Optimal management and inflation protection for defined contribution pension plans

Due to the increasing risk of inflation and diminishing pension benefits, insurance companies have started selling in°ation-linked products. Selling such products the insurance company takes over some or all of the inflation risk from their customers. On the other side financial derivatives which are linked to inflation such as inflation linked bonds are traded on financial markets and appear to be of increasing popularity. The insurance company can use these products to hedge its own inflation risk. In this article we study how to optimally manage a pension fund taking positions in a money market account, a stock and an inflation linked bond, while financing investments through a continuous stochastic income stream such as the plan member's contributions. We use the martingale method in order to compute an analytic expression for the optimal strategy and express it in terms of observable market variables.Pension mathematics; in°ation; long-term investment; stochastic optimal control; martingale method

A best practice for gamification in large companies: An extensive study focusing inter-generational acceptance

Gamification is increasingly successful in the field of education and health. However, beyond call-centers and applications in human resources, its utilization within companies remains limited. In this paper, we examine the acceptance of gamification in a large company (with over 17,000 employees) across three generations, namely X, Y, and Z. Furthermore, we investigate which gamification elements are suited for business contexts, such as the dissemination of company principles and facts, or the organization of work tasks. To this end, we conducted focus group discussions, developed the prototype of a gamified company app, and performed a large-scale evaluation with 367 company employees. The results reveal statistically significant intergenerational disparities in the acceptance of gamification: younger employees, especially those belonging to Generation Z, enjoy gamification more than older employees and are most likely to engage with a gamified app in the workplace. The results further show a nuanced range of preferences regarding gamification elements: avatars are popular among all generations, badges are predominantly appreciated by Generations Z and Y, while leaderboards are solely liked by Generation Z. Drawing upon these insights, we provide recommendations for future gamification projects within business contexts. We hope that the results of our study regarding the preferences of the gamification elements and understanding generational differences in acceptance and usage of gamification will help to create more engaging and effective apps, especially within the corporate landscape

Social Robots Acceptance and Marketability in Italy and Germany: A Cross-National Study Focusing on Assisted Living for Older Adults

In the last years, social robots have become a trending topic. Indeed, robots which communicate with us and mimic human behavior patterns are fascinating. However, while there is a massive body of research on their design and acceptance in different fields of application, their market potential has been rarely investigated. As their future integration in society may have a vast disruptive potential, this work aims at shedding light on the market potential, focusing on the assistive health domain. A study with 197 persons from Italy (age: M = 67.87; SD = 8.87) and Germany (age: M = 62.15; SD = 6.14) investigates cultural acceptance, desired functionalities, and purchase preferences. The participants filled in a questionnaire after watching a video illustrating some examples of social robots. Surprisingly, the individual perception of health status, social status as well as nationality did hardly influence the attitude towards social robots, although the German group was somewhat more reluctant to the idea of using them. Instead, there were significant correlations with most dimensions of the Almere model (like perceived enjoyment, sociability, usefulness and trustworthiness). Also, technology acceptance resulted strongly correlated with the individual readiness to invest money. However, as most persons consider social robots as “Assistive Technological Devices” (ATDs), they expected that their provision should mirror the usual practices followed in the two Countries for such devices. Thus, to facilitate social robots’ future visibility and adoption by both individuals and health care organisations, policy makers would need to start integrating them into official ATDs databases

Quinaprilat during cardioplegic arrest in the rabbit to prevent ischemia-reperfusion injury

AbstractObjectives: This study evaluated intracardiac angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition as an adjuvant to cardioplegia and examined its effects on hemodynamic, metabolic, and ultrastructural postischemic outcomes. Methods: The experiments were performed with an isolated, erythrocyte-perfused, rabbit working-heart model. The hearts excised from 29 adult New Zealand White rabbits (2950 ± 200 g) were randomly assigned to four groups. Two groups received quinaprilat (1 μg/mL), initiated either with cardioplegia (n = 7) or during reperfusion (n = 7). The third group received l-arginine (2 mmol/L) initiated with cardioplegia (n = 7). Eight hearts served as a control group. Forty minutes of preischemic perfusion were followed by 60 minutes of hypothermic arrest and 40 minutes of reperfusion. Results: All treatments substantially improved postischemic recovery of external heart work (62% ± 6%, 69% ± 3%, and 64% ± 5% in quinaprilat during cardioplegia, quinaprilat during reperfusion, and l-arginine groups, respectively, vs 35% ± 5% in control group, P <.001) with similarly increased external stroke work and cardiac output. When administered during ischemia, quinaprilat significantly improved recovery of coronary flow (70% ± 8%, P =.028 vs quinaprilat during reperfusion [49% ± 5%] and P =.023 vs control [48% ± 6%]). l-Arginine (55% ± 7%) showed no significant effect. Postischemic myocardial oxygen consumption remained low in treatment groups (4.6 ± 1.2 mL · min−1 · 100 g−1, 6.0 ± 2.2 mL · min−1 · 100 g−1, and 4.7 ± 1.6 mL · min−1 · 100 g−1 in quinaprilat during cardioplegia, quinaprilat during reperfusion, and l-arginine groups, respectively, vs 4.2 ± 0.8 mL · min−1 · 100 g−1 in control group), even though cardiac work was markedly increased. High-energy phosphates, which were consistently elevated in all treatment groups, showed a significant increase in adenosine triphosphate with quinaprilat during ischemia (2.24 ± 0.14 μmol/g vs 1.81 ± 0.12 μmol/g in control group, P =.040). Ultrastructural grading of mitochondrial damage revealed best preservation with quinaprilat during ischemia (100% [no damage], P =.001 vs control). Conclusion: These experimental findings have clinical relevance regarding prevention of postoperative myocardial stunning and low coronary reflow in patients undergoing heart surgery.J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002;124:352-6

