Statistical study of passive portfolio management of risky assets

In this paper we consider the problem of creating the optimal investment portfolio. We reveal the concept of the securities portfolio and highlight the most significant parameters of its management.We prove the need of diversification. We implement classical Markowitz portfolio theory. Also we consider the features of passive portfolio management

Bronchoalveolar lavage cytological alveolar damage in patients with severe pneumonia

INTRODUCTION: Histological examination of lung specimens from patients with pneumonia shows the presence of desquamated pneumocytes and erythrophages. We hypothesized that these modifications should also be present in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) from patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study in mechanically ventilated patients with clinical suspicion of pneumonia. Patients were classified as having hospital-acquired pneumonia or not, in accordance with the quantitative microbiological cultures of respiratory tract specimens. A group of severe community-acquired pneumonias requiring mechanical ventilation during the same period was used for comparison. A specimen of BAL (20 ml) was taken for cytological analysis. A semiquantitative analysis of the dominant leukocyte population, the presence of erythrophages/siderophages and desquamated type II pneumocytes was performed. RESULTS: In patients with confirmed hospital-acquired pneumonia, we found that 13 out of 39 patients (33.3%) had erythrophages/siderophages in BAL, 18 (46.2%) had desquamated pneumocytes and 8 (20.5%) fulfilled both criteria. Among the patients with community-acquired pneumonia, 7 out of 15 (46.7%) had erythrophages/siderophages and 6 (40%) had desquamated pneumocytes on BAL cytology. Only four (26.7%) fulfilled both criteria. No patient without hospital-acquired pneumonia had erythrophages/siderophages and only 3 out of 18 (16.7%) had desquamated pneumocytes on BAL cytology. CONCLUSION: Cytological analysis of BAL from patients with pneumonia (either community-acquired or hospital-acquired) shows elements of cytological alveolar damage as hemorrhage and desquamated type II pneumocytes much more frequently than in BAL from patients without pneumonia. These elements had a high specificity for an infectious cause of pulmonary infiltrates but low specificity. These lesions could serve as an adjunct to diagnosis in patients suspected of having ventilator-associated pneumonia

The Hedgehog Receptor Patched Is Involved in Cholesterol Transport

International audienceBACKGROUND: Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling plays a crucial role in growth and patterning during embryonic development, and also in stem cell maintenance and tissue regeneration in adults. Aberrant Shh pathway activation is involved in the development of many tumors, and one of the most affected Shh signaling steps found in these tumors is the regulation of the signaling receptor Smoothened by the Shh receptor Patched. In the present work, we investigated Patched activity and the mechanism by which Patched inhibits Smoothened. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using the well-known Shh-responding cell line of mouse fibroblasts NIH 3T3, we first observed that enhancement of the intracellular cholesterol concentration induces Smoothened enrichment in the plasma membrane, which is a crucial step for the signaling activation. We found that binding of Shh protein to its receptor Patched, which involves Patched internalization, increases the intracellular concentration of cholesterol and decreases the efflux of a fluorescent cholesterol derivative (BODIPY-cholesterol) from these cells. Treatment of fibroblasts with cyclopamine, an antagonist of Shh signaling, inhibits Patched expression and reduces BODIPY-cholesterol efflux, while treatment with the Shh pathway agonist SAG enhances Patched protein expression and BODIPY-cholesterol efflux. We also show that over-expression of human Patched in the yeast S. cerevisiae results in a significant boost of BODIPY-cholesterol efflux. Furthermore, we demonstrate that purified Patched binds to cholesterol, and that the interaction of Shh with Patched inhibits the binding of Patched to cholesterol. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest that Patched may contribute to cholesterol efflux from cells, and to modulation of the intracellular cholesterol concentration. This activity is likely responsible for the inhibition of the enrichment of Smoothened in the plasma membrane, which is an important step in Shh pathway activation

Short and long term retention in antiretroviral care in health facilities in rural Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Despite the successful scale-up of ART services over the past years, long term retention in ART care remains a major challenge, especially in high HIV prevalence and resource-limited settings. This study analysed the short (<12 months) and long (>12 months) term retention on ART in two ART programmes in Malawi (Thyolo district) and Zimbabwe (Buhera district)

Jules Romains' Vision of a United Europe in Interwar France: Legacy and Ambiguities

The interwar period in Europe was characterised by a multi-faceted movement in favour of European integration. After the slaughter of the First World War, many intellectuals, writers, industrialists and politicians brought the idea of European unity to the fore and engaged in various actions, from setting up organisations to lobbying governments, to promote the unification of Europe. Much research has been carried out on the leading figures of these pro-European activities but amongst the wealth of this period other actors have tended to be forgotten. Such is the case with the French writer Jules Romains, who not only coined “Europeanism”, the word that would define the whole movement in favour of Europe, but who also actively participated in promoting a united Europe. This article seeks to introduce and discuss Romains’ ideas on Europe. It will demonstrate that his vision was very coherent within the framework of his Unanimist philosophy but was undermined by serious ambiguities. It will also demonstrate that his ideas are of great interest for what they reveal about the interwar period in France and Europe, what they bring to the genealogy of the European project, as set up after the Second World War, and for the ambiguities at the core of his concept of Europe, which are still very much at the heart of many of today’s debates about the European Union

Sensing mechanism of hydrogen sensors based on palladium-loaded tungsten oxide (Pd–WO3)

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