A proposed algorithm of random vector in measuring similarity for network topology of Bursa Malaysia

The stock market is a complex system where the interrelationships between the stocks are complicated because it is in multivariate time series setting which consists of opening, highest, lowest and closing prices. Basically, the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is applied to measure the similarity between two or more univariate time series of stocks. However, the economic information from other variables may inaccurate if the analysis is conducted by applying single variable only. Therefore, multi-dimensional of stocks are considered in this thesis. The similarities between two or more multi-dimensional of stocks are quantified by using Random Vector (RV) coefficient. Based on the preliminary analysis, the computational of RV coefficient is difficult, time-consuming, and tedious when a large number of stocks are involved. Hence, to ease the calculation process and improve the computational efficiency of RV coefficient, an algorithm is proposed. The proposed algorithm is able to measure the similarities among all pairs of stocks in Bursa Malaysia at once. The calculation process of RV coefficient among all pairs of stocks can be shortened and eased as the proposed algorithm consists of time complexity of order of O(n2). The behaviors and interactions among the stocks in Bursa Malaysia are then determined by using the Forest of all possible minimum spanning trees. In this thesis, MK Land Holdings Berhad was found out to be the predominant stock in Bursa Malaysia as it displays a star-like structure and is located at the central hub of the network

Multidimensional minimal spanning tree: the bursa Malaysia

The stock market has constituted a complex system since the interrelationships among the stocks are complicated and unpredictable. Moreover, the stock price does not stagnate at a certain price all the time but the price keeps changing from minute to minute during the transaction hours. Thus, it is quite difficult to indicate which stock influences the performances of other stocks as well as the behaviours of the stocks in a network. The economic information might be misleading and incomplete if the analysis applies with univariate time series of stock price only as each stock is represented by four features of the price. To obtain the complete information of the Bursa Malaysia stock network as well as the interrelationships among the stocks, multivariate time series of stocks are measured by using RV coefficient. Besides, minimum spanning tree and centrality measures are applied in this paper in order to construct the stock network virtually and determine the behaviours of the stocks by using the recent data of top 100 stocks in Bursa Malaysia

Multidimensional Minimal Spanning Tree: The Bursa Malaysia

The stock market has constituted a complex system since the interrelationships among the stocks are complicated and unpredictable. Moreover, the stock price does not stagnate at a certain price all the time but the price keeps changing from minute to minute during the transaction hours. Thus, it is quite difficult to indicate which stock influences the performances of other stocks as well as the behaviours of the stocks in a network. The economic information might be misleading and incomplete if the analysis applies with univariate time series of stock price only as each stock is represented by four features of the price. To obtain the complete information of the Bursa Malaysia stock network as well as the interrelationships among the stocks, multivariate time series of stocks are measured by using RV coefficient. Besides, minimum spanning tree and centrality measures are applied in this paper in order to construct the stock network virtually and determine the behaviours of the stocks by using the recent data of top 100 stocks in Bursa Malaysia

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Non-invasive diagnostic tests for Helicobacter pylori infection

