Can Twitter sentiment predict stock market behaviour?

There are some positive indications, but this relationship is neither linear nor simple, writes Francesco Corea

Postgraduate medical training and migration in Europe: a survey of financial and labour conditions

Background and introduction: Resident medical training following medical school is a period of great importance in the instruction and education of young physicians, but also the first step into the labour market for doctors. Unfortunately, the long educational curricula as well as the low economic remuneration render medical training attractive only in some European countries: often low salaries accompany endless weekly working hours with a wide range of differences among the European countries. The aim of this study was to analyse the different economic conditions for resident trainees by reporting the different salaries and the weekly burden of working hours, and also comparing the different costs of living in eight European countries and in Israel. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was sent to resident medical doctors working in large university hospitals in eight European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the UK) and Israel, and data on the monthly salary, number of weekly working hours and general satisfaction were collected. Purchase power parity (PPP) in US dollar (USD) adjustment was calculated according to the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tables. Results: Among the different countries, working hours per week ranged from 37 to 56. The net pay report had a median value of 2,000€ per month. The net monthly wage ranged between 1,000 and 3,000€. Power purchase parity in USD-corrected salaries varied from 1,388.80 (Greece) to 5,788.30 (UK), mean 2,562.30. Conclusions: Taking into account PPP-adjusted wages, France, Greece and Italy are below the median continental values. The trend of migration of medical trainees to countries where the economic situation is more favourable seems reasonable. Because of both the high salary and the language, the UK represents the most attractive training destination

Stock jumps: Analyzing traditional and behavioral perspectives

Our aim is to define the concept of stock jumps from a practitioner's perspective and to give an insightful overview of the topic. We provide different technical and practical definitions from distinct points of view: mathematical, risk managerial, trading and investing. We verify the robustness of some common stylised facts for three major stock indices, and we derive an approximated jumps distribution. We finally provide some innovative insights from a behavioral perspective, and how to account for behavioral biases in this context

Microbial Risk Factors of Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases: Potential Therapeutical Options

Infection and inflammation may have a crucial role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This hypothesis is supported by an increasing number of reports on the interaction between chronic infection, inflammation, and atherogenesis. Assessment of serological and inflammatory markers of infection may be useful adjuncts in identifying those patients who are at a higher risk of developing vascular events, and in whom more aggressive treatments might be warranted

AI: profili etici. Una prospettiva etica sull'Intelligenza Artificiale: princ\uecpi, diritti e raccomandazioni

As technologies become more and more pervasive in our everyday life new questions arise, for example, about security, accountability, fairness and ethics. These concerns are about all the realities that are involved or committed in designing, implementing, deploying and using the technology. This document addresses such concerns by presenting a set of practical obligations and recommendations for the development of applications and systems based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques. These are derived from a definition of rights resulting from principles and ethical values rooted in the foundational charters of our social organization

Sex-related differences in risk factors, type of treatment received and outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation and acute stroke: Results from the RAF-study (Early Recurrence and Cerebral Bleeding in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation)

Introduction: Atrial fibrillation is an independent risk factor of thromboembolism. Women with atrial fibrillation are at a higher overall risk for stroke compared to men with atrial fibrillation. The aim of this study was to evaluate for sex differences in patients with acute stroke and atrial fibrillation, regarding risk factors, treatments received and outcomes. Methods Data were analyzed from the “Recurrence and Cerebral Bleeding in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke and Atrial Fibrillation” (RAF-study), a prospective, multicenter, international study including only patients with acute stroke and atrial fibrillation. Patients were followed up for 90 days. Disability was measured by the modified Rankin Scale (0–2 favorable outcome, 3–6 unfavorable outcome). Results: Of the 1029 patients enrolled, 561 were women (54.5%) (p < 0.001) and younger (p < 0.001) compared to men. In patients with known atrial fibrillation, women were less likely to receive oral anticoagulants before index stroke (p = 0.026) and were less likely to receive anticoagulants after stroke (71.3% versus 78.4%, p = 0.01). There was no observed sex difference regarding the time of starting anticoagulant therapy between the two groups (6.4 ± 11.7 days for men versus 6.5 ± 12.4 days for women, p = 0.902). Men presented with more severe strokes at onset (mean NIHSS 9.2 ± 6.9 versus 8.1 ± 7.5, p < 0.001). Within 90 days, 46 (8.2%) recurrent ischemic events (stroke/TIA/systemic embolism) and 19 (3.4%) symptomatic cerebral bleedings were found in women compared to 30 (6.4%) and 18 (3.8%) in men (p = 0.28 and p = 0.74). At 90 days, 57.7% of women were disabled or deceased, compared to 41.1% of the men (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis did not confirm this significance. Conclusions: Women with atrial fibrillation were less likely to receive oral anticoagulants prior to and after stroke compared to men with atrial fibrillation, and when stroke occurred, regardless of the fact that in our study women were younger and with less severe stroke, outcomes did not differ between the sexes

Prediction of early recurrent thromboembolic event and major bleeding in patients with acute stroke and atrial fibrillation by a risk stratification schema: the ALESSA score study

Background and Purposes—This study was designed to derive and validate a score to predict early ischemic events and major bleedings after an acute ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Methods—The derivation cohort consisted of 854 patients with acute ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation included in prospective series between January 2012 and March 2014. Older age (hazard ratio 1.06 for each additional year; 95% confidence interval, 1.00–1.11) and severe atrial enlargement (hazard ratio, 2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–2.87) were predictors for ischemic outcome events (stroke, transient ischemic attack, and systemic embolism) at 90 days from acute stroke. Small lesions (≤1.5 cm) were inversely correlated with both major bleeding (hazard ratio, 0.39; P=0.03) and ischemic outcome events (hazard ratio, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.30–1.00). We assigned to age ≥80 years 2 points and between 70 and 79 years 1 point; ischemic index lesion >1.5 cm, 1 point; severe atrial enlargement, 1 point (ALESSA score). A logistic regression with the receiver-operating characteristic graph procedure (C statistic) showed an area under the curve of 0.697 (0.632–0.763; P=0.0001) for ischemic outcome events and 0.585 (0.493–0.678; P=0.10) for major bleedings. Results—The validation cohort consisted of 994 patients included in prospective series between April 2014 and June 2016. Logistic regression with the receiver-operating characteristic graph procedure showed an area under the curve of 0.646 (0.529–0.763; P=0.009) for ischemic outcome events and 0.407 (0.275–0.540; P=0.14) for hemorrhagic outcome events. Conclusions—In acute stroke patients with atrial fibrillation, high ALESSA scores were associated with a high risk of ischemic events but not of major bleedings