A comparative analysis of decision trees vis-a-vis other computational data mining techniques in automotive insurance fraud detection

The development and application of computational data mining techniques in financial fraud detection and business failure prediction has become a popular cross-disciplinary research area in recent times involving financial economists, forensic accountants and computational modellers. Some of the computational techniques popularly used in the context of - financial fraud detection and business failure prediction can also be effectively applied in the detection of fraudulent insurance claims and therefore, can be of immense practical value to the insurance industry. We provide a comparative analysis of prediction performance of a battery of data mining techniques using real-life automotive insurance fraud data. While the data we have used in our paper is US-based, the computational techniques we have tested can be adapted and generally applied to detect similar insurance frauds in other countries as well where an organized automotive insurance industry exists

Merging Nitrogen Management and Renewable Energy Needs

The ARBRE (ARable Biomass Renewable Energy) project, the first large-scale wood-fueled electricity generating plant in the U.K., represents a significant development in realising British and European policy objectives on renewable energy. The plant is fueled by a mix of wood from short rotation coppice (SRC) and forest residues. Where feasible, composted/conditioned sewage sludge is applied to coppice sites to increase yields and improve soil structure. In the Yorkshire Water region, typical total N:P:K composition of composted/conditioned sludge is 2.9:3.8:0.3, respectively. Sludge application is calculated on the basis of total nitrogen (N) content to achieve 750 kg N ha-1, for 3 years’ requirement. Willow coppice forms a dense, widely spaced, root network, which, with its long growing season, makes it an effective user of nutrients. This, in combination with willow’s use as a nonfood, nonfodder crop, makes it an attractive route for the recycling of sewage sludge in the absence of sea disposal, banned under the EC Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). Further work is required on the nutritional requirements of SRC in order to understand better the quantities of sludge that can be applied to SRC without having a detrimental impact on the environment. This paper suggests the source of N rerouting under the UWWTD and suggests the likely expansion of SRC as an alternative recycling pathway

Disability Dimensions: Course, Risk and Mortality Salience Predict Workplace Bias

The current study explored the course, risk and mortality salience of a specific disability (N=242). Four job candidates were presented with varying forms of that disability; yet the results indicated ratings of work-related variables changed depending upon perceived dimensions (course and risk) of the candidates’ disability. Furthermore, findings demonstrated a difference in perceived trainability and absenteeism when mortality was made salient. Implications reveal the potential importance of using a dimensional approach to studying individuals with a disability and relevant consequences for organizations when the course, risk or mortality of the disability is made salient

Constraining causes of fish mass mortality using ultra-high-resolution biomarker measurement

Peer reviewedPostprin

Finding Success in Failure: Using Latent Profile Analysis to Examine Heterogeneity in Psychosocial Functioning Among Heavy Drinkers Following Treatment

Aims- To estimate differences in post-treatment psychosocial functioning among treatment failures\u27 (i.e. heavy drinkers, defined as 4+/5+ drinks for women/men) from two large multi-site clinical trials and to compare these levels of functioning to those of the purported treatment successes\u27 (i.e. non-heavy drinkers). Design- Separate latent profile analyses of data from two of the largest alcohol clinical trials conducted in the United States, COMBINE (Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Interventions) and Project MATCH (Matching Alcoholism Treatments to Client Heterogeneity), comparing psychosocial outcomes across derived classes of heterogeneous treatment responders. Setting- Eleven US academic sites in COMBINE, 27US treatment sites local to nine research sites in Project MATCH. ParticipantsA total of 962 individuals in COMBINE (69% male, 77% white, mean age: 44years) treated January 2001 to January 2004 and 1528 individuals in Project MATCH (75% male, 80% white, mean age: 40years) treated April 1991 to September 1994. MeasurementsIn COMBINE, we analyzed health, quality of life, mental health symptoms and alcohol consequences 12 months post-baseline. In Project MATCH, we examined social functioning, mental health symptoms and alcohol consequences 15 months post-baseline. Findings- Latent profile analysis of measures of functioning in both samples supported a three-profile solution for the group of treatment failures\u27, characterized by high-, average- and low-functioning individuals. The high-functioning treatment failures\u27 generally performed better across measures of psychosocial functioning at follow-up than participants designated treatment successes\u27 by virtue of being abstainers or light drinkers. Conclusions- Current United States Food and Drug Administration guidance to use heavy drinking as indicative of treatment failure\u27 fails to take into account substantial psychosocial improvements made by individuals who continue occasionally to drink heavily post-treatment

Scaling law for the transient behavior of type-II neuron models

We study the transient regime of type-II biophysical neuron models and determine the scaling behavior of relaxation times $\tau$ near but below the repetitive firing critical current, $\tau \simeq C (I_c-I)^{-\Delta}$. For both the Hodgkin-Huxley and Morris-Lecar models we find that the critical exponent is independent of the numerical integration time step and that both systems belong to the same universality class, with $\Delta = 1/2$. For appropriately chosen parameters, the FitzHugh-Nagumo model presents the same generic transient behavior, but the critical region is significantly smaller. We propose an experiment that may reveal nontrivial critical exponents in the squid axon.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Tribological properties of duplex plasma oxidised, nitrided and PVD coated Ti-6Al-4V

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the UK Technology Strategy Board under Technology Programme project TP/22076, for underpinning research carried out at Sheffield University, on which the work presented in this paper was partially based.Sequential triode plasma oxidation and nitriding have been used to provide enhanced load support for physical vapour deposited (PVD) hard coatings. The diffusion process has been designed to maximise process efficiency and coating adhesion, thereby significantly improving the tribological properties of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy — particularly at high contact pressures. This has been demonstrated using unlubricated linear reciprocating-sliding ball-on-plate wear tests and micro-scratch adhesion testing. Also, surface micro- profilometry, nano/micro-indentation hardness testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy- dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) data are presented to corroborate the effect of the several plasma diffusion processes and duplex diffusion/coating combinations discussed here. The results presented show that the novel processing technique developed permits the use of oxygen diffusion in order to obtain relatively large case depths in shorter treatment times without compromising the adhesion strength of subsequently deposited PVD layers.peer-reviewe