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection has been implicated in a number of malignancies and non-malignant conditions including peptic ulcers, non-ulcer dyspepsia, recurrent peptic ulcer bleeding, unexplained iron deficiency anaemia, idiopathic thrombocytopaenia purpura, and colorectal adenomas. The confirmatory diagnosis of H pylori is by endoscopic biopsy, followed by histopathological examination using haemotoxylin and eosin (H & E) stain or special stains such as Giemsa stain and Warthin-Starry stain. Special stains are more accurate than H & E stain. There is significant uncertainty about the diagnostic accuracy of non-invasive tests for diagnosis of H pylori. OBJECTIVES: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of urea breath test, serology, and stool antigen test, used alone or in combination, for diagnosis of H pylori infection in symptomatic and asymptomatic people, so that eradication therapy for H pylori can be started. SEARCH METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Science Citation Index and the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Database on 4 March 2016. We screened references in the included studies to identify additional studies. We also conducted citation searches of relevant studies, most recently on 4 December 2016. We did not restrict studies by language or publication status, or whether data were collected prospectively or retrospectively. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included diagnostic accuracy studies that evaluated at least one of the index tests (urea breath test using isotopes such as13C or14C, serology and stool antigen test) against the reference standard (histopathological examination using H & E stain, special stains or immunohistochemical stain) in people suspected of having H pylori infection. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened the references to identify relevant studies and independently extracted data. We assessed the methodological quality of studies using the QUADAS-2 tool. We performed meta-analysis by using the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) model to estimate and compare SROC curves. Where appropriate, we used bivariate or univariate logistic regression models to estimate summary sensitivities and specificities. MAIN RESULTS: We included 101 studies involving 11,003 participants, of which 5839 participants (53.1%) had H pylori infection. The prevalence of H pylori infection in the studies ranged from 15.2% to 94.7%, with a median prevalence of 53.7% (interquartile range 42.0% to 66.5%). Most of the studies (57%) included participants with dyspepsia and 53 studies excluded participants who recently had proton pump inhibitors or antibiotics.There was at least an unclear risk of bias or unclear applicability concern for each study.Of the 101 studies, 15 compared the accuracy of two index tests and two studies compared the accuracy of three index tests. Thirty-four studies (4242 participants) evaluated serology; 29 studies (2988 participants) evaluated stool antigen test; 34 studies (3139 participants) evaluated urea breath test-13C; 21 studies (1810 participants) evaluated urea breath test-14C; and two studies (127 participants) evaluated urea breath test but did not report the isotope used. The thresholds used to define test positivity and the staining techniques used for histopathological examination (reference standard) varied between studies. Due to sparse data for each threshold reported, it was not possible to identify the best threshold for each test.Using data from 99 studies in an indirect test comparison, there was statistical evidence of a difference in diagnostic accuracy between urea breath test-13C, urea breath test-14C, serology and stool antigen test (P = 0.024). The diagnostic odds ratios for urea breath test-13C, urea breath test-14C, serology, and stool antigen test were 153 (95% confidence interval (CI) 73.7 to 316), 105 (95% CI 74.0 to 150), 47.4 (95% CI 25.5 to 88.1) and 45.1 (95% CI 24.2 to 84.1). The sensitivity (95% CI) estimated at a fixed specificity of 0.90 (median from studies across the four tests), was 0.94 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.97) for urea breath test-13C, 0.92 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.94) for urea breath test-14C, 0.84 (95% CI 0.74 to 0.91) for serology, and 0.83 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.90) for stool antigen test. This implies that on average, given a specificity of 0.90 and prevalence of 53.7% (median specificity and prevalence in the studies), out of 1000 people tested for H pylori infection, there will be 46 false positives (people without H pylori infection who will be diagnosed as having H pylori infection). In this hypothetical cohort, urea breath test-13C, urea breath test-14C, serology, and stool antigen test will give 30 (95% CI 15 to 58), 42 (95% CI 30 to 58), 86 (95% CI 50 to 140), and 89 (95% CI 52 to 146) false negatives respectively (people with H pylori infection for whom the diagnosis of H pylori will be missed).Direct comparisons were based on few head-to-head studies. The ratios of diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) were 0.68 (95% CI 0.12 to 3.70; P = 0.56) for urea breath test-13C versus serology (seven studies), and 0.88 (95% CI 0.14 to 5.56; P = 0.84) for urea breath test-13C versus stool antigen test (seven studies). The 95% CIs of these estimates overlap with those of the ratios of DORs from the indirect comparison. Data were limited or unavailable for meta-analysis of other direct comparisons. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: In people without a history of gastrectomy and those who have not recently had antibiotics or proton ,pump inhibitors, urea breath tests had high diagnostic accuracy while serology and stool antigen tests were less accurate for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection.This is based on an indirect test comparison (with potential for bias due to confounding), as evidence from direct comparisons was limited or unavailable. The thresholds used for these tests were highly variable and we were unable to identify specific thresholds that might be useful in clinical practice.We need further comparative studies of high methodological quality to obtain more reliable evidence of relative accuracy between the tests. Such studies should be conducted prospectively in a representative spectrum of participants and clearly reported to ensure low risk of bias. Most importantly, studies should prespecify and clearly report thresholds used, and should avoid inappropriate exclusions

Evaluation of paper-based payment methods in Singapore

Electronic payment methods such as Electronic Funds Transfer System (EFT) and Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sales (EFTPOS) have been increasingly used in Singapore. Yet, paper-based payment methods still predominate. A study of the paper-based payment methods was carried out to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and to di s cuss the impact of the widening acceptance and usage of EFT on these traditional payment methods. In addition, the future developments of each paper-based payment method were examined. The paper-based payment methods under the study include banknotes and coins, bills of exchange, cheques and bankers' draft. Credit cards, another increasingly popular payment method, which have become an important part of the international payment systems, would also be highlighted. The sources of information are library materials, newspapers articles, journals and statutes. In addition, there are primary data obtained through survey and interviews with 35 organisations and 90 private individuals.From the study, we concluded that payments in Singapore by private individuals are still largely in the form of cash. In most situations, cash provides a quick and convenient method of settlement. Cheques is another popular payment method which is mainly used by business organisations. Credit cards have also been increasingly used in the last decade . Although there will probably be a large increase in . the number of electronic transfers over the next decade, Singapore is still considered a distance away from a cashless society.BUSINES

A comparison on efficiency of domestic and foreign banks in Malaysia: a DEA approach

This study utilizes non parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to analyze and compare the efficiency of foreign and domestic banks in Malaysia. The analysis is based on a panel data set of 9 domestic banks and 12 foreign banks in Malaysia over the period of 2002 - 2009. Intermediation approach is used to define the inputs and outputs in computerizing the efficiency scores. Surprisingly, the findings are inconsistent with most of the findings of previous studies where the foreign banks were outperforming their domestic peers in term of efficiency. Conversely, the finding of this study shows that domestic banks have a higher efficiency level than foreign banks, this imply that domestic banks are relatively more managerially efficient in controlling their costs. The second stage of the empirical results is based on the Tobit model, which suggests that the pure technical efficiency (PTE) of banks in Malaysia is mainly affect by capital strength, loan quality, expenses and asset size