Asset liability management using stochastic programming

This chapter sets out to explain an important financial planning model called asset liability management (ALM); in particular, it discusses why in practice, optimum planning models are used. The ability to build an integrated approach that combines liability models with that of asset allocation decisions has proved to be desirable and more efficient in that it can lead to better ALM decisions. The role of uncertainty and quantification of risk in these planning models is considered

A review of portfolio planning: Models and systems

In this chapter, we first provide an overview of a number of portfolio planning models which have been proposed and investigated over the last forty years. We revisit the mean-variance (M-V) model of Markowitz and the construction of the risk-return efficient frontier. A piecewise linear approximation of the problem through a reformulation involving diagonalisation of the quadratic form into a variable separable function is also considered. A few other models, such as, the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD), the Weighted Goal Programming (WGP) and the Minimax (MM) model which use alternative metrics for risk are also introduced, compared and contrasted. Recently asymmetric measures of risk have gained in importance; we consider a generic representation and a number of alternative symmetric and asymmetric measures of risk which find use in the evaluation of portfolios. There are a number of modelling and computational considerations which have been introduced into practical portfolio planning problems. These include: (a) buy-in thresholds for assets, (b) restriction on the number of assets (cardinality constraints), (c) transaction roundlot restrictions. Practical portfolio models may also include (d) dedication of cashflow streams, and, (e) immunization which involves duration matching and convexity constraints. The modelling issues in respect of these features are discussed. Many of these features lead to discrete restrictions involving zero-one and general integer variables which make the resulting model a quadratic mixed-integer programming model (QMIP). The QMIP is a NP-hard problem; the algorithms and solution methods for this class of problems are also discussed. The issues of preparing the analytic data (financial datamarts) for this family of portfolio planning problems are examined. We finally present computational results which provide some indication of the state-of-the-art in the solution of portfolio optimisation problems

Compact inline optical electron polarimeter

A compact optical electron polarimeter using a helium target is described. It offers a maximum fluorescence detection efficiency of ∼20 Hz/nA, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of earlier designs. With an argon target, this device is expected to have a polarimetric figure-of-merit of 270 Hz/nA. By relying on a magnetic field to guide a longitudinally spin-polarized electron beam, the present instrument employs fewer electrodes. It also uses a commercially available integrated photon counting module. These features allow it to occupy a smaller volume and make it easier to operate

Anaplasma phagocytophilum Ats-1 Is Imported into Host Cell Mitochondria and Interferes with Apoptosis Induction

Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, infects human neutrophils and inhibits mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. Bacterial factors involved in this process are unknown. In the present study, we screened a genomic DNA library of A. phagocytophilum for effectors of the type IV secretion system by a bacterial two-hybrid system, using A. phagocytophilum VirD4 as bait. A hypothetical protein was identified as a putative effector, hereby named Anaplasma translocated substrate 1 (Ats-1). Using triple immunofluorescence labeling and Western blot analysis of infected cells, including human neutrophils, we determined that Ats-1 is abundantly expressed by A. phagocytophilum, translocated across the inclusion membrane, localized in the host cell mitochondria, and cleaved. Ectopically expressed Ats-1 targeted mitochondria in an N-terminal 17 residue-dependent manner, localized in matrix or at the inner membrane, and was cleaved as native protein, which required residues 55–57. In vitro-translated Ats-1 was imported in a receptor-dependent manner into isolated mitochondria. Ats-1 inhibited etoposide-induced cytochrome c release from mitochondria, PARP cleavage, and apoptosis in mammalian cells, as well as Bax-induced yeast apoptosis. Ats-1(55–57) had significantly reduced anti-apoptotic activity. Bax redistribution was inhibited in both etoposide-induced and Bax-induced apoptosis by Ats-1. Taken together, Ats-1 is the first example of a bacterial protein that traverses five membranes and prevents apoptosis at the mitochondria

CFH, C3 and ARMS2 Are Significant Risk Loci for Susceptibility but Not for Disease Progression of Geographic Atrophy Due to AMD

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a prevalent cause of blindness in Western societies. Variants in the genes encoding complement factor H (CFH), complement component 3 (C3) and age-related maculopathy susceptibility 2 (ARMS2) have repeatedly been shown to confer significant risks for AMD; however, their role in disease progression and thus their potential relevance for interventional therapeutic approaches remains unknown. Here, we analyzed association between variants in CFH, C3 and ARMS2 and disease progression of geographic atrophy (GA) due to AMD. A quantitative phenotype of disease progression was computed based on longitudinal observations by fundus autofluorescence imaging. In a subset of 99 cases with pure bilateral GA, variants in CFH (Y402H), C3 (R102G), and ARMS2 (A69S) are associated with disease (P = 1.6x10(-9), 3.2x10(-3), and P = 2.6x10(-12), respectively) when compared to 612 unrelated healthy control individuals. In cases, median progression rate of GA over a mean follow-up period of 3.0 years was 1.61 mm(2)/year with high concordance between fellow eyes. No association between the progression rate and any of the genetic risk variants at the three loci was observed (P>0.13). This study confirms that variants at CFH, C3, and ARMS2 confer significant risks for GA due to AMD. In contrast, our data indicate no association of these variants with disease progression which may have important implications for future treatment strategies. Other, as yet unknown susceptibilities may influence disease progression

Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian Context

Despite late reconsideration, a dominant paradigm rooted in Orientalist essentialisations of Islam as statically \u27legalistic\u27 and Muslims as uniformly \u27transgressive\u27 when local customs are engaged, continues to distort perspectives of South Asia\u27s past and present. This has led to misrepresentations of pre-colonial Muslim norms and undue emphasis on colonial reforms alone when charting the course to post-coloniality. This book presents and challenges staple perspectives with a comprehensive reinterpretation of doctrinal sources, literary expressions and colonial records spanning the period from the reign of the \u27Great Mughals\u27 to end of the \u27British Raj\u27 (1526-1947). The result is an alternative vision of this transformative period in South Asian history, and an original paradigm of Islamic doctrine and Muslim practice applicable more broadly.https://repository.lsu.edu/facultybooks/1399/thumbnail.jp

Compact inline optical electron polarimeter

A compact optical electron polarimeter using a helium target is described. It offers a maximum fluorescence detection efficiency of ∼20 Hz/nA, which is an order of magnitude higher than that of earlier designs. With an argon target, this device is expected to have a polarimetric figure-of-merit of 270 Hz/nA. By relying on a magnetic field to guide a longitudinally spin-polarized electron beam, the present instrument employs fewer electrodes. It also uses a commercially available integrated photon counting module. These features allow it to occupy a smaller volume and make it easier to operate