Grouping Emerging Stock Markets Based on Market Data

This paper uses cluster analysis, a multivariate statistical technique to classify emerging stock markets that have similarities into different groups. A number of key market data such as number listed companies, market capitalization, trading volume, turnover ratio, percentage change in price index, price-earnings (P/E) ratio, and market value-to-book value ratio are used. Analyses showed that the most important factors in grouping are market capitalization, trading volume, and turnover ratio. In addition to that, investable emerging markets and developed markets are clustered to see whether the same distinction is still valid in terms of market data. Analyses revealed that this distinction disappeared when the market data were taken into account. Based on these results, it is more appropriate to classify stock markets as large, medium or small markets; liquid markets, moderately liquid markets or illiquid markets as opposed to developed or emerging markets.Emerging Stock Markets, Cluster Analysis, Portfolio Management.

A case of septicaemic anthrax in an intravenous drug user

<p><b>Background:</b> In 2000, Ringertz et al described the first case of systemic anthrax caused by injecting heroin contaminated with anthrax. In 2008, there were 574 drug related deaths in Scotland, of which 336 were associated with heroin and or morphine. We report a rare case of septicaemic anthrax caused by injecting heroin contaminated with anthrax in Scotland.</p> <p><b>Case Presentation:</b> A 32 year old intravenous drug user (IVDU), presented with a 12 hour history of increasing purulent discharge from a chronic sinus in his left groin. He had a tachycardia, pyrexia, leukocytosis and an elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). He was treated with Vancomycin, Clindamycin, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin and Metronidazole. Blood cultures grew Bacillus anthracis within 24 hours of presentation. He had a computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) of his abdomen, pelvis and thighs performed. These showed inflammatory change relating to the iliopsoas and an area of necrosis in the adductor magnus.</p> <p>He underwent an exploration of his left thigh. This revealed chronically indurated subcutaneous tissues with no evidence of a collection or necrotic muscle. Treatment with Vancomycin, Ciprofloxacin and Clindamycin continued for 14 days. Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) device was applied utilising the Venturi™ wound sealing kit. Following 4 weeks of treatment, the wound dimensions had reduced by 77%.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Although systemic anthrax infection is rare, it should be considered when faced with severe cutaneous infection in IVDU patients. This case shows that patients with significant bacteraemia may present with no signs of haemodynamic compromise. Prompt recognition and treatment with high dose IV antimicrobial therapy increases the likelihood of survival. The use of simple wound therapy adjuncts such as NPWT can give excellent wound healing results.</p&gt

Enhancing Human-Robot Collaboration Transportation through Obstacle-Aware Vibrotactile Feedback

Transporting large and heavy objects can benefit from Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC), increasing the contribution of robots to our daily tasks and reducing the risk of injuries to the human operator. This approach usually posits the human collaborator as the leader, while the robot has the follower role. Hence, it is essential for the leader to be aware of the environmental situation. However, when transporting a large object, the operator's situational awareness can be compromised as the object may occlude different parts of the environment. This paper proposes a novel haptic-based environmental awareness module for a collaborative transportation framework that informs the human operator about surrounding obstacles. The robot uses two LIDARs to detect the obstacles in the surroundings. The warning module alerts the operator through a haptic belt with four vibrotactile devices that provide feedback about the location and proximity of the obstacles. By enhancing the operator's awareness of the surroundings, the proposed module improves the safety of the human-robot team in co-carrying scenarios by preventing collisions. Experiments with two non-expert subjects in two different situations are conducted. The results show that the human partner can successfully lead the co-transportation system in an unknown environment with hidden obstacles thanks to the haptic feedback.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, for associated video, see this https://youtu.be/UABeGPIIrH

Economic burden of ventilator associated pneumonia in a developing country

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) developed in 96 (60%) of 159 patients with 37.2 cases per 1000 ventilation-days in a medical intensive care unit (MICU). Median time for VAP development was 5.5 days (range: 2-25). The most significant risk factors for VAP were stay in hospital before MICU and length of stay in MICU. The mean length of stay in MICU for VAP patients was 23.8 +/- 19.8 days, which was four-fold higher than for non-VAP patients. The daily cost for VAP patients was half that for non-VAP patients. The total costs for VAP patients were about three-fold higher than for non-VAP patients. (C) 2012 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Prevaccination screening of health care workers for immunity to measles, rubella, mumps and varicella in a developing country. What do we save?

SummaryA structured questionnaire was administered to health-care workers (HCWs). The HCWs were also screened for measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella (MMRV) using serological methods. One thousand two hundred and fifty-five HCWs were tested. Of the HCWs examined, 94% were immune to measles, 97% to rubella, 90% to mumps and 98% to varicella. The positive predictive values of histories of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella were 96%, 93%, 100% and 98%, respectively. The negative predictive values of histories of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella were 13%, 17%, 5% and 2%, respectively. The cost of vaccination without screening was significantly more expensive (cost difference: €24,385) for varicella, although vaccination without screening was cheap (cost difference: €5693) for MMR. Although the use of cheaper vaccines supports the implementation of vaccination programs without screening, the cost of vaccination should not be calculated based only on the direct costs. The indirect costs associated with lost work time due to vaccination and its side effects and the direct costs of potential side effects should be considered. However, if prescreening is not conducted, some HCWs (2–7%) would be unprotected against these contagious illnesses because of the unreliability of their MMRV history. In conclusion, the screening of HCWs before vaccination continues to be advisable

The Protective Effect of L-carnitine on Ionizing Radiation-induced Free Oxygen Radicals

Ionizing radiation is known to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can be removed by antioxidants.  L-carnitine, a natural component of mammalian tissue, is a necessary factor in the utilization of long-chain  fatty acids to produce energy. Furthermore it has been shown that L-carnitine is an antioxidant which has  a scavenger effect on ROS and a stabilizing effect on damaged cell membranes. The aim of the study was  to evaluate the potential protective effect of L-carnitine on radiation-induced free radicals in hamsters. Lcarnitine  was given by gavage at a dose of 50 mg/kg for 15 consecutive days before irradiation with a single  dose of 8 Gy. 24 h after radiation exposure, the hamsters were sacrificed and samples were taken from  blood and tissues, and the biochemical and histopatological determinations were carried out. In the irradiated  group, there were significant increases in plasma and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) with marked  reduction in glutathione (GSH) levels in the liver, compared with controls. In red blood cells, superoxide  dismutase (SOD) and catalase activities were also reduced. All these effects were reversed by L-carnitine.  In conclusion, L-carnitine with its antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties could play a modulatory  role against the cellular damage produced by free radicals induced by ionizing radiation.

Robot-Assisted Navigation for Visually Impaired through Adaptive Impedance and Path Planning

This paper presents a framework to navigate visually impaired people through unfamiliar environments by means of a mobile manipulator. The Human-Robot system consists of three key components: a mobile base, a robotic arm, and the human subject who gets guided by the robotic arm via physically coupling their hand with the cobot's end-effector. These components, receiving a goal from the user, traverse a collision-free set of waypoints in a coordinated manner, while avoiding static and dynamic obstacles through an obstacle avoidance unit and a novel human guidance planner. With this aim, we also present a legs tracking algorithm that utilizes 2D LiDAR sensors integrated into the mobile base to monitor the human pose. Additionally, we introduce an adaptive pulling planner responsible for guiding the individual back to the intended path if they veer off course. This is achieved by establishing a target arm end-effector position and dynamically adjusting the impedance parameters in real-time through a impedance tuning unit. To validate the framework we present a set of experiments both in laboratory settings with 12 healthy blindfolded subjects and a proof-of-concept demonstration in a real-world scenario.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, for associated video, see https://youtu.be/B94n3QjdnJ

Computed tomography depiction of normal inguinal lymph nodes in children

Background: The aim of the study was to establish computed tomography (CT) characteristics, distribution and provide normative data about size of normal inguinal lymph nodes in a paediatric population. Materials and methods: Four hundred eighty-one otherwise healthy children (147 girls, mean age: 8.87, range 0–17 years) underwent pelvic CT in the setting of high-energy trauma were included in the study. Both axial and coronal 1.25-mm reconstructions were evaluated for the presence, location (deep or superficial), number, presence of fat attenuation, and shape of the lymph nodes, short-axis diameter of the biggest lymph node for each of right and left inguinal regions. Results: A total of 7556 lymph nodes were detected in 481 subjects (the mean count of superficial and deep inguinal lymph nodes was 13.35 [range 6–23] and 2.36 [range 0–7] per subject, respectively): 15% (1135/7556) deep located, 85% (6421/7556) superficially located, 86.6% (6547/7556) with fat attenuation, 99.2% (7496/7556) oval in shape, 0.8% (60/7556) spherical. The short-axis diameter of the lymph nodes increased with age. Pearson’s correlation coefficient for superficial and deep lymph nodes in boys and girls, respectively: 0.538 (p < 0.001), 0.504 (p < 0.001), 0.452 (p < 0.001) and 0.268 (p < 0.001). The mean maximum short-axis diameters in different age groups and gender varied between 6.33 ± 0.85 mm and 8.68 ± 1.33 mm for superficial, 3.62 ± 1.16 mm and 5.83 ± 1.05 mm for deep inguinal lymph nodes. Conclusions: Inguinal lymph nodes were multiple, commonly contained fat, and were oval in shape. The data determined about inguinal lymph node size in different paediatric age groups may be applicable as normative data in daily clinical CT evaluation practice

Interface-mediated ferroelectric patterning and Mn valency in nano-structured PbTiO ₃ /La _0.7 Sr _0.3 MnO ₃

International audienceWe employed a multitechnique approach using piezo-force response microscopy and photoemission microscopy to investigate a self-organizing polarization domain pattern in PbTiO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (PTO/LSMO) nanostructures. The polarization is correlated with the nanostructure morphology as well as with the thickness and Mn valence of the LSMO template layer. On the LSMO dots, the PTO is upwards polarized, whereas outside the nanodots, the polarization appears both strain and interface roughness dependent. The results suggest that the electronic structure and strain of the PTO/LSMO interface contribute to determining the internal bias of the ferroelectric layer