An investigation into the effect of Triode Plasma Oxidation (TPO) on the tribological properties of Ti6Al4V

The authors gratefully acknowledge the UK Technology Strategy Board for financial support under the collaborative project LIB-TEC, project No TP 22076.Improving the tribological properties of titanium alloys has been the subject of extensive research for many years. A number of thermochemical processes have been developed for that purpose. In this study, surface hardening of Ti6Al4V is achieved by Triode Plasma Oxidation (TPO) which differs from conventional diode plasma treatments through the use of a third electrode; a negatively biased tungsten filament to enhance the ionisation levels in the plasma. The resultant surface generally consists of a top oxide layer with an oxy- gen diffusion zone lying immediately underneath it. The effects of process parameters such as substrate tem- perature, current density and oxygen partial pressure have been investigated. Surface hardness measurements at various indentation loads were carried out to assess the changes in hardness with depth across the diffusion layer. The hardness profiles obtained confirmed the gradual decrease in hardness with treatment depth and provided an indication of the thickness of the hardened layer produced. Ball-on-plate reciprocating sliding wear data and glancing angle XRD analyses of the oxidised samples are also presented. The results indicate that a harder and deeper case is achieved at both high substrate temperature and high oxygen partial pressure. Furthermore, XRD data show that the substrate temperature strongly affects the structure of the oxide layer produced. All TPO-treated samples exhibit significantly better wear performance compared to the untreated material.peer-reviewe

Atmospheric consequences of cosmic ray variability in the extragalactic shock model: 2. Revised ionization levels and their consequences

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.It has been suggested that galactic shock asymmetry induced by our galaxy's infall toward the Virgo Cluster may be a source of periodicity in cosmic ray exposure as the solar system oscillates perpendicular to the galactic plane, thereby, inducing an observed terrestrial periodicity in biodiversity. There are a number of plausible mechanisms by which cosmic rays might affect terrestrial biodiversity. Here we investigate one of these mechanisms, the consequent ionization and dissociation in the atmosphere, resulting in changes in atmospheric chemistry that culminate in the depletion of ozone and a resulting increase in the dangerous solar UVB flux on the ground. We use a heuristic model of the cosmic ray intensity enhancement originally suggested by Medvedev and Melott (2007) to compute steady state atmospheric effects. This paper is a reexamination of an issue we have studied before with a simplified approximation for the distribution of incidence angles. The new results are based on an improved ionization background computation averaged over a massive ensemble (about 7 × 10^(5)) shower simulations at various energies and incidence angles. We adopt a range with a minimal model and a fit to full exposure to the postulated extragalactic background. The atmospheric effects are greater than they were with our earlier, simplified ionization model. At the lower end of the intensity range, we find that the effects are too small to be of serious consequence. At the upper end of this range, ∼6% global average loss of ozone column density exceeds that currently experienced due to anthropogenic effects such as accumulated chlorofluorocarbons. We discuss some of the possible effects. The intensity of the atmospheric effects is less than those of a nearby supernova or galactic γ ray burst, but the duration of the effects would be about 106 times longer. Present UVB enhancement from current ozone depletion ∼3% is a documented stress on the biosphere, but a depletion of the magnitude found at the upper end of our range would approximately double the global average UVB flux. We conclude that for estimates at the upper end of the reasonable range of the cosmic ray variability over geologic time, the mechanism of atmospheric ozone depletion may provide a major biological stress, which could easily bring about major loss of biodiversity. It is possible that future high-energy astrophysical observations will resolve the question of whether such depletion is likely

Effect of Oral Iron Repletion on Exercise Capacity in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction and Iron Deficiency: The IRONOUT HF Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Iron deficiency is present in approximately 50% of patients with heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFrEF) and is an independent predictor of reduced functional capacity and mortality. However, the efficacy of inexpensive readily available oral iron supplementation in heart failure is unknown. Objective: To test whether therapy with oral iron improves peak exercise capacity in patients with HFrEF and iron deficiency. Design, Setting, and Participants: Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of patients with HFrEF ( Interventions: Oral iron polysaccharide (n = 111) or placebo (n = 114), 150 mg twice daily for 16 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was a change in peak oxygen uptake (V̇o2) from baseline to 16 weeks. Secondary end points were change in 6-minute walk distance, plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels, and health status as assessed by Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ, range 0-100, higher scores reflect better quality of life). Results: Among 225 randomized participants (median age, 63 years; 36% women) 203 completed the study. The median baseline peak V̇o2 was 1196 mL/min (interquartile range [IQR], 887-1448 mL/min) in the oral iron group and 1167 mL/min (IQR, 887-1449 mL/min) in the placebo group. The primary end point, change in peak V̇o2 at 16 weeks, did not significantly differ between the oral iron and placebo groups (+23 mL/min vs -2 mL/min; difference, 21 mL/min [95% CI, -34 to +76 mL/min]; P = .46). Similarly, at 16 weeks, there were no significant differences between treatment groups in changes in 6-minute walk distance (-13 m; 95% CI, -32 to 6 m), NT-proBNP levels (159; 95% CI, -280 to 599 pg/mL), or KCCQ score (1; 95% CI, -2.4 to 4.4), all P \u3e .05. Conclusions and Relevance: Among participants with HFrEF with iron deficiency, high-dose oral iron did not improve exercise capacity over 16 weeks. These results do not support use of oral iron supplementation in patients with HFrEF. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02188784