values could not be accurately estimated for effluent A: 60 h and 132 h after starting the experiment they were below 3% and between 3-6% effluent concentration, respectively. Synergistic effects between effluent toxicity and salinity on the growth of S. costatum were detected. The effluent B showed higher toxicity: the EC5O values were 0.17% and 0.40% of effluent concentrations, after 48 h and 96 h, respectively. These results evidenced the deleterious effects of residual organic compounds contained in the aqueous effluents from the oil terminal under the present pretreatment on S. costatum. In the light of the present data, the direct disposal ofthese effluents into São Sebastião Channel waters might be very hazardous to its indigenous biota.A toxicidade do efluente líquido do "Dutos e Terminais Centro-Oeste São Paulo" (DTCS) terminal marítimo de petróleo da PETROBRAS, em São Sebastião (SP, Brasil), cujo principal componente é a água de produção, foi avaliada através de testes de toxicidade com a diatomácea Skeletonema costatum. Amostras de dois efluentes (A e B), previamente tratados pela PETROBRAS, foram utilizadas nos experimentos. As duas amostras apresentaram alta salinidade (A=67; B=62) e baixo valor de pH (6,2), enquanto que as suas concentrações de sulfetos, fenóis e hidrocarbonetos de petróleo dissolvidos/dispersos, bem como os seus valores de DBO e DQO, foram bastante distintos. Nos experimentos de toxicidade, os frascos experimentais, em triplicata, para cada tratamento foram expostos à radiação luminosa fluorescente de 266 µm² S-1 e mantidas em um ciclo luz/escuro de 10 h/14 h, a uma temperatura de 24 :t 2ºC. Os valores de CE50 não puderam ser determinados com precisão para o efluente A: após 60 h e 132 h do início dos experimentos esses valores estavam abaixo de 3% e entre 3-6% da concentração de efluente, respectivamente. Foi observado sinergismo entre a toxicidade e a salinidade do efluente sobre o crescimento de S. costatum. O efluente B apresentou uma toxicidade mais elevada: os valores de CEso foram 0,17% e 0,40% da concentração do efluente, após 48 h e 96 h, respectivamente. Estes resultados evidenciaram claramente os efeitos deletérios dos compostos orgânicos residuais contidos no efluente líquido do DTCS, sobre S. costatum. Pode-se concluir que a disposição do efluente nas águas do canal de São Sebastião poderá ser prejudicial à biota local

Results of the ESO-SEST Key Programme on CO in the Magellanic Clouds. IX. The giant LMC HII region complex N11

We present maps and a catalogue containing the J=1-0 12CO parameters of 29 individual molecular clouds in the second-brightest LMC star formation complex, N11. In the southwestern part of N11, molecular clouds occur in a ring or shell surrounding the major OB star association LH9. In the northeastern part, a chain of molecular clouds delineates the rim of one of the so-called supergiant shells in the LMC. The well-defined clouds have dimensions close to those of the survey beam (diameters of 25 pc or less). Some of the clouds were also observed in J=2-1 12CO, and in the lower two transitions of 13CO. Clouds mapped with a twice higher angular resolution in J=2-1 12CO show substructure with dimensions once again comparable to those of the mapping beam. The few clouds for which we could model physical parameters have fairly warm (T(kin) = 60 - 150 K) and moderately dense (n(H2) = 3000 cm-3) gas. The northeastern chain of CO clouds, although lacking in diffuse intercloud emission, is characteristic of the more quiescent regions of the LMC and appears to have been subject to relatively little photo-processing. The clouds forming part of the southwestern shell or ring, however, are almost devoid of diffuse intercloud emission and also exhibit other characteristics of an extreme photon-dominated region (PDR).Comment: 14 pages; accepted for publication in A&

Detection of new sources of methanol emission at 107 and 108 GHz with the Mopra telescope

A southern hemisphere survey of methanol emission sources in two millimeter wave transitions has been carried out using the ATNF Mopra millimetre telescope. Sixteen emission sources have been detected in the 3(1)-4(0)A+ transition of methanol at 107 GHz, including six new sources exhibiting class II methanol maser emission features. Combining these results with the similar northern hemisphere survey, a total of eleven 107-GHz methanol masers have been detected. A survey of the methanol emission in the 0(0)-1(-1)E transition at 108 GHz resulted in the detection of 16 sources; one of them showing maser characteristics. This is the first methanol maser detected at 108 GHz, presumably of class II. The results of LVG statistical equilibrium calculations confirm the classification of these new sources as a class II methanol masers.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS, mn.sty include