State-of-the-Art report of industry requirements

Research report of the ProLearn Network of Excellence (IST 507310), Deliverable 8.7Report based on analyzed and verified requirements in the area of professional training and qualification

Mechanistic and biological characterisation of novel N5-substituted paullones targeting the biosynthesis of trypanothione in Leishmania

Trypanothione synthetase (TryS) produces N1,N8-bis(glutathionyl)spermidine (or trypanothione) at the expense of ATP. Trypanothione is a metabolite unique and essential for survival and drug-resistance of trypanosomatid parasites. In this study, we report the mechanistic and biological characterisation of optimised N5-substituted paullone analogues with anti-TryS activity. Several of the new derivatives retained submicromolar IC50 against leishmanial TryS. The binding mode to TryS of the most potent paullones has been revealed by means of kinetic, biophysical and molecular modelling approaches. A subset of analogues showed an improved potency (EC50 0.5-10 µM) and selectivity (20-35) against the clinically relevant stage of Leishmania braziliensis (mucocutaneous leishmaniasis) and L. infantum (visceral leishmaniasis). For a selected derivative, the mode of action involved intracellular depletion of trypanothione. Our findings shed light on the molecular interaction of TryS with rationally designed inhibitors and disclose a new set of compounds with on-target activity against different Leishmania species

Allergen-induced asthmatic responses modified by a GATA3-specific DNAzyme

BACKGROUND : The most prevalent phenotype of asthma is characterized by eosinophil-dominated inflammation that is driven by a type 2 helper T cell (Th2). Therapeutic targeting of GATA3, an important transcription factor of the Th2 pathway, may be beneficial. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of SB010, a novel DNA enzyme (DNAzyme) that is able to cleave and inactivate GATA3 messenger RNA (mRNA). METHODS : We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial of SB010 involving patients who had allergic asthma with sputum eosinophilia and who also had biphasic early and late asthmatic responses after laboratory-based allergen provocation. A total of 40 patients could be evaluated; 21 were assigned to receive 10 mg of SB010, and 19 were assigned to receive placebo, with each study drug administered by means of inhalation once daily for 28 days. An allergen challenge was performed before and after the 28-day period. The primary end point was the late asthmatic response as quantified by the change in the area under the curve (AUC) for forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). RESULTS : After 28 days, SB010 attenuated the mean late asthmatic response by 34%, as compared with the baseline response, according to the AUC for FEV1, whereas placebo was associated with a 1% increase in the AUC for FEV1 (P = 0.02). The early asthmatic response with SB010 was attenuated by 11% as measured by the AUC for FEV1, whereas the early response with placebo was increased by 10% (P = 0.03). Inhibition of the late asthmatic response by SB010 was associated with attenuation of allergen-induced sputum eosinophilia and with lower levels of tryptase in sputum and lower plasma levels of interleukin-5. Allergen-induced levels of fractional exhaled nitric oxide and airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine were not affected by either SB010 or placebo. CONCLUSIONS : Treatment with SB010 significantly attenuated both late and early asthmatic responses after allergen provocation in patients with allergic asthma. Biomarker analysis showed an attenuation of Th2-regulated inflammatory responses

Peripheral blood biomarkers in multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is the most common autoimmune disorder affecting the central nervous system. The heteroge-neity of pathophysiological processes in MS contributes to the highly variable course of the disease and unpre-dictable response to therapies. The major focus of the research on MS is the identification of biomarkers inbiologicalfluids, such as cerebrospinalfluid or blood, to guide patient management reliably. Because of the diffi-culties in obtaining spinalfluid samples and the necessity for lumbar puncture to make a diagnosis has reduced,the research of blood-based biomarkers may provide increasingly important tools for clinical practice. However,currently there are no clearly established MS blood-based biomarkers. The availability of reliable biomarkerscould radically alter the management of MS at critical phases of the disease spectrum, allowing for interventionstrategies that may prevent evolution to long-term neurological disability. This article provides an overview ofthis researchfield and focuses on recent advances in blood-based biomarker researc

Application of Sensing Techniques to Cellular Force Measurement

Cell traction forces (CTFs) are the forces produced by cells and exerted on extracellular matrix or an underlying substrate. CTFs function to maintain cell shape, enable cell migration, and generate and detect mechanical signals. As such, they play a vital role in many fundamental biological processes, including angiogenesis, inflammation, and wound healing. Therefore, a close examination of CTFs can enable better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of such processes. To this end, various force-sensing techniques for CTF measurement have been developed over the years. This article will provide a concise review of these sensing techniques and comment on the needs for improved force-sensing technologies for cell mechanics and biology research

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal