Support Vector Machines (SVM) as a Technique for Solvency Analysis

This paper introduces a statistical technique, Support Vector Machines (SVM), which is considered by the Deutsche Bundesbank as an alternative for company rating. A special attention is paid to the features of the SVM which provide a higher accuracy of company classification into solvent and insolvent. The advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed. The comparison of the SVM with more traditional approaches such as logistic regression (Logit) and discriminant analysis (DA) is made on the Deutsche Bundesbank data of annual income statements and balance sheets of German companies. The out-of-sample accuracy tests confirm that the SVM outperforms both DA and Logit on bootstrapped samples.Company rating, bankruptcy analysis, support vector machines

La presencia de las mujeres piemontesas en Argentina

La inmigración italiana en América, y particularmente en Argentina, cuenta con una bibliografía sumamente amplia y rica. Mucho menores, por el contrario, son los aportes referidos a estudios de género sobre el tema. Y menores aún aquellos circunscritos específicamente a la inmigración femenina regional. Desde esta perspectiva nace una asociación de género que otorga presencia a las mujeres piemontesas de la Argentina.Italian immigration in America, and particularly in Argentina, produced an extremely wide and rich literature. However, there are really less contributions related to gender studies in the subject. And even under those circumscribed regional women's immigration. From this perspective a gender association was born to give presence to the piedmont women in Argentina

Green Hypocrisy?: Environmental Attitudes and Residential Space Heating Expenditure

In the UK, the largest proportion of household energy use is for space heating. Popular media make claims of a green hypocrisy: groups which have the strongest attitude towards the environment have the highest emissions. This study examines whether environmental attitudes and behaviours are associated with space heating energy use using data from the British Household Panel Survey. Results find that environmentally friendly attitudes generally do not lead to lower heating expenditures though environmentally friendly behaviours are associated with lower heating expenditure. Also, the effect of these attitudes and behaviours do not change as income increase

Reading the mind in the touch: Neurophysiological specificity in the communication of emotions by touch

Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.Touch is central to interpersonal interactions. Touch conveys specific emotions about the touch provider, but it is not clear whether this is a purely socially learned function or whether it has neurophysiological specificity. In two experiments with healthy participants (N = 76 and 61) and one neuropsychological single case study, we investigated whether a type of touch characterised by peripheral and central neurophysiological specificity, namely the C tactile (CT) system, can communicate specific emotions and mental states. We examined the specificity of emotions elicited by touch delivered at CT-optimal (3 cm/s) and CT-suboptimal (18 cm/s) velocities (Experiment 1) at different body sites which contain (forearm) vs. do not contain (palm of the hand) CT fibres (Experiment 2). Blindfolded participants were touched without any contextual cues, and were asked to identify the touch provider's emotion and intention. Overall, CT-optimal touch (slow, gentle touch on the forearm) was significantly more likely than other types of touch to convey arousal, lust or desire. Affiliative emotions such as love and related intentions such as social support were instead reliably elicited by gentle touch, irrespective of CT-optimality, suggesting that other top-down factors contribute to these aspects of tactile social communication. To explore the neural basis of this communication, we also tested this paradigm in a stroke patient with right perisylvian damage, including the posterior insular cortex, which is considered as the primary cortical target of CT afferents, but excluding temporal cortex involvement that has been linked to more affiliative aspects of CT-optimal touch. His performance suggested an impairment in ‘reading’ emotions based on CT-optimal touch. Taken together, our results suggest that the CT system can add specificity to emotional and social communication, particularly with regards to feelings of desire and arousal. On the basis of these findings, we speculate that its primary functional role may be to enhance the ‘sensual salience’ of tactile interactions.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Programa de rehabilitación neurocognitiva para pacientes con trastorno mental grave

