A VECM Model of Stockmarket Returns

Observations of security prices and other financial time series usually include not only the close (C), but also an open, a high and a low (O,H,L) price for a specified interval. The multivariate vector of values (H,L,O,C) is obviously more informative than just the open or close (O, C) for modelling volatilities and volatility predictions. In this paper we capture the return generation process of security prices by using all the quoted prices (H, L, O, C) via a vector error correction (VECM) model. The results of the empirical models using daily DJI index data for a 11 year period (1990-2000) indicate some interesting stylised facts regarding the market returns. We show, via the return generation process (RGP) proposed, that the "cointegrating returns" exhibit significant explanatory power. Some insights are also provided as to why logarithmic returns tend to be non-normally distrbutedCointegration (CI); VECM; VAR; return generation process (RGP).

Nurses? attitude and practice in providing tobacco cessation care to patients

Introduction. Patients respond very positively with nurses when they talk to them about their health related problems. Methods. This cross sectional study was carried out among nurses working in Gulf Medical College hospital and Research centre, Ajman, UAE to assess the their attitude in providing tobacco cessation counselling or advise to their patients and potential barriers they face in providing tobacco cessation care. 108 nurses participated in the study. Results. Among the nurses 87% were females, the majority were aged between 25 and 34 years, and 46.3% had a work experience of less than 5 years. Among the nurses who participated in the survey, 99.1% felt that the hospital stay was a suitable time for nurses to create awareness on tobacco and health to the patients and had a positive attitude towards creating awareness on tobacco and health to the patients. Only 0.9% had a negative attitude towards creating awareness on tobacco and health and they felt that patients might not listen to them. All nurses, irrespective of their socio-demographic characteristics had a positive attitude to motivating patients to quit tobacco use. Currently, 70.4% regularly advise their patients to avoid tobacco products. Potential barriers pointed out by nurses were: lack of time (6.3%) patients may not appreciate it (90.6%) and not part of their job (3.1%). Conclusion. The study concludes that nurses have a positive attitude in providing tobacco cessation care to their patients and they can utilize their unique knowledge and know-how to promote tobacco cessation and prevent the spread of this public health crisis. Providing advice and support for tobacco cessation by nurses would increase the chance of patients stopping tobacco use. This will create an enabling environment and greater potential for public health persons to fight the epidemic with greater vigour

Black carbon physical and optical properties across northern India during pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons

Black carbon (BC) is known to have major impacts on both climate and human health and is therefore of global importance, particularly in regions close to large populations that have strong sources. The size-resolved mixing state of BC-containing particles was characterised using a single-particle soot photometer (SP2). The study focusses on the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons. Data presented are from the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements BAe-146 research aircraft that performed flights during the pre-monsoon (11 and 12 June) and monsoon (30 June to 11 July) seasons of 2016. Over the IGP, BC mass concentrations were greater (1.95 µg m−3) compared to north-west India (1.50 µg m−3) and north-east India (0.70 µg m−3) during the pre-monsoon season. Across northern India, two distinct BC modes were recorded; a mode of small BC particles (core diameter <0.16 µm and coating thickness <50 nm) and a mode of moderately coated BC (core diameter <0.22 µm and coating thickness of 50–200 nm). The IGP and north-east India locations exhibited moderately coated black carbon particles with enhanced coating thicknesses, core sizes, mass absorption cross sections, and scattering enhancement values compared to much lower values present in the north-west. The coating thickness and mass absorption cross section increased with altitude (13 %) compared to those in the boundary layer. As the monsoon arrived across the region, mass concentration of BC decreased over the central IGP and north-east locations (38 % and 28 % respectively), whereas for the north-west location BC properties remained relatively consistent. Post-monsoon onset, the coating thickness, core size, mass absorption cross section, and scattering enhancement values were all greatest over the central IGP much like the pre-monsoon season but were considerably reduced over both north-east and north-west India. Increases in mass absorption cross section through the atmospheric column were still present during the monsoon for the north-west and central IGP locations, but less so over the north-east due to lack of long-range transport aerosol aloft. Across the Indo-Gangetic Plain and north-east India during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons, solid-fuel (wood burning) emissions form the greatest proportion of BC with moderately coated particles. However, as the monsoon develops in the north-east there was a switch to small uncoated BC particles indicative of traffic emissions, but the solid-fuel emissions remained in the IGP into the monsoon. For both seasons in the north-west, traffic emissions form the greatest proportion of BC particles. Our findings will prove important for greater understanding of the BC physical and optical properties, with important consequences for the atmospheric radiative forcing of BC-containing particles. The findings will also help constrain the regional aerosol models for a variety of applications such as space-based remote sensing, chemistry transport modelling, air quality, and BC source and emission inventories

A RETROSPECTIVE CLINICAL BASED STUDY OF MALARIA IN A UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL

N/

Coexistence of perseveration and apathy in the TDP-43^Q331K knock-in mouse model of ALS–FTD

Perseveration and apathy are two of the most common behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSDs) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis–frontotemporal dementia (ALS–FTD). Availability of a validated and behaviourally characterised animal model is crucial for translational research into BPSD in the FTD context. We behaviourally evaluated the male TDP-43Q331K mouse, an ALS–FTD model with a human-equivalent mutation (TDP-43Q331K) knocked into the endogenous Tardbp gene. We utilised a panel of behavioural tasks delivered using the rodent touchscreen apparatus, including progressive ratio (PR), extinction and visual discrimination/reversal learning (VDR) assays to examine motivation, response inhibition and cognitive flexibility, respectively. Relative to WT littermates, TDP-43Q331K mice exhibited increased responding under a PR schedule. While elevated PR responding is typically an indication of increased motivation for reward, a trial-by-trial response rate analysis revealed that TDP-43Q331K mice exhibited decreased maximal response rate and slower response decay rate, suggestive of reduced motivation and a perseverative behavioural phenotype, respectively. In the extinction assay, TDP-43Q331K mice displayed increased omissions during the early phase of each session, consistent with a deficit in activational motivation. Finally, the VDR task revealed cognitive inflexibility, manifesting as stimulus-bound perseveration. Together, our data indicate that male TDP-43Q331K mice exhibit a perseverative phenotype with some evidence of apathy-like behaviour, similar to BPSDs observed in human ALS–FTD patients. The TDP-43Q331K knock-in mouse therefore has features that recommend it as a useful platform to facilitate translational research into behavioural symptoms in the context of ALS–FTD

Oqtans: a Galaxy-integrated workflow for quantitative transcriptome analysis from NGS Data : From Seventh International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) Student Council Symposium 2011 Vienna, Austria. 15 July 2011

First published by BioMed Central: Schultheiss, Sebastian J.; Jean, Géraldine; Behr, Jonas; Bohnert, Regina; Drewe, Philipp; Görnitz, Nico; Kahles, André; Mudrakarta, Pramod; Sreedharan, Vipin T.; Zeller, Georg; Rätsch, Gunnar: Oqtans: a Galaxy-integrated workflow for quantitative transcriptome analysis from NGS Data - In: BMC Bioinformatics. - ISSN 1471-2105 (online). - 12 (2011), suppl. 11, art. A7. - doi:10.1186/1471-2105-12-S11-A7