Large deviations for a damped telegraph process

In this paper we consider a slight generalization of the damped telegraph process in Di Crescenzo and Martinucci (2010). We prove a large deviation principle for this process and an asymptotic result for its level crossing probabilities (as the level goes to infinity). Finally we compare our results with the analogous well-known results for the standard telegraph process

Treatment Considerations for Mandibulectomy Patients

Prosthetic rehabilitation of patients after resection of the mandible due to operation of malignant tumors usually poses a great problem. Loss of tissues and damage caused by radiotherapy cause various functional deficiencies and dysfunction in the stomatognathic system. The study concerned treatment of a group of mandibulectomy patients with problems related mainly to restoration of jaw relationship, lack of occlusion and dysfunctions. In the escamined cases immediate or delayed reconstructive surgery had been completed before prosthetics to treat mandibular discontinuity defects. Unfortunately, many of the patients exibit lack of occlusion, mandibular deviations and torque due to incorrect muscle activity. Prosthetic management was part of a multidisciplinary approach to the problem. Treatment included myotherapy, gradual occlusal rearrangement with the use of therapeutic and corrective splints, special appliances and prostheses with leading inclined planes and guiding surfaces. The degree of success was related to the location and extent of the mandibular resection, the shape of the bone transplants and presence or absence of natural teeth. The aims of treatment realised were the restoration of acceptable occlusion and improved functional efficiency of the masticatory system

Endocrine therapy in epithelial ovarian cancer

INTRODUCTION: The estrogen receptor (ER) is expressed at high levels in many epithelial ovarian cancers (EOC) and represents a potential target for endocrine therapy. Both anti-estrogens and aromatase inhibitors have been evaluated in phase II clinical trials. Areas covered: We present an overview of the phase II and phase III trials of anti-estrogens (tamoxifen and fulvestrant) and aromatase inhibitors (letrozole, anastrazole and exemestane) undertaken in epithelial ovarian cancer identified through a Pubmed search. We describe predictive biomarkers that are being investigated to identify responsive cancers. Expert commentary: The efficacy of endocrine therapy in epithelial ovarian cancer is likely to be confined to histological subtypes with the highest ER expression while low grade serous ovarian cancer appears to be one subgroup with good sensitivity to these agents. The low toxicity profile of these agents is favourable although their use is unlicensed and the optimal setting undefined. Prospective clinical trials of endocrine agents in the early relapse and maintenance settings are urgently required to establish their definitive role in the management of epithelial ovarian cancer

Modeling the Risk Process in the XploRe Computing Environment

A user friendly approach to modeling the risk process is presented. It utilizes the insurance library of the XploRe computing environment which is accompanied by on-line, hyperlinked and freely downloadable from the web manuals and e-books. The empirical analysis for Danish fire losses for the years 1980-90 is conducted and the best fitting of the risk process to the data is illustrated

Exact asymptotics of component-wise extrema of two-dimensional Brownian motion

We derive the exact asymptotics of ${\mathbb {P} \left \{ \underset {t\ge 0}{\sup } \left (X_{1}(t) - \mu _{1} t\right )> u, \ \underset {s\ge 0}{\sup } \left (X_{2}(s) - \mu _{2} s\right )> u \right \} },\ \ u\to \infty ,$ where (X1(t), X2(s))t, s≥ 0 is a correlated two-dimensional Brownian motion with correlation ρ ∈ [− 1,1] and μ1, μ2 > 0. It appears that the play between ρ and μ1, μ2 leads to several types of asymptotics. Although the exponent in the asymptotics as a function of ρ is continuous, one can observe different types of prefactor functions depending on the range of ρ, which constitute a phase-type transition phenomena

Quadratic Models for Portfolio Credit Risk with Shot-Noise Effects

We propose a reduced form model for default that allows us to derive closed-form solutions to all the key ingredients in credit risk modeling: risk-free bond prices, defaultable bond prices (with and without stochastic recovery) and probabilities of survival. We show that all these quantities can be represented in general exponential quadratic forms, despite the fact that the intensity is allowed to jump producing shot-noise effects. In addition, we show how to price defaultable digital puts, CDSs and options on defaultable bonds. Further on, we study a model for portfolio credit risk where we consider both firm specific and systematic risks. The model generalizes the attempt from Duffie and Garleanu (2001). We find that the model produces realistic default correlation and clustering of defaults. Then, we show how to price first-to-default swaps, CDOs, and draw the link to currently proposed credit indices