Introducción: El deterioro cognitivo es un síntoma central en trastornos mentales graves como la esquizofrenia y el trastorno bipolar, con un impacto negativo en el funcionamiento psicosocial. En la literatura científica reciente se destaca la importancia de encontrar un método no farmacológico que mejore estas funciones. El objetivo del presente estudio es dar un primer apoyo empírico a la eficacia del programa de rehabilitación cognitiva, «Pon en forma tus neuronas», desarrollado para tratar las alteraciones cognitivas en pacientes con trastorno mental grave. Método: La muestra está formada por 6 hombres y 2 mujeres, con una edad media de 35,9 años (dt = 8,47). Los diagnósticos son de esquizofrenia en 6 casos, 1 síndrome de Asperger y otro trastorno esquizoafectivo. Se administró una batería de pruebas neuropsicológicas antes y después del tratamiento neurocognitivo. Se calcularon correlaciones, pruebas T y las des de Cohen entre las puntuaciones obtenidas en las pruebas antes y después del tratamiento. Resultados: Los resultados mostraron correlaciones significativas y en la dirección esperada entre la evaluación pre- y el postratamiento en avlt, Figura de Rey, y Clave de números y Dígitos del wais-iii. Además, encontramos tamaños del efecto moderados para el avlt a largo plazo (0,73) y tamaños del efecto elevados en Figuras Incompletas del wais (0,92). Conclusiones: Aunque se trata de un estudio piloto con una muestra muy pequeña, los resultados indican que el tratamiento neurocognitivo mejora las funciones de percepción y memoria (de trabajo, visual y verbal) en personas con trastorno mental grave.Introduction: Cognitive impairment is a core symptom in severe mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, with a significant impact on psychosocial function. Recent scientific literature on this topic points out the importance of discovering a nonpharmacological treatment to improve these functions. The objective of the present study is to bring empirical evidence on the efficacy of a cognitive remediation program, «Pon en forma tus neuronas», developed to treat cognitive impairment in patients suffering from a severe mental disorder. Method: The sample was formed by six men and two women with a median age of 35,9 years old (SD= 8,47). Six of them suffer from Schizophrenia, whereas one suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and another one from Schizoaffective Disorder. They were administered various neuropsychological tests pre» and post» treatment. The difference between the baseline and post treatment measures was evaluated by correlation analysis and Cohen’s «ds». Results: Baseline and post-treatment results correlated significantly in the expected direction in avlt, Rey Figure Test, Numbers key and wais-iii Numbers. Moreover, moderate effect size was found for long term avlt (0.73) and for «Incomplete figures» (0.92). Conclusion: Although we stay in front of a pilot study, with a diminished sample, the results seem to indicate that neurocognitive treatment improves cognitive functions like perception, working, visual and verbal memory in patients with severe mental disorders

Role of continuum in nuclear direct reactions with one-neutron halo nuclei: a one-dimensional model

We study the evolution of a single-particle wave function during the collision of a one dimensional potential well by another well, which can be regarded as a simple model for the problem of the scattering of a one-neutron halo nucleus by another nucleus. This constitutes an effective three-body problem, whose solution in three dimensions can be extremely complicated, particularly when breakup and rearrangement channels are to be considered. Our one-dimensional model provides the essential three-body nature of this problem, and allows for a much simpler application and assessment of different methods of solution. To simplify further the problem, we assume that the potential well representing the projectile moves according to a predetermined classical trajectory, although the internal motion of the "valence" particle is treated fully quantum-mechanically. This corresponds to a semiclassical approach of the scattering problem. Different approaches are investigated to understand the dynamics involving one-body halo-like systems: the "exact" time-dependent solution of the Schr\"odinger equation is compared to a numerical continuum-discretized coupled-channels (CC) calculation presenting various model cases including different reaction channels. This framework allows us to discuss the reaction mechanism and the role of continuum, whose inclusion in the CC calculation results to be crucial to reproduce the "exact" solution, even when the initial and final states are well bound. We also link each dynamical situation with analogous problem solved in a three dimensional (3D) CC framework, discussing the main challenges experienced in the usual 3D models

Students’ Experiences Conducting Telehealth Counseling During a Pandemic

In this article, the results of an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis qualitative research study are presented. This study explored the experiences of counselors-in-training learning how to conduct telehealth counseling during their practicum experience. Telehealth counseling was implemented for training due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Results highlighted the five superordinate themes of participants: (1) importance of relationships, (2) emotional awareness; (3) counselor development; (4) belief in counseling; and (5) skill acquisition. Participant quotes are included to convey the essence of their experiences. Following the presentation of results, a discussion with implications and the need for future research is presented

Direct reactions of weakly-bound nuclei within a one dimensional model

TNPI2016 : XV Conference on Theoretical Nuclear Physics in ItalyA line of research has been developed to describe structure and dynamics of weakly-bound systems with one or more valence particles. To simplify the problem we are assuming particles moving in one dimension and, despite the drastic assumption, the model encompasses many characteristics observed in experiments. Within this model we can describe, for example, one- and two-particle breakup and one- and two-particle transfer processes. We concentrate here in models involving weakly-bound nuclei with just one valence particle. Exact solutions obtained by directly solving the time-dependent Schroedinger equation can be compared with the results obtained with different approximation schemes (coupled-channels formalism, continuum discretization, etc). Our goal is to investigate the limitations of the models based on approximations, and in particular to understand the role of continuum in the reaction mechanism

Role of continuum in nuclear direct reactions with one-neutron halo nuclei: A one-dimensional model

Background: The problem of the scattering of a one-neutron halo nucleus by another nucleus might involve an extremely complicated solution, particularly when breakup and rearrangement channels are to be considered. Purpose: We construct a simple model to study the evolution of a single-particle wave function during the collision of a one-dimensional potential well by another well. Method: Our one-dimensional model provides the essential three-body nature of this problem, and allows for a much simpler application and assessment of different methods of solution. To simplify further the problem, we assume that the potential well representing the projectile moves according to a predetermined classical trajectory, although the internal motion of the “valence” particle is treated fully quantum mechanically. This corresponds to a semiclassical approach of the scattering problem, applicable in the case of heavy projectile and target. Different approaches are investigated to understand the dynamics involving one-body halo-like systems: the “exact” time-dependent solution of the Schrödinger equation is compared to a numerical continuum-discretized coupled-channels (CC) calculation presenting various model cases including different reaction channels. Results: This framework allows us to discuss the reaction mechanism and the role of the continuum, the inclusion of which in the CC calculation results to be crucial to reproduce the exact solution, even when the initial and final states are well bound. Conclusions: The dynamical situations under study can be linked to analogous problems solved in a threedimensional (3D) CC framework, so the present model provides a simple tool to understand the main challenges experienced in the usual 3D models with the treatment of the continuumUnited Kingdom Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ST/L005743/1

Hacia un estudio comparativo de pliegos poéticos en castellano y en catalán (s. XVI):: tradiciones materiales, temáticas e iconográficas (con un Apéndice sobre las figurillas celestinescas)

This work presents a comparative study of 16th century poetical chapbooks in Castilian Spanish and Catalan for the first time, which sets out to contribute to the outline of a more reliable cartography of the printed popular literature in the Iberian Peninsula at the dawn of the Early Modernity. The analysis covers three fundamental aspects: material, iconographic and thematic traditions, along with their associated social uses. The extensive methodological approach adopted in this analysis lays the foundations for future thorough studies. The Appendix Iconography depicts the visual tradition, variations of the «celestinesca» factótum woodcuts and their type-roles, as well as other generic codification images. Keywords: Poetical chapbooks, Castilian, Catalan, Comparative study, 16th centuryEste trabajo plantea por primera vez un estudio comparativo de pliegos poéticos en castellano y en catalán del s. XVI, con el que se pretende contribuir al trazado de una cartografía más fiable  de la literatura popular impresa en la Península Ibérica en los albores de la Edad Moderna. El análisis desarrollado abarca tres vertientes fundamentales: tradiciones materiales, iconográficas y temáticas, sin perder de vista usos sociales asociados. Se adopta un enfoque metodológico de carácter extensivo que sienta las bases de ulteriores estudios pormenorizados. El Apéndice iconográfico recoge la tradición visual y variaciones de las figurillas celestinescas y sus personajes-tipo, así como otras imágenes de codificación genérica.  Palabras-clave: Pliegos poéticos, Castellano, Catalán, Estudio comparativo, Siglo XV