Models for high dimensional spatially correlated risks and application to thunderstorm loss data in Texas

Insurance claims caused by natural disasters exhibit spatial dependence with the strength of dependence being based on factors such as physical distance and population density, to name a few. Accounting for spatial dependence is therefore of crucial importance when modeling these types of claims. In this work, we present an approach to assess spatially dependent insurance risks using a combination of linear regression and factor copula models. Specifically, in loss modeling, observed dependence patterns are highly nonlinear, thus copula-based models seem appropriate since they can handle both linear and nonlinear dependence. The factor copula approach for estimating the spatial dependence reduces a complex dependence structure into a relatively easier task of estimating a spatial dependence parameter. Hence, we use a weighted sum of radial basis functions to model a spatial dependence parameter that determines the influence of each location. The methodology is illustrated using a thunderstorm wind loss dataset of Texas. Extensions to Matérn covariance functions and spatiotemporal models are briefly discussed --Abstract, page iii

Финансовые аспекты реформирования дошкольного образования (на примере МАДОУ ДСКВ №7 «Дарование»)

Актуальность работы тем, что в условиях нестабильной экономической ситуации в РФ и без того не слишком высокий уровень финансирования системы образования всех уровней имеет тенденции к снижению, так что образовательные учреждения вынуждены искать дополнительные (к бюджетному) источники финансирования, в том числе, за счет коммерческой деятельности. Объектом исследований является финансирование образовательной сферы РФ Предметом исследований является процесс реформирования и текущее состояние финансирования системы образования на примере МАДОУ ДСКВ №7 "Дарование". Целью ВКР является оптимизация финансовых аспектов реформирования дошкольного образования (на примере МАДОУ ДСКВ №7 "Дарование").The relevance of the work is that in the unstable economic situation in the Russian Federation, the already not too high level of funding for the education system at all levels tends to decrease, so that educational institutions are forced to look for additional (to the budget) sources of funding, including through commercial activities. The object of research is the financing of the educational sphere of the Russian Federation The subject of research is the process of reformation and the current state of financing of the education system on the example of MADOU DSKV №7 "Darovanie". The purpose of WRC is to optimize the financial aspects of reforming preschool education (on the example of MADOU DSKV №7 "Darovanie")

Cryoprobe biopsy increases the diagnostic yield in endobronchial tumor lesions

ObjectiveForceps biopsy is the standard method to obtain specimens in endoscopically visible lesions. It is common to combine forceps biopsy with cytology methods to increase the diagnostic yield. Although the flexible cryoprobe has been established for bronchoscopic interventions in malignant stenosis, the obtained biopsies, called “cryobiopsies,” have not been investigated in a large cohort of patients. The aim of this feasibility study was to prospectively evaluate the diagnostic yield and safety of cryobiopsy and forceps biopsy.MethodsDuring a 6-year period, 296 patients with visible endoluminal tumor lesions were included in the study at the bronchoscopy unit of a university hospital. In the first consecutively conducted 55 cases, both techniques, forceps biopsy and cryobiopsy, were applied simultaneously. Pathologic and quantitative image analyses were performed to evaluate the size and quality of the obtained specimens. We evaluated the safety and diagnostic yield to describe the feasibility of cryobiopsy.ResultsComparative analysis of the first conducted and randomly assigned 55 cases revealed a significantly higher diagnostic yield for cryobiopsy compared with forceps biopsy (89.1% vs 65.5%, P < .05). In this cohort, quantitative image analysis showed significantly larger biopsies regarding size and artifact-free tissue sections for cryobiopsy compared with forceps biopsy (P < .0001). The overall diagnostic yield of cryobiopsy was 89.5%. Mild bleeding occurred in 11 cases (3.7%), moderate bleeding occurred in 3 cases (1.0%), and severe bleeding occurred in 1 case (0.3%).ConclusionCryobiopsy is safe and increases the diagnostic yield in endobronchial tumor lesions. The method also is feasible under routine conditions

Nanofiber-based aerogels

Nanofiber-based aerogels or sponges are made from preformed polymeric nanofibers. They are very porous, ultralight and have a large internal surface as classical aerogels. But their network of interconnected fibers renders them also elastic and mechanically resilient. Moreover, they show a hierarchic architecture with minor primary pores between tangled nanofibers and major cell-like pores. Nanofiber aerogels can be tailored to many applications due to flexibility in the choice of polymer together with the possibility to chemically modify the surface of the fibers. Possible applications include filtration, thermal insulation, support for catalysts, or scaffolds for tissue engineering. Mostly, synthetic polymers such as PAN and PVA have been used as fiber materials or their blends with biopolymers such as pullulan and gelatin

A position paper from German and Austrian Allergy Societies AeDA, DGAKI, GPA and ÖGAI

Background: For the preventive treatment of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) an unprecedented global research effort studied the safety and efficacy of new vaccine platforms that have not been previously used in humans. Less than one year after the discovery of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral sequence, these vaccines were approved for use in the European Union (EU) as well as in numerous other countries and mass vaccination efforts began. The so far in the EU approved mRNA vaccines BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 are based on similar lipid-based nanoparticle carrier technologies; however, the lipid components differ. Severe allergic reactions and anaphylaxis after COVID-19 vaccination are very rare adverse events but have drawn attention due to potentially lethal outcomes and have triggered a high degree of uncertainty. Methods: Current knowledge on anaphylactic reactions to vaccines and specifically the new mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was compiled using a literature search in Medline, PubMed, as well as the national and international study and guideline registries, the Cochrane Library, and the Internet, with special reference to official websites of the World Health Organization (WHO), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Koch Institute (RKI), and Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI). Results: Based on the international literature and previous experience, recommendations for prophylaxis, diagnosis and therapy of these allergic reactions are given by a panel of experts. Conclusion: Allergy testing is not necessary for the vast majority of allergic patients prior to COVID-19 vaccination with currently licensed vaccines. In case of allergic/anaphylactic reactions after vaccination, allergy workup is recommended, as it is for a small potential risk population prior to the first vaccination. Evaluation and approval of diagnostic tests should be done for this purpose

Les droits disciplinaires des fonctions publiques : « unification », « harmonisation » ou « distanciation ». A propos de la loi du 26 avril 2016 relative à la déontologie et aux droits et obligations des fonctionnaires

The production of tt‾ , W+bb‾ and W+cc‾ is studied in the forward region of proton–proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98±0.02 fb−1 . The W bosons are reconstructed in the decays W→ℓν , where ℓ denotes muon or electron, while the b and c quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions.The production of $t\overline{t}$, $W+b\overline{b}$ and $W+c\overline{c}$ is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.98 $\pm$ 0.02 \mbox{fb}^{-1}. The $W$ bosons are reconstructed in the decays $W\rightarrow\ell\nu$, where $\ell$ denotes muon or electron, while the $b$ and $c$ quarks are reconstructed as jets. All measured cross-sections are in agreement with next-to-leading-order Standard Model predictions

Physics case for an LHCb Upgrade II - Opportunities in flavour physics, and beyond, in the HL-LHC era

The LHCb Upgrade II will fully exploit the flavour-physics opportunities of the HL-LHC, and study additional physics topics that take advantage of the forward acceptance of the LHCb spectrometer. The LHCb Upgrade I will begin operation in 2020. Consolidation will occur, and modest enhancements of the Upgrade I detector will be installed, in Long Shutdown 3 of the LHC (2025) and these are discussed here. The main Upgrade II detector will be installed in long shutdown 4 of the LHC (2030) and will build on the strengths of the current LHCb experiment and the Upgrade I. It will operate at a luminosity up to 2×1034 cm−2s−1, ten times that of the Upgrade I detector. New detector components will improve the intrinsic performance of the experiment in certain key areas. An Expression Of Interest proposing Upgrade II was submitted in February 2017. The physics case for the Upgrade II is presented here in more depth. CP-violating phases will be measured with precisions unattainable at any other envisaged facility. The experiment will probe b → sl+l−and b → dl+l− transitions in both muon and electron decays in modes not accessible at Upgrade I. Minimal flavour violation will be tested with a precision measurement of the ratio of B(B0 → μ+μ−)/B(Bs → μ+μ−). Probing charm CP violation at the 10−5 level may result in its long sought discovery. Major advances in hadron spectroscopy will be possible, which will be powerful probes of low energy QCD. Upgrade II potentially will have the highest sensitivity of all the LHC experiments on the Higgs to charm-quark couplings. Generically, the new physics mass scale probed, for fixed couplings, will almost double compared with the pre-HL-LHC era; this extended reach for flavour physics is similar to that which would be achieved by the HE-LHC proposal for the energy frontier